Shadowbanned Gamer’s #1 Hater

This is an overtly biased hypocritical ramble blog i made so I can scream into the void

[boomer-bird]

Amren and Varian being cunty w each other on the barge made no sense until we got to the HL meeting in ACOWAR and were told that Night helped Summer because Varian told Amren they were under attack and we’re like ohhh it was to give Summer a stupid excuse to forgive Night all along. Political alliance through marriage n all. But did we have to make an Eldritch nightmare cishet for that. We could’ve sacrificed anyone else

[boomer-bird]

This is such a dumb thing to care about but the archeron sisters being so conveniently attractive does take me out of the immersion a little bit.

In the same vein. The way these fae have never had any impactful romantic partnerships before dating their barely adult human woman (exception: Lucien) who changes their lives forever bc they’re just so special you see. the mating bond being the reason for this is stupid as shit

[boomer-bird]

Big point of confusion for me that I actually think is pretty plot relevant is the fact that Spring Court has been absolutely razed to the ground and (from what we can tell) most of its citizens dead or defected. Tam and his manor are basically all that’s left? Tam is suicidal and currently a dog? Spring court may as well not exist? And every other character is like “oh we’re gonna need Spring’s help when Koschei comes” and I’m like help with what exactly. Spring is Gone.

[boomer-bird]

Im not one to directly critique the writing style of acotar but Rhysand’s monologue during The Confession is genuinely some of the worst literature I’ve ever read second only to Mor’s Confession. Just pages and pages of the author poorly disguised as Rhysand telling the reader why he’s such a tragic character actually, while Feyre nods along and tries not to cry into her fucking alphabet soup

[boomer-bird]

Most Rhys enjoyers (myself included) like him because of his moral purity compared to Tam which I understand even if I disagree w that reading. What I get less is the minority that proclaim to love him for being morally grey (“let Rhys be evil!!”) only to turn around and condemn Tam for being a bad bf. You can get off the moral high horse and just say you prefer his aesthetic of fucked up and sexy eyeshadow. Not that hard

[maladattata]

“You’d be all too happy for war, considering how well you made out in the last one.”

“No one says war can’t be lucrative,” Helion countered.

So we know Helion's just a war profiteer. And the night court has the largest army. No wonder they're close allies.

And when some long haired blond guy who's into flowers and music argues that war actually hurts the people he's the bad guy. Ok. Sure.

Next book we'll throw napalm at little girls for the #cause of the star spangled night court being the greatest of them all. Eagle screech.

[boomer-bird]

every day i wake up and forget to drink water during breakfast and then have lunch with no water and then go to work and for the 4 hours i'm in the office i will be too focused to drink water and then I'll come home and go "wow I should probably drink some water" even though I'm not thirsty at all. I'm sure this will end well for me

[wrraccountant]

Are you actually an accountant or are you just really into taxes? Follow up question, do you have any headcanons about the spring tithe vs. night tax system? Thanks for your time mwah goodbye

Hi Anon! I cannot tell you how much this question made my day!

I have an accounting education, but I do not work as an accountant. However, accountants have been my internal and external customers for my career, and I love working with them.

Am I really just into taxes? Yes and no - I love tax theory, and the idea of different tax structures. Doing my taxes (and the taxes of my family as my parents age)? Less so. There are often colorful metaphors voiced as they are completed.

Do I have HCs about the tax structures of the Spring Court and the Night Court? Do I? Yes, yes I do! 💖💖💖

When I planned to write my very first fic (and longest!), The Chairs, I had a few goals: 1) Have Azriel and Eris act their age of 500-ish, 2) Have them have actual conversations (and some form of Prythian-appropriate therapy), and 3) have a High Lord (Eris) actually govern his Court. Because I am not in government, the chosen model was to examine Autumn's tax structure and, by doing so, look at them all.

I made a chart. Where there was canon data, I included it; for the rest, I extrapolated from assumptions about Court culture and some guesses based on the High Lord's political lean and their economies.

Warning: I may have gotten a little enthusiastic in answering this question - it's longer than I planned, apologies!

The Spring Court Tithe:

We know from the books that Spring has a bi-annual tithe, which SJM has portrayed as a gifting of goods to the High Lord. SJM (as far as I remember) does not mention the amount, but the definition of "tithe" is 1/10 (10%) of production or earnings. So we can assume that the mostly agricultural and hunter-gatherer society of the Spring Court brings in 10% of their production or earnings twice a year. This is also how SJM handles Lucien's "dependent on their income and status" comment: a percentage means it will be based on what they earn.

What makes the Spring Court Tithe interesting, however, is less the form and amount it takes (which is essentially a tax, as it is not optional) than how it is enacted.

Every community emissary has to travel to the High Lord's Seat: Every map of Prythian I have seen is roughly a map of the British Isles. The Spring Court runs east-west from Whitesands in Wales to Felixstowe. Assuming similar distances, the Spring Court would be over 350 miles (using roads) from one end to the other; so if the Mansion was in the middle, some fae would have to travel 175 miles to deliver their tithe. But let's assume SJM didn't think about distances, or has magic travel... It's still a trip out of their lives to go deliver these goods, and part of the Tithe is to record who shows up and who does not.

The Tithe is a Public Gifting: The High Lord sits where all can see, and the fae present their Tithe publicly. If a fae cannot pay, they have the choice to not show up (and be potentially hunted down if they don't pay in 3 days) or face public humiliation in presenting less than expected. Shame is a part of this ritual (which is not necessarily part of Tithing as a practice).

The portrayal of the Tithe's math is murky and may be based on past data: SJM uses the term "tithe", but the portrayal of the water wraith incident makes the practice seem inconsistent. The water wraith states there are no fish in their lake, which we as readers take as the water wraiths have no income/goods to provide. Yet, as Tamlin states, "Regardless, you are expected to pay." We can infer, as readers, that there is a record of expected or past income that the Spring Court uses to determine the tithe amount, and it doesn't look like Tamlin adjusted it for the circumstances after Under the Mountain.

The Tithe went on for hours, and the comfort of the emissaries is not really considered. What struck me when I read the scene was that Feyre started losing her mind at five hours into the Tithe. Let me repeat that: Five. Hours. When she chased after the water wraith she passed "the gathered line snaking down the steps and onto the gravel of the main drive." Seriously. There were no chairs, no refreshments, no process that allowed fae to come at an allotted time. Like the United States Department of Licensing, the Spring Court had them in an endless queue. At least the DOL has a waiting room with chairs.

I have to assume that the rest of the logistics can be explained by magic - like preservation of the food offerings, so that nothing spoils on or after the day, and the storing of such a large amount of physical goods.

Why do we as readers respond negatively to the Spring Court Tithe? First, we see it through a narrator who is already biased. Feyre is already tired of Tamlin's treatment of her, her lack of support (and healing/therapy!), and the way she views the pompousness of the ritual. We, as readers, also want to believe that the taxes/tithes that are received by a government are used to better the lives of the Court and its citizens. SJM is painting a picture where Tamlin takes, but Feyre does not see a plan for redistributing wealth or services to the Spring Court citizens. The description of the Tithe is to run the Manor, its armies, and Tamlin's household. This narrative is furthered by SJMs description of the Spring Court, the lack of wealth of the citizens described (though some fae did bring in jewels and coin), and its rural economies, and may be influenced by her views on similar governments and communities.

The Night Court Tax System:

The Night Court has three different demesnes, which have separate governmental structures under one High Lord: Velaris, the Hewn City, and Illyria. We can assume by the lack of discussion of these vast areas that the fae living outside these areas are scattered, rare, and may not have much in the way of government or taxes.

Very little is said about the details of the taxes in the Night Court, so much is extrapolated from context clues or headcanons.

The Night Court Taxes are mostly Real Estate or Commerce Based: Here's what we do know: All Velaris "city dwellers" (citizens) pay taxes. The Hewn City, under a steward, collects taxes/tribute. We know virtually nothing of taxation for the Illyrians.

So my headcanons are this:

Velaris has a system of property tax (on land/homeowners) and business tax (on business profits) in the city. This goes along with both the urban description of the city and the fact that there are rich and poor areas of the town (as well as rented units).

We can infer that if the taxes are generally monetary or monetary equivalents (jewels, gold), the tax collection process is less pageantry and more administrative. Paperwork and calculations (land values, business financial statements) must be prepared, collected, tallied, and compared with the submitted tax. My HC is that there are absolutely tax collectors and administrators that work for Rhysand that do paperwork and math for his treasury.

The Hewn City and Illyrian governments are independently managed and submit their taxes as separate provinces. We know that the Hewn City has a steward that governs, and Illyria has lords with keeps (like Azriel's father). Rhysand gives control to the leaders in these lands as long as the taxes come in as expected.

We know that the Court of Nightmares does have a throne room and a lot of pageantry in its ruling, based on what SJM describes of those visits. I wouldn't be surprised if a tithe or an income tax were levied on citizens of the Hewn City, but we don't have enough information to determine the specifics.

Illyria is a mystery. If there are warlords and feudal lords with keeps, we can extrapolate that the system in Illyria is probably closer to the Spring Court Tithe than an income tax system. My HC is that Illyria's wealth is disparate enough (lords having much more wealth than citizens, as we see evidenced by the Illyrian camps) that the Lords pay the taxes on behalf of their people, who pay in service.

Why do we have such a positive view of Night Court's taxation system? Again, we are looking at the tax system through Feyre's eyes and SJM's view of the world. The only real mention of taxes is by Amren, who, in the same conversation, mentions that the Night Court has taxes, not a tithe (tomato, to-mah-to), and she discusses Rhysand's governmental style as less rule-based and more based on "loyalty, cunning, compassion". We, as readers, are encouraged to feel good about these values, even though they have nothing to do with taxes, and because Feyre's experiences are mainly in the (relatively) rich and safe city of Velaris.

Feyre feels safe, happy, and the people are more comfortable than in Spring, so our feelings about the tax system are expected to be better.

We can also infer that Rhysand's government does have some funds that deal with infrastructure, at a minimum, in Velaris, as there seem to be waste management systems (the city is clean), and roads/bridges, which are rarely funded by individual citizens.

That being said, much of the Night Court is poor or lacks power or agency, and does not have the quality of life of Velaris. This brings us to ask the question of why the Night Court's tax systems are not used to create the same quality of life for all of its citizens. Which, to be fair, is more of a commentary on Rhysand's effectiveness at creating change as a High Lord than a tax system.

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Anon, thank you so much for asking this question! I had a great time answering it, and I hope you enjoyed the response!

If you want to know more about the other courts or HCs, let me know!

💖💖WarriorAccountant💖💖

[boomer-bird]

shirt cut Tamlin art meme is making rounds again and everyone is barking in the tags. Good

[boomer-bird]

Tam treated Feyre poorly and he was also completely justified in distrusting Rhys / believing he was hurting Feyre. These facts can coexist peacefully. In fact they are kissing

[boomer-bird]

Opinion only I have: the worst things Tam did had nothing to do with Feyre and everything to do with the (hundreds of) thousands of citizens he had responsibility over that suffered because he prioritized his girlfriend’s wellbeing over theirs and NOBODY mentions this because they're so focused on the domestic abuse bullshit. Tamlin condemned his entire court to eternal slavery under a mountain because he'd rather that than risk a girl he's known for 3 months getting killed despite being this close to breaking the curse and having spent the last 50 years sacrificing his friends one by one just to find her to begin with. We have condemned men for significantly lower levels of simp and yet.

[boomer-bird]

Azriel could brutally torture and kill a guy for information with a mind reader standing right there and the books would be like “he was so tortured… having to torture people…” and the readers would nod and go “yes… he’s so tortured… it’s so terrible having to torture people” and we know this is true bc it happens every day

[itsblobross]

Everyone is thirsting over Azriel but this is literally him:

[boomer-bird]

“Autumn court males have fire in their blood and they fuck like it too”. “Be careful how you speak to my high lady”. “I can eat drink fight and fuck just as well as I used to, better even.” go my cringe line trifecta

[boomer-bird]

sjm just straight up refused to write an actual tax/tithe collection system for the spring court and instead had every single SC citizen come TO the manor to give their taxes in person and made the monarch himself winnow to the doorstep of each citizen who was late on payments to ask for resources like faerie Santa Claus trying to paint the tithe as Bad and NC taxes as Good. The issue with with the tithe isn’t the resources it demands (what sjm intended) it’s the lack of efficiency (accidental consequence of making sure Tam is in the room for all unsavory aspects of taxation)

[boomer-bird]

Speaking about the acotar critical fandom’s depiction specifically, what Az is missing for me isn’t patheticness it’s harmfulness. I want recognition for how he hurts ppl as a torturer / romantic weirdo / leader of an apartheid state instead of having him always be depicted as a sad wet cat who’s a victim of the IC and whose trauma only impacts himself. Hurt or not he’s still part of the same posse of NC rulers and is complacent in their problematic actions. He’s also just as glazed as his brothers and the “insanely hot single powerful mysterious righteous traumatized shadow daddy” archetype all the bat boys embody doesn’t become any less eye-rolling just because you make the man a gay bottom and put him in a tough spot. Let him be the source of other’s misfortune sometimes. Being beat down on by society isn’t really a character flaw, and that’s a key ingredient in making characters compelling. Az would genuinely become much more tolerable if SJM character assassinated him like she did with Tam Cass and Rhys and summoned a massive wave of azriel-critical and satirical content. Go on Sarah I know u can do it

[boomer-bird]

…while I’m on this train of thought the fandom depiction of Eris bugs me for similar reasons. I fear SJM canonizing the Rhysand treatment the fandom’s given him and absolving him of absolutely everything a la he was a misunderstood sad guy. whumpocalypse. One bajillion more fanarts of him being an Abused Hot Redhead (his shirt is off to show his Scars)

[boomer-bird]

Speaking about the acotar critical fandom’s depiction specifically, what Az is missing for me isn’t patheticness it’s harmfulness. I want recognition for how he hurts ppl as a torturer / romantic weirdo / leader of an apartheid state instead of having him always be depicted as a sad wet cat who’s a victim of the IC and whose trauma only impacts himself. Hurt or not he’s still part of the same posse of NC rulers and is complacent in their problematic actions. He’s also just as glazed as his brothers and the “insanely hot single powerful mysterious righteous traumatized shadow daddy” archetype all the bat boys embody doesn’t become any less eye-rolling just because you make the man a gay bottom and put him in a tough spot. Let him be the source of other’s misfortune sometimes. Being beat down on by society isn’t the compelling character flaw you think it is. Az would genuinely become much more tolerable if SJM character assassinated him like she did with Tam Cass and Rhys and summoned a massive wave of azriel-critical and satirical content. Go on Sarah I know u can do it