#anti night court

[hrizantemy]

me when i hear people defend feyre attacking the lady of autumn by saying she didn’t mean to/beron was her intended target: … how … how is that better?

like okay we all hate beron but he’s still a high lord, still someone you invited to form an alliance/negotiate with diplomatically. in a court where you are a guest might i add. you are a child they all saw practically naked two days ago, now playing house with a man (sorry, male) who willingly or otherwise tormented them for the better part of half a century .. because he gave you a pretty crown? how does one expect these old ass fae to not be condescending or reluctant? i’d have asked her to let the adults do the talking if she was piping in every two seconds telling me what to think and how to act.

the high lords’ meeting is my roman empire because it’s one of those instances where you have to let your jaw hit the floor because in what world - except one where sjm expects everyone to love her blorbo’s for all their correct opinions and positions - did any of that work?? with no consequences?? in fact they’re rewarded for their behaviour: tarquin rescinds the blood rubies, everyone’s chiming in about how they knew rhysand was the good guy all along, no one cares about the high lord who is why they’re all free rn (okay feyre broke the curse — tamlin’s curse. tamlin killed amarantha. he is why rhysand is free to rewrite history and the others have a future) i’m surprised there wasn’t a scene where the lady of autumn apologises to feyre for being in the way of her attack smh

This is one of the reasons I cannot like Feyre. The justification that she “didn’t mean to” attack the Lady of Autumn or that “Beron was her intended target” makes absolutely no sense and, frankly, makes the situation worse. How is it any better that her recklessness and inability to control her powers led to an innocent woman nearly being killed? The Lady of Autumn was already a victim of Beron’s abuse and violence, and Feyre—who should, of all people, understand the trauma of being hurt or manipulated by powerful individuals—just becomes another threat to her. How is that defensible in any way?

Even if Beron was her intended target, that doesn’t excuse the collateral damage of almost killing someone who was completely uninvolved in the fight. Feyre’s powers are vast, yes, but she constantly wields them with this mix of entitlement and carelessness that makes her more of a liability than a hero. It’s one thing to make mistakes; it’s another to make catastrophic ones and have people excuse them as if the consequences don’t matter.

And let’s be real—Feyre is never held accountable for these actions. The narrative either brushes it off or turns it into another moment for someone to coddle her and tell her how amazing she is. Meanwhile, the Lady of Autumn is left to fend for herself, as usual, trapped in her abusive marriage, and probably now terrified of Feyre as well. The complete lack of responsibility Feyre takes—or is made to take—for her actions is one of the biggest reasons I can’t root for her. She’s not a savior; she’s a wrecking ball with a savior complex.

The entire High Lords meeting was, without question, a complete disaster. It was supposed to be this grand gathering where the courts would come together to ally against Hybern, but instead, it devolved into petty squabbles, veiled insults, and outright hostility. Rhysand, for all his posturing as the most “progressive” High Lord, walked into the meeting with an attitude so smug it practically dared the others to disagree with him. Tamlin, true to form, took the bait and immediately turned the whole thing into a personal grievance fest. Beron was his usual insufferable self, Helion was flirting, and everyone else seemed more interested in holding grudges than actually saving the world.

Nobody trusted anyone, and honestly, who could blame them? These are the same people who’ve been at each other’s throats for centuries, and now they’re supposed to just shake hands and work together? Rhysand’s attempts at diplomacy mostly amounted to thinly veiled threats, Feyre’s speeches did little to inspire confidence, and Amren just sat there looking like she wanted to kill someone. It was all spiraling into chaos.

And then came Nesta.

Nesta, who was barely even acknowledged as part of the delegation. Nesta, who didn’t care about politics, alliances, or playing nice. Nesta, who was so angry, so filled with righteous fury, that her words cut through the nonsense like a blade. When she stood up and spoke about what Hybern had done, about what they would do if the High Lords didn’t put aside their differences and act, she commanded the room. She didn’t appeal to their egos or try to manipulate them; she just told the truth in the most raw, unflinching way possible.

Her speech wasn’t about Rhysand’s court, or Tamlin’s grudges, or Beron’s smug indifference. It was about the people who would suffer and die if they didn’t unite. It was about the horrors she had witnessed and endured. It was about the cost of their pride and their inaction. And for the first time in the entire meeting, there was silence.

That speech was the turning point. It was the reason the High Lords agreed to set aside their centuries of animosity and work together. Not because of Feyre’s attempts to “inspire” them, not because of Rhysand’s threats, but because Nesta Archeron reminded them of what was at stake.

And here’s the kicker: even after she was the one who secured the alliances they needed, the credit still went elsewhere. Feyre, Rhysand, and their crew walked away looking like the saviors, while Nesta was left on the sidelines again. The meeting may have been a mess, but Nesta was the only reason it wasn’t an outright failure.

Bonus mention: My man Thesan was the only unproblematic one at that entire meeting. He showed up, minding his own business, probably thinking, “I am a healer, not a referee for this soap opera.” While everyone else was busy airing centuries of dirty laundry, Thesan was out here like, “So… about that war threatening all our lives?”

He didn’t come for the drama, didn’t throw unnecessary shade, and managed to keep his court from looking like an absolute circus. Honestly, if I were him, I would’ve been this close to kicking the entire Night Court delegation out.

If anyone deserved to walk out of that meeting with dignity, it was Thesan. The man probably, sat down with a glass of wine after, and said, “Never again.”

[spacerockfloater]

The way people switched on Tamlin the moment Rhys was introduced is diabolical.

“Tamlin never really loved Feyre, it was all a trick from the start”: It is stated that Tamlin was disgusted by the idea of forcing someone to fall in love with him and considered it slavery, but ended up being so in love with her that he ultimately lets her go and choses her freedom and safety over that of his own people. Rhys confirms that Tamlin loved Feyre too much. And he loved her truly. Not because he had to. Tamlin treated Feyre with dignity when she was engaged to him. He introduced her as his lady, to be respected and cherished by all. And she really was loved by his people, too. Rhysand uses her as his lap dog to scare Hewn City and parades her as his whore.

“Tamlin never did anything for Feyre, he just used her”: He improved her and her family’s life in every aspect and offered her everything he had.

“Tamlin had sex with someone else in Calanmai”: Out of duty and responsibility because he didn’t want to force Feyre, who still wasn’t sure about her feelings, into it. All of the High Lords perform the Calanmai. Lucien says so. How convenient that this is never brought up with Rhysand. He surely does perform it as well. All the theories in here, “Lucien doesn’t know what he’s talking about/ This is a SC ritual only/ He probably just passes the duty on to someone else” are just a way for people to villainise Tam and glorify Rhys again. All of them inaccurate. The Calanmai is canonically performed by every High Lord. There’s no evidence that proves otherwise. As the son of one High Lord and the ambassador of another, Lucien would know. He is 500 years old. It’s just more convenient for SJM to never bring this up again because it raises the question of “Who was Rhysand fucking all these years?” and it makes her favourite character look bad. And once he is engaged to her, Tamlin flat out refuses to do it. Let’s be real for a second.

“Tamlin didn’t help Feyre under the mountain”: He literally could not. He was bound by a curse. He was forced to be Amarantha’s consort and a consort cannot oppose you. His powers were bound. Alis warns Feyre that Tamlin will not be able to help her. Stop acting as if he didn’t want to help her. He decapitated Amarantha the moment he got his autonomy back. Claiming that there’s no proof that Tamlin was under the influence of a spell when he literally didn’t break the curse and Amarantha’s magic didn’t allow him to use his powers is crazy. And even if he tried, he could never provide actual help. We see this when he begs Amarantha for Feyre’s life. Him showing he cares about her would only make Amarantha more jealous and vicious towards Feyre.

“Tamlin made out with Feyre instead of helping her”: He couldn’t help her run away. No one could do that. She would never make it, Amarantha would find her. In fact, Tamlin specifically could not help her in any way. He could only assure her he still wants and loves her. And she wanted that just as much. Rhys abused her physically, mentally, verbally, drugged her and much worse. And he enjoyed all of it. If he didn’t want to raise suspicions, he wouldn’t have placed a bet in her favour. Rhys is a sadist, SJM just decided to mellow him down in the next book so that we’d all like him over Tamlin.

“Tamlin ignored Feyre’s wishes and only wanted her to be his bride, he didn’t let her be High Lady”: Both Tamlin and Feyre were bad communicators going though trauma and Tam had a whole court to care for. Tamlin was unaware of how Feyre felt because she barely spoke up once. Rhys knew because he literally lived inside her head and had all the time in the world to focus his attention on her since his court suffered zero consequences during Amarantha’s reign. And Tamlin simply told her the truth: there’s no such thing as High Lady. Even her current title is given to her by Rhys, the magic of Prythian has not actually chosen her to be High Lady. The title and its power are decorative. And she said she didn’t want that anyway.

“Tamlin locks Feyre up and uses his magic to harm her”: He locks her in his humongous palace to keep her safe, after she just came back from the dead and his worst enemy is kidnapping her every month, while he runs off to protect his borders. Rhysand locks Feyre in a fucking bubble. Tamlin loses control of his magic. He doesn’t want to harm her. That’s not abuse. Abuse is intentional. Feyre and Rhysand lock Lucien and Nesta up. They lock the people of the Hewn City up in a cave. Feyre loses control of her magic and harms Lucien’s mother. Double standards I guess.

“Tamlin is a bad and conservative ruler”: Tamlin is such a beloved ruler that his sentries literally begged to die for him. Feyre had to fuck with their minds to finally turn them against him. They were his friends. He was so progressive that the lords fled his court once he became their ruler because he wouldn’t put up with their bullshit like his father did. He loved all of his people. He is against slavery. The Tithe was just tax collection. Rhysand practically rules over just one city, while ignoring Hewn City and Illyria. He treats 2/3 of his realm like shit and everyone except the residents of Velaris hates him. He collects tax, too, but we conveniently never see this. He ranks the members of his inner circle (my 1st, my 2nd etc.) and reminds them every moment that they are his slaves first and anything else second, while Tamlin treats them equally and even gives Lucien an official title by naming him Ambassador.

“Tamlin conspired with Hybern”: He was a double agent and his short lived alliance, two weeks all in all, not only didn’t harm a single soul, but ultimately saved all of Prythian as he was the only one who brought valuable information to that meeting. He dragged Beron to battle. Rhysand’s alliance with Amarantha harmed thousands and only helped save one city, Velaris.

“Tamlin is responsible for turning Nesta and Elain into Fae”: No, that was Ianthe, who got the info from Feyre. Tamlin was fooled by her, just as Feyre obviously was, or she wouldn’t have trusted her. Tamlin was disgusted by that act.

“Tamlin is less powerful than Rhysand”: Rhysand himself says that a battle between them would turn mountains to dust. Tamlin killed Rhysand’s dad, the previous High Lord of the Night Court, in one blow. He is just as powerful as Rhysand. SJM again just wants us to believe otherwise. And he is smarter, too. He was the only one not to trust Amarantha. And he was a good spy for Prythian against Hybern.

All of these takes are cold as fuck. SJM was testing the waters with ACOTAR and she made sure the main love interest, Tamlin, was insanely likeable, so that the book could be a satisfactory standalone story in case she couldn’t land a trilogy deal. She didn’t know it would be such a big hit. But once she realised she could turn this into a franchise, she had to figure out a new story to tell. She may claim otherwise, but there’s just too many plothotes to convince me. And in order to make her new main love interest seem like the best choice, she had to character assassinate the old one. There was no other way. ACOTAR Rhys was too much of an evil monster to be loved by the majority of the audience. But Tamlin was introduced to us as such a heroic and passionate man that is literally impossible to turn him into someone despised by all. Feyre’s relationship with Rhysand reads too much like cheating on Tamlin. That’s why anyone with basic analytical skills is able to realise the flaws of the narration.

[viktoriaashleyyx]

My personal favorite thing about ACOWAR was Tamlins ingenuity. Like holy shit.

He started with weakened forces due to Amaranthas deal killing off his men. Then Feyres *~* boss bitch*~* plan to turn the rest of his court against him. By the time the war comes around he does not have an army and he still pulled more than his weight.

Tamlin obtained a STACK of information on Hyberns plans down to where exactly they were keeping the feybane. How, when, where, what, all of that shit and shared it with all of the High Lords. Didn't keep it a secret (like RhySAnd does with most shit) cause that would've been dumb. He got actual useful information on how to bring down Hybern in half a year, RhySAnd didn't get any information standing by Amaranthas side for 50.

He blew his cover and saved Feyre, Elain, Briar and Azriel using his wind magic to get them airborn and his brute strength to fight off the hounds. They would be dead without Tamlins help. All of them.

And THEN HE SHOWS UP DRAGGING BARON BY THE SCRUFF OF HIS NECK. He commands BARONS SONS (who fucking listen to him) where and how to destroy the feybane caches. And commanding BARONS ARMY.

This man will figure. it. out.

While most of RhySAnds plans end up only barely working out by sheer luck, Tamlins just fucking work. Like hate him all you want, but without him yall would've gone into that war relying on nothing more than RhySAnds inflated sense of self worth. Tamlin delivers results, every single time.

ACOWAR was Tamlins redemption arc from MAF. And everything else forward is just a testament to RhySAnds insecurity.

The NC was out here playing checkers, while Tamlins playing chess. Do you realize how bad you have to be when you have a full board and the guy you're playing against starts off missing his rooks and bishops and you still lose?

[geniemillies]

i will never be convinced on rhysand the better high lord when tamlin opened his court to refugees during amarantha's reign, began celebrating festivities that didn't belong to spring just so they'd feel at home, played for them too with his silly fiddle omg, refused to send his people beyond the wall until he was desperate, felt them die because their bond as subject and high lord was just too great (sarah's words not mine), even buried a lesser fae in his court after he was brutalized by amarantha, dug the ground with his haaaands, said lesser fae wasn't even his subject but he offered him peace and company during his death anyway. then there's mister change takes time over here, has his people living in harsh conditions in camps, under a mountain where they cannot leave because they're more weapons than people. so if you were born anywhere in his court that's not velaris sucks to suck i guess.

don't even get me started on his family being in charge while he was gone for 50 yrs because their circus troupe didn't do squat either. cassian is a privileged boy who has lost all emotional connection to his own people. idk what azriel does besides do a job he doesn't even want to do and mope around i guess. morrigan hates her people, morrigan 'i'm the exception, everybody evil except for me and i will make no effort to change anything bc im too pretty for that'. amren. amren wtf even is she doing in the night court. not even from the lands and she's already named second in command, that's all i have to know about the high lord. what is she commanding? *in damian's voice* she doesn't even go here!!!

tamlin did more for spring and people from other courts in those fifty years than the ic will ever consider doing for the night court. morrigan couldn't lift a pinkie, if you mention doing anything for hewn city she'd start whining throwing up waa waa waa, grown ass woman. cassian kisses the dirt rhysand steps on, if he says bark he out here 🐕. amren is just there for shits and giggles. azriel.

so if anyone sat on their asses it's rhysand and his ragtag group of powerful people who don't do shit with it. illyrians still suffer in the camps, hewn city still trapped in a mountain where abuse is the norm. and they aaaalll stiiill haaaate youuur aaaasss 💥💥💥💥💥

[legendl0re]

I was reminded of a scene in ACOFAS that made me despise Rhysand, the one where he visits Tamlin and just berates him over and over, and now I remember why and can form it into words:

This scene just proves that Rhysand can’t stand the fact that he will forever owe his life, his happiness, even the existence of his own kid, to Tamlin.

That’s what makes him so angry and hateful, that Tamlin proved to be the better man and bought him back despite everything that happened between them.

He is goading Tamlin because he wants to desperately prove that he isn’t that good person, but Tamlin won’t bite. Feyre destroyed his court, Rhys and his father killed his family and forced him to become a High Lord, the one thing he never wanted to be, and yet still he gave that last piece so the two of them could be happy.

Rhys should be kissing Tamlin’s shoes for that, but instead he can’t cope and is attempting to drive the man deeper into depression, not to mention disrespecting his borders with Cassian and Nesta and Eris’ little meetings.

[macel625]

If you say "Rhys is not my high lord" 3 times in the mirror, Cassian appears

[kataraavatara]

the nc’s main army from illyria being so poor cassian is handing out blankets while the the rich merchant class in velaris doesn’t have to provide any soldiers is good class commentary until you remember rhysand is supposed to be the good guy and also it’s sarah j maas

[maybeiwasjustjade]

“Nesta hates Rhysand, so of course he looks godawful in her POV. She’s unreliable and villainizes him!!!!”

Y’all sound ridiculous.

The fact that ACOSF was written in 3rd person pov with DUAL MCs (one of which was a member of the IC) already proves that it’s a significantly more ubiased perspective than Feyre’s rose tinted glasses and lobotomy. Y’all just don’t like that your faves are unapologetic assholes whose actions actually can’t be redeemed this time without Feyre spinning in her own web of delusions.

Most of the scenes involving Rhysand the King Prick were from Cassian’s perspective. Given that Cassian is so far up Rhysand’s ass that he’s essentially a second mouthpiece, if Rhysand comes off impeccably dick-ish just accept that it’s more than likely the reality.

Nesta wasn’t the one that painted Rhysand as the insufferable villain; that was Cassian. Quit blaming Nesta for it. Accept that the IC are in fact the villains in a LOT of the characters’ stories. Literally barely anyone likes or even tolerates the NC. Nesta didn’t need to do squat for characters AND readers to dislike the Mayor of Velaris and his equally useless entourage.

[visenlya]

see how tamlin chose to sacrifice himself and sent feyre away to save her from amarantha and rhysand the blackmailer? very demure, very considerate. see how he has always been very honest about the type of person he is? very demure, very cutesy. see how he didn’t have to be the bigger person and gave a part of himself to save rhysand? very demure, very mindful, very compassionate.

[bonecarversbestie]

My biggest beef with the Inner Circle is how they feel so entitled to information that impacts ALL of Prythian. And they hoard secrets and powerful artefacts like they’re the only ones responsible or trustworthy enough to handle them. For someone who says he doesn’t want to be high king Rhys sure acts like he rules all of prythian. 🙄

Maybe that’s how being high lord works but it’s just the superiority complex of it all.

Examples

Azriel spying on literally everyone (I know it’s his job but it just feels like there’s no privacy in this court and they want it that way. If ANY other person outside the IC has information they don’t, they want it. Secrets are for NC only 🙅‍♀️. No one else is allowed to make plans to save the world)

Location of the cauldron(it should be secret but why does it get to be the night courts secret? I think they should have let Tarquin decide tbh)

The whole search for the book of breathings (as if the war that was starting didn’t affect everyone. They considered just asking Tarquin and they should have.)

The existence and location of the trove (again why do they deserve to be the only ones who hold this knowledge)

Keeping Nestas weapons from her (they belong to her and no one else has any right to them. I’ll die on this hill)

Luciens paternity (though I’m pretty sure he already knows. But it’s the fact that feyre wouldn’t tell her friend this life altering information for literally no good reason)

Even Rhys and Feyre keeping their stupid death pact a secret is so selfish. Bc if they both died with no heir who becomes high lord? Kier? Seems like a shitty surprise to leave your mourning court.

[bellavida-loll]

I'll start

Tamlin is the most lovable high lord. He and Rhysand are the only ones we get insight into the lives of, and I have to say I much prefer fiddle playing and limerick writing to whatever it is Rhysand does apart from bang, drink and gamble. His hobbies are just so cute, like him!

Secondly, he's so much sweeter. Rhysand actively withheld information from Feyre that literally meant the end of her life. Rhysand explained away all he did to her under the mountain without so much as a sorry. Rhysand made her into the very thing she said she hated at the beginning of the series- a domesticated, crown-wearing breeding machine.

But Tamlin? All he ever did was try to protect her. He might have gone about it in a better way, but he was going through his own stuff too. Locking her in the house might have aggravated her trauma, but he had no way to know that would happen-because unlike rhystupidslut he does not have direct access to her brain. I can promise you he wouldn't have gotten Feyre without being a daemati- after all the powers don't seem to have any actual use. Tam baby did nothing that would warrant Feyre choosing the tear-licking predator with an Oedipus complex over the cute lord with a lute.

That's all for now, might add more later. Y'all have anything else to add?

[hrizantemy]

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.

[achaotichuman]

Feyre- Hah hah! I destroyed the Spring Court and left them for dead through this elaborate plan that I made up on the spot while we are literally in the middle of war, so I can get back at Tamlin!

Tamlin- She destroyed the Spring Court and left us for dead through this elaborate plan she made up on the spot while we are literally in the middle of war, just so she can get back at me

Feyre-

[1800naveen]

Nah because Tamlin is just chilling (kinda?) after Feyre ruined his court and Lucien left his ass. They're now high lady and emissary of the night court.

He's better than me because if someone ruined my home and made my people think I'm a horrible high lord, I'M GETTING MY LICK BACK!

Saw this post from @merwgue and it inspired me. DROPPING BOMBS ON THEM MFS. HIROSHIMA AIN'T GOT NOTHING ON THIS.

A second plane has hit Velaris type shit. (Y'all, don't come after me for this joke, Americans joke about it all the time for some reason)

You know the lyric "don't get sad, get even"? But Tamlin is the bigger man (I ain't)

I gotta pull a Fang Runin after this. Everyone and anyone can get this work.

(I got fucked up humor, sorry)

[geniemillies]

something very diabolical with the inner circle thinking a child's worst crime is letting their younger sibling hunt ever since they were children but the ic will go on and let little illyrian children beat each other and get punished if they ever misbehave. it's normal apparently. oh and their only purpose is to be weapons for war, hurry children pick that sword up and fight 👏👏. children of velaris? playing hopscotch. aw 😊. children of hewn city? evil incarnate 👿. no sunlight for them. their worst crime? being born in the wrong court. hurry tell the velaris vendors to REFUSE SERVICE TO ANYONE AND—💥💥💥💥

[xfic]

Viviane > Feyre for HL.

Viviane held down the Winter Court for 50 years, protected as much of her people as she could, AND was trying to find a way to free Kallias from UTM.

Feyre quite literally fucked her way into the title.

One of the many hills I will die on.