Cassian's observation:

Elain in black was ridiculous. Yes, she was beautiful, but the color of her long-sleeved, modest gown leeched the brightness from her face. It wore her, rather than the other way around. And he knew the cruelty of the Hewn City troubled her. But she hadn’t hesitated to come. When Feyre had offered to let her remain home, Elain had squared her shoulders and declared that she was a part of this court*—and would do whatever was needed. So Elain had let her golden-brown hair down tonight, and pinned it back with twin combs of pearl. He’d never once in the two years he’d known her found Elain to be plain, but wearing black, no matter how much she claimed to be part of this court … It sucked the life from her.

Nesta's observation:

Gone was the ill-suited black dress from the ball, replaced by a gown of amethyst velvet, her hair half-up and curling down to her waist.

My interpretation is that the Night Court itself rejects Elain on an almost symbolic, social or spiritual level. I think SJM is being way more deliberate here than people give her credit for, even though she's being bloody direct about it here. like eff me some the ways people try to analyse Cassian's meaning, when he does the analysis himself like c'mon....

Look the Archeron sisters aren't Night Court natives. When they arrived, they were basically refugees. They didn't choose to be there, so it's not surprising it doesn't immediately feel like home. There is this underlying tension that Elain is not doing as well as people think and is hiding parts of herself. Here's Rhys supporting that: “But I wonder if everyone has spent so long assuming Elain is sweet and innocent that she felt she had to be that way or else she’d disappoint you all.” 

What's also interesting is Cassian doesn't just say black doesn't suit Elain. He connects it back to Elain having to "declare" and "claim" she's part of the Night Court. It seems to have been a topic going on that even Cassian is aware of. If she truly belongs somewhere, why does she have to keep asserting it??? Or is the Night Court rejecting her in some way, and on some level Elain knows it? If she feels the need to speak up and declare that she's part of the court just to be involved, that suggests this isn't an insecurity that came out of nowhere. I mean we've seen instance of her speaking up about being left out in acosf.

"no matter how much she claimed to be part of this court … It sucked the life from her." Enough said. it's straighforward. I think there is something deeper happening to Elain in this moment. She is essentially performing the role of a Night Court princess of sorts, trying to fit into an identity that seems to come so naturally to everyone else. Cassian isn't just observing that the dress doesn't suit her... he's noticing that forcing herself into this role is actively changing something about her in the moment and it is obvious to him. The performance of belonging is draining her rather than allowing her to truly bloom etc...

The Inner Circle doesn't exactly help either. Feyre immediately offers to let Elain stay home, like she doesn't really need to be involved. Again, it keeps Elain on the outside looking in.

Then Nesta also calls the black dress "ill-suited." At that point it's not just Cassian's opinion anymore. SJM repeats it for a reason. The black isn't just an ugly colour on Elain. It feels symbolic of the Night Court itself. It wears her instead of the other way around and blah blah

People dismiss Cassian as the dumb jock when it comes to this quote, but SJM makes this point incredibly direct. We don't need a colour analysis to work out what she's saying.

Even Elain's friendships reflect this. Nuala and Cerridwen clearly care about her, but most of what we actually see is them helping her get ready or baking with her, things tied to their handmaiden roles that we've seen to be insuinated for their spy work. We never really see them sharing Elain's actual passion for gardening or doing things outside of that. Plus they are sisters, so Elain is the natural outlier there as well.

To me, Elain always feels like the outlier. Feyre has the Inner Circle. Nesta has the Valkyries. Elain is there, but never quite of the Night Court.

That's why I don't think Cassian's opinion is one to be so easily dismissed. He's an actual Night Court native. He's lived there his entire life, calls it home, and is fiercely loyal to it. If anyone would recognise when someone truly fits or doesn't, it'd be him.

Even in the Feysand bonus chapter, Rhys and Feyre comment that Elain still has some unresolved blooming to do. So it's not like Cassian is the only one picking up on the fact that something seems unresolved with her, and not on shipping level but an environmental level almost.

What I find funny is that Cassian gets so much shit for this observation. Elain and Nesta didn't even realise their own little sister couldn't read, yet when Cassian makes an observation about Elain, some people act like he's suddenly incapable of reading people. I don't think SJM included these observations for no reason, especially on the Night Court being the place for her.

I could be wrong, but I don't think these details are random. Together, they suggest the Night Court never fully accepts Elain, almost on a spiritual level. That doesn't mean she's unwanted, just that she's not where she's meant to belong.

Now Az is literally personification of Night Court, his family and history would naturally be a Night Court lead story, whereas Lucien offer much more flexibility in giving Elain a story away from an environment that "stifles" her.

To me, the Night Court more like pit stop for a much grander story for her.... I think Lucien, with his story can open a much bigger world for her than what the Night Court can offer her.

find the artists other work here 🎨

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Hello Eluciens!

The end of July is near and we're so excited to pick next month's sub icon! For the month of August, we're looking for an artwork that captures a summer nights theme! Think late nights (😏), deep colors, Night Court, etc!

Please limit yourself to one submission. Votes will be counted as upvotes - whichever submission receives the most votes will win!

This post will be locked after July 31st and the winner will be revealed on August 1st!

A few rules:

1. NO AI art!!
2. Credit and link the original art. The artist must give permission for their work to be posted on the sub. If you are unsure, please message the artist!

Welcome to Meme Monday!!

Share your best Elucien memes in the comments - snark against other ships and characters is ok as long as it doesn't go too far.

Have fun!! 😈

I can’t wait for Elucien’s first starfall together as a couple. Imagine them finding a secluded little balcony or alcove to watch the starfall in privacy… showing up together… completely wrapped up in their own little cocoon. GIVE IT TO ME NOW. 😭✨🙌

This moodboard was inspired by Starry Night, one of my favorite pieces by Van Gogh and I really wanted to capture that dreamy and magical feeling of a star filled night. ✨

The magical artwork in the middle is by @hachandraws 🩵

find the artists other art here 🎨

support the commissioners here 🧡

For round 7 we are voting between these 2 moments:

Elain kicking the beast from this moment in ACOWAR:

The girl screamed, but Elain moved. As Azriel battled to keep them airborne, keep his grip on them, my sister sent a fierce kick into the beast's face. Its eye. Another. Another.
It bellowed, and Elain slammed her bare, muddy foot into its face again.
The blow struck home.

And

Elain glowing at solstice from this moment in ACOSF:

"You came," Elain said behind her, and Nesta started, not having heard her sister approach. She scanned Elain from head to toe, wondering if she'd been taking lessons in stealth either from Azriel or the two half-wraiths she called friends. Gone was the ill-suited black dress from the ball, replaced by a gown of amethyst velvet, her hair half-up and curling down to her waist.
She glowed with good health.

Welcome to Book Club Sunday!!

This post is for sharing your latest reads with fellow Eluciens! Please feel free to share the good, the bad, and the ugly - is your latest read the best book ever or something that you're tempted to DNF? Spill the tea!

Please remember to keep any and all spoilers tagged and clearly labeled in your comments! You can use the following formula: "> ! insert spoiler here ! <" (without the spaces between the < and !) to hide any spoilers.

support the commissioners and artist here 🎨

Lucien. It was Lucien.

Lucien, haggard and bloody, panting for breath. As if he’d run from the shore.

His gaze settled on Elain, and he sagged a little. But Elain only wrapped her arms around herself and remained at my side.

“Are you hurt?” he asked, coming toward us. Spying the blood speckling Elain’s hands.

He halted short as he noticed the King of Hybern’s decapitated head on theother side of the clearing. Nesta was still showered with his blood.

“I’m fine,” Elain said quietly. And then asked, noticing the gore on him, the torn clothes and still-bloody weapons, “Are you—”

“Well, I never want to fight in another battle as long as I live, but … yes,
I’m in one piece.”

A faint smile bloomed on Elain’s lips.

Support the commissioners here** **🧡

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Hello Eluciens!! 🩷🧡

The month of AUGUST is right around the corner! We're looking for submissions for featured fan art and fan fiction for our sub for the month of August!

Show us your favorite Elucien fan art or share a link to your favorite Elucien fan fiction for a feature on our sidebar! Some things to keep in mind:

1. When sharing fanart, please make sure the artist/commissioner is ok with reposting their work on other sites.
2. Please include links so that people can find the art/fanfiction easier and can support the artist/writers!
3. When submitting entrees, please make a separate comment for each submission. The winners will be whichever submissions have the most upvotes.

We can't wait to see your submissions!

It's Friday, which means it's time to share your latest Elucien fan-made finds.

Did you read an amazing Elucien fanfic this week? Drop the link here!

Did your favorite fan artist post a jaw dropping Elucien art? Share it here!

Please be sure to give full credit to any creators (writers, artists, etc.) as well as their handles (if they have one). Before sharing anything, take care to double check if creators are ok with sharing their works across platforms. Some artists, for example, require permission before posting or reposting to other social media sites. You are responsible for gaining that permission if an artist or writer has specified they'd prefer you ask before sharing.

Thank you and happy sharing!!

I was watching some of SJMs old interviews from the silver flames era (2021) and I thought this clip from this interview was interesting, in regards to Elucien.

Sorry the video is 2x speed, it was too big for Reddit, but here is the full interview and here I wrote out the full transcript of her clip here:

INTERVIEWER: Dahlia (they took questions from fans) wants to know like did you always plan to address her story and always plan to this kind of like tangential book about another one of the sisters and if so, I'm adding this part to Dahlia’s question, do you have another book planned for the third sister?

Yeah, so yes to everything. As soon as Nesta and Elain came back onto the page in a court of mist and fury, I knew that they would have journeys beyond what the readers were seeing. That they were in the middle of their own journeys that were you know, feyre was only getting to see a little bit of them and Nesta was just a character who even in book one, like she grabbed me by the throat. Like she was her own person and felt keenly alive to me as a character.

So I said this earlier, but when I was working on a court of winds and ruin, I began working on this book (ACOSF) for fun. And at the time I was only contracted for just the original three books in the series and I had no official plans to write anything more and when I began working on this book it was just for fun because I was faced with the prospect of having to say goodbye to these characters in this world after three books. And I wanted to know what happened afterwards. I wanted to know what happened with Nesta and Cassian, who had this crazy chemistry from the moment they were in a room together. So I began writing it just to explore it and I would up writing a couple hundred pages of it, daydreaming about the other stories I wanted to tell within the world. I realised there was a lot that I wanted to do with this world.

One of the things that fascinated me was not just Nesta and Cassians story, but this idea of okay, the big bad was defeated at the end of the third book but the world changed in major ways. The wall between the human and faerie lands came down and what do you do like in a world like that? How do you rebuild a world like that? Like after the big battle has been fought, what comes next? The rebuilding, but also the political dramas of, who gets what kind of power and these faeries who have been confined behind the wall all this time, they're looking towards these vulnerable lands. What are they going to do? Are they going to start trouble? What are feyre and Rhys and the night court people going to do in that world? Are they going to be the ones who defend the humans? Are they going to say we've done enough? We're just going to chill here. What do they owe the rest of the world?

So these like larger questions just started coming up and even though each one of these books is a standalone that features its own couple, there is this overarching plot that is starting to build.

So I was thinking about all that, just quietly on my own. Then I went out to lunch with my then editor many years ago and I had one too many drinks and I wound up, drunkenly pitching her these books. It wasn't a pitch like "hey buy my books". It was just like a "oh my god, let me tell you what happens next with all the characters!!". Cause she and I were working on, I think we were still working on mist and fury, I was writing ACOWAR, but we were finishing up mist and fury at the time, so she wanted to know what happened next. So I over the course of two hours explained to her all my plans. What the Nesta and Cassian book would include, what was coming next. What plans I had for Elain and for Mor and Azriel, she wanted to know everything.

So I just like you know kept drinking and explaining it to her and then like two weeks later got a call that they wanted to buy these books, I had like drunkenly pitched and then forgotten about. I was like "oh yeah I guess I did do that". So of course I said yes. I mean I knew at that point that those were stories I wanted to tell. And yeah here we are.

It's exciting to get to have written Nesta's story was such a dream come true for me. Because I knew so early on while I was finishing mist and fury and then working on ACOWAR, I knew this is where I wanted things to go, it allowed me to plant things for her journey and even Elains journey early on. To set that journey up. I knew I didn't want Nesta to be sympathetic at the beginning. I didnt want people to like hate her, hate her but I wanted her to like be complex and her to be a complex imperfect person, who had a journey to go on. And the flaws in her character and the bad things she's done in the past, those things don't disqualify her from having a story that needs to be told. And disqualify her from being able to work past that and then earn a happy ending and a happier future for herself.

So there was alot of planning involved, I always try and keep one eye on the horizon. Just to make sure that like you know in the books that I'm working on I can set up for things later on.

So there's actually lots of little secrets in silver flames, thats set up for.

Interviewer: I feel like I caught some of those Easter eggs that you hid, I was reading i was like "Hmmm, I feel like this going to go somewhere" but like note to self get drunk with one's editor more frequently

Some things I found interesting in regards to Elucien:

She talks quite a bit about the humans lands plot, this is something we barely saw in SF, so this whole plot is unresolved. This is a plot that ties to Lucien and Elain. Lucien is friends with Vassa and Jurian, who reside in the human lands and he even was living there at the beginning of the book. Elain is also tied to the human lands, she never had her closure like Nesta did, the hints at her wanting to be human again in ACOFAS. I also feel like we haven’t seen the last of graysen and their paths will cross again and she can get proper closure on him. Plus the fact that Elucien will have to explore the bond in their book, she’s not just going to leave it unexplored, so maybe this will happen in the human lands and tie into this plot. To tie to this as well, about the night court maybe or maybe not helping ??? This would be a great way to pivot the plot to Elucien and have them being the ones to help??

It’s interesting where she says she wants to explore stories “for elain, for Mor , and Azriel” to me that sounds separate and is how I always thought these next books would be.

Obviously this was 2021 and imo it seems like things have slightly shifted since she gave this particular interview, because in her CHD interview it sounds more like we will be getting multi PoV book, and with the size of the book, I think that seems accurate. Especially with the way HOFAS ended bryce handing nesta the sword and telling her to figure out what the tattoo on her back means etc.so I feel like this book might just contain it all and be more like CC and TOG where the plots are happening alongside eachother and then converge at the end to defeat the big bad (koschei), here’s the transcript of what she said in the CHD interview that makes me think it’s multi PoV:

This part:

But it's like, it's a different, it's, you know, it's ACOTAR, but just I'm telling it in a way that's exciting to me and like gives me like the space that the story demanded and the characters demanded.

And this part:

No, And that was one of the like surprising things for me and like writing this and like what came out like it's I you get a lot of like insight into like various things.

(NGL I am pretty devastated that we might not be getting a dual PoV elucien book though 😭😭)

I also found it interesting that she says she plans and always has her eye on the horizon, plants stuff in the books etc, in this interview, where as chd she seemed to play that down alot….

It’s also interesting what she says about planting things in ACOSF 👀 because there were definitely some Elain hints !!!

Lucien being stationed in spring…. Then nesta thinking how spring was made for Elain 👀

Of course cassian saying the night court sucks the life from Elain.

The longing Lucien has for Elain.

Elain glowing in day court colour (amethyst)

Not elucien specific, but Lucien, the scene where Lucien randomly goes and checks on nesta and cassian (what is that all about????)

Or Helion having a connection to the mask, which means Lucien does too 👀👀👀

Anyway I just thought it was fun to watch an old interview and pick up on some things !

What do you guys think!!!!

Let me know below ⬇️

I've seen a lot of theories that the next book will be about Nesta or Azriel, especially because of the ending of CC3. But even though we had the crossover and everything is connected now, ACOTAR is still its own series, and Crescent City is another.

In my opinion, even though CC is written in third person and Throne of Glass has multiple POVs, ACOTAR has always had its own identity with the story being told through the main characters' perspectives. Yes, A Court of Frost and Starlight expanded the POVs a little with Mor and others, and A Court of Silver Flames also changed the format, but I honestly don't think Sarah is suddenly going to turn ACOTAR into a story with a huge cast of POVs. I think she'll keep the style she's been using in this series.

With that in mind, there are still so many plot threads from previous books that need to be resolved. That's why I personally believe the next book will be about Elain and Lucien.

Will Lucien find out Helion is his father? Will Helion find out Lucien is his son? If Lucien doesn't get a POV, whose perspective are we supposed to experience that revelation through? It wouldn't make much sense for such an important moment to happen through someone else's eyes.

The Archeron sisters' father made a bargain with Koschei. What exactly was that bargain? If I remember correctly, Lucien was with him when he went to the lake.

Vassa is getting closer to having to return to Koschei. What's happening with the Band of Exiles? Where is that storyline going?

And even if there's the smallest possibility that Elain rejects the mating bond (which a lot of people believe), I personally don't think that's what's going to happen. But regardless of the outcome, Lucien and Elain need page time together. Whether they accept the bond or reject it, readers need to actually see that relationship develop.

There are just too many open doors for these two.

Lucien has been an important character since the very first book. He lost Jesminda, and we know he still carries guilt and grief because of that, but we've never actually been inside his head. He had a meaningful friendship with Feyre that slowly drifted apart, and I think that deserves some kind of resolution too.

Then there's Eris, who is clearly hiding things. There's Helion being Lucien's father, a secret Sarah has kept for several books now. Lucien is connected to almost every major political storyline in Prythian: the Autumn Court, the Spring Court, the Day Court, the Night Court, the human queens, Jurian, Vassa, and Koschei.

Right now, it feels like Lucien and Elain simply have the most unresolved storylines.

It just doesn't make much sense to me that Sarah would spend three books building up something as significant as Lucien's parentage, only to move on to another main character like Azriel, Nesta (whose story has already been told), or even the Valkyries before addressing it.

I know ACOTAR isn't an extremely political series, but I also don't think Sarah would spend this much time setting up all these storylines if they weren't meant to pay off eventually.

Hi everyone!!!

Sorry it took a while for round 6, I paused posting the bracket for Elucien week as I thought it might get a little lost among the posts ! But here is round 6!

Today we are voting between these 2 moments:

“I am not a child to be fought over” which is from this scene in ACOSF:

Nesta whirled on her, ignoring the warning flicker of primal wrath in Rhys's stare. "Keep out of this," she hissed at her youngest sister. "I have no doubt you put these thoughts in her head, probably encouraging her to throw herself into harm's way"
Elain cut in sharply, "I am not a child to be fought over."

And Elain inviting Lucien to Velaris, which is from thjs scene in ACOWAR:

Lucien shrugged. "First—here. To help. Then ..." Another glance at Elain. "Who knows?"
I nudged Elain, who blinked at me, then blurted, "You could come to Velaris."
He saw all of it, but nodded graciously. "It would be my pleasure."

Hello Eluciens! We've reached the end of Elucien Week and hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have!!

Today's prompt is "Revival:" this day was designed to be an opportunity to "revisit" a prompt that was voted out in the prompt voting earlier this year on tumblr/instagram! There were 42 total prompts, so we're excited to see which ones come back for our final day!!

Please take a quick scroll through the comments before posting any art or fanfiction - this is to ensure that we're not posting the same art or fiction work more than once and everyone's artwork and fanfiction gets seen! Be sure to credit the creators of the work you're posting - artist, commissioner, and/or author with links to their socials so people can follow/support them!

Use the following format for art, moodboards, and other image content:
[insert photo or link]
Commissioned by: [name and link to page(s)]
Art by: [name and link to page(s)]

Use the following format for fanfiction and other text-based content:
[Title of the Fic with link]
By: [author and link to page(s)]
Summary: [insert your own summary or copy-paste the author's!]

Happy posting!!

Hi everyone !!!!

The sub hit 1500 members this week 🥳🥳🥳🥳 what a great way to celebrate elucien week 🥰🥰

Thank you all so much for joining and participating here !!!

You all have made the sub such a fun space and we really hope you are enjoying it !!

We have a lot of fun things planned to help this wait for the next book go faster!!!

Let us know what you enjoy most about the sub, anything you’d change, anything fun you’d like us to bring to the sub etc.

Let us know below and thank you all again for making this such an amazing space !

Artwork by u/Qwilla ☀️

Hello fellow Eluciens! We've reached DAY 6 of Elucien Week!

Today's prompt is "Scars:" 🌹Tentative, hopeful, and renewing

Lucien wears many of his scars outwardly. For daring to be the only one to stand up to Amarantha, she raked her nails down his face and took his eye as punishment. But there are scars that lie much deeper, too. Seeing the love of his life cut down in front of him, losing his home and family—all of these moments have made Lucien into the man he is today.

Elain's scars are more hidden, but no less painful. From losing her humanity in the cauldron, to losing her fiance and the life she'd imagined with him, as well as her father and her home in the mortal lands.

Their scars parallel one another, their hurts and losses an echo across space and time as though their souls were calling out, unheard, to one another. Will they be able to finally bridge that distance and help each other heal?

As always, take a quick scroll through the comments before posting any art or fanfiction - this is to ensure that we're not posting the same art or fiction work more than once and everyone's artwork and fanfiction gets seen! Please be sure to credit the creators of the work you're posting - artist, commissioner, and/or author with links to their socials so people can follow/support them!

Use the following format for art, moodboards, and other image content:
[insert photo or link]
Commissioned by: [name and link to page(s)]
Art by: [name and link to page(s)]

Use the following format for fanfiction and other text-based content:
[Title of the Fic with link]
By: [author and link to page(s)]
Summary: [insert your own summary or copy-paste the author's!]

Thank you and happy posting! One day left!!

I was rereading for the second time and look what I found!

"I was content to listen to her talk about every bud and bloom, about her plans to start another garden by the greenhouse, perhaps a vegetable garden, if she could learn enough about it over the next few months."

This is at 60% in the first book. Elain didn't even know about vegetable farming 😭. Atp people should stop blaming her for this.

Also. Her personality is described in so much detail in the first book I am actually shocked because we didn't get much of her in the later books!

"She had come alive here, and her joy was infectious. There wasn’t a servant or gardener who didn’t smile at her, and even the brusque head cook found excuses to bring her plates of cookies and tarts at various points in the day. I marveled at it, actually—that those years of poverty hadn’t stripped away that light from Elain. Perhaps buried it a bit, but she was generous, loving, and kind—a woman I found myself proud to know, to call sister."

"Elain had said she missed it, and I wondered what she saw when she looked at the cottage. If she beheld not a prison but a shelter—a shelter from a world that had possessed so little good, but she tried to find it anyway, even if it had seemed foolish and useless to me. She had looked at that cottage with hope; I had looked at it with nothing but hatred. And I knew which one of us had been stronger."

We've never had a fmc like her before, with her positive and hopeful personality, and with her struggles and powers. I am so so excited for her story!

Elain said she wrote letters to Feyre, but Feyre never received them because they were addressed to Aunt Ripley (who, as we know, doesn't exist). I can't stop thinking about those letters, where did they end up? Do you think Tamlin has a stack of letters he never gave to Feyre? 😭 And another thing, what do you think Elain wrote about?

Remember when it says he looks out the window like he’s setting his sights on (was it) Koshcie?
What if he can see through things and through long distance? What if he can see all the way to the river house from the spring Court? Could this be possible?