r/acotar_rant

I see a lot of people in the fandom ask why someone reads the series if they hate the main characters. This is typically an attempt to invalidate whatever that person is criticizing within the series. So I wanted to create a space for people who also dislike Feyre, Rhysand, or any members of the IC to list why they continue reading. Hopefully we can get rid of this idea that liking the main characters and liking a book are mutually exclusive.

1. Favorable secondary character. This feels obvious but there are other characters in the book. I like or find other characters far more interesting Lucien, Vassa, Emerie, Gwyn, Alis, Nyx, Bryaxis, Nesta, the priestesses, Hybern, Koschei, the mortal queens, Vallahan, Jurian, LoA, Eris, Tarquin, even the mercenary that we met in the first book and never saw again. I do find the IC and Feysand to be insufferable. I also don’t really like Elain but I am interested in her story and where she is headed. Which leads me to…

2. Fascination and curiosity. Some people do read for the journey, instead of the opportunity to self-insert into a character. I wanna see where this is going. There are so many incomplete plot lines even from the first three books. There is so much story to go. Feyre was the vehicle taking us through the story originally. And I’m not sure if everyone knows this but it is okay to not like the car you are driving in but drive it anyways because sometimes you just want to get to a destination.

3. Empathy. I don’t need to like the character I’m reading or agree with them. In fact, I value other perspectives. They teach me about others. They teach me about myself. I am able to healthily cope with opinions that challenge my own and with people not liking what I like. I think this fandom (and people in general) should learn to cope with differences.

4. Character growth or regression. I am curious to see if the characters I dislike and like will change and will my opinion change about them. I am eager to grow to like certain characters like Mor or Feyre or Elain. (Idgaf about the rest of the IC but I am open to their growth)

5. World building. I think it’s easily forgotten that SJM built an entire world outside of Feysand, the night court, and the IC. They were interesting for a time but imo we’ve overstayed our welcome. I would like to see the rest of prythian, the continents, and other characters. That is a valid reason to continue reading. It honestly should have been my first because obviously acotar is set up for more than just two insufferable lovers and their insufferable found family.

6. Analysis and theories. These stories are rich with mythology and speculative fiction. Others may not be into that but that doesn’t mean others should stop. Ik some are sick of hearing this but as an English Literature major I like to break down and observe these stories from every angle. Then make meaning of it. Why do I like this? Why do I not? What does this response from readers say about us as a society? What does these characters and stories suggest about SJM herself? Is this problematic? Why? Why? Why? We all read for fun and critique and breakdowns are fun for some people like myself. If it’s not your type of party then go to your type of party.

A good thing about fandom spaces is that you can find likeminded people. If you want to be in an echo chamber there are plenty. You don’t have to interact with spaces you don’t want to be in. But no one is entitled to silencing and erasing the spaces that they don’t agree with, especially when it’s not causing you physical harm. It is YOUR responsibility to excuse yourselves from things that make you uncomfortable.

Anyways. I welcome anyone to post the things they enjoy about the story or look forward to in the series that aren’t about Feysand, the IC, or the NC. Because there is more to this series.

This fandom really needs to stop using the word crackship. Because why are people calling the most basic ass non-canon (and even canon!) ships crackships?

I saw people using it to describe Azris, Neris, Rhysta, Tamcien, Feylin! and so much more. Most of them between people who interacted with eachother in canon and it's entirely within the realm of posibility for them to get together if the author is brave enough. None of which are crackships by definition.

For a lot of people Acotar is their first fandom, I know that. But if you're new to a space you should search first how certain new phrases are used before you start using them yourself. Especially when you try to weaponise them to talk down to people who like different ships than you.

What am I talking about? Well, lets define some things. Crackship has that name because it describes ships so utterly weird, bizzare and out of the realm of possibility that you must be on crack to ship them. A couple isn't a crackship just because both of them are men, neither are couples that you personally dislike or think that they're unlikely to happen. Fandom is built on them. Non-canon and rarepair ships are the bare backbones of every fandom, they're NOT the crack.

Unless a person is talking about shipping couples like, for example, Nesta with the House of Wind, Azriel with the vampire Lestat and Bone Carver with Tamlin their ships ain't crack. And calling their, "would be completly ordinary in any other fandom" ship a crackship just because you think it's weird is another nasty can of worms.

I love crackships, I really do. Yet, despite what people say, our fandom spaces are quite devoid of them. They're very safe and not experimental, for the most part. It's hard to find genuine crackship which makes it even more frustrating when every other ship is called that, for no reason.

Rant over lol. Man, I didn't know it bothered me that much. I still have a lot to say but I don't want for it to turn rude. Please, be a little more weird and creative, people. We need more actual crackships to act as an example for others XD

Every time Elain and Nesta are mentioned, I cannot help but think about how irritating it was that they never did their part when they were struggling with money. The only thing they did was leech the money Feyre made from her after she sold the hide of an animal (that SHE hunted and skinned, NEVER them). They even had the audacity to tell her that they were running out of meat at some point, so that she would go and hunt? Like okayyyy.... GO DO IT YOURSELF. GO LEARN TO HUNT!!! YOU'RE BOTH SO USELESS.

As annoyingly useless as they both were, at least elain was somewhat nice... but Nesta? Not only was she sitting on her butt not doing SHIT but she was also such a bitch to Feyre! Feyre has the patience of a saint, if that were me in the situation I would've eaten that meat right in front of their faces and not shared one morsel.

Excuses that were used in the book:

1. Nesta was too angry about the situation (and especially the dad for not doing anything or getting a job at least) to help out.

Ummm... hypocrite much? She was ALSO not doing anything to help. You do not have the right to hate someone when you are just like them.

And I agree- the dad was definitely the one who should've pulled his weight more in that situation- he is the parent. But when you're so dirt poor that you don't know if you're going to survive the next season or not- you have to play your part in helping out and keeping the family alive too! If not for the dad, Nesta could've helped for Feyre and Elain.

2. Elain said that she was never good at that type of stuff (hunting) which is why she never tried (or something like that)

Well... when you're not good at something that you've NEVER done before, you're OBVIOUSLY not gonna be good at it! Feyre described in the first book how long it took her to catch her first animal and how long it took for her to get decent at hunting- she LEARNT to do it. Mind you- she's also the eldest I'm pretty sure???? If that were me, and I claimed to love my younger sister, I would NEVER EVER let her go out into the cold, dark, dangerous woods were human-eating faeries lurked. I would pull my weight!!!!

Another thing that irked me really bad- when Tamlim came to take Feyre away, none of the two sisters bothered to protect her. After the YEARS of her providing and protecting their sorry asses, they only cowered in the corner- and Nesta only Shielded Elain. Are you kidding me????? I was so happy for Feyre when she left. Never for the life of me did I understand why she so badly wanted to go back to her bum ass family. If that were me, I would've been screaming for joy that I was finally out of that selfish family!

I do want to say quickly though- the two sisters did have one slightlyyyyy redeeming moment each:

Elain- when she used her pocket money (wasn't even hers- it was the money that she regularly leeched of off Feyre whenever she sold something, but anyway-) to but Feyre some paint. That was sweet and very unselfish compared to how she usually was.

Nesta- when she went into the forest and tried to cross that wall to get Feyre back. I'm gonna be honest, that seemed SUPER out of character for her when she did it- but nevertheless a nice thing to do.

I can't stand them. I was very upset when I got to the end of book 2 and realised that they would become prominent characters of the series.

(P.S- I read the first book a while ago, so my memory might not be fully accurate, so if I made some mistakes in this rant, don't harrass me for it 🙏)

I'm not saying having the books be in a shared universe is a bad thing. The thing is, there is nothing on any of the books to indicate they're in a shared universe.

An sjm stan jumped down my throat when I said something in acotar was a huge plot hole.

"Well it would make sense if you read crescent city."

What the actual fuck are you talking about? Why would I ever think I would have to read an authors totally separate book series in order to understand what's happening in one?

"if you were a real sjm fan you'd know. And you need to read them in order of publication"

WHAT?

Like first off Im not an sjm fan where I read every book she pumps out. Just because I read one series doesn't mean I'm going to read the others (when there is nothing indicating they're connected). I've never read a book and thought "hmm I should read all the other books the author has written just in case these characters show up in them too"

Secondly how tf is anyone supposed to know that?

Cassandra Claire's two series, the Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices are in a shared universe. Know how I know that? The book covers fucking tell you. They're both Shadowhunters novels. It's says so on both the front and back covers.

Can anyone point out ANYWHERE on any of the books covers that indicate they're all a part of the same universe?

No. You can't, because they don't.

If it was small cameos, okay fine. Whatever. But when the cross overs have major implications the decision to not make this clear is a disservice to the readers and just baffling.

Edit: not everyone is understanding the main point of my frustration. It's the fact that no where outside of the books is there any indication of a shared multiverse. If, like me, you bought all 5 acotar when they were already released, how are you supposed to have any idea at all that you have to read her other series in order to get all the info about the world and characters in acotar?

They're presented as totally separate book series. There is no cross over in acotar. I had/have no interest in reading her other books. They may be fantasy but they aren't the same sub genre.

If I had known they were related somehow I'd be less annoyed, but reading 5 books and then being told out of the blue you have to read twelve more of two different stories is just... What the hell?

Am I crazy or does every third page have a “she could have sworn she saw…” “could have sworn a familiar scent filled the room…” I just searched in ACOSF and it’s 49 times. I’m not a hater cause it’s not that deep but I find it distracting and weird that it wasn’t flagged by an editor.

This take often pops up when there are discussions about “how awful Nesta and Elain are in book one” and as a way to prove that their actions should in no way be excused or justified because SJM had set them up to be the tropy-evil-stepsisters and changed her mind in MaF...

And it drives me absolutely INSANE

I believe this take stems from a tweet of SJM herself so yeah, it does have some truth in it but for sure not in the way people are using it. If SJM had changed her mind, she did so while still writing book one, otherwise she would have not written chapters 30-31 where Feyre and her sisters left off in a very good place. She also would not have written all the positive things Feyre thought about Nesta after those chapters

I know we all go on and on about the many plot holes of this series but I find it hard to believe that this is one and that SJM just changed her mind in the middle of it and did not revise the book or switch things up before publishing it. I’d go even as far as to consider TaR the book with the least amount of plotholes (likely because it is the first book) or where at least the inconsistencies make sense (for example Feyre’e thoughts about her father coming to rescue her and Nesta enjoying her gone being false gave more importance to Nesta going to look for her)

If anything SJM changed her mind in MaF where she retconned a bunch of stuff, had Feyre not want to invite her sisters to her wedding, badmouth them to strangers and had their reunion be cold and so unlike those previously written chapters

I just had to get this out 😩

I’m a full blooded Celt hailing in from Scotland who touches down in Donegal for a season a year.

I currently live perhaps 40 minutes from Edinburgh in Scotland, and I can appreciate its beauty and argue it’s one of the most beautiful historical cities in Europe, but good god nothing is like home.

I remember first reading ACOTAR and falling in love with the spring court, for the first time in ages I saw home in a story. Character opinions and biases aside, i genuinely read that first book entirely for the spring court. Yes, it may rain in both countries non-stop but that short transformation from spring to summer is the most breathtaking thing you can experience. And it’s how i imagined Tamlin’s land.

It felt whimsical and fun, and there was Tamlin in his prime with the sexiest redhead ever that I fell in love with.

Then Velaris came, everyone fell in love with that city and the romance but I literally couldn’t enjoy ACOMAF to its fullest potential because I missed my whimsy faerie land 💔 even re-reading it now I’m so not ready to move on again.

The series itself hasn’t left its mark on me — I enjoy it — but the spring court always stuck with me.

Whatever happens in the upcoming books, I hope the lands of spring come back again.

Velaris feels like a shitty college district. Who wanna come home with me???

A lot of us are saltines about lots because SJM is a questionable writer at times... but the first book is the one that hooked us all— so *do you consider it well-written?*

I'm starting to reread the first book now and im writing in some annotations for my own fun, but im also just curious if this book could be inspiration for inspiring writers?

Is there any purple prose? Good character arcs? Developed plot? Thoughts?

I really do believe that there are moments to foreshadow a Cassian redemption arc where he chooses Nesta over Rhysand.

Cassian hated Rhysand for distrusting Nesta. Cassian has said it himself that he loves Rhysand and considers him to be one of the people dearest to him. Cassian has never hated Rhysand, except when Rhysand didn't trust Nesta. Considering this lack of trust is at the core of Rhysand's mistreatment of Nesta in HOFAS, I definitely think this will be brought up again in the next book and will cause a divide between Rhys and Cassian.

Cassian challenged Rhysand. During the Blood Rite, Cassian wanted to stick as close to Nesta as he could in case things went badly, but Rhys wanted him to go with Az to rescue Eris, and the text specifically says that "Cassian challenged his High Lord." Az challenges Rhys from time to time, but Cassian never does, which makes this such a momumental moment for both Cassian and Nesta. Since, canonically, Nesta helped to defeat the Asteri, free Midgard, and end the Asteri's threat to Prythian, I'm hopeful that we'll see Cassian (and Az) challenging Rhys a lot more in defense of Nesta.

Cassian tried to get Rhys to back off. When Rhysand was berating Nesta, Cassian did say, "Rhys. It's been a long night. Let's talk in the morning," or something like that. It was submissive and a request, whereas it needs to become a demand and a warning. Something like, "Don't you talk to my mate in that fucking tone!"

Cassian stepped closer to Nesta. When Rhys directly threatened Nesta in her own home, Cassian took a step closer to Nesta and then was conflicted about who to side with, but he did take that initial step closer to Nesta, not Rhysand, which is hopefully foreshadowing him ultimately choosing Nesta above Rhysand.

Cassian told Ember, Randall, and Bryce to leave quickly. Cassian said, "You have about a minute until Rhys shows up and explodes," which doesn't sound like much, but it is Cassian completely going against Rhys. Rhysand wanted Nesta to kill Bryce as soon as she opened the portal without even giving her a chance to speak (which is absolutely appalling, by the way), so Cassian telling them to hurry up and skedaddle to safety is a highly significant moment of him completely going against orders. This means that when Rhysand shows up and does, indeed, explode, Cassian will hopefully take the brunt of the verbal lashing. But, hopefully, this is also foreshadowing just the general arc of Cassian leaning away from Rhysand and embracing Nesta fully and completely.

I don't think we're gearing up for a small moment of Cassian just siding with Nesta against Rhysand. I think we're getting ready for a major shift of Cassian completely choosing Nesta over Rhysand, leaving the Night Court for Dusk, and being promoted from General to consort.

Okay hear me out 😭

I know Tamlin did awful things, but sometimes I feel like SJM wasted what could’ve been one of the best redemption arcs in the series.

There were moments where he actually felt really broken and complex instead of just “the bad ex,” and I honestly ended up feeling conflicted about him again later in the books.

Do you think he’s beyond redemption, or do you think SJM left the door open for something bigger with him?

What is your "I'm just going to pretend I didn't see that" moment in this series?

Here is my top 3:

1. The inconsistency regarding Eris and Mor's ages.

Every time someone points out that Eris would have been NINE years old when he got engaged to Mor, I just pretend I didn't see it, I simply cannot accept it.

It HAS to be a mistake, because the idea that the Inner Circle hated a child for years is just so stupid... 😭

2. I absolutely hate that they can smell "arousal." It gives me the creeps, I mean, I can't be mysterious or nonchalant?! Does EVERYONE have to know my business?! 😭

And, on top of that, imagine being stuck near a couple that reeks of LUST, stinking up the whole room, and not being able to leave... 💀

3. Rhysand... "climaxing" to the image of his future child with Feyre... no, just no.

I’ve been looking at some (beautiful) fanart, and I noticed that a lot of fans depict Lucien as very dark skinned. Right off the bat I want to say that there’s nothing wrong with that! Everyone imagines characters however they want. God knows I’ve definitely ignored descriptions of “and he had a man bun”. No he didn’t, but thanks for the suggestion!

That being said, I was also one of those fans that considered him darker skinned, but like, deeply sun-tanned. Same as Tamlin, because they spend a lot of time outdoors. Then ACOWAR came along and we find out Lucien might be Helion’s son.

Now, Helion is canonically black, right? Beron and LoA are both white, I think? Please correct me if I’m wrong! I recall reading that Beron had brown hair and LoA was ginger.

If Helion is Lucien’s bio daddy, it absolutely makes sense that he’d be darker skinned. But how much, is my question. Because I feel like Beron would pitch a FIT if he had even the slightest suspicion that LoA had cheated.

Beron would be like those IRL misogynistic men that kick up a fuss if their kid doesn’t look 100% like them, ignoring actual genetics and recessive genes

Considering that Feyre is the ONLY person who seems to have picked up on this (LMAO, if I may) Lucien has to look a lot like his brothers, right?

I guess my question is more, how tf did no one ever pick up on the fact that Lucien is not Beron’s son, let alone that he’s related to Helion?

.. that a man can murder, abuse, lie, coerce, torture, and he’ll still be the ultimate shadow daddy with everything swooning over him…

“Ohhh It’s fantasy we can’t apply modern sensibilities”…

but god forbid a woman is annoying or SAYS MEANS THINGS to people. 🤯🤯🤬😡

Somehow, all these “it’s fantasy not a real world” justifications go up in smoke when it’s a woman.
And, she does the heinous crime of … wait for it…
being a “bitch”…

She was nasty! She was mean! She was rude!

ahahshcf IT IS A FANTASY WHERE OUR PPROTAGONISTS MURDER AND TORTURE, are you all serious with these “but she was mean” comments that are somehow supposed to justify their belief that she doesn’t deserve power and happiness!

The character that was violently drowned and turned into a different species. That fiercely protected her sisters - going after Feyra in the beginning, encouraging her to leave them and follow her heart and the man she loved - being prepared to sell her body to get them out of misery.
The character that used her powers to help the war. That was willing to die there on the battlefield and helped kill the big bad.
The character that instead of going an rampaging other courts, closed herself in a small apartment and kept to herself. Being destructive only to herself.
The character that gave everything up, her powers to save her family again.
….

But she was rude. Ugh.
Yes, she a woman and she is not allowed to be rude. Even in fantasy. She can kill people and do war crimes as long as she looks good in it and she is nice about it.

End of rant! 😂

Cassian drives me nuts acting like the world is out to get him and he is treated so badly because he was a low born bastard. In reality, he has had a pretty decent life, all things considered. Especially in comparison to the other Illyrians. He was pretty young when Rhys' mother took him in, and he lived a pretty comfortable life from there on out. He has friends/a family, plenty of money, and people fawn over him because of his status as a war hero. He also has no trouble getting females when he wants them.

Yes, Nesta and Eris call him a bastard. But, he talked to Nesta like she was a piece of crap the very first time he met her. Honestly, I don't blame her for calling him that. Especially in this moment when he is quite literally forcing himself on her the second time they're around each other, asking her about her virginity (which is none of his business), whether she even likes males or wants females (also none of his business), and then ends up licking/kissing her throat without her permission RIGHT AFTER he realizes that she has been sexually assaulted before, and then asks her "what's under her skirts"....

Yeah, I would have called him a bastard brute and kicked him in the balls too. Maybe he shouldn't act like a brute. (Source for all this: Wings and Embers bonus chapter)

"But wah wah wah, Eris called me that too!" So what? You're 500 years old, get over it and stop letting a little name calling bother you so much. In Eris' defense, Cassian did sleep with his betrothed (who I theorize might have been his mate, but I'm not sure yet) so I can't really blame him for not being Cassian's biggest fan.

I hate Cassian for a multitude of reasons, and this is just one of the many. He needs to get over his self-pity party and move on and realize he's got it a lot better than many other people do.

If this fandom gave two shits about abuse, Rhysand would be the most hated character. Instead, Rhysand - the biggest abuser in this entire series - is the most adored character in the fandom, but this fandom hates Nesta for "abuse."

This fandom needs to stfu about Nesta supposedly perpetuating the cycle of abuse when literally so does everyone else: Rhys, Feyre, Cassian, Az, Mor - all of them are abuse victims who further perpetuate the cycle of abuse by abusing others. If people can stan the IC, despite their toxicity and abuse, then people should have no problem with Nesta calling Feyre stinky.

And I'm sorry, but Feyre being ignored by Mama Archeron is not worse than Nesta being groomed by their mother to be a child bride to be used for her breeding potential.

I know people love to discredit the abuse that Nesta endured because she "perpetuated the cycle of abuse," but Nesta is not an abuser. As someone who grew up in an abusive family, as someone who spent a decade self-harming because of it, as someone who attempted suicide because of it, Nesta is not abusive. Having a bad attitude and taking the wrong tone with people is not verbal abuse. Hurting people's feelings is not always the equivalent of verbal abuse. The IC say far crueler things to Nesta than she does to them, yet somehow people don't call them verbal abusers.

1. I've never heard of a case of abuse where the abuser didn't have complete control over their victim. Nesta has never been in a place of control over Feyre or the IC, but Feyre and the IC have always had control over Nesta.

2. Abuse victims tend to have very low self-confidence, leading to self-hatred where they hate themselves but think very highly of everyone else, including their own abuser. Feyre has the largest ego out of any character I've ever read about. Her ego is so large that she thinks she's being mistreated if people don't worship the very ground she walks on. Feyre loves herself while hating everyone else and thinking she's better than them, especially Nesta. Nesta is the one with incredibly low self-confidence, who hates herself and thinks everyone, including Feyre and including her abusers, are better than her.

3. Abuse victims tend to self-harm and engage in suicidal tendencies. Feyre has never self-harmed and has never wanted to kill herself because of Nesta. Nesta spent a year in a half engaging in self-harming behaviors to the point that she wanted to commit suicide.

4. Abusers are aggressive, not unagressive. Feyre is the aggressor 60-70% of the time, even though she likes to play victim. Nesta may be angry and have rage issues, but she's unagressive, not aggressive. She only responds when provoked - even Cassian said the IC picked fights with Nesta. No abuser waits to be provoked; they're always the ones starting it.

5. Feyre admitted to always being at Nesta's throat. An abuse victim is never at the throat of their abuser, hence the distinction between "abuser" and "victim". The very fact that Feyre admitted she's always at Nesta's throat just proves that Nesta's not an abuser. Can she be mean and cruel? Sure. But are her comments going to send someone to therapy for years on end? No.

Look I love a flawed character, but my God... though this has been talked about at length, I just cannot express how truly shocked I am to see no one was exaggerating about just how insufferable she becomes.

CC1 I was like okay she's a little pick-me, a little arrogant but she's got a good heart. CC2 my threshold for her BS was declining and then plummeted pretty fast.

Her antics with Vesperus were the nail in the coffin.

So Bryce is a poorly-written Aelin but also not half as clever, endearing, or enjoyable to read?

She is all self-righteousness, all impulse, and ZERO self awareness. She has screwed over so many of her loved ones not once, not twice, but over and over due to those traits. See: Cormac, See: Hunt, See: Ruhn, See: Juniper, See: The List Goes On, See: I'm Sure There Will Be More. The Emile plot, specifically, is where I started to lose my marbles.

She's just as selfish as the people she complains about constantly?! Like yeah girl... Theia and her daughters sucked majorly... but how are you gonna stand there, be willingly dense about it, and then shortly thereafter have a temper tantrum that gets you and two strangers stuck in an open air prison with an Asteri?

All this, plus the audacity to be ungrateful and snarky about it when Nesta saves all of your ***es. "You gave me more questions then answers. We could have contained her." Please enlighten me as to your plan to do that since the first one failed massively. Actually, many of your plans fail massively. Hence why you're in this mess in the first place. But honestly, don't even get me started on Eternal City, because we will be here for a minute.

The whole thing is so ridiculous. Nesta and Azriel saved your *** multiple times, have proven to be kind (relative to the sh***y situation you keep putting them in) and instead of consider a conversation with Rhys about how you guys could combine your knowledges and skillsets to protect BOTH of your worlds, you decide to complain, dip, and screw over everyone else. She is such a MF child.

"Love will make you do that" GIVE ME A BREAK!!!

Also, I hate Tharion. I can't really stand Ethan, but he reads like a child to me, so I try to cut him some slack. Good luck out there or whatever, but the narrative can't afford this stupidity anymore.

I'm gonna keep reading though.