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[danaedanette]

About the political power of Rhys and the IC

When we think about it, being in Rhysand's IC means that they have less political powers than his opponents. Because firstly, the IC always agree with whatever Rhysand is saying, and if they don't, too bad, because he won't listen to them. And secondly, they don't even do anything of importance as a government/political body.

However, if we speak about a Illyrian Lord or Keir (and the CoN's residents he represents), then Rhys must negociate with them and absolutely can't be on their bad side, and so he allows them to abuse their position and their powers on those weakers than them, and to perpetuate harmful traditions.

Rhys is a bad ruler. He can only enforce his authority on people who already agree with him (or, if they don't agree, won't do anything about it). His opponents don't respect him (see the Illyrians who don't respect the clipping ban) and still, Rhys respects them more than his own friends.

(Hello Mor, how do you feel about regularly seeing your abusive father in Velaris' street because Rhys couldn't be respected as a ruler ? Are you feeling respected, powerful and like your place as the Night Court 3rd (4th if we count Feyre) is anything more than a pretty title than Rhys gave you just because ?)

I feel like Rhysand doesn't understand that being a High Lord means you have responsabilities. It doesn't mean that you can micromanage the lives of your close friends/family circle. It means that you have a country to rule. Like, one of the first decisions Rhys made as a High Lord (beside appointing his friends in his government, because that's exactly how a government should be formed) is to give the right to the CoN to rule themselves. NO ! Please for the love of god that's not how you should rule. No wonder they don't respect Rhysand and feel like he is intruding in their business everytime he goes there. Technically speaking, that's exactly what he is doing. Because he gave them the right to rule themselves. Urgh.

And for the Illyrians, does Rhys think that having a ban on wings clipping is going to be enough ? The real work is on changing mentalities. No wonder "change takes time" when you aren't doing anything to initiate the change. Especially when you don't do a thing to punish those who break the law.

I suspect all these people disrespecting and hating Rhysand has nothing to do with him being half-Illyrian, half-High Fae, nor with him being "feminist" or "progressive" ; and all about him being a lazy, arrogant ass who hasn't done a single day of ruling in his whole life.

Edit : I just noticed I called Keir and the Illyrian lords "opponents" rather than "subordinates". It was totally unconscious (? Is it the good word ? Not sure. I mean, it was not a deliberate decision from my part). But it's rather telling isn't it ? Rhys shouldn't have to negociate with them because their his subordinates. For some unfathomable reason, he choses to accommodate them.

[danaedanette]

The art is cute and funny !!

I lowkey ship Neslin now. Tamlin playing the fiddle while Nesta is dancing ; the Spring fashion is better suited to Nesta imo ; there are both not great with people (they would have a rocky start lmao)... Yeah, this ship has great potential.

Nesta could do real healing, and so could Tamlin. And thinking about the IC throwing a tantrum about Neslin being together is the cherry on the cake.

@nestaarcheronweek Day 3 - Self Care

Self care is calling your sister's bluff and moving away from the Night Court instead of to the House of Wind.

Listen, I fully believe if Nesta and Tamlin got to compare notes on how the NC treats them they could have bonded. And it would be hilarious.

Bonus twitchy Tamlin reaction picture free to use.

Second one too. I'm generous like that.

[danaedanette]

I found a copy of the english version of ACOMAF and I was checking something in it to just copy/past the extract that interested me rather that translating it from french back to english. And let me tell you, I'm shocked at the difference between the two versions. Like, the french version simply cut out some part of the original text. And if it's the same deal with ACOTAR, that mean that I can't even trust my reread and the review I did because the translation I read is that far of the original text.

The extract I talked about. I don't want to spoil anyone (we never know) so I hid it. It's ACOMAF, chapter 16.

In the French translation, this excerpt simply disappear :

"For someone who is the same age as me", Rhys drawled, [...] "Can't we eat-eat-eat, and then talk ?"

And the following paragraph who opposes Mor and Amren's personnalities is twisted so that they are the same ("Mor was at least as cheeky/shameless as Amren"). In the passage where Azriel begins to eat, Feyre just eats, too, there is not mention of the "just in case", so we lose the idea of Feyre not yet trusting the inner circle. And finally all this text disappears : "I hadn't even realized Mor had poured me a glass [...] She [Amren] straightenend the silverware on the vacant place setting before her."

That's a lot of text ! And this is only the three pages I reviewed, what does it mean for the book as a whole ?? This is the first introduction of the inner circle, really important characters for the book and the series. In the French translation, we lose some of their characterisation. And I don't even know why this decision was made. Was the translator feeling lazy ? I find this unacceptable. I didn't realized it was such a bad translation. I guess from now on, when I want to do books' analysis, I will read the OG beforehand to avoid such problems.

Anyway, it's weird to criticize ACOTAR without it being about SJM or the characters lmao.

Don't worry, I'll be back at it on my nex post.

[danaedanette]

I'm currently reading ACOMAF but I'm so slow lmao. There is too much Rhysand in this book, I keep stopping my reading because I just. Can't.

Also I can't find my ACOWAR book so do I need to keep on the self-torture if I can't even do it properly without the third tome ?

[danaedanette]

Final review of ACOTAR

Sooooo. I finished ACOTAR. Disclaimer, the pages referred here are from the French translation.

It's a massive review, (9k caracters and 3 hours, I really didn't think I would write something this long) so I put it under this "read more" thing.

I already mentioned in another post the book is really slow paced during, like, 70%, because it’s focused on Feyre and Tamlin relationship and budding romance. It’s not necessary a bad thing, but it get a little boring after a while. But I already read the book once ; I knew what was going to happen, and it certainly played a part in my boredom (is it the right word ??) so I’ll be indulgent about the pacing.

I picked up one little inconsistency toward the end of the book : on page 452, Tarquin is described as having “almost white hair, striking cristal blue eyes and warm ebony skin” (an rough translation back to English by myself lmao). And later on page 508, he is described having “tanned skin, a blue and green tunic, a roses crown on his blond hair” (still a rough translation). Honestly, it isn’t too bad, Tarquin isn’t an important character yet (or at all), he isn’t even named, only called “Summer High Lord”. I picked it up because Tarquin is more present in the following books and I frowned on the description page 508, and I remembered that he made another short appearance sooner in the book so I checked it up.

So onto the characters and what I thought about them !

Let’s begin with Rhysand, at least it’ll be done faster. No surprise here, I didn’t like him. I’ll admit all the seeds for Feysand are planted here so it's smoother on the next book, something I hadn’t saw on my first reading 7 years ago. But alas, Rhysand is desesperatly Rhysand, so all the signs of abuse that will (in my opinion) define the character and the Feysand relationship are all here too. Nothing new : the forced deal with the broken arms, the drugging and dancing, the eye that spy on Feyre,… I know it’s all explained (and immediately brushed under the carpet) in the next book, even if I don’t remember the details, and obviously Feyre forgives him, but I simply can’t condone Feysand with a history that heavy between them. Especially as we know that there will be… questionable actions on Rhysand’s part later on. Either he doesn’t learn of his past mistakes or they’re not mistakes at all and he knows perfectly well what he’s doing. I think (to no one surprise) that the latter is true, and here an example why : the first time Feyre is painted in preparation for her nightly dances, Rhysand shows her how, when the paint is damaged by contact, he can fix it with his magic. And later on, when Tamlin and Feyre are kissing and Rhys interrupts them, Tamlin has paint on himself and Rhysand made it disappear. Or maybe Tamlin does it himself, but either way it doesn’t matter, my point still stand : Rhysand can fix the paint on Feyre, he doesn’t have to kiss her to explain that the paint is blurred when Amarantha comes in the room. So Rhysand lied to kiss (read : sexually abuse) Feyre. He’s a dick. (Or it’s another inconsistency on Maas part, who knows ?)

Still, I liked him better in this book that I will in the next, because here we don’t have the narrative and Feyre telling him that he’s a poor, poor baby who never, ever did anything wrong in his life (or else he was forced and he didn’t want to do it :( ). Here, he’s still a villain/really morally grey character. (I keep making assumptions about what I’m gonna find in ACOMAF, and I should stop because I want to go in with an open mind.)

Amarantha is caricatural. That's all she inspired in me.

Then Lucien, because I wanna keep the two main protagonists for last. I remembered that he was one of my favorite characters, and so I was quite disappointed with my rereading. He is not nice with Feyre – which, understandable. She killed Andras, who was his friend, and he had to be at least helpful/civil toward her because they needed her to break the curse. That’s a horrible situation to be in. But all the times he insulted her… It was, at least 50% of the time, insults about her being mortal. To me, it feels like Lucien’s hostility toward Feyre was born of racism, and not of a personal history (her killing his friend). He did helped her UTM, but honestly with how their relationship was before that, I interpreted this help as him doing a favor to Tamlin/helping the only person who had a chance at freeing them from Amarantha. I do think that SJM intended for Feyre and Lucien to be friends, I just don’t think I read the book the way she wanted it to be read. And also, to be fair, Lucien wasn’t exactly really developed. Even his relationship with Tamlin was lacking, in my opinion. Lucien was sometimes (rarely) making fun of Tamlin, as friends do, or he was doing his report about sentry duty. Aaaand… that’s it. Tamlin reacted most of the time by being like “shut up, Lucien” and growling menacingly, which is, for one, not nice to threaten a friend, and two, all the time ? Come on, I understand the situation is really complicated, but be nicer to your friend, talk and joke with him, you’ll feel better Tamlin !

This will be our transition on Tamlin. He was quite nice during the majority of the book. I’m not exactly sure about UTM, but more onto that later. It was nice reading about all the efforts he kept making to get to know Feyre, and hilarious how bad he was at it. The Summer Solstice was one of my favorite scene, Feyre was so free and happy, and the idea of Tamlin playing violin for her on his knees… Yeah, I melt just thinking about it. He was a lot more anger-proned that I remember, but never toward Feyre, and she never felt threatened, and even if Tamlin did threatened Lucien, well,…  Lucien always came back to annoy Tamlin, and when Feyre, talking about Lucien’s eye, asked if Tamlin did it, Lucien was quite shocked, almost horrified, that she would think that. So I take it Lucien wasn’t feeling threatened or afraid of Tamlin, and therefore, despite being angry most of the time, Tamlin knows how to keep his temper under control until he can explode safely. (It’s still not nice to threaten people, especially friends).  About UTM, I don’t know what to think. Tamlin does know how to control his temper… to a certain point. He was never violent toward anyone during the book, but he did have difficulties to hide his anger, notably his claws which were almost always threatening to break out. And yet, UTM… nothing. He gives strictly nothing. No claws poking, no growling, nothing. I’m REALLY conflicted about it. Is it, as Lucien said, a way, as small as it is, but the only possible thing Tamlin can do to protect Feyre from Amarantha ? But then if it is, is it in character for Tamlin, who doesn’t seem to struggle to keep his poker face, even when he was an open book the whole time ? Was he so open with his emotions during the book because he was at home, with people he trusted and in a place where he was in control ? And so does it mean that UTM he wore a mask to protect himself and Feyre ? (this one should appeal to Rhys’s fans.) I DON’T KNOW. Maybe I think too much and it’s just an inconsistency/retcon on Maas part to justify Feyre leaving in the next book because “you did nothing to help me UTM”.

Either way, I liked Tamlin (and Lucien) less than I remember liking them the first time. But I have a theory : it’s quite possible that the unfairness and retcon that they both suffer in the two next books had me so offended on their behalf that I decided I would love them twice as much for every character who would treat them unfairly based on strictly nothing.

AND FINALLY FEYRE. Even if…, to be honest, I don’t really know what to say about her. She really is quite the typical YA female protagonist. She slayed the first challenge, it was one of my favorite scenes. And the last challenge was really poignant. Even if it was MORE than time that she used her brain. Seriously, this riddle was easy. Or maybe I read too much fantasy books, I don’t know. She was too complacent (not sure this is the right word, but nice is not right either soooo) with Rhysand. A guy that treat me like that, I hate him with all my guts, no matter what “helps” he gives me in the middle of all the abuse he inflicts on me. But well. Seeds for Feysand and all that. On that note, I think I read somewhere on Tumblr that Rhysand knew as soon as he met Feyre for the first time (on Calanmai) that she was his mate ? Not sure tho. In any case, it can’t be true because during their last conversation, just before they leave UTM, Rhysand says goodbye, then freeze s and looks at Feyre with, uuuh, big surprise (stupeur in French). Sorry, my brain is melting, I have worked on this review for way too long. So I guess this is the moment Rhys knows she’s her mate. Which, now that I think about it, is really weird that he would be nice to her before that because let’s be real : Rhys don’t give a fuck about people not close to him. Oh, well. Either it’s a retcon, an inconsistency, or anything else, I’m done with this book. Next step : ACOMAF. Maybe I’ll find some answers. Maybe I’ll find more questions, more retcons, and a sudden want to cry. (Open-minded, Danette, remember that you must be open-minded).

To conclude, I was not surprised about Feyre and Rhysand, they were pretty much what I remembered/expected. Lucien and Tamlin were a little disappointing, but honestly not by much, because I knew my memories might be askewed and I know not to expect too much from SJM. This was a very mid read. Not too bad, not good either. 2, 2.5 stars.

Oh, and sorry for any mistakes. This post was long and I really don't have the strengh right now to proofread it. Maybe later, but probably not. I hope it's not too hard on the eyes.

[danaedanette]

Did SJM just wrote (ACOTAR, chapter 25 page 290 of the french trad) that solstice was the day on which day and night were equally long ? Is solstice not the day on which day for summer, and night for winter, is the longest of the year ?

I reread the passage 3 times and I checked TWICE on the internet because she made me doubt myself, because how a mistake that big would have passed the correctors and editors ? I swear this woman doesn't put any effort into this book, how can I be convinced that the series is worth its hype with that kind of mistake

[danaedanette]

Your post about the series, Rhys fans scream “HES MORALLY GRAY” yet isn’t written that way at all, the narrative writes him as some saint, also SJM retconned the first book basically(she wrote books 2 &3 and changed then last min. She admits this) also meant Rhys fans admit to just skipping parts in the books

Yes that's exactly how I remember the series too ! But I'll admit it's been a while (7 years) since I last read the series, and since I have a lot of free time lately, I thought I would give it another chance. I'm currently reading the first tome and my opinion is more or less the same for now

[danaedanette]

So I began my rereading this morning but I'm currently at chapter 21, in which Calanmai happens. In which Feyre meets Rhysand for the first time. I had to take a break to prepare myself, I can't even with him and I haven't read about him yet. I want to go in this as neutral as possible.

(Apologies for my english in the following rant)

For context, I first read ACOTAR when I was 18. I loved the first book and Feylin. I admit I lowkey fantasized about Rhysand as a villain, but I didn't like Feysand, the drugging and dancing was too much for me to ship them. When I read ACOMAF, I was really disappointed about Feylin breakup and disappointed by who Rhysand turned out to be as a character (the good guy all along, of course *eyeroll*). I was disgusted by how the narrative excused Rhysand and even more disgusted with Feysand. I enjoyed the end of the series despite this, and by forcing myself to forgot about the first book. I also remember Feyre was insufferable in ACOWAR. And I was sad for Tamlin during all of this. So now, onto my rereading :

My thoughts so far : Tamlin is indeed a lot more anger-proned that I remember, but considering Lucien's behaviour, there is obviously no abuse.

Feyre is... meh, I guess. A typical YA protagonist, not bas but not really good either.

Not really so much thoughts about the beginning of the book, but then again the pace is really slow and there is not a lot happening. I understand it's for Feyre and Tamlin to discover each other, and I do enjoy my reading, but there is not much to say.

Also I'm reading the french traduction so I won't say anything about SJM writing.

[danaedanette]

Sometimes I think that I must have read the ACOTAR series wrong. Like, so many people love those books and SJM writing. They can't all have missed that Rhysand is horrible, that Tamlin deserves better and all that retconning going around ?

I lowkey want to reread the series, but honestly not sure I'm brave enough.

[danaedanette]

Hi ! I would like some help, does someone know some celtic myths or stories about the seasons ? Or some kind of faerie whose power/background depends on the seasons ?

Thank you very much !

[danaedanette]

"I recall that your hands were on her, but her eyes were on me."

frostbite studios on insta

[danaedanette]

Why the Host deserves a Renaissance, Twilight style

Because here’s the thing

Twilight takes four books to conclude that ordinary human life is unsuited for Bella, that to become who she is meant to be she must literally die. Conveniently, she is still able to maintain her connection with her human family and start a family of her own; in this way smeyer portrays her death as a minimal sacrifice and the fantasy of becoming a vampire eternally-living member of the undead is fully realized with absolutely no drawbacks and no consideration for the potentially negative philosophical consequences of such an existence. Is it still a banger? Unfortunately, YEAH

The Host does the actual inverse of that. Wanda goes from despising humans, typifying them as horrible creatures of violence, to loving them. She steps into her role as human, becoming more human that soul. The Host as a book considers an ordinary life as the most extraordinary thing that any creature can experience, including the sacrifices of the lows and the victories of the highs, including the pain and joy. It romanticizes being alive. When Wanda is willing to give her life up at the end of the book, it is a sacrifice of the utmost order, the sacrifice of home for a creature that is named for her home-seeking. That is beautiful and relevant and encouraging in this day and age. Is it perfect? GOOD HEAVENS NO but there’s a lot here 

Also every single mushroom ravioli post could be done but with Wanda and cheetos, and also there’s this whole thing abt granola bars…. the meme potential 

[danaedanette]

All of that is really true. Also I don't think Cardan is half as cruel as everyone think he is but I want to analyse the books and draw real conclusions from there.

I have just read the first book of The Folk of the Air called The Cruel Prince by Holly Black and I am shocked that Cardan is not the silly drunk boy that fans portray him in incorrect quotes. Here are my observations.

Cardan makes annotations in school textbooks that means he reads them and has questions. He knows court politics, its rumours and weaknesses. He sees a parallel between Jude and Alice in Wonderland. He has a passion for thievery, he even asks to train with Roach to become a pro. He is clever and talented and Jude thinks he is funny.

Besides, Jude is an unreliable narrator (with all due respect). I am sure Cardan is not drunk most of the moments she thinks he is

[danaedanette]

I love the concept of fae and Faerie but please give me the real deal. Faes seem to always be humans with pointy ears and magical powers and an excuse to have some "sexy alpha male" (no really, I can't read the word "male" anymore it's a deal breaker) who are, of course, toxic and sexist abusers.

Give me faes who aren't humans, not even a little bit ! Give me faes with green or blue skin, who are part plant or part animal (or part rock, or wind, or anything). I want unhinged, vicious characters, tricksters, faes who can sometimes be violent. I want dreamers, merry, malicious characters, who want to laugh and party. I want faes who don't have the same morals humans have (or don't have morals at all for some of them), faes who mean well and faes who don't, and sometimes it doesn't matter what they mean because they still did something harmul.

Please give me real faes.

PS : Not you, FOTA, and generally speaking Holly Black's books, you are perfect and I love every one of you.

[danaedanette]

It's been a while since I drew something. Here's a little portrait of Vivi from The Folk of the Air.

(Yeah I just reread the whole series this week so I'm a little obsessed atm)

[danaedanette]

THIS

It pains me to see all the hate the fandom have for Taryn when she's a really interesting character, complex and well written.

And, frankly, were we to find ourselves in Faerie, what are the chances that we would try to fight and best the faeries like Jude ? We would probably try to adapt exactly like Taryn

Unpopular (?) opinion: Taryn Duarte is a really cool character, and the hate she gets is so disproportionate to what she actually did in the books.

I struggle to read her in The Cruel Prince as anything other than the victim in an abusive relationship with Locke, and as such deserving of sympathy even if you don't like her. Locke manipulates her into keeping quiet while he flirts with Jude, playing on her insecurities and desire to fit in at court (which is the exact same thing Jude wants. Also the extent of Locke's manipulation and abuse is detailed in Taryn's novella). When Jude finds out she goes after her sister rather than Locke which, I hasten to add, is fair enough. She challenges Taryn to a duel and nearly kills her. Again, in context, that doesn't automatically make Jude a bad person. As we know, she is morally grey and her actions are understandable. But so are Taryn's.

Further, I think the reason her "betrayal" of Jude in The Wicked King is seen as so unforgivable (despite the fact that Jude literally ends up forgiving her) is that there is a fundamental disconnect in how Jude and Taryn view the situation. Jude obviously sees it as a terrible political betrayal: Taryn ruined everything Jude has worked for and sided with her political enemy (Madoc). But from Taryn's point of view, Madoc is their father, not an enemy. Taryn didn't know Cardan could be trusted, and she believed that Madoc (probably with reason at that point) was acting in the best interest of the family and wouldn't actually hurt Jude. She has no idea of Jude's plans and strategies because Jude never tells her. From Taryn's pov, there is no reason Jude couldn't just join the rest of her family (and in fact, Madoc keeps trying to recruit her). In short, Taryn has no way of fully realising why Cardan remaining in power is as important to Jude as it is. Taryn isn't twirling a figurative moustache at the prospect of dealing a dastardly blow to her sister's political regime. She is following the advice of her father in a way which she believes won't actually be damaging to Jude.

In the first two books, her relative passivity and attempts to fit in at court through conventionally feminine means make her a morality tale about believing in classic fairy tales, hence her being represented as a victim of an abusive relationship (in a way paralleling her mother's murder at the hand of Madoc). But her character is more than that. The narrative does not merely condemn Taryn's femininity, pacifist tactics, diplomacy etc. in favour of Jude's more traditionally masculine aggression, military skill, and cynical politics. Not only does Taryn manage to ecape her abusive marriage, she proves her resourcefulness and intelligence in tricking Cardan and in dealing with the Ghost. Even Jude admires her for the skills she learned from Oriana.

There is a lot we don't know about Taryn. In many ways, we are seeing her at her lowest possible point for three books. But there is definitely plenty of evidence for a charitable and interesting interpretation of her character if only we afford her the same level of understanding we afford Jude.

[danaedanette]

Arcane is the new greek tradegy and I'm crying.