#tell me sjm white without telling me shes white

[acourtofquestions]

The fact we changed from “My name is Celaena Sardothien and I will not be afraid.” to “Once upon a time, in a land long since burned to ash, there lived a young princess who loved her kingdom… very much.”

Because she is no longer Celaena Sardothien, nor does she live in fear of being afraid. She is done running, done with that mask that isn’t hers, because it doesn’t hold any comfort anymore. The only comfort she has is in who she really is; and that is no longer terrifying to her.

While both remind her who she is, remind her why; why she is here, why she will not break, why she is still fighting.

The first reminds her of what she had loved and lost. Of loving words that carry on, (of why she carries on) but that is all. All Celaena had was remnants; of someone, something… even herself.

The second, however, is something else; while it is still a dream, it is real… even among nightmares. It lives in her past, yes, but it is also the present, and any future. It is terribly beautifully true. And it is more; more than grief, and memory. Carrying on, finding ways to exist, survive. More than a dream, or words… even more than she is.

Because Aelin has something Celaena never did. Yes, she has a cause to fight for. She has her strength, her power, and rage; vendettas for things she could focus a fight to defeat; and a still terribly looming fate. The queen has a kingdom she adores. She has many things, she is many things… even Celaena still. But that’s not what I’m talking about, no, mostly, it’s that she has friends. A family. A Prince. She has a life not just an existence, a love with a beating heart, something worth dying and living for. And even if it is all gone to ash (“even when this world is a forgotten whisper of dust between the stars”) that is still hers; not a mask, not a facade, but something real.

In accepting who she is… there is the terrible truth of accepting that she is very much afraid (the fact Fenrys even felt the need to make the word “liar” in their code; because she is not alright, he knows, she knows, we “the reader” know… it’s more so the way we ask “how are you?” as a greeting. Sometimes even in terrible places like a funeral; when we know damn well that no-one there is really “good” or “alright”, but it’s the way we say “hello” and “I want you to be okay” and “are you at least surviving this”). It is being terrified of her acceptance in the first place, because part of being Aelin is the price it holds; because she was “promised” for a fate manipulated by gods before she even had the chance to draw breath… and there’s a doomsday in it that she’ll have to rage against one day… but not yet… not in this place. For now, she just has to exist, survive, live. And only Aelin can do that.

Because it’s not Sam’s words she needs anymore; it’s Rowan’s. And even more so, it’s her own.

It’s the words she said to him, but it is her story (Perhaps even the one she tattooed on her spine? Just a theory of the exact words.) because that, is still hers. Real. Living.

And as any reader knows (it’s why I love these books) you should never underestimate the power of a story.

[kataraavatara]

while reading i’m just reminded what a poor hunger games knockoff that first section is and how much better suzanne collins did it.

So I just started reading A Court of Thorns and Roses (audiobook), and am I the only one who is wondering if the author did any research into poor subsistence living or the lives of peasants? Because wow, I know Feyre’s family used to be rich, but if that was 8 years ago and y’all are poor as dirt now, somehow in the intervening period you might have learned:

- trap lines in the winter are far superior to active hunting. It burns less calories, you can use it with fish and land animals, and it will save you from frostbite bc instead of sitting in a blind for hours, you can go to your lines at certain times and head home, or drive animals toward your lines.

- buying flower seeds - or any garden seeds - is a suckers game when you’re poor. You only really need to buy seeds once!! Once you harvest, you let stuff ‘go to seed’ and then you collect it and store it for the winter, often trading seeds with your neighbours.

- they let things actively RUN OUT before doing anything about it. That’s absolutely buckwild if you’ve ever been poor — when you’re poor, you know how to make a meal stretch, and you DO IT.

- there is hunting, but no gathering?? This family has not stored any veg for winter, but neither do they go gather mushrooms, rosehips, roots, tubers, nuts, or even fucking bark?? What happened to their cottage garden?? Was it just flowers?! Were they that rich that they don’t understand that a garden produces food? Did they close their eyes as they walked past all their peasant neighbours and their gardens? Bc that’s maybe the wildest thing I’ve seen from both a historical and a ‘grew up so close to dirt poor you couldn’t tell the difference’ perspective!

- She left a whole ass Giant wolf carcass when her family is starving. Nah nah nah no that is the universe smiling on you when you’re subsistence! You will make a travois or somehow find a way to tie that to you and drag it along - that’s double the food, and possibly more money, because you could live off the wolf (which I assume does not taste great) and sell off some of the deer (which is delicious).

- she didn’t at least do a basic clean of her kill out in the woods?! She did not tan the hides?! Y’all, you do not want to be cleaning any kill on the kitchen table. Why? Because cleaning involves removing the intestines and stomach. That means shit and piss and food digestion in different stages, and the gases produced. You do that *outside*, typically at least close to where you made your kill, because you don’t want to have to have any…spills, and because it makes things a bit lighter to carry. Butchering? For sure do it on a table, but cleaning is an outdoor chore. Also, tanning a hide is not just skinning a creature! It’s scraping all the membranes off it, stretching and drying it, and curing the skin - sometimes with smoke, but often with a pretty gross solution (often including brain oil, and historically, I believe urine and/or feces, and other things with the right chemical components). It’s not a simple or quick task!

- soups, pottages, stews, with dried lentils, beans, or peas would have been the staple meals (depending on the climate and environment, but it feels fairly British thus far). Just having roasted venison (def not the best way to eat venison just from taste alone) would likely be a very very rare occurrence, because, as noted earlier, they’re so poor they would need to make it stretch. You would cure it or dry it or turn it into sausage. You would use it sparingly within a meal, not to serve as the whole meal.

- the market. If you were poor, you would likely be a stranger to spices, but not to salt. Salt is deeply necessary to survive in that period, as it’s one of the only ways of safely processing and storing meat with any longevity. And? If you got the money that they did while being as poor and as starving as they were? The first thing you would do — even if you were the most stupid rich person before then — is stock up your stores of dry goods! Flour, salt, honey, dried beans/peas/lentils, vegetables that store - onions, squashes, potatoes, root vegetables like carrots. It’s straight up Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs here - you will not give a shit about a new cloak before you give a shit about saying your hunger. They are said to be ‘starving’. Sorting out your survival comes before sorting out your fashion.

Anyways, this has been me for channel 4, reporting on anachronisms and misrepresentations in fantasy fiction. More news at 10.

[emmafreakecreations]

Rhysand is not morally grey- He's just an asshole

Rhys stans will say, "He did all those things UTM to protect Feyre and for the greater good!" and then proceed on a lengthy explanation of his reasons.

No no no no. I understand WHY he did it, I just don't agree with his methods. And there is NEVER a good reason to SA someone.

And yes he did SA Feyre. He drugged her- couldn't get verbal consent from her- and then proceeded to touch her everywhere/ make her dance on his lap, while MAKING her wear revealing clothes. But- but he didn't touch her privates! It doesn't matter he still touched her waist and for most people I know that is in the no no square. It's still touching someone without consent, taking away people's choice about their own body is abuse. And that includes him not telling her about her pregnancy. He didn't want to stress her out! That doesn't matter, she has every right to know about what is going on with her body, knowing her options so she can make an informed decision of what she wants to do. In our world that's literally a violation of HIPAA. And if anything it's more stressful not knowing what is going on with your body. You're bringing real world standards into a fantasy world! SJM already did that by bringing her white 21st century feminism into this world and you guys are often treating Lucien and Nesta based on real world standards so I can do that too.

But Feyre forgave him, so you should too. That's her prerogative but if I was in her shoes I wouldn't. Because his long ass monologue that's TEN PAGES never once said the words "I'm sorry for doing that to you." It's only giving his reasons which to me sound like excuses, because there was definitely another way he could protect her without causing her bodily harm. He could have just left her in her cell and sent her mental images of happy things to keep her sane. He could have just communicated with her through her mind. He needed to keep a rouse up because Amarantha was suspicious! No where in the text does it mention that Amarantha wanted Feyre at those parties. For all she cared Feyre could just go die in her cell from infection and she would win. By Rhys bringing her to those parties he put more of a target on her and raised Amarantha's suspicions. And after rereading the monologue some things in Rhys's plan UTM is inconsistent.

"I decided, then and there, that I was going to fight. And I would fight dirty, and kill and torture and manipulate, but I was going to fight. If there was a shot of freeing us from Amarantha, you were it. I thought … I thought the Cauldron had been sending me these dreams to tell me that you would be the one to save us. Save my people." (pg 448 Ch 54- I have a pdf and idk if that lines up with physical prints)

cool fine. but then he proceeds to say two paragraphs later that he was mad that Tamlin didn't get Feyre out when he had the chance. This does not make sense because if Feyre leaves how tf is she supposed to save everyone. She already has a deal with Amarantha to save people and sure she might die but leaving is not going to save everyone.

"I made you dress like that so Amarantha wouldn’t suspect, and made you drink the wine so you would not remember the nightly horrors in that mountain. And that last night, when I found you two in the hall … I was jealous. I was jealous of him, and pissed off that he’d used that one shot of being unnoticed not to get you out, but to be with you.." (Ch 54 pg 448)

After rereading this I'm convinced this man didn't have much a plan and if anything initially was doing these things out of cruelty and just because he could. His plan makes no sense if you really think about it. Once he got the hots for Feyre, he back tracked. His plan to piss Tamlin off so that he killed Amarantha makes no sense, because Tamlin has already delt with this woman not respecting him saying no, disfigured his best friend, cursed him, and is now trying to kill his lover. I don't think he needs more motivation.

But he is morally grey! no he isn't. Most morally grey characters who have a love interest, at least I have encountered never bodily harm her. They have a line they will not cross- they have morals. Rhysand seems to not have a line-no morals- to me he's more amoral. Carden Greenbriar bullied his love interest and did some heinous shit, but he had a line he wouldn't cross-murder. He does not like murder. When the bullying got to a point where Jude could die, he stepped in and he saved her. Jun-pyo from boys over flowers also bullied his love interest basically because of how he was raised he has no understanding how to show love (similar to Cardan). He got the whole school bullying her just because she stood up to him. But when some students tried to sexually assault her he got pissed at them and told them he never said to do anything like that. He also has a line he won't cross, sexual assault.

to quote my good in real life friend @that-sarcastic-writer , who has endured my rants about this series. Who reads dark romance and who I have summerized this series to:

"You don't have him hurt her and SA her and then later you try to backtrack by having him cry about his love for her without truly apologizing. And that's my biggest issue with most dark romance mmcs. They actively hurt/SA the fmc but then oh she liked it and he loves her deep down. Cause it's one thing to "hurt" the fmc emotionally, like a third act breakup, and that's fine, that's human, people make mistakes and fight, but you can't convince me physically hurting or assaulting the fmc is something that can be forgiven with claims of love."

Anyways Rhysand is red flags everywhere and is not a person you should strive to date. Date more men like Lucien. If you like Rhys and are just like, "I like him, I know he's toxic." You do you but don't try to convince me he is a hero, he is only a villain to me.

[olenvasynyt]

In ACOWAR during the meeting with Kier when he asks for his people to be free of the mountain, Feyre says “You have every comfort, and it’s still not enough?”

She had every comfort at Tamlin’s manor, and it still wasn’t enough for her…

#freethecourtofnightmares2024

One thing that really pisses me off about the Court of Nightmares is how SJM writes it so black and white. The entire court, not just Keir, is evil and conniving. There was a part in ACOWAR where he says he is going to let the CoN go to Velaris but he told all of the vendors and business owners to refuse service to not just Keir, but all of the CoN. And this paints the entire court in this black and white lense.

Not a single person in that court is a dreamer like Mor? She was the only fucking one?

I think there can be a little bit of nuance to the situation where a significant portion of the court is just bad because they have been festering in the dark for so long, but guess who's fault is that?? It's the leader's fault, the one who keeps the court up and running, aka the High Lord, aka Rhys.

Rhys says he wants change. That he wants to show the world that he's good. But he continues to keep the Court of Nightmares up and running, he keeps Keir as herald.

"Oh this court is so awful and sadistic," Feyre thinks as she sits on the throne with a crown on her head and with Rhys holding her hand.

And Rhys says "the Court of Nightmares just rules itself" and sure, I guess that's true, but as High Lord, you have the ability to put a stop to that and pull out the bad weeds. But instead, you keep it running to further your agenda and to keep your evil mask on.

Getting mad at Keir for slutshaming your lover and breaking his arm is not enough. Restricting access to Velaris is not enough. Even telling the Court "you guys are bad >:C " is not fucking enough.

Rhys the most powerful High Lord who killed all of the Illyrian war bands who sided with Amarantha after UTM, yet he can't do the same to the CoN?

Rhys and Feyre and the IC label the entire CoN as evil without trying to find the forgotten dreamers, and they continue to keep the court up and running and making the excuse that "it's too hard" despite their power and influence. It means they don't care. Or that Rhys maybe fucking enjoys it.

It also means that SJM (so far) has no idea what she's doing and can't understand the situation she wrote in her own series.

And this brings me to comparing Nesta being locked up, the CoN and its dreamers being locked up, and Feyre being locked up. Is SJM intending this irony and hypocrisy of the IC? I sure hope so because I swear it's the most obvious comparision ever, but it confuses me because a large majority of the ACOTAR fanbase doesn't get it. "Oh well the CoN is evil! They have to keep them contained and Rhys can't do a whole lot as High Lord because the Court rules itself." And the most frustrating argument: "Nesta was addicted to sex and alcohol, she needed to be rehabilitated! It's for her own good!"

They don't see the irony of how the IC treats Nesta because Tamlin also did what he did for Feyre's own good. It was to protect her, keep her safe. Not saying it was 100% good and right, but why are we not understanding that what the IC did to Nesta was not 100% good and right either?

[lovemyromance]

hey I'm an elriel girlie but your take on rhysand not doing anything wrong but helping feyre really rubbed me the wrong way, as a emergency room worker I can't tell you how many young girls come my way drugged and molested, and trust me not touching someone bellow the waist but touching them is assault, when a person touches you anywhere without your consent it is assault, how many times I've seen young girls denied justice just because they were drunk or they didn't touch private parts is disheartening, it is so disheartening watching adult women justify these actions even in fictiom

I love these books and rhysand and we can love him without justifying his actions.

Hey I'm sorry that my stance rubbed you the wrong way, regardless of what side of the ship war you're on. I'm sure you've seen some pretty heartbreaking cases from your occupation. I don't make a habit of discussing it on my blog but I've unfortunately also been a victim of SA in my life, so I understand where you are coming from.

People shouldn't touch others without their consent.

TW AHEAD: Talk of sexual abuse/assault below the cut

That being said - I still stand by what I personally consider as SA. The ultimate deciding factor is the victim, of course, because they're the one person that seeks justice.

In this situation, Feyre herself forgives Rhys for his actions under the mountain. She understood why Rhys was acting that way even during UTM. And it was shown multiple times that he did not touch her anywhere other than the waist and that one kiss - but even Feyre does not hold it against him. SJM clearly did not intend to have her MMC painted as a sexual abuser - so I don't know where this narrative came from. If Feyre/SJM don't consider SA - why would I?

Rhysand had her drink to forget the horrors Amarantha paraded in front of her every night. He painted her body so she would still know that nobody touched her without her consent.

That to me does not equate sexual abuse. Feyre knew what was happening - and she drank that wine every night. I'm not saying she shouldn't have or she willingly participated - but I'm saying she was not sexually abused by Rhysand.

I don't consider an abrupt kiss to get Amarantha's suspicions off Feyre/Tamlin an act of sexual abuse. Should Rhysand have done it ? Ideally no, but it's not an ideal situation that they were in. They were in life or death mode.

It would be one thing - and apologies if this might be triggering - if Rhysand was forcing himself on Feyre regularly -> that I would consider sexual assault, even if Feyre forgave him for it. That would've caused me to DNF the book.

But I don't consider ONE kiss under duress to be sexual assault. I don't consider touching her waist to be sexual assault either. And it's clear that's all he did.

Should he have done that? Ideally - no. But UTM wasn't exactly an ideal situation for anyone.

This is not a black and white case. There's plenty of moments where people in ACOTAR were touched by someone else against their will. Are they all cases of SA? Are we saying Nesta kicking Cassian in the balls was SA? Are we saying Tamlin touching Feyre was SA?

There are clear examples of SA in the books already. I don't need to comb through the books and consider every instance of someone touching another character without their explicit consent as SA. That's not the intended purpose of those scenes and I will choose to give SJM the benefit of doubt here.

Nobody is looking to ACOTAR as the literature that could influence how women are treated in the real world. The specific fictional scenario between Feyre & Rhys does not have any implications for what real women go through.

I personally don't consider someone touching my arms or waist as sexual assault. I understand other people might be uncomfortable with it and categorize it differently - but they have that right. In the end it comes down to the person. And in this scenario - even Feyre doesn't consider it SA. So neither do I.

[acourtofthought]

"the Cauldron’s blast hit the Illyrian forces. / And where a thousand soldiers had been a heartbeat before …

Ashes rained down upon our foot soldiers.

Seconds after that.......

But the Cauldron did not hit the same spot twice. And Hybern was willing to incinerate part of his own army if it meant wiping out a strength of ours.

An unearthly, female shriek broke from deep in the Hybern forces. A sister’s warning—and pain. Just as that white light slammed into the Bone Carver.

But the Carver … I could have sworn he looked toward me as the Cauldron’s power crashed into him. Could have sworn he smiled—and it was not a hideous thing at all.

There—and gone.

The Cauldron wiped him away without any sign of effort.

And a moment after that:

Nesta wasn’t going anywhere. She could barely stay sitting. And Elain … Amren was holding Elain upright as she vomited in the grass. Not from the Cauldron. But pure terror.

(Previously in the series, Nesta vomited when the Cauldron was used to take down the wall. It's power / vibration is what caused her to be sick: Nesta moaned, body tensing as if she’d vomit again. But then we felt it. A shuddering through the earth. Through air and stone and green, growing things. As if some great god blew a breath across the land. Then the impact came. Rhys threw himself over me so fast I didn’t register wholly that the mountain itself shook, that the building swayed. We hit the stones as debris rained, and I felt him readying to winnow— Then it stopped. Screaming rose up from the valley below. But silence reigned in the palace. Amongst us. Nesta vomited again, and Mor let her sag to the floor this time.

With Elain, it seems to be the deaths that caused her sickness, not the power surge.

A few chapters earlier:

Elain at last slid into the chair near Mor’s, her dawn-pink dress—finer than the ones she usually wore—crinkling beneath her. “Will—will many of these soldiers die?”

Whereas the other characters are bothered by the loss of their soldiers, they seem to accept it as unavoidable.

Nesta is matter of fact when she tells Elain that yes, many soldiers will die.

And while Feyre sends up a prayer for the warriors decimated by the Cauldron and the others begin to discuss what their next move will be, Elain is the only one to have an extremely physical reaction to the deaths that just occurred.

There are some who celebrate "Elain the Kingslayer" but I think we're going to find she's struggling with what she did, taking a life. That she would shun that moniker.

She loves Nesta and would obviously do what was needed to save her but I don't think she's glad to have gotten revenge on the King.

The other characters don't usually blink at taking out someone who harmed their family but I think Elain will always carry an immense amount of guilt for any life she takes, deserved or not. In her mind I don't think it's something she can justify.

Elain begged Feyre not to harm Graysen, no matter what (meaning even if it was deserved).

When Lucien acknowledged her part in killing the King, she immediately turned the attention towards Nesta.

It was very pointed how SJM said Elain returned Truth-Teller and "didn't look back". (Think about what TT is used for, what Elain used it for. It is a tool for death, something Elain walked away from without looking back not to mention possible foreshadowing for Elain walking away from the one who represents death).

The cruelty of the Hewn City specifically bothers Elain. The other characters think it's residents are trash but they embrace the roles they step into while there. They enjoy seeing Kier put in his place. Elain tries to prove she too can belong but it's clearly not something she's comfortable doing.

If Elain vomited from the terror she felt over the lost lives during war (which is pretty much a certainty in battle), then how can anyone honestly think she'll support what Azriel does and the way he thinks?

“If Lucien kills Graysen, then good riddance.”

"I'll defeat him with little effort"

What we did to the Attor wasn’t pretty.”

the quiet voice that had broken countless enemies.

People often made the mistake of assuming Cassian was the wilder one; the one who couldn’t be tamed. But Cassian was all hot temper—temper that could be used to forge and weld. There was an icy rage in Azriel I had never been able to thaw.

“Break its legs, shred its wings, and dump it off the coast of Hybern. See if it survives.” / The Attor was already screaming beneath Truth-Teller’s honed edge when I left the cell.

I held his gaze, though. Held that ice-cold stare that still sometimes scared the shit out of me. I’d seen what he’d done to his half brothers centuries ago. Still dreamed of it. The act itself wasn’t what lingered. Every bit of it had been deserved. Every damn bit. But it was the frozen precipice that Az had plummeted into that sometimes rose from the pit of my memory. The beginnings of that frost cracked over his eyes now.

The way he hesitated before he said learned said enough: he’d tortured it out of someone. Many people.

Azriel leaned against the wall by the lone door, Truth-Teller bloody in his hand

the male bleeding from places Azriel knew would hurt but not kill. Az knew where to slice up a male without letting him bleed out. Knew how to make this last for days.

But Feyre, Cassian knew, had been aware of what she’d see before entering. And well aware that these ten minutes had only been the opening movements in a symphony of pain that Azriel could conduct with brutal efficiency.

Feyre struggled watching Azriel torture. Knowing Elain, does anyone truly think she'd be better at witnessing it than Feyre? She has an inner strength, yes, but she is canonically more gentle and sensitive. Inner strength does not necessarily translate to being fine hurting others.

And the second Azriel sensed that Elain was uncomfortable with what he does, what would be the result?

Azriel leaned against the carved wood footboard at the end of his bed. “Little to add to what you already know.” Smooth, easy liar. Far better than me.

The only character in this series who has been entirely in their right to inflict violence on someone but chose a different route is Lucien.

He would not be wrong in going after Eris (especially early on in the series) or in going after Beron and I don't even think anyone would blame him for putting Ianthe in her place. He could have suggested Rhys take Tamlin out for the way Tamlin has treated Lucien rather than encouraging Rhys to have mercy on him. He could have also easily gone after Graysen.

Yet he has made the choice time and again to avoid violence, only using it in defense.

Elain has not gotten to know Lucien because of the bond, she's using that as her shield and refusing to let her guard down.

But honestly, based on personality and personality alone (and not who wants who at this point because we know that can change), how can anyone think Elucien would not well matched?

[shadowqueenjude]

I shoved my pack off my bedroll. “Then why not tell him? You were his faithful dog in every other sense.”

This response from Feyre is nothing short of victim-blaming. Faithful dog? Are you serious????

Lucien sat back on his heels. "So you know everything, then." I managed to nod without blacking out from the pain. My agony must have shown, because he winced. "Well, at least we don't have to lie to you anymore. Let's clean you up a bit."

Lucien kept his eyes shut. Ready—he was ready for Rhysand to wipe out everything he was, to turn his mind, his self, into dust.

Then, shattering the silence like a shooting star, a voice—Lucien's—bellowed across the chamber. "TO YOUR LEFT!" “You offered up your name for me—after all that I said to you, all I did, you still offered up your name. Didn’t you realize I would help you after that? Oath or no oath?”

"In front of everyone?" "Yes," Lucien replied—more gently than I'd heard him speak to me before.

"He will always, always seek to protect you, whether you like it or not. Talk to him about it—really talk to him, Feyre. You'll figure it out." Our gazes met. A muscle feathered in Lucien's jaw. "Don't ask me to pick."

"Did he let you take me today," I said hoarsely, "so that I'd stop asking to help rebuild?" "No. I decided to take you myself."

"I know you wanted to help," Lucien offered. "I'm sorry."

"I know, I know," Rhysand drawled. "I'll return her in a week." No—no, Tamlin couldn't be making those kinds of threats, not when they meant he was letting me go. Even Lucien was gaping at Tamlin, his face white with fury and shock.

"This feels an awful lot like a interrogation." Lucien sucked in a breath, but remained silent.

"But Hybern—" Lucien intervened calmly, "I already have my sources looking into it." I gave him a beseeching look. Lucien sighed a bit and said to Tamlin, "If we perhaps trained her in secret—"

Lucien cleared his throat. "She meant no harm, Tam." "I know she meant to harm," he snapped. Lucien held his gaze. "Worse things have happened, worse things can happen. Just relax." Tamlin's emerald eyes were feral as he snarled at Lucien, "Did I ask for your opinion?"

I asked my friend to tell me what it was, yet... Lucien had that look he always did when he wanted to, but his loyalty to Tamlin got in the way.

Lucien had gone on, his tone pleading, Tamlin. Tam. Just let her train, let her master this—if the other High lords do come for her, let her stand a chance...

Don't give me that look Lucien. Silence again. Then a vicious snarl, and a shudder of magic rocked the house. I didn’t want to know what was happening in that room, what he’d done to Lucien, what Lucien had even looked like to cause that pulse of power.

"Tamlin," I rasped. But he was already down the front drive, walking toward the looming iron gates. Lucien remained at the foot of the stairs, his face so, so pale.

"Just—be patient, Feyre," Lucien tried, wincing as he followed after Tamlin. "Please. I'll see what I can do. I'll try again." Lucien hadn’t explained the black eye and cut lip, either. FAITHFUL DOG??? After everything he did for you??? And what happened in ACOMAF?? NOTHING SHORT OF ABUSE!!!! And Feyre didn't even want to know about it. After knowing Tamlin was abusing him and he still stood up to him, Feyre accused him of being a dog and then later assigned him to be a liaison to Tamlin where he's being abused AGAIN. SJM has written her main character VICTIM-BLAMING the nicest guy in the entire series. Wtf.

[theboarsbride]

"A Court of Thorns and Roses" Reading Update I

Page 101 - 24%

So, some major notes so far:

-I refuse to believe SJM knows how to write poor people. I refuse to believe that Feyre's family has been poor for a decade. How tf can the sisters be so dainty and act so oblivious and bitchy about work for survival after NEARLY 10 YEARS OF ECONOMIC DESTITUTION???????Just their mentalities, how they react to being poor, how they treat their belongings, how they treat their food, how they handle their money, etc. doesn't really line up.

-I can't stand SJM's writing style. SO MANY MF EM DASHES HOLY FUCK AND THEYRE IN PLACES WHERE THEY'RE UNNECESSARY. And also she reuses the same sentence structure, and it bothers meeeeee. (ex.- i was going to the bathroom, which was white and clean and shining. Then, I went to school, a place that was dull and bland and boring.) Like jfc. I wholeheartedly believe the conspiracy that no one actually edits SJM's book because good LORD.

- Feyre is dumb and deserves death. Like the instance with the Pooka. She suddenly sees her crippled father on Tamlin's land in Prythian in the middle of the night??? Given the wary hostility and aggression and distrust she's been displaying towards everyone and everything so far in Prythian, why isn't she doing the same in this instance???? She's said herself she is wary of faerie tricks, and acknowledged that not even whole, able-bodied humans are able to survive in Prythian without the help of a faerie, so why would she think her DISABLED FATHER, who is helpless in the mortal realm, be any different??? And why would she CARE that her father has come for her??? Did she not hope that her family starves without her, so that they realize she's important to them and she holds them in such an embittered contempt?????

- I LOVE Lucien <3 I like this fox-boy, he is funny and actually treats Feyre like the murderer she is (because yes, she's a murderer, and takes PRIDE in having killed a faerie. Which Feyre has some nerve being hostile to faeries who have been nothing but courteous and gracious with her, and thinking THEY are in the wrong when she was the one that MURDERED their friend).

- why couldn't Tamlin remain more like his beast form, making this more of a BATB retelling? I literally imagine him looking like Legolas but JACKED. This is where my ire of 'BATB but the beast is just a hot guy that growls or has behavioral problems' first began. It's such a shallow version of the story and completely misses the point. And the fact that this is also a retelling of The Ballad of Tam-Lin, a Scottish folktale, and does really nothing that's an homage to the story aside from Tamlin's name, the fact he shape-shifts (albeit BARELY), and there's (poorly written) fae really irks me.

-for once I want SJM to actually describe paintings rather than describing what the painting is of. I don't believe for one minute that SJM did more research into art, style, etc. because for the life of me I couldn't tell you what Feyre's art style is, nor do I really care because her having painting as a hobby is so pointless and has no effect on her character whatsoever.

- SJM is lazy as fuck with her world building. ex.- Lucien saying capital 'h' Hell, as in Christian Hell, when humans are agnostic/atheist with a sparse number of fae-worshiping cults (and were once implied to have had a polytheistic religion) and fae worship the Cauldron and other faerie deities so like.....why not use a few extra braincells to create her own version of Hell rather than using lazy cultural shorthand that, by the logic of this book's world, doesn't work????; underutilizing fae lore so now they're either underdeveloped spectral entities or LOTR elves... BORINGGGG!! GIVE US ACTUAL FAE IN LITERATURE AGAIN!!!! (*applauds Heather Fawcett's Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries and Krystal Sutherland's House of Hollow*)

These are my major thoughts for the first quarter of the book.... See y'all again at 50%!

[astrababyy]

The mating bond is trash. You’d have think that with true mates they’d have some similar interests besides like very bare minimum. But then again Rhysand said so himself, it’s just putting the two physically fit matches to create better and stronger fae. What if Feyre never got all the abilities she got???? Would she still be the best mate choice for Rhys? Some eugenics shit SJM writes and it doesn’t help that she is a white lady. Ick

you're so right anon the mating bond is SO BAD

like??? it's so questionable lmao. think about it too hard, and it really does read like magical eugenics. the two main mating bonds we have from this series (nessian and feysand) have both proven to be incredibly toxic relationships, and the men in these relationships probably never would've given af about the women in them without that bond leading them around.

the thing that probably bothers me the most about these bonds in particular is that there's like this innate attraction to it on the men's end so it ends up being really icky like idk man. it's fucking gross how these things are created lmao.

it is JUST survival of the fittest, and the fae fall for it hook line and sinker 😞

the entire thing with the fae just reeks of eugenics and who’s better bullshit. you can just tell from how it’s worded, yk?

and the way the mating bonds are portrayed doesn’t help matters. out of every example we have in the acotar universe, there is all of ONE healthy, official relationship between mates — and even then, vivienne and kallias barely count since we know like nothing about them lmao. every other example — feysand, tamlin’s parents, rhysand’s parents, nessian, etc. — are all terrible, particularly to the women involved. even a lot of the theory mating pairs are toxic asf lmao, like even the fandom has the unconscious realization that these bonds tend not to be healthy.

it’s just… *waves hands maniacally* bad, anon. that’s all i can really say abt it. it’s such an icky thing to think about, really. imagine forcing two random strangers into such a bond, and then artificially crafting a near-obsessive attraction on the male’s side. and for what? for some shallow wish fulfillment? yk what, there’s nothing wrong with a wish fulfillment book, but please market said book as such instead of being the holier-than-thou gospel of modern feminism. i mean, ffs.

if y'all ever wanna read how bad i am at answering asks, just check out the first draft of this response ���

yeah, that was such an icky line to put in the books — "sometimes the bond is just shoving together the ones that'd make the best offspring". like??

okay, in fairness, a dichotomy of a near-sentient magic with a mindset of survival of the fitness facing off against a faerie society that's evolved past that could be so interesting. but that's a convo for another day.

There's definitely this underlying level of gross implications to it. You'd think it'd be like the people who can help each other become the best versions of themselves. and maybe that could tie into fate and how these mating bonds significantly impact the lives of these pairs and how they later go on to impact the world as a whole. that'd be interesting. if the mating bonds were rare and considered to be like an omen promising great change. actually, wait, that's cool. i like that idea lmao.

i'm getting so side-tracked in this ask im sorry anon lol.

ANYWAY, since it's NOT that, instead it's based off, like you said, what is essentially magical eugenics. there's actually something so dystopian about it. like, even rhysand who is the most powerful high lord is the son of a mated pair. the fact that faeries aren't discriminated based on whether they're a child of a mated pair or not, with the comment rhysand made in mind, is pretty interesting. (it's also probably just a side effect of poor worldbuilding but yk).

going back to what you said about what'd happen if feyre hadn't gotten the high lord powers. i think, if we go in universe and try to make sense of it, it depends on the way the mating bonds work and how much sway they have over fate, etc. if feyre didn't get those powers, would the mating bond use other methods to make her powerful enough to be "worthy" of ending up with rhys? because the bond's already snapped in place at this point lmao so what then? is a genuine concern.

[witchthewriter]

I hope this isn't a weird question but do you have a list of sjm characters that you headcanon as poc? Because I want to see what you think and if they line up with my own. I had never seen manon fan casted as asian, but im in love with it!!

I love this question! I've been re-reading the three series, getting ready for CC3 to come out. I have so many things to say, but I'll leave all that to another post - also thank you for this question, it's awesome. Please comment how you feel/what you think in the comments xx

𝐀𝐂𝐎𝐓𝐀𝐑

First of all, the Bat Boys are NOT white. If I see another person fancast Matthew Daddario as Ariel, I will implode! I know it's difficult getting the perfect cast for a story we all adore.

Another point, the Bat Boys are Illyrian, and they are actual real people. Their usual features are tan skin, brown eyes and brown/black hair.

Also, Lucien - who I have fancasted in the past with Martin Sensmeier. I thought it was an interesting idea for a Native American to have that role.

And Amren is MOST DEFINITELY Asian. Without a doubt. There is no ifs, buts or maybes about it. She is most definitely Asian, and I will take offense if someone thinks otherwise.

Also, I don't want the Archerons to be so conventionally pretty, or petite. That's why Alycia Debnam-Carey is my Feyre, Dagmara Bryzek as Elain and Jessica Brown-Findlay as Nesta. I want women who aren't models!

The Valkyries;l Emerie is described as brown, as she is an Illyrian woman. And I'm completely fine with Gwen being red-haired, freckled and pale.

I'm curious about Mor, her physical features are fine - but her 'power' has yet to be revealed. Because it doesn't make sense???

𝐓𝐎𝐆

There are a lot more cultures in this series than the others. For me, it was so interesting because I'm desperate to know how different countries/continents, experience magic.

Learning about the Ruk's, with Nesryn and Sartaq, that was amazing.

I thought Manon was Asian, I always thought she was?! I mean from that link, that's how I imagined her. Whenever I see fanart where she isn't Asian, I just don't see them as Manon.

I definitely think the Cadre could be more than "tanned from hours of training in the sun." I think Lorcan could be a black man! And I def think Fenrys is half-black. Maybe with a white mother though. I hope I'm not coming off as insensitive! Please tell me if I am, because that isn't my intent.

Honestly, I don't care about what's 'canon,' I think there are way too many white characters in every part of literature. I know about history and when it comes down to fantasy worlds, I think black people should be allowed to indulge themselves as much as they want, without having to think about their awful history and what their culture has gone through.

𝐂𝐂

I actually thought Danika was black, it was a surprise to see fanart and she isn't??? For some reason, it doesn't sit right with me to have a white Danika.

Again, I feel like there aren't enough people of colour. We have little fire sprites, we have a lion-dog pet, a serpent queen, angels, and barely anyone who isn't beyond tan.

I don't think this series has a black character ... other than a few background characters that are only mentioned here and there ... if anyone wants to weigh in - I'm still learning about cc, I forget A LOT.

But in no way has SJM been as horrible as J.K. Rowling. Not only was she racist, but cliche', and a pick me. There was too much pick-me energy among the female characters. I'd like to think that at Hogwarts, the girls stick together no matter what (for me, female friendships are so important. It's sisterhood).

[elevatorladylady]

Critical Reread - ACOTAR Chapter 6

Join me on a reread of A Court of Thorns and Roses

Chapter 6

Feyre gets a bath.

“What wretched power did they possess to make their lands so different from ours, to control the seasons and weather as if they owned them?”

I'd be curious to get more of an exploration on this idea. Are the high lords bending the will of the land? Does the magic balance out with having all of the seasons represented? What would happen if a high lord just didn't want to use their power to create a perpetual season? It would be really interesting if the land itself chose the season, even though we know it's tied to the high lord.

“Only a fool would run with no food, no strength.”

This is what I tell myself every time I try to convince myself to exercise.

“If misfortune forced you to keep company with a faerie, you never drank their wine, never ate their food.”

It's like SJM wants us to know that she does know the lore, but is actively choosing to exclude most of it from the world building.

“This beast was not a man, not a lesser faerie. He was one of the High Fae, one of their ruling nobility: beautiful, lethal, and merciless.”

I still struggle to believe that she knows the difference between any fae races when 95% of info she has on faeries is inaccurate. And really, do humans consider every other kind of fae "lesser faeries" too?

“That promise to my mother, cold and vain as she was, was all I had.”

Again, you'd think the idea of her family dying of starvation would be enough without the asinine promise.

“The Treaty’s summons led me to the mortal. I gave her safe haven.”

Is the Treaty's summons a real thing? If it is, why wouldn't it work to magically protect humans as well? Cause they mention several instances of the fae crossing the wall to attack humans, but humans don't have any recourse for when that happens.

“Perhaps he wore it out of solidarity.”

I looove the idea of Tamlin wearing a mask in solidarity with Lucien. Tam definitely would if Lucien felt self conscious about his scars.

“Well,” the red-haired one seethed, “now we’re stuck with that, thanks to your useless mercy, and you’ve ruined—”

What does it ruin? Am I forgetting something? Isn't actually what they were hoping for by sending Andras out there? Maybe it's all for show?

“While these faeries also looked human, save for their ears, I’d never learned what the High Fae called their servants.”

How can she tell a High Fae from "lesser fae" if they both look human with pointy ears? Are the high fae just prettier? Also, it'd be pretty cool if they had actual names for the different races of fae instead of just calling them all lesser. Feyre still uses the term as high lady and damn does that seem racist as hell.

“A bit fancy, but I didn’t complain when I donned the white shirt, nor when I buttoned the dark blue tunic and ran my hands over the scratchy, golden thread embroidered on the lapels.”

I want some fan art of Feyre in this outfit.

“I was too young to remember much before my father’s downfall.”

Didn't we establish that she was 11 when they lost their wealth? The narrative treats this as though she was 5/6 when she lost their wealth, but there is a huge difference between the two ages.

[shallyne]

SJM Crackshipmonth: Fairytale AU

Imperfections in Faerieland

I saw the Barbie trailer and wanted to write something with that vibe. I did not succeed. So here, have some badly written Feyre x Emerie crack! For @sjmcrackshipmonth

Words: 2,062

TW: none

Feyre is feeling funky and tells her friend about weird occurrences. The only way to find answers is to leave perfect Faerieland and go to the real world.

Feyre drove through the cobblestone streets of the city, waving at the denizens of the city, who waved back at her. Some were admiring her blue corvette, others greeted her with big smiles, she greeted everyone back. When she reached her destination, she took her bag and stepped out of her car, looking around until she found the Café. She smoothed her blue dress and put on the white sunglasses, as it was a very sunny day in Faerieland. Her blue High Heels clicked on the stones beneath her feet, "Emerie!" she called out, waving at her friend.

Emerie looked up from her book, her face lighting up, "Feyre!" she calls back, waving. She ascends the stairs of the Café patio, walking over to the table where her friend sat. "You look stunning!"

"Thank you," she tilted her head, as she looked at her friend. "You look gorgeous."

She did. Emerie was wearing an orange two-piece that hugged her curves beautifully. A golden belt was slung around her waist with matching earrings dangling from her ears. Emerie thanked her, "What have you been up to?"

Feyre's smile wavered only for a second but Emerie noticed, though she didn't ask until the waitress took Feyre's order. "What's wrong?"

Feyre nervously looked around. "Weird things are happening to me lately. I have flat heels, I stumble, I think about death." she leaned closer and whispered, "I burped."

Emerie gasped, "I thought that was only legend! How?"

Feyre shrugged, smiling at the waitress who brought her coffee, thanking her. When she was gone, Feyre whispered, "I felt weird, too."

"Like what?"

"I don't know how to describe it. My eyes were wet and fluid rolled out of them. My doctor didn't see anything out of the ordin-"

"Excuse me, ladies," another person said. They were wearing a black robe that hid their face, inviting themselves on the empty chair.

Emerie looked at Feyre in question, who shrugged. She had no clue who this person was.

"Who are you?" Feyre asked.

"You can call me Suriel," they replied. She couldn't make out their age, their voice sounding young and old all the same. "I overheard your little conversation," Feyre felt embarrassment rising into her cheeks, staining them red. "I'm sorry to interrupt but there is only one way to know what your condition is. You need to go to the real world."

Emerie gasped as Feyre gripped her cup, feeling the blood now draining from her. That must be a mistake. As if Suriel could hear her thoughts, they shook their heads. "That's no mistake, Feyre. I do not make mistakes. Visit the real world and you'll see." without saying goodbye, Suriel stood and walked away.

Emerie shook her head as if she might have imagined it. "What are you going to do?"

Feyre sighed, taking another sip of her coffee.

The next morning she left her house in a better mood. This was a new adventure and it was incredibly exciting, she would find her answers in the real world. She put her luggage in the trunk, keeping her handbag on her passenger seat. She started the motor when Emerie suddenly stood beside her, "I want to come with you!"

"That's so nice but you don't know what's waiting in the real world, Emerie. You should stay in Faerieland."

Emerie shook her head, opened the passenger door, our Feyres bag on the backseat and slid into the seat beside her. "The unknown is why I'm going with you. I can't let you go alone, Feyre. You're my–" she looked sideways at Feyre, "Well, my friend."

"Okay." Feyre said, "I'd love it if you join me." They smiled at each other, then Feyre started the engine and they made their way out of the city, following the street. "Do you know which way it is to the real world?"

"Maybe we should follow the sign that say real world." Emerie suggested.

Feyre giggled, "Sounds like a plan." So they did for almost an hour until she saw something shimmering on the highway. "What is that?"

Emerie leaned forward, tilting her head. "I don't know, maybe it's a rainbow?"

"I don't see a rainbow."

"Maybe we're at the end of the rainbow?"

They were both silent for a few heartbeats, then nodded. "Yes, that must be it."

They didn't discuss it anymore as Feyre stepped on the gas, driving through the shimmering wall. But as they did, the world changed around them. The wheel under Feyre's hand disappeared, the seat beneath her and then the solid ground of her car was gone and she found herself in the air before she slammed on the hard ground.

"Ouch." Feyre hissed, rubbing her back. She looked behind her, where Emerie sat confused. She stood, helping Emerie up and then retrieving her bag that was discarded a few feet away. Her corvette and the rest of her luggage was gone. Emerie and Feyre looked around, they stood in a little alley that led to nowhere. Just a brick wall. But on the other side, there were cars and people.

Emerie linked her arm with Feyres as they stepped forward into the sunny street. This was not Faerieland. The streets were dirtier, everything was so much more chaotic and full and the people wore different clothes. In Faerieland everyone was impeccably dressed but here, they didn't mind what they wore as it seemed. Someone walked into Feyre, making both Feyre and Emerie stumbling to the side. "Walk!" the man scolded, stomping away.

"What is going on with him?" Emerie asked, throwing her dark braid over her shoulder. They linked their arms again and followed the current of people, walking down path by path, past Cafés, Restaurants, some sorts of clubs with big, bright lights until they reached open, black gates. "City Park." Emerie read.

"Maybe they have ducks!" Feyre said. Emeries face lit up, "Lead the way!"

They followed a gravel path that was lined with benches and trees. On one bench sat an older lady, twisting her face, fluid on her face. Feyre gasped excitedly when she realized, "That's what I did! I also had leaking fluid on my face!"

"Should we ask her?" Emerie asked.

Feyre straightened, walking towards the lady. "Excuse me?" She looked up. "What are you doing?"

"What?"

"With your face?"

The lady touched her face, "Do you mean crying?"

Feyre grinned at Emerie, "Yes! I think. Is that why there is water running down your face?"

The lady huffed and walked away, without an answer. Crying. At least Feyre had a name for it now, although she didn't know what it meant. They sat down on the bench where the lady just sat. "I have a term for it now but I still don't know what it means."

Emerie sighed, patting her shoulder as she looked around. "Hey, excuse me!" she said to a man that walked by. He stopped and looked at them, his hazel eyes wandering between the two of the girls. "Can I ask you something?"

"What?" he asked, hiding his hands in the pockets of his jacket. Feyre only got a glimpse of them but she saw the scars.

"What's crying?"

The man looked confused. "Don't you know what crying is?"

"No." They answered in unison.

"Crying is pretty much just shedding tears in response to an emotional state. Or pain." he answered.

"Emotions?"

"Sadness, anger, happiness." he told them.

"Happiness! I know that one." They laughed but the man looked at them as if they had grown two heads.

He looked like he was about to say something when another voice called, "You bastard! I told you to wait!"

"Cassian found your redbull, that's what took so long." another voice sounded.

Two men with a similar skin tone and hair color as the other joined them, smiling brightly. "Hey!" said the one with the shoulder length hair. "You know him?"

"They just had a question." the first answered.

"We have another!" Feyre said as she realized it got darker. "Do you know we can spend the night?"

"We're on our way to our hotel. They should have a free room, you can join us. If you want." the one with the blue eyes said.

Emerie and Feyre looked at each other, then nodded. They followed the three men out of the park, crossing a few streets until they walked into a building that looked like it was so tall that it scratched the sky. They led Feyre and Emerie to a counter, where a lady dressed in black greeted them. Martina, said her nametag. "Hello! We need a room for the night, please." Feyre said.

"Of course." the woman behind the counter said, typing on a keyboard. "There is only one room free at the moment. A suite with a double bed."

"That's fine!" Feyre said.

"That would be 400$ for one night," the woman told them. "We will list other costs, like room service or what you take from the mini fridge in your room from your bill." Feyre nodded as she dug in her handbag to get her money. "How would you like to pay?"

"Cash!" Feyre smiled, extending the blue cash notes from Faerieland.

"Ma'am, is that monopoly money?"

"What is monopoly?" Emerie asked.

The man from before, with the blue eyes, extended a card to the woman. "Put everything on this card." She smiled gratefully and took it.

She then proceeded to tell them their room number but when they reached the elevators, they didn't know how to get to their room. "One last question," Feyre said to the boys behind them.

The one with the shoulder length hair chuckled. "Sure." he said, pressing a button. "I'm Cassian, by the way. These are my brothers Rhys and Azriel."

The former was the one with the striking blue eyes and the letter was the one with the scarred hands. "I'm Feyre." she said.

"I'm Emerie." her friend said.

On their way to the room, they told Feyre and Emerie that they were in town because they were expanding their nightclub. When they asked Emerie and Feyre where they are from, they both answered "Faerieland!" in unison. Silence spread between them as the men exchanged looks.

"Are you two dating?" Cassian asked.

"No!" Feyre blurted, feeling her whole face heating, which seemed to amuse them. "We're– I– We're nor– We're not dating!"

"Alright." Cassian said, raising his hands in defense. As promised they walked them to their room, their key working perfectly.

"Well, if you need a job," Rhys gave Feyre and Emerie both a little card with a name and a number on it. "Just give me a call. And do me a favor, please don't follow three strange men anymore."

Feyre only nodded perplexed as they turned around and left. When they entered the room, and Feyre closed the door behind her, Emerie whirled to Feyre. "Why were you so defensive when they asked if we are dating?"

Feyre blinked in surprise. "I'm sorry." she said quietly as she spied the hurt in Emeries eyes. "I didn't want to hurt you."

"Well, you did." she said, putting her hands on her waist. "Did I misinterpret the signs? Weren't you flirting? Did you miss my flirting?"

"No, you didn't misinterpret anything, I was flirting." Feyre confessed.

"But?"

"But we didn't really move forward in that relationship so I thought you weren't interested." Feyre said, stepping closer.

"Oh Feyre," she breathed. "I was always interested in you, that never changed."

Emerie clutched Feyre's hand as Feyre hopped from foot to foot, clutching her hand back. It took them a while to be able to navigate in this world without looking like complete aliens but when they figured out they wouldn't come far without money, they called Rhys. He stayed true to his word, so that's how Feyre and Emerie ended up in his new club, working as waitresses. It was opening day, the crowd already waiting outside. "I don't know how often I can be with you tonight, but I'll see you after the shift at the latest." Emerie told her as they waited for Rhys to hold his speech before opening the doors.

"Of course," Feyre kissed her girlfriend. "Have fun, I love you."

"I love you, too." she said as Rhys entered the room at last.

Taglist: @timesconvert

[sudeinfantasyland]

Rantings. -3-

I never ever liked how folks made Nicasia out to be a fucking Black woman .

Just because YES, Black merfolks DO be existing, it seems SOO fucking weirdsss AF to me she's a fucking Black girl in fanarts??

And THENNN they'll be having Jude's fucking LATINA ASS , being a WHITE?!

It is NOT even a fucking thing on "no Latine cannot be pale!" --> it's LITERALLY telling that folks' immediate skin colourings for characters is ... Basically white FMC & a bad bitchy character is a Black persons.... ?? 🤨🤨

Like IKK Nicasia's fucking skin colour is apparently mentioned some place else , but like LOL, the way folks flocking down onto the "Ah yes I imagined her to be Black" is sooo funny to me?? D;

It has been an extremely COMMON theme throughout the media during the past decades !! 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

I feels like folks who haven't consumed enough harmful tropes / stereotypes educational posts / materials, will find this shit offensives bruh lol. 💀🥴

WHYYY is yo fucking Fantasy assed FMC default white tho, bitch?? Literally so confused on it??

Even IF Holly Black didn't make the Card Games & hire Frostbite Studios to make her characters--

Or had mentioned that YES, in fact Jude IS LATINE--

Why're yous lots having Jude be a WHITEE GIRLL?? 💀🥴 I'm really curious lol?? 💀🤦🏻‍♀️🤨

Anyways, I've been meaning to make a post on it for ages lmaoo~~ Dx

Anddd now I have ended up making it like this lol. 💀🤦🏻‍♀️🥴🤷🏻‍♀️🙄😤 I can't be bothered to go over what I wrote but I feels like I'm making SOME senses here!! -3- 🔥🔥

And I just wanna add on here:

Although I didn't read Crescent City (becuz I ain't reading racist SJM's books)--

I came across Bryce who's a character. Some fucker of an artist legit had the audacity to make a fan art of the girl who's clearly meant to be chubby (?) basically not slim enough to do ballet. Bitch did a full blown skinny girl who got some hips but looks like she'll be perfectly fine in ballet?? 💀🤦🏻‍♀️😤🙄🤷🏻‍♀️ ANDD then the audacity's in the artist using the line how Bryce isn't the correct size to do ballet or whatever . 🫠 Tell me ya don't know jack fucking SHIT about Fatphobia & how fat people are treated like without telling me .

I'm just so super angry 🤣💀🤷🏻‍♀️🫠🖕🏼 Cuz if I made my characters public & bitches mess up on their bodies ESP when it's extremely obviiii that their body shape & size is shatttt on ALLL over-- but you make her into some kind of a skinny but slightly "curvy" person??

Anyways , I'm so fucking annoyed at folks' "it's up to the readers' interpretation"-- CUZ even if it's right there on the pages , humans still mess shit up . Lol. :'3 ahhh~

Oky bye end of rantings . 💀🤦🏻‍♀️🪦🖕🏼🫠🔥🔥🔥

[azrielsbreedingkink]

I never said SJM wasn’t problematic. In fact, I recently posted about how her characterization of the Illyrians as brutish misogynists who do nothing but kill was incredibly problematic as they are the biggest group of POC (we know about) in ACOTAR.

The CoN however ARE racists. They hate Rhysand because he is half Illyrian, and his court is made of not only Illyrian “brutes” but of women. These are people who nailed 3 spikes into their daughter’s body because she dared to not only lose her virginity but she did so WITH an Illyrian.

Context is also important. Keir and those in the CoN do not want to go to Velaris because they’re trapped under a mountain. They want to go BECAUSE they know what that place means to Mor. They want to try and sully it to punish her. They are not forced to stay in the CoN at all times, they have never been to Velaris because NO ONE KNEW IT EXISTED. That was in place long before Rhysand was born.

Suggesting a poc is “segregating” a court full of racist white people is DEEPLY problematic. Jim Crow was a way of hitting back at the rights and freedoms of black Americans after emancipation. On top of these laws, white people would routinely lynch black Americans to maintain control. A representative in the south even called for the lynching of hundreds of Black Americans after Theodore Roosevelt invited Booker T Washington to the White House so they would “know their place again”. You’re really going to tell me that these two groups of people (one of whom is FICTIONAL) suffer in a way that is remotely similar???

Don’t use Sarah as a scapegoat of “calling her out on her racism”. You can do so without comparing the real life pain and suffering of black Americans to fictional white people. It does nothing but cheapen history, and does not actually help anyone. Especially when someone black has already told you to not do so.

So, apparently I am "weaponizing Jim Crow to encourage hatred for a *possibly* POC character. "

I'm going to need yall to touch grass.

Every single character was born through a racist, zionist white woman's fever dream. They are not real POCs if they were written by a white woman. Honestly thought we all understood that.

Also, SJM has never confirmed ANY of the characters' races, but what has she said? Rhysand is based on her husband. Look up a picture of him, I'll wait.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPREcFFhA/

[kirschenseeds]

I have so many issues with ACOTAR but what bothers me the most is the wings thing.

It's canon that Illyrians are somewhat POC. Everyone literally makes fun of their wings e.i overgrown bat (which is their most distinctive feature), everyone sees them as backward and savages, everyone has prejudice against them, their rulers only care about them as war tools. I mean, they are the text book example of what an indigenous community looks like to every white person. They are the stereotype.

And then there's fucking Feyre donning wings—which by all means and purposes, she has no right to.

This so fucking similar with artists today using spray tan to look like POC (remember the shadow and bone inej issue?), or big clothing lines inappropriating POC culture and fashion for money, or people using fucking chopsticks as hair accessories, or people inappropriating POC in general.

Feyre literally did nothing for these people. Her saving Prythian from Amarantha did nothing for Illyrians. God, she even gave a blowjob while Illyrians are dying wtf. She banged over the skies with her mate after a fucking war.

Think of every Illyrian women who will see her flying. The horror and anger. The self-pity and rage.

Here is a child high lady who did nothing for Illyrian females donning their wings while harboring stereotyped bigotry against their culture.

Did you all read Feyre making a foundation or charity work for Illyrian females?

Building a safe space for Illyrian females? Especially those who were abused, raped, clipped?

Did she ever authored a law for Illyrian females? Or even tried researching about how she can help them?

Did you all see her visit Illyria atleast once, understanding their culture, tradition, beliefs?

Did she ever offered to open a school for Illyrian females so they can learn how to read and write?

No. No. No. No. And no.

Because Feyre lives off with what her husband and his friends tell her, who obviously has great prejudice against Illyrian culture. Unfortunately, her husband and his friends are more interested in creating an army of female warriors than creating a better environment for Illyrian females.

As a POC whose culture and tradition has been looked down upon, torn apart, and erased by white people pretending to be saviours, as a woman of color who sees white people promoting feminism not inclusive for WOC, as a child who watched as her culture was appropriated over and over again—this fucking hurts.

[tamlinsimp]

Summer Court Visit

Rhysand wrote a letter to the HL of Summer Court and got honored with an invitation as a response. Given the rebuilding, healing, and tension from UTM, you would think Rhysand would approach other HLs in a delicate manner. So, here he was pretending he wanted to form some civility w/Summer, only with the actual goal of Feyre stealing the book. Tarquin eventually asked Feyre what her position was in Rhysand’s Court. The conversation led to Cresseida stating that it was an ACTUAL LAW in Prythian to not steal a HL’s bride or wife,  “What a relief, then,” Cresseida said, sipping from her white wine before cracking a large crab claw, pink and white and orange. “To know we are not harboring a stolen bride--and that we need not bother returning her to her master, as the law demands. And as any wise person might do, to keep trouble from their doorstep.” Amren had done utterly still.  “I left of my own free will,” I said. “And no one is my master.” Cresseida shrugged. “Think that all you want, lady, but the law is the law. You are--were his bride. Swearing fealty to another High Lord does not change that. So it is a very good thing that he respects your decisions. Otherwise, all it would take would be one letter from him to Tarquin, requesting your return, and we would have to obey. Or risk war ourselves.”  Here is incompetent Rhysand (yes, at this very moment, he’s made multiple idiotic decisions as a HL that makes him incompetent) bringing in another HL’s bride, without any sort of communication or confirmation from Tamlin that he understood Feyre decided to leave for good, to another court -- breaking a law that actually existed in Prythian. And Cassian warned him of this, “Feyre, though. It’s one thing to have her here--even when everyone knows it. It’s another to bring her to a different court, and introduce her as a member of our own.” Why? Why didn’t Rhysand listen to his general who seem to have thought about repurcussions of bringing Feyre to Summer? Oh, that’s right. It’s because 1.) he needed to use Feyre to earn Tarquin’s trust and get him to open up about the whereabouts of the book, and 2.) he needed to use her to find and steal the book. Like, why doesn’t he explain how dire the situation is, ask Tarquin for the book, and go from there to prevent as much conflict as possible without complicating foreign relations? You know, act like an actual HL/political figure w/diplomacy. Why doesn’t he give Tarquin a choice? Is it the possibility of him saying no that initiated a forceful and deceitful method then? Sounds just like how he supposedly gave the Mortal Queens a choice to work with them, only to have Azriel find a way to infiltrate them before they could even make a decision. 

And then, we have Rhysand threatening to kill anybody who informs Tamlin of him bringing Feyre to Summer Court,  “We all made sacrifices,” Rhysand said, the icy boredhom now shifting into something razor-sharp. “And you now sit at this table with your family because of the ones Feyre made. So you will forgive me, Tarquin, if I tell your princess that if she sends work to Tamlin, or if any of your people try to bring her to him, their lives will be forfeit.”

WUT. First, all of them are free because Tamlin killed Amarantha. Again, Feyre came with one intention and that was to free Tamlin. Not to save all of Prythian, just Tamlin and his court. I cannot stand how the IC continuously make it seem like Feyre wanted to save all of Prythian. They also use this to sway other HLs to favor their decisions. Next, now he’s telling them to break a law that HLs have gone to war for? I know he didn’t go there with the intention of actually building a good relationship with Tarquin, but if I were Tarquin, I would have kicked him and his d/amn posse out after this. How does he get away with these? If SJM followed the rule of her own story, Rhysand would face consequences. He broke several laws by now, running around doing whatever the f he wanted, but he doesn’t. And don’t even get me started with well he broke the mysoginistic laws of Prythian by making her High Lady when there has never been one, but what of the illyrian women and those who are born as dreamers in Hewn City?  I’ve had people argue that he cannot do anything about them because of some “law” well Rhysand is breaking every other law anyway, so start there. Break that ancient law for them. Break them when it actually matters to break them. Do something for the oppressed citizens in your court that you oversee.  The story not only ignores his reckless and foolish decisions, it uses them to vilify Tamlin later on when he aligns w/Hybern to ****save SC from bloodshed**** and get Feyre back. You mean to tell me, this whole time, he could have rallied all the other courts to go to war against the NC to get Feyre back? Imagine that.