#Velaris is a dystopian nightmare

[litnerdwrites]

The NC is literally a dystopian hellscape.

The Capital, or Velaris, is the safe zone from where they watch the suffering of others (the CON and Illyrians). They srpead propaganda to hide the hellscape that they've turned the NC into, painting themselves as paragons for good, and like siding with them is the best and only option. The IC themselves are a form of walking propaganda, calling themselves "The Court of Dreams" and gas slighting the citizens of Velaris and other courts into thinking that they're in the right and are just misunderstood good guys all along.

They use the CON and Illyria as forms of propaganda, showing it off to others, and painting a tail of them doing their best, but that these places are just too far gone or stubborn or whatever, to paint themselves as the ones struggling as they try to offer them help.

They use force as a way to control the populous, instead of starting with negotiations, or enforcing laws. Instead, they put down rebellions and slaughter their own people, while leaving the females to suffer, and orphans to starve.

They use force in the Hewn city too, though at the wrong times. He used force to control them when Kier called Feyre names, but not when they needed to get control of the Darkbringers? Once instance seems a lot more important than the others.

They control the spread of information, even from their own "family" when they feel like it, as seen in ACOSF. When information leaks from the NC, rhys (or another nc damati), wipes their memories of it. This is seen in ACOWAR after Eris and his brothers found out about Feyre's powers, while his brothers had their memories wiped, he uses it as leverage.

There's also the fact that most people consider Illyrians uncivilised brutes and the denizens of the CON to be unpleasant at best, monsters at worst. People from outside the NC or from velaris, don't really have any way of knowing if it's true first hand. They have the accounts of the IC, but that's it. They just take their word for it. It's not like Feyre or anyone ever see any of the CON outside of that court, that's basically an elaborate masquerade for the sake of survival.

They deny free thought, since we all saw what happened to Nesta the moment she dared to disobey, have individual autonomy, free thought, and healthy boundaries. She was pretty much tortured, and denied information regarding her own body. Even in the HL meeting, anybody with an opposing view, like Tamlin, was quickly shut up, dismissed and/or kicked out.

There's also the fact that it's unlikely anyone from Velaris has ever left it. It's hidden, cut off from the rest of the world, and it's not like we're told of any other safe places in the NC. It's either Velaris, this perfect city, the hellscape that is the CON (supposedly), or the frozen wastelands of Illyria. On top of that, if they stay, they remain the IC's priority, since he did only act to protect Velaris during Amerantha's reign, and not any other location. Has anyone ever left, without getting their memories wiped? Are their methods of transportation for people to leave Velaris, or come to it, if that's what they wish? Unlikely.

The IC don't let anyone see any good in any part of the NC, aside from Velaris. They convince their citizens that they are the only good thing in the NC, putting them on a pedestal above the rest of the territory. Velaris is protrayed as this Utopia, with the rest of the NC being portrayed as the kind of places they tell kids about to make them behave.

[litnerdwrites]

The NC is really similar to The Hunger Games. I mentioned before how I think the NC is a dystopian nightmare but, as someone pointed out, it's very similar to Panem.

Even in the excuses they use. The blood right has to happen to solve conflicts between war camps and prevent civil war. The CON has to maintain it's appearance in order to protect Velaris from discovery. Rhysand has to basically abuse and neglect his own people in a show of power at the slightest sign of disobedience or revolt because it's the only way to maintain order.

Sound familiar? The Capital said the same things, and look where there that got them.

It was a fic by @kataraavatara , Those the stars cannot hear, that made me realise this. As she so eloquently put, "if they need to enter a yearly killing arena in order to avoid having a civil war, what else are we meant to think?"

And take it a step further, if abusing his people is the only way to prevent civil war, and maintain his authority as HL, what are we supposed to see him as, other than a dictator or a villain. If he acts like a villain, and thinks like a villain, then he's a villain. It's really not that complicated.

And don't even start with me about Velaris. The people there obviously don't have any concerns. They either don't know what's happening, or they don't care. It doesn't affect them, and they get to live in peace. Plus, it's better then being sentenced to life in either of those places, as far as they're concerned. They have it made, never worrying about their city being under attack, until ACOMAF. Never worrying about mysterious daematis killing their children, or having a cursed placed on them to punish their HL. They have no reason to complain and every reason to go along with it. If only to avoid meeting the same fate.