#amarantha sucks tbh

[taskignored]

Highlords are Iffy

Does anyone else get this really icky feeling in ACOTAR when they read about Amarantha's curse, the party where she shackled the HLs, and the brief mention of camps Lucien talks about at some point?

A bit ranty under the cut I warn you.

It's just the idea that millions (or billions I have no clue) have to pay the price for their HLs' mistakes. Sure, some of those HL paid the ultimate price with their lives, they got punished and tortured, but at some point I don't feel as bad for them as I do for their people.

Their people didn't drink the wine. They didn't choose to hold court with Amarantha (b4 the curse). They did literally nothing to deserve 50 years of torment. And what stings the most is that all that could have been avoided if they just sniffed their drinks.

Seven people consigned an island to misery because of their courtesy ~

Could you imagine? Being a fae citizen, minding your own business, and then suddenly having to deal with the fallout of your HL's fuckup? I'd be pissed. And to add insult to injury, the small detail that it could've all been avoided if someone, just one HL, or their aids, if someone had just sniffed the wine! It makes me so angry, like every fae from every court should've considered locking their HL away for that, or find some way to prevent it from ever happening again. If HLs who have had literal centuries of experience could be duped, their replacements probably wouldn't hold up under scrutiny. And some might argue that they would learn from the Amarantha incident, but if I were a fae who lived through that, I wouldn't put much faith in that idea, or leave it up to chance. And who would in that situation?

Fae live long lives and are supposed to be quick to violence, so why would they tolerate such ineptitude? because the HLs are so much more powerful? I sincerely doubt it, especially since Amarantha demonstrated that they could be brought low.

Plus what also makes me upset is the fact that Amarantha will always be completely blamed for the terrible shit that happened and that the HLs who let it happen will just be called victims for being duped. and I'm not saying that the HLs weren't victims, they were, it's just that an entire island full of people paid the price for their mistake.

Amarantha wielded the butcher's knife for the island, but the HLs gave it to her. Even if it was unintentional.

[mediocrebiscuit]

You know what annoys me? (My general lack of ability to articulate myself, and getting distracted by my own thoughts, tbh. Anywaaaay)

The way people crap on about Elain not looking good in Black — bc leather armour clad, fashion guru Cassians thinks so. 🙄

Personally, I read the scene with the dress and stuff as intentional. Nesta needed to “stand out” I believe Mor comments something to the effect of Eris likes his women flashy or something?? They also chose to stick Nesta in something significantly more revealing than she’s accustomed to, to help facilitate this (again, if I recall correctly, Nesta actually requested something modest??)

Now, we all know that Elain is observant af. I just assumed Elain overheard or the information was repeated in her presence or something, and she dressed (how she perceived to be) accordingly for the situation. I’ve even thought that perhaps even Mor approached her, informed her of the situation and suggested it. (Idk tho, that was just a little idea I had regarding it, bc I can’t actually imagine Morrigan or Feyre letting Elain leave the house looking “plain”. That’s actually mean girl behaviour, and I just don’t picture them not saying something unless it was intentional, ya know? 🧐)

Furthermore. Nesta (aside from leathers) rarely wears black? Mor never wears black in or outside of the Hewn city, Amren also never wears black?? Mor and Amren are second and third in command and Mor is the overseer of the HC and Rhys cousin, and yet..no black. So, I fail to see how a colour should dictate where someone belongs. 🧐

Black universally suits everyone. It’s a staple colour in every wardrobe and cupboard world wide. So, I do kinda struggle to suspend my disbelief that it’s the colour “sucking the life” out of Elain, as opposed to the viscous cruelty of the hewn city — that everyone should frankly be upset by (let’s not forget that Amarantha moulded UTM after the court of nightmares. And it was a poor imitation according to Rhys..And that Elain no doubt saw and heard people being tortured in the Hybern camp after her abduction, so CoN antics are no doubt particularly upsetting and triggering) and being swallowed by a frumpy dress. 🤷🏼‍♀️

What I’d personally like to see, is a return to the CoN (which we will no doubt get, bc what’s an Acotar book without going to the CoN and dressing up all extra hot and sexy? 😂) and Elain looking absolutely stunning in black, “devastatingly beautiful” and rendering everyone speechless. I��m talking eyes bugging and Jaws dropping. I want people breaking out in a sweat at the sight of her. I want breathing to become laboured and chests to hammer. I want blushes and parted lips. I want simping. Perhaps she maybe is even showing some skin? 👀

Idk, i was even thinking her wearing a dress made out of “void” and threaded with “hope” or something would be amazing and be a nice throw back to her and Feyre shopping for solstice. (And, like, a call back to how Elain was feeling after being made Fae, and how she’s been quietly working through her trauma and has hopes and dreams again. Life again.) With little embroidered flowers (maybe even some little itty bitty stars and moons and tiny silvery flames mixed in) made of the glistening “hope” threads. I just think that would be really quite lovely. 🥺👉🏻👈🏻

(The black dress gif search, also yielded a few shades of tumblr gif..I haven’t seen since porn was banned lmao 😂)

[colorlesschristmastree]

RE: SJM's bad writing:

I'm still fuming about the fact that Rhys started as a villain and has the power to manipulate other people's thoughts and feelings... And SJM did nothing interesting with that.

I hoped Acosf to be the book where after Rhys keeps info about her pregnancy and health from her, Feyre realizes that he's not a "feminist king", that she literally does not "always have a choice", that she is not "his equal" and that he has manipulated her feelings so far, and any time Feyre had shielded herself was because he'd let her to.

Like, maybe she'd get free of his mental control thanks to Nesta's new, undefined powers or something. And from there she just realizes everything. That he's not a kind Lord, that he wasn't able to help the Illyrians in how many centuries? And that he has no interest in doing it now (which is quite obvious). That he assaulted her repeatedly UTM. That people follow him because they are either magically manipulated or physically intimidated and threatened. That he made a suicide pact with her (so fuckin' toxic), and after her death in childbirth would have left his Court without a leader because he SUCKS AS A LORD.

It would have been SO COOL.

Instead we get Rhys threatening to kill Nesta for telling Feyre the truth and no one batting an eye at that. We get Feyre being upset for half a second and then act like nothing happened. We get Feyre almost dying because of him. We get Nesta losing her powers to save all three of them... But not before changing her own anatomy to make sure she can bear Cassian's children.

We get talks of him becoming High King, because of course.

SJM is a terrible writer.

Yeaaahhh i don’t really agree with you on a lot of this but I do think evil Feysand would’ve been cool. But Rhys never was a villain and his change in acomaf wasn’t retconning (imo), I reread the first book recently and his character was always there.

But anon you sound kinda silly, I don’t know why you would think or want SJM to take the main ship/couple of the series and make it so that it was just mind control the whole time.. that’s just not reasonable and she’s never been that kind of writer, your disappointment was kinda unfounded.

And I don’t agree that it’s obvious that Rhys doesn’t want to help the illyrians, mind you he was TRAPPED under the mountain for fifty years, and the rest of the IC was in Velaris and couldn’t leave. Any female illyrians who were clipped during that time cannot be blamed on Rhys and the IC because they literally weren’t there. Plus many Illyrians literally sided with amarantha, if Rhys didn’t care about them he wouldn’t have intervened and took care of all the rogue bands during those three months after UTM.

The illyrians just spent 5 decades without any control or influence from Rhys. Rhysand was UTM before emerie was even born. And some of the things you suggested wouldnt have been changed in acosf, you can’t change canon that drastically without it seeming weird. My post was about how she could have been more creative with writing a story for Nesta and Elain. Tbh idk why you’d send this ask, I’m a very pro ic and Feyre blog so I can’t really agree with anything you said except that SJM isnt a good writer and has been lacking creativity with her plot lines in the acotar series.

[moiraineswife]

What proof do we have that Eris is abusive, other than that characters have said he is? Most held a similar opinion of Rhys, what's the difference? That we have a first person narrator who is privy to the backstory of one but not the other? I'm not trying to be aggressive but I want to know your thoughts. I thought showing was more important than telling in storytelling.

Okay then, like, what ‘proof’ have we got for literally 90% of the things in this series???? Feyre is a 19 year old human girl in a world full of immortal fae. You want an eye witness account for everything in this thing, do you?

 How do I know the war happened the way they said it did? Feyre never saw it, she’s only had characters tell her about it. How do I know Rhys actually hated what he did with Amarantha and didn’t just swap sides right at the end? How do I know Rhys’ dad sucked but his mother was a good person, I’ve only heard him tell me about her, I’ve seen it. How do I know Tamlin’s brothers were awful? Never seen them either. How do I know Beron is really that awful either, I mean maybe he’s wearing a mask too and all the characters are just wrong. How do I know Mor is queer? I’ve never seen her with a girl before, I just have her word for it, maybe she lied. How do I know literally anything in this entire series because WE GET TOLD MOST THINGS NOT SHOWN THEM. 

This is what happens when you have a limited first person pov. The character HAS to get told things in order to tell us things like ???? A little bit of common sense please, do you want me to like, historically fact check Prythian for everything that Feyre tells us about it??? 

And tbh SJM has a pretty crappy habit of doing the whole ‘telling over showing’ thing anyway. See: the entirety of the Throne of Glass series, Mor’s powers in ACOTAR (she’s awesome, really, we promise, we just haven’t actually SEEN her do anything), the assertions that Rhys and co are ~the most powerful ever~ have I actually SEEN that? Can I actually see that? No.  Do I really question these things? No. Because I understand that this is the only way I can actually get some information out of this story and if I only went with what I ‘saw’ and disbelieved everything else I’d have literally nothing?? 

And when it comes to the whole Eris thing, like, dude, it’s not just a couple of characters who’ve said he’s abysmal it’s like, wait let me make a list: 

Tamlin: “His father had her put down. Executed, in front of Lucien, ashis two eldest brothers held him and made him watch.” That would be Eris. So at best you’ve got conflicting statements here. 

Lucien: “Lucien crossed his arms, leaning against the back of thecouch. “I have to agree with Cassian. Eris is a snake.” M, yes, Eris, HIS OWN BROTHER. If anyone was going to know Eris was ~not a bad person~ it’d be Lucien. Lucien who lived in that court. Who knew him. Who Eris apparently cared enough to protect/save, according to him. Eris who apparently cares so much about his mother (as we have seen Lucien does SEEN that is SEEN with our own two eyes) Why the hell would Lucien not know Eris was ‘wearing a mask’. Or maybe...Eris really does suck. 

Rhys: “Eris refused to marry her. Said she’d been sullied by abastard-born lesser faerie, and he’d now sooner fuck a sow. [...]Rhys said withsoft wrath, “Eris left her for dead in the middle of their woods.” Idgaf how he tries to spin it later, this is what happened.  

Cassian: “You’re working with that prick,” Cassian cut in, whatevercatching-up now over, apparently. He moved to Mor’s side, a hand on her back.He shook his head at Azriel and Rhys, disgust curling his lip. “You should havespiked Eris’s fucking head to the front gates.” 

Amren: “Your whole family is despicable,” Amren said to Lucien.

Mor: AtMor, whose face went white with dread. [...]Or at Eris, heirto the Autumn Court, as he strolled into the room. 

[...] 

And I had the terrible sense that Mor had gone somewhere far,far away as Eris set down his goblet and said, “You look well, Mor.”

The sight of him triggers actual real panic attacks and flashbacks that we can literally see from Feyre’s POV. Five hundred years after the fact and Mor is still traumatised enough by what he did to her to react like this even after all that time. 

Then we have Feyre’s POV herself. Through her we’ve seen Eris laughing alongside his other brothers as Lucien was tortured and nearly killed. 

“I don’t suppose your handsome brothers know, Lucien,” shepurred.

“If we did, Lady, we would be the first to tell you,” said thetallest. He was lean, well dressed, every inch of him a court-trained bastard.Probably the eldest, given the way even the ones who looked like born warriorsstared at him with deference and calculation—and fear.

 Ah, yes, that would be Eris actively promising help to Amarantha in order to damn Feyre and continue her reign. Then there’s the way Eris hunts down Lucien and Feyre in the Winter Court, actively harms them both. So that’s like...Basically every single main character in this book who’s told you Eris sucks. 

What’s the basis for believing that he doesn’t, out of interest? I mean what ‘evidence’ do you have that he is actually wearing a mask, what do you have that’s so strong it goes against the testimony of multiple characters? Oh I know! You have Eris’ word for it and that’s it. Wow. So unbiased. So convincing. Eris tells us he’s not really a bad guy and that outweighs the half a dozen people who tells us he is! That’s just. Damn. What logic. Can’t argue with that. 

Also, like, I’m sorry, but Rhys’ arc was done properly, Rhys’ redemption wasn’t a retcon it was a followed-through on plan. There were hints UtM that Rhys was not as black as he was painted (He killed the Summer Court faerie outright rather than leaving him to suffer, he repeatedly came to visit Feyre in her cell when no-one else would, he was honest with Feyre about the treatment he received at Amarantha’s hands (a vulnerability on his part), he told her why he was making her dance every night as well as the steps he put in place to protect her, he sent music to her and saved her life, he saved her life and Tamlin’s with the kiss (which Feyre is aware of), he tried to save Feyre’s life while Amarantha was torturing her) 

Rhys was a complex, morally grey character UtM and it’s possible to show a different side to him and a ‘mask’ because there were always hints of him wearing one. What if Ianthe told Feyre she was actually a secret agent working for Prythian but she was forced to act the way she did to keep her cover? What if Amarantha said she’d only dominated Prythian that way to save it from something worse and she too was wearing a mask and working for the greater good? What if Hybern said there was a bigger threat facing them and he had an ulterior motive to this war (and also, I mean, how do you really know Hybern is that awful, we’ve only ever had people tell us about him, maybe he’s misunderstood too!!!!)  @valamerys wrote this out far better than I could in this post, read it too. 

My thoughts are pretty simple, tbh: SJM decided to “”””””redeem”””””” Eris, likely to have him set-up to take over Autumn, now Lucien isn’t an option for that before what with the whole dramatic lost son of Day thing and she did a crap job of it. Like this isn’t some grand morality based character debate that’s going on here, SJM just handled this poorly. In order to make him seem not so bad she had to undo all of the canon that she’d set in place before hand and offer ‘alternative’ explanations for what happened that we’ve never heard about. 

If she planned this all beforehand, if Eris was always wearing a mask why weren’t there hints of it before? Why didn’t she have Tamlin tell Feyre he got an anonymous tip-off the day he saved Lucien’s life from his brothers (which is what Eris claimed). Why wouldn’t Lucien defend him a little, say at least he cared about their mother/was sometimes kinder to him than the others? Why wouldn’t Rhys say that in the arranged marriage that petrified Mor, Eris was as unwilling as she was, that he argued against it? (Eris would have gone through with this marriage regardless of what it did to Mor if she hadn’t slept with Cassian) Why wouldn’t Eris stay quiet UtM or not show up to watch Lucien’s torture (which he does repeatedly)? Why, why, why, why, why would SJM not do something to show us that there might be more to Eris? Unless this was just a sloppy, last minute retcon to redeem a gross, abusive character who still to do this day petrifies his victim? 

Like, if you consider showing to be of more importance than telling in stories....You’ve picked a mighty weird hill to die on here with Eris. Because this is literally the worst example of telling not showing in this entire series. There is no basis for anything that happens with Eris’ character in ACOWAR and the only thing we have stacked against the evidence of two and a half books is what Eris says and how he personally spins the story like ????

 Idk dude, we can have a convoluted, let’s bend over backwards to redeem this guy and show he was misunderstood and has been wearing a mask so convincing it’s never ever ever cracked even once this entire time, to anyone! Even people who’ve known him for centuries....Or we go with the simpler: SJM really didn’t plan or execute this story very well at all. Which seems more reasonable?  

[xcrc]

lemme tell you about Amarantha

is the middle child

sees lots of paranormal stuff

would be the girl who talks to ghosts

Is life a simulat i o n ?

talk to her about conspiracy theories and she’s sold

manga book addict

impeccable handwriting

always has a notebook and pen on her

is the lowkey grammar police

would probably give her phone number to anyone

texts all day

probably texts you right in front of you 

Prank Queen

Dare Devil

gives no shits tbh

might suck dick for chipotle

swears all the time

proud member of the tiny titty committee

would strut around naked if she could

99.9% of the time speaks through notes

[moiraineswife]

A character: Nesta

*cracks fingers* 

general opinion: fall in a holeand die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them!!! | actual love of my life hotness level: get away from me| meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! |10/10 would banghogwarts house: gryffindor | slytherin | ravenclaw | hufflepuffbest quality: Her will. 10/10 can conquer entire continents with a glower level will. It’s inspiring. Also how much she cares? Just because she can’t quite put that into words doesn’t mean she doesn’t feel it. (And her sisters are both 100% aware of it. Even Feyre ‘I can be a bit of a dense potato when it comes to people’ Archeron gets it: ‘“But know that deep down, she is grateful, and perhaps doesnot possess the ability to say so. Yet the feeling—the heart—is there.”’ *cries into handkerchief for six years* worst quality: U can be a smidge too pragmatic at times child, makes people think you’re like...the opposite of who you are. ship them with: Cassian. Because like. Obvious reasons. My two strong, stubborn fierce hearts. I love you both. (And I feel like they’d....bring out the best in each other too. And they’re like 99% confirmed mates which is fun) 

Mor. Mesta is life people, I’m sorry, I don’t make the rules.  brotp them with: Elain!!!!! Obvious reasons. FEYRE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Feyre and Nesta’s dynamic is fuck off fascinating (and is something I am passionate about...as you will know if you have followed me for more than two minutes) 

Rhys, actually. People keep assuming these two are automatically going to clash in ACOWAR but I’m not as certain. (I’m not saying that it’s not possible/even probable) but...the “That was why you painted the night sky” scene exists and I actually think...these two are more similar than people might realise. 

Lucien: give me snarky bickering and continual ‘everyone thinks we’re literally on the verge of murdering each other but we’re just fucking with them and it’s hilarious’  needs to stay away from: Tomas fucking Mandray -_- the negativity of small minded peoplemisc. thoughts: It’s time to voice some Unpopular Opinions. This is not what I think is going to happen in ACOWAR (we don’t do that over here, we suck at it) this is just....what I would prefer to happen even if it’s deeply unlikely. *clears throat. stages tiny drumroll for my underwhelming ‘going against fandom gradient’ thoughts* I don’t want Nesta to be trained as a badass warrior queen.

 That’s not who she is. That is never who she’s been. And I don’t want her story to just be a rehash of Feyre’s ACOMAF storyline but with different characters (Cass instead of Rhys for instance) I know, I know there are arguments for it, that she never helped before because she didn’t have Feyre’s physical skills and practical knowledge and in taking that from the Cauldron we can have some interestingness and growth and change and rebirth and blah blah blah. That’s fine. That’s probably what we’re going to get but..... 

I don’t know. I don’t like the idea for a start that a female character has to be able to physically fight someone/wield some kind of violent power for them to be ‘badass.’ And it just...I enjoy the dynamic between Feyre and Nesta, I enjoy the similarities but I also enjoy the differences and Nesta has always had other strengths. And I think it’s high time she’s allowed to actually put them to use and let them flourish. 

Feyre has used what she was given as a human to survive/grow since ACOTAR. It’s always been her practical abilities, her pragmatism, her logic, her determination, stubbornness and strength of will. She’s a survivor; she’s a fighter and she always has been. That’s Nesta’s stumbling block, it’s the biggest cause of friction between the two sisters: Feyre could do what Nesta couldn’t- in keeping them alive by hunting, she was demonstrating skills that Nesta didn’t and couldn’t attain for herself (and they both knew it) 

 The interesting thing about these two is that they really are two sides of the same coin. Nesta has Feyre’s same pragmatism, logic, determination, stubbornness and strength of will what she doesn’t have is her physical abilities. Nesta isn’t a fighter; Nesta is a tactician. Nesta uses her intelligence and her calculating mind to get ahead in the same way that Feyre uses her practical skills. (There are so many examples of this my favourite is still the one where she argues with the queens, and uses good solid logical and numbers to make her case for them helping) 

 (Consider for example: Nesta UtM; she would have struggled with the Middengard Wyrm task but on the other hand she’d probably never have had to face it since she’d have likely been able to answer Amarantha’s riddle in the way that Feyre just couldn’t) They’re so similar but so different at the same time (and since they patch each other’s weaknesses so well they’d be a fucking powerhouse if they decided to work together) 

I’d like this to come to the fore in ACOWAR. Because they’re at war. And more than warriors win wars - they need people like Nesta and I want her to be able to finally use that mind of hers, to find the value in the things that she has, the things she can do; not simply be jealous and bitter about the things that she can’t. 

Just like...please for the love of god give me strategist Nesta, okay. This was the girl who, in her early teenage years, had already devised a plan to see if she could force her father into action (maybe not...the best idea in the world since it sort of involved STARVING but she gets points for determination, ruthlessess and outside the box thinking) Nesta is good at this, Nesta is highly intelligent, she has a mind for figures, numbers and has already been shown to be able to consider large numbers of people in terms of logistics. “I have calculated the numbers.” JUST GIVE ME NESTA DOING WHAT NESTA ALREADY DOES OKAY. LET HER FIND VALUE IN WHAT SHE CAN DO. LET HER REALISE THAT SHE IS NOT A BURDEN, THAT SHE IS A GODDAMN ASSET THAT THEY NEED BECAUSE OF THAT BRAIN OF HERS LIKE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. 

And the nessian potential for this is literally off the charts okay? Like...Nesta studying Cassian’s maps, his troop movements, his battle plans...brow creasing she steps forwards and shifts a few things around then steps back and he just....stares at her like she’s the Mother herself come to ground because she’s just halved their march time and supply lines. Like...Battle!couple nessian is fun but scheming, tactical, battle planning nessian is even better tbh. And Cassian would listen to her okay and value her advice and her opinions in a way I’m pretty sure no other man ever has because nice little ladies don’t think about this stuff. EXCEPT NESTA DOES OKAY JUST GIVE IT TO ME. 

As a part shot, pls consider: “ I think I’d like to see what else is outthere, what a woman might do with a fortune and a good name.”No limits, I thought. There were no limits to what Nesta might do,what she might make of herself once she found a place to call her own. I prayedI would be lucky enough to someday see it.” 

Nesta is made to build, Nesta is made to rule, Nesta is made to plan and dream and rise. She can be so much more than another powerful fighter/warrio.. And I want it. I want it all. 

Right. Rant concluded. I talked too much. It happens. I’m not sorry.