I found my official least favorite line in the ACOTAR series. 🤮
First of all - who picked out the clothes? Ianthe used to but at this point I don't think Feyanthe are on speaking terms, so Feyre must have picked it out. To appear harmless, I get, since she's undercover here and doesn't want to attract attention. But what's the deal with the second part?
Tamlin doesn't even attempt to seduce her until she gives him cues later on. And then backs off once she turns him away with her whole Lucien nightmare comforting scheme. In no way is he trying to treat her the way she suggests, nor has he ever.
From a meta perspective, I hate that the fact that she thinks being dressed feminine and wearing pink means she's portraying herself as a sex object (but only for the High Lords, she's a high class courtesan) without a will of her own who just exists to be submissive and used. Also what does this say about how she thinks about her sisters, who do dress feminine, especially Elain?
But if there is a High Lord who does want to "mount" Feyre whenever and wherever he wishes and in front of whomever, there is another one.
I‘m too tired to clean and render these, so just accept the smudged version. I still have to design Rhys and I actually want him to to wear ottoman/turkish inspired clothing (and more fairy like), so don’t take this weird- looking top literally. I like how Tamlin turned out though.
People saying Rhysand was the only one who taught Feyre to read and write and that Tamlin wanted to keep Feyre illiterate...
Tamlin shows her his library, literally offers to teach her, to help her write her letters. And she says no.
He then writes her a series of limericks using words that he knows she struggles with (!) to help her understand their meaning through context.
Hello?? He tried writing love poems at first and then turned to filthy limericks instead. My heart.
That's so sweet! It's funny, it's witty. He's helping her while being careful to not embarrass her. He cares. He notices her struggle. He teaches her without patronizing her. Makes her laugh. Sharing something about himself in the process.
And he does it without having her write lines about him being the most handsome, most powerful and bestest man in the entire world. Funny how that's possible.
So much unfolded between the pages, but before ACOTAR began… I like to think there were quiet moments like this. A dozing Lucien, a calm Tamlin, and a stolen moment of peace between all the courtly chaos.
I truly hope we get more of this duo in the upcoming books. Tamlin and Lucien deserve their happy endings… but they also deserve to find their way back to each other 🧡.
It’s genuinely amusing how Tamlin is painted as the ultimate villain in the narrative, yet before the chaos with Feyre, his entire court was ready to lay down their lives for him. Meanwhile, it’s almost comical that two-thirds of Rhysand’s court, the very individuals he relies on for military support, harbor such animosity toward him that they actively want to see him dead.
Reminder: Rhysand said, and I quote, Neither side is innocent about a war in which one side was fighting for their freedom and to end their enslavement, while the other was fighting to keep slaves, to keep owning people.
Yeah, for me, that speaks more about his character than all the so-called good deeds he claims he's done.
Mor sipped her tea, the portrait of elegant innocence. “We’d be better off throwing Nesta into the Court of Nightmares. She’d thrive there.”
✧˖°.
Morrigan’s gaze swept over Nesta’s face, noting the lack of sweat or flushed skin, the hair barely out of place. The female said quietly, “My vote would have been to dump you right back in the human lands, you know.”
✧˖°.
Dark fire simmered in Morrigan’s eyes. “I knew plenty of people like you[Nesta] once.” Her hand drifted to her abdomen. “You never deserve the benefit of the doubt that good people like him[Cassian] give you.”
Okay we've all talked about the ridiculousness of 17 years old Morrigan being promised to 9 years old Eris. But can we talk about 9 years old Eris being blamed and hated for not fighting Beron and Keir, defying their laws, and rescuing Morrigan? Bitch that is a little boy, what is he supposed to do?
Do I hate Feyre Archeron? No. I pity her. I pity the person she became. I pity this trophy wife who is completely dependent on her husband. I pity this twenty year old girl whose environment continued to choose her mate over her despite claiming themselves as her friends. I pity this immature woman who will never see past the end of her nose when it comes to the suffering of those she rules over. I pity this practically newborn fae who has been molded and manipulated and unknowingly shaped by those who she was supposed to trust.
I pity Feyre Archeron.
And I hate how she was written, what the author failed to touch upon through her main character and I hate losing what could've been.
I've seen so many terrible theories that basically revolve around denying the fact that Nesta receiving Gwydion and Nesta being told she has a connection to the eight pointed star are set up for plot lines about Nesta, so many theories that basically want to make Nesta receiving Gwydion and Nesta's connection to the eight pointed star about anyone other than Nesta, but right now the worst one I've seen is Mor becoming the ruler of the Dusk Court and Nesta being her lackey, having her become general of the Valkyrie who reside on Dusk, but bending to Mor of all people.
JFC, that's even worse than Nesta remaining a boot licker for Rhys.
Bc I think many have questioned why Ares wasn't (noticeably) punished for helping steal the Master Bolt and Helm of Darkness. He's already the Olympian pariah of sorts, a major punishment shouldn't be out of the question.
So he spends about a year in limbo before being dumped in Manhattan as a ball of immortal rage confined in a tiny mortal body. Haven't decided whether he's in his early or late teens, but regardless, he is smol with like. Toothpicks for arms.
He does not initially intend to head to Camp. He intends to squat at some fighting ring or something until Zeus gets bored. Anything to keep others, especially his siblings, from seeing the state he's in.
However, he has no weapon and nobody is particularly intimidated by a roughed-up, dirty kid, regardless of the inferno raging in his eyes. So, off to Camp he goes, just in time for The Sea of Monsters.
He. Does not know that a mortal immortal's services have to be claimed. He would've made one of his kids do it, if he had. Instead, he gets caught off-guard and Annabeth gets him. He hates it. Not only has he lost all control over himself, but he lost it to a child of Athena, to a friend of Percy's. He has a rough time with it.
Iiiiiiii don't know how Clarisse gets her ship without Ares as a god. Maybe he can summon it without his powers because the soldiers owe a debt to him regardless of his mortality? Sure, let's go with that.
(Also! Disregarding the "abusive father" characterization of PJO Ares. If there is one thing that man loves, one thing he will never be violent against, it's his kids, fuck off, Rick. He may not be a great dad (as all gods), being too rough and overestimating his kids' capabilities and being bad at emotions/empathy, but he is never raising a single finger against his kids. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean they don't have some degree of fear about not living up to his expectations)
He goes with the trio on their secret quest because he's. Kind of tied to Annabeth, at the moment, and also because it's a chance to fight and hopefully regain the shred of his Father's favour he still had before TLT. Percy hates it and they fight constantly; Ares spends a good chunk of the quest muzzled with Annabeth's "Shut up!" commands. He's not having a good time.
Clarisse is pissed that he came because she thinks it means he doesn't trust her abilities and thinks she's weak. This is Not True but Ares really fucking sucks at communication, emotions, and relationships in general, so she stays pissed at him.
His temper gets even shorter than it already was when he, Annabeth, and Percy get separated from Clarisse because he's worried and wants to hurry up and find her. Percabeth don't realize that's why, so it ends up as a huge mess. Ares is trying to rush through everything by immediately attacking while Annabeth and Percy are actually trying to plan some things out, so he ends up being kept on a really short leash. Like, "Don't do anything but follow us" short. It's almost enough to get him to spill his worries; alas, he cannot speak.
(Honestly, that probably ends up as a huge part of the story; his arc would probably essentially be to get him to open up and help him understand and deal with his emotions, but he keeps pissing people off which makes Annabeth make him shut up so he can't talk shit out like he's supposed to. The first proper steps of his character development have to happen away from Annabeth, which means it's really convenient that she gets kidnapped in the next book!)
Anyways.
Annabeth lets up on the commands when they get to Polyphemus's Island, with the caveat that he doesn't rush into anything. He wants to absolutely decimate the Cyclops for daring to capture and think of marrying his daughter, but unfortunately, he does not have the ability to do so, even with a godly power up born of his protective rage. He absolutely vows to take care of it when he regains godhood, though, regardless of Poseidon's potential wrath. This also further cements his hatred for Poseidon's children, which is honestly very impressive because they're probably already one of the things he hates the most.
His reunion with Clarisse is. Well. It certainly is. Unfortunately, they are both allergic to admitting how worried they were. Instead, Clarisse just gruffly thanks him for his help and Ares says that no one is allowed to touch his kids (which Clarisse takes in a possessive/neg way, of him sort of taking ownership, as gods are wont to do. This doesn't get rectified for. A while). They both want a hug, inexperienced as they are with them. Neither will get it.
That's about it for SoM. It'd be more about him learning about his limits and getting a better idea of his kids' limits than proper Emotional Character Development. That'd start in TTC, kind of like how Apollo really started growing after TBM.
Ares absolutely has his own flavour of trauma; more "typical" soldier PTSD and stuff about being the hated Olympian than past lovers, tho. A good bit of his arc would probably be something about learning what healthy relationships look like, how to manage his feelings in a non-destructive way, and that he doesn't always need to be "the strong one" and should be protected sometimes too. He doesn't get the same speedrun as Apollo, since he'd be mortal for a few years (until TLO), but considering his thing is more about learning how people and relationships work while Apollo's was a bit more about his ego and actions getting checked, I think that can be justified. This man has been ignoring emotions other than rage for millennia, it'll take a bit more than six months to get him to open up.
I always wonder what Gary was doing during the Kanto part of OS. Did he ever see the Squirtle Squad? Did he avoid fighting Lt. Surge and Sabrina because of circumstance or because he was intimidated? What did he do with the one million dollars????
"I remember about a week after Savannah and Gigi came home from the hospital, I had a dream that I was still pregnant and that my babies-the ones I'd held and fed and loved they were just a dream. And I panicked, because I didn't want any other babies. I wanted my girls. And when I woke up, I stood over their cribs, and I just cried, because they were real." She looked back up at Grayson.
"So there is no what if I'd chosen a different life or fallen in love with someone truly capable of loving me back. There is no what if I knew then what I know now. No regret. There can't be. Because as much as I want a different life right now, I want to be their mom more."
slowly slipping back into a stepben kings It phase and it will never not be funny how different the kids are in the 1990 version and the 2017 version. genuinely the 2017 losers look rabid next to the 1990s losers. 1990s kids save the day by holding hands and loving each other and the 2017 kids save the day by chain whipping that clown. incredible.
