#but mor not being upset that another woman is being used with Eris

[theladyofbloodshed]

Mor who was forced into a betrothal against Eris, who was devastated that the night court were working with him, having absolutely no problem with Nesta having to seduce him… okay

[viktoriakosci666]

Rhysand:

Sexually assaults his mate

Grabs his mates broken arm

Inappropriately dresses his mate

Treats his mate like his whore and then gets upset that people are taking him seriously and are calling her as such

Doesn't tell her that she is pregnant with a bomb baby

Endangers his mate by having her steal the Weavers ring

Makes her a high lady without her having an education or experience about it

Makes a death bargain

Approves of Feyre destroying an innocent court and leaving its people homeless

Treats Lucien like shit

Ignores other people's traumas whenever it benefits him

Uses Lucien

Treats Tamlin like shit despite Tamlin saving his miserable life

Is the cause of distrust between all the courts and then gets upset when they all hate on him, the IC and night court

Treats Illyrians like shit and acts like one of them when it benefits him

Is racist and misogynistic

Has no personality beyond being abnormaly cocky, arrogant and ignorant

Is a terrible high lord and a tyrant

Acts like his sad backstory (and him being a SA survivor) allows him to sexually assault another person

Hates a girl for being mean

Is the epitome of 'good on the outside and bad on the inside'

Rice

Would be in prison is real life

#Feyre does NOT deserve better (cause she's a tyrant too)

Azriel:

Tortures people for a living (and enjoys it)

Is a sadist

Had a 500 year old crush on a uninterested female

Stalks people for a job

Is boring as hell

Has no personality beyond torturing and apparently singing

Is just Rhysands quieter twin

Gets too possessive over a woman (Elain) that he wants to fuck for one night

Wants to kill Lucien (OK, psycho) for no reason other than the knowledge that Lucien is the better male

Gives Gwyn Elains necklace

Allows Feyres bomb pregnancy info to be kept from her

Is Feyres friend only when rhys allows it

Doesn't care that his Friend sexually assaulted a female (#enabler)

Has anger issues and acts like his sad backstory allows him to brutally attack another person

He tried to be emo. He failed.

Assriel. That's it.

#Gwyn deserves better

Cassian:

Enables his mate to be bullied by his family

Ignores his mate when his friend-lover-sister Morrigan is in the room

Builds his relationship with Nesta on sex

Has a weird obsession with Feyre and Rhys

Bat Boy No 3

The triplet to Riceman and Assriel.

Finds underweight Nesta sexy

His personality is being shirtless, arrogant and cocky.

Looks like he has a breeding kink.

#Nesta should have stayed single

Eris:

Left Mor alone in the woods after being wounded because he 'had his reasons'.

Rhys 2.0

'hE hAd HiS rEaSoNs'

Abused Lucien since childhood (guilty until proven not-guilty)

People only like him cause he's hot (if he was ugly and acted like an asshole THEN, people would hate him)

Somehow he wasn't able to overthrow Beron despite his powers being the 'strongest' out of his siblings, whilst Beron couldn't even touch Feyre in HL meeting, and she's just a useless sugar baby.

Is a confirmed sadist (him and Assriel should be BFFs)

Their Fans: We hate Lucien! 😤 He's boring, and useless! He couldn't be bothered to help Feyre, and therefore, he deserves DEATH!!! And Tamlin abused Feyre more than Rhys! Rhys was only saving her! Jurian betrayed the humans and Myriam! He deserved what he got!

Me:

Lucien:

Tried to help feyre because he wasn't aware that she didn't need saving (he thought that rhys was exactly what he showed UTM (and he REALLY IS) so he tried to help her in the only way he knew how)

That's the ONLY thing that he did that's considered wrong, and unlike the other guys, his intentions WERE PURE

My fox baby shall be protected!

Tamlin:

Didn't help Feyre enough (he had his own trauma to deal with, and that's okay)

He kept Feyre locked in the house (not cool TamTam)

He talked about feyre sexually in HL meeting (but she DID lead to his court being in ruins, so fair enough)

And that's about how much Tamlin did shit. Compared to the other guys, hes a saint.

Jurian:

Was a unknown spy for the Humans and Fae (acted like the enemy, but with good intentions)

Was an asshole towards Lucien for no reason.

That's what I remember from the top of my head.

He's Azriel, Cassian and Rhysands secret BETTER brother.

[nessiansimp]

Analysis of Eris’s Character

In light of the new teaser and everyone freaking out if nesta and eris are mates, let’s analyze Eris’s character. 

This is mostly just angry, aggressive ranting, most of which is probably incomprehensible. 

ACOTAR

Remember when Lucien gets whipped in ACOTAR because Amarantha wanted to guilt Feyre into giving her name? None of Lucien’s brothers, including Eris, seemed particularly upset:

“Toned and muscled, some of them looking like warriors about to set foot on a battlefield, some like pretty courtiers, they all stared at Lucien- and grinned. The four remaining sons of the High Lord of the Autumn Court.”

“Lucien’s brothers lurked on the edges of the crowd- no remorse, no fear on their handsome faces.” 

“A ripple of laughter spread across those assembled behind us, the loudest from Lucien’s brothers.”

Eris does absolutely nothing while his brother is tortured, if anything he seems delighted by it.

“Lucien sagged on the ground, trembling. His brothers frowned- the eldest going so far as to bare his teeth at me in a silent snarl.” 

ACOMAF

“And it’s another long story, but the short of it is that Eris refused to marry her. Said she’d been sullied by a bastard-born lesser faerie, and he’d now sooner fuck a sow. Her family … they …”

“When they were done, they dumped her on the Autumn Court border, with a note nailed to her body that said she was Eris’s problem.”

“Eris left her for dead in the middle of their woods. Azriel found her a day later.”

THIS is the person y’all are shipping Nesta with? The fact that you think Eris is a better match for Nesta than Cassian?? That you even COMPARE Eris to Cassian???

I’ve also heard this other theory that Eris knew that Azriel was coming and he thought Mor would be safer with him or something like that which is why he left her. But um no??? Az came a whole day later. What if Mor had died by then? I doubt Eris planned that. 

This is completely unrelated but there’s this little line that I hadn’t noticed on my initial reading of the books:

“Azriel found her a day later. It was all I could do to keep him from going to either court and slaughtering them all.” I thought of that merry face, the flippant laughter, the female that did not care who approved. Perhaps because she had seen the ugliest her kind had to offer. And had survived. And I understood—why Rhys could not endure Nesta for more than a few moments, why he could not let go of that anger where her failings were concerned, even if I had.”

WTF. YOU’RE COMPARING ERIS TO NESTA????? THEY ARE NOWHERE NEAR THE SAME LEVEL. GIRL BYE. 

ACOWAR

When Eris tries to capture Lucien and Feyre :

“Eris would bring us to Beron, and the High Lord would either kill us for sport, sell us to the highest bidder, or hold us indefinitely. And after what they had done to Lucien’s lover, what they’d done to Mor …“

And let’s not forget that he held Feyre at knife point 🥰

“Eris lifted a hand wreathed in flame. Flame—to melt the ice on which we stood.”

Lol.... not to mention hunting his brother and Feyre down like a savage animal... 

“I’d no sooner hit the ice than Eris grabbed me by the hair, right at the roots, the grip so brutal tears stung my eyes. But he dragged me back toward that shore, back across the ice“

“I opened my mouth, but a gag of fire shoved its way between my lips. It didn’t burn, but was hot enough to tell me it would if Eris willed it. Equal bands of flame wrapped around my wrists, my ankles. My throat.”

Need I say more?

I was talking to someone today who suggested that maybe Eris puts on a “mask” the way Rhysand does, and that he’s actually a good person. I really hope that’s not true, I don’t think either of those men should have their actions justified because they pretend to be cruel, when they are, in fact, ruthless tyrants.

Also, can we talk about how similar Eris and Rhys are? Their mannerisms, their snarky attitude, even the way they walk is described similarly. And, obviously, they’re both abusers. How about let’s not let Eris become the next Rhysand everyone’s going to fangirl over? We can’t forgive them just for being attractive. 

“Something flickered in Eris’s eyes. “I don’t know who fed you those lies to begin with, Morrigan,” he said with vicious calm. “Likely the bastards you surround yourself with.” A sneer at Azriel. Mor snarled, rattling the glasses. “You never gave any evidence to the contrary. Certainly not when you left me in those woods.” “There were forces at work that you have never considered,” Eris said coldly. “And I am not going to waste my breath explaining them to you. Believe what you want about me.”

Again, isn’t this so strikingly familiar? Rhys s*xually assaulting Feyre to protect her. Eris leaving Mor to die because there are “other forces at work”. Not bothering to explain to either woman why they’re doing it and justifying it instead???

“You hunted me down like an animal,” I cut in. “I think we’ll choose to believe the worst.” Eris’s pale face flushed. “I was given an order. And sent to do it with two of my … brothers.” 

“And what of the brother you hunted down alongside me? The one whose lover you helped to execute before his eyes?” 

Eris laid a hand flat on the table. “You know nothing about what happened that day. Nothing.” 

Silence. 

“Indulge me,” was all I said. Eris stared me down. I stared right back. “How do you think he made it to the Spring border,” he said quietly. “I wasn’t there— when they did it. Ask him. I refused. It was the first and only time I have denied my father anything. He punished me. And by the time I got free … They were going to kill him, too. I made sure they didn’t. Made sure Tamlin got word—anonymously—to get the hell over to his own border.”

What do you want, Eris, a medal? Doesn’t change the fact you left Mor to bleed to death. But good on you for.... not letting your brother die, I guess. 

Eris is shown to be a cruel, hateful person, but above all I think he’s a coward. He does what he’s told without any question, and he’s too afraid to stand up to his own father. He resorts to plotting behind his back and (eventually, I assume) killing him instead. 

I certainly think there’s more to Eris’s story, and I’m excited to read about it. He’s a very complex, multi faceted character that is clearly more than he lets on, but I’m not sure what there is that could possibly make him redeemable. 

And I’m still gonna read the book... but Miss Maas u got some explaining to do. 

[talkfantasytome]

In Defense of Misogyny?

NOPE!

Before I start, I will not be defending misogyny. There is no defense for misogyny. I'm just a bit of a bitch who couldn't resist a controversial title. *shrug*

I saw a conversation recently about how horrible it is that the fandom loves Eris and is quick to hate Mor. I was going to post my response in a reblog, but I realized that, on top of the post ending up very long, I wasn't fully responding to the conversation at hand. I was sharing my own thoughts that only semi-relate.

If you're interested in that convo, you can find it here.

However, I am not going to directly respond to this, because the conversation made good points. And I very much agree, in theory, that we should not be more forgiving of males than females in general.

Instead, I just want to share my own feelings on why it may not be misogyny to like Eris and dislike Mor, and the main questions to ask to understand that.

First and foremost - I would like to state that we can not and should not hold women to a higher standard than men. In this, I hands down agree.

I will also agree that it absolutely can be sexist/misogynistic to love Eris and hate Mor. However, as someone who, while in the throes of ACOSF, was upset with Mor and still liked Eris (or, enjoyed him? I love Eris, but I'm not always 100% sure I truly love him, or the character and the mystery behind him and my own hopes of who he might actually be), I don't consider myself or my reasons to have been sexist.

Also, I would like to point out that I did not end ACOSF still very upset with Mor. My current feelings are that I hope to see more of her to fall back in love with the character, as I did love her, for the most part, especially in ACOMAF. And I totes ship Mor/Emerie.

That being said, I think we have to take a moment to consider a multitude of factors around why one might currently be more forgiving of Eris than Mor, as well as other pieces, that may or may not show this as true misogyny.

1. Why are we mad at Mor?

Personally, for me, yes, I don't love that Mor hasn't said anything to Az, even in the vein of just telling him it's not going to happen. It's not that she must do this, or that Az deserves that, specifically. It's more that it would be the right thing to do. But, I'm not mad at Mor for this, because I understand why she doesn't. Similarly, there is no male character who I'm solely mad at because they kept a secret.

No, what hurt me the most about Mor - and yes, hurt me is the best way to describe it - was her complete disdain and hatred for Nesta. I am, generally speaking, biased toward Nesta, and I do recognize this. But it doesn't change where I came from. She was horrible to Nesta almost from the get go. Sure, she brought Nesta to the Night Court and then, the next time we see them together, Mor is snapping at Nesta. She basically ignores Nesta when Nesta decides to join them for the High Lord's meeting. She causes Cassian to pull his hand away from Nesta during the war - which, admittedly, was a Cass action I'm still waiting for an explanation on, but it still had to do with her. Cassian was doing that for her, which means that he believed him holding Nesta's hand might hurt Mor or something - why? What is it that makes Mor soooo against this compared to everyone else? It's either a selfish reason - i.e. the buffer thing - or it goes back to her just hating Nesta the most. She then basically yells at Nesta for waiting at Cassian's tent when he's injured - for caring for Cassian. And then, in SF, when we first see her she is insulting Nesta to Cassian, and then straight to Nesta's face.

Perhaps it is all about feeling like Nesta brings her friends pain. Perhaps it is a fear of how Nesta could change the inner circle. But, we are never given Mor's full reasons, and even other POVs don't really give us anything to go off of. So all we see is Mor hating Nesta.

We see Mor hating a woman who has just gone through some serious trauma. Multiple traumas, really. And she probably disliked Nesta even as a human, though again we didn't really see them interact, only Mor being shocked at Cassian's declaration to Nesta. Which can't help but make you wonder if that played any part, too.

So, in the end, what made me the most hurt by Mor's actions toward Nesta, and words about Nesta, was the fact that Mor seemed to not care at all about what Nesta was actually dealing with, she only cared that Nesta was being a bitch.

Mor - who has faced her own horrific traumas, yet can't see it in herself to give someone else who has faced trauma the benefit of the doubt. Mor - who was so kind to Feyre, and very forgiving of Feyre basically ignoring her that first time she was in the Night Court, understanding Feyre's trauma. Mor was holding Nesta to a double standard. Basically, my hurt and anger toward Mor stemmed from the same anger that went into that original post - anger at a double standard toward a female who is suffering from trauma. Because Mor, one who often seemed posed as a defender of woman, a representation of how one can heal and grow from trauma, but how that trauma will still always affect them, couldn't find it in herself to even understand that Nesta was dealing with her own trauma, and what she needed was healing and help. Not insults and being thrown into the Hewn City.

Is it not maybe understandable how it would actually be harder to forgive Mor for showing such a double standard? For showing such little care or sympathy toward someone who has faced her own trauma? How saying that Mor should be loved because she has gone through so much might be almost hypocritical, considering who Mor is showing hatred toward?

I do understand how Nesta could hit closer to home. She sees Nesta to be as bad as the people she was raised with. But, honestly, that doesn't make it better. It just reminds me that Mor is actually often blind to the truth when she doesn't want to believe it or face it. She runs from it, she fights it, and while she is in her right to do so, it is not okay to do so by hurting another person, another woman who has also been through more trauma than Mor even realizes.

I don't find that anger, or upset (which is really more how I felt about Mor) to be a form of misogyny, at least not on its own. Because my feelings for other characters, my interpretations of their actions, may be wholly different, and it's not that I'm holding Mor to a higher standard. It's that I hold certain issues above others, and to me, holding people to a double standard is at the top of the list on what will annoy me about someone else the most.

2. Who else are we mad at? Is it only Mor? Or are there others we are also mad at, and for what reasons?

We should also consider who else a person is mad at, if not Eris, to see are they really holding Mor/women to a higher standard.

Using myself, again - the person I came out of ACOSF the most mad with/upset about was, hands down, Rhys. Not Mor. In fact, by the end of the book, I'd lightened a lot toward Mor, because I did see how Mor was changing and adjusting. She saw Nesta healing, and her attitude toward Nesta shifted. And, to be perfectly honest, I am SERIOUSLY HOPING we will see them have a heart-to-heart, get to know each other, get to understand each other, apologize to each other (especially Mor for how she's treated Nesta, and the things she said to her when Nesta was literally depressed and dealing with PTSD - cause those things weren't okay) and come out the other side, if not as friends, than at least as two females who respect each other. Because I think we all, including Mor and Nesta, need that. But, despite that, we did at least see Mor be better with Nesta. It showed Mor's openness to possibly accepting a new truth about Nesta, which I was happy to see.

Now, back to who are we mad at. Like I said, even if we're considering the middle of ACOSF, when I was fully upset with Mor, my feelings toward her never got to where they still are with Rhys - I don't care about his gifts, until he proves to me he actually cares even a little bit about Nesta as her own person and not as Feyre's sister, I will struggle with him. So, again, can we argue that my feelings were misogynistic if, in the end, my greatest anger was actually toward a man?

On top of that, my anger toward Rhys is far more aligned to what I was feeling about Mor. Because, again, it was about his treatment of a character dealing with trauma. If anything, my double standard is toward Rhys. I don't think it's a double standard, because my expectations of Rhys were higher considering his previous actions, and how he supposedly cared about all of his people. Not because he was a man, but because of what we see from him vs. Mor, particularly in ACOWAR. And, also, you know - Rhys did other things that made me super mad. Mor never threatened Nesta's life, for example.

Conversely, any anger I've have toward Eris (and, I'll admit, there's still a bit), entirely surrounds what he did/didn't do 500 years ago. I'll go into more detail on why I may offer my forgiveness in the next section, but in regards to the anger - I don't see these aligned. My anger toward Rhys and Mor revolve mostly around double standards they seem to have and a lack of understanding or caring for someone who is clearly struggling with trauma. Something that, personally, I think they should both be on the side of truly understanding, considering their own experiences. Eris, on the other hand, it's an anger for leaving Mor to die. I'm not saying that this is a "better" thing to do, it's just that the two angers don't align. I'm not holding Mor to a higher standard, because I do not see the two as the same. Thus, their paths toward forgiveness may look very different, because I will be looking for different things in each of them.

3. What is the person now doing? Have they earned forgiveness?

I'm not saying Eris has earned forgiveness. I'm not saying Mor hasn't. That is up for all of us to interpret.

That being said, what we've seen from Mor does not include any signs of regret for her actions. We do not see her actively trying to make things better between her and Nesta, to understand Nesta, or that she has any sorrow for what she said to her. At best, we see Mor polite to Nesta, and maybe willing to get to know her better. The absolute best interaction was at Solstice, when Mor asked if she might be able to join. As I mentioned, I am hopeful for these two - in part cause my head canon is that they could actually be amazing friends, but that's for another day - and I really loved seeing Mor willing and interested to join in, despite it being with Nesta (and kinda Nesta's thing), as well as seeing Nesta being willing and interested to have Mor join, even if it's just solely for the priestesses. But, that is one interaction and, again, doesn't actually show any repentance from Mor for her own actions against Nesta.

I know some people will say "you mean just that one 'mean' thing Mor said?" - yes. Though it wasn't just that one time, was it? Because there have been multiple times Mor has shown a true disdain for Nesta, while also showing a true indifference to the fact that Nesta was struggling. The other best example of this was when Cassian was hurt in the war, and Nesta was waiting outside his tent, clearly terrified. Mor, also upset, by many things, took it almost entirely out on Nesta. She was either blind to Nesta's feelings for Cassian (doubtful), or she simply didn't care, and instead snapped at her, all while Nesta was probably terrified and fearing the worst in her mind.

The two never talked about this either. And we don't know if Mor regrets those things she's done and said, or even just feels bad, and we also don't have a full understanding of her reasons, or even if there are valid reasons. Because she doesn't talk about it - or, at least, we haven't see her talk about it. I truly hope we will get some answers to all of this. But, right now, we don't even really get hints - we simply assume she must have a reason, because she's Mor and she's great and so she must have a reason we can understand and accept. Still, we don't know, and we don't see her even be held accountable for those actions - admittedly, an issue with most of the Inner Circle and the lack of them being held accountable for how they've treated certain people.

Eris, on the other hand, while what he did was truly horrific, has admitted that he really regrets his actions - or inactions. And he has stated that he had his reasons - reasons that cost him. So we know that he has, in fact, paid for what he's done, at least to some extent. And, more so than that, his current actions seem, to me, to prove this. His constant attempts to ally with the Night Court, to try and do the right thing. Yes, when we saw him at the High Lord's meeting, he was wrong to say what he did to Mor. But we also cannot hold that at full face value and be mad at him for that one thing without remaining mad at Rhys for all he's done while wearing his High Lord of the Night Court mask. Again, that would be a double standard. We can be annoyed by it, but if we forgive Rhys for playing a part, we must also forgive Eris. (This statement, of course, is based on my interpretation that Eris is good at heart, but has made a number of mistakes and is essentially forced to be awful due to his place in life.)

However, despite that one thing, everything else we see from Eris, seems repentant. It is, of course, my interpretation of Eris. But considering all the things he's done, the little threads we get that show us he's not the awful monster we were told he is. He has been working to earn forgiveness, and is doing the right things now - just still often wearing that Autumn Court mask. And, if we're going to forgive Rhys for all the monstrous things he's done, because he has shown himself to be better than that, then it's okay to at least consider forgiving Eris.

So, why is it wrong to be willing to forgive someone for something that he has shown he is seeking forgiveness for? But to maybe not be forgiving another for something that she has not sought forgiveness for? Can we forgive someone for something if they don't realize what they did was wrong? In my opinion, no. Yes, people say that the only person you ever really need forgiveness from is yourself. And I don't fully disagree - I think we do need to forgive ourselves. But, again, only once we understand what we did, how and why it was wrong, and when we want forgiveness. Then we forgive ourselves, and at the least can hope that our actions show that we understand this truth, and others may forgive us even if we don't ask blatantly. In the end, though, we do need to ask for forgiveness. It's just a matter of whether we are vocalizing that request, or showing it in our actions.

Summary

Again, I'm not saying that there aren't times where this is a true double standard. Where people just love Eris and hate Mor, and maybe even blame Mor for what went down with Eris (and, if they do, I will fight them on that because Mor is blameless in that situation - idgaf if she slept with Cassian, I will not blame her for wanting out of that marriage).

I am also not trying to convince anyone that they should love Eris, or that they should dislike Mor - especially seeing as I don't fully dislike Mor, I'm just waiting for the best Mor to come back.

I'm only saying that we really can't make assumptions and say that loving Eris and hating Mor automatically means misogyny. Some things hit closer to home than others - as I mentioned as a possible reason why Nesta is such a struggle for Mor. It could very well be solely about what it is they do and don't forgive each person for. And, personally, I think finding out if a person who is angry with Mor was also angry with Rhys during ACOSF is a much better gauge than comparing Mor and Eris.

I don't believe that Mor owes anyone any explanations. Clearly, my own feelings around Mor have really not revolved around what she may or may not be hiding about Eris. Of course I want to know, I'm a nosy reader. But, if she's hiding something for her friends about that, she has her reasons and I'll accept them so long as they don't end up being, like "well, I just wanted you all to hate Eris forever". But, typically, Mor's reasons have to do with her own trauma and fears, and I accept that. It may, at times, be self-centered - but sometimes don't we all need to be a bit self-centered?

However, I think that we need to truly compare the anger, compare the reasons, to understand why some might like one character and dislike another. It is not feminist to automatically support a woman if she is in the wrong. It is not misogynistic to forgive a man and not a woman for two entirely different situations and reasons. We have to remember that feminism is supporting gender equality in every way - workplace, personal lives, laws, etc. Feminism is not supporting female superiority, which is exactly what happens when you compare two people for things that are not comparable, and then state that you must be more forgiving of the female.

After Thoughts on Mor

I am truly hopeful that we will see Mor and Nesta's relationship grow. And I would like to see more of the Mor we met in ACOMAF, tbh. I have felt, as has been observed by others, that Mor's character and journey has been incredibly chaotic and inconsistent. She was the bomb.com in ACOMAF with how she was with Feyre. Then, in ACOWAR, she was a bit moody, she was mean and harsh toward Nesta (and still has explaining to do on some of this and the Cassian stuff), and she just wasn't really who we met in ACOMAF. I don't really remember much about ACOFAS. But, in ACOSF, again, Mor was different. Except, instead of being just moody and harsh toward Nesta when pushed, now she's completely unforgiving and dismissive of Nesta. And, honestly, that wasn't the Mor I was expecting. I would have expected Mor to be one of the first to maybe realize that Nesta was dealing with trauma. I guess that expectation shouldn't have been held considering ACOWAR, but it was different. I still thought Mor might understand, to an extent - might be at least willing to help Nesta heal, or want to see her healed. Instead, we got someone who said Nesta should just be thrown into the Hewn City - to Cassian's face. So, on top of not giving a damn about Nesta at all (the female that saved Cassian's life, full stop), she also didn't show much caring or understanding of Cassian, one of her best friends. Not until after she saw what a comment like that did to him. And yes, Mor may be just dealing with her own trauma, I understand that. It's why I still have a hard time saying I was truly angry with Mor, but more hurt by/upset with her in ACOSF. Because it may be something deeper that caused her to be this way. Or just her own preoccupation with what's going on in her life. But, in the end, it was still targeted at one person, the one person who probably could handle it the least.

That's my long winded way of saying that I have a lot of hope for Mor's character in the future, and that I don't actually hate her. I just hope that we get to understand her better, understand the reasons she's had for what she's done, but I also hope we see her held accountable (and the rest of the IC).

As always, this is just my own personal opinion, and I accept that others' opinions may be different. I promise to respect yours, all I ask is that you respect mine. I'm not opposed to dissenting arguments, just asking for no attacks. :)

[linenwrites]

Reforget (Part 2)

Part 1

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AN: If you read part 1, you may be thinking “who are you and what have you done with @shadows-and-flowercrowns​ .. if that is the case, let me direct you HERE where I explain one of the many examples of me stumbling through life.

________________________________________

AN2: Aren’t you lucky, two messages from me for the price of one?

The final part of this will go up tomorrow. I have a Harry Potter head cannon that I really want to get out next but if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to send them my way!

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Azriel slid into the booth across from Cass and Rhys. 

Cassian let out a slight groan of contentedness as he sunk into the cushioning . "See, isn't this better? Now I can actually hear what the fuck you're saying."

Az rolled his eyes. "Alright, old man." He muttered before lifting his beer bottle to his lips.

It surprised people to learn that Azriel was always willing to go to the types of clubs that you see in movies. The ones where they cranked up the music so loud that the sea of people pressed tightly together on the dance floor could barely hear their own thoughts. The three of them had been at such a place tonight. They had only made it an hour or so before someone tripped over themselves and dumped a near full glass of vodka soda all over Cassian. 

Normally Az would have insisted they stayed but, after that, he wasn’t upset about them opting out to hang at a place with a more subdued atmosphere tonight. 

Cassian flipped him a rude gesture and Az chuckled, taking another swig from the bottle. 

Rhys pulled out his phone, a frown tugging down his lips as he starred it. Azriel waited for Rhys to explain the look of concern but his friend just locked the screen before setting it down, face up, on the table.

Azriel tried to leave it alone but his curiosity got the best of him, as it so often did. He tipped his head down, gesturing towards the phone. “Everything alright with the girls?”

Cass snorted, "Elain dragged them to some hole in the wall over in the west side. Nesta told me the bartender didn't know how to make a negroni. Needless to say, she’s less than enthused.” 

Azriel raised his eyebrows.

Not at the negroni comment, he never understood why Nesta liked them, but at the bar Elain had chosen. 

Cassian continued, "Since when has Elain gone to the west side anyway? After the whole negroni incident, Nesta said the bartender knew Elain by name. It’s weird, ain’t it?”

Azriel shrugged. It wouldn't be wise to open his mouth now. His anger towards the middle Archeron was flaring up again. Weeks of silence, of her not returning texts or calls, had frayed his nerves. He lifted his drink once more, hoping that Rhys would change the subject or that Cass would let it drop but Cassian pushed on, blunt as ever. 

"Are you going to tell us what the fuck is going on between the two of you? She disappeared off the face of the goddamn earth and you've been brooding ever since." 

Azriel worked to keep his face neutral. "Must you curse like a sailor the moment you get away from Nesta?" 

It was a well established fact that Nesta, despite having the ability to make even the crudest blush when she had a few drinks in her, abhorred Cassian cursing. And Cassian, who had sworn up and down his whole life that he would never change for a woman, did his best to accommodate whenever she was around.

All bets were off, though, the moment Nesta was out of earshot. 

"Seriously, man. I get if you can't talk about it because you don't want to betray her trust but is she okay? I miss her. She’s family and I miss her being around all the time." Cassian was practically pouting now. 

"She's fine." Az ground out. 

Rhys let out a long suffering sigh. "Not according to Feyre." 

"Just because she likes to hang out at a dive bar on occasion," Azriel started hotly but Rhys cut him off.

"It's not where she is at, its what she is doing."

There was a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. 

"What do you mean?" Azriel breathed. 

"She's drunk, as in 'can barely walk let alone walk in a straight line' drunk."

His voice remained steady but he knew that they were all thinking the same thing.

The news that anyone else in their friend circle was full on hammered wouldn’t have caused him to bat an eye. Sure, if it was Cass or Rhys, he would likely make their hangover a living hell but it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for them. They lived by the motto “work hard, play hard”.

But for Elain? For Miss. One-and-Done herself?

"She's an adult, she's allowed to cut loose with her sisters." Azriel answered tightly. 

Rhys shook his head as his phone lit up again with a series of messages. 

"She just left to go to the dance floor but Feyre talked to the bartender. Apparently this is normal behavior for her. Apparently he has been keeping an eye on her for weeks. He starts giving her watered down drinks when she gets too drunk which is, apparently, all the time." 

Azriel's heart was racing. 

"Is this because of Grayson?" Cassian mused, "She was a mess after they broke up. Maybe they are trying to make it work again. Or, tried and it failed."

I made my intentions clear, Elain. He had said to her.

Surely this didn’t have anything to do with that. It couldn’t. 

"Azriel?" 

Az blinked and refocused back on Rhys. 

"What?" He asked stupidly. 

"I asked you to, please, cut the shit and tell us what is going on. If Grayson is back in her life, fine. We can deal with that. I get why you wouldn't tell us because of how Feyre and Nesta would react but if it's something worse, we need to know so we can help her." 

"It's - no, it's not Grayson." 

Rhysand's phone started ringing, the screen flashing Feyre's name, but he kept his eyes locked on Azriel. 

Az sighed. "It's me."

Rhys let out a grunt of frustration before grabbing his phone off the table. 

"Hello?" His face was grave as he listened to the other end. After a moment, Rhys stood up, slapping some cash down on the table to cover the cost of his untouched glass of bourbon that had been sitting in front of him. "Yeah, I'll be right there."

Rhys shot a glance back at Azriel as he walked swiftly towards the door, phone still pressed to his ear. His face was a mix of confusion and anger. 

Azriel lifted his beer to finish the rest but Cassian snatched it out of his hands. 

"Come on now, brother. We don't need both of you being shit faced tonight." 

Azriel leaned his head back into the booth. The two sat in silence for a few minutes as the thoughts eddied around his head. He was furious with her. Absolutely furious. He wanted to break something but he focused on his breath trying to force his heart rate to steady. 

He had tried to call her. Again, and again, and again. He had lost track of how many messages he sent and voicemails left that just went unanswered. 

She had shut him out completely and it had taken everything inside himself not to show up at her door like some damn stalker to have it out. She had said her peace, she had got out everything she had wanted to but the moment she wasn’t told exactly what she wanted she ran away. 

It was ridiculous but he could, in a way, understand it.

Hadn’t he thought about doing the same thing?

But then he found out that she had started to avoid Feyre and Nesta and his anger overrode any sense of empathy he possessed.  

The whole thing was absolutely ridiculous.

A vibration in his left pocket had him snapping back to the moment. Az pulled out his phone, not bothering to look at who was calling  him. There were only a handful of people who would dream of calling him at this hour and, no matter who it was, he knew it would be about Elain.

"Hello?"

"Listen to me," Rhys started, "You need to fix this. Elain was just thrown out of one of the shittiest bars in the city but, before that, Feyre saw her dancing with Eris fucking Vansera." 

Rhys growled out the last words and Azriel paled. 

He couldn’t speak. Every thought in his brain vanished and he was left feeling cold and dark. 

"Feyre watched him walk over to Elain from across the bar. He knew who she was. I don’t know, man. I don’t know if it’s because of Lucien or the shit that went down with Mor but Eris knew exactly who she was when he went up to her. Thank God or the stars or whoever the fuck else is out there for Elain being such a lightweight. Feyre said Elain never saw Eris’ face and then started throwing up so she got kicked out. 

“Whatever happened between the two of you, figure it out." Rhys spat before he hung up the phone.

Azriel lowered his shaking hand as he met Cassian's gaze. 

"Eris was at the bar tonight." He muttered. Cassian's face remained calm but his eyes burned with rage. 

His heart ached at the idea of what Elain would say, what Mor would say, when they found out. The pig had been caught red handed brutalizing Mor but got off because his daddy owned some major textile manufacturing plant in city limits. 

As with everything lately, it was all a pile of tangled string.

Elain had been appalled to learn that the kind, red-headed man she had met at the book store, and subsequently gone on a few dates with months ago, was related to that piece of shit.

It hadn’t been a quiet revelation, either. Elain had gone to a picnic with Lucien to meet some of his family members when Eris walked up. She hadn’t recognized him but Eris knew once he heard the name ‘Archeron’.

There was never any indication that Lucien was anything like Eris, and by all accounts, he had no idea of what had happened but, still. Elain couldn’t stomach the idea tightening the connection between Mor and Eris so the two had parted ways amicably. 

Azriel was unsure if the sadistic fuck would use Elain as a pawn against Lucien or to torture Mor just a bit more and that uncertainty made him sick. 

"I need to be with her tonight."

Cass took a deep breath before nodding. "Who?" 

Azriel froze. 

It was such a simple question on the surface. Elain or Mor? Mor or Elain?

But that question, that choice, had been the start of this whole mess and his inability to decide had caused so much pain. 

Mor had been his first love, the first bit of brightness in his dark life. It had baffled him as much then as it did now that such a beautiful person could even look his way.

She had fought for him in so many of the ways that counted. He had been rescued from his abusers but he still felt like he was drowning every damn day until she stepped into his life. For the first time, there was light. She was so radiant that, even when they were apart, he still felt like he was slightly blinded. Like staring at the sun for too long. 

Her easy laughter and charm had him wrapped around her finger in an instant. There was no thought, no room for consideration. She had appeared in his life and he was irrevocably changed from that moment on.

It had been different, with Elain. 

She had come to him broken and at times he had hated her. Hated her for wearing her pain and sadness so loudly that she was like a damn mirror to his own suffering that he fought so hard to hide.  

Still, he gravitated towards her. Perhaps he wanted to help her because he still had some hope that he could heal himself. Perhaps he just really couldn’t control his desire to know what made certain people tick, to learn their secrets and desires. Perhaps it was because he was a masochist and just wanted to feel his own suffering a bit more but Azriel chose her. 

Again and again he chose her. 

At parties and dinners at first until it turned into quiet conversations alone, in coffee shops or on apartment couches or during long walks when sleep evaded them both. 

He whispered his traumas and, for the first time in his life, she didn't baulk. She stood steadfast with him on the shore as they both endured the crashing waves. Elain traded him with her own misery and Azriel prayed he handled her secrets with the same level of poise and grace that she possessed. 

He watched as, over time, she learned to pull the pieces back together in ways he never had managed for himself. She learned to fill the gaps that would never heal the same and love the scars, no matter how jagged, they left behind. 

It wasn't until she was gone that he realized how she had managed to begin to do the same with him. As she healed herself, she had begun to seep into his veins and warm his soul. So damn slowly that he hadn't even realized it happening. 

Until she left.

Her words haunted him and now he stood alone. Shivering and cold in the darkness of the void she had pulled open. 

Azriel swallowed, feeling a part of his heart shut off forever. It had only been a moment since Cassian had asked the damning question but it had felt like an eternity had passed. 

His friend could never know how much weight was in that question.

"I need to see Mor." 

_______________________________________

@lil-mis-red

[moiraineswife]

How did Az get fucked over with the Moriel thing?

-Because the relationship between them was twisted from ‘mutual interest with issues on both side and Az’s insecurity holding him back from pursuing a relationship with a woman who is ready to be with him but is holding herself back due to respecting him, his experiences and choices’ to ‘creepy, obsessive straight guy can’t take a hint and quietly pines after a queer woman for five hundred years making her actively uncomfortable with his attentions and being a contributing factor in her remaining closeted as well as sleeping with men she may or may not want to to maintain distance between them/. That’s....Fucked up on so many levels I can’t. (And this is not a condemnation of Az’s character - this is a condemnation of Maas’ writing because this should never have been done to him, it disgusts me) 

-Because Azriel was set-up to serve as a safe space for Mor in ACOMAF (he watches out for her, he supports her, he protects her, he is the one to go and talk to her and help calm her down when she’s upset and panicky. This is explicitly canon) and in ACOWAR she’s made to be afraid of him/ his outbursts. Cassian is forced between them as a buffer to make her feel safer/to relax afterwards. She sleeps with Helion/other men to remind Azriel she isn’t interested in him/to force distance between them. She is “petrified” of coming out to him. (This is a complaint beyond my Moriel shipping, obviously I shipped them romantically

-Because it’s implied that Eris knows about Mor’s sexuality and wouldn’t have touched her/forced her to be with him...But Azriel is set up as still loving her and lusting after her somehow completely oblivious to her sexuality/lack of interest in him. And I’m supposed to believe this...And be okay with it. That a man who abused her, who left her to die, who terrifies and traumatises her...Has more regard for her choices and feelings than Azriel, who was set up to love her unconditionally, to represent safety and security for her. Like. Sure.  

-Because I’m having a harder and harder time accepting the CoN fiasco as being in character for Az. It feels lazy to me. He’s a cookie-cutter copy of Rhys in that scene. I could POTENTIALLY have gone with Azriel not warning Mor about Eris the way Rhys did if it had been for her, if it had been to somehow protect her because she wasn’t supposed to be there/know until later (god fucking knows this thing is impossible to retcon) But I’m having a harder and harder time accepting him not telling her for the same reason as Rhys ‘I don’t trust you, you’re a silly, oversensitive child and I’m afraid you’re going to fuck this up for us’. Not Az, not with Mor, like, sorry. It feels like something to draw lines between them and force them apart/retcon/undo the Moriel set-up she did in ACOMAF to try and make the reveal better. 

-Because (this is my personal interpretation/opinion and not one I expect many people to share, and is something I’m having a lot of difficulty putting into words but...) A lot of the Cassian/Mor moments in ACOWAR felt like they should have been Mor/Azriel moments that were dramatically retconned/that Cassian was made far more physically affectionate and closer to Mor than initially appeared in ACOMAF to further force distance between moriel, give Mor some kind of support but strip away any potential Azriel/Mor scenes because of the “”””reveal”””” of her sexuality and Maas’ sudden desire to stop baiting the ship as much. (I loved the Cassian/Mor moments in ACOWAR, I’ve already said this but some of them felt...Like a lot more/altered from their relationship in ACOMAF which I felt demonstrated their unconditional love/support for one another while also maintaining aspects of friction and volatility that they do have. Like I said I’m struggling putting this into words but some parts felt like this was being shoved down my throat just a little too much. might just have been bad writing, might have been forcing Cass as the buffer and forcing Mor and Az further apart. I don’t know) 

-Because Moriel could have been a beautiful platonic relationship about the deep, undying unconditional love that these two people have for one another; for the lengths they will go to for one another and the things they would do and sacrifice to keep each other safe....Instead I’ve got a narrative involving a ‘petrified’ closeted queer woman and a man who can’t take a hint and obsessively won’t let her go/stop loving her despite what it does for her and like....I’m sorry but Azriel deserved so much fucking better than that. It’s disgusting. I feel vaguely ill writing all this out. 

I was happy with the Az content coming out of ACOWAR (and needing some kind of light in this black pit I probably got blinded by that to begin with) the flying lessons with Feyre were excellent, his moments during battle were beautiful, his rescue of Elain showed the compassion that he has in-line with Cassian. 

But I can’t ignore this seriously ugly undercurrent and how it transforms Azriel from a (legitimately) traumatised, insecure abuse victim lacking self worth and self esteem after the horrific abuse he endured as a child...And forces him into the narrative of the entitled straight man whose obsessive love makes a girl feel too afraid to say no to him and like...I’m sorry but in fucking up Moriel with this Dramatic Plot Twist Maas screwed over Mor’s character (infinitely more than Az’s, I’m not arguing that for a second) but it fucks Azriel’s up too. And not because ‘oh no he’s going to be so sad when she comes out to him the poor bat’ but because it turns him into an obsessive creep who, in some ways, is marked out as looking worse than her abuser. 

Bottom line is, what Maas did with the Moriel in ACOWAR fucks up Mor’s character, Azriel’s character, and the entire dynamic of the Inner Circle. I genuinely cannot believe how poorly this ‘twist’ was thought out. I feel gross now. I’m going to take a shower. 

[moiraineswife]

Hi! First off I love ur blog and Im not meaning to start anything at all, Im simply just curious because I just read your thoughts on how ur upset over SJM's actions on writing a world in which Mor can't come out comfortably rather than over Mor's actions herself. I was just wondering if you think SJM's intentions could lie in creating a character that her non-heteronormative readers could relate to, and how a lot of times in real life people are scared to come out for similar reasons? Thoughts?

Right, this is not going to be a popular opinion, but it’s all I’ve got. My issue is that Mor’s story is so framed by heterosexuality that at this point it feels like it’s written for straight people more than queer people. 

Think about it. Mor’s story is bookended and influenced entirely by straight men. The first choice that she’s able to make about her body and her sexuality, this grand life-changing statement that she makes in order to escape marriage to another man because she can’t stand the idea of becoming a broodmare for him (largely, according to acowar, due to her identity as a queer woman) is to have sex with a straight man. 

Her relationship with Andromache comes to an end partially because of the war but mostly because of...Another straight man/the need for the queen to have children. Which she does. 

She doesn’t come out/isn’t open with her lovers in part because of homophobia (which is...a straight thing. The entire concept of coming out/remaining closeted is for straight people. It’s not for queer people. Being closeted isn’t doing me any good, I don’t do it for the fun of it, I do it because I have to...Because of straight people’s reactions. This is a reality of this kind of story.) 

And in part because of Azriel’s love/lust for her. Azriel. A straight man. Whom she can’t be with because of her sexuality. Because he has assumed that she is straight and therefore interested in him. And here’s where I have a huge issue with the heteronormativity argument. 

Mor’s story, the way it’s written, is not something for queer people to relate to in-terms of heteronormativity. It’s something for straight people to relate to. 

Consider: Straight man falls in love with a lesbian, assumes she’s straight, and therefore he has a chance with her. Lesbian informs straight man she’s a lesbian and therefore she can’t be with him. Straight man is sad because heteronormativity has fucked him over and all the hot girls are lesbians, how dare queer people exist and trick him into thinking they were fuckable!? 

This is like...Mor’s narrative with Az (and the readers) in a nutshell. Azriel falls for Mor and the reader ships Moriel (as intended by SJM in ACOMAF (I will fight on this point. She set this up as a ship. She set this up to be shipped. I don’t give a fuck if Mor never outright said she loved Az or however else you want to argue it. She. Set. This. Up. To. Be. Shipped.) 

Then Azriel and the reader get fucked over/upset by heteronormativity. Both assumed that Mor was straight/would be interested in Azriel. Both are wrong and upset when Mor comes out as queer because their expectations were ‘ruined’ by Mor’s sexuality. 

This looks a heck of a lot like the disgruntled straight dude complaining that the girl he was hitting on was gay but hot and dared to make him like her because he assumed she was straight. This story is a lesson in heteronormativity for straight people. Because it’s ‘haha, look at that you shipped the queer woman with the straight dude but she’s not interested what a great plot twist right!!!’ 

Wrong. 

Mor’s narrative is framed by heterosexuality. She sleeps with Cassian to avoid a marriage to a man. Her relationship with Andromache is ultimately doomed because she gets married to a man and has his children. She remains closeted from the Circle because she’s petrified’ of coming out to Azriel. She continues to sleep with men that she appears to not want to (regardless of what she SAYS I am looking here at what the narrative SHOWS us and that is, three times, that Mor looked ill and tortured after sleeping with Helion. She did not enjoy that. She did not do that for herself. She did that to keep Azriel at bay) 

So, yes, there’s heteronormativity involved in Mor’s narrative but it’s from the POV of a straight person when it comes to it? If this was a story about drawing the problems queer people face with regards to heternormativity then we might actually have some commentary on Mor apparently getting nothing out of sleeping with men but doing it for Az, and her saying that she ‘find pleasure in it’ wouldn’t feel like SJM was throwing that in there just to try and make her (disgusting) narrative of a queer woman sleeping with people she doesn’t want to to reinforce her boundaries between the straight man who hasn’t gotten over her after 500 years because oh no quick! Mor gets something out of this too!!! But that’s what it feels like. And it doesn’t line up with what the narrative has actually SHOWN us (ie - that Mor isn’t getting anything out of sleeping with men at all) 

And when Mor comes out...What she gets as commentary for her being closeted all these years is “It’s good enough” (which is...the more I think about that line the more I utterly fucking despise it, just putting that out there) While Cassian and Azriel get, oh the poor things, she’s stringing them along, she’s hurting them, that’s what the narrative gives us. 

And fandom does this too? The overwhelming response to Mor is not ‘the poor girl has been alone and isolated for 500 years, has gone through things like the death of Andromache alone, working out her sexuality in the first place alone, hiding herself alone, not being able to have a lasting relationship with anyone because she can’t be open about it alone’...No what we have is ‘poor Azriel :(’ ‘Poor Cassian :(’ ‘How will the others react to her coming out? :( they’ll feel all bad that she didn’t trust them :(’  

It’s just....Mor’s queerness does not feel like it was written for queer people. Mor’s story feels like it was written by a straight person with a straight person’s pov and “”””struggles”””” with queer people at the forefront. It feels like a sloppy tick in the diversity box that got shoehorned in there to generate Angst and Conflict. 

The biggest problem I have with this is that, FOR ME, Mor’s story...Does not feel like it’s about Mor. It does not feel like it’s about queer people; it feels like it’s about straight people.

 It’s about Feyre, and Mor coming out to her as like...An apology or something? And then it’s about her being so Good and Accepting and promising not to spread Mor’s secrete around like this makes her the greatest person ever when all of the above is basic common decency. 

It’s about Azriel and how upset he’ll be that he can’t be with the girl that he loves, nevermind that he’s trapped her in a deeply unhealthy place for five centuries. 

It’s about the Inner Circle and how this will change their dynamic and how it’s ruined everything because this is not a safe space or a place of love and support any more. It can’t be.

It’s about Cassian and how Mor apparently needs him to buffer her and Azriel and therefore he can’t be with Nesta. (The biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever had the misfortune of laying my eyes on, btw) 

It’s even about Eris and how this gets shoehorned into his retconned redemption because it’s implied that he knows and wouldn’t have raped a queer woman because he’s That Good A Guy. 

It’s not about Mor. It’s not about her struggle finding herself. It’s not about her struggle overcoming the homophohbia she lived with and learning to love with. It’s not about the women she can’t be with and how this hurts her. It’s not about the men she forces herself to sleep with and how fucked up that is. It’s not about her feeling unsafe and unable to be herself around her family and how fucked up that is. It’s not about heteronormativity confusing her and making it difficult to understand what she wants and who she loves.

 It’s not about her. It’s not about her identity. It’s about how everyone else reacts to it, how everyone else affects it, how she affects everyone else because of it. This is not a queer story. This is the story of a queer person and the angst, conflict and drama their identity can cause for the straight people. 

Mor’s story could have been about this. Mor’s story could have been about how queer people are raised in abusive, homophobic environments and escape them, find safe spaces, find love and acceptance, but it’s not. It’s about a woman who apparently owned her body, her life, her choices, but has in fact never escaped the abuse she suffered because it’s still ruling her. 

This is something that real people experience, yes. Mor is not a real person. Not in this regard. Mor is a fictional character and with that comes a certain responsibility of representation. You cannot just brush aside queer pain with ‘well people experience it in real life I’m just making it realistic!’ Because this is not real life. This is not even the real world. This is a fantasy in which the only ‘reality’ that can apparently exist for queer people is pain, isolation, fear and being alienated from those they’re closest to because of their sexuality.

Mor was presented to us as a confident abuse survivor who is empowering and inspiring for the characters (and readers) of the books who are still recovering from what they’ve been through. She is presented as having complete control of herself and her choices. She has a family built up of supportive, empowering individuals who support her, give her power over her abusers and allow her to be herself. 

This entire narrative is undone in ACOWAR because she has not escaped her abusers. She is still being ruled by them. She does not have power over them. She does not own her body, her life and her sexuality, because the narrative has been forcing her to live a lie her entire existence. Straight men own her sexuality and her body and her life. Because she sleeps with people she doesn’t want to to appease them. This began with her sleeping with Cassian to escape Eris and her father’s will and continues right up to present day when she’s sleeping with Helion to push Az away. 

Mor has no power in ACOWAR. She is not allowed to be herself around her family. She is not allowed to make her own choices because she is ruled by her being closeted. She does not have power over her abusers - Rhys takes that away from her. She does not have a safe space as an abuse survivor or a queer person either in Velaris, which is taken from her, or even in her Circle, because she cannot be herself around them. 

And what does ACOWAR have to say about this? What does the book that tore Mor to pieces and shredded the inspirational symbol it created of her have to say about the way she’s treated by the author because of her sexuality? 

“It’s good enough.” 

That’s the message this book sends to its young queer readers. It’s good enough. She can’t be herself but it’s good enough. She isn’t accepted but it’s good enough. She’s trapped in a relationship with a man who loves her that she can’t escape because she won’t hurt him and that’s good enough. She sleeps with men and doesn’t get any pleasure out of it to keep her safe from another man’s attentions and that’s good enough. She cannot have fulfilling relationships with women because she cannot be open but it’s good enough. She is closeted and petrified and still suffering from the abuse she endured years ago, without any power, without any agency over herself, but it’s good enough. 

It is not good enough. It is not nearly good enough. This kind of reality does not have a place in fiction. When your reality comes from a place of hate and oppression it is not something that I want to see again in fiction. I do not want to see queer women forced apart by straight men/their obligations to bear children. I do not want to see queer women closeted and terrified and not able to be out because of the effect her abusive family has over her. I do not want to see a queer woman sleep with men when she gets nothing out of it but feels she has to do it to stop anyone looking too closely. I do not want to see queer women experience tragedy in fiction.

 I already see this every day IRL. I know what this is. I know what it feels like. I do not need to be educated in this. I do not need to have a straight person try and tell me my own story.

 I do not want to read about this in a work of fiction that is, by its nature, an escape from the real. I don’t want it to be an escape from the real in every single way except this one because this, gay pain, gay angst, gay tragedy, is something that must be preserved because how else can we tell gay stories? 

Fiction has a chance to change what is wrong with this world. Fiction, especially fantasy, like these books, has a chance to explore different options. Fiction cannot simply reflect what it sees IRL because that tells me nothing, it does nothing, it changes nothing.

 Fiction has a chance to tell the stories that we want told in this world but sometimes find it impossible to do so because of the way it is.Fiction should be progressive. Fiction offers a chance to be better than we currently are, to change things, to move things forwards.  

TL;DR: Mor’s story is not about Mor. Mor’s story as a queer woman is about the straight people around her. Her entire narrative is framed, driven and ultimately controlled by straight people and straight responses to her identity, not her identity in and of itself. 

This was not written for queer people. This was, at best, a sloppy tick in the diversity box because ‘look she’s queer what more do you want?’ and at worst a damaging and misguided insight into how SJM sees queer people and their stories. 

And no, it is not “good enough”. Mor deserved better and the queer fans that this story should represent deserved better. End of story.