#nobodys and i mean NOBODYS character suffered for the plot the way Tamlins did

[emeraldvagabond]

If we're talking about retcons can we also please talk about how Tamlin was retconned too? I have a list™️(sorry this is gonna be long): in ACOTAR it’s a big point that Tamlin didn’t want to be a cruel tyrannical high lord like his dad. This is stated SEVERAL times, in fact Feyre falls for him because he's vehemently anti slavery (compare that to Rhys, who says the NC freed their slaves ONLY because they became hard to brainwash and make them forget about Velaris. Ew). 1/5

But in ACOMAF, he's ok with the tithe? Not that he shouldn’t collect taxes, but at the threat of DEATH??? Because “that’s how my dad did it?” What happened to not wanting to be cruel like his dad? In TAR he's kind enough where people keeping seeking refuge, and long before Amarantha comes, Lucien, despite having friends in many courts, CHOOSES to stay with Tam. And Lucien spends 90% of the book mocking Tamlin or challenging him. He even sets Feyre up with the suriel, fearing no repercussions despite Feyre being important in, uh, breaking their curse??? (and there aren’t any from Tam). But in MAF Lucien is afraid of Tamlin? In TAR, Tamlin offers to teach Feyre how to read and to help her write to her family, and the book also mentions that he teaches her how to ride bareback. But now in MAF he doesn’t want to help teach her her powers and in fact, forbids her from training? And most importantly… in ACOTAR, Tamlin notices Feyre's moods despite being very busy with, you know. Running his court. Fighting off Amarntha's monsters. All that stuff. But he still sees when she's sad. In fact, noticing she's upset is what leads to him writing her poems, to make her feel better. So am I really supposed to believe that he ignores her and becomes emotionally negligent in ACOMAF because “he's busy”? That he doesn’t see her feelings or try to help and console her when he does so several times in book 1? Retcon city. Sorry, this is so long, but I’m angry ranting and Tamlin was retconned sooo much in later books.

NONNY THIS IS LITERALLY A TAMLIN STAN ACCOUNT WE CAN TALK ABOUT HIS CHARACTER ASSASSINATION ALLLLLLLLLLLLL MF DAYYY. IT'S MY FAVORITE PASS TIME.

So really, the tithe, I understand, it's even stated that most of the money and things are for running the estate and the land, upkeep etc. I think a lot of people have the tendency to hear(or read) estate and think....a very large house, but that isn't the case. A Lord's estate isn't just his manor, but his workers, his land, the villages that are built on that land, the animals in those villages, and anything and everything in between. He is literally collecting money to put towards their quality of life. HOWEVER, THE THREAT OF DEATH?

I understand he's vulnerable to Ianthe's whims, because as i've said before, he's never had anyone to guide him through this whole Highlord thing that he never asked for, but that is SO MUCH of a stretch for his character. In TAR he tells Feyre that he's no good for anything but war and death, and fiddling, that he's no good at being Highlord and he's terrified of being his father. Every action he takes is consciously for the betterment of his people and their lives, to the best of his ability while under Amarantha's rule. To the point where Fae, including Alis, flee from Amarantha and the effects of her and Rhysand's actions to his court. And when they get there they all choose to stay. Alis and Lucien, two of the main people who we know are refugees in his court, have nothing but kind things to say of him. And like you said- Lucien challenges him and makes fun of him for being awkward and laughs and plays with him as brothers do without fear. Because Tamlin literally does not enforce rank in his court. He doesn't just say that once, it bleeds into every interaction he has with his people. On the Summer Solstice, he sits among the people and plays the fiddle and drinks and dances with Feyre, and leaves everything long enough to take her to watch the wisps until the dawn breaks. He gets on his knees just to play HER a song, right there in front of everyone. He doesn't hide his feelings behind any type of mask, and he doesn't worry about what his people will think because THAT IS THEIR HIGHLORD. Their Highlord is JUST Tamlin, nothing more, nothing less.

He doesn't even wear the fancy, decked-out clothes of a Highlord, because they aren't practical, and he's just Tamlin.

He's never too busy for what Feyre needs- sometimes he has work and he can't spend every waking moment with her, but she never wants for anything. Even when she is so desperately afraid for her sisters...she has no need to be because he's already taken care of everything they could ever want or need. AND NESTA KNOWS IT WAS HIM!!!!! And even after Feyre does....everything that she does, he STILL cares for her family. When her sisters become Fae, he STILL cares for their father right up until the moment he steps onto that battlefield.

I bet, if Elain wanted to return to that house and live out the rest of her days in silence in the mortal realms....he would probably fund it because that's just who he is!!!!

He lets himself be trapped in that snare Feyre lays for him- just to make her smile. Just to see her triumph. Because he knows that's what she needs at that moment. He offers to teach her to read, but it's too embarrassing for her, so he doesn't press. He offers to help her write letters home to her family, but she doesn't know what she would even want to say, so he doesn't press. He keeps her painting of the woods- of a time when she was starving, now, in a time where she is fed and clothed in finery because it reminds him that is not the only one who feels desolate and overwhelmed with responsibility that they never asked for.

And then in the end, despite all this, despite being desperately in love with her, because he is desperately in love with her...he sends her away. He sends her home, back to that estate, away from the danger even when she is supposed to be his savior. Because it's a burden she doesn't know she carries, because he would rather find a million other ways or suffer under a woman who has been obsessed with him since he was a child than see Feyre suffer.

And she comes back for him because she loves him. She loves the freedom he has given her, the ways he's set her free. She loves the Spring Court and the people there, she loves dancing at the summer solstice and a male who plays her solos in front of hundreds of people like he's offering a gift to the goddess.

And then....all of that was just? A show? A ploy? What? What was it? It doesn't make sense. Yes, he's desperately afraid, but the last time he was desperately afraid he let her go. The safest thing for her in book two would be training. Harnessing her new powers, learning who she is now, and what she isn't anymore. But nooo now, suddenly it's lock her up and put her on a shelf? Now it's, he has too much to do, stay here and not, he has so much to do, stay safe? It's no longer teaching her what she doesn't know it's....owning her? I'd say make it make sense but literally, no one can.

And it makes me mad.

[brightbeautifulthings]

A ​Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

"Nesta pointed at Tamlin. The ground shook. Cassian swore behind her. Tamlin shrank from her outstretched finger, claws digging into the earth. 'Put that finger down, you witch.' Nesta smiled. 'I'm glad you remember what happened to the last person I pointed at.'"

Year Read: 2022

Rating: 5/5

About: There are spoilers ahead for the ACOTAR series. The Night Court is slowly healing from the war against Hybern, all except Nesta who can't seem to move on from the death of her father and being forced into the Cauldron to become High Fae. Fed up with her behavior, her family exiles her to The House of Wind to dry out and train under Cassian. She's always found his arrogance infuriating, but she can't deny the heat between them. Meanwhile, the human queens have formed a dangerous alliance and unrest continues to stir now that the wall is down. Nesta and the Night Court are seeking out a set of ancient weapons that might prevent another war--or start one if they fall into the wrong hands. Spoilers for ACOSF are under the cut. Trigger warnings: In 700+ pages? Almost everything. Parent death, mentions of rape, violence against women, war, severe injury, trauma, childbirth, alcoholism, sexism, grief, guilt, self-loathing, slut-shaming. NSFW content.

Thoughts: I was pretty lukewarm about Nesta in previous books, and I had no strong feelings about any ship besides Feysand, so I never expected to love a novel from her perspective so much. I put it off for its main character and its size, and I'm sorry I did. For as often as I complain about fantasy novels that are too long, I was never once bored or losing interest in 750 pages, and that's a major achievement all by itself. Of the ACOTAR series, this one reminds me most of Mist and Fury (my favorite) because it's a meandering mix of character development, dealing with trauma, plot, new characters, and faerie smut, and I was pretty equally interested in all of them. Also, in the middle of all that, the series has some of the most terrifying creatures I've ever seen, and I practically live on horror. The scene with the kelpie is downright chilling. Maas doesn't linger on any one thing long enough for it to lose its flavor, and I found myself moving quickly through the pages.

As I said, I wasn't expecting to love Nesta so much, and I really like the direction Maas takes with her character. There's no hand-waving here to excuse her past actions, no trying to retroactively make her seem like a better person. Nesta's been a brat for most of her life, and nobody hates her more than she hates herself. In terms of character development, it's an excellent place to start, and I loved watching her work through all the messy parts of trauma and self-loathing, both from the war with Hybern and from a lifetime of poverty and parental neglect. She's by no means a perfect character, prone to lashing out at the people who love her most, and that's what I love about her: all her flaws are on clear display, and nobody is more aware (or less forgiving) of them than she is.

It's also fun to get an outside perspective on the rest of the Night Court, and it cracks me up how much she hates Rhysand. (I love Rhys, but he is an asshole sometimes.) Nesta doesn't find the same sense of family with them that Feyre did, and I like that the novel gives her the opportunity to build her own family with women who have suffered the way she has. I also love all the Cassian in this book, since I've always been fascinated by him and Azriel. His development shows itself in smaller ways, but then, he doesn't have as far to go as Nesta does. If I had no particular feelings about their relationship before, I'm all for it now. Cassian is so loyal and good; he never gives up on her, and he's the only person to try to meet Nesta on her level even when she's at her lowest.

The novel is less concerned with plot than it is with character development and dealing with the traumas of the past books, and I like that about it. What plot there is kicks in slowly, and it's by no means as high stakes as the war with Hybern. A major part of it is Nesta learning about the power she took from the Cauldron, which is fascinating both in the ways she reacts to it and how other people, even her family, treat her for it. There's also her training with Cassian, which took some unexpected turns, and I really enjoyed the ending, as it’s tense and gives her an opportunity to show off all this new development. There's enough plot and thematic closure here to wrap up the novel, with a few threads left open to return to in the next books.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS. TURN BACK BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE.

If there was something I didn't like about the novel, it's the way it spends a lot of time feeling out Nesta's new power and helping her feel comfortable with it, only for most of it to vanish by the end of the book. The problem with Feyre and Nyx is, frankly, a little contrived, and it seems more like a plot device to keep Nesta from becoming overall too powerful for the series. It feels a little like a cop-out to me, but I get that having characters with godlike powers isn't always great for the story. Still, I would have liked to see her learning to live with a level power that scares even her with its temptation.