rhi

sideblog for ranting about books and stuff | rhi | 22 | white welsh | she/her | main: @fel-i-fod

[theladyofthefountain]

Making this purely so one day I will eventually do an in-depth rant about sexism and gender in got besties, and also some nice things about asoiaf too

[fel-i-fod]

Follow me pls I promise I will give u ~ content ~

[femmechilles]

the way that less than two months ago i reblogged a post about writing fantasy in brazil and made this addition about the danger of taking inspiration from natives indigenous' religion to write your creatures and today i find out that cassandra clare indeed took an entity such like the forest-guarding spirit curipira and called it a demon, associating native indigenous religion to demoniac stuff. i have no words for her lack of ethic, respect and consistency. step one in writing: do your fucking research.

[alectology-archive]

hey so a major reason why Stief doesn't want people to HC Ronan as black is because because there is a whole stigma surrounding POC that they are aggressive, whether that be in words or actual violence we all know Ronan fights everything with an id so Ronan being POC would only reinforce the idea that POC's first reaction is to punch someone in the face.

Also a POC would have never gotten away with the shit Ronan got away with like fighting, drag racing, being loud in general to name a few. POC would have been arrested and/or shot in the US (especially in a small town in Virginia) which is harrowing but true. Like, everyone has internalized racism to overcome that's true, but Stief not wanting to HC Ronan as black is not the crazy racist behavior you want it to be.

Look I knew why she didn't want Ronan HCed as black but it still doesn't excuse the way she treats Henry Cheng in the books. The characters make fun of his accent, ask him which half of him is chinese and which half korean etc and aren't called out for it to the best of my knowledge (I haven't read TRK yet). I've heard a bunch of people saying she dislikes poc hcs (which assumes a very generalised view that anyone who wants to make that hc is inherently racist as opposed to trying to relate to characters by projecting or anything along those lines; if she only ever cautioned people about making hcs I'd be more forgiving of her but at the moment I don't have the necessary information to judge whether that is the case). I've heard that she described Kavinsky as having a 'refugee face'. There was also the time she wrote a post that the star wars fandom was 'focusing' on Finn and Poe (you know... the two men of color...) and ignoring Rey (a white character. Intersectionality is very important and Maggie seems to lack that approach to dealing with issues). All of which isn't a good look.

I've literally never followed Maggie Stiefvater actively so I haven't had the opportunity to form an opinion about her personality and accountability; but to the best of my knowledge she's never apologised for a bunch of things and gets super defensive when she's confronted about her mistakes (dare I bring up the time she got into a really stupid fight with halsey and really just displayed bad behaviour).

If this ask was in response to that one post where I responded with the link to a single post which detailed a bunch of Maggie's shortcomings, know that 1. I wanted to keep my answer short since my friend was just trying to figure out some of the broader issues with maggie 2. I was having a pretty casual conversation with my friend and was less mindful of the way I phrased the words. I don't believe Maggie is 'very racist' but she's definitely done a bunch of racist things and she has to be held accountable for those actions.

[maoist-mizer]

Yes I can confirm that she did in fact say Kavinsky had a “refugee’s face” it’s in The Dream Thieves. Here’s the whole quote in chapter 3 (for my copy it’s page 24):

Also regardless of her not wanting ppl to headcanon Ronan as a black man to reinforce stereotypes, like what you said (1) her portrayal of Henry and how the protagonists treat him is already abysmal— also don’t get me started on her treatment of Kavinsky and (2) she shouldn’t assume that just because someone headcanons Ronan as black that they’re being racist since for all she knows they headcanon all of the characters as POC, or maybe they’re a black reader projecting onto Ronan. Who knows!

Maybe instead of complaining that readers (who are probably POC) shouldn’t headcanon white characters as POC, she should take responsibility and acknowledge her own racist writing and understand how hypocritical it is to police ethnicity based headcanoned when she chose to write practically a whole white cast. ​I just think her whole reasoning is a very flimsy excuse considering her own writing.

[alectology-archive]

ok i'll bite, why dont people like the raven cycle /gen

oh it's because maggie stiefvater (the author) is basically very racist and has a history of behaving badly on the internet. This post goes into it with more depth.

[audikatia]

Can we PLEASE stop spreading these falsehoods about Maggie? Like, the linked post is so enormously inaccurate and lacks any sort of context or nuance, it’s ridiculous.

[alectology-archive]

I enjoyed her first book actually and the only thing that did annoy me was some of her approaches to dealing with classism. This might be hard to believe but it's possible to be critical of content creators and still enjoy what they create.

I'll take your word for it and assume that none of the points on that post can be trusted, but I do know for sure that Henry Cheng's treatment in the book is super racist, that she behaved badly with Halsey, was definitely involved in the John Green controversy, said kavinsky had a 'refugee face' (lots of people have called out his xenophobic treatment in the book), wrote a weird star wars post which lacked nuance and intersectionality etc to name a few so criticisms of her are not unwarranted. If there is nuance which suggests that several people of colour are indeed mistaken that that her books are flawed and she has a history of behaving badly on the internet feel free to explain it.

[maoist-mizer]

Ok, guess I’ll also bite into this as someone that’s read the whole series, and will discuss the points in the post Aelia linked that was apparently complete “falsehood”.

- racist joke in TRK between Ronan and Adam about Henry: can confirm it did happen. I even went out of my way to flick through the book until I found it, since I remember the scene quite well. Chapter 6 page 51 in my copy:

- Henry’s mother is indeed a dealer of antiquities and basically a king pin. Here’s her fandom wiki page as well that corroborates this and goes into more detail.

- The book mentioned here with shit latinx rep is All the Crooked Saints by Miss Stiefvater. Yes the term Bicho Raro is used as the name of the town in Colorado for the setting. Here’s also a review from a Latina reader, Mari, who briefly touched upon the poor rep. Mari is also a booktuber and you should check them out here.

- Can confirm Stiefvater has time and time told ppl not to hc Ronan as black for ‘reinforcing stereotypes’ when she shouldn’t be policing ppl for their ethnicity based headcanons considering she chose to write nearly a fully white cast and when she did write POC it was shit rep. As for whether or not she likes Blue being hc as East Asian, I’m not certain, but I do know that from reading TRC that she liked writing Blue as racially ambiguous without actually stating her as a WOC, hence still reaping the benefits of a white character. It’s problematic to not specify a characters ethnicity but ‘leaving it up for interpretation’ as far as I’m concerned. It’s like wanting the clout for having rep without actually providing any rep.

- she has indeed fought teens on the internet. Literally just scroll through her Twitter yourself. Need I bring up her getting mad at a fan for saying a Halsey song reminded her of blue and gansey?

- joined John green and other authors to defend him by attacking a reader since they found him uncomfortable? Yup. They literally linked and article and I guess I’ll link it myself as well.

- I’m not even gonna get into the Halsey one. It’s so popular you could do a quick google search on this. The fact that most of these were proven with a quick google search just proves how stans will call anything a falsehood to defend their faces without checking for the truth themselves lol. How embarrassing.

- Maggie did get accepted into a panel on ‘writing the other’. She actually deleted her own post on it, which was linked. It did indeed happen, here’s a link of someone talking about it. I don’t agree with their point of view, but I’m linking it anyways to show that it did happen.

So, I say this with utmost sincerity to the lovely TRC stan that reblogged: please shut up and do some research before claiming that that post is a complete ‘falsehood’. It’s literally all on the internet. Do some basic googling before making a clown out of yourself, yeah?

[alectology-archive]

Also, you're 18, so I get it. You're a high schooler or maybe just a college freshman. You aren't aware yet the amount of growth and experience a person can go through. Stief has grown so immensely in her portrayals of characters. She's taken criticisms and grown so significantly to become more inclusive and researched. She now regularly employs sensitive readers. If you really want to sit there and blatantly refuse to allow people to grow and change, well, that's some growing up you have to do.

No, actually, I’m very, very forgiving when it comes to people who’re ready to change and apologise for their mistakes. There’s a reason I don’t make negative posts bout bardugo and susan dennard (although they are by no means perfect) and that’s because they’re very open to criticisms and apologise for bad representation in their books apart from improving on it with each subsequent book (as opposed to sarah j m/aas).

I have no idea whether she’s actually done all the stuff you claim she’s done but if that is the case, then I’m glad for her. That doesn’t mean people should stop critiquing the misrepresentations that still exist in her other books or not express how it made them feel upset.

[longsightmyth]

I’m a 31 year old, but this anon is welcome to come say I have some growing up I need to do because I critique books and authors - but, you know, I don’t go pick fights on anon with teens discussing things that do or don’t make them uncomfortable about books marketed to them and the authors who write books with them in mind. So really, while this anon tries to talk a good game, they should just take ten steps back and consider how they spend their time.

And I will stress again - anon. Can’t even put your name on the condescending messages you send to teens? Maybe that’s some growing up you have to do.

[longsightmyth]

Unpleasant reminder that if you send anon hate to anyone (and no I don’t care which side of whatever argument you’re on) you should examine your impulses, turn off the computer, and go outside. Maybe drink some water. Take a nap. IDK.

If you tell someone to kill themselves, you should know that that makes you a terrible person. Please seek help for yourself and work on that, and in the meantime examine your impulses, turn off the computer, go outside, drink some water, take a nap, etc.

You should also stop following me.

[tomhardysteeth]

Anyway this Twitter thread by NK Jemisin is all I care about

[bitegore]

[id: a twitter thread by N. K. Jemisin @ nkjemisin.

“A late-afternoon revision-mode thought. People ask me sometimes why I’m so *blatant* re racism and other bigotries, in my fiction. Wouldn’t a more subtle approach work?

Answer: No. A more subtle approach wouldn’t work.

SFF does subtle coverage of bigotry all the time, actually. Allegories all over the place, especially in secondary worlds. And probably because of that, readers who are fluent in SFF are used to separating real-world bigotry from its fantastic (or futuristic) counterpart.

Which is precisely how we ended up with a genre that, for most of my life, thought of itself as anti-racist. Look at all the allegories! Meanwhile no black characters. Few writers, editors, etc, of color. Open bigots everywhere.

Allegory does not reinforce reality. It obscures it.

That is, allegory allows readers who are uncomfortable with a topic to engage with that topic in a more comfortable space – away from reality. Scared of black people? Maybe you’ll empathize with these green people on Mars. Freaked out by the mentally ill? Make ‘em psychic.

And as a first step in desensitization, for people who’ve developed a pathological level of discomfort – which our racist, classist, sexist etc society encourages – that’s great! Except… most people stop there. Pat themselves on the back for coming so far. Go no farther.

Like, it’s awesome that you also think Dragon Age 2, a game about a penniless refugee who beomces a heroine, is the best game writing out there! Me, too! But you voted Trump or Brexit because fuck refugees/immigrants?

[A photo of a cat staring at the camera intensely]

But because it was the Done Thing for so long, allegorical engagement became standard in the genre… obscuring the reality that SFF had become nearly as old, white and male as a GOP convention, and just as defensive re its privilege. Overt engagement was, is, treated as gauche.

This isn’t just a genre thing. American society *loves* to pull this shit. Cf. Our media’s endless list of words to use instead of racism – racial tension, race-based bias, etc. Can’t say racism! That’s too far. How uncivil.

Reminder: calls for civility reinforce the status quo. They are a way of saying “Mm yeah you can mention X, but don’t you dare press for actual change!” Which *is* what anyone who mentions (say) the existence of racism, in a racist society, is doing. Naming it helps shame it.

Writing prominent characters who are members of marginalized groups, describing realistic examples of bigotry, and *calling* it bigotry when it appears, all can serve the same purpose, in fiction. But it’s going to feel uncivilized to some readers.

(This is apart from the matter of how to do it *well*. When just mentioning a topic, or a group, feels like a slap in the face to some readers – which it will, bc civility – then how do you slap gracefully? A little backhand, just a twist of the wrist? Practice your swing.)

Sometimes you gotta be uncivilized, when you live and write within a civilization built on bigotry. If it helps, remember that *you* weren’t the one who created this civilization… but you can help fix it.

So include green people…but also include black people. Make your character a refugee, and give them an indigenous Mexican name. Flex pronouns for your NB characters. When your characters are bigots, have somebody or the narrative *call* them bigots.

You cannot trust your audience to just figure that ish out. Some of them will, because they’ve lived it or learned better. Many will not, because they have been trained, by life and by fiction, to see only the “polite” obscuration, and to regard realism as separate and vulgar.

Nothing can fix that except us writers. Only way to move the Overton Window on what feels normal in fiction is to set your feet and shove. Rudely, if you must.

end id]

[shewhotellsstories]

[hireath24]

Stans are saying that no other author writes like SJM?

*Cracks knuckles* Alrighty then.

Crown of Midnight, SJM, 2011: ‘Some things you hear with your eyes. Other things you hear with your heart.’

The Land before Time, 1988: ‘Some things you see with your eyes. Other things you see with your heart.’

***

‘Spirit that could not be broken’ is seen in Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002) and Throne of Glass (2011).

***

ACOMAF, 2016: ‘Fire - he reminded her of fire made flesh.’

A Dance of Dragons, George R.R. Martin, 2011: ‘He is fire made flesh, she thought, and so am I.’

***

Empire of Storms, 2016, contains the infamous line ‘velvet-wrapped steel.’ And… so does Fifty Shades of Grey, in 2011: ‘Steel encased in velvet.’ 

***

‘To whatever end.’ Was stolen from J.R.R. Tolkein’s The Two Towers (1954)

***

Throne of Glass (2012) and Queen of Shadows (2015): ‘Rattle the stars.’

Treasure Planet (2002): ‘You’re gonna rattle the stars, you are!”

***

A Song of Fire and Ice, George R.R. Martin, 1996: ‘The Prince Who Was Promised.’ 

Empire of Storms, SJM, 2016: ‘The Queen Who Was Promised.’

***

I’m sure there are many other examples of plagiarism in SJM’s works but this is just what I’ve managed to find from other antis throughout Tumblr, Instagram and Goodreads, and also what I’ve noticed myself. I know that SJM also copies things from the real world and other cultures (poorly, might I add) and I think @crescentcitysux has a master post on that subject if you want to check them out! I highly recommend searching through the anti SJM tag if you want more evidence of her copying things from other authors :)

[longsightmyth]

Look we all know I am not a sarah janet fan but can we not be like ‘how dare she not comment on palestine in her social media’

first of all, you are saying this because she is jewish. Stop it. You cannot (and do not and should not) expect every catholic celebrity to weigh in when the pope pulls some bullshit. Do not expect this from a jewish woman who is BARELY a celebrity (?!) and isn’t even Israeli. 

If she posts something and it’s stupid, comment away. She’s not someone in charge of policy, thank god. She’s not an elected official. She has no bearing on anything.

Examine your kneejerk reactions.

(PS that article is many years old)

Can she be cancelled for her bad books instead please

[longsightmyth]

NO I’m not done, why is THIS what people are talking about today and not the actual atrocities being committed? The news in my corner of tumblr is that some nobody author didn’t take to instagram to condemn a people not her own because she went on birthright in college and discussed in a years-old article how that interacted with her faith?

It’s nothing news. This Outrage because a jewish author in the states didn’t even make a BAD statement but hasn’t made a statement is ridiculous.

[alectology-archive]

further proof that sjm doesn’t give a fuck about any of her characters except riceman is that she literally doesn’t mention the heroine in her tags:

[inthemidstofbuddie]

i want to know which agent (Robin or Tamar) sold the rights. literally all i’m waiting for.

also sadly i’m not at all surprised disney chose this shit. fits their brand.

[alectology-archive]

yeah like imagine managing to sell acotar. wow.

[battlestar-royco]

wait i’m so confused as to how and why DISNEY????? is involved?? shit is about to have zero plot bc they strip all the sex scenes and violence i–

[inthemidstofbuddie]

i honestly have NO idea how Disney is involved either. i’m keeping an eye out for any announcement articles (which will probably be on EW or Deadline)

[inthemidstofbuddie]

Kat, I need your insight on this transcript of a podcast mess did with smart b itches tr ashy romance https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/podcast/447-hanging-out-with-sarah-j-maas/#transcript I’m sorry but is mess even aware that the romance genre is like, a REAL thing? Because at one point she actually says “just, it infuriates me that, you know, somehow, you know, stories with women having sex and enjoying having sex and then being happy at the end, you know, somehow that’s not – like, somehow in order for a story to be, like, worthy, according to some, like, you know, gatekeepers and tastemakers, it has to be sad and miserable at the end, and, like, you know, the couple can’t be together “. Really Sarah Janet? REALLY?

here’s the transcript: 

Ms. Maas: And I’ve realized that, like, I don’t give a fuck if, like, people beyond the community think romance, like, you know, isn’t real literature, or like that – like, it is, first of all, but just because some – yeah, exactly – like, just because something –

[Laughter]

Ms. Maas: – is, like –

Ms. Amanda: No, you know –

Ms. Maas: Yeah, just because there’s a –

Ms. Amanda: – people won’t be able to see it, but Sarah was making jacking-off motions, so.

[Laughter]

Ms. Maas: But just, just because, you know, there’s a happy ending and there’s sex doesn’t mean that a story’s not worth telling. And that just – you know, not to go on a total rant, but it just –

Ms. Wendell: Feel free!

Ms. Maas: [Laughs] I just, it infuriates me that, you know, somehow, you know, stories with women having sex and enjoying having sex and then being happy at the end, you know, somehow that’s not – like, somehow in order for a story to be, like, worthy, according to some, like, you know, gatekeepers and tastemakers, it has to be sad and miserable at the end, and, like, you know, the couple can’t be together and, like, I do appreciate those stories every now and then, but I personally don’t like rereading stories where everyone’s dead –

Ms. Wendell: No.

Ms. Maas: – at the ending or, like, you know, the couple I’ve been rooting for for ten books isn’t together? Like, I just –

Ms. Wendell: Yep.

Ms. Maas: – that’s not my cup of tea, and I just, I keep returning to these romance books, like, again and again.

it sounds to me like sj///m is still going on and on about her idea that she’s breaking ground when it comes to the supposed feminism of her books, or what she’s bringing into the romance genre. we still have people praising her for writing characters who like nail polish and swords, who like wearing pretty dresses and going shopping while also wearing armor and going shooting (what with one of Bruce’s Big Scenes being the shooting range scene, and one of Nesta’s Big Scenes, the girlpower scene i mentioned in ac0sf chapter 39′s recap, being using a sword). but people keep saying sj///m is writing books with characters who’ve never been seen before, so she keeps believing it, never mind that so many authors have come before her, during her career, and after her debut who have done what she does only so much better. 

i think she’s also really confused about romance vs other genres, and just spewing shit she’s heard other authors say and thinking it’s smart. category romance has requirements to it that that make HEAs necessary if it’s going to be called a romance. therefore, the unhappy endings in romances that she’s reading? I don’t think they’re actually romances, and if you asked her to point out one such category romance that has an unhappy ending, she’d be unable to actually pinpoint one. maybe she’s mixing up romance and literary fiction, idk, but it’s very clear she doesn’t know what she’s talking about. 

[croissantcitysucks]

yk sometimes i really do wonder whether sjm is like. a real person who exists in reality, bc every time she gives one of these interviews it just gets worse. idk who on her team is telling her that what she’s writing is so groundbreaking but i’m literally begging them to stop.

also, i really don’t know where s//jm’s getting all this “it’s not WorthyTM unless it has a sad ending” or whatever stuff, bc every time i’ve seen her rec a book it’s been a generic HEA romance, so? this sounds very ungenuine.

[serpentsapple]

(This post will contain spoilers for the A Court of Thorns and Roses series, including A Court of Mist and Fury, A Court of Wings and Ruin and A Court of Silver Flames. There will also be frank discussions of sex, pregnancy, sexual violence and alcoholism.)

The ACOTAR series has long been lauded for its allegedly strong heroines, uplifting romances, sex positivity and explorations of female empowerment. I have often found these claims dubious at best and outright contradictory at worst, as past forays into the series have shown me little progress has been made in the genre of paranormal romance wherein dominant, alpha male love interests conquer and claim the female lead whether or not she is willing. The only thing that appears to have evolved is the thin veneer of illusion that she has a “choice” in the matter and yet the forces of fate and narrative combined will determine to push her into the eager arms of this brutish man regardless. Resistance is futile. Alternative paths are closed. There is no escape from the shackles of traditional femininity and heteronormative gender roles.

The series originally follows Feyre Archeron as she is taken from the human lands to the fae society over the Wall as penance for killing a fae disguised as a wolf. The fae society in this world is a martial one filled with warriors and a more primitive approach to gender relations. The words “male” and “female” are often used to refer to fae men and women. There are mystical forces that predetermine sexual partners and misogyny is rife. Feyre soon goes from the arms of one hypermasculine fae male known as Tamlin to another known as Rhysand and after a war with a neighbouring fae territory is resolved they are left to settle into their Happily Ever After.

In this instalment of the series, the romantic storyline follows Nesta Archeron, the elder sister of Feyre, and Cassian, the general of Feyre’s mate, Rhysand. Up to now Nesta has been grappling with being forced to turn into a High Fae by the series’ prior nemesis, the King of Hybern, whom she later killed during his war to claim the fae territories of Prythian across the channel. The ordeal has left her traumatised and angry at the world, engaging in increasingly spiralling behaviours until Feyre and Rhysand forcibly intervene.

Until I read this book I had never felt I was being peddled outright conservative agendas from Sarah J. Maas. Yet with each passing chapter, I was met with another in an extensive line of worrying implications and disturbing scenarios to a point I grew fearful I might not even be able to fit it all into this one review. Let us try, therefore, to take it step by step. I am going to be focusing on a few of the aspects that bothered me most. That is, the Heroine’s Journey itself, the Romance, the Sex (which will surely need its own section) and the Reproductive Trauma. Thus without further ado, let’s delve right in…

Keep reading

[cityofcliches]

Meant to be finishing an essay but thinking about my Linette/Eluned fic that nobody asked for instead

[longsightmyth]

I know I said I was trying to comment less but...

I really think if Nesta had been offered an actual choice and picked the library (maybe because she thought it would be easier to get out of, maybe because she figured women would be easier to be around, maybe just because she thought it would be easier to slink off into the stacks and do what she wanted) and these interactions with Clotho and Gwyn kept happening, these parts wouldn't be a problem. Nesta (who is after all a sexual abuse survivor) finding community and purpose among women who understand her would have been a good story. If Cassian wasn't her jailer and weird stalker, him swinging by to check on the librarians and Nesta as part of his job and slowly forming a bond of trust with Nesta based on how she sees him interact respectfully with the librarians or tones down his entire yelly shouty dickery in the library to make everyone more comfortable would have been a nice story!

We could even work weapons training in there! Nesta could at some point hear about how the library was attacked during the war (...was it? I think it was. It can't just be that the inner circle decided luring enemy forces to the library to sic bryaxis on them was the best tactical decision right?)(RIGHT?!) and realize Bryaxis isn't there anymore and decide that she, Nesta, sharp-edged personality, hard to get along with, whatever she thinks about herself, is best suited to protecting the other librarians whether that is true or not. She could then ask Cassian to train her and anyone else who wants to, so that she can protect the library, her new home, and the librarians, her new community.

But that would require a single archeron sister not have their lives set out for them by A Male, so that's not what Sarah Janet went for.

[discountalien-pancake]

Say it with me now: calling a poc’s eyes “angular” is just as racist as calling them “slanty,” you’re just too much of a lazy coward to admit it

[flowerflamestars]

Petty small things roundup, in which I try not to verge into what I super hated:

-Did anyone else keep getting jarred by the 300% increase in the insistence that everyone call each other sister/brother? like we, the reader, cannot understand a found family unless it’s spelled out in nuclear terms. 

- god, someone feed Cassian some fucking fruit. let Nesta brush her teeth. oh my god

-pregnancy scent descriptors? GROSS yall. whole gross vibe

-why why why would Nesta need to wear head to toe leather to work out at the House of Wind? they’re flight leathers. they’re for warmth in brutal cold. the woman is doing squats in leather pants.

- are we….supposed to be sympathetic to Cassian’s bitchy Eris makes me feel like I’m bad at the job I am bad at! that he is good at! that he acts like a dick about to make me even worse at!

(like, obviously there’s some racist shit there. But it’s just so weirdly focused on: he’s prettier! cleverer! so smooth! he makes me FEEL AWKWARD while he’s being smooth and clever!)

-Morrigan…dressed Nesta? what

- Hounds were mentioned and yet, we saw not a single hound. Incorrect faery hound usage

- remember when we used to happily joke about how Galathynius was SUCH a fantasy name? remember when s/jm made up names instead of…borrowing them from real life? lifting whole concepts and then very lightly changing them? gracelessly?

-500 years is NOT A LONG TIME TO IMMORTAL PEOPLE WHO CAN… live forever unless killed???if all our cast are demonstrably still shaped/dealing with things that happened then, hey, maybe they also remember things from that time period?

-do they not…actually chose what shape/location the deal tattoos take? because rhys definitely chose how feyre’s turned out two books ago

- can someone tell s/jm that sometimes…adult people whose parents didn’t bother to raise them…don’t enshrine those parents in their memories after death. and that’s okay? 

-NESTA IS THE TALL SISTER?

-why WHY would all the other Queens just nope out? are we supposed to assume they were killed? Surely the entire missing monarchy would raise…some flags in human territory?

- Feyre…transforms…into another kind/race of faery. just… I can’t.. If I actually try to talk about how bad this is my brain will explode.

- on one hand, why the hell is Rhysand daring put a stop to Helion’s incredible sense for how to make an entrance? ON THE OTHER, why did I just read a mini magic horse biography in the middle of this book

-Somehow…I feel like…Varian probably isn’t going to get to keep whatever office he holds in Summer while living in the Night Court? shouldn’t.

-HIGH KING? HIGH KING?

this didn’t exist when the other books were being written. I would bet…so so much that it didn’t even exist until a late round of edits. this is a BAD concept

-I read this book yesterday and I have already forgotten the name of the big bad

- there are NO female self-defense instructors? in this whole ass Court metropolis?

-NESTA ISNT ALLOWED SUGAR IN HER PORRIDGE??

-I thought the mean librarian was going to be a surviving Valkyrie. it was too cool a thought for this novel

-Illyrian’s can only winnow? one night a year? and they exclusively use it to start the yearly murder game? is it SERIOUSLY only the men that can winnow? 

- Pregnant mate announcing pregnancy to the Court of Nightmares, fine. Pregnant mate getting a kiss on the cheek from her dude friend/ ‘brother’ BAD

-Regifting jewelry is a dick move

- but why does Vallahan matter? at all? 

- Illyrian rebellion man died OFF PAGE?

-if I were a blacksmith, and some of my swords clearly somehow became Legendary Magic Swords, I wouldn’t act like that was a fearful imposition?

ALSO, no one has ever needed to hammer a sword to use a sword. Seriously. these are not overlapping skills.

- how is Nesta NOT a Death God, a true immortal, if her power is ‘pure death’?

- ‘they wanted to be forgotten’ is a truly insane reason to have forgotten a thing..you suddenly remembered existing

-Elain lives with Rhysand and Feyre? Didn’t she get her own house in acofas?

-Lady Illyrian wings CANNOT be repaired? but Cassian’s shredded until they looked like wet paper can? 

- so…who thinks s/jm read Deathless at some point in this drafting process?

- I have never heard a Straighter threesome fantasy in my life

-what is Amren’s job? aside from providing her opinion in the most inflammatory way possible. what does she do?

-glowing beacons sound dangerous as fuck in an open combat, sneaking around to not get murdered situation

-NYX? Night…of the Night Court. Night, future High Lord of the Night Court. Night Night of the Night, if you will. 

-mating ceremony- NOT WEDDING, even though Nesta clearly values marriage, as a tenet of her human life