aphroditeofcnidus

[aphroditeofcnidus]

The way Feyre doesn't "let herself think it"sums up her governance as a High Lady.She gave the poor SC faeries her jewelry, because she saw their misery right in front of her and this has to do with the way taxes are collected in SC(the citizens come to the palace to pay).She never had to watch an Illyrian female get her wings clipped, before she wore those wings as a fetish costume,though.She never met one of the ordinary citizens in HC.She just goes there to flaunt herself in front of the snobbish aristocrats,who disdain her dear Rhys for being half Illyrian.She never had to face the consequences of her actions in SC, because the refugees didn't come to the NC,but went to other courts,that share borders with the SC.She created refugees,that others had to deal with,with Rhysand's blessings.She never even saw how Nesta's neighbours became homeless, after she demolished the building Nesta used to live in.She stays at her mansion, surrounded by sycophants and "doesn't let herself think it",like a Marie Antoinette with pointy ears.She has no contact with regular people at all and lives in the bubble Rhys created for her.

[aphroditeofcnidus]

Sjm's female protagonists are supposed to be icons of female empowerment and yet they often judge and shame other women,while being far worse themselves.Feyre deems her sister an embarrassment, because she drinks and sleeps around,while she regularly has sex on the sky,blows Rhys,with people around them dying,makes out with Rhys for everyone to watch in HC and used to sleep with an engaged man.Her behaviour is not just far worse than Nesta's, it's extremely disrespectful to others,not to mention that forcing others to watch you like that is harassment.Then, there's TOG,where things become surreal.You have an actual assassin judging a sex worker.Or it could be called surreal,if you don't take into account that the treatment of violence vs the treatment of sex has generally always been one of the biggest problems in American media. SJM needs to realize that being a feminist heroine doesn't necessarily mean becoming a warrior.The way every heroine's path to empowerment is becoming a warrior is getting annoying.Women don't necessarily have to do traditionally male jobs to be empowered feminists.In fact,when only such jobs are considered worthy of pursuing while traditionally female ones are undervalued,this is downright misogynistic.Nesta wasn't worth anything,when she cooked for her family,only Feyre,the hunter deserved recognition.

[aphroditeofcnidus]

The racist ideology in Acotar is especially obvious in Rhysand's order to the shop owners of Velaris to refuse service to the HC citizens.Personally it makes me sad.I can't stop imagining the soldiers's children being unable to buy toys.But, that's not what the author wants us to imagine.All HC males are described as dangerous misogynists.So,when Rhysand,the supposed feminist king doesn't allow the Darkbringers to enter Velaris bars, he supposedly protects Velaris women from possible assault.And this reminds me of the rhetoric of the European far right parties,during the refugee crisis about why Muslim refugees shouldn't be allowed to enter their countries.They supposedly all have dangerous misogynistic mentalities,so they pose a danger to european women.Meanwhile,i can assure you that in the countries with the biggest influx of muslim refugees and immigrants ,like Greece and Italy the vast majority of rapes and femicides are committed by the victims's own countrymen.Acotar is not just conservative,it has a serious far right logic.The parallels are too obvious to ignore.Another example is Illyria and how the wing clipping is obviously inspired by female genital mutilation in african countries.Because of that,the exploitation of Illyrians is justified.What is the most common excuse for the exploitation of African countries?That they're uncivilised,the people are savages.Of course,Mor,who says she wants to wipe their race off advocates genocide as well.Again,we're talking about the heroes of the series,not the villains.That's seriously extreme stuff.

[aphroditeofcnidus]

There's a talk among fans about a possible Nessian child and imo the best thing for such a child would be to be a full Illyrian,with minimal magic,like their father.If they inherit Nesta's powers,like creating weapons, Amren will lick her lips over the potential such a child would hold for Rhysand.Nesta might not have been broken enough to do everything they want,as Hofas shows,but a child is more easily manipulated.If it's an Illyrian boy ,i don't think Cassian will send him to Windhaven against Nesta's will,he will probably train him himself and most importantly noone would find it advantageous to manipulate him to do things for their benefit.Rhysand has thousands of strong Illyrian warriors, including Cassian,he wouldn't need his child.However, i don't think Cassian is able to protect a child with Nesta's powers from Amren,who would advise Rhys to be especially nice to the kid and take them under his wing.He doesn't see her true colours.He doesn't see how entitled she was to Nesta's powers and just thought how Nesta should be grateful that Amren supposedly worried about her.He didn't see why she was so worried,that it was about her powers and not Nesta herself.Azriel,who at least spied on her at first, sees her much more clearly.It would be very difficult for Nesta on her own with no support to protect her child from Rhysand and Amren.Granted,Nesta seems to have theese powers, because she's Made,so they shouldn't be hereditary.But of course,Nyx shouldn't be 3/4 Illyrian either, because parents pass their genes,you never know with SJM.

[aphroditeofcnidus]

Tamlin telling Nesta in ACOSF "You are just as nasty as your sister said you'd be", is such a rage baiting exchange between them for me. It very clearly highlights the way that Feyre victimizes herself to every single person she meets, to the point where every character that she interacts with before her sisters comes away thinking that Nesta is the person that should be held responsible for everything that Feyre has gone thru. In doing so, Feyre basically lays the groundwork for all the negative interactions that Nesta has with anyone that Feyre gets to first - because everyone ends up tripping all over themselves to become one of Feyre's many revenge proxies. Tamlin, Rhysand - and by extension the Inner Circle - all of them get the same sob story and all come away with the same conclusion about Nesta. It's not their mother that gets any blame, or their father and definitely not Elain, it is ALWAYS Nesta.

And if this isn't a huge sign to the reader that Feyre is not only an unreliable narrator but that she is a very bias one, I don't know what is.....but most people still do not get it! I was calling bullshit from Book 1, but I guess I'm some kind of anomaly.

Just about the only thing that ACOSF got right was to point out that anyone that Nesta met in the series outside of Feyre, likes her and gets along with her fine..., but it also felt like too little to late for me.

And I'll add this - and this goes out to the "as an older sibling, I would never" crowd - I have 3 siblings, and the way that we treated each other growing up makes the Archeron sisters look like saints. We said and did some really wild things to each other growing up. One thing I never did and will never do, is bad mouth my siblings to anyone that I just met. The last thing I would ever want or would allow is for someone who barely knows my siblings at all to treat them negatively on my behalf. That is a very hard line in the sand that I do not allow people to cross.

[aphroditeofcnidus]

I keep seeing ACOTAR being described as sex positive and i have to say that sex positivity doesn't necessarily mean a two page blowjob description.It's about the mentality, not how detailed the sex scenes are.If you have lengthy descriptions of sex between married,mated or couples,who date seriously,but it's acceptable for sexually promiscuous people to be slut shamed and confined,this isn't sex positivity.You can have smut with conservative values,however contradictory this sounds.Horror films,that show nudity,but the sexually promiscuous girl is the first to get killed is a good example for this.In Acotar there's Nesta being confined, because her drinking and sleeping around embarrasses her family,which is extreme patriarchical abuse,you have extreme pro life propaganda,way worse than Twilight,which noone in their right mind would call anything but conservative and sex negative.And this is conservativism,only when it comes to sex.Acotar has seriously politically conservative values as well.The good guys are those,who discriminate against entire groups of people,who according to them are born bad and should not come in contact with civilized people.What does that remind us of?

[aphroditeofcnidus]

I see this argument from Elriels, that Gwyn can't be with Azriel, because he's supposedly a freak in bed and Gwyn has been sexually assaulted.Should such an experience define her forever? Can't she find healing and enjoy her sexuality?Gwyn's only sexual experience unfortunately was getting raped, that's true.She wasn't old enough to participate in the Great Rite, as she says and her temple was isolated.That doesn't mean she's condemned not to find any joy in sex for the rest of her life or that she would never wish to try rougher consensual sex.There's this unfortunate mentality that if a woman gets sexually assaulted,she will be defined by this forever.It is rooted in misogyny.Rape in the past was considered a loss of value for the woman, especially if she was a virgin.And if a woman lost her value,she had no reason to exist.This survives in the fact that there are people ,even today who believe that a SA survivor will always be defined by this experience,that she can never truly recover.Or in the fact that many authors think the worst thing that can happen to their female heroines is getting raped.

What i also don't understand is how Azriel being a freak in bed supports the Elriel ship.How is Elain a good match for a man like that?Elain is ridiculously conservative,to the point of refusing to talk to her sister about menstruation.She refers to sex "as those other things".She slut shames her sister and believes that a woman who sleeps around should be confined.

[aphroditeofcnidus]

Rhysand and the IC's hostility towards Nesta has to do with Feyre's unrealistic expectations of her.Feyre lost her mother and expected her older sister by three years to take her place.Nesta was in no position to do that.She was too young and too traumatised to play such a role.Does Rhysand,who says how he wants to yell at Feyre's sisters for not protecting her not understand this?He likely does,but he's always trying to validate Feyre's feelings.He has access to her thoughts and feelings,after all,he knows them very well.For example,why did he make her high lady?He knew that she took it wrong when Tamlin told her that there's no such thing and gave her what she desired.Does he not know that it's an empty title,both because she wasn't chosen by magic and because she couldn't be his co ruler?(one,monarchs don't usually have such a thing,they have consorts and second she doesn't have the skills for this).Of course, he does.He just gave her what he knew would make her happy in her ignorance,like giving a 5 year old girl a tiara,so she can play princess.He knows that Feyre blames Nesta for not taking care of her,when she was no more than a traumatized teenager herself and validates her anger,however absurd it is.His behaviour has a lot to do with his guilt of his treatment of Feyre UTM.Now,he just punishes everyone that has ever upset Feyre,whether this is right or wrong.As for the others,they do as Rhys does.Cassian accuses Nesta for not taking care of her sister,when he first meets her,as Rhysand does,but in ACOSF when he has fallen in love with her, he's trying to say that he didn't mean it,when they visit the cabin together.He has come to realize he was unfair,that Nesta was an abused teenage girl,then.Falling in love with her made him see things in a different light,he saw Nesta as a person and not just the sister that his brother's mate is mad at.

[aphroditeofcnidus]

I’ve been thinking about something, what does it say about Mor’s supposed “found family” who apparently love her so much that she doesn't feel like she can come out to them? 

I'm not sure whether this has to do with Rhysand and the others or Mor herself.They shame people they dislike like Nesta,but don't generally seem to have conservative views.Perhaps her reluctance to come out has to do with her upbringing,since she was raised to believe that this was sth she must absolutely hide and doesn't feel comfortable being open about it, yet.Feeling comfortable talking about it with Feyre, who's definitely not more open minded than the others is weird,though.

[aphroditeofcnidus]

Helping someone deal with their anger issues is very different to the "taming of the shrew" we see in Nesta's case.Rhysand and the IC wanted to control her,not help her deal with her anger.Nesta now feels like she needs to earn love and this of course includes pleasing people,who don't allow her angry emotions.As a result she ends up apologizing,when she shows anger,even when she has every right to be angry. You see Nesta apologizing,when she's not even wrong.When Cassian stalked her after the solstice party ,she would have every right not to see him again and she could rightfully even scream and embarrass the hell out of him,in public.Nesta however ends up apologizing,as if she was wrong for rejecting him.She didn't have the right to reject one of them.When she fought with Amren she had every right to be furious at her for voting to hide information about herself from her.And yet,she ends up kneeling in front of her, because noone has the right to yell at Amren.From the beginning all they wanted to do was break Nesta and control her, because of her powers.It was never about Nesta becoming mentally healthy,which if course she isn't yet.

[aphroditeofcnidus]

Justice in Acotar is very problematic.It is expected that in a fantasy series heroes would be rewarded and villains would be punished,but here there are examples of severe punishment that is not justified by the person's actions.Nesta, for example gets imprisoned,threatened, verbally and psychologically abused,and while this is supposed to be for her own good,you also get the idea that this is the way to be punished for her past treatment of Feyre.Nesta is also knocked,when she's already down,which makes things worse. This isn't justice, it's simply revenge.Then,you have people,who do way worse things getting away with them.They never face the consequences of their actions,they never acknowledge their mistakes.Feyre never faces the consequences of the Spring Court destruction.She created refugees.Let at least Tarquin and other courts,that share borders with the SC and have to deal with its refugees, demand the NC pay for their housing,since it's its High Lady's actions that caused this.Let at least Rhysand beg for Feyre's forgiveness for what he did UTM.But,no there are those who get away with everything without facing any consequences and those that need to suffer greatly for a lot less.Also, there's no problem with innocents suffering for the sake of revenge.It's perfectly acceptable for the lives of SC citizens to be destroyed,for Tamlin to suffer.Honestly, especially the way Nesta has to suffer for saying rude things to Feyre,while others get away with war crimes and sexual assault is the epitome of the New Testament phrase"to strain out a gnat and swallow a camel".Let those who commited crimes pay and atone for them and then let's talk about Feyre's mean older sister.

[aphroditeofcnidus]

I’ve been having a lot of ACOTAR content on Tik Tok recently and everytime the subject of Nesta comes up I look at the comments (the best part of most social media pkatforms).

I have found that every time someone explains why they don’t like Nesta outside of the hunting business, they describe FEYRE.

Only cares about her own trauma ? Feyre. Nesta would always put hers to the side to help others. Or have you guys missed the part where she worked hard to help the priestesses. Or how she protected Elain. How she went to dining room of her own accord because Cassian had looked distraught and she hadn’t been able to shake the feeling for the whole day. Or how she panicked when she learned about Feyre’s pregnancy and asked if her sister was distraught. And how she agreed to scry after learning of it to give a better world to her nephew. Or how she threatened Tamlin in defense of Feyre. Or even that she detests Eris because of what he did to Mor, someone she has no reason to care about.

The same comment would then add that Nesta puts her friends/found family above her sisters… and if the previous argument didn’t scream Feyre enough, this is comes with neons. Feyre cares more about Cassian being with his mate rather than look at how rude he’s treated her sister often in front of her. She literally built a home keeping every member of the IC’s preferences in mind. A garden for Elain, a training ring for Cassian, a closet for Mor…There’s even a library for Amren who has her own apartment. Meanwhile, Nesta doesn’t even have a portrait there.

The Nesta hatred is so forced, I swear….

[aphroditeofcnidus]

Seeing Rhys buying expensive jewellery for Amren,while Illyrians live in poverty and then hearing him say how he tries to be a good leader reminds me of what Diego Maradona had said about the Pope."I have been to the Vatican and seen the golden ceilings.And then i listen to the Pope's concern about poor kids.So,sell the ceilings,mate."He gifts Amren expensive gems that could buy necessities Illyrians lack,such as blankets not to mention decent housing,instead of living in tents,as if her big,fat salary is not enough for her.And this is the man,that the narrative says Prythian would be lucky to have as High King and every HL,including Tarquin who actually tries to bring social justice in his Court,should resign for him to take charge.

Seriously,the way poverty is addressed in Acotar is very problematic.The protagonist starts poor,but there is no social commentary about inequality.It's just a personal struggle she overcomes with the help of two handsome princes,a fairytale rags to riches story and as for other people "it's just the way the world is".Feyre lacks sensitivity when it comes to poor people,when she's no longer poor herself.She's actually ashamed that her sister lives in a poor apartment and demolishes the building, without giving a damn about the poor people living there.The fact that she's reluctant to spend money doesn't have to do with any concern about people who live in poverty,while she buys jewels.It's a psychological thing,that has stuck to her since her days of poverty about spending money unnecessarily.So,Mor tells her that she's so rich that she has no real reason to worry.

Acotar reeks of elitism.

[aphroditeofcnidus]

What Nesta tells Bryce says everything about her treatment by the IC.Nesta knows perfectly well what happens to people,who defy them or just don't worship the ground they walk on,like she did.Nesta was imprisoned,verbally and psychologically abused,taken to a punishment hike and the fact that she tells Bryce that it would be best for her to cooperate means that she's tired of fighting to maintain her boundaries and just tries to avoid pain.The fact that she decided to give Bryce the mask for the greater good,fully knowing what she would go through makes braver than many people realize.

God was this so necessary. Amren is such a cunt

[aphroditeofcnidus]

When Cassian asked Rhys if Feyre could transform herself into an Illyrian to give birth,Rhys told him that it would be dangerous for the baby,not Feyre.This means that the child could be lost,but Feyre would live.Why wasn't this an option?Why wasn't Feyre informed of this?Why the life of the child was more important than the mother's?They could try again,if that baby was lost,so many women,queens included gave birth to stillborn children in the past and provided an heir later, nonetheless.

This whole pregnancy plot was a really bad idea.I imagine that if the book was to be published,after Roe vs Wade was overturned,publishers would probably not allow it, because of the controversy it would generate.It was published in 2021,though and Roe vs Wade was overturned in 2022.I personally read it after that, though and seeing such a thing in an American book disgusted me. Stories of women,who couldn't get abortions,while their babies had serious genetic diseases have made international news. Still,anti abortion fanatics didn't start existing in 2022, publishers and editors should realize how problematic,how controversial this was.I hear that the editor of Acosf decided it would be best to cut a threesome scene between Nesta,Cassian and Azriel, because it would be too much.(Nesta ends up just fantasizing about it).They didn't see any problem with the reproduction abuse Feyre goes through,though .Nesta,who grew up under conservative expectations for women acting on her sexual fantasies was too much,Feyre not being able to decide about her body and her life wasn't a problem.

[aphroditeofcnidus]

A good guess about next Acotar book's pov characters is Azriel(which is a certainty),Elain,perhaps Lucien and Gwyn(Lucien at least will probably feature majorly,even as a non pov character),while Nesta and Cassian will also probably feature in that story, since Hofas make it clear that Nesta's story is far from over.I wonder how SJM will make Elain an interesting pov character,though.Both he and Azriel are referred to as blank slates,but the reasons are different.Azriel is an introvert,so we don't know what he thinks,but everything from his background to his current job as a spymaster have the potential for an interesting pov character.Elain is simply described as naive and only caring about flowers.How will that make an interesting pov character?The problem is that the initial characterization of Feyre's sisters is even more problematic for Elain than Nesta,now that SJM decided to make them major characters and not Feyre's cartoonish evil sisters.You can make the mean sister a severely abused person,whose words is her defense under very difficult circumstances,but making Elain not really dumb won't make her better,it will make her character worse, because it means that she only uses that image to avoid uncomfortable situations, including helping in the household,when they were poor,as some people believe.Also, it would mean that now she allows to be infantilized,to live a comfortable life in her brother in law's household,with no responsibility.A brother in law,who thinks she's an airhead,that can be absolved of any blame,when it comes to Feyre's treatment,so he supports her with no complaint,unlike Nesta.I really wonder how Elain is going to make an interesting or likeable character.

[aphroditeofcnidus]

We're supposed to believe that Rhysand and the IC treat Nesta the way they do, because her treatment of Feyre offends their morality.We're talking about the same people,who joke about beating an 11 year old boy with burnt hands, because he couldn't fly.These are the people,who find Nesta's rude words to Feyre so atrocious.They are also shocked by the fact that Feyre hunted at 14,while saying how they would like to have Illyrian female soldiers.The training system for Illyrian soldiers means training since 8,under harsh conditions,which includes getting beaten for discipline.They're not shocked by this in the slightest,they want to extend that to girls,but they find a 14 year old hunting the most shocking thing ever.It's not a matter of morality.They know that this has upset Feyre,they know that she blames Nesta and not her father for hunting and they punish her accordingly.Their mentality is "If sb somehow upsets one of our own,they will be punished for it,whether it's right or not."There's a reason they don't have any real friends or meaningful relationships except one another.They made Feyre one of their own, because she's Rhysand's mate.Other than that they trust noone.Rhysand didn't trust Helion with Feyre's pregnancy,which means that he doesn't really consider him a friend,but merely an ally and Varian can't be with Amren without essentially betraying his own HL .This is a toxic clique.