#anti-t0g

[spaceshipkat]

I used to like t0g as a teen but since becoming an adult i've discovered the wide world of actual diverse high fantasy adult novels and reading through your anti sjm tag has been a delight. I'm cleaning out a lot of my older books and t0g is going so I can free up shelf space. Do you have any recs for better books?

i'm glad you've enjoyed looking through the tag!! and i definitely have some recs for you. they're not tog-esque, but they're fantasy i've recently read or want to read, or have seen other people i trust enjoy:

the longest autumn

the book of gothel

silver under nightfall

nettle & bone

juniper & thorn

the unspoken name

black sun

the salt grows heavy

kaikeyi

inanna

deep as the sky, red as the sea

the councilor

a dowry of blood

to cage a god

witch king

i definitely recommend looking up trigger warnings for all of the above, since i know some of them tackle tough subjects

#ask #anonymous #books #book recs

[eldestwrites]

So, I’ve named that T0G AU that I’m writing now that exams are winding down. Expect to hear more rants! Hopefully the first chapter will be up next week, but we’ll see how that goes. 

In any case, I’m a fan of the new first line:

Celeana Sardothien knew she wasn’t going to die because there was a hood over her head. 

#Mine #Text #anti-t0g #fic stuff #COCB

[nemuri-ibarahime]

Her corset—the stupid, cursed thing—pushed on her ribs so hard that the breath was sucked from her. This was why she mostly preferred tunics and pants. It was hard to breathe with the corset crushing her ribs. She had difficulty focusing on his face as she breathed in and out, in and out. She hated corsets. She hated the king. She hated glass castles.

Well, Sarah has no idea of how corsets work, look or do. They were just acient bras. As an historical nerd I also want to say this: SHE IS IN THE EQUIVALENT OF THE MIDDLE AGES, SHE SHOULDNT BE EVEN WEARING A CORSET. Maybe stays or a bodice...Or that tunic I don’t remember the name of...BUT NEVER, NEVER, NEVER A CORSET.

#Anti sjm #anti rowan #anti aelin #anti celaena #anti chaol #anti dorian #anti tog #anti t0g #anti acotar #Historical acurrate undergarments #Nemu is mad #meme #Sarah does no research #anti sarah j maas

[val-valkyrie]

I know ac0tar discourse is dead but I had a dream where ac0tar wasn’t such a bad series and I need to talk about it before I forget!

So leave the first two books mostly as they are (except the ending) but change ac0war to make riceman the villain :)

As faerug gets more involved in war practice she starts to notice that the war against hybern doesn’t really make any sense, she’s just heard from rice that they’re evil and need to be stopped but are they? Every time she asks what they’ve done riceman comes up with more lies or changes the topic which makes faerug more suspicious.

The inner circle follows rice blindly but she manages to get them to doubt too. He seems to be more excited about war, it’s almost like he wants more territory for himself! Faerug then starts to realize how great of a manipulator he’s been, starting from the moment they first meet, when he twisted her broken arm etc...

Turns out the reason why riceman was acting all suspicious at the end of book 1 is because he was able to feel all of faerug’s new powers and innicitaly he felt threatened by them. He wasn’t gonna let one of his biggest enemies have that power with him! That’s why he started to woo faerug and created all of that romance, and when he had her he was like wow perfect opportunity to get rid of hybern!

In the end the inner circle joins faerug’s side and beat the shit out of riceman. So I guess faerug learned the same lesson twice: powerful fae men ain’t shit

#anti sjm #also had a t0g improvement dream in the same dream #but it was just all the powerful characters (alein r0wan manon aedion lysandra etc...) #fighting like smash bros in a battle for the throne of glass which....okay???

[thelonlierversionofyou]

#Anti sjm #anti sarah j maas #t0g #ac0tr #feyrug #riceand #rowboat #alien #sjm said toxic relationship rights

[battlestar-royco]

It’s really annoying when a booktuber throws shade at sjj/m in a random video and say how they don’t like the direction the books are going in, how alien is getting really unlikable.... but when you go see the video on the books its a huge gush fest where there are no negatives.

Yes! This is a huge reason why I stopped watching b00ktube. All the mainstream BTers clearly lie through their teeth about certain books, but it’s especially noticeable when they talk about SJ/M because her writing can no longer hold the minimum water it once held in the T0G/C0M era. I really can’t stand when these same BTers say something like “I’m aware of the problematic issues in these books” or “There were a lot of missed opportunities for diversity in this book :(” or “The writing was a bit OOC at times” but then proceed to praise SJ/M through the roof. They’re saying that for woke points but it just indicates that they’re aware that some stuff in the books are wrong but they don’t want to talk about it, in typical performative privileged ally fashion. Plus, it simply makes them a bad reviewer. Professional criticism isn’t saying “Some things about this book could have been done better :/” and then skimming over those things just to talk about the positives. It’s giving equal/equitable weight to the positives and negatives so that prospective viewers/readers can know what they’re getting into and share their opinions. I totally understand that some BTers don’t like making negative reviews, and that the decision to only make positive reviews has never had anything to do with sponsorships or promoting certain authors. But if they don’t want to say negative things about SJ/M, they just shouldn’t review her. It’s not fair to their viewers that they get paid off by publishers just so more people can be exposed to influencers’ fake positive opinions and buy more of SJ/M’s books. Plus it’s super privileged of them to overlook the truly horrible things SJ/M has done to her minoritized characters and fans so she can sell more books and any criticism of her books can be further invalidated. I really abhor that kind of behavior.

#anti sjm #anti booktube #i think an anon on kat's blog mentioned that mess has all the big bters in her pocket #and it REALLY REALLY shows #there's not one negative or neutral opinion to be seen on any of the top channels with more than like 25k subs #and many of them have done interviews with her and they did t0d as the b00ksplosion book a couple months ago #and christine in the beginning of her k0a video was like basically quoting sj/m's newsletter saying how t0d is 'definitely necessary' to rea #we get it you're salty that your ableist and racist book didn't make the nyt like all the other t0g books sj/m just admit it and go

[calliophes]

sj/m makes me wish i was jared, 19

#i thought t0g and c0m were fun and silly #but it all went downhill from there #anti sjm

[terenswhore]

I want to get drunk tonight and read T0G and snark about it

#5 notes and i’ll do it lmao #I don’t have K/oA but I have T0G to Q0S #anti sjm #anti tog #potatotalks

[the-prima-vista]

Honestly didn't think I could hate something more than I hated the later seasons of OUAT, but then I reread some of SJMs books and I realised I was wrong.

#anti sjm #i'd skimmed through the T0G series and AC0TAR series on holiday a few years ago and enjoyed them #but then when i sat and read them properly before AC0WAR and E0S came out #I couldn't even finish the books because I hated all the characters and all the relationships so much #all the main characters are awful #and don't get me started on r/hysand and r/owaelin #or n/essian

[acourtofpleasejuststop]

Anti: *points out piles of evidence demonstrating SJM's shitty diversity, racism, homophobia, glorification of toxic relationships*

Stan: suddenly I can't read, I don't know

#I'm out folks #anti sjm #anti SJMess #anti ac0tar anti t0g

[middlemarchs]

I love how t0g stans love shitting on chaol for being "useless" as if rowboner whiteporn's only purpose in the books isn't to be alien's male fae shagger

#I hate t0g stans lmao #anti rowan whitethorn #anti tog #anti sjm #my posts

[spaceshipkat]

Hi, I’ve been a silent lurker for a while but decided to hop in here to express my thoughts. First of all, I’d like to thank you for creating this whole blog and introducing me to #anti sjm. You truly opened my eyes to just how much her writing sucks and is toxic. As a 19-year-old writer of fantasy who hopes to be published one day, you’re blog also inspires me and helps me with the knowledge of the publishing industry. So thank you! And now to my ask/thoughts. So, we all know that SJM is obsessed with Rhysand and The Black Jewel trilogy was one of her inspirations, ahem, more like plagiarism inspo. Anyway, recently I’ve picked up the Black Jewels trilogy and couldn’t finish it, it was far too boring. I did notice LOTS of similarities between acotar and the trilogy. Names like Prythian and Surreal are all direct SJM’s copies of the trilogy, the names are the same. But a thought popped into my head and then I realized that the true protagonist of acotar is riceman and not feyrug. Why? Because the black jewels have a protagonist who isn’t even a pov character, she just exists as a protagonist from other pov’s eyes. But is the main protagonist. And then I realized that feurug doesn’t even have a prominent role in acotar, it’s all about riceman and his accomplishments. Even in the first book, feyrug wouldn’t’ve even made it without him. Feyrug just exists as a “ subject” to even more glorify riceman and not as an independent entity. And if it’s true, it’s honestly disgusting. This woman is no feminist, if anything she’s a misogynist. And with her self-inserts( I still think that feyrug and alien are sjm herself and rowboat, especially riceman are her husband) she doesn’t even deserve to be an author, a position that a lot of us wished we had. And unlike her, we try to write to the best of our abilities. Sorry about my long ramble, truly. But what do you think?

ah hi anon! i'm sorry for how long this ask sat in my inbox. it's been a rough couple months.

and yeah, ac0tar is a perfect case study of what sj///m actually values and considers important. even CCity is, to some extent, though i don't think sj///m actually cares for that (or t0g) as much as she does ac0tar. ac0tar (specifically ac0maf) is what made her a Big Name in fantasy publishing, unfortunately, and is why she's begun writing what i call the fae frenzy. she knows what'll make money, so she writes that specifically to make money, not for the love of writing. and blooms just kisses her ass about it.

but like authors such as lindsey ellis or stephanie meyer, i don't think sj///m will ever face the actual consequences she really needs to.

#ask #anonymous #anti sjm

[lilytriestoexist]

aeIin gaIathynius, queen of terra/sen colonialism

i'm sure countless other (and far superior) antis have already dissected this disgusting section but i'm tired and full of rage so let's get started.

[all the excerpts are italicised and taken from Empire of Storms by Sarah J. Ma/as, pages 1083-1085 (at least, in my ebook)]

“You could, you know,” R0wan said, his tattoo stark in the lantern light. “Take it [the world] for yourself. Take it all. Use Maeve’s bullshit maneuvers against her. Make good on that promise.”

hmm just because you can doesn't mean you should! though i suppose i can cut him a tiny amount of slack as he's been in doraneIIe/in maeve's service his whole life and doesn't really understand the consequences of colonialism, which the people of eriIea were well acquainted with due to adarIan's imperialism. still though, not off to a great start from r0wan.

“There was no judgment. Only frank calculation and contemplation. “And would you join me if I did? If I turned conqueror?”

“You would unify, not pillage and burn. And yes—to whatever end.”

that...is such an idealised take on colonialism. i get that he hasn't experienced it first-hand and probably doesn't understand the ramifications of greedy imperialist nations trying to 'unify' countries that never asked to be unified and don't want to be unified, but come on. does r0wan/sarah think the other eriIean nations would bow down and kiss aeIin's feet if she strutted up to them and demanded they join her empire? that's not realistic at all. these are independent nations with divergent cultures; they wouldn't just throw their lot in with terra/sen. there'd be fighting and conflict, and since aeIin's still got some of her fire gift, there'd be burning. though sarah probably would like to think that aeIin's just that good of a queen they'd be eager to be vassalised.

also, 'to whatever end', especially in this content, bothers me a lot. i know it's meant to be romantic and a declaration of love and devotion, but you shouldn't just follow and agree with your significant other blindly? if they mess up or say something harmful you should call them out on their mistakes. it's how people grow. validating their bad behaviour no matter what out of so-called love isn't emblematic of a healthy supportive relationship! if your partner suggests colonising other nations please don't go along with it!

He nodded. “But if you could … would you?”

For a heartbeat, she could see it—see her face, carved into statues in kingdoms so far away they did not even know Terrasen existed. A living god—Mala’s heir and conqueror of the known world. She would bring music and books and culture, wipe out the corruption festering in corners of the earth …

not only is this gross, this is also wildly inconsistent with the trauma she's faced in the past. first of all, this is such blatant idealisation and glorification of colonialism that i want to throw my phone at the wall. the fact that aeIin is even entertaining this idea, even justifying it in her head, is disgusting. music and books and culture? bitch, they already have their own music and books and culture. they're civilised nations, not poor barbaric cave dwellers just begging for their white saviour to come and show them the light. this is exactly the kind of mindset that led to western imperialism - white people thinking that other countries need to be westernised in order to be successful and civilised, as if they didn't already have rich, ancient culture and history that was ignored in favour of spreading western ideals and western power.

and more than that, as i saw another anti elaborate wonderfully on (i can't recall the @ but it was very great and articulate - edit: it was @bleeding-star-heart) aeIin was herself a victim of adarIan's imperialism. the king of adarIan wiped out terra/sen's royal family apart from her and basically took control of the country, bringing it into his adarIanian empire. all the trauma in her life happened as a result of adarIan's imperialism and empire-building. so why is she entertaining the idea of becoming a conqueror herself? it doesn't make sense and it doesn't add up with what's happened in her past. i am an avid disliker of aeIin but if her characterisation was consistent she would abhor colonialism (she's arrogant and powerful but with everything she's suffered leading back to colonialism it's not right for her to buy into it).

She said softly, “Not now.”

“But later?”

“Perhaps if being queen bores me … I’ll think about making myself empress. To give my offspring not one kingdom to inherit, but as many as the stars.”

what's with this goddamn romanticism of colonialism?? 'as many [kingdoms] as the stars' FUCK. OFF. @ sarah don't use pretty flowery prose to try and paint colonialism as some sort of gift for rowaeIin's future super special progeny. the word choice is deliberating pushing a pro-imperialism narrative and it's so utterly disgusting. conquering other countries isn't cute!! building an empire for no reason other than your own greed is not cute!!!

There was no harm in saying it, anyway. In thinking about it, stupid and useless as it was. Even if wondering about the possibilities … perhaps it made her no better than Maeve or Erawan.

at least she fucking admits it lol.

also, i'm editing this to add that this scene could've been a great scene to highlight greed and arrogance as aeIin's flaws. this discussion of colonialism could've been used to characterise and develop aeIin. but it's a shit scene because sarah can't stand her precious aeIin having flaws so she, through r0wan, validates and justifies the idea of empress aeIin instead of calling out imperialism and allowing her protagonist to have meaningful flaws. also, this is the woman we're expected to root for to become queen of terra/sen. and at the end of the series she does become queen. my thoughts would be different if t0g had subverted the lost heir trope and ended with aeIin recognising she isn't prepared to be queen and giving up her claim to the throne, but it didn't, and so this scene isn't a character building, ending hinting scene, but instead a useless at best, grossly pro-imperialism at worst scene.

#long post #anti tog #anti sjm #anti aelin #anti aelin galathynius #anti rowan #anti rowan whitethorn #anti rowaelin #anti colonialism #anti imperialism

[nemuri-ibarahime]

Reading Throne of Glass (Chapter 5)

Sardina moves a lock of hair out of her face while thinking about how to kill Chaol, but she is not so stupid (as far as we know) to try it with all the Royal guard there.

They start cooking and the dogs lie down at Sardina's feet. Sardina receives food.

Sarah gives us a lot of purple prose and more exposition, we learn that Sardina was rescued Arobynn Hamel (The king of assassins) and that the country has been razed by the conquest of the king. Apparently elves and fairies (fae?) have been eradicated.

Celaena had lied, and Chaol had noticed. She knew many things about that forest; She knew that once magical beings inhabited it: gnomes, goblins, nymphs and more beings than anyone could tell or remember. Their cousins, larger and human-like, ruled them all: the immortal fae (fairie), true natives of the continent and the oldest beings in Erilea.

The king is racist (?) and hates the Faeric beings, who had to flee. They mention that Celaena has magic blood or something.

Off topic, being relatives would have worked better with Feirugh and Rowboat, since in the original story Belle and The Beast are cousins ​​and Belle is the daughter of a fairy and the king and a changeling ... But I better not give Sarah ideas!

During the night, Sardina is visited by a faeric being, probably an gnome.

Winter comes as they continue their journey. The prince separates himself from the others, and what does Sardina think? How handsome he is. He is admiring the glass castle, and orders that they bring Sardina to see it too.

... We learned that Sardina, because she is our protagonist, was treated worse than anyone in the mine. They even ... cut her hair!

During the night, Sardina has a flashback and what appears to be a panic attack ...And Dorian think she is pretty?

She seemed beautiful, although somewhat strange and resentful. Her beauty was related to the way her eyes lit up when she discovered something beautiful in the landscape. Dorian could not understand. (...) In spite of everything, the image pursued him in dreams throughout the night: a beautiful girl who looked at the sky and a group of stars that stared back.

I want to commit the die. This finishes the fifth chapter of T0G.

#anti rowan #anti aelin #anti sarah j maas #anti sjm #anti throne of glass #anti tog #anti t0g

[acourtofkinksandstraightpeople]

Unpopular opinion but sometimes the anti t0g tag seems like a ship war. I've only read the first two books (bad enough tbh) & learned about all the ships through tumblr, so maybe I'm missing the sensation of reading it on paper but it bothers me how some posts read like "you suck & you're homophobic bc you don't ship D0ri@n & Ch@0l". Not every post has to be a meta analysis, sure, & I get how fucked it is when people excuse abusive behavior but can we please not attack people over who they ship?

oh yeah i totally agree with you. tbh i’m not on the anti t0g tag much but i really don’t think the tag should be about attacking people for what they ship especially when it’s a ship like d0rian and cha0l. 

it is in no way homophobic to not ship them because sjmess made it really hard to. they’re not written to be a couple in fact she tried to drive them apart when she realised people did ship them. so it requires a lot of your own imagination and extrapolation. further, i’m not of the view that not shipping one lgbt ship is homophobic, if you can’t see the chemistry that’s not on you, that’s on the writer or just something of personal preference. 

it only becomes problematic when people refuse to accept any lgbt ships and have no good reasons for doing so and even worse when people actively shit on ships that are lgbt just because of that and use weak-ass excuses to do so. 

[battlestar-royco]

well and good:

loving sjm’s books

loving sjm’s books despite/in acknowledgement of their flaws

loving sjm’s books in your own fandom space

identifying with the characters in sjm’s books

requesting that antis stay out of fan tags if their post is tagged incorrectly

bad:

loving sjm’s books and refusing to acknowledge their flaws

attacking people who want to discuss said flaws

attacking people who have been hurt by the books with reductive, hollow arguments

expecting sjm’s representation to work well for everyone

invading spaces meant for critique of the books

reducing everyone who criticizes the books to “bullies” and “haters”

#anti sjm #anti sjm fandom #the whole 'you should promote better books if you dislike t0g!!1!' argument is not the best #because if we don't acknowledge the flaws in current books how will future writers know how to improve??? #how will readers know that the books are incredibly problematic? #and nothing is ever unproblematic! #also the stan just COMPLETELY ignored the fact that all antis have promoted other books and shows they find better than sjm's scheisse