#because I haven't read sf but pretty sure she's only out to Feyre??? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

acourtofthought · 1 year

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Hello! I was rereading Azriel's extra and realized a few things. When Elain gave Azriel a gift the first time, it was in front of everyone.

this earplug she not only lies that she had forgotten to give it earlier, she is also tense. She really was waiting for him to show up to give her the hidden gift.

he realizes that she lied. the gift he leaves in the pile there is much more personal than just a funny gift that NOBODY would feel mean if she were to give it. she says it was like that so Nesta wouldn't get upset, which I think is an exaggeration as Nesta herself was looking pretty good that day.

the item when she gives it she says it is to BLOCK any sound. and pages later we discover that Az feels a song and the shadows sang in response.... don't you think Elain isn't too suspicious? first is Nesta and Feyre being surprised by her, then Rhys saying we haven't seen the other side. Azriel and Cassian notice her tense and lying.

what do you think is going on?

I don't believe in Elain being villainous, but I do believe that she might be manipulating fate in some way. she may have had a vision, I don't know...

I never took her lying about "forgetting" to give him the gift as something suspicious. I read it more as if she and Az have been tiptoeing around one another, feeling like the other might be interested but not entirely sure. They have shared looks but really, neither has interacted much as of late. And rather than have him open up his gift in front of everyone and have their resulting interaction on display for the others, (and rather than draw his attention to her) she chose to leave it for him to find where he'd open it without an audience. At one point in SF Az offers Elain a small smile which she looks away from which puzzles Cassian. I really think for as much as Az has kept his thoughts of Elain a "secret", she's kind of been doing the same (which isn't forbidden love, it's two characters who on some subconscious level realize that their interest in one another isn't a good thing and wouldn't be embraced by the others).

Her hand shakes when she hands the gift to Az which reads as her being nervous around him. To me that speaks less about her being up to something shady (suspicious masterminds usually have a little more confidence in their questionable plans) and more points to the fact that she and Az don't know each other quite as well as some think.

And Nesta is in a better place but that still doesn't mean she'd be happy about a joke at her expense, especially as Nesta and Elain have been struggling with their relationship as of late.

The earplugs because of Nesta and Cassian are right in line with Elain's gift from last year (powder because of the headaches the others seem to give him). I think it shows that Elain, regardless of wanting to kiss Az, has kept her interest very surface level. There's no real depth to giving someone gag gifts. And if she truly wanted to prevent Az from "hearing" Gwyn's song, giving him an in disguise gag gift which probably won't be used (considering he never used the headache powder) isn't all that well thought out of a plot.

Based on Canon, Elain hasn't been having visions. She specifically says that she's willing to help with the Trove but she'd need time to reacquaint herself with her powers. Which makes sense since Nesta's powers were dormant prior to her book, I'd expect a regression to Elain's before her eventual book.

I also don't think we're going to see some cat fight type of drama between Elain and Gwyn. It's one thing for two females to directly be at odds with one another (Nesta and Mor) and quite another for one of those females to actively interfere with the other from getting close to a Male behind their back. There's no forgiveness to be had from Nesta if she finds out Elain was trying to manipulate Gwyn and Az's interactions.

These stories are about the sisters, not only finding their own paths and found families, but also coming to love and appreciate one another. The point of these stories is the female proving their worth, not proving they can't be trusted.

As far as Nesta and Feyre being surprised by her, I think that's because they truly have put Elain in a box and it's shocking to them when parts of her personality that don't match their idea of her peek through. Like when Elain said the Human Queens could go to Hell, it shocked Feyre because it was Elain who said it. Because in her mind, Elain doesn't say those things. But the fact is, Elain does say those things and they just don't pay close enough attention to who she is to realize it. I do think her moving with stealth is a new thing and probably related to future powers, but I don't think it's suspicious.

In regards to Cassian thinking Elain may not have been getting up early to help in the gardens, it's a big jump from Elain having any number of innocent reasons for wanting to excuse herself from the table to her doing something suspicious.

We know Az was at that dinner and in the POV chapter we find he rarely goes to family dinners as of late. Considering Elain looked away from Az's smile earlier in the book, maybe she did not want to remain at a dinner that he was randomly at when (he later notes) Elain is aware that Az has been avoiding spending extra time near her.

Maybe she actually can shift into an owl based on a certain hints and it's something she can't control yet. It was late at night and owls tend to hunt at night, maybe she felt the need to shift coming over her.

Neither of those things would be things she could come right out and say so she told a lie to cover it. Canonically, every character in this series has told a lie to a friend or their "family" but it's not with any ill intent.

There's a lot going on with Elain but I tend to think it's related to Elain's personal journey and everything she's going through rather than it having anything to do with Elain manipulating the others or unknowingly working against the others.

I love Feyre and the gang but not everything has to be about them. Elain’s story is a chance for her to shine independent of them (since I don't think she's meant to stay in the NC). So theories where Elain is being manipulated by a villain which will end up hurting the IC or where Elain herself is manipulating her family? Something like that just feeds into what they've all been thinking about her, that she can't handle anything too dangerous and that they were right for needing to protect her. There's no growth for Elain in that which is why I don't think the hints that you've mentioned have the dark intent to them that some believe.

#elain archeron #pro elain archeron #anti e/riel

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