r/acotar_rant

Lately i’ve been seeing so many anti Lucien posts and my question is simple, HOW? I get not liking him as Elain’s mate for your ship, that’s valid. But hating him as a character almost feels illegal? He has done nothing but trying to be helpful and lost everything in doing so.

And no, i don’t think he abandoned Feyre or refused to help her. He did his best. He did try to talk to Tamlin and make him see reason. They were all deeply traumatized.

He eventually even went againt his only friend and high lord, in a court he was a guest in. Idk why anyone expected him to immediately drop Tamlin, the only person that helped him whe his father was trying to kill him, for a girl he met 3 minutes ago and killed one of his friends???

He is my favorite character. He is so complex and has so much potential. Plus he is so sweet and charming. Back off him please lol

Does anyone else find it funny how in a society of magical faeries, most of the food described sounds like typical British/American food - which sort of makes sense given Prythian seems to be based on a magical alternate UK, but they don’t seem to have cultural foods of their own (at least to where I’m at on my first read of ACOMAF). And when Rhysand is trying to show Feyre the high life, he takes her out for what is described as very similar to an Indian takeaway, and Feyre is like “I’ve never experienced flavor before 🥹” like this is not a complaint at all but it did really make me laugh 😂

I really feel like we're gearing up for an Az/Cass conflict next book.

Az is so lonely and desperate for a mate, and Cass has everything Az could want: a mate who loves him so fiercely that she risked the perils of the Bog of Oorid to find him, a mate who has saved his life on multiple occasions, a mate who will always have his back and will always defend and protect him. But Cass is so oblivious to his mate that he's letting her wither away because he's too angry to pay attention to Nesta's negative emotional state.

Az has a deep love, respect, and admiration for Nesta. She's so much of a badass, and he's so proud of her, that he bragged about her badassery to Bryce, a complete stranger from another world. I know he's upset with her at the moment, but as soon as he gets Truth-Teller back and finds out that Nesta helped save Midgard and, by extension, Prythian, I really feel like he's going to take a good, hard look at her and notice how far she's fallen back into that pit of despair, and I don't think he's going to be too happy with his brother.

It's a mate's job to not only protect their mate, but pay attention to their well-being, and Cassian spectacularly failed on both fronts. I really see Az calling him out for it, and the two of them having some tough conversations about Cassian needing to step up and take Nesta's side. Because if Az had a mate who loved him the way Nesta loves Cass, he wouldn't hesitate to side with her and he most certainly wouldn't ignore her emotional state and let her get as vacant as Nesta has become.

Yes, exactly. Hence the point of the mating bond being the most valuable bond in their world (even surpassing that of husband and wife).

Every time Cassian sides with Rhys over Nesta, he diminishes the importance of the mating bond being the most valuable bond in their world.

"Cassian has only known Nesta for two years!"

He only knew Feyre for two months when he sided with her against Rhys.

Lucien had only seen Elain for five minutes when he left Tamlin for her.

And let's be honest, Rhys would never side with Cassian against Feyre, who he's only known for two years.

If Cassian wants to be conflicted about who to side with then Nesta should still be conflicted about whether or not to accept the mating bond. If Cassian wanted Nesta to accept the mating bond, promise him forever, and be fully devoted and loyal to him and him alone then he owes her the same loyalty and devotion. He can't demand more from her than he's willing to give.

Cassian sided with Rhys against Nesta, and his mate went on to help save Midgard and, by extension, Prythian. Cassian chose Rhys, and he chose wrong.

I genuinely cannot understand how people justify Rhysand’s actions or hold him up as this ideal partner.

So I wrote this "letter" as a bit of a rant/experiment—this is what it sounds like to me when his behavior is defended and romanticized.

If your best friend described her husband like this, how would you honestly react?

Because to me…this doesn’t read like “perfect feminist dream man” at all.

---

Dear Bestie,

I have met the perfect man. He is a feminist and the most powerful High Lord and can literally control people's minds! Hot, right? I'm so in love!

One of the first times I met him, he invaded my mind, and it was so painful and scary I thought I would cease to exist. But he assures me he was just pretending to threaten me. There was an innocent girl who was tortured and died as a result...but I try not to think about that and—he is really the hottest man I've ever seen!

Then, when I was at my most vulnerable, thinking I might die, he twisted the protruding bone in my injured arm to force me to accept a bargain that he didn’t fully explain. But don’t worry—that wasn’t physical abuse or manipulation. He had a good reason for doing that. He also licked my tears lol so hot.

He also drugged me and tattooed me and dressed me in the most revealing attire you can imagine and made me dance for him and for others’ entertainment. I know that sounds a bit weird, but trust me, it was for my own protection. Things could have been a lot worse if I had just been left alone in my prison cell.

He spied on me using the bargain tattoo when I finally got to return to the Spring Court with Tamlin. Tamlin couldn’t talk to me about very much knowing that Rhys was listening, but I’m still mad at Tam for that! But don’t worry, Rhys wasn’t invading my privacy or creating a rift between Tamlin and me. He was actually looking out for me and knew exactly when to show up to steal me away from Tamlin at the most impactful moment. Lol. Thank goodness!

Originally I wanted to return to Tamlin to work things out, but Rhys made me see that he was actually an abusive jerk, so I married Rhysand instead and never looked back!

At first he did lock me in his cloud castle for a week, but don’t worry—that was totally different from when Tamlin trapped me in his manor for five minutes. When Rhys locked me up, I didn’t mind. And later when he suggested we lock my sister up for her own good, I thought to myself - that's a totally reasonable idea!

He withheld information from me about being his mate...but that’s because he had a good reason.

He asked me nicely to play the part of his sex toy in front of his people under the mountain. His people are so awful that they aren’t allowed to leave from under the mountain, and he scares them into obedience, which is honestly kind of funny! Also, he fingered me in front of all of them and it was embarrassing, but only a little bit, because that’s actually when I realized we both had the hots for each other! Yay!

He did the funniest thing. He put my life in danger by setting me up to retrieve his mother’s ring from this woman who wanted to eat me. Yes, it was terrifying and I ended up with literal human fat slathered all over me, but I did succeed while he slept in a nearby tree, so yay me! Isn’t that romantic? Turns out it is the ring he proposed to me with!

He always tells me I have a choice. And it’s true! He always gives me a “this or that” option to choose from.

He let me train with my powers, which led to Hybern’s lackeys hunting me down (just like Tamlin said would happen—but I don’t like to dwell on anything Tamlin is right about), but luckily Rhys and I were flirting a lot and it was exciting, so I don’t care about the danger he exposed me to.

There was this one time that we went on a mission to retrieve a really important book. Amren (I’m not sure what she is, but she’s pretty badass) and I both almost drowned and died. Rhys promised to protect us, but somehow wasn’t able to. He didn’t really seem to care and didn’t comfort me (or Amren) at all, but he was soooo invested in the book that I guess he just totally forgot about us, and that makes total sense. It is a really, really important book. Hopefully the next time I almost drown, he will at least ask me if I’m alright. If he doesn’t, I’m sure it will be because he has a good reason.

I was in a lot of danger when I got pregnant with our child too, but luckily Rhys didn’t bother to tell me and wouldn’t let anyone else tell me either, so I could just enjoy my pregnancy. I guess it was a little weird that I was trapped in a protective bubble, but I didn’t think too much of it. Yes, I almost died and didn’t have the chance to make my own decisions around that, but in the end I didn’t die, so all is forgiven!

He does hate my sister and bullies my ex-fiancé (even though they were both pretty close to suicidal), but who can blame him? It’s really not as bad as it sounds. I mean, Rhys would be dead if it weren’t for Tamlin, and my child and I would be dead if it weren’t for my sister, but...Rhys is so hot and good in bed, so it’s easy to overlook these things.

So what do you think?? He sounds incredible, right? A total feminist. I can’t wait for you to meet him. You won’t believe how hot he is!!

Love always,

Feyre

No matter what platform you’re on, people are constantly dissing Lucien and talking about how he was “awful” to Feyre, didn’t help her at all, never does anything, etc. when that is simply not true. Lucien had ONE moment where he sent her off to find the Suriel and then hesitated to help her. But, he barely knew her then and he was upset with her for killing Andras. Understandably.

The rest of the time, all he does is try to mediate between her and Tamlin without getting his own butt kicked or getting kicked out of the only home he has.

He helped her multiple times UTM. He refused to give her up, was willing to die instead. Got whipped by his own best friend because of her. Then almost died again because homegirl can’t read.

Then acting like he does nothing after UTM. Does nobody ever consider HIS trauma? He watched Jesminda die in his arms, had to flee his home and kill his brother, then gets his eyeball ripped out, is trapped 50 years under a curse, then gets stuck UTM with Amarantha and Beron, almost dies repeatedly for Feyre’s dumb self….

I mean… boy has been through it. It’s understandable that he may not be solely focused on Feyre’s wellbeing after everything. He’s probably trying to process and heal himself.

Why does only Feyre’s trauma matter? We shouldn’t compare trauma anyway, but why does her having a hard life growing up and then a few sucky months UTM override all of the things Lucien and Tamlin have been through??

I think people just want to self-insert as Feyre and pity her because they relate to/want to be her?? Idk.

I’m tired of it though. Stop acting like Lucien does nothing. Lucien helps them constantly and just constantly gets crapped on in return. He deserves happiness, and I hope he gets it.

For the haters out there.

There’s a lot of discourse in the fandom these days about how Rhys is not the “feminist king” the text (and SJM) seems to want him to be, which I personally agree with. There’s a mismatch between what the text is telling us about him and what his actions on the page are showing us about his character, and that’s what gets fans all riled up.

So I’m curious to know if this could have been fixed in your eyes, my dear haters. If Rhys had genuinely apologised and taken accountability for his actions UTM during ACOMAF, would you see him differently? If he had apologised to Feyre (and Nesta) for withholding the info about Feyre’s pregnancy, would you still hate him? Could he have made things right in these situations in a way that would have made you turn in your hater card?

And if in future books he has a major reckoning with his behavior so far, can you see yourself liking or at least enjoying his character? Can the man be fixed, or is he too far gone?

Personally I think the issue is that SJM herself doesn’t see anything especially wrong with his actions, so we’re unlikely to get this… but I’m wondering if, in the hands of a different writer, Rhys could have been, or could still be, a more interesting or sympathetic character.

• I love how Velaris is supposed to be this perfect, heavenly city but it has shitty apartments
• Everyone in these books needs extensive therapy
• I agree with you, Nesta, Rhys is insufferable
• Nnot gonna lie, Rhys and Feyre's estate sounds gaudy AF. Sapphire blue velvet couches and blue rugs with a hand blown glass chandelier?
• Ah, an intervention, of course
• Why are they always "baring their teeth"?
• Why did they have Rhys and Amren at this intervention if they are just going to be assholes?
• Yes, I'm sure telling Nesta what to do will be successful /s
• This is a terrible intervention
• Loving this book so far since Nesta hates Mor and so do I
• Gross of Cassian to refer to Mor as his sister when he literally gave her lingerie for Solstice
• Mor is being such a huge bitch to Nesta for literally no reason. So Elain and Feyre are allowed to have trauma but she isn't?
• It's weird that Cassian and Feyre are having this flirty little chat on the roof and he keeps trying to kiss her cheek
• Everyone's hair either either "sable" or "golden"
• Cassian is talking about lactic acid, such a gym bro!
• Incredible that Cassian is allergic to the pollen in the Spring Court. I feel so seen!
• Shitty of them to spring a visit from Elain on Nesta when she's trying to recover. Maybe ask her if it's okay first?
• They are all such hypocrites! So when Elain was suffering they just watched her waste away and didn't even bother her and with Nesta they're being so mean!
• "I don't want to hear about Feyre or her special journey" amen, sister. Neither do I!
• Needing to get three objects of power together in one room...sort of just the plot of ACOMAF right?
• Rhys said to Nesta "you will always have a choice here." Seriously? You have not given her a choice in everything.
• Cassian just jerked off and soaked his sheets...do they not have towels or like socks or something?
• Nesta is having thoughts of fucking Cassian and Azriel at the same time. I feel like SJM teases this kind of thing a lot and I would be so thrilled if we got a MMF throuple but I know we won't
• It seems like SJM assumes we only know that women are strong if it says "she lifted her chin"
• I'm so weary of her running up and down these goddamn stairs
• They are being horrible about Nesta doing the scrying, Elain is too precious and good to have to do something scary but for Nesta it's fine? What is wrong with them?
• They keep saying her power is death but wtf does that even mean
• Insane to not tell Feyre her pregnancy is dangerous
• This is so fucking dumb. So Feyre can't shift to Illyrian form because it might hurt the baby but if she doesn't, she'll definitely die. Make it make sense.
• Why did they wait until they were at the bog to tell her about the scary bog creatures, this seems tremendously short sighted
• The scene is Oorid was pretty well done though
• If someone says the phrase "like calls to like" one more fucking time, I'm going to lose it
• Nesta struggling to meditate speaks to me as someone who cannot meditate
• People are always picking an invisible fleck of lint of themselves or someone else in these goddamn books
• Can't we just call a clit a clit? Why is it always "that bundle of nerves"?
• If these assholes had the maturity to communicate, we could have avoided a lot of issues here
• So Feyre can winnow but it's too dangerous to shapeshift? It doesn't make any sense
• Making a high king is such a dumb fucking idea. Fascist nonsense
• Nesta and Elain are truly the only ones who have any right to dislike Tamlin. He did sell them out to Hybern

(EDIT: I stand corrected, Ianthe sold them out actually)

• Amren's kind of a bitch
• Why are they so mad that Nesta told Feyre what she DESERVED to know about her own body???
• When Elain was suicidal, everyone treated her like she was a delicate little quail and now Nesta's suicidal and they're like "we can't help her, she can only help herself"
• Rhys should have gone with them to the prison. he's such a bad leader
• I love that Nesta is the most powerful person in these books
• Okay so the Wild Hunt is essentially the Purge
• Rhys is always like "you always have a choice. But..." then says something that makes it very clear that character has no choice at all
• Gwyn writing about the reborn Valkyries is a lovely gift
• Them using Nesta to entice Eris was such a weak plot point
• Feyre has had no action in this book besides throwing up and putting her hand on her belly like, we get it bitch, you're pregnant
• Omg, Nesta, Emerie, and Gwyn are having a sleepover, love this for them
• Cassian, you idiot. Do not say you are shackled to a woman you're mated to.
• Once again, if Rhys is so powerful, why can't he get these Illyrian men to not be misogynists?
• Rhys and Feyre made a bargain to die together, wtf is this, Romeo and Juliet, pull yourselves together!
• Gwyn is such a badass
• These two are better sisters to Nesta than Elain or Feyre have ever beeen
• Poor Gwyn, this is such a sad story
• Nesta has had a really bad week
• They named the baby Nyx...I can't, that's so dumb
• I would still not consider the writing to be good at all, but this book definitely had some decent character development. For Nesta only really

TW for SA talk

I know I mentioned this moment in my past posts but seriously it's so gross. I've had to re-read and this today because someone mentioned that Nesta sexually assaulted Cassian by kneeing him in the groin. Which is another level of insanity. But aside this opinion which I'm sure is just an extreme case, the scene is so unpleasant. And I don't know, is it because SJM plans something or she really doesn't see a problem with this.

We have this moment, which could've been a good case of protectiveness from Cassian.

>She swallowed, shutting out the memory of what he'd said and done. The sound of her tearing dress. No - it hadn't gone that far, but... The blind terror in those moments he'd tried, before she'd screamed and clawed her way free. And never told anyone. Something must have shown on her face, in her scent. Because his annoyance vanished - no, it shifted. Into something else, something... Rage.

>"Did someone hurt you," he said, his voice so guttural she could barely understand it.

Only for us to see moments later how he treats Nesta when his ego is bruised.

> "It's easier, isn't it," Cassian breathed, crossing the distance again, not caring who saw them standing in the bay window. "To wield the words and the coldness as armor to keep everyone from seeing where and who you failed and how you did not care until it was too late." Only hatred gleamed in her eyes, no hint of that slumbering lust that had addled his senses. "Well, I see it, Nesta Archeron. And all I see is a bored and spoiled girl -"

And just let me make some highlights:

>She moved with impressive swiftness for a human, but still too slow to prevent him from blocking her.

>Cassian gripped her raised knee, a mere inch from his balls, and squeezed tight enough to make her hiss.

>She tried to wrench herself free, but he didn't let go. She swayed back, and he caught her by the waist, hauling her closer to keep her from falling through the window. He snickered at the skirts around him. "What are you hiding beneath all this, anyway?"

>He thought she'd strangle him, which was precisely why he gripped her wrists

>Pain exploded between his legs, knocking the breath from his chest as that gods-damned knee of hers indeed found its mark

>"You're all the same," she said, imperious as the night and cold as the dawn. "Perhaps being an immortal makes you predictable."

>"You know nothing about who I am, and what I've done, and what I want. And while we're on the subject... Send someone else next time. If I see you on my doorstep I'll scream loud enough for the servants to come running."

For Rhysand the excuse is he had to do it in order to protect Feyre. What is Cassian's excuse of acting like a dog in heat?

I had to reread Chapter 10 from Silver Flames to provide some quotes, and I was just reminded how little empathy Cassian has for Nesta. I know from personal experience that dealing with alcoholics is hard, and I would understand this reaction if he had to tolerate her drunk behavior for a longer time. But she's the second night in that house, and she has PTSD. Before that, she barely interacted with anyone from IC or her family. Yet knowing the context of her trauma, Cassian shows zero empathy and as always he thinks the worst about Nesta.

She has a very bad night. Fear. Trauma. She gets hurt, badly.

>Elain had been stolen. By Hybern. By the Cauldron, which had seen Nesta watching it and watched her in turn. Had noted her scrying with bones and stones and made her regret it.
She had done this. Brought this upon them. Touching her power, wielding it, had done this, and she would never forgive herself, never—
Elain would surely be tormented, ripped apart body and soul.
A crack cleaved the world.
Her father stood before her, neck twisted. Her father, with his soft brown eyes, the love for her still shining in them as their light faded—
Nesta jolted awake, nausea rippling through her as she grasped at the sheets.
Deep in her gut, her soul, something writhed and twined around itself, seeking a way out, seeking a way into the world—
Nesta shoved it down. Stomped on her power. Slammed every mental door she could on it.
Dream, she told it. Dream and memory. Go away

>Hands shaking, she began the descent. Around and around and around. I loved you from the first moment I held you in my arms. Down and down and down. That ancient Cauldron opening an eye to stare at her. To pin her in place. The Cauldron dragging her into itself, into the pit of Creation, taking and taking from her, merciless despite her screaming— Around and down, exactly as she had been pulled in by the Cauldron, crushed beneath its terrible power— Nausea swelled, her power with it, and her foot slipped. She had only a heartbeat to grab for the wall, but too late. Her knees banged into the steps, her face hitting a second later, and then she was twisting and careening down, blasting into the wall, ricocheting off and tumbling down step after step after step. She flung out a hand blindly, nails biting into stone. Sparks exploded as she cried out and held on. The world stopped moving. Her body halted its plunge. Sprawled across the steps, hand clutching the stone, she panted, great sawing breaths that cut with each inhale. She shut her eyes, savoring the stillness, the utter lack of motion. And in the quiet, pain set in. Barking, bleating pain across every part of her body. The coppery tang of blood filled her mouth. Something wet and warm slid down her neck. A sniff told her it was blood, too.

And Cassian's reaction was this:

>Cassian began moving once more, drawing his sword and running through a series of movements that all seemed designed to hack a person in two. “You know: three in the morning, you leave your room to get shitfaced-drunk in town, and you’re in such a rush to conquer the steps that you fall down a good thirty of them before you can stop yourself.”

>“Are you watching me?” Before he could answer, she spat, “You were watching and didn’t come to help?” Cassian shrugged again. “You stopped falling. If you’d kept at it, someone would have eventually come to catch you before you hit the bottom.”

Again. Nesta tries to deal with her trauma, and Cassian is, I don't know, punishing her with his attitude. In which universe should I consider him the right person to help her deal with her trauma? "You were watching me and didn't come to help" perfectly describes their relationship. Someone could say the story just shows that Nesta is strong and she can deal with things; she doesn't need a man to fix her life or to help her. And the question is, why would she need such a useless partner at all then?

And the Blood Rite was a good example of how this dynamic will continue with Nessian. God knows what could have happened at that rite, things worse than death, but Cassian's attitude is, "Oh, I'll know when she's dead; until then, I can do nothing."

And if we are here I just want to mention how I hate the way Nesta's nightmares were ignored in the book. It's like all trauma disappeared because of Cassian's healing dick.