#from unnamed characters to unanswered questions about Court politics to this

[c-e-d-dreamer]

I know I answered in that ask game about how Rhysand is a bad High Lord (aka bad at his job), but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it's just a world building oversight of SJM. It seems, to me at least, pretty clear that SJM loves to give characters tragic backstories or tragedies to overcome without fully thinking through the implications and big picture of what she's creating.

Like, you have Illyria, this brutal, sexist place. And Rhys's mother suffered there until his father swooped in and saved her, and his mother's trauma is still something he shoulders. And Cassian's mother also suffered there to the point it literally killed her and he was thrown into the snow and forced to fend for himself without a scrap of anything. And even Azriel's trauma is rooted in this terrible, awful place. And it's this big triumph that they banded together and they conquered Ramiel, that they escaped and are now living the dream in Velaris.

And that's great and beautiful... in a bubble. But Illyria is still there. It's still brutal. They overcame these tragedies but the tragedies now still exist for everyone else once you step back and look at the big picture. That's the implications created with these backstories.

It's the same for the Hewn City! You have this horrific place where Mor rarely saw sunlight because she was stuck underground. Where women are literally auctioned off into marriages where they're beaten and worse. And it's so great that Mor overcame that, that she got out and was a dreamer who escaped. But again, by creating this horrific place, it implies all those horrible things are just... Still happening. SJM gave Mor this beautiful story of rising out of that but what does that mean for all the other women?

You even see it in Velaris. SJM has Nesta in a literal rock bottom to reflect her figurative rock bottom, and isn't it so great she's able to pull herself out of that? But okay, you've now created a seedy, slums of Velaris full of sketch people and run down houses and awful taverns in order to do that...

Honestly, even Feyre's book 1 story shows this oversight. SJM gives her this tragic life and these horrible sisters and all this hardship for her to overcome. For her to find happiness and a better life and a real family in Prythian. And again, a beautiful story in a bubble. But then she brings back the sisters into the story and wonders why so many people hate them and don't care about Nesta's or Elain's own journeys.

And I know this is rambley and ranty, but the way I just want to shake SJM and her editor. Like please. I don't need crazy, intricate and detailed world building, but at least think it through a bit more.

Tragic backstories are all fun and games until you've now ended up with a High Lord who looks like he's absolutely terrible at his job and taking care of his Court...

#fandom wank Sunday I guess #I could not stop thinking about this this morning #so I had to write it all down #because it lowkey really bothers me #honestly I could go on five rants about the world building oversights #from unnamed characters to unanswered questions about Court politics to this