bad liar
A slow-burn, regency reimagining of Prythian, written for @elucienweekofficial 2026 • Day 4: Arranged Marriage
After two years out of society, Elain Archeron is determined to find a husband.
When she meets Viscount Graysen Nolan, she falls head over heels, and with his proposal all but guaranteed, everything feels as though it’s falling right into place.
Until it falls apart.
Facing ruin or a life on the shelf, an out-of-the-blue offer of marriage from Prince Lucien Vanserra, Duke of Glenacre, turns her world upside down.
Now married to a man she barely knows while nursing her heartbreak over the one she’d planned her life with, Elain must contend with lust, lies, and longing to find the one thing she’s wanted all along: love.
chapter masterlist:
- chapter 1 – taking up a fraction of my mind
- chapter 2 – if you're the art, i'll be the brush
- chapter 3 – trying not to give in to you
- chapter 4 – even if it's in my dreams
- chapter 5 – call me an amenity
- chapter 6 – trying to distract myself
- chapter 7 – there’s nothing subtle here
- chapter 8 – paint my kiss across your chest
One bed, but Lucien and Elain respectfully have a wall of pillows between them.
The fire is slowly dying and Elain is shivering from the cold. She wakes Lucien up to tend the fire.
He stares at her, bleary-eyed, as she begins with “I’m cold” before he moves all the pillows, just pulls her in and wraps his arms around her.
She’s stupefied as he adjusts to fit her better. Elain couldn’t argue. She’s warm, pleasantly so, even without the fire. She looks up at Lucien to see a small smile on his lips before his warmth lulls her back to sleep.
Hi all! Welcome back to ACOTAR Secret Santa 2026! We are SO EXCITED to bring this event back and engage in a little holiday gift giving and/or shenanigans! For anyone interested in participating, check out the timeline, FAQs, and other information (and of course make sure to follow the blog so you don't miss any updates!)
Timeline
- Sign ups will open September 7th and close September 20th
- Assignments, barring unforeseen circumstances, will be announced by October 5th - you will receive a message with your recipient, as well as what they've requested. This will be done in a staggered manner over the week.
- You should reach out to your recipient within 72 hours of receiving your assignment. A mod for the event will reach out to you, so please be looking for a DM- if we do not hear back from you within 72 hours, we will remove you from the exchange and reassign your recipient.
- Gifts can start to be given December 15 and must be received by December 21
Participation
Anyone who creates some sort of fan content is welcome, whether than be fanfiction, fanart, edits, or a really good playlist. There is no restriction on characters- EVERYONE is welcome.
Participation includes creating a gift for your assigned recipient, but also spreading the holiday cheer and dropping in their inbox with nice messages, questions, and other friendly interaction! Communication with your Secret Santa (if they send messages), your recipient, and the moderator (me!) is essential.
You will need to have a tumblr to participate (so spread the news far and wide to all of your fandom friends, even if they delete it right after the event!).
This event is open to the entire fandom, no matter what you ship or which characters you like
What's New?
We heard you, we've spent a year planning, and we're officially really excited to announce that we will be opening submissions for x-readers this year! PLEASE read the FAQ for more information regarding the process, but if you are a writer, you will find new checkboxes on the form this year to select your x/reader pairings and preferences!
Check out...
Looking forward to seeing what everyone creates this year!
Lucien winnowed in as close as possible to the marble arches of the Day Court palace, so close he felt the wards prickle his senses, warning him of the sheer power surrounding Helion’s home.
His mechanical eye hummed as it examined the wards, the countless threads of magic running in different directions, each sensitive to the touch. Astounding to think they had all been crafted by a single person – Helion. To cleave such wards would require destroying them all at once, a feat beyond Lucien’s proficiency in cleaving – or anyone besides the High Lord of Day himself. He was unmatched in that area. Instead of intimidating Lucien, it filled him with insatiable curiosity – could he learn to cleave wards with equal expertise?
Nesta and Elain emerge from the cauldron.
Summary: Elain makes the best of her life in the Night Court, and yet, she still finds herself longing to escape into dreams about a certain mate she has barely even spoken to.
But when her dreams begin to suggest something sinister at play, and Lucien doesn’t arrive at his weekly meeting in Velaris, Elain finds herself on a rescue mission further out of her comfort zone than she could have ever imagined.
A collaboration between @tinyy-jj and @gooseyjossip for @elucienweekofficial 2026
Read it here on AO3 or from the beginning here!
Snippet below the cut…
One Day, I Am Gonna Grow Wings - Ch. 20
Elucien | Ao3 | Ch. 20/23
After the death of her father and the disappearance of both her sisters, Elain Archeron resigns herself to a quiet, joyless life bound to a man she doesn’t love. But when her betrothed decides she is worth more to him dead than alive, Elain flees into the night with nothing but the shoes on her feet and the desperate hope that she might survive until morning. A strange voice leads her beyond The Wall to a land she thought only existed in storybooks, where she runs into the male who has lived in her dreams for as long as she can remember.
Lucien
Lucien all but crashed through the doors of his tent in the war camps, ready to collapse facedown into the makeshift bed with his boots and armor still on.
It had been two weeks gone now, the war fully involved once they’d found Hybern’s armies at the border of Spring and Autumn. It put Lucien and the Autumn armies at an advantage—they’d learned to train on these sloping fields—but war was war, and it was brutal no matter the landscape.
bad liar
A slow-burn, regency reimagining of Prythian, written for @elucienweekofficial 2026 • Day 4: Arranged Marriage
After two years out of society, Elain Archeron is determined to find a husband.
When she meets Viscount Graysen Nolan, she falls head over heels, and with his proposal all but guaranteed, everything feels as though it’s falling right into place.
Until it falls apart.
Facing ruin or a life on the shelf, an out-of-the-blue offer of marriage from Prince Lucien Vanserra, Duke of Glenacre, turns her world upside down.
Now married to a man she barely knows while nursing her heartbreak over the one she’d planned her life with, Elain must contend with lust, lies, and longing to find the one thing she’s wanted all along: love.
chapter masterlist:
My Thoughts Will Echo - Masterlist
Summary: As far as Elain knew, in all of her ten years of collected knowledge, she was the only person who frequented these woods. She'd never seen footprints before. Not ones this recent, not ones that the forest guided her to. That curious sensation in her chest grew stronger. A stumbling beat. A beckoning. Go, the rustling leaves called to her. Go see. She had never seen him before, but Elain knew at once who he was. What he was. A Vanserra.
Or: That time an eerie meet cute in the forest changed their lives
My contribution for @elucienweekofficial. Chapters will be posted daily!
Read on AO3 or click the links below to read on tumblr!
-
Chapter 1 - Your Heart, Waiting Patiently
Chapter 2 - The Turning Knife
Chapter 3 - Trapped Underneath My Ribs
Chapter 4 - Times Being What They Are
Chapter 5 - Shades of Gold
Chapter 6 - What Binds Us
Chapter 7 - The Doorway
Chapter 8 - Epilogue
-
late night lounging ✨🌙
bad liar
A slow-burn, regency reimagining of Prythian, written for @elucienweekofficial 2026 • Day 4: Arranged Marriage
After two years out of society, Elain Archeron is determined to find a husband.
When she meets Viscount Graysen Nolan, she falls head over heels, and with his proposal all but guaranteed, everything feels as though it’s falling right into place.
Until it falls apart.
Facing ruin or a life on the shelf, an out-of-the-blue offer of marriage from Prince Lucien Vanserra, Duke of Glenacre, turns her world upside down.
Now married to a man she barely knows while nursing her heartbreak over the one she’d planned her life with, Elain must contend with lust, lies, and longing to find the one thing she’s wanted all along: love.
chapter masterlist:
In restless dreams, pounding a beat to the same rhythm of my heart, I’ll haunt you
Summary: Elain makes the best of her life in the Night Court, and yet, she still finds herself longing to escape into dreams about a certain mate she has barely even spoken to.
But when her dreams begin to suggest something sinister at play, and Lucien doesn’t arrive at his weekly meeting in Velaris, Elain finds herself on a rescue mission further out of her comfort zone than she could have ever imagined.
A collaboration between @tinyy-jj and @gooseyjossip for @elainweekofficial
Read Chapter 4 on Ao3, or from the beginning!
Snippet below cut
One Day, I Am Gonna Grow Wings - Ch. 19
Elucien | Ao3 | Ch. 19/22
After the death of her father and the disappearance of both her sisters, Elain Archeron resigns herself to a quiet, joyless life bound to a man she doesn’t love. But when her betrothed decides she is worth more to him dead than alive, Elain flees into the night with nothing but the shoes on her feet and the desperate hope that she might survive until morning. A strange voice leads her beyond The Wall to a land she thought only existed in storybooks, where she runs into the male who has lived in her dreams for as long as she can remember.
Lucien
Lucien wondered if there was anything left to life past war meetings.
For the past week, he’d done absolutely nothing else.
War meetings, war plans, war scheduling, war items, war agenda. War, war, war. War was on the horizon, but Lucien wasn’t sure that they could possibly talk about it anymore before it actually arrived.