The way that people in the fandom infantilise Elain and Az drives me crazy.
Az isn’t just some poor sad boy who is always being kicked when he’s down. He’s the Spymaster of the Night Court. He’s besties with the High Lord of the Night Court. His actual family sucks but he was taken in and raised and helped by Rhys’s mom. He befriended Rhys and Cassian when they were teens. He’s incredibly powerful (see: the number of siphons). He is NOT getting rejected all the time. He has friends, he has a great job, he has a lot of magic power, he has plenty of lovers. The only thing holding him back is himself.
And then the same thing with Elain. Her problem right now is that she has been protected and coddled her whole life. It’s really a first world problem tbh. Yes she experienced trauma. But she’s also got an amazing support system and people giving her the space and time (and food on her plate and a roof over her head and zero pressure to do anything with her mating bond, etc.) to heal in whatever way she sees fit. No one who cares about her is lying to her or withholding information, she isn’t such a complete fucking dumbass that she doesn’t understand what’s happening in her own life.
I just go nuts any time I see people talk about either of them as if either of them are in the least bit prevented from getting through their shit. The only people stopping them are themselves. And yeah that’s lowkey another reason I don’t ship it, they are too similar in their avoidance and so they would enable each other’s worst habits.
And you know, the way that people in the fandom infantilise them is the same reason they have problems in canon. Everyone treats both Az and Elain with kid gloves, as if they are so fragile and weak and stupid that the wrong word will set them off. They treat one another like that too. (See: every time Az makes himself seem less threatening so he doesn’t upset her.) it’s just an odd choice to me, to replicate the problems with how the IC treats them in our fandom disk horse.
