#Elain needs sunshine therefore she needs her mate who is heir to the day court

[olenvasynyt]

"Elain doesn't need sunshine! She is sunshine!"

Let's ignore the part where Feyre asks Elain if she needs anything and Elain says "sunshine" for a sec (because a lot of E/riels enjoy ignoring Elain)--

So you agree? She is sunshine and light and therefore she doesn't belong in the NIGHT court? She belongs in another Court? Hmm idk what could Court that could be, though...maybe one that's associated with SUNshine and LIGHT like the DAY COURT?

[acourtofthought]

Lucien is the answer to everything Elain wants.

The author seamlessly wove into the story things he did or said almost in direct relation to things Elain said or asked for but she was clever enough to scatter these things throughout the series rather than making them in your face and written at the same time. Remember this is an author who only left hints for the Feysand bond, that only the most observant were able to pick up on during their first read. I was not one of them therefore I had to learn Sarah's style of writing but now that I have been paying attention I feel these things are easier to spot.

Not to forget one of the most obvious clues of all - Elain saying she needs sunshine, sitting by the sunniest windows as if any bit of darkness was abhorrent and Sarah retconning Lucien's father so that he's the heir to the Day Court.

That's the beauty of these characters and their journey to a HEA. Sarah seems to be telling us that in the end it really doesn't matter what Elain thinks she wants (or doesn't want) right now, she as the author will help her to come around to getting everything she ever asked for in her mate.

At the end of the day Elain can't actually want anything without Sarah writing into creation and I'm fairly sure by the end Sarah wants Elain with Lucien considering she made him so damn perfect for her. She's laid out all that we need to know regarding why she made them mates in the first place and is only waiting for their book to tie it all together.

By then Elain will have kissed all her frogs and be ready for her prince High Lord.

[helion-ism]

let’s talk about elucien

there are so many reasons why I love elain x lucien and why I think these two would not only be amazing together, but also why they belong together. one of those reasons is lucien’s sassy personality, which we already got a glimpse of in acotar (and that I miss terribly btw), and which is, in my opinion, exactly what elain needs in her life. we’re talking about lucien “your eyes are like stars, and your hair like burnished gold” vanserra. we know he’s got quite a big mouth, that’s how we got to know him, but we also know that mouth is exactly what’s gotten him into trouble before. case in point: the eye incident. lucien doesn’t mince his words and yes, that is one of the reasons why elain really needs to spend some more time with him. 

she has been coddled by not only her father, nesta, feyre, but also the entire inner circle, which has allowed her to live her life passively. yes, she killed the king of hybern, and good for her, but she did it because nobody else could have done it at that point in time. ever since the war ended, elain has not actively contributed to any plot matters, whether by choice or because someone else took the choice from her. azriel said in acosf, “there is an innate darkness to the dread trove that elain should not be exposed to.” even amren pointed out that elain is capable of defending herself, but for some reason, nobody let her even though elain said she would try to find it: “then I will find it. I might require some time to … reacquaint myself with my powers, but I could start today.” and yet,  by the end of the book, elain’s been barely in it and has not contributed at all. (I know some people claim there’s certain things already happening in the background, but honestly, I’m not satisfied with that development happening off page, so I can’t wait to finally go on her journey and actually see her do stuff)

this moment is crucial:

does it look like she is happy with the way the others treat her? not really. when nesta snapped at her, elain started laughing. that signals relief to me because nesta, the one who has always tried to protect elain the most (nesta baby Ilysm), is the one who suddenly lost her patience. elain needs somebody like lucien, somebody with a big mouth and sassy attitude, who can coax her out of that paralysis she’s been stuck in, a bit like nesta in this scene. additionally, the banter would be top tier. I want another “if I offer you the moon on a string, will you give me a kiss, too?” moment, please. god please. (elain blinks. “and where would you like that kiss?” — and lucien just loses his mind.)

another thing that lives in my head rent free is the fact that lucien has travelled almost everywhere and could introduce elain, who wishes to see more of the world (see: “elain had always wanted to visit the continent to study the tulips and other famed flowers”), to the different courts and the continent. I refuse to accept that we will not get to learn more about the other courts, for my sake, but also for elain’s sake. I want her to see the spring court at least once. I want her to go and see those tulips she’s dreamt of. I want her and lucien to discover the day court as a new home, which brings me to the next point. 

elain has been craving sunshine for some time now. there’s several quotes that emphasise her connection to sunshine/light, here are a few of my favourites: 

I marveled at it, actually — that those years of poverty hadn‘t stripped away that light from elain.

the suite was filled with sunlight. every curtain shoved back as far as it could go, to let in as much sun as possible. as if any bit of darkness was abhorrent.

she had been always so full of light. perhaps that was why she now kept all the curtains open. to fill the void that existed where all of that light had once been. and now nothing remained.

what can I get you, elain? — sunshine.

elain doesn’t belong into the night court. feyre has found her family there, with rhys and the inner circle. nesta has found (or should I say accepted) cassian and found gwyn and emerie, her chosen sisters. but elain?

elain is somewhere in the background hiding with the twins and tending to gardens of the citizens of velaris. you can’t tell me that is satisfactory to you. she is currently ignoring her seer abilities, and the members of the inner circle are basically encouraging her to do so. the only time she’s been confronted lately was during that conversation with nesta and her reaction was not exactly what any of us readers would have expected, was it? that tells me there’s much more about her we don’t know yet, and I’m convinced we won’t know until she finally leaves and finds her own people, finds herself again and start dealing with everything that happened to her. elain must leave the night court, i.e. the darkness, behind in order to grow.

the same goes to lucien: he’s not at a place where he can just jump into a relationship or mating bond. he’s got so much stuff going on. lucien was forced to abandon his home and his abusive family, his “father” killed the fae he loved in front of his eyes, his best friend is an abusive pos who never appreciated him anyway, and neither has anyone in the night court. lucien is used because of his connections and because of the mating bond that ties him to elain, whether he wanted it or not. feyre knows he would never turn away from elain unless she explicitly wishes him to, and so she and rhys and the others use that to their advantage. it is smart, of course, but at the same time, they also keep important information about his own life from him that could change many, many things. so he’s spending his time with mortals in the human lands — a place where he as a fae really does not belong. 

lucien being the heir to the day court, well, to me, it feels like sjm is practically screaming it into our face: how could he find a home in the night court, the literal opposite to the day? darkness vs. light. and what about elain “he’d never once in the two years he’d known her found elain to be plain, but wearing black, no matter how much she claimed to be part of this court … it sucked the life from her” archeron? just looking at the symbolism, not only do the quotes from above indicate that the night court cannot possibly be her home, but also very recent quotes from the latest book. elain is a side character in the night court. and so is lucien. they both need to leave in order to become main characters — and it doesn’t even matter that both are already crucial to the further plot of the series because how can they possibly contribute to it in a place where they are both kept down? 

mor said in acofas: “stay out of it. she’s not ready, and neither is he, no matter how many presents he brings.” and “let him figure out where he wants to be. who he wants to be. the same goes with her.” mor’s power is “truth”, whatever that means. but there you have it. they’re not ready to be with each other yet, and that’s okay. 

[elain and lucien are also connected not only because of the mating bond, but also because of the plot. lucien must know quite a lot about her and her sisters simply because of all the time he spent with their father. the father who made a bargain with koschei. koschei who put a spell on vassa. lucien is therefore tied to both papa archeron as well as koschei and vassa. elain, we know, is a seer, despite her not using her abilities (or is she, and we simply don’t know?). elain is (obviously) connected to her father, but also to koschei and vassa (remember those visions she had).]

now let’s get to the mating bond stuff, and I need to say this loud and clear: elain has always had and will always have one (1) true mate. there’s no such thing as “false mate” or even multiple mates. there has been no indication whatsoever. lucien is the mate the cauldron had given her when she was born. and elain is the mate the cauldron had given him when he was born. even when she was still human, they already belonged together — tied together by strings of fate. absolutely nothing will change this fact. should elain reject the bond, lucien will remain a part of her life/her soul forever. should lucien reject the bond, elain will remain a part of his life/his soul forever.

when she was still human, lucien had already felt a pull between them and tried to save and protect her from hybern. when elain was already fae, when it came to protecting her, azriel clapped cassian’s shoulder and left (is this the true mate they’re all talking about?). it’s unfair to lucien, elain, AND azriel and this comparison alone is enough to disprove this theory.

the thing is, lucien has been nothing but respectful, kind and caring towards elain. when he arrived in velaris in acowar, he could immediately sense what she needed and said, “she needs fresh air” (vs. the response “we’ll judge what she needs”) and “take her to the sea. take her to some garden. but get her out of this house for an hour or two.” (I’m gonna make another post about this because I have a few thoughts on this)

of course, she doesn’t owe him anything, but elain herself doesn’t wish to be treated like a child, she maybe she should start acting like an adult because although she doesn’t owe lucien an apology or explanation, she has to have a conversation with him, like two responsible adults. there is no way feyre or anyone in the inner circle hasn’t told her that she can reject the bond and move on with her life. but just like her powers, this is another thing she chooses to ignore. I’m not blaming her because I know she has to work through her trauma first and heal, but by the end of the series, she has to acknowledge that at least.

in acosf, elain says “I am not a child to be fought over” when they discuss the dread trove. I wonder what she would say about the fact azriel threatens to challenge lucien to the blood duel because of her? based on literally everything we know about lucien, I can say with certainty that he would not physically fight over elain. if she only had a conversation with him and told him to move on and leave her alone, lucien would do just that. he would leave her alone and try to move on as best as he could (which we know is difficult for males). but he would never act as entitled to her as to demand a blood duel and fight to death. it goes against his principles. 

to finish this off, sjm summing up everything I just said:

[acourtofthought]

your last theory post is sooo true and the irony is that Azriel is like, the most angry and violent fae to ever walk the earth... they are so deeply mismatched it hurts that they have so much traction from people who don't understand their characterization.

You message is giving me a platform to bring up something I've been thinking about ever since I saw something in the Elain tag (posted by an E/riel) so thank you for that!

They were making fun of Elucien's and Gwynriels who claim that because Gwyn and Az both sing and are winners of the Rite, because Elain and Lucien are both good at talking to others and enjoy nature it means they're compatible in a way E/riel are not.

Their counter argument was that Rhys does not paint and Rowan does not play an instrument therefore an endgame pairing doesn't need to share in the same hobbies.

Which is valid.

But these are the exact same people who claim Vassa and Lucien are endgame because of the "Lord of Flame and Bird of Fire" line.

That's pretty much the entirety of what the Vassien ship is based on for them. Similar powers somehow equals endgame but not matching interests.

They'll claim it's also because Lucien blushed when Feyre called him an acolyte (though he looked right at his mate during that interaction) but they'll ignore how Az actually blushed at Mor and looked at her with yearning with Elain in the room. Or because Lucien looked relaxed talking to Vassa after the war but please show me what endgame pairing has looked like friends before beginning to fall for one another? I mean, in early days, not the enemies to friends to lovers trope she does during a characters arc. Please show me an SJM endgame pairing where the guy has been living with his supposed endgame love interest for an entire year as friends but still looks at another girl with longing? And not just any girl, his mate!

Similar interests are not the end all for a true match but neither are similar powers.

And when you look at the characters outside of their hobbies (as you pointed out in regards to their characterization), that's where their true compatibility shows.

Az is violent. Like seriously violent. Knows how to torture in a symphony of pain that made Feyre uncomfortable to witness just a bit of it violent.

Elain is bothered by cruelty and Az says she has no idea the things he's done.

Gwyn may not have witnessed Az torture a defenseless person but she has seen him slaughter men in front of her showing no mercy. She was also excited over the thought of the Valkyrie's crushing skulls.

I think it's pretty apparent which female is more compatible with Az.

Elain is very social, loves parties and balls, loves talking to people, loves sunshine.

Az is reserved, likes his space, is not very social, and prefers the shadows (and his are actually afraid of the sun). He says his shadows keep him company meaning they are independent of him, sentient.

Gwyn was training by herself in the cold of night and treated the shadows as if they were their own persons. She finds the most comfort in the library which is inside a mountain.

Elain has never acknowledged his shadows as individuals.

Lucien loves parties and is amazing at talking to others. He is also the heir to the Day Court throne and that means lots of Sun.

The author also said that Elain and Lucien are happiest in nature, something she's never said of Az.

Elain and Az don't need the same hobbies but it wouldn't be a terrible thing if they had some of them, correct?

That's still not the most important thing though, what is, is sharing in the same core values and they are not even close when it comes to those. Az and Elain might find one another attractive but they have nothing beyond looks that would keep them together.