Eldritch be thy blast

500 years of inaction and incompetence finally catch up with Ryhsand and his Court of Dreams. 2/3 of his court have had enough of his deliberate tyranny and rise up against him. The women who have watched him proclaim himself as king of choice and a secretly good guy while abandoning them to their fate - these women now lead the coup. Female rage topples the Night Court. And Rhysand and his dreamer friends finally realise that in all their centuries as the literal government they should have done more than just dream of a better world. Now they learn that action, or lack thereof, has consequences.

We never hear a word from Feyre and Rhysand ever again and they shut up throughout the rest of the books. Let them be irrelevant. Everyone is finally free of the Night Court.

Lucien finally tells Rhysand and Feyre to fuck off, roasts them within an inch of their lives by laying out all the harsh truths that Feyre loves to block out and officially cuts ties with the Night Court for good. He returns to the Spring Court, finally coming home. Him and Tamlin reunite and fuck and it fixes them. Everything is forgiven.

So Tamlin kept quiet the entire time Under the Mountain. He didn't bargain for his own freedom, didn't plead with Amarantha to let Feyre go. But he broke his silence for Lucien?? To literally beg for mercy for him?

The whole point of Tamlin's silence was to avoid showing Amarantha how she can hurt him most, what breaks him. He endures it all in silence and yet Lucien being in danger is when he can't bear to keep quiet any longer. Lucien's the one thing that breaks his self-restraint!

And then Amarantha forces Tamlin to whip Lucien himself?? Tamlin, the protector, who tried desperately to keep Lucien safe and who then has to be the one to hurt him with no way to refuse?

Is it any wonder Tamlin then has such a hard time showing his true feelings in book 2? Look at what it got him the last time he did.

I miss this version of him. He really was happy here, with Feyre and Lucien.

Note Lucien's immediate and fierce defense of Tamlin. Not stepping back in the face of danger but standing at his side. Lucien's literally squaring up, ready to throw hands as soon as Tamlin gets insulted. No one gets to badmouth Tamlin when Lucien is there. The loyalty is unmatched.

Lucien being defensive over the Spring Court and calling it "OUR home" 😭 this is what kills me most. He sees himself as belonging alongside Tamlin in the Spring Court. It's their home, I am unwell.

Lucien answering for Tamlin. Not once but twice! The implication that he knows Tamlin so well that he understands exactly what Tamlin is thinking and feeling and how these comments affect him. That he knows what Tamlin wants to say, so he simply says it for him.

And Tamlin trusts Lucien. He lets Lucien speak his mind. He doesn't silence him or reprimand him for speaking so boldly but instead openly approves of his words. Lucien's voice carries weight, he's not just another subordinate. Tamlin trusts that Lucien has his back.

They were really one united front in book 1, one entity. Them against the world.

Tamlin shows her his library, literally offers to teach her, to help her write her letters. And she says no.

He then writes her a series of limericks using words that he knows she struggles with (!) to help her understand their meaning through context.

Hello?? He tried writing love poems at first and then turned to filthy limericks instead. My heart.

That's so sweet! It's funny, it's witty. He's helping her while being careful to not embarrass her. He cares. He notices her struggle. He teaches her without patronizing her. Makes her laugh. Sharing something about himself in the process.

But I just noticed that the connotation of "like a lover" also shows up in the same scene when Rhysand is speaking to Lucien:

So what I'm hearing is... Rhysand speaks to both Tamlin AND Lucien like a lover. Softly, intimately, up close and personal. Interesting, very interesting 👀

So Rhysand (the bitter ex) shows up to make Tamlin beg and kneel at his feet and then just can't pass up the opportunity to flirt with both Tamlin and Lucien. Understandable. He throws in the famous "your beloved Tamlin" just for added drama to complete the vibe.