#acosf critical

[1800naveen]

I'm SUFFERING through a court of silver flames.

I know y'all already warned me but I didn't listen😔

The whole inner circle is pissing me off but at least Nesta is being the bad bitch that she is and Tamlin is haunting the narrative. But not even they could motivate me to continue the book.

I'm putting that shit on pause and moving to some good old R.F. Kuang. Starting Babel!

Got something to announce

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I GOT ACCEPTED INTO UNIVERSITY TODAY!!!

That's all☺️

[b00kdiary]

Eris Vanserra is Rhysand if he didn’t have the Inner Circle.

Eris Vanserra is a dreamer with no stars. The Autumn Court is his Hewn City, it’s his Court of Nightmares.

Free my man 😭

[kataraavatara]

rhysand after telling nesta that he’s going to pay her a huge salary for being a human emissary after never reimbursing her for the massive fortune she and elain lost because of the night court and then never paying her and then after she’s traumatized and unwell because of all the shit the inner circle made her do STILL not paying her but offering her pity jobs where don’t worry he’s definitely going to pay her this time meanwhile giving her an open line of credit to his account she ends up using because she has no money of her own because HE NEVER COMPENSATED HER FOR HER LABOR AND LOST HER INHERITANCE and then using the fact she spent his money as an excuse to get MORE free labor out of her, hey nesta we noticed you’re unwell, you’ll clearly not capable of living on your own but you CAN do life or death missions for us and use your sexuality for us so go work in the library go wield the dread trove go seduce eris for us (elain and mor can’t because they don’t want to and/or need to be protected thank god you’re expendable), amren’s going to talk about you like you’re an object to be wielded by the night court and we’re all going to vote on whether or not to tell you the truth about your own body but you should be grateful because you spend a minuscule amount of the endless fortune i hoard while my own citizens are so poor cassian has to hand out blankets in the winter

[silly--fangirl]

"women subconciously seek out men like their father"

nesta's father never standing up for her to her mother and grandmother

and nesta's mate never standing up for her to his family

[yaralulu]

me when I’m delusional and out of touch.

“No other male would be a a fairer ruler” i can name like 7 other people.

“Prythian would be blessed to have such leaders” a guy who can barely run his court and his inexperienced 20 y/o gf leading a nation would obviously be such a blessing 🙏🙏.

[littlefeltsparrow]

The worst thing ACOSF ever did was convince readers that it had something meaningful to say about mental health. It doesn’t, because fundamentally Sarah J Maas doesn’t understand (or care to understand) what treatment for mental healthy and recovery looks like. Furthermore, any attempt at providing insight about the nature of PTSD and trauma is dampened by the narrative’s consistent (and obvious) bias against Nesta.

The narrative of ACOSF vilifies reactions to traumatic experiences that are ugly and treats it like a personal moral failing (ex. Nesta being berated for not “trying” to recover when she has no support system) It romanticizes wildly insensitive behaviour and attempts to pass it off as “tough love” because the narrative is persuaded by the idea that since trauma is a moral failing, the traumatized person must be punished to get better.

[ennawrite]

the Inner Circle: *pretty much all have/had at least one shitty, abusive parent but they know that doesn’t make them monsters just because of the shitty hand they’ve been dealt because they’re ~dreamers~*

also the Inner Circle: “What the fuck do you mean Eris isn’t a horrible guy like his father?!?!🤨😡”

[thefatesofspring]

Cassian ACTIVELY CHOOSING to leave Nesta at The bog of Oorid which is well known for how dangerous & deadly it is & still makes the decision to leave Nesta…a newly turned fae, with untrained power & basically 0 combat skills, to help Azriel…an almost 550yr old Illyrian warrior, spymaster & torturer, has a substantial amount of combat skills behind him spanning over 5 centuries & that’s the decision Cassian as a WAR GENERAL chose to make?!!…

Oh Nesta hunny…I’m so sorry, you deserve so much better than that trash.

& if you read the scene that happens straight after you’ll be even more disgusted.

[bayonettesque]

i have a really big issue with the priestess library because the idea we’re supposed to have of it vs the problems that are alarmingly obvious once you examine the concept even slightly are like… sooo different it’s scary. sjm clearly intended for it to be rhysand’s woke king abuse survivor utopia except when you think about it, it’s an isolated camp for heavily traumatised women to live with zero programs in place to overcome their trauma or work towards returning to the outside world— instead, they swear an oath to provide labor for rhys (presumably without pay, because what and where would they spend it?) and be bound to a religious order they don’t really have room to question or leave because defecting from the religion would lead to obvious social isolation and exclusion. it’s an almost cultish setup because like… imagine if a priestess wanted to leave— she has nothing, no family, money, accomodations, or familiarity with the “outside world”. leaving means departing from everything you know, likely to never return, not having learnt to defend yourself or cope with your severe trauma. 

the excuse that “things work differently for the fae” doesn’t exist here because acosf gives us a perfect case study of how these priestesses are quintessentially the same as an average real human woman, wherein yoga, meditation, doing some exercise, getting fresh air, and hanging out with your girlies is enough to apparently re-integrate you into the real world via GWYN and all the other priestesses. WHY is this apparently the first time in like 500 years the powers-that-be have considered a program to rehabilitate the priestesses and give them their own power??? (well. it was NESTA’S idea lmfao the ic would never do that on their own) if sjm wanted this priestess library to actually be the ethical feminist fantasy she thinks it is, couldn’t it have been that the library is supposed to be a transitional place where the ultimate goal is to heal and leave to live a fulfilling, independent, healthy life?? if rhys were the villain this would so easily be a “he keeps traumatised women as slaves to work in his isolated library camp” it’s not even funny holy shit

[onemustalwaysbecarefulofbooks]

All I'm gonna say is. . .finding it pretty fucking unfair that not only can Cassian have his wings "shredded", Hunt and Baxian can have theirs sawed off all together and be *good as new* in a few short days but for the Illyrian females, two little snips and it's game over forever.

[lainalit]

Instead of the fifth smut scene in Acosf we could have gotten the equivalent of a fae chess scene between nesta & cassian, so we could have seen how strategic and smart they actually are but this would require for sjm to understand her characters and not write them like horny teenagers for more than five minutes 🤡

[reblogandlikes]

Self insert Fandom

I've come to realise that most of the toxicity within the acotar fandom is often rooted in a ridiculous amount of self insert. They see a character as them, therefore their actions are absolved. They see another character in their abuser, or worse, 'as' their abusers and so they can never be impartial towards them, thinking the worst because in real life they've dealt with a lot.

I get it. Art can sometimes mimic reality, but they are indeed forgetting that this is a whole fantasy fiction book about human women turned fae getting dicked down with a hint of war and political intrigue. These characters are not, in fact, you or your abusers. Making the series so personal to themselves can then lead to a lack of introspection of the work as a whole made to be enjoyed and critiqued to the readers' preference, whether shallow or in depth.

But because this fandom in particular seem to make these books so personal than reading it as a piece of fiction, they're inflicting real world scenarios onto fictional characters and if their characters face any backlash or reasonable questioning, they take it as a personal attack which for some reason leads to insults and wild assumptions of very REAL people.

"No, no one is saying you should forgive your abuser mum, boyfriend, sister, because this literally isn't about you. I dont know you or your situation. Im talking about *insert character*."

"No, I don't think reactive abuse is OK, though I also don't believe lying about SA is OK either, let alone condoning SA."

"What do you mean it's abusive to lock someone up and then make an excuse to say it's not abuse to lock someone else up?"

The mental gymnastics is truly outstanding. If they're so called morally grey, let them be just that.

Speaking for myself, it's easy to find some commonality in a characters personality. It's written by a whole human who has a personality too, after all. But I do not attach myself to these characters as if they are my family members or those dear to me. They are, in fact, not real, and I will talk about them in the context of a fantasy text, generally.

Now the moment you take their actions out of a fantasy text, every character, and I mean, every character, needs to be dealt with the same scrutiny. Your faves will be called out and dragged. You cannot call real people names, but then think highly of yourself when your faves have done worse. What does that then make you? A racist? A misogynist? An AS denier? An abuse apologist? Someone who endorses apartheid? Someone who's OK with controlling the female body? A war criminal?

You see how absurd that all is?

Honestly, it's not that deep. But again, it's not bad to see yourself in character. Just realise that when people have some reservations about them, they are not calling YOU out. They are strictly talking about that character and that character alone. But maybe if you find so much offence, perhaps you should think about why that is. Look deep and figure out why it troubles you so much. Perhaps they're holding up a mirror, and you simply can not bear to look into it, seeming that that character represents you so much.

I think this is the only fandom I've been involved in where simply daring to disagree with the main MC and side characters can lead to online prosecution and just so much hostility. I've seen some truly nasty comments, and it's boggling. I can imagine how off-putting it may seem to newer readers.

I long for the days when people can talk about the characters and narrative alone without feeling the need to make disclosures about what they support in real life because it's truly unnecessary. I thought reading fiction was meant to be a form of escapism, not defending my moral standpoint.

If I said I enjoyed Katherine Pierce, Klaus Mikaelson and Kai Parker from TVD, what then? They're despicable, but fucking enjoyable. Don't get me started on Game of Thrones characters.

Alright, I'm done now 😅

[litnerdwrites]

"You shouldn't criticise/analyse SJM's characters/worldbuilding because it just isn't that deep." Is a take I see a lot when someone analyses or criticises SJM, and while I get where you're coming from, I do have a couple of issues with this take.

First of all, it's important to be able to criticise all media, even your your favourites, no matter how good or bad they are. Media of all formats is a product of it's time and goes a long way into helping us learn about the sociopolitical climate of the time it was written, from the past, present or future. As a result, no piece of media can be considered 'perfect' or without points to criticise, and analysing it can give us perspective on issues we may not even realise exist. This is true for most, if not all media, from books to news channels to music or tv shows.

If you don't want to analyse or criticise it though, that's fine. Just ignore posts and videos of people who do, since there's no use in telling them that they're wasting their time. Some people enjoy criticising/analysing the media they consume, but if you don't, then just let them be.

Now, here's the bigger issue I have with this take. It might really not be that deep to you, but it might really be that deep for other people. Especially since SJM books have a pretty young fanbase. The books are YA, and are advertised as being for ages 12 and up.

Many kids, young girls mostly, that read, even just the first book, are shown Feyre forgiving Rhys at the end of the book after SA-ing her for three months or Feyre getting back with Tamlin after he watched her get tortured for three months, and romanticise it. Then there's the second book, where she ends up with Rhysand despite what he did, and even lets him do it again at the CON.

Nesta is pressured by Elain and Feyre to let her use their home for something incredibly dangerous despite her very reasonable concerns, only to then be insulted by Feyre's friends for a situation he wasn't even there for, only for some romance to between them to be hinted at. In Acowar she's further pressured by her sister, and strangers who hate her, to put her healing and coping from her trauma aside to push her clear boundaries to help her sister even more despite her and her friends not having a great track record of holding up their ends of deals from Nesta's experience.

And don't even get me started on the train wreck that was ACOFAS- ACOSF. If these actions and behaviours were acknowledged as being toxic or wrong, that would be fine, somewhat. However, the narrative paints these characters and behaviour in a positive light, despite the fact they aren't. For young readers to look at this, and to idolise these characters and their behaviours, thinking that it's what they want in a partner, is disturbing.

It's fine to not want to critique or thoroughly analyse a book, but discrediting people who do, especially if they're pointing out harmful behaviour being perpetuated in said books, is not. Ignoring the harmful behaviour these books perpetuate is making you a part of the problem, and I truly hope that your view on this behaviour would change if it was coming from a living person instead of a fictional one. Be it towards you or somebody you know.

[kataraavatara]

“I knew she was an artist then. The same way Feyre is. But what Feyre does with paint, that’s what Nesta did with music and dance. Our mother saw it when we were children, and honed it into a weapon. All so Nesta might one day marry a prince.”

Cassian froze. A prince—was that what Nesta wanted? His stomach clenched.”-ACOSF chapter 63

Leave it to fucking Cassian to hear about how Nesta’s joys as a child were twisted by her mother and her being preyed upon by a grown duke at fourteen and make himself the victim in that situation.

[b00kdiary]

“Its makes sense for Rhysand to hide Feyre’s pregnancy issues from her. He wanted to protect her from it, hE’s MoRaLlY gReY..”

He would be MoRaLlY dEaD if I was Feyre because I would have ripped him a new asshole for lying to me about MY OWN DAMN BODY.

SJM should re-write that whole fucking mess and let Feyre go ape-shit crazy on Rhys and the IC. #JusticeformyHighLady

[ataraxiasflame]

what was your least favorite part of acosf

Good question, anon! And my answer is probably going to be an unpopular one. There are several scenes that I can point out as contenders for least favorite but there are actually two characters that made ACOSF very difficult for me.

The first was Amren. Amren’s agenda to put Rhysand on the throne despite his insistence that he doesn’t want to conquer Prythian. Amren’s suggestion that Nesta use the mask and the weapons that she made with her power to make Rhys King (when at this point, there was every indication that the mask could kill Nesta). And then when Nesta went down on her knees to beg forgiveness from Amren who had previously called Nesta a pathetic waste of life, I literally threw my book at the wall.

The narrative that Nesta hurt so many (see: Feyre) and needed to earn their forgiveness still pisses me off to this day especially when every single member of the inner circle is still given the luxury to behave in other destructive manners, and none of them are held accountable or had their lives threatened if they didn’t toe the line.

My second issue with ACOSF was Feyre. I don’t tend to discuss it much given that she’s a pretty popular character. Feyre was my least favourite character in the original trilogy, and she remained my least favourite after ACOSF but for different reasons.

I take major issue with the fact that she was handed a (pretty powerful) title which can only be passed on through magic, but that’s something I’d need a whole other post for…in ACOSF, her character did nothing with that power. Yes, the plot was focused on Nesta, but we saw enough of Feyre because of the baby plot, and she was watered down to a pregnant trophy wife who was given a title so that she can feel important. She could have done so much for the females of the Night Court (the Hewn City females; and the Illyrian females which she frequently likes to take the form of so she can fly around and screw Rhys with the wings that they cannot use)…I just feel SJM really took a massive misstep by not making Feyre at least earn the respect of a High Lady with the people of her court through her actions, not because Rhys told them to respect her because they are mates.

Instead, she was decorating mansions and painting portraits. She was being a trophy wife, pregnant or not. And this was further confirmed by the fact that not a single member of her found family (who Feyre places on a pedestal over her own sisters) defended her when the time came.

I can still handle the minor issues I had with Nessian and the so-called ‘intervention and Rehab’ for the sake of the plot but I did not enjoy Amren and Feyre in this book, unfortunately.