#pro tarquin

[ladymjay]

Tarquin's face didn't so much as shift from cold wrath. "When you went into the Spring Court and deceived Tamlin as well about your true nature, when you destroyed his territory ... You left the door open for Hybern. They had docked in his harbors." No doubt to wait for the wall to collapse and sail south. Tarquin snarled, "It was an easy trip to my doorstep. You did this."

ACOWAR, chapter 38

Tarquin, being an absolute King and calling out Feyre's petty war criminal behavior.

[extremely-judgemental]

For the love of everything good in this world, use the damn tags. I shouldn’t have to come across very pro shit on a fine Saturday morning after filtering every Rhysand tag there possibly is.

‘Rhysand will teach his children consent and boundaries’

Babygirl, he entered Feyre’s mind during their second meeting when she was still a mortal and could possibly die from the invasion. He stripped her naked every night for an audience for two months. He magically compelled her to take drugs when she refused to do so herself. He touched her when she was under influence, yeah, waist or above or whatever bs, it still counts. He forcefully kissed her when she was losing her shit after the second trial when the probability of death felt way too real. He did it again after finding her with Tamlin, which he knew was going to happen since he didn’t drug her that night.

He kept interfering in situations which weren’t his concern and drove a wedge between his partner and her sisters. He humiliated Feyre by reading the bills in front of her ‘friends’ when it was her private family matter. He imprisoned Nesta when she wanted to live alone away from him and his family. He had an elaborate plan to make her work for him and become someone he could exploit whenever. He left the guy who wanted to fuck her every chance he got in charge of her. He has Elain in his control as she has no money or place to go either.

He left Morrigan to use whoever the fuck she wants for five centuries but the moment his political plans were threatened, he interfered with whole Azriel/Elain/Lucien thing and even manipulated Azriel with ‘what about Mor?’ like he fucking cared.

He wouldn’t leave Tamlin alone!

The fuck he knows consent or boundaries? Oh right, they matter only it’s about him.

‘Rhysand will teach his children to respect women’

Again, walked a naked Feyre every night in front of prominent fae like she was a fucking dog. Used her to seduce Tarquin because he is politically incompetent. Used the same tactic with Nesta and Eris. Doing a version of it with Elain and Lucien. Manipulated Feyre into playing his whore willingly with a ‘if you don’t do it, we will probably fail and the world is doomed, but it’s alright if you want to be selfish’ speech and went onto have a sex show, all while fully aware she was his destined partner. Threw her into a death god’s clutches knowing it will trigger her trauma because his mother’s ring. He chose his unborn child over his wife. He cared more about Cassian’s dick than a woman and her well being or choice. He vilified Amarantha for what she did to him (rightfully so) all while doing the same to Feyre simultaneously and had the audacity to throw in a ‘imagine you had to live this way’. Or as Amren put it, the Archeron sisters are handed to him by fate and that must mean he should use them which he has been doing already just fine.

Illyrian women and wing clipping and their misogynist systems upheld all because Rhysand needs an army of men.

Hewn City women and their oppression, locked away under a fucking mountain and probably never seen the sky since their birth, all because, surprise surprise, Rhysand needs an army of men.

No wonder men can get away with anything in real world if you can’t even see the red flags in fiction and romanticise them like this.

[the-ruby-enchanter]

Is Varian Truly Loyal to Tarquin?

I was always a bit sus of Varian and never quite liked him, there was just something off that I couldn’t explain. Then, while I was talking to a friend about it, she pointed out a detail I had completely missed… and suddenly, everything started falling into place.

While reading ACOSF, I kept feeling… weird about Varian. Specifically, the part where he knows that the Night Court possesses the Dead Trove and keeps that information from Tarquin. This isn’t just a minor omission, it’s a huge piece of magical power and political leverage. And Varian is not just some courtier; he’s the Prince of Adriata, Tarquin’s cousin, and next in line to rule the Summer Court.

At first, I thought maybe it was just sloppy writing or brushed aside for convenience. But then, after that friend reminded me of something from ACOWAR, I went back and re-read the High Lords meeting chapters to find it, and now I can’t unsee it.

Tamlin literally hints at Varian being untrustworthy. In the meeting scene, Tamlin throws shade at the Night Court questioning why they were the only ones to know about the attack on Adriata and implying they wanted to play savior. Then comes this

Now, say what you want about Tamlin, but he wasn’t pulling that accusation out of nowhere. It reads like a direct warning: your cousin might not be as loyal as you think.

(let's not forget that he warned that rhysand migh be playing to be a high king and we all know what is hapening in acosf)

Add to that the fact that:

Varian didn't tell Tarquin about the Night Court having the Trove in ACOSF

The Night Court is allied with Eris and knows about beron and his treachery. Again varian didn't tell Tarquin about that.

Varian is emotionally involved with Amren, who is deeply loyal to Rhysand.

It makes you wonder… is Varian genuinely loyal to Tarquin? Or is he keeping one foot in the Night Court, politically or emotionally, just in case?

I’m not saying Varian is evil or scheming -oh no I am saying- and I do think his loyalty is questionbal, and maybe we’re meant to question it a bit more than we have.

because he's next in line after all.

[hrizantemy]

I couldn’t help but cry when Feyre arrived at the Summer Court with Rhysand, and he declared, “She’s High Lady, she can do whatever she wishes.” I mean, yes, Feyre is the High Lady, but she’s the High Lady of the Night Court, and here they are in the Summer Court. The weight of his words, while meant to be empowering, just felt a bit misplaced in that context. And then, Feyre had her moment where she tried to be all girlboss, saying something like, “Take care of your injured.” I wanted to scream, “Shut the hell up!” It felt so out of place, like she was trying too hard to command the room without really understanding the situation.

It was infuriating to think about how Feyre and Rhysand walked into the Summer Court, a court they had literally stolen from, acting as if nothing had happened. The tension was palpable. They’d taken the Book of Breathings right from under Tarquin’s nose, deceiving him in the process, and now they had the audacity to stroll in, expecting him to be okay with it all.

What made it worse was how they completely disregarded anything Tarquin said. He wasn’t just some stranger or enemy; he had once welcomed them as allies, offered them friendship, and they betrayed that trust. And yet, here they were, acting like they were above it all. Rhysand’s casual dismissal of Tarquin’s frustration—like his words didn’t matter, like their betrayal could just be swept under the rug—was a blatant show of arrogance. It was as if they expected him to forget everything, to simply move on, because they were the Night Court and they believed their agenda was more important than anyone else’s.

Even Feyre, with her attempts at diplomacy, came off as condescending. They both acted like they could just walk in, ignore the hurt they caused, and play their power games. It was a slap in the face to everything the Summer Court had stood for. Tarquin had every right to be furious.

[tamlinmybeloved]

We talk a lot about acotar retcons and character assassinations when it comes to Tamlin, Rhysand, and Feyre in particular, so here's more on why the rewrite of Feyre's character doesn't work for what it looks like sjm wants to do.

Feyre doesn't ever express a desire for a title. It's implied that there's a buried part of her that hates the thought of not being in power in acomaf, but it's never something Feyre comes to grips with and voices audibly. And even if she did, it wouldn't paint Feyre in a very flattering light because then her taking charge of her family back in the Human lands would look more like her wanting power and control rather than fulfilling her promise to her mother.

In book 1, Feyre is someone who sees caring for her family as a burden. She doesn't want to hunt, is weary with the needs of her sisters and father, wishes to spend time with her passions and hobbies rather than be responsible for other people. One of the bonding points between Feyre and Tamlin is that they were both younger siblings forced into a role of responsibility that they weren't prepared for. Tamlin saw that she hadn't been properly taken care of and wanted to ensure that she was.

sjm's tactic thus far in the series has been trying to imply that those who don't want power/never expect to have power are the best ones to wield it. She did with Tamlin first and then with Tarquin in acomaf, and a bit with Rhysand in acosf. It would be a decent tactic and would work with Feyre's initial characterization as someone who has leadership thrust upon them. So when Feyre becomes someone who craves power and control and it falls completely flat, especially since we don't see her having this sort of discussion with Rhysand before their wedding/oaths before the priestess and we don't see the ceremony at all.

And then by acosf, she almost completely reverts back to how she was in book one, wanting her responsibilities to be handled by someone else so she has time to paint and be with her family/friends, dreading responsibilities that include maintaining good-ish relations with a third of her court, and not really caring to educate herself on the court she rules. I'm heavily critical of Feyre/how Feyre's written more often than not, and in this case, I don't see what the point of her character's minor detour into bad-assery was if the end result is for her to become a High Lady in name only, with no desire to actually be equal in power and authority for the Night Court.

Working with the idea that an individual who come into power after not wanting it/not expecting it will be a good ruler worked well when sjm did it with Tamlin and Tarquin. Tamlin was the youngest of his brothers and assumed that he'd be a general for one of his brothers and joined the warbands instead of learning politics. There was a rough transition when he became High Lord, but he found his footing and started cleaning house, instituting reforms, receiving refugees, etc. Was well-loved by his people, joined their celebrations as a musician rather than presiding over them, was adored to the point that his sentries were willing to die to free him and their court from the curse.

Tarquin became High Lord upon the death of his cousin UtM and generally seems to be regarded as too young to be in power, but by all accounts, is well-loved and has dreams of a better future for his court and Prythian.

It's not especially well-handled with Rhysand because his court hasn't seen any changes and 2/3rds of his court hates him. There's also the point that Rhysand was the only son of the High Lord, the presumed heir, and was likely prepared for the role his entire life.

I honestly don't remember whether Rhysand ever said that he didn't want to be High Lord, so feel free to find out and tell me because i don't really feel like trying to find it. The greates differences between the Tamlin + Tarquin and Rhys is the lack of preparation and then the actions following coming to power. Rhysand was prepared to rule, but puts on a mask of cruelty and maintains the status quo with HC and Illyria in order to mask the existence of Velaris until he can't.

This brings us back to Feyre. Had she kept her initial characterization, it could have been framed like she sees the issues in the NC that even Rhys and the inner circle don't and makes it her mission to push change because while she may have not ever wanted power, she'll be damned if she’s just supposed to sit and watch two thirds of the court war with her husband every step of the way. If Rhys was still to be framed as the feminist king who gave her her title, she could be the one to make the title mean something in a land where the title been extinct for millenia. Instead, she "grows" to desire power and a title and receives one from her mate when they marry. Which she then uses to...not bow to the High Lords.

Immediately after she takes power, she proceeds to disarm and destroy a court in the middle of rebuilding, call a meeting (with Rhys) of all the other leaders only to have their party be the most reactive, least diplomatic, and refuse to ever account for any wrongdoings that she or Rhys have done while also not providing sufficient proof that Rhys didn't do certain horrendous things. Once the war is over, she reverts back to wanting nothing but downtime despite the fact that she and her entire social group are part of the ruling class and with all the problems that the NC has, should be busier than ever trying to address said problems.

acofas should have showed us a Feyre who, despite longing for a peaceful life with her family, studies the NC history and customs, taking initiative in ways she hadn't before as she grows in confidence as a leader, steps into her own as a High Lady and builds respect with her people without the influence of her husband. Maybe pushing in and rejecting some of Rhysand's ideas to show that she's not just going along with everything he says, showing regret for what she did under Rhys's influence in the Summer court and learning from it. Trying to restore/build better relations outside the court as well as within it, especially as the first human the High Lords restored to life and the one fae who holds a bit of each of their powers.

Instead we have a complacent Feyre who shows little to no interest in actually ruling and only really appreciates the title for the pomp and privileges it bestows.

[1800naveen]

Tarquin and Cressida watching their cousin/brother date the woman who stole from their court and acts like nothing ever happened:

"Oh, Tarquin forgave them!" Why in the hell would he do that? If he can forgive them for that, maybe he should unban Cassian from his court.

Anyways, I like to think Cressida holds a huge grudge against these guys. (And that she's a fruit but let's not get into that).

[crawrina]

Rhysand and his mindgames

Rhysand plays the other characters like a chess game. How he manipulates with words and actions + his daemeti power, he's a mastermind when it comes to it all. I think Rhysand is pulling a lot of strings, I think he worked as Amarantha's second in command because he was no prisoner. I also think he worked with King of Hybern, and uses Feyre as a puppet to get everything he wants, and he wants to do the same with Nesta and Elain. I think he tries to avoid that the other courts goes to war against him (Hewn and Illyria would hopefully not be on Rhysand's side). Because Spring Court, Summer Court, Winter Court and Autumn Court all have strong reasons to go to war against him, Feyre and the IC. I think Day Court would join if Helion knew about Lucien being his son. We read time and time again that he lies and changes the story or leaves out things, either with his own lips or through Feyre's mind. He uses his powers as it suits him, not anyone else. Because why didn't he use his powers on the guards in Summer Court when Feyre and Amren stole the book? And why didn't he help at all? Also, the way he teaches Feyre to read seems very much like mind compulsion. And why would he teach someone to read by making them read and write only good things about himself if it's not more behind it? Maybe he can do spells? Do we really know about all his powers? We do see in acotar (book 1) that he and the wraiths apparantly knows about painting symbols, which seems like some sort of spell/spells. People are suprised with him during acosf because we see Rhysand (and Feyre) through Cassian's and Nesta's pov + it's in third person. But the thing is, this is how Rhysand has been all the time when we look outside Feyre's perspective. She's not a realiable character, first person pov never is. And Rhysand is deep in her mind all the time, we see him talk into her mind with her own voice at the weavers cottage. Rhysand is a daemati, he loves mindgames and uses it to his own gain, no one elses. I just wonder what his end game is. Become High King? He made sure his bloodline continues, that (and his pride) was more important than his mate apparently. He is a Tyrant, we see that with how he rules and keeps his court segregated. He plays and uses women to his own gain, I'm sure he is constant in Cassian's mind as well. He undermines his own IC, we see that with Cassian and Mor. And why does Azriel need to torture when Rhysand can go into peoples minds? And did he plan to die in acowar to get the other HL's to give him a kernel of their powers like with Feyre? He is cunning, so I wouldn't put anything beneath him. I don't trust Rhysand (or Amren or Mor) at all, they are brewing on something. Or Rhysand absolutely is, I hope he is the villain or one of them because he'd be a perfect morally dark/black villain (he is not morally grey. Tamlin, Eris and even Lucien are more morally grey). And his actions would make way more sense if he is, fingers crossed!

PS! This is my safe place to share my thoughts about acotar. So keep it mature and nice in the comments.

[lady-selenee]

My Thoughts on the trip to Summer in ACOMAF

Part I

Everything that happened here was a multitude of bad decisions made by teenagers, not politicians, not people in charge of countries (courts but you get my meaning), and definitely not someone born and trained to be High Lord.

From the moment they arrive, things are simply bad...

Amazing! Simply amazing! The best thing you want to say to a potential ally about anyone! Simply amazing! Whoever taught Rhysand that needs a raise (if they exist, which I doubt, because anyone with a brain would've told him what a bad idea that was).

As always, Rhysand's words about Feyre have a sexual connotation. You know, all he did Utm wasn't enough. He had to continue. Showing so little respect for someone he claims is working with him not only in front of a potential ally but in front of another leader. You know, what he did Utm didn't degrade her enough in the eyes of his fellow High Lords (although it definitely should degrade him, as it speaks volumes of Rhysand's true character).

Really, Feyre? What exactly is Tarquin? A toddler?

He's a High Lord! Let's say he is not as powerful as Rhysand when it comes to magic (although, I think they all have power types of magic, just different), but he's still a High Lord. He might be inexperienced, yes. But, politically speaking, he has the same power as Rhysand. The High Lords are supposed to be equals.

Also, that's his own house! Where was he supposed to sit? On the table?

Another amazing idea! Let's insult our potential ally by threatening his people and his cousin!

Is he saying anything wrong? No, I don't think so. Like, what other answer should he give to a threat? Yes, Your Highness, me and my whole court will bow to your divine will? What else was the man supposed to say?

So, maybe, instead of lying and stealing, we're going to have a nice conversation? Any of you ever heard of communication? I don't know, taking the risk of telling him seems less risky than stealing from him and gaining a new enemy. Are the king of Hybern and Tamlin not enough for them? How many wars do they want to fight?

Very nice that you acknowledge it, Feyre.

Girl, Rhysand is a High Lord, Tamlin is a High Lord. Like, the guy is even fighting for class equality and you still think he's evil? He's offering you a family legacy! He's thanking you for saving their lives and not laughing at his revolutionary plans!

I get why she doesn't trust him, yeah. But it's not hard to contemplate the risks. In my opinion, better take the risk of being honest (especially gathering all they know of Tarquin) than risking making him an enemy in the future.

How exactly are you trying to do that, Rhysand? Let's see: by separating his court into 3 different cities (lands, whatever) and keeping those people separated. You can't even make 2/3 of those people listen to you! And, yet, he says he wants to make them equal. Assuming there are lesser faeries in Hewn City and Velaris, Rhysand is still trying to do one thing, and one thing alone. Keep them separated. He doesn't make differences just between High and lesser fae, but also between all of them, depending on the city in which they were born.

Really? Really? Are you serious right now?

So, the only ones allowed to have dreams are the inner circle and Feyre? Are they the only ones living in this world?

I absolutely, absolutely hate this paragraph. Because it makes it sound as if the only dreamers are those people, the only ones allowed to have a dream. Take Tarquin, for example. He has a dream. But he's not allowed to call himself a dreamer? And the people who suffered for fifty years under Amarantha's reign? Are we really expected to believe they never dreamt of a better life? All people, actually, from all times? Do we think the humans five hundred years ago didn't dream of being free? Isn't that what started the War? The dream, the desire of so many to be free?

I'll link Part II here when I finish it.