#classism in acotar

[whitedemon-ladydeath]

still thinking about how often tamlin gets made fun of for playing the fiddle. it's legit just a violin, the only real difference is the kind of music played on it and fiddle music is usually associated with the poor or working folks

actually it stands to reason, with how close Tamlin is to his people, that he actually learned fiddle music FROM the poorer and working folks. It's regular everyday """violin""" music for the average person, it just goes by a different name

seeing ppl making fun of Tamlin playing the fiddle is weird. sure I suppose it can be "silly" or "cringy" I guess but it still doesn't sit well. That music is heavily inspired in Appalachia where a decent amount came from scottish and Irish descent

you can say "its not that deep" all you want but considering how SJM writes class and class traitors and the way she's from a yt suburbia in New York who went to a fancy private college

and then proceeded to have her raging violent abusive™️ ex™️ boyfriend™️ play the fiddle, a keystone, historical instrument of poor folks

so like. i dunno. imagine making fun of poor ppl music. which tbh unsurprising in this Fandom

@kateprincessofbluewhales @achaotichuman @bookishfeylin

#a court of thorns and roses #acotar #sjm critical #anti sjm #tamlin #classism in acotar

[rosenecklaces]

sorry can't get behind the "Autumn Court must be so fun why can't we read about it" sentiment because 1. There's no sexy people they don't even let women out their cages 2. misogyny hating the poor straight men all around upon ye 3. Day court is literally right there. Their ruler canonically FUCKS

#acotar #and yeah also all the characters I don't like are from there. none of them brings anything besides classism fae racism and women hating #autumn court is just 1800's england (derogatory) <3 they even have their ugly ass aristocratic air to the T #autumn court #helion is literally around doing parties and orgies people ACTUALLY attend. while virgin eris and his brothers....well they are there ig #day court

[rat-hand]

The level of classism in acotar is hurting me

#acotar #sarah j maas #lower class people are discribed in a bad light by so many characters that I can tell it is a reflection of the authors views :( #classism #I do not want capitalistic views in my fairy smut #:( #anti acotar

[stargirlfeyre]

Complaining about Racism against Illyrians in this series but praising the Vanserras when they say blatantly degrading shit about Rhys, Cassian, and Azriel because of their race is so…?

“I love when Eris, Beron, and Lucien call them brutes” So you love when moc are degraded and seen as inferior to white men because of their race? Because that’s exactly why they’re called brutes. Mind you these are the people who dedicate their entire accounts to calling out the secret nuances (racism, classism, and misogyny) of Acotar. But I guess to these people being racist and misogynistic is fine as long as you’re white, male, and a redhead.

#Rhysand #Cassian #Azriel #eris vanserra #lucien vanserra #beron vanserra #acotar #acomaf #acowar #pro rhysand

[baobhanlore-art]

So Vivzie just tweeted this and I have thoughts that won't fit well into tweets so here I am

For starters, the criticism of fanfiction isn't targeted towards the queer aspects. In fact I've found that some of the most extreme critics of fanfiction culture are also queer people. From the fujoshi fandom that causes an extreme rise in MlM shipping but largely for fem gazey smut, the unrecognised untagged unhealthy relationship tropes, to the misogyny often within these works, stories like these come with many issues.

The criticism of writing feeling like fanfiction, especially towards Helluva Boss, is that the elements of the stories people heavily critique feel unnecessary, tropey, and derailing from consistency.

In The Circus, I do not fault the idea of a queer character having a childhood crush on a same sex friend. The problem is more to do with how it stunts the desperation Blitz has to keep his business alive, since he's no longer just sleeping with some rich guy but an old friend, and the sudden unexpectedness of their situation. It's also a common trope where the live interests actually knew each other as kids so it feels overdone and generic.

In Exes and Oohs, the mafia setting feels completely bizarre considering the intense bigotry and classism within the world. Not only that but the daddy issues, fridged mum, forced marriage and overall unrealistic depiction of the mafia is very common in fanfiction written by teens who do no research and just want the aesthetics.

Secondly, there are plenty of straight works that have a similar label attached to them. ACOTAR and TOH both have writers who originally wrote fanfiction and they didn't develop out of the negative habits within fanfiction writing. Therefore their original work feels like fanfiction. Riverdales "I'm weird, I'm a weirdo" speech was heavily critiqued for sounding like a fanfiction line.

Thirdly, a big reason for being compared to fanfiction is the unfinished feeling of the scripts. I've already pointed out in a previous post that some of the dialogue in Western Energy felt like it needed to be cut down by an editor. And most people agree that the situations and logic aren't often very well thought through, such as how the aging machine could have just been reversed or how DORKS should have been killed off. The scripts feel like loose first drafts that could use additional edits. Fanfiction usually doesn't have an editor or even a beta reader, I've seen more "no beta we die like *insert character*" tags in many of the fandoms I read for than "beta" tags.

If people critiqued the owl house for feeling fanficcy because it had a diverse cast in a highschool setting with a quirky MC, I'd agree it's a bad descriptor because it's directly the queer and neurodivergent stories that are being attacked. Or if Murder Drones was labelled as fanficcy because it has an edgy teen female MC I'd say it's unfair because a lot of girls genuinely act like that and deserve to be represented and have our stories told. But most of the criticism about Helluva Boss to do with its LGBT rep is less to do with its inclusion and more to do with people feeling it's falling into yaoi tropes. Not the fact it includes queer stories.

This is something We Are Not Alive said recently that such with me, but just because it's an indie project doesn't mean we have to settle for subpar writing. There are loads of indie productions you can support! Murder Drones, Lackadaisy, the animated Anne Frank movie, and these are just some of the more popular ones!

And I wish people would stop weaponising every single argument to try and defend issues in Helluva Boss. The fandom says "of course it has issues" then cries when we point that out.

#helluva boss blitzo #loona hellhound #octavia helluva boss #helluva boss drama #helluva spoilers #helluva boss #helluva boss millie #helluva blitzo #helluva stolas #helluva critical #helluva boss critique #helluva boss critical #helluva boss criticism #vivziepop #vivzieverse #vivienne medrano #vivziepop critical #vivziepop criticism

[dhampiravidi]

a pet peeve for lead women in YA…the arts (hot take)!

I’m tired of the lead woman in just about EVERY YA NOVEL having some AMAZING talent that’s arts-related. I have nothing against the arts. I write, sing, and read daily. I don’t draw anymore, but I admire people who still do. ANYWAY:

Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games): she can sing & apparently she’s great at it.

Lucy Gray Baird (The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes): her culture revolves around songs, so she sings.

Hermione Granger (Harry Potter): reads a shit ton of books (her “light reading” is several thick novels).

Clary Fray (Shadowhunter Chronicles): she does lifelike sketches & considers art school. Her mom sells her own paintings.

Feyre Archeron (ACOTAR): she paints.

I’ll stop the list there bc 1) I got no sleep last night & 2) you get my point. I’m just saying—I could be wrong, but it feels like there’s this belief (maybe due to Disney Princess movies?) that a woman can’t be pretty or amazing w/o excelling & loving the arts. She can. She can also like less-popularized artsy hobbies (photography, scrapbooking, writing music, making pottery, etc.) OR EVEN like things that aren’t artsy (hiking, fishing, cooking, surfing, playing chess).

Diversity includes more than just people of different races, ethnicities, and religions (though I will say that racism, classism & discrimination based on religion is pretty widespread & fucked up).

#lead character #main character #ya novel #young adult fiction #novels #fantasy #admin #writing #hot take #unpopular opinion #the arts #literary arts #hobbies #diversity #books #for writers

[bookloverfeministnerdthings]

Okay so I just finished re-reading the ACOTAR series (except a Court of Frost and Starlight) and there are sooo many things about this series that I absolutely love and now, of course, have to type here lest I annoy my friends by spamming them with my thoughts. 

(There are many spoilers below)

Feyre and Ryshand’s Relationship

I love their relationship for sooo many reasons, but mainly because it is a great depiction of a healthy relationship.Their relationship doesn’t take away from either of them as characters and also allows them opportunities to grow together as well as separately. Below is a summarised list of some of the reasons their relationship stood out to me.

They continue to function individually after becoming a couple: I hate books (and movies) where after getting together, the characters cease to function as individual beings. However, this is not the case with Feyre and Rhysand. They remain independent after getting together and frequently function independently of each other. Only a few days after Feyre is sworn in as High Lady, she goes off to the Spring Court to try and destroy it from the inside. And Rhysand goes off to prepare against Hybern back at the Night Court. Separately. And they continue to do things separately throughout the rest of the series. 

They don’t instantly become a couple; they’re friends first: Ugh, I have read too many books where there is an awkward practice fight-dance (I’m being serious) and then with almost no conversation the characters are miraculously together. Which is why it’s so refreshing to ready the flirty banter between Rhysand and Feyre as Feyre is questioning “are we just doing this to relieve some stress and tension and have fun or do I like Rhys but how can I tell how he feels about this?” I don’t know if I’m just sadistic but I love reading all the squirming and confusion and flirting as Feyre and Rhysand transition from being friends to a couple. And all this occurs after they’ve already developed a friendship and Feyre has left the Spring Court.

They view themselves as equals: Feyre is High Lady!! I absolutely love that Rhysand’s just like “No, I don’t care about tradition you’re gonna be High Lady”. I also love that Rhysand is always reminding Feyre that the Night Court is hers as well (even though I do find it sad that she is always referring to the court as “his” and stuff). Even at the end of ACOWAR Feyre asks “Is Amren still your second?” to which Rhysand replies “Our second”. I hate the sexism that still exists in their fantasy world leads to Feyre still sometimes deferring to Rhys about their court but I also love that Rhysand doesn’t just let it go and makes sure she realises that it is equally her court

Rhysand doesn’t try to force Feyre into a relationship even though he knows they are ‘mates’: Ok so on the other hand, he also hid and important fact about her and their relationship from Feyre but I think telling her would have been worse. It’s up for debate. But either way I think that that Rhys was ultimately trying to let Feyre be happy and make her own decisions even if that meant she married Tamlin. Rhys didn’t want to try and manipulate her to leave by telling her about the mating bond. There are definitely some dodgy aspects to all of it, for example, if Feyre didn’t know about the mating bond how could she have made a fully-informed decision about marrying Tamlin? Would she have left him sooner if she knew that he wasn’t her mate? Did Rhys inadvertently extend how long she stayed with Tamlin because she believed that the she and Tamlin would be mates? All of these questions are valid and raise interesting points but ultimately I think that Rhys didn’t want to try and force a relationship with Feyre or pressure her in any way.

There is more about their relationship and definitely more examples but I’m tired :/ I need to reserve my ranting energy for other subjects. 

Classism in the Series

So the classism in the series is less topical in ACOWAR because, you know, war is kinda at the forefront of everyone’s minds but in the earlier books the topic is raised a few times. The main classism in the series is the difference between the High Fae and the lesser faeries. Even the names illustrate the prejudice that lesser faeries may face. Tarquin and Feyre discuss breaking down the class sytem before she uhhh... robs him. Classism is interwoven in the series without affecting the plot and it ultimately adds to the world-building. The examples of classism add to the depth of the world. None of the classism really effects the main plot but it fleshes out the world and serves as a reminder of the classism present in our own society. Ultimately, although the classism isn’t explored fully and doesn’t affect the plot much I love that different issues can be explored sub-contextually via literature. 

Mor

Morrigan (Mor) is one of my favourite characters in the series. She has such an amazing background story. Honestly, such a role-model. 

During her childhood she was so powerful, more powerful than anyone else in her family but instead of being given opportunities to use of expand her strength she was just seen as a prize mare by her family. Her family was only focused on how they could use her strength to gain reputation and social standing by marrying her off to someone with influence. But instead of letting herself be used like a bargaining chip by her family, Mor makes her own choices that, although risky, give her some freedom. Instead of letting her virginity be sold to Eris, Mor chooses to lose it to her friend Cassian thus rendering her “spoiled” and useless to Eris, his family and Mor’s family. Mor’s family is so furious with her that they send her to the edge of the Autumn Court border (Eris’s court) with a note nailed to her stomach, telling Eris that Mor is his problem. Despite all this trauma, Mor endures and finds a crucial role in Rhysand’s court by overseeing both the Court of Dreams and the Court of Nightmares (where her family presides).

But another thing I love about the series is that Mor’s traumatic experiences don’t undermine Feyre’s own experience’s with Tamlin, or that of any other character. Neither is positioned to be viewed as “more traumatic” or “more important”; in fact, there is a huge emphasis placed on healing together and being able to understand what the other went through.   

There is sooo much more about Mor that is also exemplary (includingthe conversation between her and Feyre that reveals she prefers females over males) but I don’t have time to give it the attention she deserves.

Rhys

I just want to quickly highlight something about Rhys that stood out to me:

The sexual and emotional abuse he suffered from Amarantha: Different stories of abuse are interwoven throughout the series but I find it important that a male, main character is also shown as the victim of sexual and emotional abuse. It is also important that Rhys is extremely physically strong but was still subjected to sexual and emotional abuse because it highlights how men who have been abused aren’t necessarily physically or emotionally weak. This portrayal of a male victim of sexual abuse also diversifies the series without taking away or belittling the experiences of other characters.

Ok so there is so much more that I haven’t written about, mainly due to time but these are a few of the things that stood out to me.

#sarahmaas #acotar #feminsim #acotar series #feyreandrhysand #feyre #rhys #mor #classism #literature

[bookofmirth]

Genuinely find it hilarious that the same people crying about using real world issues seemed to have no problem about that when parts of their fandom used racism and classism to hate on someone for not caring about the wraith twins or when one of them went into detail about how gwyn is a child and how problematic it is for people to ship her with az since it’s basically abuse. Give me a break lol. The only difference here is the elain poster is calling out arguments from the fandom and asking people to see the problematic nature of their “feminist” takes while the others were pushing a shipping agenda by using IRL issues to bully other people.

Okay, thank you. Yes. This is a point that I also wanted to make, and it emphasizes what Brielle was trying to say in her post, big time.

The fact is that people do use feminism, and misogyny, and racism, etc. every day in this fandom. Suddenly, now that some people are being called out for the way in which they use those terms, it's "not that deep".

But yes, acotar fandom. It is indeed that deep, because @gimme-mor was talking about how we, real people in this fandom, treat other real people in this fandom. That is... the real world. Actual people are frustrated and being silenced, and it may suck to feel guilty if someone realizes that they have messed up, but it's not a life sentence. Just do better in the future.

And those are 100% real, valid ways to critique either literature or real life (in this case, real life would be the way that the fandom is treating each other right now)! They are normal! I used feminist theory ALL THE TIME when I was in my literature classes in undergrad and grad school. Feminism, along with many other theories that fall under the purview of "critical theory", is one way to examine and analyze our lives, as well as our art. It is completely normal to do so, and sometimes it is necessary to do so in order for us to understand the real-world implications of our actions.

Your examples are perfect, though, because they also illustrate the entire point of that post. One of the major things she highlighted is that people use those frameworks, or not even the frameworks but just the words, to shame other people for what they ship. And that is so gross, it's so disingenuous, that is not why those frameworks exist!!! People didn't fight for civil rights so some rando on Twitter could metaphorically bludgeon someone over the head with a word they don't even understand.

I understand that it is a really fine distinction for people to get their heads around, the difference between analyzing a ship and how that impacts other people. But there is always a context, and unless your blog or twitter or whatever is private, there is always an audience who could read what you have to say. And there is definitely, always a big difference between someone saying "ew I don't like this thing" and "hmmmm thing that accidentally or unintentionally perpetuates harmful stereotypes about people of color 🙂"

#acotar fandom #acotar #acosf #ask #anon

[sabradaz]

Just wanted to say this isn't hate or anything. Look, i realize that u shuldn't blindly accept information u r being fed abt a medium u never interacted w, n this case it's books, n u obviously r right by saying that u shudn't have discourse abt it if u haven't read it, n so a person shudn't. That being said knowing the background of the creator/author n all the problematic things they've done, i personally will safely take the information i recieve abt it bc there's no point in reading something if i'm unable to enjoy it, especially considering it will waste the limited time i have in my life when i can spend it on other less hurtful things. I'm not gonna engage in discourse abt it, ofc, but i'm still not gonna read it. Also these aren't just petty problems. We're talking abt actual real life issues that actively hurt marginilized communities. We're talking racism, fetishization n transphobia. I'm not gonna force myself to read or watch something if ik it's only gonna end up mentally triggering n hurting me. Again i will not *personally* engage in discourse abt it, but i will stand idly n watch others who have read it do so, so i can form my own opinion on it. Is that a bad idea? Probably. But better safe than sorry. Is life unsafe, n i shudn't hold myself to the expectation that it will be? Ye, ofc, but that's not what i'm talking abt tho. I'm talking abt when *i* have the control, n if i can help it, y wud i wanna go out of my way to purposefully inflict pain on myself. If there seems to be a great concensus, n not a tiny one, that there r many problems w the medium in question, then frankly better safe than sorry. N i will even go as far as warn those close to me abt it. I won't start a discourse abt it since i haven't actually interacted w it, but i'll still give warnings based on what i've heard. If they end up wanting to interact w it, that's their choice. I won't force em not to. I've never watched “Birth Of a Nation” in my life, but i know from the great concensus held that it is an awfully racist movie, n it will only shock n upset me if i watch it. I'm not a robot. I'm a human w feelings n emotions, n i sure am gonna proudly n arrogantly act on them, ONLY when it comes to these issues. I'm not gonna think logically cuz academia, which has a BIG history w classism, racism, transphobia n everything bad under the sun, tells me to. Again none of this is hate. Just wanted to hopefully let u in on a diff perspective.

Here is the thing. You don’t have to have an opinion on anything. Saying, “I heard this movie is racist/homophobic/sexist/antisemetic, and therefore I have no interest in watching it,” is extremely valid and I personally think is very smart. First and foremost self care is essential and reading those reviews and then refusing to engage in the content is great. However, you need to keep in mind that you’re making those judgements based on reviews, not the content itself.

For example, I haven’t read the new ACOTAR book and I’m not planning on it. I made this decision based on the fact that I didn’t enjoy the other books too much and the poor representation throughout the series became a deal breaker. However, as long as I haven’t read it, I can’t really form my own opinions on it. I especially can’t from any opinions that would have any value in any form of discourse or otherwise. If (I have yet but I also don’t really engage with the fandom) I see a post calling it racist or homophobic I might feel validated in my decision but that doesn’t mean I can make my own post calling it racist or homophobic. I still wouldn’t have anything useful to add to the discourse regarding the new book. If you know what I mean?

I wrote this post specifically in response to some discourse occurring in the She-Ra fandom probably about six months ago? I won’t go into too much detail expect essentially the creators did a panel about the show which received a lot of accusations of racism, antisemitism and homophobia. Most people posting about it had clearly not seen the panel because I’ve never seen such a huge amount of misinformation being spread so quickly by a fandom in such a limited space of time. (I’d like to add that some of it was good and important, especially in regards to Bow’s brothers, but a lot wasn’t.) This wasn’t to defend Noelle Stevenson, but rather to highlight the fact that by refusing to watch the panel but engage in the discourse regardless they were adding a frankly useless voice to the issue and were at risk of spreading misinformation.

This post was not about people forming their own views on whether or not they want to engage in the content and by extension discourse of a text. If you decide you don’t, all the power to you. But you need to know you won’t have anything useful to add to the discourse or even general discussion regarding it. I couldn’t write a long post about the poor representation in Sarah J. Maas’ books because I read them so long ago I can barely remember. I don’t want to reread them and so as I don’t have anything useful to add to the discourse I don’t and I shouldn’t.

Academia is extremely classist, I know. It has many faults in its approaches to pretty much everything. But it is right in the sense that you have to engage in the material to make a judgement on it. You can’t do a calculus question without having seen the question, like you can’t interpret a text without having read/watched it.

I think we both agree on this though. My post was specifically referring to public discourse, not how one privately engages with books/movies/etc. and I agree with you in that regard. However, it is really important that we draw that line between what we can use as private judgements on something and what we can use for public opinions. If you put something in the public it can influence people’s understanding of what you are talking about, and as such you need to know what you are talking about. What Dave from Sound Design said about something isn’t a good enough basis to start public discourse on, regardless of whether you think it’s good or bad. But if it makes you want to either read/watch or not read/watch something then that’s fine too.

#tbh tho I think there is a misunderstanding and we are both on the same page #we’re both talking about two very different things which aren’t mutually exclusive #critical thinking #discourse #anti sarah j maas #(i guess???) #(tagging cautiously) #ask

[battlestar-royco]

Which one of SJ/M two series, ToG and ACOTAR, was more succesful among stans?

Hmmm, it’s really hard to say! I was just thinking about this. T0G has probably overall sold more copies and been read by more people based on its amount of books and seniority over AC0TAR. But in terms of enjoyment of the books–are we defining it by how much fans loved one specific book before they stopped reading, how much fans like the series overall, how much problematic content fans can swallow, how enthusiastic the fans of each series are, T0G ships characters vs AC0TAR? There are a lot of elements that are really successful/unsuccessful among fans, and there are hardcore stans for only T0G or only AC0TAR. I’m torn.

Overall, I think SJ/M’s most popular book–the one that is the most highly praised for characters/development, world, pacing, and writing–is AC0MAF, closely followed by H0F. So by that definition, AC0TAR would be more successful. However, no one really loves TAR1, and WAR and FAS severely reduced the fandom because of the laziness/rushedness, the problematic elements, and the destruction of their fave characters. There are many T0G fans who love all the T0G books, only T0G-C0M/H0F, H0F and on, or T0G to E0S. So if we’re going by overall enjoyment of all the books in either series, I think T0G is more successful.

It’s impossible to compare T0G and AC0TAR for problematic content because they’re both so bad, and comparing them would be reductive. Stans have consistently shown that they can excuse racism, whitewashing, cultural appropriation, colonialism, homo/bi/trans/ace/lesbophobia, classism, abuse, misogyny, ageism, body shaming, and ableism, so most people who are offended by these things are either long gone or silenced by other stans. (To be fair, some stans who acknowledge the issues, and/or vehemently defend characters such as M0r, L/ucien, N/esta, and C/haol.) A lot of the T0G/TAR fandom overlaps, so the same behavior and enthusiasm/passion for the books can be exhibited in both fandoms. That said, I’ve personally seen more/longer/better-written metas and theories from the TAR fandom, probably because that fanbase is older and engage on a higher level.

As for characters, I think we can safely say that F.eysand and the I/nner Circle are among the most popular YA ships and characters, even more so than Rataelin. T0G fans generally are way more invested in side characters than Rataelin while people LOOOOOVE the entire IC and the faux feminism of F.eysand (although AC0FAS irrevocably damaged F.eysand’s image). So if I HAVE to choose, I’d probably say T0G is the more successful series overall, but both series satisfy and dissatisfy fans for lots of similar reasons.

#anti sjm #anti sjm fandom #anti acotar #anti tog

[whitedemon-ladydeath]

SJM reeks of money. she cannot write a poor family to save her life. the cabin years writing was so minimal and hollow and caricature-esque and filled with gaping plot holes

the closest you Get to any kind of poverty trauma with Feyre is her feeling bad about spending money. there are so, so many factors to consider when it comes to poverty besides just morality over spending money or not

hoarding money

binging and purging money

how you eat

what you eat

what you wear

how you protect what you already have

bitterness and Jealousy with ppl who do have money

being poor and feeling worse when you cannot help someone else who is also poor and struggling (like panhandling)

etc

if I was Feyre I'd be mortified if I had five houses. I'd be embarrassed to live in a giant house (let alone FIVE) while Cassian has to hand out BLANKETS in Illyria. I'd be judging the IC for how they spend the money (which isn't even theirs. "Rhys money" is all blood money and from taxes BE real) and then condemn Nesta for blowing a drop of Rhys' blood money on booze

statistically poor people help each other and give more than wealthy people Ever did. Cassian should also be embarrassed as hell by the IC and how they spend money and their attitudes towards the Illyrians and other poorer fae and even how Nesta spends "Rhys' money"

in both ToG and aCoTaR the series end with the main character flush with more money than they know what to do with it and they're married. it's like one step away from Trad Wife smh

poverty is inherently traumatic and affects people on every. single. level. from what we eat to what we wear to who we spend time with to what time we even have to spend

#a court of thorns and roses #acotar #sjm critical #nesta archeron #anti rhysand #anti inner circle #classism in acotar #justice for poor cassian and poor archeron girls

[valamerys]

i have...... a Lot of thoughts on Rhysand’s FeminismTM and they’re all tied up in thoughts about Death of the Author and Worldbuilding Responsibility and the state of “feminist” fantasy and the sheer volume of horrifically nasty background sexism(/classism tbh) in ACOTAR/ACOMAF and it’s a really long post but i want you all to know..... it is coming

#listen the gist is this #'is rhysand A PURE FEMINIST or is he SECRETLY TOXIC' #is the wrong question to be asking #this is a bigger conversation than rhysand #(and the short answer is: he's *supposed* to be perfect) #(holes in that are holes in the authors feminism and also worldbuilding) #(so do with that what you will)

[hurricanesandheartbreak]

After reading ACOTAR:

- Still don’t know how to pronounce Feyre (Fair - like pretty? ahhhhh I see what you did there) or (Fa-ra like Sarah) - A++ for almost sending a super powerful message about prejudice and fear-mongering (wouldn’t it have been awesome if the mercenary was LYING about all the horrific fae attacks happening because OY HEA she’s paid to protect humans from fae -- almost like she’s a more marketable asset if she propagates lies about bloodthirsty faeries and their merciless tendencies to slaughter humans) - ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST PARALLELS - But like also quite a bit of Psyche/Eros with the masks and the invisible people crawling all over the castle - Aww Nesta wasn’t a total bitch, she just hardened her heart against literally anything that could make anyone happy because she’d lost literally every scrap of happiness she’d ever known and she HATED her father for that. Feyre was just collateral damage in that grudge, bb let me hold you. Also, let’s get your head checked out because a High Fae Lord couldn’t whammy you, and that sounds like it could be an issue later on down the line. Just saying. - Did not care for Alis the exposition fairy. We got like 6 straight pages of her telling a story that realllyyyyyy should have been incorporated better into the overall structure of the plot - Also not a huge fans of “you magically fit 8 perfect criteria to break the curse!” Special snowflake syndrome is so easily avoided guysssssss - Jury’s out on Rhysand. 50% dirt bag ruffie king, 50% sexual assault victim who needs to be protected at all costs - So like, when do we get to watch Lucien’s brothers die horribly? Or when do we get a book all about Lucien for that matter? - Act III of this novel was like 70 pages longer than it needed to be, editing is your friend and action sequences are not why people bought your romance novel. Just saying. - That one week a month thing is going to come back to bite them in the ass, isn’t it? - So is that King from Hybern and the missing eye/bone thing - But really, I don’t ship Feyre and Rhysand at all, but damn if he’s not a juicy character who’s just perfect for sinking my literary teeth into - Turning a human into a fairy should be hard enough, but why’d she have to be high fae? Like it might have been nice to stow the classism and not turn her into a fairy princess but just a regular old peasant fairy - If you think I’m not reading the next one you’re crazy

[stargirlfeyre]

Talking about “Classism in Acotar” yet failing to bring up your fav who is shown to look down on poor people/people who grew up less privileged than her (including her own sister) will always be funny to me. Nesta is one of the most prejudiced characters in Acotar. Whether it be judging women for their sex lives or clothing choices, looking down on people for being less fortunate, moving her disabled father’s cane so her couldn’t walk, or shaming her own boyfriend, who is a person of color, for his upbringing.

I don’t think there’s a community this girl hasn’t offended so it’s hilarious to me that her fans are the ones that dedicate themselves to calling out nuances in Acotar. You pick apart every word and action when it comes to characters you dislike but you turn a blind eye to your favorite characters blatantly showing the behavior you claim to hate? Make that shit make sense.

These people try so hard to paint Feyre out to be a bad person when the first things we learn about Nesta is that she’s ableist and classist. Feyre literally had to this grown woman to stop punishing her disabled father and Nesta’s response was “well if he truly wanted to work he would”. The delusion, the nastiness, the entitlement, the immaturity. Like this is a grown woman y’all.

#nesta archeron #feyre archeron #pro feyre #acotar #Acomaf #acotar fandom

[fandomshatepeopleofcolor]

How was twilight a worse issue than SJM books? (Just curious to see the arguments because it's been a good number of years since I've read both)

i only mean at a smaller scale, acotar is nowhere near as popular as twilight was back in the day. My nastinometer says:

Twilight and ACOTAR are tied in terms of “shitty main pairings”

Twilight and ACOTAR are tied in terms of “shitty main characters and their love interests” 

Twilight and ACOTAR are tied in terms of “racism” (one anti-native, the other anti-black, though both do others dirty too)

ACOTAR is worse than Twilight in terms of sexual violence

Twilight is worse than ACOTAR in terms of classism

Twilight and ACOTAR are tied in terms of bad writing.

Twilight and ACOTAR are tied in terms of “shitty writers” (though I’m leaning towards SM being worse…I’ve hated her for longer than I’ve known about SJM)

Now, I know nothing of ACOTAR’s fandom, but if it’s just half as bad as Twilight’s was/is…I don’t even want to get into it. ~ mod ara

PS: another thing they have in common is amazing side characters that make you want to know more about them, but being ignored in favor of shitty people (Leah Clearwater and Lucien Vanserra - also both of them are non-white… COINCIDENCE?!). 

PSS: why the fuck is Lucien the only fae with a last name.

#i'd have to read twilight in english though bc i only ever read it in spanish #and translators might fix some writing mistakes #mod ara #fhpoc asks #5 #twilight #anti acotar #a court of thorns and roses #smallbrazilianperson #anti sjm

[baeseult]

I have great respect for people who write historical fiction. The amount of research and time they have to spend making it accurate is kind of astounding to me. Fantasy and contemporary writers - while still often having to do a fair amount of research - at least have the liberty of creating their own world or relying upon personal experience, respectively.

Yeah, I just finished reading The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue and am IN LOVE with this book. The topics Mackenzie Lee covered are so vast, and she portrayed them so well. Racism/slavery, classism/privilege, sexuality (bi-rep, gay-rep, and ace-rep), and disabilities (epilepsy/PTSD) in the 18th century.

Also, I finally reached my reading goal on Goodreads! 25/25 books! Now, let’s see if I can make that 30/25 books. I know it’s not all that impressive compared to those who reach upwards of 100, but I’m so proud of myself. I had a major reading slump since 2012, and I was lucky if I read even half of a single book (excluding comics and those I had to read for school). I have actually done a few “re-reads” by listening to some as audiobooks this year, but I decided not to include those (ACOTAR, ACOMAF, and the TOG books). And I’m listening to Outlander, but I haven’t included that because I started it last year and listen to it very sporadically.

I’m rambling on and I doubt anyone is going to read this. Just so excited about TGGTVAV and meeting my reading goal!

#emily for ts #my post