Azriel: My Beloathed.

Contains TOG spoilers........

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But first....... Lucien ☀️🔥

Thoughts slammed into me, images and memories, a pattern of thinking and feeling that was old, and clever, and sad, so endlessly sad and guilt-ridden, hopeless—

"all the sounds that Lucien so carefully sorted through while he kept watch."

Like Rhys, he usually opted for words to win his battles.

“I trust in the fact that we currently have possession of the one thing he wants above all else. And as long as that remains, he’ll try to stay on our good side. But if that changes …"

"His talent was wasted in the Spring Court."

"There was a reason he had that fox mask, you know."

No wonder he’d been so eager to head alone into Velaris that day he’d gone to help us research. I shot a look at Rhys. Seems like Lucien can still play the fox.

“Lucien can’t be entirely trusted anymore.”. “Lucien might mean well, but any reports would be skewed—even if he isn’t aware of it—in their favor.

Lucien stared out the window—as if he could see the lake across a sea and a continent. As if he were setting his target.

“Eyes can be blinded,” Nesta said. “Not the ones under my command,” Azriel said with soft menace.

"Lucien will never be good enough"

“There are others in your court as delusional as you are. They’ll get it for me one way or another, with the right incentive.

I'd be surprised if we don't get a super clever scheme in Elucien's book, courtesy of Lucien.

SJM has previously said Dorian and Lucien would be great friends and we know that Dorian was not only extremely powerful with raw power that be could shape as he desired but he was also very cunning. In KOA, he took two of the Wyrdkeys and tracked down Maeve to find the third. Maeve asked Dorian to work with her, explaining that she wants the keys so she can get rid of Erawen and his brothers for good.

Dorian agrees, asking her to bring the spiders to his side and he will marry her, giving her a new Kingdom to rule over.

In a later chapter, Maeve slips into Dorians mind, using her powers to control him but the entire time he's been tricking her, using her own power against her (a Valg!) to learn how hers actually work, taking over her mind instead.

There's already notable similarities between Dorian and Lucien, their polished persona's, their fathers both had them held down and forced them to watch the execution of the woman they loved, unknown magical powers, hints at Lucien being extremely powerful as Dorian was powerful, and their intelligence.

SJM has also pointed out how Rhys and Lucien share a likeness in how they use their words to fight battles and we know Rhys often schemes, having others question his intentions only to find out he had some wildly clever plot going the whole time.

I could easily see her having Lucien do something similar. Maybe he'll have a plan for Koschei or the Human Queens that he didn't inform the others of, something Elain becomes suspicious about and starts following him (Mr. and Mrs. Smith anyone? It would be even better if this followed the arranged marriage trope 😂).

The others acknowledge Lucien is clever and insightful yet they still underestimate him. You can tell they look at him as a tool for when it benefits their own purpose rather than viewing him as an equal, a force to be reckoned with.

I'd also love if it led to Az eating a bit of humble pie. He's so certain of Lucien being unworthy, imagine if Lucien managed to outsmart Az and his shadows.

Plagiarism in the ACOTAR Fandom

If you write Nessian, Nezriel, or Cazriel and ACOSF fics, take note.

On Thursday, June 29, I learned that my fic, viciousness & intelligence, was plagiarized by A03 user amaliea25 in her story titled Fall from Grace. Since alerting her that I was aware of her plagiarism, she edited the scenes she stole from my fic, but she has not removed them entirely from her story.

This plagiarism came to my attention when amaliea25 commented on my short V&I outtake, promises & punishments. This was the first time she contacted me on AO3, and I was curious about what drew someone to such a minor fic. I clicked onto her page and found that she was also a Nesta/Azriel/Cassian writer. Previously, I ignored Fall from Grace because, as a canon-divergent ACOSF story in which Nesta has an unexpected dual mating bond with Cassian and Azriel, the premise was similar enough to V&I that I did not want to step on her toes by accident.

However, I shouldn't have worried about that. Because when I decided to check out a random page in her fic anyway to decide whether or not I should bookmark it to read after I finish V&I, I discovered she was already plagiarizing my work.

Screenshots below the cut.

The Plagiarized Content

To my knowledge, three scenes from V&I were stolen from Chapters 2, 3, and 6. However, amaliea25 is in the habit of paraphrasing the scenes she steals, and I haven't read V&I in over 6 months, so I have suspicions about at least half a dozen more passages and plot points. I will highlight the two most obvious offenses here.

These screenshots were taken on June 29th.

viciousness & intelligence Chapters 2 and 6 (published 5/10/22 and 6/21/22) vs. Fall from Grace Chapter 22 (published 5/31/23)

viciousness & intelligence Chapter 3 (published 5/19/22) vs. Fall from Grace Chapter 23 (published 6/2/23)

The Reddit Tip-off

I have since read the entirety of Fall from Grace to check for more plagiarism, and while doing so I realized that the title of Fall from Grace and the sentiment in the comment on promises & punishments sounded familiar to me. I used to advertise my fics on r/ACOTAR, and in May I received email notifications about several comments on my old post about V&I... the most recent of which advertised another Nessriel story entirely.

I was appalled that someone promoted another fic on my post, but ignored it at the time and muted the user - I thought it was just a fan of the Nesta/Cassian/Azriel ship being unknowingly rude.

But when I went back and confirmed that the story in this comment was the one that plagiarized my fic, I did get a little heated and jump the gun. I replied, "Considering that fic has plagiarized mine, do not do that." The next morning, the comment advertising Fall from Grace on my post was gone.

But even though that one instance of this user promoting Fall from Grace was deleted, it is strange that it is the only fic u/Embarrassed_Room1347 promotes, isn’t it?

So I suspect that u/Embarrassed_Room1347 and AO3 user amaliea25 are the same person, and that my comment about plagiarism on June 29th tipped her off that I was aware and that she needed to cover up her tracks...

The Alteration

...which she tried to do. Poorly. Here is a screenshot of the same portion of Chapter 22 of Fall from Grace taken today, July 1st, proving that amaliea25 is aware that she committed plagiarism, that it is not okay, and that I am unhappy that she did. This is the only edit she has made to my knowledge, since as of this post, Chapter 23 remains untouched.

Despite amaliea25's attempts to edit away her plagiarism, I also downloaded a copy of Fall from Grace as an EPUB from AO3 on June 29th before she had the chance. This fic was first published on May 8, 2023, and the extreme length and patchwork quality of the writing and plot indicates to me that much of it was taken from outside sources.

If you are a fellow ACOTAR author and you are concerned amaliea25 may have plagiarized your work and is now attempting to cover it up, please DM me. I'll send you the file so you can check for yourself.

She may have altered what she stole from your work even further since June 29th, but it is likely still in her fic.

I only check AO3 for fics. If you are aware of Fall from Grace on any other platforms, I would appreciate it if you told me so I can report it.

just a girl in her room trying to forgive herself

twitter changing their logo to doge really solidified how much of a garbage fire of a website it has become.

I HOPE LOVING ME ISN’T THE HARDEST THING ANYONE HAS TO DO.

jenny slate // bernhard schlink // unknown // heather havrilesky // sue zhao // i.b. vyache // fatima aamer bilal // anne carson // bylthe baird // alice notley // jody chan // georges bataille // frank o'hara // emily palermo

he’s got that previously neglected shelter dog rizz. he looks like he wants to quietly sit next to you on the couch while you watch TV

I think a big reason why "children are an oppressed group" gets (wrongly!) read as a "pedophile talking point" is that everyone treats children so terribly that actual child molesters can speedrun winning a kid's trust by like, actually respecting their needs and perspective, at least at first. Which means that the only way out of this mess is for all of us adults to treat children with respect, so that abusers can't use the rareness of that respect as a weapon.

Love as Acceptance

Caitlyn Siehl // Leonard Cohen, "Anthem" // Rumi, "Bitterweet" // trans. Anne Carson, "Euripides" // Sade Andria Zabala, "Coffee and Cigarettes" // tumblr acct @/gayassnatural // Anne Carson, "H of H Playbook" // William Shakespeare, "Sonnet 116" // Clementine von Radics, "Mouthful of Forevers" // Toni Morrison, "Jazz"

Reasons why Wolffe is named after the animal, wolf based on cool wolf facts i found

He can eat 20 pounds of meat in one meal

He can be heard up to 10 miles away (screaming at his brothers)

Can swim 8 miles

Has a strong sense of loyalty to his brothers and loves them feircely

Has 42 teeth. In or out of his mouth?? Unclear.