Top 5 most annoying Tamlin scene misinterpretations
1. ''There is no such thing as a high lady''
I hate this one, because it is always taken as some sort of proof that Tamlin is a raging misogynist who doesn't want an equal woman by his side or some similar type of nonsense. I don't know where this is coming from. Tamlin never wanted to be a high lord. He would probably welcome for someone to take over most of the work so he could just keep running through the woods. He also has absolutely no issues with taking advice from women in power (Ianthe? Hello??). His first reaction to the high lady question is literally this:
âIs everyone just going to call me âTamlinâs wifeâ? Do I get a ⊠title?â
He lifted his head long enough to look at me. âDo you want a title?â
And let's not forget that Feyre's first reply is ''No, I donât know if I can handle them calling me High Ladyâ. To which he then answers that she doesn't have to worry about that, since ''there is no such thing as a high lady'' because the magic choses the title and it keeps chosing males. Also this whole scene happens while he eats her out. Not that it's relevant or anything, just saying...
2. ''Tamlin killed Rhys' family''
No. Tamlin's dad killed Rhys' family. I have no idea how Tamlin doing it is ever the takeaway from that whole story. Let's just quote the actual scene:
âTamlinâs father, brothers, and Tamlin himself set out into the Illyrian wilderness, having heard from Tamlinâfrom meâwhere my mother and sister would be, that I had plans to see them. I was supposed to be there. I wasnât. And they slaughtered my mother and sister anyway.â
Yeah okay, Tamlin gave the information (supposedly) and was there (supposedly) sure, but it's highly unlikely that he was so willingly. Let's not forget that it's established that Tamlin was afraid of his father, that Tamlin's father is worse than Beron (who, I might remind you, tortures his sons) and that Tamlin was friends with Rhys at the time - which neither family approved of. Even Rhys doesn't actually believe Tamlin did anything besides being spineless:
''I didnât care that Tamlin had been there, had allowed them to kill my mother and sister, that heâd come to kill me because he didnât want to risk standing against them.''
In the end we don't know the details. Tamlin could've been tortured and tied up or whatever. Making him watch could've been a cruel form of punishment for being friends with Rhys. We don't really know until SJM graces us with Tamlin's side of the story.
3. ''It's really Tamlin's own fault that the spring court fell''
Alternatively also phrased as: 'Feyre just opened everyone's eyes to Tamlin's incompetence' and....honestly? This low key makes me question the reading comprehension of people.
Yes, Tamlin made a deal with Hybern, which was extremely risky, but the war was coming regardless (as we learn from Rhys in the first half of ACOMAF) and the spring court would be the main target because of its location next to the wall. Inviting Hybern into his lands in a trade is actually a pretty smart way to avoid a lot of death on Tamlin's part - plus he needed help to rescue Feyre and get her out of the deal she had with Rhysand (people forget that Tamlin didn't know Feyre didn't actually need rescuing from the guy that was abusing her in front of him in ACOTAR).
So yeah anyway, Feyre did several things to make the spring court fall: 1. She manipulated the solstice ceremony to make herself seem cauldron-blessed in the eyes of the people, 2. She made a sentry accuse Ianthe (who WAS doing sneaky shit) which essentially did nothing except putting Tamlin on the spot in front of Hybern, so he was kind of forced to throw the sentry under the bus. Good job Feyre, you got a poor sod whipped! But it also built resentment within the soldiers, which was her plan all along and 3. before leaving, she did this (let's just quote the whole thing):
''I had a people who had lost faith in their High Priestess. I had sentries who were beginning to rebel against their High Lord. And as a result of those things, I had Hybern royals doubting the strength of their allies here. Iâd primed this court to fall. Not from outside forcesâbut its own internal warring. And I had to be clear of it before it happened. Before the last sliver of my plan fell into place.
The party would return without me. And to maintain that illusion of strength, Tamlin and Ianthe would lie about itâwhere Iâd gone. And perhaps a day or two after that, one of these sentries would reveal the news, a carefully sprung trap that Iâd coiled into his mind like one of my snares. Iâd fled for my lifeâafter being nearly killed by the Hybern prince and princess. Iâd planted images in his head of my brutalized body, the markings consistent with what Dagdan and Brannagh had already revealed to be their style. Heâd describe them in detailâdescribe how he helped me get away before it was too late. How I ran for my life when Tamlin and Ianthe refused to intervene, to risk their alliance with Hybern. And when the sentry revealed the truth, no longer able to stomach keeping quiet when he saw how my sorry fate was concealed by Tamlin and Ianthe, just as Tamlin had sided with Ianthe the day heâd flogged that sentry âŠWhen he described what Hybern had done to me, their Cursebreaker, their newly anointed Cauldron-blessed, before Iâd fled for my life ⊠There would be no further alliance. For there would be no sentry or denizen of this court who would stand with Tamlin or Ianthe after this. After me.''
So, the sentries left Tamlin because of a lie. A fake story. Without sentries, Hybern decided to take over rather than just be guests and had a prime spot to attack the summer court in turn. Which is also why Tarquin is extremely pissed at Feyre - not Tamlin. So no, Tamlin wasn't a bad high lord. His only real mistake was ever trusting Feyre.
Sure, some argue that Feyre thought Tamlin genuinely sided with Hybern and might be a threat to the rest of Prythian, so taking him down would make sense for her even outside of petty revenge. But there's just one problem with that: Feyre is a mind reader. She could have just.....checked. lol
4. ''Tamlin didn't do anything Under the Mountain''
This one really gets my goat because it's not really true? Things Tamlin did to help Feyre:
1. He sent her away to the human realm. (People forget this, but he basically doomed his court to protect her ass - it's not his fault she came back!)
2. He made Lucien check up on her. (Yes Lucien was Feyre's friend but he still acted under Tamlin's orders!)
3. He ignored Feyre as to not rile Amarantha up even more (Come on, have you seen Amarantha? It totally makes sense)
4. He tries to get to Feyre, begging Amarantha to stop even as he is tied up, bleeding out from a stab wound to his chest that he can't heal because he has no powers - like what do you want him to do???
4. He literally kills Amarantha the second he is able to
Also personal conspiracy detour: That music that Rhysand supposedly sent to Feyre was SO originally supposed to be Tamlin, you can't convince me otherwise. I will never not believe that this wasn't just a lazily done quick change when SJM rewrote book 1 and 2 to account for the boyfriend switcheroo. Attributing the music to Rhys makes absolutely zero sense. He's not a musical boy at all, come on! Music themes never come up with him again either! Meanwhile Tamlin played for Feyre before, is generally a musical guy COME ON! /conspiracy detour over
5. ''It's Tamlin's fault that Nesta and Elaine got turned to fae''
No. No it's not. He knew nothing about this. Ianthe did this on her own accord because Feyre told her where her sister's lived. Tamlin actually attacks (!) the King of Hybern over it (to no avail, but still).
Some people blame Tamlin for keeping Ianthe around afterwards, despite of what she did. Those people I want to refer to point number 3 in this list. Ianthe was working with Hybern. Tamlin tried to be buddies with Hybern for reasons. No, he can't just throw out Ianthe.
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Okay, since we're once again playing the "Nesta has to apologise for every single thing she's ever done wrong in her life" game, I thought I'd make a list of nearly everything Feyre has apologise for when it comes to Nesta;
- I'm sorry for insulting the way you looked when you were born saying you had a sneer on your face when I literally didn't exist.
"She wasnât like Nesta, who had been born with a sneer on her face." ACOTAR CH.2
- I'm sorry for not thanking you for cooking for us every night since Elain and I didn't know how to.
"We dined on roasted venison that night." ACOTAR CH.2
"Heat. I can't cook" ACOMAF CH.54 (Proof that she can't cook)
- I'm sorry for insinuating that you are a horrible person and that our mother realised that on her death bed.
"Or maybe impending death had given her some clarity about the true nature of her children, her husband." ACOTAR CH. 1
- I'm sorry for judging you for trying to befriend the village people because your old friends ignore you.
"Since we had lost our fortune, their former friends dutifully ignored them, so my sisters paraded about as though the young peasants of the town made up a second-rate social circle." ACOTAR CH.2
- I'm sorry for making fun of you, telling you you can't and calling you a burden for wanting to marry an abuser to help the family when I literally said a few paragraphs before how much I was looking forward to you and Elain leaving so I could be alone.
"Sometimes I would even indulge in envisioning a day when my sisters were married and it was only me and Father, with enough food to go around, enough money to buy some paint, and enough time to put those colors and shapes down on paper or canvas or the cottage walls." ACOTAR CH.1
âBelieve me,â I said to her, âthe day you want to marry someone worthy, Iâll march up to his house and hand you over. But youâre not going to marry Tomas.â ACOTAR CH.2
"If Nesta wanted to leave, then fine. Good. Iâd be one step closer to attaining that glorious, peaceful future, to attaining a quiet house and enough food and time to paint." ACOTAR CH.2
"While Tomas might want to marry you ⊠youâre a burden.â ACOTAR CH.2
- I'm sorry for not thanking you for caring about my safety with the mercenary after you had been robbed.
âTheyâre dangerous,â Nesta hissed, her fingers digging into my arm as she continued to pull me from the mercenary. âDonât go near them again.â ACOTAR CH. 3
//âSome other one who passed through. We had only a few coins, and he got mad, butââ
âWhy didnât you report himâor tell me?â
âWhat could you have done?â Nesta sneered. âChallenged him to a fight with your bow and arrows? And who in this sewer of a town would even care if we reported anything?â
âWhat about your Tomas Mandray?â I said coolly."// ACOTAR CH. 3
- I'm sorry for pushing you away when you showed concern for me sleeping with Isaac.
âI do hope you two are taking precautions.â
âItâs a bit late to pretend to care,â I said." ACOTAR CH. 3
- I'm sorry for complaining about not being included when all I do is exclude myself and judge what you bought with the tiny amount of money I gave you.
"I watched my sisters whispering and laughing together. Theyâd spent every copper Iâd given themâon what, I didnât know, though Elain had brought back a new chisel for our fatherâs wood carving." ACOTAR CH. 3
- I'm sorry for almost scolding you for not being able to afford new boots and a cloak when I literally judged you for wanting a new one
"The cloak and boots theyâd whined about the night before had been too expensive. But I hadnât scolded them for it, not when Nesta went out a second time to chop more wood without my asking." ACOTAR CH. 3
-I'm sorry for saying you wouldn't protect me and then in the same sentence say that I know it's because you know that I can fight my own battles.
"I knewâwith a sudden, uncoiling clarityâthat Nesta would buy Elain time to run. Not my father, whom she resented with her entire steely heart. Not me, because Nesta had always known and hated that she and I were two sides of the same coin, and that I could fight my own battles." ACOTAR CH. 4
- I'm sorry for saying that you were probably happy that I was gone and hoping I had been eaten so you could get attention when you were literally hiking alone trying to cross the wall to find me and save me.
"Nesta must be stretching her legs and smiling at the extra room. She was probably content imagining me in the belly of a faerieâprobably using the news as a chance to be fussed over by the villagers." ACOTAR CH. 7
- I'm sorry for trying to put blame on you when you were telling me how you think our father forgets that he literally neglected all of us.
âThere are days,â Nesta said as she paused in front of the door to her room, across from mine, âwhen I want to ask him if he remembers the years he almost let us starve to death.â
âYou spent every copper I could get, too,â I reminded her." ACOTAR CH. 30
- I'm sorry for blaming you for not teaching me how to read and write when that was never your responsibility, I never told you and I should've been able to do that because I was 8 when we lost our fortune. I'm also sorry for assuming that your level of reading would be better than mine since I admitted that our mother neglected our schooling.
"Before our downfall, my mother had sorely neglected our education, not bothering to hire a governess. And after poverty struck and my elder sisters, who could read and write, deemed the village school beneath us, they didnât bother to teach me. I could read enough to functionâenough to form my letters, but so poorly that even signing my name was mortifying." ACOTAR CH. 13
- I'm sorry for telling Ianthe everything about you, including where you lived, which ended in her being able to kidnap you and force you into the cauldron.
"Iâd told her about the village, and the house my sisters now lived in, about Isaac Hale and Tomas Mandray. I hadnât been able to mention Clare Beddorâor what had happened to her family." ACOMAF CH. 2
- I'm sorry for telling the IC that you only cared about money and social standing.
âI was born to a wealthy merchant family, with two older sisters and parents who only cared about their money and social standing." ACOMAF CH. 16
- I'm sorry for telling Rhys that I would make you and Elain help the fae with their problems and even consider asking Rhys to force you to help the fae.
//"They might not be happy about it, but Iâll make Elain and Nesta do it.â
"I didnât have the nerve to ask Rhys if he could simply force my family to agree to help us if they refused. I wondered if his powers would work on Nesta when even Tamlinâs glamour had failed against her steel mind."// ACOMAF CH. 19
- I'm sorry for showing up unannounced to the house with a group of dangerous men and immediately expecting you to be okay with it.
Chapter 23 of ACOMAF ~ it's too long to post.
- I'm sorry for leaving you both to clean up after I'd insulted the food and let complete strangers openly judge you.
//âIs there something wrong with our food?â she said flatly.
I made myself take another bite, each movement of my jaw an effort. âNo.â I swallowed and gulped down a healthy drink of water.
âSo you canât eat normal food anymoreâor are you too good for it?â A question and a challenge.
Rhysâs fork clanked on his plate. Elain made a small, distressed noise.
And though Nesta had let me use this house, though sheâd tried to cross the wall for me and weâd worked out a tentative truce, the tone, the disgust and disapproval âŠ
I laid my hand flat on the table. âI can eat, drink, fuck, and fight just as well as I did before. Better, even.â// ACOMAF CH. 24
//"Cassianâs brows roseâlittle amusement to be found now. âSomeone who let her youngest sister risk her life every day in the woods while she did nothing. Someone who let a fourteen-year-old child go out into that forest, so close to the wall.â My face began heating, and I opened my mouth. To say what, I didnât know. âYour sister diedâdied to save my people. She is willing to do so again to protect you from war. So donât expect me to sit here with my mouth shut while you sneer at her for a choice she did not get to makeâand insult my people in the process.â
Nesta didnât bat an eyelash as she studied the handsome features, the muscled torso. Then turned to me. Dismissing him entirely."// ACOMAF CH. 24
"My sisters cleaned the dishes while we worked, and had excused themselves to bed hours before, mentioning where to find our rooms." ACOMAF CH. 24
- I'm sorry for calling you a creature after Rhys insulted you and saying it's the kindest thing I could say about you.
âNesta is a delight, by the way.â
âSheâs ⊠her own creature,â I said. It was perhaps the kindest thing I could say about her." ACOMAF CH. 24
- I'm sorry for not standing up for you when Rhys claimed that only Elain cares about me and that it's your fault for not protecting me.
"Rhys didnât answer. Instead he said, âI didnât think I could get through that dinner.â
âWhat do you mean?â Heâd been rather ⊠calm. Contained.
âYour sisters mean well, or one of them does. But seeing them, sitting at that table ⊠I hadnât realized it would hit me as strongly. How young you were. How they didnât protect you.â
âI managed just fine.â ACOMAF CH. 24
- I'm sorry for saying that you let me go into the woods when you aren't my mother or responsible for me.
âBut if I hadnât gone into those woods, if they hadnât let me go out there alone âŠ" ACOMAF CH. 24
- I'm sorry for allowing Rhys to say he can't look at you without wanting to roar at you when he doesn't know a single thing about you.
âbut it will be a long while yet before I can look at your sisters without wanting to roar at them.â ACOMAF CH. 24
- I'm sorry for comparing the anger I felt about Eris and the nail in Mor to Rhys hating you for your "failings"
"And I understoodâwhy Rhys could not endure Nesta for more than a few moments, why he could not let go of that anger where her failings were concerned, even if I had." ACOMAF CH. 41
- I'm sorry for forcing you to help in a war you had no original part in and for telling Rhys I would make our desperation obvious so they're manipulated into helping.
//"Let me figure out how to deal with both of them, as family, but mostly as their High Lady.
Morâs face tightened, but I shook my head. âI canâask my sisters. See if they have any sort of power. See if theyâd be willing to ⊠talk to others about what they endured. But I wonât force them to help, if they do not wish to participate. The choice will be theirs.â I glanced at my mateâthe male who had always presented me with a choice not as a gift, but as my own gods-given right. Rhysâs violet eyes flickered in acknowledgment. âBut Iâll make our ⊠desperation clear.â// ACOWAR CH. 16
- I'm sorry for repeatedly asking you to tell complete strangers what happened to you in the cauldron after you had said no several times and I'm sorry for trying to abuse my power as High Lady to manipulate you into telling your story
//âAnd we might need your assistance during the meeting with the High Lordsâto provide testimony to other courts and allies of what Hybern is capable of. What was done to you.â
âNo.â
âYou donât mind fixing the wall or going to the Court of Nightmares, but speaking to people is where you draw your line?â
Nestaâs mouth tightened. âNo.â
High Lady or sister; sister or High Lady ⊠âPeopleâs lives might depend on your account of it. The success of this meeting with the High Lords might depend upon it.â
She gripped the arms of her chair, as if restraining herself. âDonât talk down to me. My answer is no.â
I angled my head. âI understand that what happened to you was horribleââ
âYou have no idea what it was or was not. None. And I am not going to grovel like one of those Children of the Blessed, begging High Fae who would have gladly killed me as a mortal to help us. Iâm not going to tell them that storyâmy story.â
âThe High Lords might not believe our account, which makes you a valuable witnessââ
Nesta shoved her chair back, chucking her napkin on her plate, gravy soaking through the fine linen. âThen it is not my problem if youâre unreliable. Iâll help you with the wall, but I am not going to whore my story around to everyone on your behalf.â// ACOWAR CH. 18
- I'm sorry for trying to force you to train when you said multiple times you didn't want to.
"But then I said, âWhy wonât you train with Cassian?â
Nestaâs spine locked up. âWhy is it only Cassian that I may train with? Why not the other one?â
âAzriel?â
âHim, or the blond one who wonât shut up.â
âIf youâre referring to Morââ
âAnd why must I train at all? I am no warrior, nor do I desire to be.â
âIt could make you strongââ
âThere are many types of strength beyond the ability to wield a blade and end lives. Amren told me that yesterday.â ACOWAR CH. 24
- I'm sorry for telling you off for not being respectful to the healer when you were rightfully annoyed that no one was helping Elain, accusing you of barking at them and snapping at you to "be quiet" when you were worried.
//âHow.â The word was barely more than a barked command.
I braced myself to warn Nesta to be polite, but Madja said to my sister, as if she were a small child, âThe mating bond. It is a bridge between souls.â
The healerâs tone made my sister stiffen, but Madja was already hobbling for the front door. She pointed at Lucien as she saw herself out. âTry sitting down with her. Just talkingâsensing. See what you pick up. But donât push.â Then she was gone.
I whirled on Nesta. âA little respect, Nestaââ
âCall another healer.â
âNot if youâre going to bark them out of the house.â
âCall another healer.â
I caught Lucienâs eye. âWould you try it?â
Nesta snarled, âDonât you even attemptââ
âBe quiet,â I snapped.
Nesta blinked.
I bared my teeth at her. âHe will try. And if he doesnât find anything amiss, weâll consider bringing another healer.â// ACOWAR CH. 28
- I'm sorry for winnowing away when we were going somewhere together, leaving you with a man you felt uncomfortable around and calling me doing that "sisterly payback" because you're attitude was not what I wanted it to be.
"Ready for some flying, Nes?â
âDonât call me that.â
The wrong thing to say, from the way Cassianâs eyes lit up.
I chose that moment to winnow to the skies above the House, chuckling as wind carried me through the world. Some sisterly payback, I supposed. For Nestaâs general attitude." ACOWAR CH. 30
- I'm sorry for not believing you when you told me that we weren't safe, telling you that because the others don't think anything is wrong, it's all fine.
âWe need to leave,â Nesta said. âRight now.â
Every sense went on alert. âWhy?â
âIt feels wrong. Something feels wrong.â
I studied her, the clear sky beyond the towering, drape-framed windows. âRhys and the others would sense it. Youâre likely just picking up on all the power gathered here.â
âSomething is wrong,â Nesta insisted.
âIâm not doubting you feel that way but ⊠If none of the others are picking it upââ ACOWAR CH. 47
- I'm sorry for telling you that I would build a shower for you after you told me you can't take baths anymore and then never doing anything.
Nesta studied me for a long moment. And then she said with equal quiet, though we could all hear, âI canât get into a bathtub anymore. I have to use buckets.â
I hadnât knownâhadnât even thought that bathing, submerging in water âŠ
I knew better than to touch her hand. But I said, âWhen we get home, weâll install something else for you.â ACOWAR CH. 52
- I'm sorry for judging where you spend your time.
"Nesta shrugged. âShe could have eaten with me here.â
âYou know Elain wouldnât feel comfortable in a place like this.â
She arched a well-groomed brow. âA place like this? What sort of place is that?â ACOFAS CH. 13
- I'm sorry for forcing you to come to a religious holiday you don't celebrate and judging the place you want to celebrate in. And then trying to use our father's death as a way to guilt you into coming.
//"Finally, my sister looked back at me. âSo youâre bribing me, then?â
I didnât flinch. âIâm seeing if youâre willing to be reasoned with. If thereâs a way to make it worth your while.â
Nesta planted the tip of her pointer finger atop her stack of cards and fanned them out across the table. âItâs not even our holiday. We donât have holidays.â
âPerhaps you should try it. You might enjoy yourself.â
âAs I told Elain: you have your lives, and I have mine.â
Again, I cast a pointed glance to the tavern. âWhy? Why this insistence on distancing yourself?â
She settled back in her seat, crossing her arms. âWhy do I have to be a part of your merry little band?â
âYouâre my sister.â
Again, that empty, cold look.
I waited.
âIâm not going to your party,â she said."//
//âFather would want you toââ
âDonât you finish that sentence.â// ACOWAR CH. 13
- I'm sorry for withholding your rent unless you came to an event you didn't feel comfortable coming to and then when you came, ignoring you and being insulted you didn't get me a gift when I didn't get you one.
//She swigged from her glass. âItâs due next week. In case you forgot.â
I said flatly, âCome to Solstice and Iâll make sure itâs delivered.â// ACOFAS CH. 13
//"It occurred to me only when she said the words that none of the gifts in this room had Nestaâs name on them."// ACOFAS CH. 20
//"Nothing from Nesta, but I didnât care. Not one bit."// ACOFAS CH. 20
//"Nesta watched warily from her chair, Elainâs presentâher only presentâin her lap."// ACOFAS CH. 20
//âHere.â
Nesta half turned toward me, focus darting to what was in my hand. The small slip of paper.
The bankerâs note for her rent. And then some.
âAs promised,â I said.
For a moment, I prayed she wouldnât take it. That she would tell me to tear it up."// ACOFAS CH. 20
- I'm sorry for not saying anything when Amren openly slut shamed you.
âThough I bet itâs hard to look good,â Amren went on, âwhen youâre out until the darkest hours of the night, drinking yourself stupid and fucking anything that comes your way.â
Feyre whipped her head to the High Lordâs Second. Rhys seemed inclined to agree with Amren. ACOSF CH. 1
-I'm sorry for telling you that you embarrassed "my family" when you're my sister.
Do you know how embarrassed I was when we got the bill this morning and my friendsâmy familyâhad to hear all about it?â
Nesta hated that word. The term Feyre used to describe her court. As if things had been so miserable with the Archeron family that Feyre had needed to find another one." ACOSF CH. 2
- I'm sorry for painting everyone but you and then only painting you when I decided that you had earned it.
//"Every piece of art had been picked by Feyre herself, or painted by her, many of them portraits and depictions of themâher friends, her ⊠new family.
There were none of Nesta, naturally.// ACOSF CH. 1
//"Sheâd joined them at the river house one night to find a mating present from Feyre waiting for her. Hanging on the wall in the grand entry.
A portrait of Nesta, holding the line at the Pass of Enalius."// ACOSF CH. 80
-I'm sorry for telling you that I would tie you up and force you to go to the House of Wind when I myself should know what it feels like to be locked up against my will.
"Youâre going, even if you have to be tied up and hauled there." ACOSF CH. 2
I can go on...
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