[flourblooms]

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#FLOURBLOOMS an independent and very selective dual muse rp blog for catherine pinkerton 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 loosely based on 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 & 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝 ⅋⅋ elain archeron loosely based on 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬. sporadic to low activity. author & canon critical — portrayal will be mainly based on headcanons and my own interpretation ❣ mature themes will be present. 21+ONLY: minors do not follow. multi-fandom, crossover and oc friendly! est. june 2026. ʟᴏᴠᴇᴅ ʙʏ ɴɪɴᴀ 🍉, 30, she/her, timezone GMT+10.

a study in: the long road to wanting something for yourself, what it costs a woman to choose, becoming and unbecoming, leading with the heart and being punished for it, how one leads when heartless, daughters of expectations, prophecy vs chosen fate

𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐃. / 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐓𝐒. / 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐄'𝐒 𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐓. / 𝐄𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐍'𝐒 𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐓.

post dividers credit © : beautyrph

[nikethestatue]

Bethgilbert_art new Elain redraw

The initial art remains my personal favorite

[fawnsgarden]

elain as a broken doll - moodboard

"she ignored me, and saw elain as barely more than a doll to dress up" "elain is pleasant to look at, her mother had once mused (...), but she has no ambition. she does not dream beyond her garden and pretty clothes. she will be an asset on the marriage market for us one day, if that beauty holds" "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"

[kingmaketh]

weeks prior, he had offered her a blade along with his confession. she had dropped it as though it was scalding to the touch, denied herself of revenge. denied him of a well-earned death. (the gods mock him, he assumes. for as many times he's attempted to die and accept his fate, they insist he lives.) for awhile, he thought her to be gone from his life. he didn't seek her out. didn't attempt to find  a way to reach her. it was best to let her go. his heart was betraying him when she was around. affections had begun to bloom, there were moments he'd almost forgotten what he'd done. but in the end, he's no more than a monster undeserving of her presence and her care. let alone the hope of reciprocation.

she has returned and for the first time, he has come across her fully. he'd only caught glimpses from afar – usually in moments he'd assumed she calculated a means of avoiding him. criston felt brave enough this day. and his attempt at requesting peace is met with a question that catches him off guard. of course he'd seen the seeds. he'd wondered what they were – hoped he planted them appropriately. (he settled on believing them to be flower seeds. she seemed to enjoy flowers. but in the case he happens to be wrong, he only hopes he hadn't planted a large vegetable by the tiger lilies. ❝ i did. they … they've not yet begun to bloom or grow. only a few days have passed. ❞ but they've been tended to and watered daily, much like the rest of their hard work. he watches the back of her head, gaze eventually glancing to the window. fragmented reflection, yet it's the most he's seen of her in so long. ❝ have you … returned? or do you mean to leave again? ❞

[flourblooms]

Elain doesn’t so much as flinch when he answers; a moment’s pause before her eyes find his reflection in the window. Blurred by the dim light, but she could have sworn he’d been looking back. It makes her heart leap more than his answer alone should account for. Her hands find each other in her lap, picking at a nail as she wrestles herself still in her seat.

“ I fear I have overstayed the Sunstones’ kindness. I should not burden them any longer than I already have. ” She feels utterly alone hearing herself; she hadn’t realised how far away she is from her own family until the first night she stayed at the family’s humble roof. Elain had been proud of the life she’d built with Criston; one she believed to be a life of her own choosing, blissfully happy. She had not noticed the bramble growing up around it; thorn over thorn, tended by nothing but his silence until it becomes the very thing that shuts her in. Leaving her blind to what lay past the hedge he had let her believe held the whole of the garden. 

And still, Elain would not let go of the seeds; she cannot let go of wondering whether he had planted them that very same day she had left them for him, whether the hand that once held a sword for a man’s death now held a blade for nothing more than cutting stems. Finally, she turns in her seat to meet his gaze, surprised to find no fight left in her for him at all. “ Do you wish for me to leave? I — I suppose I should . . . I shall need a few days to see to my things ─── ”

[bookished]

( a collection of morally complex, emotionally tangled tropes where relationships clash with ethics, loyalty, or personal codes dialogue prompts. adjust phrasing as necessary.) feel free to make edits to better suit your muse, but please don’t edit or add on to the original post <3 if you like, please consider supporting me through tips

"I’d burn the world for you, but you’re asking me to burn the wrong one."

"Don’t mistake my love for agreement. I will not stand beside you in this."

"You’re still my heart, but right now, you are also my enemy."

"I swore to protect you, not to help you ruin yourself."

"You disgust me, but no one deserves what they’re doing to you."

"If anyone’s going to destroy you, it’s me. Not them."

"I’d sooner spit in your face than call you friend, but I will not watch them gut you."

"Don’t read too much into this... I’m saving you because their cause is worse than yours."

"We’ve been enemies for years, but today… we fight the same battle."

"Our morals are oceans apart, but even I can see they’re drowning you."

"The side I’ve chosen would spit on me for helping you. I’ll do it anyway."

"You are everything I oppose, and yet—if I let them take you, I’ll be no better than you are."

"I’d forgive you for anything, but not for this."

"I’m not leaving because I stopped loving you. I’m leaving because I still do."

"My heart says stay. My conscience says run."

"If you keep down this road, I will have to stop you, and I will."

"You’re the one I want beside me, not the one who drags me into darkness."

"I’ll stand with you through storms, but not if you’re the storm itself."

"I’m bound to you by love, but unbound by your choices."

"I wish I could close my eyes to this, but I see too much."

"I hate you for what you did, but not for what they’re about to do to you."

"I’d sooner turn my back than help you, but I won’t let them break you."

"I loathe your decisions, but I despise their cruelty even more."

"You’ve made me angry, but seeing you hurt makes my blood boil."

"I want to forgive you, but I must punish you."

"My love for you doesn’t exempt you from consequences."

"You’re my weakness and my reckoning."

"If I shield you, I betray everything I stand for."

"You’re the reason I fight and the reason I hesitate."

"You are my enemy, but I cannot fight the part of me that loves you."

"Every battle with you is a battle with myself."

"I hate that I love you more than I fear you."

"I love you enough to be your greatest obstacle."

"Sometimes the hardest love is the one that says no."

"I’m not your ally here. I’m the voice you need to hear, even if you hate me for it."

"If letting you fall means saving you, then I’ll catch you—but only after the fall."

“Hating you doesn’t mean I want you harmed.”

"I wish you were better, but I refuse to let them make you worse."

"I hate what you’ve become, but I hate the thought of losing you even more."

"Your choices break my heart, but their punishment will break you."

"I hate you fiercely, but I’d fight anyone who tries to break you."

“I will stand against you—for your own good.”

[klutzy-booksandroses]

Based on the inflammatory language Elain antis use, you would think she was Maeve, meanwhile, this is her˚˖𓍢ִ໋❀

ACOTAR Chapter 29

ACOWAR Chapter 16

ACOWAR Chapter 79

...I get the distinct impression that they react to her the way the Valg react to Yrene.

.✦ ݁˖The dark and the hateful fear the light.✦ ݁˖

[flourblooms]

i was so sleep deprived after taking my husband to the airport on friday morning (at 3am btw) and accidentally slept for 12 hours since 10 pm last night......

i was supposed to wake up at 7 this morning so i can support hubs marathon in spirit

[alicent-florent]

Hannah Dodd as Francesca Bridgerton BRIDGERTON — S4E3: The Field Next to the Other Road

[bornofthedawn]

it felt very reassuring to hear from someone that she was, in fact, not being foolish ⸻ despite plenty of suitors making their desire for her hand known. seeing elain tonight, she realized she should have chosen as her friend had; darkened colors, a somberness to the garb. aurora was dressed in her usual light colors that seemed to enhance the golden sheen to her hair. tonight, a pale shade of lavender was draped over her fair skin.

" if you ask me, it sounds like he was coached on what to say to a lady. " she remarked cheekily, but nodded her head in agreement. " of course, i do not believe you should accept compliments from a man that seldom reflect you. " aurora stopped pacing to add, " and if a man complimented my embroidery, i fear i would laugh in his face ⸻ for i do not touch needles to save my life. "

[flourblooms]

Elain giggles,as though they were little girls again, trading secrets only they know. It is soon followed by a pensive smile as Aurora’s comment makes her think of her mother. A gentleman likes a woman who can sit still. He would rather you wear that pink dress, not that pitiful blue. She is coached too, in her own way; though, her mother had promised her love at the end of it, not merely a husband who finds her tolerable. She never wants to stop believing in that promise. But some nights, such as this one, she is reminded that it is not these men who made her that promise.

“ Perfect — I am in dire need for a good laugh, ” Elain rises, brushing away the wrinkles and stray petals from her dress. She glances towards the source of the music before offering Aurora her hand. “ Come – I’ll introduce you to Lord Martin. Between the two of us and him tripping over his own rehearsed lines  — I daresay you’ll forget about sparks entirely. Just for tonight. ”

[petalsprompts]

𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐃 / 𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐄𝐕𝐀𝐋 𝐒𝐂𝐄𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐈𝐎𝐒; 𝙿𝚃. 𝟸.

a  collection  of  scenarios  &  interactions  appropriate  for  period/medieval  rp.  specify  muse  where  needed, add "FIRST" if this would be their first time interacting, and switch sender/receiver to change roles. + part one.

[  broken  solace  ]  the  sender,  searching  for  a  quiet  area,  accidentally  disturbs  the  receiver  in  their  own  moment  of  solace.

[  get  off  the  road!  ]  the  sender  knows  that  some  bandits/thieves  are  coming  down  the  road,  and  drags  the  receiver  into  the  nearby  brush  to  protect  them.

[  slippery  slope  ]  winter  setting!  the  sender  grabs  onto  the  receiver's  arm  to  avoid  losing  their  balance  on  an  icy  patch  of  ground.

[  wild  berries  ]  our  muses  run  into  each  other  whilst  one,  or  both,  are  picking  wild  berries.

[  lost  my  way  ]  the  sender  spots  the  receiver,  who  seems  lost,  and  approaches  to  ask  if  they  need  help  finding  their  way.

[  STOP  !  ]  the  receiver  hears  the  sender's  voice  yell  out,  warning  the  receiver  that  they  are  about  to  step  into  an  animal  trap  sender  has  set.

[  mistaken  identity  ]  the  sender  approaches  the  receiver,  about  to  start  a  conversation,  before  stopping  and  saying,  "oh, i'm sorry,  i  thought  you  were  someone  else..."

[  can  you  reach  that?  ]  the  shorter  of  our  two  muses  asks  the  taller  to  reach  a  piece  of  fruit  from  a  tree,  or  something  from  a  higher  shelf,  etc.

[  work  for  food  /  board  ]  the  sender  asks  the  receiver  if  they  can  work  for  a  hot  meal  and  a  place  to  sleep  for  the  night.

[  ripped  and  torn  ]  the  receiver  has  a  torn  garment,  and  the  sender  offers  to  stitch/repair  it  for  them.

[  hottest  day  yet  ]  the  sender  strips  of  their  clothes  and  is  enjoying  a  swim  to  cool  off,  after  a  moment  they  realise  they  are  not  alone  when  they  spot  the  receiver.

[  a  storm  on  the  horizon  ]  dark  clouds  roll  in,  the  wind  picks  up,  and  the  receiver  hears  a  knock  at  their  door.  the  sender  is  there,  asking  for  shelter  as  the  rain  begins.

[  follow  the  smoke  ]  the  sender  follows  the  sight/smell  of  smoke,  worried  a  fire  may  threaten  them,  and  instead  comes  across  the  campsite  of  the  receiver.

[fxllenone]

@flourblooms :  ❝ who cares if it bleeds. ❞   from catherine. ✉

 a furrowed brow lifted in utmost revulsion, twisting himself to look upon her face of ghastly sallow apathy. the likes of such carelessness valanthē had not witnessed since his last excursions with satan's very own spawn. there lying at his feet was a presumed ❛ guilty ❜ victim of what he could only imagine were the queen's infamous whims for execution, carrying on with bloodcurdling shrieks.

 ❝ ah, quite right you are ! ❞ valanthē gave an airy twittering laugh aloud as he waved his hand in total dismissal, greeting her monotonous indifference with his own gleeful sarcasm. ❝ and to think i nearly wasted your majesty's precious time with such frivolities. one's writhing pain and pleas for mercy are of no concern to the conscience of a queen, surely. ❞

 a single knee bent down to the ground in order to touch the pitiful stranger, staining his skin with memories and fear alike once brushing the back of his hand against their pale dying cheek in a small act of comfort. he had the capacity to save them of their fate, to ignore the hierarchy of this wretched kingdom which he infiltrated for reasons still to be discovered. perhaps his queen had a point. what was one life, if saving them meant causing a rift for other innocents still beholden to the oh so unpredictable king and queen of hearts?

 ❝ how could i ever be forgiven for my insolence? ❞ he seethed through gritted teeth bore like a wolf ready to pounce, calling upon heaven's virtue to permit him enough strength not to cast holy judgement on the very woman who held near absolute power in this strange twisted land.

[flourblooms]

Catherine remains blissfully still in her throne, its heart-shaped headrest looms behind her like a grim halo for the woman who would not so much as spare a glance at the headless corpse. She meets Valanthē’s expression with a bored look; her chin tilted, just enough to look down at him. She has half a mind to make it two executions, if she must, should he say something that does not please her. When he finally has the sense to laugh it off, a smirk plays about the young queen’s blood-red lips. What a waste of time indeed to speak so long of something so unremarkable. She had never once seen a man grow gleeful at his own execution (now wouldn’t that be truly mad?). Pleading for mercy and writhing in pain is simply what dying looks like. 

Catherine had not considered, until this moment, that she might be in the company of a half-wit. 

Feeling rather satisfied with herself that the matter is now settled, her attention shifts to her nails. Missing how he moves to touch the corpse; though she has never much cared what her subjects do with their grief so long as they do it quickly, or preferably, elsewhere. Wonderlanders do not linger; death is a shameful thing to dwell on.

“ — Forgiven? Forgiven for what? ” She answers him without even a glance his way. Her focus remains picking at the stain beneath her nail; what terrible work, she thinks absently and wonders, if the servant responsible might yet be her second head today. Catherine shifts in her throne; when her eyes finally find his face, she thinks nothing of it. “ You said . . . something. I answered, and you agreed with me. I see no insolence — only foolishness that we continue to speak of it for this long. ” She waves a hand; two Clubs move hastily to retrieve the body, carrying it out of sight. Then she sneers at Valanthē. “ Oh, spare me. That — does nothing for your face. Whatever that is, do put it away. I’ve grown tired of looking at you. ” 

Catherine sighs, and lets her head sink into her palm. “ I’ve had quite enough ugliness for one afternoon; one more and I shall have a headache . . . ─── I want the girl who butchered my nails. Fetch her — before I forget why I’m angry! ” She commands without lifting her poor, little head, listening only for footsteps (Two and Five of Clubs) hurrying out the room to retrieve her next ‘ victim ’.

[cybersigilisticpony]

— acotar elain ‧₊˚ ☁️⋅♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

[gentlehearted-kingslayer-deacti]

Elain Archeron and Her Mother

Currently Thinking Of This Scene in Chapter 21 of ACOSF

“‘Maybe you’ll become interesting at last, Elain.’” Nesta saw the blow land, like a physical impact, in Elain’s face, her posture. No one spoke, though shadows gathered in the corners of the room, like snakes preparing to strike. Elain’s eyes brightened with pain. Something imploded in Nesta’s chest at that expression. She opened her mouth, as if it could somehow be undone.”

And not because of the shadows, but because of how much Nesta hurt Elain with that line

Maybe you’ll become interesting at last, Elain

And now I can’t stop thinking of why she must have been so hurt. 

Her mother.

We see a glimpse of their childhood through Nesta’s eyes. We saw their mother say things about Elain, which Nesta then uses to hurt Elain. 

But that scene in Chater 21 struck something in Elain. The comments Nesta made in Chapter 17 did not do much damage. But this? This hurt.

We know about what their mother would tell Nesta, but what did the mother tell Elain? 

In Chapter 4 of ACOSF this is said

“Imagined it running its shimmering fingers down her cheek, as her mother had done for her and her alone. ‘My Nesta. Elain shall wed for love and beauty, but you, my cunning little queen … You shall wed for conquest.’”

as her mother had done for her and her alone

We know that Elain and Feyre were neglected by their mother as this is said by Feyre in Chapter 11

“’She ignored me, and saw Elain as barely more than a doll to dress up, but Nesta was hers. Our mother made sure we knew it. Or she just cared so little what we thought or did that she didn’t bother to hide it from us.’”

Elain shall wed for love and beauty

We know that what the mother said about Nesta came true. She technically did wed for conquest. And I think that Elain will marry for love and beauty. But that statement contradicts a bit the mother’s other statements.

In Chapter 17 we see this 

“Elain is pleasant to look at, her mother had once mused while Nesta sat beside her dressing table, a servant silently brushing her mother’s gold-brown hair, but she has no ambition. She does not dream beyond her garden and pretty clothes. She will be an asset on the marriage market for us one day, if that beauty holds, but it will be our own maneuverings, Nesta, not hers, that win us an advantageous match. Nesta had been twelve at the time. Elain barely eleven.”

Being an asset on the marriage market does not sound like Elain would’ve had a choice with who she married. It seems like Elain was probably going to be given to the highest bidder. The mother knew Elain’s beauty would gain her suitors. She didn’t need to do anything else, her beauty would win it all.

But she had to make sure that Elain didn’t do anything that would hurt her chances. 

Elain Archeron, the most beautiful of all. She could bring kings to their knees with a face like hers. She would be a great piece to have in this chess game.

But men don’t want a woman with a brain. 

Men don’t want a woman who uses her mouth to speak.

They want a good girl with a pretty face and a nice smile.

Elain Archeron having a thought? ABSURD!

She wasn’t allowed to think or do or be, it made her less eligible on the marriage market. Elain had to be the pawn, only going forward by another person’s hand. Her mother’s hand. And now Rhysand’s hand I’m sorry I just couldn’t stop myself

 Her mother saw her as a dress up doll. An inanimate object that doesn’t speak. Doesn’t think. They sit still and look pretty and are there for other people to play with. For other people’s enjoyment. We don’t have the full story of Elain’s relationship with her mother but we know it’s not a good one. So did Elain have no ambition or did the mother suppress it? Because I am pretty sure it’s the second one. 

The Archeron sisters’ mother took Nesta’s love of dance and turned it into a weapon. But she didn’t take away Nesta’s love for reading. Do you not think that maybe she took away Elain’s own love of something and forbade her? Do you think that gardening was the only thing Elain has ever been allowed to do, so she used it to her advantage? 

In Chapter 12 of ACOWAR Feyre says this about Elain

“‘It drove the servants mad, because they were supposed to do the work and ladies were only meant to clip a rose here and there, but Elain would put on a hat and gloves and kneel in the dirt, weeding. She acted like a purebred lady in every regard but that.’”

Gardening was an act of defiance. She took what she was given and used it to rebel. Rebel against the rules, against the control, against her mother. It may have been subtle, but it is powerful. 

I believe that Elain’s gardening is kind of like Nesta’s reading (Nesta’s reading wasn’t like Elain’s act of rebellion, but it is a small hobby compared to her other love of dance). Which means that there is something else about Elain that is equivalent to Nesta’s dancing. Something that the mother tried to take away from her.

Why else would Elain hide this side of her? We know that what the mother said about Elain having no ambition isn’t true. But it seems like most of these characters in this series don’t know that. They don’t see her like we do (Elain stans lol)

In the Feysand POV Rhysand says this

“‘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.’”

Elain couldn’t disappoint her mother. Again, Feyre says that the mother didn’t try to hide that she didn’t care about her and Elain. Can you imagine how that must have felt? To know that no matter what you do, no matter how perfect you act, no matter how good you are, you still won’t be enough? 

This is why Elain was so hurt by Nesta’s words. She was hearing her mother. Seeing her mother. And in that moment she saw another person underestimate her yet again. In that moment, she was reminded of who she had to become to survive.

Elain became quiet and cooperative in order to please her mother, which made her think that that was the best way to please everyone else. And it made the mother and everyone else think that Elain couldn’t be anything more. But now this mask is cracking and this other side of her is showing. And it’s about time. 

The mother claimed that it would be her and Nesta’s maneuverings, not Elain’s, that would win them advantageous matches. But I don’t think that’s true.

Elain Archeron has been underestimated time and time again. And I truly believe that she is going to be the Grandmaster in this game of chess. 

Elain Archeron will be the pawn turned Queen. Are you ready for it?

[lasaraconor]

Forever ruthless and forever impenetrable.

[promiseofspring]

Character Study: Elain Acotar-verse

I still find myself back and forth with this because this would mean establishing that Feyre is an unreliable narrator (which is not a bad thing tbh, as we're all our own narrators of our story) or I am retconning book 1 but hear me out because I think this will connect well with my present Elain headcanon.

Elain's strength is mostly invisible; unlike her sisters, Feyre who had practical skills in hunting, skinning, etc for food and Nesta, in managing the household and practically being the head of the family with their father in a depressive state, Elain takes on most of the emotional labour in the family, in addition to doing other household chores that Nesta doesn't pick up on. Keeping the bedsheets clean, making sure to open the curtains to let the sunlight in every day -- little things of comfort that sustains the health of the mind more than the body. It's fair that these contributions are often overlooked by both sisters where visible strength has more value in survival than the little things.

Then comes fact that Elain only grew flowers during this time, which Feyre was irritated by. It comes off as impractical or even naive, but with the condition the Archerons were in, they were not in the position to be able to grow crops: limited land, water, tools etc all required some level of financial stability to support.

She does, however, try to sell these to earn some money: flower crowns for festivals, flowers for decoration but with how their family fell from grace (fortune), not many people wants to associate themselves with the Archerons and so she doesn't get much interest. Whatever little profit she does get from this, would be used for small, day-to-day household things like soap, seeds, medicine to alleviate her father's pain.

While she's not purposely dabbled with making medicine, etc, she still dabbles, albeit, unknowingly. For example, growing chamomile for her father's tea to help with his depression, and other simple recipes passed down from her mother/grandmother or things she learns from observing or trial and error. In no way she would push this as medicinal or being an expert in that area. So while she sees and also tries to find opportunities in gaining profit from this, she would still find herself more often than not offering these to others freely out of kindness. Maybe even naively believing that things that keeps people in good health shouldn't cost a thing. And again, with her family not having the best rapport at this point in time, she wouldn't have many interest/potential customers anyway if she had.

[sarosastro]

excitement flares up inside the other, revealing an unquestionable passion for the topic at hand. this excitement does not infect sarastro, but he does return a hardly visible smile, staring at her through eyes it does not reach. “ you'll learn them. if you read a book. ” about gardening, he means, but doesn't clarify. if she wants to take it as an insult, then he will not stop her.

“ but i suppose it doesn't matter much which name you call them. ” he purses his lips then, brow furrowed. he almost seems surprised by his own admission as he scans the soil. it isn't proper speak for a passionate botanist, much less a perfectionist like he is, but it is true. “ their latin name doesn't tell you what they need to live, exactly. what makes them thrive, how to keep them alive . . . or what they can be used for. ”

he holds a finger to his lips, pausing in thought. “ are you planning to make use of their medicinal properties, or are you simply growing them for pleasure ? ” the question holds no ill intent, his tone holds no mockery. sarastro merely wants to make sure of this before he'll dive more deeply into a topic that the other might have no interest in after all.

[flourblooms]

Elain’s smile of wonder drops at his response, turning into a slight pout. Her brows knit in confusion. Sarastro had been dismissive. She is nearly certain of it. But the rest of it lands so very differently, as though he had set out to offend her only to change his mind mid-thought. Or perhaps simply thinking aloud, taking her along for the journey; only to arrive at a conclusion she cannot help but agree with: what good would knowing a plant’s latin name be, if one does not know how to cherish what they grow?

Elain may agree with him, but if Sarastro will not claim the insult, she will decide it had cost him his former point. 

His question draws her forward slightly, and Elain’s smile returns, earnest and completely unguarded. “ Well, at present — for pleasure, mostly. ” Her own answer gives her pause. She had grown nothing truly useful, not for all those years of trying. Even when her younger sister hunted to keep them fed, her garden had given back beauty first, medicine second. The books her mother had left were a different kind of useless altogether: how to arrange flowers for a suitor, how to press them into letters.

“ Though I have been meaning to learn, you see — I found a book in my sister’s private library. The Healer’s Grimoire: Herbal Remedies of Prythian. Have you heard of it? I can read most of it well enough — it is only the latin names I still struggle to pronounce. ─── I haven’t quite decided how to tell my sisters I’d like to start experimenting. ”

[dailyflicks]

PRACTICAL MAGIC (1998) Dir. Griffin Dunne