As a former fan of the series who is still in the fandom and engages very critically, I would actually like you to visit @/worldsnotsaid 's blog because they really do point out the heavy racism in sjm's books so that quip about 'not that SJM is racist' in the tags of your post is simply not true. Just be sure to not send them hate. (I was pretty oblivious about these issues in the books & went in thinking that there would be baseless arguments but they make some pretty good points.)
(Also your post appears when you search up 'sjm racist' on tumblr so maybe the previous anti anon was because of that)
I feel like sjm did create a very nice world in her books (if I heavily ignore the racism & homophobia) and it's fine to engage in the fandom (I do) but I also know that a lot of people in the fandom are racist & homophobic themselves but they will always be there in every fandom I fear. And furthermore, we should demand sjm to do & learn better.
Oh thank you, I will go check that out! And as a White person I will admit that calling things “racist” still sometimes feels wrong even when it is absolutely correct. That tag reflects that and I apologize. We should be demanding SJM to do better - I don’t know if she has acknowledged that racism baked into her world building but she definitely should. I don’t mind the anti-anon because as they said in a subsequent message - antis also provide a key piece of information in the fandom and we should be critical of the media we consume.
As someone who was deeply involved in the Supernatural fandom, I have sadly seen the racism & homophobia in fandoms. I learned about queerbaiting from Dean & Cas ya know? While people exist those prejudices will also exist. But it doesn’t mean we cannot demand removing overt AND covert racism and anti-LGBTQ+ in the media we consume!
As I said before, I don’t “stan” anything. At 32 years old I have come to see that no piece of media created by a person will be perfect, but we also should be holding creators accountable for the harmful media they create. I’m a White woman and so I will always have some level of internalized bias & prejudice to overcome and I sadly might not see the racism right away, but once it’s brought to my attention I will try to never unsee it or brush it off. 🤷🏻♀️
sjm stans are so close to getting the point that she is racist but you know what? you do you. the antis are tired of pointing out the racism constantly.
and ask yourself why the entire race of illyrians are depicted as barbarian misogynists by a white woman (as if 'barbarians' was not the description of our people by the colonizers) & why she cherry-picks different aesthetics from totally different cultures while describing them as 'exotic'.
I’m not an SJM stan? I fully realize that there’s racism thinly veiled as “diversity” in the ACOTAR universe. I don’t think I’ve ever described any of the characters as “exotic” nor do I use that in my own vernacular. I even wrote a post about it once I realized it about halfway through Mist & Fury. I shared non-white actors that I thought would be great for the Bat Boys.
So like I hear you. This totally needs to be discussed and not ignored. I’ll be that catalyst no problem.
I’m just not a blind follower of anything, so please don’t label me a “stan”. 🫶🏻
Ohhhhh my. Well if we are talking about the actual first book, I think the only real friendship is Feyre & Lucien!
As for the series overall? I want more Feyre & Mor, but truth be told I did love the Valkyries 🤷🏻♀️ I feel like that’s one of the more well-rounded friendships that we see. So much happens throughout the series that we get little bits of the Inner Circle being friends, but nothing that stands out to me like the Valkyries.
People talk a lot about the pipeline between the 2000s-era ‘nu-atheist’ movement and alt-right fascism, and for good reason, but there needs to be more attention paid to the pipeline between hippy-dippy crystal-and-moonbeams credulous New Agers and far-right conspiracy-theorist loons, because honestly I’ve encountered a lot more of those people in the past little while.
Except I don’t actually just mean Christianity. Maybe in America and Europe, sure; but in India, the pathway is from Hinduism; in Turkey, Erdogan legitimises his regime through Islam, just as Netanyahu uses Judaism in Israel, and in Burma, they use Buddhism. No one has a monopoly on this.
I know it’s not, like, surprising, but tumblr’s way of identifying how Christianity has especially negative social consequences because of how hegemonic and entrenched it is where they live, but somehow failing to draw the conclusion that maybe other religions might have that privilege and position in other cultures and be used for the same purposes is just.
Honestly though it’s probably because we grew up entrenched in the ideology that no other religion was as “powerful” as Christianity.
I’m reading this exact thread and thinking “yeah well I wasn’t taught that a leader could wield Hinduism like that, because it was inferior to Christianity” 😖
Just a thought! I appreciate this thread and how it expresses that any religion or regime of power can manipulate beliefs into weapons.
In Hosab Azriel carried Bryce to a house and we had this scene.
He gave no warning as he hauled her over a shoulder and tromped down a set of stairs before entering somewhere … nice-smelling. Roses? Bread? They ate bread in Hel? Had flowers? A dark, cold world, the Asteri had said in their notes on the planet.
We know it is town house. Here is the post that explains it. > Town House
And from Acosf we know that it was supposed to be empty.
“But why live in this dump, when the town house was sitting empty?” (Acosf)
But from bryce’s pov we can see that it looks like somebody is living there.
So let’s talk about why “Roses? Bread?” is about Elain.
We are first going to talk about the town house-elain connection to it.
When feyre first arrived at town house she always mentioned the garden.
“Nuala and Cerridwen opened a door, leading to a fire-warmed, sunlit room. It faced a walled, winter-kissed garden in the back of the town house, the large windows peering over the sleeping stone fountain in its center, drained for the season.”
“Nuala headed for the small attached bathing room—white marble, a claw-foot tub, more sunny windows that overlooked the garden wall and the thick line of cypress trees that stood watch behind it.”
“I took in the clothes, then the room, then the winter garden and the slumbering fountain beyond, and Rhysand’s earlier words clicked into place.”
“A city—a lovely one, if the sounds from my window, the garden beyond it, were any indication—lay all around me.”
And that chapter is the first time Elain’s name mentioned in acomaf—the same chapter Feyre arrived at the Town House. It is about how Elain wanted to go to cities on the continent because they were “full of art, and learning and trade”
“There were no cities left in our mortal territory. Though some had sprung up on the main continent, full of art and learning and trade. Elain had once wanted to go with me. I didn’t suppose I’d ever get that chance now.”
Elain wanted to go to cities on the main continent—full of art and learning and trade.
Let’s look at Velaris.
We all know Velaris is known for artists’ quarters—Rainbow of Velaris.
“Rhys said, “This is what Velaris is known for: the artists’ quarter. You’ll find a hundred galleries, supply stores, potters’ compounds, sculpture gardens, and anything in between. They call it the Rainbow of Velaris. The performing artists—the musicians, the dancers, the actors—dwell on that hill right across the Sidra. You see the bit of gold glinting near the top? That’s one of the main theaters. There are five notable ones in the city, but that’s the most famous. And then there are the smaller theaters, and the amphitheater on the sea cliffs … ” He trailed off as he noticed my gaze drifting back to the assortment of bright buildings ahead.”
And there is also trade in Velaris.
“The owner—a slim, dark-skinned female with lovely brown eyes—was standing behind my chair, chatting with Rhys about the latest shipment of spices that had come to the Palaces. “The traders were saying the prices might rise, High Lord, especially if rumors about Hybern awakening are correct.”
“There was a time when the Night Court was a Court of Nightmares and was ruled from the Hewn City. Long ago. But an ancient High Lord had a different vision, and rather than allowing the world to see his territory vulnerable at a time of change, he sealed the borders and staged a coup, eliminating the worst of the courtiers and predators, building Velaris for the dreamers, establishing trade and peace.”
Lastly learning. It is a new city for her—new world. Full of new information. Feyre is learning new things while they are walking on the streets. (I will add to this later in the post... keep your eyes on it 👀👀)
“Rhysand kept a few steps away, hands in his pockets as he offered bits of information every now and then.”
So was it a coincidence that Elain’s name’s first mention in acomaf is in that chapter and it is about how she wants to go to continent because it is full of art, trade and learning... and Velaris has all those things 👀
And let’s not forget...in acosf Nesta said this.
“Elain, mourn as she might for the life she would have had with Graysen, had found a place, a role here. Tending to the gardens of Feyre’s veritable palace on the river, helping other residents of Velaris restore their own destroyed gardens—she had purpose, and joy, and friends: those two half-wraiths who worked in Rhysand’s household.”
Okay turning back to town house gardens...
A chapter after feyre notices the garden in the Town House she thought this.
“Buttery sunlight that softened the already mild winter day, a small, manicured front lawn—its dried grass near-white—bordered with a waist-high wrought iron fence and empty flower beds, all leading toward a clean street of pale cobblestones.”
Town houses flower beds are empty. Nobody is tending the gardens. But... in acowar we have this.
Cassian’s dark brows narrowed. I dragged a hand over my face before going to Elain and touching her too-bony shoulder. “Can I set you up in the garden? The herbs you planted are coming in nicely.” “I can help her,” said Azriel, stepping to the table as Elain silently rose. No shadows at his ear, no darkness ringing his fingers as he extended a hand. Nesta monitored him like a hawk, but kept silent as Elain took his hand, and out they went.”
Elain planted herbs in the garden. She started to tend the garden of Town House.
Also when she first arrives at the Town House Azriel literally carrying her bridal style into the house. And they go to garden.
Azriel arrived first, no shadows to be seen, my sister a pale, golden mass in his arms. He, too, wore his Illyrian armor, Elain’s golden-brown hair snagging in some of the black scales across his chest and shoulders. He set her down gently on the foyer carpet, having carried her in through the front door. Elain peered up at his patient, solemn face. Azriel smiled faintly. “Would you like me to show you the garden?” She seemed so small before him, so fragile compared to the scales of his fighting leathers, the breadth of his shoulders. The wings peeking over them. But Elain did not balk from him, did not shy away as she nodded—just once. Azriel, graceful as any courtier, offered her an arm. I couldn’t tell if she was looking at his blue Siphon or at his scarred skin beneath as she breathed, “Beautiful.” Color bloomed high on Azriel’s golden-brown cheeks, but he inclined his head in thanks and led my sister toward the back doors into the garden, sunlight bathing them.”
Is this a foreshadowing for them? Is Elain living there and Azriel carrying her bridal style is foreshadowing of what’s to come? 👀
Okay, now that’s explained we continue with the “Roses? Bread?” part.
Elain’s always been connected with rose.
I slung off my outer clothes onto the sagging dresser—frowning at the violets and roses I’d painted around the knobs of Elain’s drawer,(Acotar)
“I started on the third. “I painted flowers for Elain on her drawer,” I said, sawing and sawing. “Little roses and begonias and irises. And for Nesta … ” The arrow clattered to the ground and I ripped out the other end.” (Acomaf)
“Devlon let out a grunt at the sight of her. But Elain wrapped her own blue cloak around herself, averting her eyes from all of those towering, muscled warriors, the army camp bustling toward the horizon … She was a rose bloom in a mud field. Filled with galloping horses.” (Acowar)
She plucked another figurine from the mantel: a rose carved from a dark sort of wood. She held it in her palm, its solid weight surprising, and traced a finger over one of the petals. “He made this one for Elain. Since it was winter and she missed the flowers. (Acosf)
“The golden necklace seemed ordinary -- its chain unremarkable, the amulet tiny enough that it could be dismissed as an everyday charm. It was a small, flat rose fashioned of stained glass, designed so that when held to the light, the true depth of the colors would become visible. A thing of secret, lovely beauty. (Azriel’s bonus chapter)
And the bread part.
Elain stood between Nuala and Cerridwen at the long worktable. All three of them covered in flour. Some sort of doughy mess on the surface before them. The two handmaiden-spies instantly bowed to Rhys, and Elain—. There was a slight sparkle in her brown eyes. As if she’d been enjoying herself with them. Nuala swallowed hard. “The lady said she was hungry, so we went to make her something. But—she said she wanted to learn how, so …” Hands wreathed in shadows lifted in a helpless gesture, flour drifting off them like veils of snow. “We’re making bread.” Elain was glancing between all of us, and as her eyes began to shutter, I gave her a broad smile and said, “I hope it’ll be done soon—I’m starved.” Elain offered a faint smile in return and nodded. She was hungry. She was … doing something. Learning something.”
We all know how elain was after Cauldron. She was lifeless. But this is the first time we see her enjoying herself. She is making bread with Nuala and Cerridwen.
But I think the important part is the last part “She was hungry. She was … doing something. Learning something.” She is learning something... also I think it is important to add that sarah wrote learning in “learning something” in italics 👀
and when I was talking about Elain and Town house connection above I talked about how Elain’s name’s first mention in acomaf is when Feyre arrived at the Town House and it was about how she wanted to go to continent because the cities were “full of art and learning and trade.” As you can see Elain is learning something. She is learning how to bake bread.
“Breathed in the smell of the bread Nuala and Cerridwen had baked that morning with Elain.”(acowar)
“Elain straightened from the piping-hot loaves of bread she’d hauled from the oven, her hair half up, the apron over her rose-pink gown dusted with flour.”
in the second quote it is used for color but she is literally wearing a rose-pink gown while hauling bread from the oven...
Tiktok SEEMS like it fills the same ecological niche as Tumblr circa 2014, but everything that happens on tiktok is the result of some multitrillion dollar conglomerate setting a Rube Goldberg machine I'm motion that makes people act insane , and this leads to an increase in profits for someone somehow. Tumblr was just good old fashioned mass hysteria.
“When someone on here stole human bones for a magic ritual it was because there was genuinely something wrong with them. If someone on tiktok did it it would be because they were trying to sell you shovels”
I honestly feel like every other form of social media (I fear even lumping tumblr in with the others tbh) just doesn’t do it for me like tumblr because of the expectations. There are like zero tumblr expectations because it’s you’re own slice of the world where you like what you like, engage with it, create for the sake of creating, and if you get something that goes viral it’s a happy accident.
The expectation for every other form of social media IS to go “viral”, to create content that can be cross-platformed, can be used in multiple streams, can be monetized, etc.
And it’s exhausting.
I spend looooong hours on tumblr in the 2010s on my laptop or desktop (there was no app). I made a LOT of amazing friends (some still follow this blog, and some from my personal blog are literally my best friends now) but it was through pure connection over common interests. It never exhausted me to create or engage on tumblr. And while I enjoy TikTok, it feels exhausting to even have notifications there. The trends get boring or annoying - look I was here for Mishapocolypse so - and it’s just very different. IG/FB are clearly way too messy to even compare.
All this to just say that tumblr really stands on its own and I hope it stays that way.
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