[sweetandspicy]

Tell me why I just saw an ACOTAR 'would you rather' video and the options were Tamlin or Beron and 88% of people chose Beron. How! This is how I know that people's perception of Tamlin is so fucking skewed because apparently these idiots would rather someone who beats his wife and tortures his kids. That's genuinely insane. Say what you want about Tamlin but he's canonically not nearly as bad as Beron.

[theladyofbloodshed]

One of my big issues with this series is the toe dip into real world issues but picking and choosing the parts then discarding them again. They have no lasting impact because they’re just throwaways

- Feyre has PTSD from the colour red isn’t mentioned in later books and no issues with Mor wearing red

- Feyre’s illiteracy is magically “cured” with a few sentences and never touched on again.

- Tamlin has PTSD but actually he deserves to suffer whilst also being a useless high lord whose decimated court deserves better

- Feyre is horrified by the tithe in spring but seeing Illyrians living in poverty while she has a whole room of tiaras doesn’t cause her any guilt

- Nesta is an alcoholic who has no withdrawal symptoms and everybody continues to drink around her

- Nesta is using sex as a coping mechanism but as long as it’s with Cassian cope away, girl 🥵!

- Hotlines for abuse in a book but the second abuser is hot as hell and he does these things because he loves her

Where are the lingering effects of war? Of seeing hundreds die? Why can’t Feyre still practise reading and writing or feel conscious about her abilities? Where is the guilt of living with such wealth after a life of poverty? Why doesn’t their trauma bubble up in unexpected moments and they suffer setbacks in recovery? Because the author tries to write deep scenes but half-asses it all

[snowwhitewithanxiety]

I think one of the most interesting and overlooked moments between Lucien and Feyre is when they are escaping to Night through Autumn and they have this exchange:

"They didn't like you?" His jaw tightened. "As the youngest of seven sons, I wasn't particularly needed or wanted. Perhaps it was a good thing. I was able to study for longer than my father allowed my brothers before shoving them out the door to rule over some territory within our lands, and I could train for as long as I liked, since no one believed I'd be dumb enough to kill my way up the long list of heirs. And when I grew bored with studying and fighting.....I learned what I could of the land from its people. Learned about the people, too." He eased to his feet with a groan, his unbound hair glimmering as the midday sun overhead set the blood and wine hues aglow. "I'd say that sounds more High Lord-like than the life of an idle, unwanted son" A long, steely look "Did you think it was mere hatred that prompted my brothers to do their best to break and kill me?" Despite myself, a shudder rippled down my spine. I finished off the apple and uncoiled to my feet, plucking another off a low-hanging branch. "Would you want it-your father's crown?" "No one's ever asked me that," Lucien mused as we moved on, dodging fallen, rotting apples. The air was sticky sweet. "The blood-shed that would be required to wear that crown wouldn't be worth it. Neither would its festering court. I'd gain a crown-only to rule over a crafty, two faced people." "Lord of Foxes" I said, snorting as I remembered that mask he'd once worn. -ACOWAR (page 106)

I feel like this exchange is telling us a lot about who Lucien is. Honestly I think people should pay a lot more attention to the entire escape from Spring chapters than they do, because I think Lucien is being his most honest and open and vulnerable with Feyre than he ever is in ACOTAR and the rest of the series.

But this exchange is particularly interesting.

Lucien was allowed to learn sword fighting for as long as he liked. Feyre mentions that Lucien prefers to use his words over his swords, but this shows that Lucien has studied swordplay extensively and that he only stopped because he grew bored with it (along with studying). We know Lucien is alot more handy with a sword then he often lets on-Feyre also notes she's seen him training with Tamlin in Spring before, with the insinuation that she found him to be able to hold his own with a High Lord that was raised in the war camps. This also is led credence by the fact that Lucien was able to behead Hyburn's niece who was over a thousand years old and had fought in the original war, cutting through her neck in a single strike. He was also able to dodge Hybrun's nephew. And in the infamous frozen lake scene, Lucien is noted to be fighting two brothers at once, and has somehow wrested a sword. Just because Lucien is uninterest in fighting in another war, and just because he seems keen always to avoid using violence to solve problems, that doesn't mean he's not dangerous when he chooses to be.

Lucien's brothers saw him as a threat despite him also saying "no one thought I would be stupid enough to try and kill my way up the long list of heirs". Lucien had won the love of the people, and that scared his brothers enough that they wanted him not just dead but ruined.

Lastly Lucien's retort to Feyre's question about his father's crown has always kind of piqued my interest. He seems almost surprised "No one's ever asked me that" and then he doesn't immediately disavow ruling. He ponders her question, and then replies that no, Autumn court has no appeal to him. But his reply, alongside with the fact that he never refutes her statement that he acted like a High Lord in his youth could have some interesting implications about his own ambitions.

I do think it's obvious Lucien plays down alot of what he is. He doesn't even use magic all that much, outside of healing and winnowing, and as mentioned above he only uses violence as a last resort and even then he may downplay how skilled he is.

SJM has been showing us in little glimpses that there is waaaay more to Lucien, and has also been showing us that everyone keeps overlooking him when they shouldn't. Feyre thinks Cassian could knock Lucien on his ass, and yet we see she was wrong about Cassian when Lucien high lord commands and dominates him as easily as breathing. They send Lucien off on a suicide mission in lands deemed too dangerous for even the strongest High Lord in Prythian history and never stop to truly think about the fact that Lucien made it through those lands and completed his mission. Lucien slips out to the library shortly after arriving in Night Court and later we find out he's pulled one over Rhys and Feyre without them even considering being suspicious of him or his motives.

There is so much to his seemingly "side character" and I can't wait to hear more about the Lord of Foxes.

[mistandmemories]

Eris Vanserra cares about public perception!

But perhaps not in the way we’re led to believe…

Inspired by a talk about Eris’s character the other day, I want to address a tendency that I’ve seen among us Eris-enthusiasts: Mainly that we sometimes downplay his canonical dismay concerning how he’s perceived by others.

See, I don’t buy the interpretation of him as this cold, practical realist who doesn’t care what others think of him. Or that he’s “all about appearances” in the somewhat shallow way Mor suggests. That is part of his mask and, in my opinion, self-preservation.

I believe that while he might be forced to think practically and take the bigger picture into consideration, it truly bothers him when he’s perceived and depicted as cruel, and he’s not uncaring in regard to how his actions have rendered him disliked and isolated (in terms of lack of meaningful relationships).

We see it on page several times. Both in ACOWAR and ACOSF.

He gets defensive/upset when Mor and Feyre suggest he abuses females, and that he hunted Lucien and Feyre down because he wanted to, for example. And despite some people’s insistence that he doesn’t have anything to be sorry for (here, I’m guilty as charged) he explicitly states he regrets his choices in regard to Mor. To me, it’s rather obvious that it still weighs on him after centuries, even though he claims not to care what she thinks of him.

And while he does fight Feyre and calls Mor a slut, he also treats Nuan (a female tinkerer hailing from Xian) with respect—which negates the interpretation of him as inherently misogynistic (just to pick one example). But this post isn’t about his character in general. It’s about how he’s affected by the world’s perception of him.

In addition to becoming upset at accusations of misogyny and cruelty, we see him express clear jealousy and/or negative emotions in situations where his lack of meaningful relationships come up. We see it when he tells Cass that he told Beron how the Night Court was “disgusted to arrive and find it was me, rather than someone from the Summer or Winter Courts or whoever stoops to associate with you”. This is clearly jealousy, and even Cassian picks up on it.

In ACOWAR, he tells Rhys that, “Not all of us were so lucky in our friends and family as you, Rhysand” which to me (despite his nonchalant thread-picking in this scene) also testifies to a wish to have those relationships himself.

Furthermore, when he sees Lucien again after the battle against Hybern, even Feyre notes something like regret, like sadness, in his expression. He also gets defensive when Cass expresses empathy towards him (which he refers to as pity) at the end of ACOSF—possibly because he can’t bear it.

Because that would be too close to what he longs for: someone caring about him; someone seeing him for who he is. And the way his eyes blaze when Cass tells him he’s not a monster? That’s not the expression of someone who doesn’t care what others think of him. It’s just not.

So, to sum it up: the Eris in canon isn’t a dispassionate lone wolf who gives zero fucks about others’ opinions and desires to be alone. And he’s not without regret. Regardless of what we think about his actions, or whether or not that regret is warranted, he feels it. That’s canon.

He acts mean and uncaring in the books, and one could definitely argue he’s a jerk. But that’s largely because he’s had to become one to survive, not just in a cutthroat Court with Beron as his father, but emotionally as well. Because it’s been necessary for him to distance himself that way. Otherwise his situation would have broken him centuries ago.

And I think this—the fact that he actually cares about his reputation despite his facade—makes his story even more hard-hitting. More heartbreaking than it already is.

As if he doesn’t have enough of a burden to carry in the first place.

[littlefeltsparrow]

The type of feminism she describes epitomizes the facade of Sarah J Maas’s feminist politics. The romance of the ACOTAR series is thematically conservative, and this tweet describes Feyre’s journey beat for beat. The fantasy of ACOTAR lies in Feyre securing a benevolent patriarch and lording her power over everyone else through him. Exercising power directly wouldn’t align with the conservative values of the series, hence why Rhysand is always the one who punishes Feyre’s enemies for her and acts like an aggressive combative heel “for her sake”.

Feyre reaches the height of power through a patriarchal institution and is afforded a morsel of power for being a good wife and mother. Her body and reproductive capabilities are flaunted by her husband, reiterating her worth according to patriarchal standards of womanhood. She climbs the ranks, and then shuts out other women (ex. Hewn City and Illyrian Women) and hardly lifts a finger to contribute to their liberation. Her power is FOUNDED on their oppression and she benefits from the way their suffering funds her lifestyle.

In the conservative fantasy, she is the ultimate prize (object) and is content with her subordination.

[phonenumber01]

Ok, how come Tamlin was able to prohibit slavery in his territory just when he became high lord knowing that his would probably get him many enemies inside his own court and meanwhile, Rhysand hasn’t been able to ban wing clipping in the NC? He spent 50 years with Amarantha but what about the other 450 years? He’s not the most powerful high lord, he’s the most useless high lord.

[extremely-judgemental]

As someone who knows squat about faery lore, explain this to me. Aren’t faeries supposed to be otherworldly? Why do they have gender roles when they should be genderless or gender fluid? There shouldn’t be sexism either, let alone misogyny. If females are considered ‘brooding mare’, shouldn’t they be revered since they worship Mother for birthing their lands? How exactly is being queer wrong when literally anything is possible in their world and that’s utterly stupid when genders don’t even exist.

Why are they monogamous when they should be having scandalous relations with everyone? If they were all incest-y enough, Cassian sleeping with Morrigan and then calling her his sister would be less appalling.

How is magic orgy in Spring lands frowned upon when everyone should be designing costumes to outdo the other? I know Eris and Rhysand have a running tally, but it is Helion who always wins.

Species-hierarchy makes sense, but shouldn’t it be the other way around? Creatures with non-human features should be considered superior because they are attuned to their true nature and are tapped into land magic better, especially since they enslaved humans for ages. By that standard, shouldn’t Tamlin be considered the most powerful because of his beast form and shape-shifting? Why do faeries live by human standards and concepts? If anything, shouldn’t they look down on mortals for being bound by the ‘rules dictated by the flesh’?

These books are romantasy. . .but where is the fantasy though?

[msshadowqueen]

Can you blame me tho

[cursebrkr]

Classic acotar fandom experience is me making a poll asking who the most useful and normal boyfriend would be, and everyone going "it's Lucien" in unison

[sweetandspicy]

Do y'all think Lucien and Feyre are best friends? Because I saw a post recently about how Pro Luciens think that him and Feyre are best friends and obviously they said some other dumb stuff but that's beside the point.

So what do y'all think, where does their relationship lie?

What is Lucien and Feyre's relationship?

Best friends

Friends

Less than friends but more than acquaintances

Acquaintances

Other (comment what you think)

Voting ended onDec 18, 2024

[sweetandspicy]

Somehow ended up on the Elriel side of tumblr and it's been hell. Tell me why every Elriel feels the need to bash Lucien to hype up their ship. I'm not anti Elriel but I am anti Elriel stans because they're just so horrible.

[sweetandspicy]

Thinking about Tamlin again, as usual and i just...

Does anyone have any fantasy book recs with love interests like Tamlin? And i mean book 1 Tamlin. I mean the Tamlin that is sweet and caring and kind of awkward. I'm so sick of the "shadow daddies", I'm so sick of their dark hair and their stupid mysterious vibe and their annoying copy and paste personality. Does anyone have any recs with a blond, sweet, love interest because I am starved?

Any recs with love interests like Lucien or Eris are also greatly appreciated. I love my fox boys.

[sweetandspicy]

I leave this fandom for a few days to take a break from the bullshit and i come back and guess what has happened?

More bullshit!

What the hell is going on? Why am I hearing things about Lucien appreciation week? What happened? Do I need to fight someone for Lucien?

[geniemillies]

tiktok and reddit are crazyy because why is tamlin the misogynist when night court women either get their wings clipped or are trapped inside a mountain bc they are all supposedly evil save for the 2% living in velaris but yeah tamlin hates women and the ic are feminists, let's go pro women now go train to fight in a war for our feminist hl rhys*nd capital S.A 🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️🧎🏻‍♀️

[sweetandspicy]

Look, disliking a character just because you don't vibe with them is perfectly fine. In fact, I have absolutely despised characters merely because I found them annoying. But acting as if that character is so horrible when there are other characters who have, objectively, done way worse is genuinely insane. Like say you don't like them because you just don't, don't pretend like you have some sort of moral superiority in the situation.

Also, don't lie. The amount of times I've seen people just blatantly make things up about certain characters just because they don't like them. The character you dislike doesn't have to be a bad person for you to dislike them, wanna know why. Because it's fictional! You can hate characters! It's okay! But to spew out misinformation is not. I've seen so much misinformation spread around this fandom and some people who have not read the books in a while or just can't remember them, see these things and believe them. So much hate surrounds certain characters just because the people who dislike them made stuff up that isn't even true and it's so annoying to see.

Another thing, headcanons or opinions are not canon. You saying that that character would do this or say that doesn't mean that they actually would. Bringing your headcanons into a discussion about the books are not a valid point. You may believe that's what the character would do/say but unless it's proven in canon, it isn't real. I often see people say (particularly when it's regarding the ship war) things about how a character feels or thinks and until we get that person's POV we don't actually know what's going on in their head. You can surmise but it won't be canon until we see it.

[1800naveen]

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚I know everything about you˚｡⋆ ༘˚✧

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚ You know everything about me˚｡⋆ ༘˚✧

✧˚ ༘ ⋆｡˚ Know everything about us˚｡⋆ ༘˚✧

(moodboards are so fun, oh my gosh)

[sweetandspicy]

Some people need to learn the difference between putting yourself in the character's shoes and literally thinking you're that character.

Looking at you ACOTAR fandom.