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[highladyonabroomstick]

Random Thoughts

*spoilers ahead*

I consider myself an older fan of the SJM multiverse. I’m almost 38, and I came into the books late. Meaning I had the benefit of reading them all at once and in a different order than they were released.

I started ACOTAR in August 2019 and by November 2019 had finished the entire ACOTAR and TOG series. Just in time to collect my thoughts and prepare for the March 2020 release of HOEAB. My husband joked that he was going to work on a reentry program for me back into my family 😳 (jokes on him, I’m permanently in faeryland).

My point here is that I had a different perspective than many of my fellow SJM fans. Reading ACOTAR first and reading the entirety of TOG all at once, to me, made it apparent that these worlds would collide. But the fandom was divided, and I’m too old to debate online. But in 2022 my dreams came true!

Now, I’m not going to fight anyone on ships. But I will say that purposeful misdirection is a staple of Sarah’s writing style. So in my opinion NOTHING is ever written in stone.

I definitely don’t think elain and Azriel are happening, and I thought they were destined after reading ACOWAR. If you haven’t read his bonus chapter yet, you must. But I also don’t think elucien is definitely a thing. Remember how Maeve fucked with Rowan and created a mating bond with Lyria, then killed her and their unborn child 😅 yikes.

I think something similar is happening with elucien. I think Hybern is Valg based on his black glittering eyes and the fact that no one knows his damn name! And I think he created a bond that mimics a mating bond between elucien and they’re going to have to untangle that in the upcoming books.

But maybe I’m totally wrong!

I have to do some rereading to find the text supporting this next statement, but I’m pretty sure Maeve’s husband is still traveling throughout the worlds. Orcus I think? You know, the King of Hell 😳 Also there are cats everywhere in each of these series and I will die of happiness when it’s revealed Aidas has just been around the entire time.

Also I scrolled through an opinion that I support: Rhysands last name could be Danaan. That would get my vote I think 🤔

Where does Dorian’s magic come from? Are his mind powers considered Deamati? Will he ever bang Manon ON THE PAGE?

Since Rhun has a Sword in the Stone backstory, does this mean he will be the one to defeat the Asteri and usher in a time of peace? Perhaps as King of Prythion?

Does Quinlar also give anyone else pause? I can’t help it, logic says yes they’re mates IT’S WRITTEN DOWN RIGHT THERE! But my gut just doesn’t buy it.

What is Elain up to? Why does the fandom still call Tamlin abusive and not Rhysand? Can we please kill Jurian and why does anyone like him?!?! WHERE ARE MIRYAM AND DRAKON. Why would Feysand just GIVE them the cauldron WTF?!?!

These are the difficult questions that I’m dying to answer. I can’t wait for more books 🥰🥰🥰

Nessian are the only two characters I trust throughout all three series. They are the only two that have proven they’re capable of honesty, every one else is plotting and lying and keeping secrets. And while this sounds negative, it’s another reason why I love the books. Antiheroes everywhere!

[highladyonabroomstick]

Elain

The girl that will smile in your face while she stabs you in the back.

She will cut off your hands while she sweetly asks you to clap.

This girl is up to no good. Can’t wait to see her POV.

[worldsnotsaid]

Here’s another facet of retcon’s/misconceptions about Tamlin, because it annoys me to no end when people refuse to acknowledge the retcon of his character:

The main one is that Tamlin did nothing during A/marantha’s reign, that he sat on his ass and did not use any resources:

So, first Tamlin defended his borders for the entirety of his time stuck in the Spring Court, he’s actively protecting his people. I didn’t have to infer that—it’s right there, in the text:

“ Tamlin has been here, defending his borders as chaos and disorder ruled in the other courts under Amarantha’s thumb. The other High Lords fought back, too. Forty years ago, she executed three of them and most of their families for banding together against her,”

Tamlin and all the other Lords are stuck in their lands, they could not leave, and they could not call for Aid:

“She used the High Lords’ powers to bind us to the land. So the rebel lords tried calling for aid from the other Fae territories using as messengers whatever humans were foolish enough to enter our lands—most of them young women who worshipped us like gods.”

“But Amarantha caught them all before they left these shores, and ... you can imagine how it ended for those girls,”

A/marantha took the three courts she slaughtered UTM, and Tamlin’s court, was only able to remain because he had the curse. But he is still stuck to the land, he cannot go anywhere. And even with that, he still took in refugees from other courts, and defending those refugees along with his own people for fifty years.

There’s also this thing that Tamlin was lazy, and that he didn’t try to break free from A/marantha’s curse which is also....not true:

“Even with her spies, he tried finding ways to break the curse, to do anything against it, against having to send his men out again to be slaughtered by humans,”

And Tamlin lost so many men during this time that he was reduced down to twelve men left. Fucking twelve:

“When all but a dozen of them were left, it broke him so badly he stopped. Called it all off.”

It’s also made abundantly clear that those who serve under A/marantha are given freedom—which cough, cough is fucking R/hysand, no matter how noble SJM thinks betraying your countrymen is, it’s still swearing allegiance, and it’s still more or less, a choice to the extent R/hys does:

“Others—others, if they swear allegiance, if they grovel and serve her, she allows them a bit more freedom to come and go Under the Mountain as they will,”

This contradicts against R/hysand’s point about Tamlin doing nothing, and sitting on his ass. It’s literally right here in the text. And all the posts that always make these claims about Tamlin that’s aren’t even remotely true. SJM did Retcon his character, and it’s valid that there’s people who did like this version of his character — or antis like me who want to make a point, but literally get these statements that are canonically true.

Unlike R/hys, Tamlin did have to sacrifice his people, and had no choice in doing so. He had to watch his sentries die and his people be placed in concentration camps, he had to sacrifice. R/hys is the one who sat on his ass for fifty years, hoarding his power and doing nothing with it. Him being A/marantha’s victim does not negate that. Everyone is her victim. Thank you for coming to my ted talk

Even more so almost every single High Lord had to sacrifice — much more than R/hys ever did. They lost their loves, three whole bloodlines, wiped out and killed. She killed Three High Lords, their cities and their families. Tamlin’s entire court was put into concentration camps and were stuck on their land. Tamlin had to watch all of his friends die, his land die. These are not things that are true for R/hys. He did not rebel like the other High Lords, he literally aligned himself with evil to protect one portion of his court. He mocked Tamlin “for not having the courage,” to rebel against his abusive family, but was the only High Lord who did not outwardly curse A/marantha. Tamlin did, Lucien did—Summer, Winter, and Day did. Where was R/hys’s courage?? And I wouldn’t even have to deman him if his entire character wasn’t literally placing himself on a pedestal and being shitty that everyone looks at him like the villain he is. We hate Beron, but even he didn’t work with A/marantha to the extent R/hys did—and their ideologies most likely even aligned. So, yeah, I hate R/hys and Tamlin was retconned and it’s not really an argument

[highladyonabroomstick]

I don’t *hate* Rhys, but he’s not the hero of ACOTAR. This post is 💯 💯💯💯💯

[highladyonabroomstick]

Tamlin

Some thoughts on the High Lord of the Spring Court. This is probably a Part I, I actually have a lot of opinions on the matter.

Tamlin has run the gammit from hero to villain and kind of lives in the murky middle that we all claim to love (morally gray antihero). Although arguably he isn’t an antihero but actually a full fledged hero.

He’s not immune to mistakes and has made enough critical errors leading to the disintegration of his court.

Tamlin is suffering from PTSD and a broken heart. He’s in the midst of a major depression and as such is losing touch with reality. He is truly one of THE MOST tragic characters in the ACOTAR world.

As a brief disclaimer it’s important to note that his relationship with Feyre was toxic and needed to end. He was NOT an abuser, and suggesting he was is irresponsible for those who have endured domestic abuse. Both Tamlin and Feyre needed to work on their mental health before trying to get married, it was never going to work for them. But Prythian was saved not once, but twice, because of them. Both when Amarantha was defeated, and again when Tamlin used his magic to save Feyre after her clunky rescue mission in Hybern’s army.

The relationship with Rhys and Feyre is only successful because he can LITERALLY read her mind. Additionally, Rhys has caused bodily harm to Feyre and is equally as overprotective as Tamlin. I don’t really want this to become a comparison because ultimately, it doesn’t matter. Feyre was not obligated to stay with Tamlin and it’s ok that they broke up. I just feel my hackles raise when the fandom maligns Tamlin for the same exact things for which they love Rhysand.

Rhysand uses corporeal punishment just as Tamlin whipped his soldier. Ah, but Rhys makes Azriel do it behind closed doors. Tamlin kept Feyre locked in the house to protect her from very real threats versus Rhys who kept a perma-shield around her even after she told him it was overkill. But we don’t mind Rhys for some reason?

Tamlin sacrificed everything to work as a double agent. He infiltrated enemy lines and provided intelligence that saved the world. All he got in return was animosity. Everyone was just distracted when he called Feyre out for being a ho at the high lords meeting. Well, if the shoe fits, wear it Feyre. 😐

But seriously, when the whole “I’m going to steal you from your wedding” thing happened, Tamlin was left thinking is fiancé was in peril. When she decided to leave, she didn’t tell him. He was under the assumption she was kidnapped and being held against her will. NATURALLY, Tamlin was not a fan of the Night Court. The next he hears from Feyre is she’s gone and married someone else. This is in the span of a few months. Tamlin was blindsided. Again, and I can’t stress this enough, it’s ok for relationships to end. But if you don’t communicate that you have moved on then you can’t expect your ex-boyfriend to be super happy about it. Bonus, Feyre dragged all of her friends (and coworkers) into a conversation that should have been private.

Feyre is pretty immature in many ways, I’m still waiting for the character growth I think she needs. Is it really wise to let a 22 year old run the Night Court? Questionable decision at best.

Anyways, I’m spiraling into other tangents. I’m hoping Tamlin has the redemption he deserves in the upcoming books. Without his sacrifice and intel Prythian would have fallen long ago.

[highladyonabroomstick]

Just here waiting for more of the fandom to finish CC2. When can I openly discuss spoilers?!?!?

[highladyonabroomstick]

Hey fam, I wanted to get some theories out here in the “wild” before House of Sky and Breath releases next week! I can’t wait 😱😱😱 These are all my theories for SJM books because I don’t think they’re mutually exclusive!

I’m in the minority here, but I am a firm believer that all three series are going to converge plotlines in a War of the Worlds style conflict. I think all our main characters will share page space in the same novel to defeat the Big Bad. My personal thinking is the return of the Valg. Because did the Valg ever really leave? Not really, they were cast out their respective worlds. Meave and Erawan are gone from Erilea, but to where we just don’t know. This leads to another theory I have for the Acotar world that Amarantha and The King of Hybern were Valg. This is supported in the Throne of Glass text. We know Valg have black eyes and have a mind trick they use to ensure no one remembers their name. Just like Dorian’s father in TOG (whose name no one knew)we only know the King of Hybern as Hybern. Additionally, Amarantha had no recollection of Rhysand, who was her high profile prisoner 150 years prior. Just like Meave and Erawan, Amarantha and Hybern perish on the battlefield. But I suspect it’s just the death of their host bodies and the Valg will return again one day.

We know that Bryce has a closer connection to these high level demon types, as she summons Aidas directly (obsessed with Aidas 🐈). Crescent City also has gates directly into other worlds, I think these will come into play more actively. Aelin has the wyrdstones, acotar made mention of ancient caves within the sacred mountains containing a network of rivers and streams where one could theoretically access other realms. Hoping the cast of acotar heads back under the mountain y’all! I also hope Tharion takes a swim up the Sidra. This might be a little crack theory, but I actually think it will happen 😬

I also really agree with the theory I’ve seen that Hunt’s father is the King of Hel. Hoping that’s the twist swirling around about the ending of HOSAB 🤞

Ava, from the Fandomtastic podcast, made one of the most astute observations I’ve seen. It’s mentioned in HOEAB about 10 times that it’s raining an unusual amount in Midgard. I agree that’s notable, while SJM *has* been guilty of overwriting before, in this case I think it’s a foreshadow of things to come. I think the gods are getting frisky, and I want to see them unleash their wrath across the Mass multiverse.

Another theory I saw that I liked, but am not committing to 100% is that Koschei is messing with azriel and Elain’s mating bond. So far an extremely mysterious character, we know that Koschei can appear as black mist, can whisper on the wind, and keeps women imprisoned as swans. I actually adore this smattering of folklores. Just as I adored the smattering of Tam Lin in acotar. But that’s off topic. Koschei operates as an agent of chaos in the current text, he’s not actually a villain (yet). I support the theory that he’s influencing Elain, but to what end? I’m actually more excited about the next book in the ACOTAR series than I am for HOSAB, but I think they all fit together.

We know the Valg have been attempting to take over other worlds for at least 5000 years (I’m looking at you Elena). So we can take this timeframe and translate it to all three series, in an event called The Crossing in HOEAB. This event is how we get ancient Fae artifacts that have been scattered in different worlds and how the main characters share characteristics (Autumn Court and Autumn King for one example). Speaking of sharing characteristics, anyone else see similarities between our dear Rhysand and those pesky Valg? Because I 1000% believe night court has ancient ties to Hel. Rhys is going to need therapy when he finds out. But I don’t want to talk about him, Rhys was such a pain in acofas I need a break from him.

I think I briefly touched on everything, I still have one more crack theory that I’m going to keep contained for now, but my predominant thinking is War of the Worlds and we will need every skill of every main character to come together. Think about how powerful Aelin, Rhys, Bryce, Hunt, and Nesta are. They are all one in a million and they all exist on the same timeline. I’m telling you, something is brewing.

If you read all this, you are the true hero here. While I do believe in my theories, they are all just for fun. I fully expect to be wrong. I would love to talk about any theories you have, or if you agree/disagree with my thoughts. (Just be respectful please, I welcome all debate). Mostly, no matter what happens in these books, they are the most fun I’ve ever had reading a series ever. I picked up ACOTAR in December 2018 and by February had read everything SJM had written up to that point. Nesta is easily my favorite character and I never want these books to end!

[ulalumewitch]

quarantine thoughts - tamlin should have done/said this to feyre when he arrived to the high lord meeting in acowar.

(feyre ruining spring court for petty revenge cost thousands of lives and nearly lost them the war. but please tell me why centuries old warriors and high lord keep taking her advice?)

[highladyonabroomstick]

MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY. Feysand made some mistakes…literally dying to see what happens in the next book!

[ulalumewitch]

my son could’t sleep and i’ve been scrolling awhile (since 2 am and it is now 8 - I am sleep deprived apologies, in advance if I ramble or this doesn’t make sense - lol).

I’m tired of ship wars in literally every fandom. like stop. this is for fun. can’t we have friendly discord and all just get along in mutual craziness no matter who our book boyfriends/girlfriends/cinnamon rolls are?

ANYway … how about this to unite us in the ACOTAR fandom?

Can we all at least agree that Madja is the most inconsistent character ever?

First of all, how are you able to heal Cassian after he’s been eviscerated, intestines protruding, but you can’t perform/attempt a c-section because they’ve “never been successful before”. Like. what?? The point of being a medical professional is to continue your education and research. If this has been a problem since forever with Illyrians why are you not researching the hell out of it (maybe going to Dawn Court and working with Thesan’s healers??) when your High Lord mated a non-Illyrian. (Also also that whole b-plot high risk pregnancy pissed me off and made Rhys’ character also so inconsistent it was mind boggling. I was not a fan but I digress as that would be it’s own sleep deprived written post - back to Madja.)

Secondly, Madja can heal shredded wings and “countless other injuries” but knows absolutely nothing about mental health and well being?? As much as I’m *meh* on Elain since we really don’t know a lot about her and what I’ve seen from the eyes of Feyre, Nesta, and Cassian I’m not too impressed BUT when her mental health was clearly in a code red suffering situation Madja’s advice was “she’s suffering from trauma but since she’s Cauldron made I don’t know where to start and I won’t try, ask the mate she refuses to interact with to help” and leaves. What. What?? I strongly echoed Nesta’s reaction of getting another healer in but Feyre didn’t for reasons??

Anyway sorry for the long, rambling post. I understand it’s likely only inconsistent writing that causes Madja’s healing capabilities and limitations to be all over the place. It’s just so annoying and I needed to get it off my chest.

Thanks for attending my Chaotic Sunday Rant. I hope everyone has a restful, wonderful day.

Peace Always,

Ulalume Witch

[highladyonabroomstick]

I think we can all agree the Madja should retire