#not even anti feyre

[foxcort]

reading acomaf. you know the book where feyre has a panic attack because the rose petals down the aisle on her wedding day remind her of blood. and then i reach chapter 39 where she’s serving amren blood. not just reluctantly passing her a container. but. like. taking out a jar. unscrewing the lid. “letting the tang of blood fill her nostrils.” asking amren if she’d like her to warm it up.

[unforgivenyunjin]

“Rhys wasn’t raped”

“Rhys wasn’t raped”

“Rhys wasn’t raped”

“Rhys wasn’t raped”

“Rhys wasn’t raped”

Rape is both emotional and physical abuse and anything that is not 100% consent is rape. Being forced to have sex with someone out of fear is rape. Being forced to have sex with someone for “benefits” such as going outside is rape. Being forced to have sex with someone to prove your loyalty to them is rape.

If you’re put in any sexual situation where you are forced to do things and not because you genuinely want to, that is rape. Rhys did not 100% consent to his “relationship” (if you could even call it that) with Amarantha. He literally talks about how he was suicidal for a while because of what was happening to him Under The Mountain but it was all consensual? He was just a sex worker?

Two of the most ridiculous points this person makes is one, saying rape isn’t emotional abuse. And two, insinuating that being a “sex worker” made everything that happened to Rhys completely fine.

Sex workers are taken advantage of all the time. That’s one of the most dangerous parts of it. Being a sex worker does not always equal to consenting to everything you do. It’s not this glamorous job where you’re just consenting to everything and having sex for the fun of it. Therefore slapping the term “sex worker” onto Rhys as a way to invalidate his decades of sexual abuse is nothing short of demented.

And rape is most definitely emotions abuse. A lot of the time rape is used to control someone as seen with Amarantha and Rhys. She wanted to punish him because his father killed her friend and she wanted to prove his loyalty to her. It was literally about breaking him down and that’s why he still has trauma from it. You can’t look at the mental scars Rhys has because of Amarantha and boldly claim that wasn’t rape. You can’t read him clearly saying “she made me fuck her” and boldly claim that it wasn’t rape.

This person is not a child so there’s no valid excuse for this mentality. It’s just blatant vile ignorance and a nasty soul.

[copypastus]

Feyre's selective hearing is the origin of my villain arc.

[aprill-99]

How it started *Under the Mountain*:

Feyre: “So that’s the love of my life.”

Rhys: “Really? Tamlin? That guy?”

Feyre: “Yeah. Thoughts?”

Rhys: “And prayers. Girl what-”

Where it went *Early ACOWAR*:

Feyre: “So this is my mate.”

Lucien: “Really? Your mate is that guy?? Rhysand???”

Feyre: “Yeah. Thoughts?”

Lucien: “And Prayers. Girl what-”

[thrumbolt]

It will never stop being hilarious when Mor rambles in her head about wanting to kill Tamlin. Bitch you can't even kill your shitty dad!

[starrbirrd]

I think probably the saddest thing about Feyre is that she genuinely has no friends of her own. Her "friend group" was loyal to her husband hundreds of years before she was born and have proven more than once that they still defer to him over her. The one friend she might have had (Lucien) has been completely estranged from her. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Feyre in ACOSF is living ACOTAR Feyre's worst nightmare.

[washmchineheart]

I’m a little critical of feyre sometimes but I like the way she’s completely out of touch with reality sometimes. it’s kinda funny. she keeps talking of humans like that wasn’t her one year ago. she talks about nesta’s house being a slum like they weren’t living in a cabin and boiling hot water for tea. she also gets mad when people believe the lies she told about rhysand in her whole spying for the nc bullshit like she wasn’t the one lying. she makes fun of lucien’s friends as if her little court of dreamers is any better.

[lainalit]

Just a reminder that compassionate and empathetic queen Feyre needed a personal reason for stopping Ianthe from r*ping lucien and not Idk cause it would be the right think to do

[feyres-divorce-lawyer]

and that’s it. that’s their dynamic in three sentences

[litnerdwrites]

Suddenly, the reasoning behind Nesta's sudden institutionalisation, and forced training, after waiting over a year to help her, makes perfect sense. No, it's not because Feyre sobbed into her eggs one morning or because they care about helping her.

It's because of the trove.

rainkatzanddogs on tiktok, put together a timeline for the SJM universe, and for each events, references which chapter (including bonus content) they take place in. I'll be referencing that in this post.

Feyre learned about Nesta's 500 gold marks spending spree one day before the start of ACOSF, right before Rhysand explains his plan. The one that Cassian believed he'd made a while back, given how detailed it was. The next day is when the intervention happens, and after that, Rhysand asks Cassian to look into the Human queens.

If he's asking Cassian to look into it at this point, then we can assume that he has reasonable evidence to suggest that they're doing something shady. By this point, according to the timeline, Baron has already made a deal with them, Eris' soldiers are under the Crowns control, and have been for a month. Meaning Briallyn has had the crown for longer than a month.

16 days after the start of ACOSF, they have the meeting where they use Elain to manipulate Nesta into searching for the trove.

I think it's reasonable to assume that the IC had some idea about the trove, and if not that specifically, than that magical items were being used by a death god and a cauldron made queen to control people. It would be naive to think they were completely ignorant of what was going on. Even by the time that first meeting takes place, they clearly have a decent level of knowledge on the trove, how to find it, and who's currently looking for it.

It isn't unreasonable to think that Rhys had some idea that they'd need Nesta to scry for them or to help them later on. So, he devised a plan where she trains, and works in the library so she'd be ready to help them when they need it.

She'd be prepped for missions due to her training.

She'd have ample time to research and study while in the library, even if she only shelves books, she'd know where to find the ones she needed to research whatever they asked of her,

And since her life would be in their hands, they could make her do anything without her arguing that she's a free citizen, because at this point, she isn't.

They used the guise of it being healing as a way to pitch the idea to Feyre and Elain, even though neither of them seemed to have an issue manipulating her into doing what they wanted, since they likely discussed the using Elain to convince her to scry, because Elain didn't seem to surprised when they didn't ask her to do it later, nor did she seem bothered when Nesta ended up doing it anyway. Hell, she literally came in to say she'd do it, got under Nesta's skin, and left without listening and/or contributing to the conversation anymore than that.

Cassian seemed hell bent on making her into a warrior from the moment they met, despite her wishes, and since he so blatantly doesn't care for her or her autonomy at all, he's obviously in, so he can get what he wants. A mate that's a warrior and his emotional punching bag to take out his insecurities on, but also has her own insecurities and traumas, so she'd never go against him and he could continue to flirt with Mor and (let's be real) Rhys without worrying about said mate having the strength to stand up to him.

It was never about helping Nesta, it was all a rouse to make her into a tool that was useful to them, with little risk. If she dies, she's no longer a problem for them, or anything to fear. If she lives, she's either contained forever, or heals into the perfect tool for them to use whenever they want. It's a win-win for Rhys and Cassian.

[hunnyy-bunnyyy]

The dissonance between era inspiration in ACoTaR is one of the more brushed over flaws in the book series. Looking at the Inner Circle's fashion alone, we jump between "literal scraps of fabric" (Under the Mountain, Court of Nightmares) to "orientalist painter's imaginings of the Ottoman Harem" (clothing described during Feyre's first few visits to the Night Court) to "modern 'corset' dress" (Feyre's Starfall dress, majority of Mor's clothing, most of the clothes drawn in fan art) to "modern -- almost sci-fi style -- skin-tight leather armor" to "sweater and leggings combo".

Then, between courts, we have Helion wearing Spirit Halloween's take on the ancient Grecian tunic; Feyre's Spring Court wedding dress looking like an 1830s fashion plate; and Dawn heavily implied to have traditional East Asain clothing (e.g. kimono, hanfu, hanbok).

On top of all of that, some of the Dawn Court's small cities ". . . specialized in tinkering and clockwork and clever things. . ." which -- combined with Lucien's metal eye and Nuan's mechanical hand -- implies a sort of post-industrial revolution time period. However, a decent chunk of the fandom says that ACoTaR is medieval; which, yeah, it's medieval themed in the first book -- sans the "dress" Rhysand forces Feyre to wear UTM.

The wild inconsistencies in ACoTaR's inspiration leads, not to a rich and diverse world, but a world that seems ramshackle and haphazard -- like it's creator simply threw together a board on Pinterest and called it a day. This is a major part of why the world building is so abysmal, it relies on convenience to the plot and whatever pleases the aesthetic whims of the author. Cultures deemed "pretty" or "badass" are thrown together, irregardless of how far apart they actually are. This is not only disrespectful to the narrative, but to the readers and the cultures used as inspiration.

All of this to say: Sarah J Maas is a bad author, not just because of the way she handles serious topics like power dynamics and abuse, but also because she cannot put together a world that is even the slightest bit cohesive.

[pinkwhite]

"Your sisters mean well, or one of them does. But seeing them, sitting at that table... I hadn't realized it would hit me as strongly. How young you were. How they didn't protect you." Pg. 260 Chapter 23, A Court Of Mist And Fury

This scene truly made me dislike Rhysand more than I already had. Because they were also young as well??? Like they shouldn't have to be bear responsible for protecting Feyre, I mean that there was their Fathers jobs. So why are you blaming them?

[gwandas]

Underrated hilarious aspect of Rhysand’s “mask” being that no other High Lord needs to do all that.

He’s acting like he has to act like a villain and mistreat 2/3 of his court to rule it when that doesn’t seem to be true anywhere else? Why are we acting like Velaris is so great when I’d honestly rather be one of Thesan or Helion’s subjects.

The only High Lord who might be worse than him is Beron who is actually evil. Which says… something about Rhys I fear.

[shadowqueenjude]

“My apologies, lady. I’m Lucien. Courtier and emissary. Your eyes are like stars, and your hair like burnished gold.” “We’re not going to bite.” Lucien’s white teeth gleamed in a way that suggested otherwise. “If I offer you the moon on a string, will you give me a kiss, too?” “So there’s singing and dancing and excessive drinking,” Lucien chimed in, falling into step beside me. “And dallying,” he added with a wicked grin. Lucien was crouched over me, frowning. “I couldn’t heal you completely—they would know someone helped you. The bruises are there, along with a hideous black eye, but … all the swelling’s gone.” “And my nose?” I said, feeling it before he answered. “Fixed—as pert and pretty as before.” He smirked at me. “Her name, Emissary?” Amarantha asked of Lucien. But Lucien only glanced at Tamlin before closing his eyes and squaring his shoulders.

Feyre: *falls for Tamlin and Rhysand* Me: 👁️👄👁️

[arson-09]

Feysand saying they killed amarantha will randomly play in my mind and my mind bluescreens

edit: someone didnt know how to mind their business so let me make it clear i couldn’t remember the context for a qoute in the comments but my point still stands that Tamlin literally killed amarantha like took her life with his own hands. feysand did not which people (and i can swear at some point in the book) did not👍🏻

[littlefeltsparrow]

There’s a problem with the way Sarah J Maas depicts physical abuse/intimidation in ACOTAR

The fact that Tamlin’s physical abuse of Feyre being communicated through a magical/emotional outburst is problematic in the sense that it undercuts the reason why abuse happens. Incorporating magical concepts into a portrayal of domestic violence muddles the issue at hand and makes the abuse an accidental consequence of involuntary magical impulses as opposed to a deliberate tactic of intimidation and control. This issue is exacerbated by the fact that Feyre too, experiences an uncontrollable magical/emotional outburst during the High Lords meeting due to Beron’s provocative remarks. To be clear, I don’t view Tamlin as detestable or as an irredeemable abuser, but the text very much does. What I want to comment on is the problematic framing of Tamlin’s actions that are meant to characterize him as an abusive partner to Feyre.

So, I’m going to compare and contrast a scene from ACOMAF with a scene from ACOWAR, both of which depict magical outbursts that are brought on by intense emotional stress or rage.

ACOMAF

Here, Feyre objects to Tamlin’s protective measures he had enacted earlier. She expresses how suffocated she feels and how she wishes that she had the breathing room to cope with her new reality and that Tamlin’s actions are making her suffer. Furthermore, Feyre introduces her doubt in their engagement and expresses her reservations. Tamlin then goes blank, reacting explosively with his power blowing the room into splinters.

This is a good first step towards characterizing Tamlin as an abusive partner (despite the leaps it took to get there) But, where it goes wrong is the emphasis the text puts on Tamlin's blank expression and subsequent magical response. He loses control momentarily, but the issue about this portrayal is that abuse is not "losing control" or accidental, it is a conscious decision made by the abuser. But here, Maas makes it seem as though Tamlin really was not in control, that the heightened emotions made him react that way.

It gives Tamlin an out and consequently undercuts the message Maas is trying to communicate. Bringing magic into the scene takes away Tamlin's agency and removes a portion of his culpability in harming Feyre.

This scene should not have been Tamlin simply losing control of his temper, if Maas wanted to enhance her abuse narrative, she should have taken Tamlin’s temper and had him weaponize it. Intimidation is a possibility, one that would work towards making Feyre feel scared about voicing ver true feelings on their relationship. But Maas doesn’t go all the way, she doesn’t lean into that interpretation and instead plays it straight.

This is also undercut by Tamlin's second magical outburst in ACOWAR. Feyre intentionally provoking him does nothing for Maas's abuse narrative and actively undermines it by strengthening the idea that Tamlin's destructive outbursts really were caused by overwhelming emotions. Once again, it gives Tamlin a way out and dilutes the message.

The notion of an involuntary magical outburst is applied again in ACOWAR

Beron’s inflammatory remarks provoke an immediate reaction from Feyre, she goes blank so to speak, and can no longer focus due to the intensity of her emotions. This manifests in a fiery outburst that throws the meeting into disarray and injures the Lady of Autumn accidentally.

She’s so angry that she can’t think straight or logically, and it manifests in an attack. Though this isn't exactly the same, Feyre's "blinding fury" is so powerful that it cannot be restrained and ends up harming an innocent party. This moment strengthens the case for magic manifesting strong emotions as external attacks, characterizing it to some extent as involuntary.

Ultimately, the magical element removes the agency of the individuals in question. It frames their violence not as a conscious act designed to inspire fear, but as a genuinely accidental reaction to intense emotions. This is why the "Tamlin is an evil abuser" narrative is so weak. Because it dilutes the severity of the violence and makes it seem as though these kinds of emotional outbursts are an element of possessing magical powers. It gestures at a larger issue of Maas picking and choosing when and where she wants to apply real-world standards to her characters' morality. It makes events less believable and hypocritical, making allowances for certain characters, but condemning others without adequate narrative set-up.

This is why Maas is fundamentally incapable of recognizing the abusive dynamic she constructs with Feysand. It is a combination of double standards, authorial bias and a misunderstanding of how abuse manifests.