#because sjm isn’t someone who SHOWS she TELLS

[lady-tortilla-chip]

I think it’s crazy that Tamlin’s response to the trauma of watching Feyre die (tho not good) is considered evil.

[keepittoyourshelf]

Since the algorithm on my various socials thinks I actually want to see a ton of people simping over Rhys and ACOTAR, let’s get down to the bones of why that algorithm is fucked beyond all comprehension, shall we?

I’ve never hidden the fact that I’m pro-Tamlin, not in the sense that I approve of what he did, but from the place that I believe he’s worthy of forgiveness in the same way any of the men that SJM otherwise glorifies in her work is worthy of it for any of their transgressions.

I shouldn’t have to do a paint by numbers thing here to make this obvious, but based on the actual text written by SJM in her own words, Tamlin has objectively done nothing better or worse than Rhysand has.

The big complaint is his temper, of course, and pro-Rhysies love to bullshit about how the red flags were all over book 1 and SJM is such a master at foreshadowing.

He locked Feyre in a house against her will to protect her, when she clearly didn’t want to be caged. How is that any worse than Rhysand…drugging her and making her give him lap dances, in order to protect her, when she clearly didn’t want to be dancing naked in front of strangers?

Go on. I’ll wait for your rationalization.

Rhysand’s whole shtick was that he’s only playing the villain to keep Velaris (and only Velaris) safe…those fucks in the Hewn City can eat a bag of dicks, right? But tell me again how Tamlin is the really bad one for enforcing a tithe because it’s unfair to those who can’t afford it (fair point). But Rhysand chooses to save the one city in his court that has zero problems. Let’s let those that might already be suffering from poverty get kidnapped and tortured by a psychopath. That’s probably better than a tithe, right?

And let’s not forget how Tamlin mocked Feyre and Rhys at the High Lords meeting. While funny, it was in poor taste. At least Rhysand didn’t publicly mock Tamlin. He had the decency to do it privately when he went out of his way to go to a deeply troubled man’s house and, in the midst of an obvious mental health crisis, not only had the gall to ask for resources from a man that has no resources because his own wife fucking destroyed them out of spite, but proceeds to rub in his triumph over a man that has nothing left. Nothing to see there, right?

Even if you could ignore all of that (and you’d have to be willfully fucking thick to do so, which a lot of these people are), I shall leave you with Tamlin’s role as a spy for Hybern. That’s obviously supposed to be a real shock because TaMliN BaD at this point, so why would anyone believe him? It’s not like he had a really good explanation like Rhys gave when he murdered literal children and innocents just to ensure Amarantha didn’t know how noble he actually was. Right? RIGHT?! And it’s not like anyone would have a harder time believing someone who had played evil and done actually evil things for the “greater good” (a collectivist dog whistle if there ever was one) for fifty fucking years over the dude that suddenly goes bad after being a progressive and respected high lord for the same period of time? I mean, it’s not like we’re dealing with severe mental anguish and trauma here. That’s crazy talk.

Shadow Daddy does no wrong. Even when he does. Because reasons.

Those idiots on TikTok making stupid videos showing their bf’s being all shocked and I KNEW IT when Tamlin “turns” can chew glass along with all those dipshits selling mugs that say “Tamlin’s Tears” on Etsy right next to merch glorifying a man that literally gaslit his soulmate into believing that forced drunken naked lap dances were actually a good thing, when you think about it.

SJM isn’t a master of foreshadowing. She’s a sloppy writer of moderately entertaining fiction that has a kink for glorifying severely unhealthy behaviors without the benefit of a trigger warning.

Fuck off if you think that’s all okay and think that anyone that says Tamlin isn’t any worse comparatively is the crazy one. Projection is a real disorder. Look it up. Right after you order your 543rd Rhysand candle.

[elainsgirl]

Eluciens seem to have made it their biggest argument that Elain hasn't returned Lucien's gifts. I don't think Sarah has ever written what Elain has done with Lucien's gifts, but we know how Elain reacted to them.

In ACOFAS:

I handed Elain the small box with her name on it. Her smile faded as she opened it. “Enchanted gloves,” she read from the card. “That won’t tear or become too sweaty while gardening.” She set aside the box without looking at it for longer than a moment. And I wondered if she preferred to have torn and sweaty hands, if the dirt and cuts were proof of her labor. Her joy.

In ACOSF:

He and Lucien did not exchange gifts, though the male had brought a gift for Feyre and one for his mate, who barely thanked him after opening the pearl earrings. Cassian’s heart strained at the pain etching deep into Lucien’s face as he tried to hide his disappointment and longing. Elain only shrank further into herself, no trace of that newfound boldness to be seen.

It's just sadness and no trace of her newfound boldness. Shrinking into herself. This isn't tension or angst. It's sad.

Compare that to "put it on me?" and getting wet from Azriel touching her neck.

Both Lucien and Azriel got Elain jewelry last Solstice. And her reactions to them is complete opposites. One is romantic, the other is just sad.

Hey anon 🫶

Elain is too polite to return Lucien’s gifts, she doesn’t even tell him to go away - simply stays quiet hoping he gets the hint and leaves himself - so idk why elucien stans think she would return his presents. And before anyone says “but she returned Azriel’s!” She was deeply hurt & embarrassed. It was an emotionally charged action where as with Lucien you get nothing. No emotion. Nothing said. Which is worse, because it shows how Elain truly does not gaf about Lucien and isn’t impressed or even affected by anything he does for her.

The fact Elain was smiling when receiving the box but it faded as she opened it because they were literally just gloves. In hindsight, sure it was a thoughtful but very surface level gift. Like getting your artist friend a set of simple paints. Its a good gift but generic. Plain. Shows how little thought went behind it. And here, Sjm tells us why Elain may not have liked the gift, because she liked getting her hands dirty. And I feel as though there’s two ways to interpretate that sentence: 1) Elain likes feeling the dirt as proof of her labour since it makes her feel capable of doing something. It shows her work, effort etc - it could be her way of making up for how she barely/couldn’t do anything during the archerons poverty era. 2) for someone ladylike, who would have been taught by her mother to always keep her hands clean and mess-free, gardening without gloves - feeling the dirt, could be Elains way of rebelling against her mother and her upbringing.

Anyways, this is why Eluciens have to make Luciens gift deep by saying he got her gloves cause he knows Elain “self h4rms.” And where does this come from? Feysands bonus where Elain got hurt by a thorn. What they missed is the fact, Elain wore gloves. They simply tore. She wasn’t gardening without gloves disproving that take.

Both Lucien and Azriel getting Elain jewellery in acosf was done on purpose by Sjm. To show readers how Elain feels about Lucien and Azriel. As you pointed out, Elain loses her boldness and simply sets the pearls aside. She doesn’t admire them. Yet with Azriel’s necklace? “It’s beautiful” “put it on me?”. Elain wants Azriel. She doesn’t want Lucien and that was Mass’s final way of making it clear to her readers.

The funny thing is, Sjm could have written a scene where Cassian catches Elain staring at the pearls, admiring them then blushing once realising Cassian was observing her. She could have had Feyre see Elain putting the gloves on or taking them out of the box - again, admiring them. Yet you get nothing. We do not know what Elain does with the gifts but we know how she feels and thats what matters the most. So whilst Eluciens can go on and twist it to be romantic that Elain hasn’t returned Luciens gifts because she secretly likes them or hates how well he knows her - those are HCs, completely made up and are not supported by canon material from the books. Its made up bs to make elucien seem deep & interesting when in reality they’re not any of those things.

[sjmgirlie]

I’ve been pondering Lucien’s character more lately and I’m beginning to think he might actually be the person to “betray” the Inner Circle.

So first of all, don’t attack me if you’re a Lucien Stan and don’t agree, because this is just a theory. Do I want Lucien to be bad? No. Lol. I don’t want anyone to be bad but Koschei, the Queens and Beron. So basically everyone we know is bad. But there is going to be someone who betrays them.

Lucien, since day one, has always been associated with a fox. Rhysand specifically said that Lucien wore a fox mask for a reason.

He’s been associated with many courts, as he took over as emissary and basically did Tamlin’s job because, well, Tamlin is literally just a beast lol. No communication skills whatsoever. So he’s good with people.

Now, he was thrown out of Autumn, saved by his brother Eris as we find out (which idk if Lucien knows this) and sent to Spring. Tamlin took him in, and then after the whole aftermath with Feyre destroying the court, he found himself at the Night Court.

This is where it starts to make sense why he might betray them. He has no alliance to them. Tbh, Lucien and Feyre are not friends at all. He knew she was lying in spring, he sent her to die as a human in the forest, she makes fun of him for the Band of Exiles name. Like they aren’t friends. Lucien is maintaining his role to have a reason to be around Elain, but he also doesn’t want to anyways. Also, Mor said he can’t be trusted even with Elain there. So what’s going on?

See, there might be a reason the Band of Exiles needs the NC. Probably to help in breaking Vassa’s curse. But other than that?

Lucien shows a lot of animosity towards Rhys and Feyre. Especially in ACOFAS. And in ACOSF, when Cassian visits the manor, Lucien asks “Are you here to give me orders?” So..

Now, Jurian as an eyeball apparently had more deduction skills than both Tamlin and Lucien combined when it came to Rhys. He knew him before, and knew he wasn’t a bad guy. That it was an act. Just as he was acting with Hybern. Will he want to betray someone he knows isn’t actually bad? Especially after he died to save Prythian? Maybe not. But for Vassa? Ya, I think he would.

Lucien is indirectly affiliated with the IC, and I don’t think SJM would ever make any actual IC member betray them. They are found family, it’s out of the cliche she likes. But Lucien? He’s in it but not really.

Could this be why Elain is avoiding him? Maybe. Will it be catastrophic? I doubt it, but it’ll be a betrayal that rocks the boat enough.

SJM has continuously reduced Lucien’s character in the books. Was he the comic relief in ACOTAR? Yes. Because, well, we needed him as a wing man since Mr. Your hair is clean was not going to get Feyre on his own. And it was also a Beauty and the Beast re-telling, with Lucien being Lumière (fire power anyone?) who also was the beast's wingman. But after that? He didn’t help Feyre when she asked, was an accomplice in her sisters being turned fae, helped in spring but then the whole travel to get to NC was just to see Elain, then after that it was just snark after snark with him.

I feel like people latched on to how Lucien was in the first book and then idk? Just didn’t see his character diminish from that? The only time he’s still the old Lucien is when he talks about vassa. Otherwise he’s just rude and annoyed IMO.

Do I want Lucien's happy ending? Of course I do. I want that for all the characters. Why wouldn't I? I'm the same as SJM, I want happy endings, even if it's cliche.

Anyways, I think Lucien is going to betray the IC.

@clairvoyantmiss

[sapchat]

As much as I would hate for it to happen I think it would be kind of poetic is Rhys did try to become High King of Prythian. (I also think it’d be a really good fucking book)

Think about it, so far (from what we’ve seen through Feyre POV) his entire goal has been to save and protect Prythian from evil. And Amren keeps push in that really the only way to do it would be by becoming High King. The thing is, is we can tell he’s starting to get stressed. We saw it in ACOFAS (fucking holiday special. I’m waiting for the musical special next) and we saw some of it in ACOSF.

He’s trying to find ways to protect his family while also protecting Prythian. Amren’s putting ideas in his head to become High King, so why doesn’t he try it?

Here’s why I think it’d be poetic: Amarantha.

Now we know the trauma he went through with her, but she declared herself “Queen of Prythian”. It’d be poetic if her “whore”/consort later became King. I think this is where SJM could put a lot of his troubles and talk about his struggles he went through with her but we all know she won’t.

I also think it would be poetic because of his goal and worry to protect his family. Protect Feyre. Because what’s one way you could kill Rhys? Feyre. Because of that fucking bargain they’ve made. So what do I think will happen? It’ll come full circle, he’ll start locking her up. Now we know he basically promised it would never happen again but come on poetic irony.

Rhys would be Amarantha, Feyre would be Tamlin. Rhys would become Tamlin, and Feyre would become someone who wouldn’t know what to do.

I don’t think it would be as bad as Tamlin in ACOMAF, but I do think Rhys would try and keep her in Velaris, safe where it’s protected, where nothing can happen to her and Nyx and therefore nothing can happened to Rhys.

Here’s another thing I could would be poetic if Rhys became High King. Koshcei. The Bone Carver. The Weaver.

Three siblings. Three “brothers”.

Koshcei is the most powerful of the siblings, that’s why he was locked in the lake. In Slavic folklore Koshcei is a male antagonist who “kidnaps the hero’s wife.” What is it that Rhys is accused of? Stealing Tamlins bride. Now I don’t think Tamlin is gonna be a hero, but I do think he’ll have some part to play just because SJM could’ve left him alone at the end of ACOWAR. His ending should’ve been him saying “be happy” but no she has Rhys going and antagonizing him in ACOSF. I 100% think you could have Rhys and Koshcei be a poetic comparison.

I think Azriel would be The Bone Carver. Now the bone carver states that he’s the weakest of his three siblings when it comes to power. In a way I can see where this could apply to Rhys and Cass. Azriel is powerful in his own way, he’s a shadowsinger. The first seen/documented in years. He’s a powerful Illyrian but when it comes to many other fae, he isn’t. And I say that with lots of love for Azriel.

That would make Cassian The Weaver. He’s the one to tie Rhys and Az together in the first place really. If he didn’t beat Rhys as a child, Rhys never would’ve gone and gotten Cass that night. Cass is the one who weaves them together. Because without that night happening, it would’ve just been Rhys and Az. Cass would’ve likely stayed a low foot soldier. The Weaver is able to sense things, he sensed that Nesta was his mate or something when she was still human, something Rhys couldn’t actually do. Rhys just knew that he had dreamt of Feyre, he didn’t realize that she was actually his mate until she was Made. Just like Nesta and Cass.

I think SJM could have a really good book if she did something like I talk about above. But I really only see her as “happy happy happy 😃” I don’t think she’ll have Rhys become High King or slowly become this villain everyone sees him as just because of how SJM has done ACOTAR so far. I think he’ll stay just a high lord and him and feyre will basically pump out babes the next few books will defeating whatever evil shows up.

[acourtofthought]

I just want to say my piece about Elain week and be done with it. Honestly, you’re one of the few accounts I follow that actually gets it. You genuinely love Elain’s character but aren’t blind to her flaws, which is rare. It’s refreshing to see someone who admires where her story might be going while still keeping it real—because let’s face it, Elain is just a character in a book, not a real person. It’s exhausting to see people lose their minds over fictional drama. So, thanks for being one of the few who can balance it all without losing touch with reality.

I can’t take Elriel’s seriously because they treat Elain like she’s some real, fleshed-out character while simultaneously reducing her to a mere plot device in Az's story. It’s like they completely ignore her agency and depth just to fit her into Azriel's narrative. And don’t even get me started on Elainweek. If it was supposed to be inclusive, why was it riddled with bans that sidelined anyone who had different preferences in the fandom? They act like Elucien fans are the problem for not participating in previous years, but then turn around and complain on Twitter when a bunch of Eluciens actually engaged this year.

They should have just been straightforward about their intentions for Elain-week instead of being passive-aggressive and called it what it was, Elriel week.

Now, I want to touch on the art that is now causing so muchdrama. I want to make it abundantly clear, the art itself was beautiful, many Eluciens and Gwynriels said so, but it was the artist's words that hurt many POC among the fandom.

It’s was honestly sad to witness this whole situation. I do not think the artist's comments were made with malicious intent, but rather came from a place of ignorance. Eluciens and Gwynriels had been nothing but supportive of her work, sharing her previous pieces and even showing interest in commissioning her - despite her obvious preference for Elriel.

However, how she choose to address the situation escalated things and I will bet good money she is now being manipulated by Elriels, who are telling her that she said nothing wrong, because they want the artist to create a narrative that Elucien are bullies. They are taking advantage of her situation and making things worse.

But does the artist even realize that many of the people sliding into her DMs are the very same ones who have engaged in real bullying? Seriously, these are the people who have sent death threats, harassed SJM’s best friend, and targeted authors, influencers, bookshops, and other artists just for shipping Gwynriel or Elucien. Does she know she is being exploited by Elriels, it’s sad that she doesn’t see it. Her artwork was stunning but it was overshadowed by her thoughtless and careless words and how she handled the situation. She seems to have completely missed the point.

This entire week has just been a reminder of how hypocritical some Elriels can be. Honestly, I can't wait for the day they finally drop Elain's character, because you know they will when they don't get their precious Elriel in the canon. They’re delusional if they think SJM would ever write Elriel after the way they've harassed her team, her husband, her best friends, and her colleagues. The death threats and even the creepy threats to kidnap her baby? Seriously?

Let’s be real: if they were truly confident in their ship from the beginning, they wouldn’t have needed to resort to bullying the author and anyone who disagrees with them. I think they have always known deep down that they were shipping a red herring. Now they’re just trying to strong-arm Sarah into writing them some fanservice because they can't handle the fact that their ship isn’t happening. That SJM prefers mates and they know Elriel aren't mates. It’s time to call it what it is. They want Sarah to cater to their whims, and their desperation to spam and harass anyone who doesn't ship Elriel is just pathetic.

Alright, I’m done

Thank you for the background on the photo drama! I know people were looking for more details of what happened and I had heard about it but didn't see some of what was being said on IG. You know, E/riels can call Elucien's and Gwynriel's bully's all they want and I know there have been some situations where even our side has behaved badly (though I'm not sure I remember seeing de@th threats / SA threats coming from our end) but if E/riels truly hoped to have some influence on how Sarah writes these books, I do not understand how they think their behavior is doing them favors. Sarah and her team know nothing of the verbal sparring between anon user A versus Anon user B on IG / Tumblr/ Twitter (X) whether it be Eluciens to E/riels, Gwynriels to E/riels or E/riels to Eluciens and Gwynriels. But they most certainly have heard about what happened to the other famous author who called out E/riels on her IG simply because she liked the Gwynriel ship. Sarah almost certainly heard about how E/riels acted towards her good friend Steph after she said she didn't think E/riel was happening on one of her Lives. I don't think anything any of us are going to change Sarah's mind on what she writes but if someone is over the age of 12, I imagine we all learned the lesson that good behavior gets rewarded and tantrums do not.

Thank you for your comments on my view of Elain's character! I can't think of a single FMC who has started her book happy with friends, already in love, and already living where she's going to end up by the end of her book, can you?

Yet somehow Elain is already perfect with the perfect friends and the perfect lover who treats her so well and they're already the best friends ever even though he spent a year avoiding her and she's so at home with the sisters who call her a dog and a pleasant companion and the way she treats Lucien is not at all inconsiderate because she is perfect and does not owe the one she has a forever magical connection to a single word from her lips because real life women don't owe men anything! Apparently the E/riel version of Elain is living the Barbie Dream Life and that's all well and good but then the author has absolutely no need to write a book about her. Have they listened to Sarah talk about her favorite characters? Nesta. Manon. She likes complicated women. Which we saw with Bryce and Feyre and Aelin. These women are layers upon layers and they are flawed. We can love them all the same but Sarah does not like Mary Sue's. Even her most Mary Sue like character (the not morally gray Yrene) had major prejudices she had to get over! She was a bitch to Chaol at first! That means Elain is not starting off her book as the Voted Most Beautiful of the School Head Cheerleader of the Squad leaving care packages on her sweetheart of one year and counting's locker since they're already so in love, Elain who already has the picture perfect life and only needs to fight the bad guy because there's absolutely nothing else for her to achieve. Elain, just like every other SJM heroine is going to have depth. Heavy emotions that have held her back from doing the things she needs to do, being who she's meant to be, facing her bond instead of avoiding it. Emotions that are HERS and not just her showing Rhys up. That's blaming everyone else for Elain's current state and not giving her any of the responsibility for anything. They just don't want her to have depth and things to overcome because if she does that means she might change (just like every other FMC does) and they worry that if she changes, it could mean those changes will lead her in a direction they don't want for her. So for them she must remain exactly as she is and end her book with things exactly the same as they are right now. (or at least as they were pre Solstice because right now she hasn't looked Az's way for months). We all knew Elain Week was going to be E/riel Week 2.0 despite their cries of "no, Elucien's are welcome! All ships but Tamlian and Berlain are welcome!" Damn if I'm now not wishing for some Jurlain content because that seems to be their hot button these days. We knew they'd cry that it's our fault, that we are the ones who choose not to participate while conveniently forgetting all the posts they liked over the past year calling Elucien's abuse apologists, misogynists, etc. But Yes, Of COURSE we're all welcome this week. It's like making fun of how a kid dresses every day at school then promising they'll behave the week of May 3rd, ONLY the week of May 3rd but act shocked when the kid doesn't thank them for the compliment of how nice they look that week. Assurances don't mean a thing when the people making them are nasty to us and our ship 99.9% of the time. At this point we can only hope that Sarah will some day decide to put us out of our misery and announce the next pairing.

[gwyns]

I was reblogging a pro Elain post to show girlie some love and because I agreed with what it said, but I noticed some of the comments that just rubbed me the wrong way.

One of the comments said “That's the thing. Everyone wants Az with Gwyn because she's now a Valkaryie.. but does Az want that? He hates laryians, and especially hates how they treat the women. And we have a warrior couple.. why would SJM make another?”

And then some of the reblogs said “tbh most 'girl boss' characters are just..childish pick mes—characters like elain are so mature interesting fascinating” and “I don't know about yall but i am sooooo tired of these Feisty, Sassy, girlboss female characters, who smart mouth everybody. A soft feminine and quiet female character, who loves to garden and keep to herself and mind her own business is what we need more of”

I agree that we need more soft and feminine female characters, but to put down another woman just to show love for another isn’t okay. That post didn’t even say anything about Gwyn or ships, but she still got brought up.

E/riel’s say all these thing that they want for Elain, but then they try to make her a spy or a warrior. They constantly change her plot/arc and personality and characteristics just to fit Azriel’s. Make fanart of her with weapons, in leathers, and covered in blood. Complain how we “hate” Elain for being more soft and feminine, but from what I’ve seen, most Gwynriel’s strongly support Elain being soft and feminine. They support that she likes to bake and garden. They’re not trying to change everything about her character to fit a man. It’s like E/riel’s take one small thing that someone might’ve said a long time ago and just run with it, on and on and on.

I’ve seen antis say that SJM made Gwyn’s character to try and not be like other girls. The quirky, cool girl (but now they’re trying to say Elain is like Alice Cullen who is quirky/weird?), how she’s childish & immature because she gets excited, and squeals/makes high pitched noises, and likes to make friendship bracelets. Gwyn made an excited sound because Cassian told her that he knew the former Valkyries personally. It’s normal to make certain sounds when you’re excited about something. And the bracelets were a way to honor her sister who was killed in front of her. Gwyn is rediscovering joy and happiness after being severely traumatized. I don’t see how Gwyn is childish at all. I think the only reason why they’re anti Gwyn is because she’s a love interest for Azriel and that’s just sad. It’s fine if you don’t like a character, but if the only reason you don’t like a character is because she’s a potential love interest, then that’s embarrassing and sad. Sometimes I feel unsafe to voice opinions and love for certain characters. This fandom doesn’t feel welcoming anymore. It honestly makes me really sad.

ohhh boy let me answer this point by point because it got me a little heated

they do realize that there's only so many dynamics between characters, right? and like it or not, az is a warrior. just as cassian and rhys are and both of their mates are warriors in their own right. they're equals to each other. despite feysand and nessian having similarities they're still entirely their own couple, just as gwynriel would be. they wouldn't be a carbon copy of nessian like they claim

if they want more soft and feminine women go... read other books? we know elain is getting a book, why are they acting like gwyn would take away from that? this is rich coming from the "feminist" side of the fandom... you know what reeks of misogyny? dragging one woman down to uplift another

they looooove bringing gwyn up and that tells me all i need to know about their true feelings, they're jealous as hell

i can only speak for myself, and to an extent my mutuals since they're the best gwynriels in existence, but yes! we love that elain is more feminine and not into killing or being a warrior. we want her to be who she truly is and find love along the way. it's e/riels who i constantly see try to change her, to mold her into a character that suits azriel better and wow... would you look at that? it's a character very similar to gwyn! what an amazing coincidence. oh yeah they never let anything go, calling elain boring or simply disliking her is a mortal sin or something to them but sending rape and death threats to people is ok in their book!

i hate the argument that gwyn is a "pick me" or "childish" like damn! don't y'all have joy in your lives? clearly not if you get this upset over a woman embracing life and doing what she finds fun with her friends. i admire gwyn for this, i'm very similar in that i react the same way to things i'm interested in, there is absolutely nothing wrong with doing what makes you happy. no matter if people think you're silly or immature or some other incorrect thing, they're the ones with a problem. here's some simple advice to anyone who wants it, don't let other people dictate what is and isn't "cool", do what you like. the right people will come along and embrace it with you

as for your last point, i agree completely. this fandom has become such a shithole and it's sad. i'm always here to listen and gush about characters with you though, ok? on anon or off or through dms, whatever you want 💖

[nestastits]

Heyyyy!!!

I've got two questions

Favourite Nessian moment EVER

2. One thing you'd like to see in the next book

Have a good day 💕

Sorry it has taken me so long to answer this 😣.

1: Literally every scene 😭. There are so many. They are so special to me for so many reasons. But if I had to choose just one for this post I will have to go with the nightmare scene in acosf.

The nightmare was where we see the affect cassian has on Nesta and her power. Which I find very interesting. I sort of see Nesta’s power as more of its own thing. Like it has a mind of its own. I guess like a Venom type situation? If you’re a marvel fan you’ll understand my reference🤣. But Nesta can still tell it what to do. Anyways, in this scene Nesta is lost in her memories that have turned into nightmares and Rhys can’t break through her shields. He can’t contain her power either. It is Cassian who calms Nesta down with his voice and touch. And her power answers in return to him. It calls out when it hears him. And Nesta reaches out for him too. The morning after Nesta remarks on how it was Cassian’s voice that she followed to safety enough to let her mental shields down for Rhys to get her out of the nightmare. Then she talks about how Cassian looked like one of the warrior-princes from one of her childhood books which I thought was a very tender moment considering how harsh Nesta’s childhood was. And I’ve always seen Nesta as a romance reader (with some smut thrown in of course) dreaming of having her own warrior prince and now she finally has one. It’s also a scene where we first see Nesta allow herself to cry for how much someone else cares for her which is a breakthrough in her healing. Cassian also shows how much he cares for her during this scene and how uncomfortable he was seeing her in pain.

2: Honestly idk 😅. The next book could be an Elucien or Gwynriel book or potentially another Nesta book with the foreshadowing of hofas and sjm herself saying acosf was only Nesta’s happy beginning. But logically I think it will be an Elain/lucien book which I am all for!

As much as I love Night Court I’m hoping Elain will be the one to leave since she isn’t meant for that court anyways. Elain is definitely either a day court or spring court girly! I hope we see her really come into herself and see what’s in her mind. I think her story will be much different from her sisters’ because of her being the one who actually holds resentment towards being turned Fae. Elain loved her human life, she was content in marrying having children and growing old and dying. And now? Now she has to learn to live forever and what challenges come with it. She lost the only chance she had at happiness even if Graysen was yucky, she did love him and I think he loved her to an extent too. Or at least the idea of her. I’m also excited to be in Lucien’s pov finally! And I’m curious at how the bond between them will play out considering Elains wariness of it. I want a Elain x Eris brotp too😤.

I also think Elain is not a fan of the bond because she has a want to be seen by someone for who she is not because fate drives them together. I think it will be hard on her because she is already aware of the bond and it’s snapped in place. While I don’t think she is outright jealous of her sisters, maybe just a little envy? Imagine you and your sisters all getting mates but only you have the knowledge of knowing who yours is before you even actually meet them 😭 especially after being turned far through drowning in an oversized cooking pot. I’d be skeptical too. Plus Feyre and Nesta got the chance to know their mates without the pressure of the mating bond always being there, it didn’t snap in place for them until after becoming friends with their mates. But Elain and Lucien’s bond is already snapped in place, at least I think it is🤷🏼‍♀️. I understand how afraid and angry she probably is of having a Mating bond. Especially since she did excel at being human and wanting a human life. But like Feysands and Nessians bonds Elucien will fall in love with one another too. But I want Elain to live her life and go on her own journey before she jumps into a relationship with anyone.

Lastly, I need background Feysand as parents with baby nyx. I am not a fan of pregnancy trope but I’ll make an exception for cute bat baby nyxie. And of course my Nessian. I need all the soft background Nessian I can get. I need them sitting on the couch together laughing or eating chocolate cake of course. And I want to know how Elain feels about this and what goes on in her mind when she sees her sisters happy with their mates and fae life.

Hope this helps, and have an amazing day too 🫶🏻

[stargirlfeyre]

It makes sense for Feyre to have all the powers of the courts because it’s ties into the fact that she can’t be categorized as one thing. A big part of Feyre’s character is there isn’t one word to describe her. She’s not ice cold or over sweet. And her powers symbolizes that.

You can tell Sjm was trying to do the same with Nesta and Elain by giving Nesta “ice cold flames” or giving Elain seer abilities but it doesn’t work in their cases because their personalities weren’t really fleshed out that well.

We’re told Elain is observant but we rarely ever see it and if we do see it we eventually also see something going against that characteristic. Elain’s character is as contradictory as Nesta’s to me because one minute she’s kind and understanding but the next she’s ignorant and self centered. For example in Acosf when she genuinely didn’t understand why Nesta was upset about being in the HoW (I don’t even like Nesta but I understand about why she was upset about being in the HoW). She literally tells Nesta “it isn’t so bad” which is…? Or when in Acomaf she tells Feyre that she didn’t help because she “didn’t think she was capable” but that doesn’t make sense to me because if you don’t think you’re capable then why would you think your little sister is?

And all this happened after Acotar so y’all can’t use the excuse “they were just acting like cardboard cutouts of evil sisters”. Sjm wrote these things coming out of Elain’s mouth when she was setting her up to be a major character. Elain is just terribly written.

And in Nesta’s case…it’s just a mess. Her powers wouldn’t make so little sense to me if they were actually fleshed out. Okay I get it she’s a cold person and she has cold flames, cool. What else? Why would you say someone has the power of death if you aren’t going to let them use it? At all? And when it comes to her character/personality everything is a contradiction. We’re told she’s protective of Elain and she would tear the world apart to keep her safe yet when Elain is in danger and it’s time to actually put that into action…she does nothing? We’re told that she’s fiercely loyal but she turned her back on her sister and only friend the minute they acted in a way she didn’t like? We’re told she “loves more than anyone” but we literally never see that happen. There is nothing in the text supporting the belief that Nesta feels things more than other people.

And it’s always funny to me when Nesta or Elain fans say Feyre is boring when look at who they think is interesting? Two girls who were written in “tell not show” manners. Everything important about Nesta and Elain’s characterization is very surface level and when you dig deeper into them nothing about their character actually makes sense and I think that’s why I could never really like or connect with them.

[kayas-obsession]

To the Elriels who are saying that SJM wouldn’t use Elain as a rebound. Not when she is so important to everyone in the inner circle. And that everything would be chaos if Az chooses anyone else after his history with Elain.

To be honest, if that’s what they choose they will respect that. In fact be more than relieved (Rhys).

He had a thing for Mor. And they accepted he has a thing for Elain.

Cassian had a fling with Mor and both of them went separate ways.

Amren was called by Rhys into his bedchambers but everyone just laughed it off.

Because that’s what grown ups do.

Get. Over. It

And most importantly. Azriel isn’t using Elain as a rebound. Yes, he is attracted to her, NO ONE denies that but this is anything but a rebound.

He shifted his attention from Mor, who is his 500 year old love to remind you as soon as Elain came into picture.

Why?

Because he believes that he owed this relation. That his brothers found their mate in the three sisters, he believes that he too is indebted to this.

When he voices his reason as to why he tried to kiss Elain he says that it’s only fair he gets Elain because both the brothers got their mate in the same family.

Not that he likes her.

But because it is his right. According to his logic.

He is drawn to what she represents. A solid family in the inner circle. Let me remind you, in the solstice he voices that everyone is together because they draw each other out but he in this excludes himself.

It’s always they, when he mentions the Illyrian. Azriel wants a family, to belong somewhere. And Elain is that, a safety net.

But anything beyond that? Emotionally? Not really. He wants love. He found the brotherly kind in Cassian and Rhys and seeing what they have with their mates made him desire the same kind of love as well.

That’s why he jumped to Elain as soon as he met her. Even though he loved Mor for so long. He saw a chance and took it seeing as she showed no interest in Lucien.

You’re telling me that it’s so easy to fall in love? For someone who was stuck with a one sided relationship for so long? I don’t think so.

[nikethestatue]

Abput ACOFAS, I can genuinely say it is my favourite book in the series and I wish SJM would write another book like this

I started out as a fantasy reader right? Harry Potter first, then moved to hunger games

In the past 2/3 years after picking up reading again through ACOTAR I’ve moved more and more towards romance or books with heavy romance.

This is not to say I hate books with a plot or where the story and defeating villains are front and center. I find myself really enjoying characters just interacting and small talking and hanging out

I loved LOVED when azriel took the potato tray from elain, I loved that he snatched cassian’s hand and told him to wait, but everyone else at the table stopped too, I think mor did? I think I remember feyre noticing mor especially, and maybe amren

I love the detail of feyre noticing elain comes back with her hair fixed (I don’t remember if it was ever stated but I think nuala and cerridwen helped her and they were ecstatic along with elain by azriel carrying the tray and -if I remember correctly- brushing her fingers with his… because that would be me with my closest friends in this very situation)

I love azriel laughing for the thought behind elain’s gift like he cannot absolutely believe someone has noticed him and something he does so often. It’s… the hilarity that comes with omg my crush noticed this about me??? Noticed me????

And I love cassian half drunk running after nesta and I love that you can read the internal battle in Nesta even when it’s not her POV

Cassian is hands down my favourite man in the series, and I loved seeing him as a person, seeing his backstory. I read the books a bit ago so the details are not too clear in my head now, but I don’t think we got tooooo much of his backstory in ACOSF? I also felt like SJM did a 180 on his character, like cassian from ACOWAR or ACOMAF would have never been as mean to Nesta as he was in ACOSF, and I also feel he would have recognised the signs of PTSD because HE has at least been through it, if he isn’t still handling it

I’m love elain and she has a lot of potential, I see myself in her a lot, and I get she has room for growth, I just hope she won’t lose her kindness and thoughtfulness and carefulness. Yes the people pleasing, but i hope she doesn’t change, she doesn’t need to. I also wish to see a sweeter side of azriel, azriel blurting out stuff to elain because she asks the right questions and why would he not tell her? I wish to see him smile more, why wouldn’t he around elain?

I know this is a fantasy series, but i hope elriel book feels also like a romance, like elain just freaking out with cerridwen and nuala over every tiny aspect, I want to see more of the twins too

So this was long I’m sorry

TL;DR I want all the romance in elriel book because ACOFAS and the bonus chapter really show elriel as the softest couple and I need that developed

Basically, same. After ACOMAF, ACOFAS is my favorite SJM book. Acowar was honestly just okay and I wasn’t even sure if I’d continue reading SJM after it. I’m glad that I did and ACOFAS was a perfect book to go back to. It actually made me care about the characters again.

I like reading about people and love stories and their relationships. Fantasy for fantasy sake is not interesting to me personally.

That’s why in TOG, I liked reading about Elorcan and the more personal parts of Rowaelin rather than Aelin’s scheming and fighting.

Obviously we all have our preferences but people who hate ACOFAS really baffle me.

[moon--mama]

Thank you so much for discussing this too! 🥺 you never know if someone will actually engage in discourse. I enjoyed this series but it definitely has its problematic moments…and now that I read CC, I’ve been analyzing both series for clues about what’s next for my favorite characters. 😅 Great points about Nesta still having a long way to go—I agree that the ending was super rushed! SJM’s endings are typically a mess of plot points and emotional gut-punches, but in ACOSF it was way worse than normal because of the trash pregnancy subplot.

I think Nesta’s “strength” isn’t about physically being able to hold her own in a battle. The physical training seemed to be more about overcoming her depression. Exercise is generally good for physical and mental health. Since depression sometimes causes one to give up on physical health, it made sense to me that the IC set up part of her intervention to include physical training. Plus, the bat boys seem to fight out their anger and aggression, so they probably saw Nesta’s vicious temper and figured she just needed to punch it out too. One of the issues she keeps coming up against is a mental block in her physical training. Her increased belief in her physical abilities helps her have more trust in her mental abilities. It’s not about being able to win a fistfight.

Her real moment of strength happens on the mountain. Yes, she’s able to keep herself and her friends alive for a few days. She climbs the mountain and helps her friends win the whole damn thing. Nesta starts trusting herself and her powers on the mountain, using them to deal with Bryllian and take the Crown. Then she turns around and uses her powers to save Feyre. It’s implied that the Mother is satisfied with Nesta’s character growth and allows her to keep some of that power. Now, with the Dread Trove only able to be used by Nesta, she’s become one of the most powerful characters in play. Several characters comment that others in history who have used items from the Trove have gone crazy or died. She can access the Trove despite wards, too. I think the number of times that she introduces herself as a “witch” or people refer to her as a witch isn’t an accident. Then they discuss witches when the bat boys take her to the Bog. Witches exist in other SJM series, so that’s why I think Nesta’s story will head in that direction somehow!

And I think the message about being worthy doesn’t mean that she needs to be worthy of her father’s love. He’s dead. She’s saying that she always believed the worst of him and never had the chance to reconcile with him when he did something “right.” Even when Nesta rejected her father, he loved her unconditionally. He was the first person “holding out his hand” for her, but she never took it. Nesta is saying that she wants to find purpose in her life. At the beginning of SF, she’s drifting. With the cliche gravestone scene, she decides that she wants to do something with her life that would have made her father proud. At the same time, he showed her before he died that he had always been proud of her. I suppose the line you quoted about her being “worthy” indicates that Nesta wants to figure out her own self-worth—I don’t think she’d define that based on her value to other people. Since she was raised to judge people’s value and see herself as a marriage commodity, self-worth is probably something she will struggle with a long time.

I think she sees some of Cassian’s flaws, too! She can tell when he’s vulnerable, she gets mad at him and calls him out for things…she certainly doesn’t change herself FOR him. She lets him in completely on her own terms.

When I think about ACOMAF, the “plot” is Feyre’s recovery after UTM, her love story with Rhysand, the transformation of the Archeron fam, and the emerging war against Hybern. ACOSF’s plot is Nesta’s recovery after ACOWAR, her love story with Cassian, Feysand’s pregnancy plot, and the finding of the Dread Trove. SJM seems to lay out these plot lines in a pretty standard pattern. ACOMAF is a “mental health” book too technically. Plot-wise they’re almost the same book—Feyre and Nesta both face “trials” on their road to self-actualization. At the end of ACOMAF, Nesta and Elain get new bodies. At the end of ACOSF, Nesta and Feyre get new pelvic bones. Did Feyre’s “healing journey” fall flat in ACOMAF?

‘Everything in her life, from the moment she was born, had been controlled by other people. Things happened to her; anytime she tried to exert control, she’d been thwarted at every turn—and she hated that even more than the King of Hybern.’

so sjm is gonna write this paragraph. and then have nesta end up in an environment where her life is under constant control. end up around people who do nothing but control her. end up with a man who feels more than comfortable controlling her.

she doesn’t have a job. she doesn’t get paid. sjm never gave her financial independence even though i (personally) believe it’s one of the MOST important things nesta needed in her life. she’s been controlled through finances her entire life. she’s depended on others for finances her entire life. you’re telling me she’s just okay with depending on c*ssian for it now? i just don’t understand how silver flames was a book dedicated to healing and nesta finding herself. i really don’t.

she can’t even leave her house easily? she needs to either ask someone to get her out or TAKE 10,000 STEPS! how does nesta not despise living there. how does she not despise having her weapons taken from her and controlled by others. how does she not despise waking up every morning to train just because c*ssian told her to! when she was literally threatened into it!

how are you supposed to take nesta’s ‘healing arc’ seriously when she’s ended up in a position that old her would’ve despised. every time i reread this nightmare i find more quotes that make no sense even being in the book when you know how it ends and it makes me just as mad as i was when this book was released.

[feysandarcheron]

Why Elain’s Drawer Means Azriel is her Mate

There’s a lot of posts on the roses on elain’s drawer being a hint for Elriel, but I haven’t seen much on the point I want to make, which is the roses on Elain’s drawer aren’t just elriel endgame symbolism, but a concrete indicator they’re mates. I’m not sure this will make sense, but I’ve always thought this and wanted to share. The argument: Fate is the actor behind the drawer paintings, foreshadowing who the Archerons will become and who they will be mated to; therefore since Elain’s drawer foreshadows elriel, it means they’re fated to be together, which means they must be mates. First I’ll talk about fate in acotar, then how it relates to each drawer. *The assumption here is elriel are endgame and the drawer foreshadows elriel either way.

Fate in ACOTAR

A big theme in acotar is fate and the divine. The cauldron, the Mother, and perhaps others. These forces play extremely active roles in acotar. The whole concept of the mating bond is based in this. Because of that, much of what could be brushed off as the author simply using imagery to foreshadow an endgame actually could very well be fate (the cauldron/mother) acting as a character in the narrative to hint at a divine mating bond at play.

Feyre’s drawer

Feyre painting the night sky on her drawer is obviously iconic, because she did it long before she met her mate, high lord of the night court, and because she ultimately became high lady of the night court. This was not simply sjm planting this image for readers to pick up on; this was sjm writing fate as an actor in the story. Because later we learn Rhys sent her that image through the mating bond. So the painting of the night sky isn’t just a little piece of symbolism on sjm’s part; it’s sjm saying the cauldron or mother was behind this. It’s fate indicating a mating bond. It’s fate hinting who feyre will become and who she will be mated to.

Nesta’s drawer

Feyre often acts as a prophetic tool to foreshadow something for the reader. So that she painted flames for Nesta is significant because her power ended up being silver flames and because Cassian is constantly described with fiery imagery and red-ish siphons. It’s interesting that sjm might’ve made nesta’s drawer flames because she was going to end up with lucien, so when that didn’t happen, she went out of her way to connect Cassian to flames too. It tells me sjm wanted to connect the drawer not only to the sister but to her LI. And obviously Nessian ended up being not only endgame but mates. In my interpretation, fate is behind feyre painting flames for Nesta. I don’t see the flames being a just a symbol to show Nesta is fiery. I see it as fate playing an active role in the story by hinting who Nesta will become and who she will be mated to.

Elain’s drawer

If fate was behind feyre painting stars for herself and went on to become HL of the NC and mate to the HL of the NC, and fate was behind feyre painting flames for Nesta who went on to have flame powers and mate to someone described with fire imagery, then it would follow that fate was behind feyre painting flowers for Elain who will go on to be connected to flowers and mate to someone connected to flowers. We know flowers connect to elain, specifically roses, recently. Who is most connected to that? Azriel, with rose hall and the rose necklace. So if fate is 1. the one who creates mating bonds and 2. the actor behind the drawer paintings, which foreshadowed feyre and nesta’s mates, then why would elain’s drawer foreshadow azriel, who is not her mate?

Conclusion

I really don’t know if I’m making sense at all lol. Basically it seems to me the drawers have appeared so frequently (every book except acowar?) in some form, that I think fate has to be at play. So to me, the question is if fate is behind the drawer painting that foreshadows elriel, how would elriel be fated to be together if they weren’t mates? The answer is, I believe, because elriel are actually mates. And the drawer is showing fate/the cauldron/the mother at work, just like it was for feysand and Nessian.

[separatist-apologist]

Wow, I really love your hater book review take – it’s so eloquent and enlightening. Hope this isn’t too meta, but can I ask for your review on ACOMAF? Like you’ve talked about the “magic of Rhysand” and Rhysand is my favorite character across all literature but I always have a hard time verbalizing why besides vague gesturing of like look at him!!

First of all, I feel like I need to state that anyone who reads this and gets upset that it's positive, I have written many posts about the problems with Rhysand. So like. Just spare me your hate or your "whatabout-" I have answered anti-Rhys posts many time.

For Rhysand, I think the magic of him is first all, SJM is a good writer. Without touching on her flaws, of which she has, she is good at writing characters, dialogue, and emotions across all her series, which I think is indisputable for the people who generally like her characters. I see tons of anti-rhys stans who love Nesta/Eris/etc, and like, who wrote those characters you know?

When we meet Rhys, he is the archetype morally gray character- handsome, dark haired and smirking while he laughs as he commits his misdeeds. It's all funny to him- he's the foil to serious, brood Tamlin. If Tamlin hates being High Lord, well Rhys loves it. If Tamlin can't stomach the thought of Feyre being in Prythian, Rhys thinks her presence is interesting and fascinating. Feyre is angry and lashes out, which sends Tamlin away but Rhys keeps poking and prodding because it's all amusing to him.

He's also the only person we consistently spend time with when Feyre goes under the mountain. Tamlin is rendered silent and Rhys is allowed to speak, and the man who we keep being told is evil incarnate gets a chance to shine. Is he good? Not really- but he is interesting, which I think makes him likable. What are his motivations? Sometimes I think Rhys himself doesn't really know.

And then ACOMAF comes along and its Rhys again, but in his element. He's HOME and instead of just info dumping everything all at once, he lets Feyre peel him back layer by layer, and we get to do that with her. And Rhys, for all his flaws (of which he has many), isn't just a brooding asshole with dark hair. He cares about things, he has jokes, he can have fun. He's also not insulting Feyre or making threats or declaring she belongs to him the way a lot of other book LI's do (at least, not until the very end).

Rhys grovels and has his own fears and nightmares and I think by the time you get to chapter 54 when he shows up at the cabin, we've gone through all of that with Feyre. He's now nuanced, has a distinct personality, and has evolved beyond his ACOTAR beginnings (Which I saw someone describe as a prequel to the book SJM really wanted to write, which was ACOMAF- and I agree with that analysis. ACOMAF is where Feyre really shines and ACOTAR always feels disconnected from the later story).

My issue with Rhys wannabes is that authors never bother to develop them BEYOND UTM Rhysand. Feyre tells Rhys he can get out of her cell if he's gonna keep insulting her, and in ACOMAF he's not that dude anymore, but authors I feel like don't understand that like, Rhys also undergoes some amount of transformation once he's freed. He is who needs to be dependent on the situation, but when there are no requirements on his time or personality, he's worth being around. I see people asking all the time what Rhys even likes about Feyre besides being mates and I think ACOMAF answers that question sufficiently, and also shows what, who in ACOTAR says flat out being with Isaac made sense to her because they both had the same undercurrent of darkness between them, Feyre likes about Rhys.

Also, I want to add that like, for Rhys's flaws, a lot of people like him specifically for those reasons. Fiction is a place to engage in behavior/themes/romance you wouldn't be interested in in your real life. And I do think Rhys is reflective of that. The redeemable badboy, the unrepentant asshole who loves one person/a few people and no one else. Only you know the real him, etc etc. That's a pretty clear fantasy among a lot of women.

And I think also the writing is just incredibly accessible. It's not cringe or poorly done though I know people disagree with me. At some point, when do you judge a book based on its popularity and not the amount of em-dashes? Are any of SJM's works literally masterpieces, obviously not. Are they free of the society we live in? Certainly not (and they're worth critiquing specifically for that reason AND their popularity, but thats a convo for another day). But they're accessible, they're interesting, and I think Rhys is reflective of that.

[acourtofthought]

Try not to reward a child or give positive support for a bad behavior. For example, if your child is having a tantrum, giving him or her a cookie to be quiet is a reward for the bad behavior. To help lessen bad behavior, try these tactics:

Don’t give positive support for bad behavior. Instead, try ignoring the behavior.

Have the behavior result in an unpleasant result, such as punishment.

Punishment has 2 forms, including:

Denying your child privileges or a desired activity. This may be limiting TV time, or saying "no" to dessert.

Requiring an activity that isn’t fun. This may include doing chores, or having a “time out.”

Azriel donned the frozen mask he'd perfected while in his father's dungeon. "I don't know what you're talking about" <- telling lies.

Azriel stiffened. Let his cold rage rise to the surface. <- the equivalent of an Az temper tantrum

"What of Mor Az?" Azriel ignored the question. <- unwillingness to address an important question, something that should be given an answer. This is a sign of emotional immaturity.

Tell me how it's possible that my two brothers are with two of the sisters, yet the third was given to another. <- Az focusing on what Elain is in relation to her sisters and how they are connected to his brothers rather than who she is as a individual. His focus is on the Mating Bond and he's reduced Elain to just a number in a group.

Azriel scowled. "I think Lucien will never be good enough for her, and she has no interest in him anyway." <- Az has zero reason to claim Lucien isn't good enough. This is a Male who has been abused by his family and friends, who suffered extreme trauma and torture, just as Az himself has, a Male who despite all that remains kind and respectful and has been helping out the Night Court for over a year now. He is a true ally yet Az wants to claim he's not good enough..... Based on what exactly? It truly boils down to jealousy and jealousy alone. Feyre thinks he's a decent Male, Rhys has come around to him despite his personal past with Lucien (and a majority of that negative past was caused by Rhys himself as he was playing the part of the bad guy and wanted others to think the worst of him). So truly, what makes Lucien "not good enough" and Az "good enough"?

"I'll defeat him with little effort" Pure arrogance laced every word, but it was true. <- honestly, is there anything more childish than entertaining the thought of killing one of their allies, a major source of information for them and Feyre's friend? Take Elain out of the equation, Lucien is someone Feyre cares about and Az doesn't seem remotely guilty at the thought of battling him to the death. Because Az feels like he should have gotten the third sister since his brothers are with her sisters. Not because Elain makes him happy, not because he feels good when he's around her, not because he loves her ability to remain a decent person despite her trauma, not because she's come so far since when he first met her, but because Lucien will "never good enough" and Az doesn't understand why he didn't get a bond 🤦.

There is nothing romantic about this scene and all it shows is how immature and childish Az is. He has lost sight of how to behave like the fully grown Male he's supposed to be and I highly doubt (especially with SJM being a mother), her plan is to reward his negative behaviors by having him end up with Elain.

[macabremoons]

The worst thing about Rhysand is that he's a bitch, but he's not supposed to be. Sarah has a problem with plot vs character. She views characters as solely movers of the plot. She makes so many characters not to have their unique attributes and characters bounce off of and clash with each other, but so she has so many people to do the plot for her!

Sarah wanted Rhys to seem evil, so he was evil. She wanted him to be a good person so he was good. If in the next book she wanted him to be evil again, she could make him evil in a way that has nothing to do with his established (though conflicting) character. This. Is. How. Every. Character. Works. As a character writer this pisses me off LMFAOO.

here's a snippet from the script (this is SJM critical but like how r the sarah girlies gonna find me):

Cassian’s personality and energy had to be changed for this to be possible. Many were promised a himbo, and to the best of my ability I will give you a himbo. This isn’t to say that Cassian is going to be dumb in my telling. I think he is a smart general, a capable strategist, and not miserable with his words, but he lacks the sense of training in mind games Nesta has. This means that he can actually do verbal battles with Nesta, but their vibes and the way they tackle and process these spats are completely different.

No, by himbo, I mean that Cassian has an almost naive genuineness to him. Of course he’s seen war, of course he’s seen evil. He can judge character, but he loves those he calls family to the fullest of his capacity. This extends to Nesta who he truly wants to help and truly wants to love. Not just romantically, but platonically. He wants to show her what kindness and care looks like. He’s a man of duty and a man of his word.

This doesn’t mean he isn't going to be a little rash. I think even moreso this type of characterization lends him to being emotional. He is free flowing with expression, that being positive and negative. 

Nesta, too, will be getting a touch up to her characterization. I find most of her dialogue to be fine in canon, but the way it’s framed to be problematic. Nesta constantly villainizes herself for her pretty mild statements, and not in a way that displays her inner struggles, but more Sarah reaching out to the reader and having them condemn Nesta with her.

For example, I had written:

“Sister?” Nesta looks around her. “I don’t see Elaine here.”

Simple, plain, and biting. It’s playful, since Nesta is pretending not to know what Feyre means, but incredibly mean spirited. A comment like this gives Nesta the upper hand since it's provoking, yet seemingly innocent. Feyre is going to react to this harshness due to their history, but it's an inside joke. To an outsider this will look like an overreaction. And besides, she follows this up with reasoning that blames Feyre for her comment to begin with, further pushing the idea that she isn’t being unkind but simply stating the truth. 

In the hand of Sarah J. Maas, however, a line like this might have gone this way:

“Sister?” Nesta looks around her. “I don’t see Elaine here.”

Nesta feels a horrible pit grow in her stomach from her own words, but she can’t stop. Not even when she sees the look of pain on Feyre’s face. She should bite her tongue before she rashly says something else she regrets.

This is more critical. It also implies an uncontrollability to Nesta’s statements. It robs her of being a good wordsmith in place of making her seem like a defensive, small kitten backed in an alley.  Nesta, actually, is often compared to a cornered or wounded animal, truly because this is how Sarah sees her. She sees no intellect in Nesta, just animalistic fear.

Some people can speak cruelly from fear while not dissociating themselves from the feeling, but this goes against the idea of Nesta’s character. Nesta is scared often, but anger is how she shows terror.  However this anger is not flimsy, it’s the type of anger that would make someone trying to hurt her think twice, and the type of anger that would shield her from the humiliation of being scared in the first place. This is why Nesta is good with her words and mean, so why does Sarah go out of her way to show Nesta doubting her anger? It doesn’t make sense if the anger was developed to protect her as it so obviously was. 

My theory is that Sarah thought by having Nesta critique herself she would show she is willing to change. However this method does not work because often Sarah uses other characters as a proxy to condemn Nesta, she uses Nesta to condemn Nesta, but Nesta’s actions are… warranted. In my rewrite scene she is being mean, but how would one act in that situation if not scared? And since we’ve established that anger is Nesta’s common secondary emotion, why wouldn’t Nesta be angry…? 

This leads to Sarah fumbling Nesta’s character by not having her believe in her own anger and it leads to her book seeming preachy about Nesta’s flaws. And it also shows that she has no understanding of Nesta’s trauma and why she is what she is. I’d say that she would be kinder to Nesta if she did, but Sarah is not particularly kind to her female characters nor is she kind to those with trauma that she doesn’t like. At the end of the day, Sarah thinks that Nesta is a mean character who needs to learn her lesson, and she lacks the writing skill to be subtle with her prose.

being a writer means being almost 4k into a rewrite of a book you disliked because IT HAD SM POTENTIAL