As many of us feel as though this series wasn’t accurately marketed to us, I thought I would adjust the title of each book to be a bit more fitting to what actually happens lol. Perhaps Sarah J Maas and her marketing team can take a page out of our book, pun intended.
Saw someone say she would be a good Feyre but I honestly think her facial features are a bit too sharp and striking to be Feyre. She’s also got a great stern expression, and she’s beautiful and regal.
Edit: it’s Benedetta**
This is for peace of mind. Im not here to argue or fight, i genuinely just want to know.
Personally, it’s not enough for a character to be hot for me to like them, so I’d like to better understand what it is that overshadowed his actions in book one and book five that lead you to like him.
One thing I’ve noticed is that readers that come from dark romance novels tend to favour Rhysand and those of us that came from fantasy novels like lord of the rings tend to favour characters like nesta.
Personally to me, and on a deeper note, this is about more than just fantasy romantasy character preferences. Rhysand is a stark reminder of a sexually and emotionally abusive relationship that I went through personally. The resemblance between his manipulation tactics and what I went through are uncanny. In that relationship, I lost my relationship with my family and friends, and I was made to see my worth only through his eyes. To me, that’s what feyre’s high lady title is. That’s what her newly acquired reading skills are. Theyre means of assimilation to fit rhysand’s world and Rhysand’s standards of acceptability. Theyre puppet strings for him to pull if and when the time comes he needs to control her and can’t just shut her up with sex. Rhysand can just as easily take them away from Feyre or use it as a tool to guilt trip her and frame her as ungrateful if she ever disobeys him.
I was expected to share everything with this ex - basically download my identity and all my secrets for him to know. And he wouldn’t even tell me where we were driving half the time or his whereabouts. I also wasn’t surprised at all when Rhysand didn’t share with Feyre that her pregnancy was fatal and saw to everyone in the IC keeping it from her. I was always told by him that all of his actions were protective and for my own good, yet somehow, I would never get my needs met emotionally and psychologically. I see a similar dynamic between Feyre and Rhysand.
I could go on, but I wanted to kindly ask what it is that draws you to him.
And lastly, please none of these “girl you should just go to therapy then” comments. This relationship ended 8 years ago and I spent 3 of those years attending therapy. I’m fine truly. Scars may fade, but they’ll always be there. Truly, if you comment that way, I’ll report you to the mods. They’ve removed those comments before.
As a side note, completely separate from my initial question, nesta reminds me of a version of myself that protected me and was a defiant fighter through adversity. Feyre reminds me of a version of myself that fawned and bent and folded in fear of my perpetrator. Though I haven’t always agreed with all of Nesta’s actions, this is a strong reason I’ve been more in favour of her than Feyre. I truly see Feyre as more of a victim than any type of protagonist that takes her own life by the reins.
She’s just who I’ve always pictured and I feel like she could play someone sadistic well.
Rhysand is a pimp and you can’t convince me otherwise. He repeatedly uses young women, most notably the 3 sisters as sexual puppets for his own political gain.
- No, it was not to keep feyre alive and well, be so for real right now haha. Being the one to sexually abuse feyre is no better than risking one of the guards doing it. And he quite literally twisted her broken arm into forcing her to spend him in his court, which is how their relationship began, but I digress.
He uses feyre’s body again in the court of nightmares, once he’s gained her trust back, where he publicly fingers her to look like a devious tough guy. Whether feyre consented to this is besides the point.
He uses feyre again in the summer court to seduce Tarquin so she could get close to him and steal the book of breathings. Again, the consent from feyre is beside the point. Sex workers consent too.
He makes nesta seduce eris to “maintain the alliance” in ACOSF. However, he did not initially have nestas consent until she was forced and coerced into it.
He uses elain as a bargaining chip with Lucien, also to “maintain the alliance” so Lucien falls in line with his plans as he is heir of the day court and resides in both the Spring and Fall courts.
Kier says “this one, you like to put in cobwebs and crowns.” implying that there were other women Rhysand used in this nature before feyre. So I’m using them as an example too.
And lastly, Rhysand is NOT a feminist leader in the slightest lmfao. If he truly were, Illyrian women wouldnt still be getting mutilated. Feyre’s High Lady title would actually mean more than prancing around with a tiara feeling self important and smoothing over internal conflict in the IC. She wouldn’t be rhysand’s crown jewel escort because she’s willing to do whatever he says.
I know there’s no question section here but I don’t have enough karma for posting in r/acotar.
I can’t recall a single part of the series, where he wasn’t speaking to or about feyre in a sexual manor. At least when he wasn’t talking about himself and his backstory. He also always makes otherwise serious moments sexual when she’s present.
The biggest rebuttal I hear to his purely sexual affection for her is that he gave her agency and a title, “high lady”. However, their relationship began in an environment where feyre didn’t have a choice but to spend time in his court, and every time she disagrees with Rhysand they have a fight and she ends up being coerced into agreeing with him. There has never been one time that Rhysand compromised with feyre on anything.
Not here to argue. Just want to hear your takes. If there’s something I’m missing, please let me know.