I have some friends that are reading this for the first time and I'm sending them fan art to give them an image to put in their heads for the characters. When I sent a picture of arobynn, one of my friends said "dang, I'd probably let him manipulate me too" 🤣
https://preview.redd.it/fkx952hdbw0d1.jpeg?width=225&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9624da59fb317808269826c7afba75e851cf5036
This is the one I sent of arobynn
SAME. i tried googling it once to see if any one thought he was kinda hot and everyone only talked about how horrible he is and im just like
I read the series for the first time end of last year and I was like HE IS THE WORST!!! My cousin (who had already read them) cracked up when I got to later villains and I was like I can’t believe I thought he was THE WORST?!?! I was so young and naive…lol. I’m 34
me and my best friend were both like 👀 damn, okay arobynn. it’s funny because in other ETL or dark romance books, if the MMC said something like this it would have us swooning. but because we know objectively that arobynn is an irredeemable bad guy, we still are like “nah, fuck you dude.”
but, can’t deny it’s a sexy damn quote!
edit: also, friendly reminder that you can enjoy toxic, fucked up things in fiction because it isn’t real and does not reflect on your real life morals! most of the romances i read lean towards toxic, morally grey and possessive while my irl bf is a cinnamon roll sweetheart. we love a good balance 💜
Your edit is great. So true. It’s the same concept as the age gaps. IRL I am sus of huge age gaps, especially when the younger individual is still not of legal drinking age for the US. But in these books it doesn’t matter to me as long as the dynamic itself isn’t totally toxic/abusive/manipulative/controlling. I think it might be because I read fantasy though. Maybe if I was reading a book with a 60 year old human predating on 19 year olds I would not trust it, even in book form.
It was just kind of weird to me because he was a mix of father figure, trainer/boss, and *almost* lover (Celaena could never tell as she says in one of the books). So it was weird for me to read, I honestly got the ick haha
Did I know, absolutely and completely that he was a horrible and irredeemable man? Yes, yes I did.
Did this line make me stumble, HARD, for that man? Yes, yes it did. *Hangs head in shame*
Oh I know these tactics well, on a personal, real life level. But damn did Sarah hit hard with that apology. I'm glad she saw it for what it was. I definitely didn't at her age. Cuz damn it was so hot. I wanted to slap myself. 😤
No yeah he’s definitely a gross guy with deep issues. This was just the one moment that made him sorta compelling because this is the ferocity of love that I give in my relationships. This is as far as I’ve gotten in the books so not sure what happens to his character beyond this
thank you, your comment brought me peace lol. literally felt sick every time i saw him on the page. he’s such a vile cretin!!!!! i did not picture him hot in any way.
I think he’s disgusting and he gave me the creeps every single time he’s on the page.
I especially hate him for making Caelena afraid of her heritage, with all his “no one will like you if they know you’re who you are”.
He’s a groomer who doesn’t view her as a human, but as a possession.
And nevermind he groomed Lysandra and then raped her continuously (she wasn’t a willing sex worker, every man who slept with her was raping her).
I loved this line on its own when you forget about the reality of the character because it is so hot. But Arobynn is a psychopath. Not psychotic. Very different things. He said this to manipulate her, not because he actually wanted to be a decent guy and care for her. He wanted control which our girl recognizes for what it is immediately.
Arobynn is just one of those characters that fascinate me because absolutely he’s terrible and icky and clearly a monster and there’s no way I could ever be attracted to him…
But then he says some shit like this and… 🥵😶
I’m learning more and more that I might very much be a shadow daddy/dark romance girlie 😂
I hated him so much but this line was *sexy as hell*. Very “man who will destroy the world and himself for his love/obsession” coded. That’s why we like this.
I mean… 🔥
But also I always interpreted his care for her as being possessive and obsessive, not loving. But he might not have really known the difference.
Agreed. I think he did care for her (as much as someone like him could care for anyone) in his own twisted and depraved way. Probably the closest to love that he was capable of.
Arobynn is (imo) the best crafted villain in the whole series. I loved his character, despite what a dirty rat he was, because I felt like in his own twisted and delusional way, he actually did love Aelin (as much as he was capable of loving anyone). I don't want to say much because it doesn't seem like you're very far into QoS yet, but there are some more excellent scenes that showcase his twisted evil hotness before the book is through.
tbh it wasn’t until >!he tried controlling her with the ring that i gave up hope!< otherwise i would have fallen for it and followed him anywhere a hundred times over
I'm so lucky I found my very normal nice husband in real life because if a man said this shit to me, no matter how toxic or evil, I would IMMEDIATELY crumble. Like legs wrapped around his head before he took the next breath after that sentence.
As I always tell my friend - fuck Arobynn, but also ✨️fuck Arobynn✨️ lmao. He's absolutely horrible but I hit that exact spot and couldn't deny I would've folded 🤣
Also, it was so tragic how much work Sarah put into creating his character in the story before we meet him, only to give him a chapter out of a whole series like thankssssss
I agree, I wish that there was more of him. Imo he is the most compelling and three dimensional villain in the whole series. I would honestly read a whole book about him. And yes I realize he's an abuser and a psychopath who is incapable of love, but that does not stop me from finding him a fascinating and somehow likeable character?
Spoilers for everything in my response I guess lol
>! Honestly, I don't think that even matters in fiction. Azriel enjoys torturing people. Rhysand does horrid things to people that look at Feyre the wrong way. Rowan spent hundreds of years doing Satan's work and enjoying it with even more fucked up Lorcan. We love all those people cuz we get to know them, and even cheer on their craziness. We're only not supposed to like Arrobyn because he's against the main character who's the most psychotic one out of any we've ever read! Between Aelin and Manon, we're REALLY symping over collosal crimes lol !<
This part made me crawl out of my skin. It felt like desperation to trap her back in his web. It would have been less scary if he said "You can't escape me. If I can't have you, no one will."
Even if it was genuine in the moment, I know he can't follow through with the promise and will turn around and kill her before letting her be happy.
He definitely *doesn’t* mean this, especially given how he did and said similar things in TAB.
And (spoiler for end of the book) >!what he tried to do to Aelin at the end of the book!<
i’m actually so shaken by this comment section….. GET UP, YALL!!!!!
this is the first i’m hearing of anyone finding ANYTHING redeemable about arobynn, and now to find out people are thirsting for him????
i feel like every time i heard his name on the page it was some creepy fuckshit that put a pit in my stomach. i couldn’t wait to be rid of him.
and i say this as someone who enjoys teasing my marvelhead bf about finding thanos and steppenwolf (ik, diff franchise) hott and sexi. i love a good hot villain.
arobynn was just grotesque to me! he had no shame! just a complete and utter grooming slimeball.
Agreed, we are talking about a straight up GROOMER… any conflicting feelings of attachment or love Aelin had for him were by HIS OWN SINISTER DESIGN. He’s the reason Sam died and then sent Aelin to endovier…. Manipulated and broke her over and over and over again. It grosses me out majorly when people joke about him being hot, I’m sorry
Ew no he started as a father figure and now is pulling these groomer antics. Of cealaena was an adult when they met i would be different, but this is just messed up
This line hit me hard! Idk why I can’t help but like Arobynn, just a tiny bit. But then I remember when he said something alone the lines of “I don’t like sharing my belongings” and it just ruins it for me lol
Hoooooooonestly? These are the best lines in the entire series. I feel like SJM does her best writing through Arobynn. Of all her books, Arobynn is objectively the best written villain, period!
Hey, maybe reconsider your relationships with others.
Arrobyn is bullshitting here and putting the burden of sorting it out on Aelin. He’s obsessive because he doesn't view Aelin as a person with feelings, he views her as property or an investment.
Loving people tend to understand what and where boundaries are. If you love something, set it free…etc.
Don't tolerate this kind of behavior.
lol, just because someone enjoys problematic behavior in literature doesn’t mean they enjoy it in real life. let’s not project issues onto people because of what they read or enjoy. plenty of people are into dark and disturbing romance/erotica but that doesn’t mean they enjoy or tolerate abusive relationships. 🙏🏻
> “Like this is the level of love I give in relationships…But he’s also so obsessive that he just might.”
I’m not projecting too hard, am I? That reads a little sus.
the title of the post and her other comments say she knows Arobynn is a bad guy. she’s not the only person in this post who is salivating over him in this scene, lol. i just don’t think it’s fair to armchair psychologist someone based on what they’re reading. 🤷♀️
I mean, it’s not even that nice of a thing to say.
“Tell me how to make it up to you” is such a cop-out apology anyway. If you’re truly sorry, you don’t need the other person to do the mental load for you to make it better.
Pro tip for everyone itt. IRL, if anyone ever makes your pain about how sorry they are - they’re manipulating you. If anyone ever asks how they can apologize and show you they’re sorry, that’s *not* a good or adequate apology its manipulation. Either of those things are the person trying to alleviate their own guilt at best, and trying to manipulate you at worst.
It’s totally fine to find a character compelling and, even sexy for this shit, but *dont* tolerate it in your real life!
I’m so sick because I actually find his manipulative tactics sexy. But he’s evil😂
I feel this. What is wrong with us?
✨trauma✨ lol.
Facts..
It all started with Jareth the Goblin King (from The Labyrinth) for me. ✋
Stfu!!! 6 year old me was just 👁️👄👁️
Real
"Fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave."
I have some friends that are reading this for the first time and I'm sending them fan art to give them an image to put in their heads for the characters. When I sent a picture of arobynn, one of my friends said "dang, I'd probably let him manipulate me too" 🤣
Please I need to see which ones you sent them 🙏🏻
https://preview.redd.it/fkx952hdbw0d1.jpeg?width=225&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9624da59fb317808269826c7afba75e851cf5036 This is the one I sent of arobynn
Yeah okay fair 👌
totally imagined him as a fat mafia kingpin looking dude…glad i am seeing this as i am rereading now hahaha
🤣🤣 I know he's described as handsome and muscled but I always pictured him as this skinny oily dude. Definitely did not picture Jamie Fraser
yes OILY is the perfect adjective LOL!!! def was imagining slicked back greased up hair, missing an eye and always puffing a cigar 😂
Yes! The slicked back oily hair is exactly what I pictured.
He’s the reason I need Eris to get his own book!
SAME. i tried googling it once to see if any one thought he was kinda hot and everyone only talked about how horrible he is and im just like 
I'm the same with Cairn 👀
Same, gurl, same lol. He's so despicable but yet I find him irresistible. Clearly I have issues 🤔😂
Same girl
I can only think how he took in celaena when she was 8... its messed up
same but it's probably because I read way too much dark romance books lol 🥲
He's such a good baddy
i read this as "good daddy" and thought *yes.*
Ah yes, we love a good baddy daddy.
*Oh*. No.
but what if I told you yes lol
😭
I read the series for the first time end of last year and I was like HE IS THE WORST!!! My cousin (who had already read them) cracked up when I got to later villains and I was like I can’t believe I thought he was THE WORST?!?! I was so young and naive…lol. I’m 34
me too 😭😭
ME TOO BAHAHA
me and my best friend were both like 👀 damn, okay arobynn. it’s funny because in other ETL or dark romance books, if the MMC said something like this it would have us swooning. but because we know objectively that arobynn is an irredeemable bad guy, we still are like “nah, fuck you dude.” but, can’t deny it’s a sexy damn quote! edit: also, friendly reminder that you can enjoy toxic, fucked up things in fiction because it isn’t real and does not reflect on your real life morals! most of the romances i read lean towards toxic, morally grey and possessive while my irl bf is a cinnamon roll sweetheart. we love a good balance 💜
⬆️this
this is so true and real. thank you.
Your edit is great. So true. It’s the same concept as the age gaps. IRL I am sus of huge age gaps, especially when the younger individual is still not of legal drinking age for the US. But in these books it doesn’t matter to me as long as the dynamic itself isn’t totally toxic/abusive/manipulative/controlling. I think it might be because I read fantasy though. Maybe if I was reading a book with a 60 year old human predating on 19 year olds I would not trust it, even in book form.
I think it is because he is a groomer
yes, i believe that falls under toxic and fucked up
"--and let me lay the world at your feet" was such Jareth the Goblin King from Labyrinth vibes. I loved Arobynn's begging here so much.
Yesss, that is where it all started for me 😂 "Fear me, love me, do as I say and I'll be your slave."
Ahhhh!! Yesssss ugh that just killed me😍😫💔
*YESSSSS*
JFSKEJDJDNNDS YES YES YES this made me so happy
SJM is rude af for making a long haired, redheaded, silver-eyed man who whispers things like this in Aelin’s ear a bad guy. Like. How can we not stan.
right?? lmao Arobynn was the one who made me realize "maybe i DO like older guys"
He’s so brilliant at manipulating people. It’s fascinating to watch.
on god, i would’ve caved so hard if he said that to me. aelin was a better person than me fr
He's one of my favorite characters. At that point I thought his possessiveness was indeed a sign of some sort os psychotic, self-protective paranoia.
It was just kind of weird to me because he was a mix of father figure, trainer/boss, and *almost* lover (Celaena could never tell as she says in one of the books). So it was weird for me to read, I honestly got the ick haha
Yes! His whole character and relationship with Celaena just screamed *groomer* and I was so turned off.
Yes exactly. And then what he does towards the end of QOS when she gave him one last chance to redeem himself was major icky.
So gross.
He 100% was a groomer
Yes, it reminds me of Sarah Parker To Bleed a Crystal Bloom. Instead of keeping at bay, he’s super involved.
And this quote screams love bombing.
Did I know, absolutely and completely that he was a horrible and irredeemable man? Yes, yes I did. Did this line make me stumble, HARD, for that man? Yes, yes it did. *Hangs head in shame* Oh I know these tactics well, on a personal, real life level. But damn did Sarah hit hard with that apology. I'm glad she saw it for what it was. I definitely didn't at her age. Cuz damn it was so hot. I wanted to slap myself. 😤
Arobynn is one of my favorites and I think it says a lot about me that I'm insanely attracted to him.
You are not alone... I'm clearly damaged but I think he's hot as hell.
I would fold lmao
I feel insane …. He never once enticed me. Just gave me the ick OVER and OVER and OVER again 🥴🤢
No yeah he’s definitely a gross guy with deep issues. This was just the one moment that made him sorta compelling because this is the ferocity of love that I give in my relationships. This is as far as I’ve gotten in the books so not sure what happens to his character beyond this
yeah this scene in particular gave me HUGE ICK, if you've ever dated a narcissist you know how this kind of fake devotion is just that: FAKE 😭
Not to mention he took Aelin in as a child and groomed and abused her. Gross.
thank you, your comment brought me peace lol. literally felt sick every time i saw him on the page. he’s such a vile cretin!!!!! i did not picture him hot in any way.
I think he’s disgusting and he gave me the creeps every single time he’s on the page. I especially hate him for making Caelena afraid of her heritage, with all his “no one will like you if they know you’re who you are”. He’s a groomer who doesn’t view her as a human, but as a possession. And nevermind he groomed Lysandra and then raped her continuously (she wasn’t a willing sex worker, every man who slept with her was raping her).
I loved this line on its own when you forget about the reality of the character because it is so hot. But Arobynn is a psychopath. Not psychotic. Very different things. He said this to manipulate her, not because he actually wanted to be a decent guy and care for her. He wanted control which our girl recognizes for what it is immediately.
Arobynn is just one of those characters that fascinate me because absolutely he’s terrible and icky and clearly a monster and there’s no way I could ever be attracted to him… But then he says some shit like this and… 🥵😶 I’m learning more and more that I might very much be a shadow daddy/dark romance girlie 😂
I hated him so much but this line was *sexy as hell*. Very “man who will destroy the world and himself for his love/obsession” coded. That’s why we like this.
I mean… 🔥 But also I always interpreted his care for her as being possessive and obsessive, not loving. But he might not have really known the difference.
Agreed. I think he did care for her (as much as someone like him could care for anyone) in his own twisted and depraved way. Probably the closest to love that he was capable of.
Arobynn is (imo) the best crafted villain in the whole series. I loved his character, despite what a dirty rat he was, because I felt like in his own twisted and delusional way, he actually did love Aelin (as much as he was capable of loving anyone). I don't want to say much because it doesn't seem like you're very far into QoS yet, but there are some more excellent scenes that showcase his twisted evil hotness before the book is through.
Hes such trash
A small part of me was like 👀 oh maybe I like that
I might have folded tbh 😭
tbh it wasn’t until >!he tried controlling her with the ring that i gave up hope!< otherwise i would have fallen for it and followed him anywhere a hundred times over
same lmaoo i kept thinking “he’s gonna redeem himself he’s gonna grow and be good” then he went and did that shit :/ he was always bad but i had hope
I wish we’d gotten more Arobynn earlier in the series. He’s a really interesting character
I could see a prequel of Aelins training years being interesting
Arobynn is such a great character. SJM wrote im perfectly in my opinion, it's so easy to see how Aelin got sucked in despite how terrible he is.
I'm so lucky I found my very normal nice husband in real life because if a man said this shit to me, no matter how toxic or evil, I would IMMEDIATELY crumble. Like legs wrapped around his head before he took the next breath after that sentence.
As I always tell my friend - fuck Arobynn, but also ✨️fuck Arobynn✨️ lmao. He's absolutely horrible but I hit that exact spot and couldn't deny I would've folded 🤣
SJM really wrote a narcissist well
I fking love Arobynn honestly he's a cool af character.
Also, it was so tragic how much work Sarah put into creating his character in the story before we meet him, only to give him a chapter out of a whole series like thankssssss
He got a lot more than a chapter, I feel like 1/4-1/2 of QOS was about him.
About but not really featuring. We just talk about him behind his back and then he gets his scene
I agree, I wish that there was more of him. Imo he is the most compelling and three dimensional villain in the whole series. I would honestly read a whole book about him. And yes I realize he's an abuser and a psychopath who is incapable of love, but that does not stop me from finding him a fascinating and somehow likeable character?
Spoilers for everything in my response I guess lol >! Honestly, I don't think that even matters in fiction. Azriel enjoys torturing people. Rhysand does horrid things to people that look at Feyre the wrong way. Rowan spent hundreds of years doing Satan's work and enjoying it with even more fucked up Lorcan. We love all those people cuz we get to know them, and even cheer on their craziness. We're only not supposed to like Arrobyn because he's against the main character who's the most psychotic one out of any we've ever read! Between Aelin and Manon, we're REALLY symping over collosal crimes lol !<
Smash—- wait we’re not playing that game?
I know he's evil. I know this is manipulation. But fml that's hot as all Hell
This must be what women see in Drake cause all I read is groomer and I'm bisexual
BBLLLLL DRIZZY
WOP WOP WOP WOP WOP DOT FUCK EM UP!
He’s an abuser. Abusers use manipulative language like this. Look up the cycle of abuse if you’re interested in learning more about it.
No I hate him and if you don't I think you'll hate him in queen of shadows for sureeee
Wait isn't this scene in QoS?
Oh I didn't see there was a picture of a passage from the book. I still stand by hating him most in this book though. He's manipulative and grosss
I can totally see how he got and kept his place.
This part made me crawl out of my skin. It felt like desperation to trap her back in his web. It would have been less scary if he said "You can't escape me. If I can't have you, no one will." Even if it was genuine in the moment, I know he can't follow through with the promise and will turn around and kill her before letting her be happy.
He definitely *doesn’t* mean this, especially given how he did and said similar things in TAB. And (spoiler for end of the book) >!what he tried to do to Aelin at the end of the book!<
You just need to remember that he groomed her. He was a full adult when he found her as a child. That helps me reign it in.
It was a good line because it really shows how manipulative he is, saying shit like that
i’m actually so shaken by this comment section….. GET UP, YALL!!!!! this is the first i’m hearing of anyone finding ANYTHING redeemable about arobynn, and now to find out people are thirsting for him???? i feel like every time i heard his name on the page it was some creepy fuckshit that put a pit in my stomach. i couldn’t wait to be rid of him. and i say this as someone who enjoys teasing my marvelhead bf about finding thanos and steppenwolf (ik, diff franchise) hott and sexi. i love a good hot villain. arobynn was just grotesque to me! he had no shame! just a complete and utter grooming slimeball.
Agreed, we are talking about a straight up GROOMER… any conflicting feelings of attachment or love Aelin had for him were by HIS OWN SINISTER DESIGN. He’s the reason Sam died and then sent Aelin to endovier…. Manipulated and broke her over and over and over again. It grosses me out majorly when people joke about him being hot, I’m sorry
Goddammit now I want to reread
It screams toxic
The way I would just say yes
Ew no he started as a father figure and now is pulling these groomer antics. Of cealaena was an adult when they met i would be different, but this is just messed up
It's very "just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave" of him 😌
This line hit me hard! Idk why I can’t help but like Arobynn, just a tiny bit. But then I remember when he said something alone the lines of “I don’t like sharing my belongings” and it just ruins it for me lol
I’ve never felt so validated while reading these comments 💀
Hoooooooonestly? These are the best lines in the entire series. I feel like SJM does her best writing through Arobynn. Of all her books, Arobynn is objectively the best written villain, period!
Hey, maybe reconsider your relationships with others. Arrobyn is bullshitting here and putting the burden of sorting it out on Aelin. He’s obsessive because he doesn't view Aelin as a person with feelings, he views her as property or an investment. Loving people tend to understand what and where boundaries are. If you love something, set it free…etc. Don't tolerate this kind of behavior.
lol, just because someone enjoys problematic behavior in literature doesn’t mean they enjoy it in real life. let’s not project issues onto people because of what they read or enjoy. plenty of people are into dark and disturbing romance/erotica but that doesn’t mean they enjoy or tolerate abusive relationships. 🙏🏻
> “Like this is the level of love I give in relationships…But he’s also so obsessive that he just might.” I’m not projecting too hard, am I? That reads a little sus.
the title of the post and her other comments say she knows Arobynn is a bad guy. she’s not the only person in this post who is salivating over him in this scene, lol. i just don’t think it’s fair to armchair psychologist someone based on what they’re reading. 🤷♀️
I mean, it’s not even that nice of a thing to say. “Tell me how to make it up to you” is such a cop-out apology anyway. If you’re truly sorry, you don’t need the other person to do the mental load for you to make it better. Pro tip for everyone itt. IRL, if anyone ever makes your pain about how sorry they are - they’re manipulating you. If anyone ever asks how they can apologize and show you they’re sorry, that’s *not* a good or adequate apology its manipulation. Either of those things are the person trying to alleviate their own guilt at best, and trying to manipulate you at worst. It’s totally fine to find a character compelling and, even sexy for this shit, but *dont* tolerate it in your real life!
Damn , yeah that’s hot