#anti cc

[wingsdippedingold]

the way you can tell Bryce was originally written to be more of an “kylie-Jenner Instagram model” body. SJM almost exclusively used the word “curvy” for Bryce, which could refer to someone who’s more plus sized, or to someone with a fuller bust and butt. However it’s pretty obviously the latter because she only ever refers to her breasts and butt. On the other hand sjm uses “plump and round” for another character, almost always specifically denoting a bigger person, and specifically refers to that characters arms and belly.

People thought Bryce was plus sized and sjm just saw a chance for free rep credit and ran with it. *Cough* *cough* Amren being East Asian

This isn’t attacking anyone who envisioned Bryce as plus sized. But, I’m tired of people getting on their hands and knees to defend sjm and pretend like she actually gives a fuck about representation.

like is there even any other main female that is plus sized or anything more than waifish fairy woman? I actually cannot think of one.

#anti sarah j maas #anti acotar #anti sjm #anti cc #anti rhysand

[nagararitsu]

I just saw a girl say acotar has good political world building and that cassandra clare’s books have the best world building ever. and it was a fully grown adult not like a 12 year old. convinced she’s never read anything outside of the ‘dark romance/dark fantasy’ genre. or perhaps she is illiterate. or maybe she is secretly 3 12 year olds in a trench coat

#and she also liked colleen hoover #red flags abound #anti sjm #anti cc #anti booktok

[moonssalad]

Honestly why does almost every SJM written relationship start off with one of them abusing or belittling the other? Is SJM incapable of writing healthy relationships?

#anti sjm #anti sarah j maas #anti acotar #anti tog #anti throne of glass #anti cc #anti ccity #anti crescent city #anti feysand #anti rowaelin #anti nessian #i cant think of anymore couples #well more like i cant remember their ship name

[im-out-of-it]

I said this before and I’ll say it again: TLH SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN ALASTAIRS POV

y’all just imagine how much better it would have been if most of the series was from Alastair’s pov and we could have had thomastairs love story from the very beginning and see it fleshed out. imagine the pov of Alastair about his no good deadbeat daddy. just imagine y’all how much better it could have been.

but whatever I’ll endure this miscommunication trope CC has come to love and accept what I have of thomastair. it’s better than nothing at least 🥹

#anti cassandra clare #anti cc #thomas lightwood #alastair carstairs #ok y’all just imagine how much better it could have been #all the things we missed #all of Alastair’s emotions and how he felt about everything #plus all the Thomas pov too #I’m feeling sad so y’all can ignore me now #I just miss them so much and know it could’ve been so much more

[ladyhindsight]

So, God definitely exists and Lilith is having her own fashion show whenever she appears. That’s cool. Anyway. It has taken ages to even summon any will power to finish the book, the whole year so far has been personal chaos, but now as the storm has ceased and I had couple days off to just lay down on my sofa to power through this monstrosity, all I am left with is a major what the fuck. Expectations were close to zero and Chain of Thorns still went right under it.

Just minutes before I finally finished Chain of Thorns and I don’t even know what it all was for. The major things holding this story together is everyone’s damn pride and fear of being pitied—obstacles which all of them have to overcome. James and Cordelia are both too proud to be pitied, but narrative-wise there is this perpetual pity party going on. All this ruminating over Things That Never Were and Stuff That Is Forever out of Reach is just whole lot of words for whole lot of nothing, especially when the ending to their relationship is nothing if not predictable. The purple prose doesn’t make me feel anything, doesn’t resonate with me on any level, and I can’t connect to it because in the grand scheme of the story, it is based on false perception created by the unwillingness to be truthful. In the end, all that angst and wondering about the feelings at every turn, it is a waste of time.

Every character is so driven by their self-loathing, seriously bordering on self-pity, and pride that all their motivations blur into the same mess. The unwillingness to be truthful, powered by the pride of each character, is the force for which the plot can even reach the points it wants. Clare truly is a master of creating this endless but absolutely done-to-death emotional circle she just keeps recycling in every trilogy she manages to publish. Writing is the same as ever, dialogue is a pathway to always just tell things, it’s also hand-holding and over-bearing: “It seems the Inquisitor has hurt his right arm.” “He was branded on his arm by Belial.” “So that’s why he was holding it like it hurt!” No shit?! Stop it. On a positive note, I think the series is more emotionally aware and intelligent compared to The Mortal Instruments and even The Infernal Devices, where the emotional awareness only encompassed Clary, Jace, Will, Jem, and Tessa. Not completely without its grievances, but when are these books ever?

The plot served its purpose, I guess. Cordelia becoming a paladin of Lilith served its role in saving James and defeating Belial. Others had their own stories and relationships but were helpful and sometimes integral for the story to progress. It’d be otherwise fine if the book didn’t forget the actual plot for a major part of its duration and exchanged it for useless inter-character dramatics and constant cliffhangers. Additionally, it’s just that the whole Watcher thing (like the Grigori?) was clear from miles away. Whenever Clare introduces a new but a very basic element to the Shadowhunter world THAT SHOULD HAVE EXISTED ALREADY and explains it through a character (this time Cordelia), it’s a dead giveaway. So the tease They wake + the Iron Tombs = waiting two thirds of the book for the characters to catch up with you. The story is so infected with repetitive narrative, drama and self-loathing, pseudo-profound ponderings on love and pride, and I am sick of even thinking about any of it.

Maybe one day I have something else to say about the book in general, but not today. My brain has once again been obliterated. So, as usual, some thoughts and notes and more in-depth grievances:

CORDELIA CARSTAIRS AND JAMES HERONDALE. They come together, because I have no coherent thoughts about James or Cordelia. They were there and did their protagonist duties. Of course there was a love triangle. Blah, blah. I just didn’t like Cordelia in this installment as much as the previous ones. Maybe her pride took so much center stage that her previous kindness and compassion were overshadowed by it and self-righteousness. Her bravery is no longer bravery but same thoughtlessness of every other Clare heroine. James was there, hoorah. No, but seriously. James’ trauma was so in-depth analyzed and told, his feeling of pain and anguish and anger relished in so much that the writing was incapable of coming up with anything new to say instead of regurgitating same things over and over again. Also, Cordelia was constantly aware of James’ bracelet when he wore it, but never mentioned it once he stopped wearing it for good?

THOMAS LIGHTWOOD AND ALASTAIR CARSTAIRS. They worked out, yay. Don’t know why they love each other, but okay. Their romance was a nice and carrying force through some bleak scenes in the book. Alastair becoming more open and comfortable in showing affection was lovely. Turned out great.

ANNA LIGHTWOOD AND ARI BRIDGESTOCK. See the above. Same sentiments. But much like with Thomas and Alastair, most of the development happened in this final instalment and pretty hastily too. And like the above pair, I feel like a lot of the progress came with transforming the characters into unrecognizable version of themselves too quickly. I was happy that Ari was able to connect with her mother again and Flora could flourish (lol) without the stifling presence of her husband, but I also feel like I’ve seen this setting where a bad and homophobic husband and father gets a metaphorical kick to his ass and goes away in order for the life to be better for his family without him.

LUCIE HERONDALE. Lucie was generally great. No hard feelings. It’s a bit contrived that it is precisely the canoodling of Jesse that brings her closer to the dead, but whatever. Love that her weapon of choice is an ax.

MATTHEW FAIRCHILD. Matthew’s story ends on a somber note. While Matthew definitely was not one of my favorite characters, I hoped he could’ve had something more to him than James and Cordelia. His journey to sobriety continues, which was great that it wasn’t over just like that, but the reason for his drinking was such a huge thing that was carried throughout the books, so it was disappointing to see it quickly addressed in the epilogue. Matthew deserved more than a hasty redemption in the end.

CHARLES FAIRCHILD. There are other people that are dying, Charles!! is what I am left with. I am absolutely aghast how Charles’ character was treated. I can’t believe that Clare still managed to write one more let’s push this character out of the closet because it is The Right Thing to Do scenario in her books. Charles has to brave the world and lose what he has to lose because his dreams and aspirations, according to the narrative, are worth nothing because he is more privileged than other people. Charles coming out with his sexuality is set against the choice of standing with or against his family as if there was no other way to solve this but guilt Charles into doing the right thing so he can’t be blackmailed anymore. Nobody cares, your family loves you—then what are the stakes here then, in their homophobic society that time and time again fails to deliver any consequence while existing as this ostracizing boogeyman?

I hoped there was some sort of ploy that Charles intended to execute in order to remove the thorn from his mother’s side and replace the Inquisitor with someone who was more fair and just and capable. At once, when Tessa said that Charles is just misguided, I knew it wouldn’t be because Tessa is never wrong. So all there is this dumb blackmailing plot whose only merit is to have Maurice Bridgestock removed from his position as Inquisitor. It did not serve Charles’ character in any way nor were his story with his family or Matthew in any way concluded.

GRACE BLACKTHORN. While discussing Grace, Christopher says that Grace was just a child when she was forced to act on James. Thomas says it doesn’t matter with anger and fury. Matthew equates Grace’s actions to a murder, as you do. While Will’s actions against Tatiana are in no way comparable to Grace’s, it is strange how Will being twelve is mentioned as if in order to act as an extenuating circumstance, while this doesn’t apply to Grace. It is also weird how everyone else’s torment is mulled over, used as an excuse for some type of behavior, but Grace's abuse and manipulation at the hands of Tatiana and Belial isn’t taken into consideration by anyone else than Jem? Also why did Cordelia get to vanquish Tatiana and not Grace? Grace’s treatment in this book, along with Charles, was just painful.

JESSE BLACKTHORN. Much like James, he is a stale piece of wheat bread. Only thing I have in mind about Jesse is that I found it a bit over the top, out of the little character he had, that he was so angry at Grace so that he left her. Jesse reacted exactly the way I feared Cordelia would react to Alastair. I was hoping for angry but sad and disappointed approach since Jesse knew better than anyone what Grace has lived through. Also, why Jesse (or Grace) wasn’t given time with his uncles who had wanted to get to know him for ages?

CHRISTOPHER LIGHTWOOD. My sweet cheese, my goodtime boy. Characters Clare writes most often only know the strongest of emotions. They always react with anger, defensiveness, and passion; by shouting, by self-righteous fury, by everything that is so exhausting to always read. Most of the characters are that, and am I so happy how Clare stayed true to Christopher’s temperate and serene nature, even when his cousin/best friend has been greatly wronged. And when everyone was so angry at Grace, Christopher was the only one to see reason. So, WHY THE FUCK HE DIED? No one, but most of all Cordelia herself never acknowledge that Kit died protecting her.

The “false” family tree lead the story on how Kit and Grace would probably become a couple, and would’ve made sense since they bonded over science and their minds were alike while they were so unalike in other ways, but boom. Kit dies, and Grace is left to figure out the fire messages on her own, because otherwise there wouldn’t be that obstacle of not being able to reach the Shadowhunters in Idris. Kit died for a shock value and so that a measly little plot point could work. Also great how the Lightwoods always have their children killed?? We never even see Gabriel and Cecily mourning?? Eugenia was weirdly chipper after just losing another one of her family members?? All these pages dedicated to romance bullshit that will solve itself but not for this.

TATIANA BLACKTHORN. Tatiana is a fiend, a terrible demon-worshipping, toddler-kidnapping fiend, but also a cartoonish one at that. It’s just overdone. She was made uglier and uglier, the machinator of evil things, and then she died. Voilà. There is one narrative aspect that was weird though. The Herondales and the Lightwoods insist on having tried their all to help Tatiana who always refused, but when Jesse confronts his mother, he says:

“I have come to know them by now. There is truth much harsher. One I think you know. They have not tried to ruin you over all these years. They have not plotted your downfall. They have barely even thought of you at all.”

Sick burn, but which is it? Adamantly trying to help her or not thinking about her at all?

MAURICE BRIDGESTOCK. A cartoon character with a cartoon ending. A homophobe bigot who got what he deserved, but a cartoonish character still. He was jealous of the Herondales and thus was an antagonist. Why is everyone obsessed with the Herondales in every damn book?

ESME HARDCASTLE. Esme was shoved in there in order to explain the “found family tree”, which at some point, I have no doubt, was how things were supposed to be, until Clare had more ideas for the Edwardian kids. No other characters in whole of TSC have gone through so many changes as these characters have. And as such, to keep the predictability at minimum—which isn’t a lot—the old family tree is made up by Esme, so Clare can spin this tale why it wasn’t accurate. Grace didn’t marry Christopher, Alastair didn’t have children (probably?). Then Clare had all these surprise babies coming because the way she chose to end the story for the Edwardian kids would mean no Emma, no Clary as we know them. So new Carstairs baby, new Fairchild twins.

i. The beginning of the prologue is over-saturated with flowery prose and similes that the narrative gets buried underneath.

ii. James is worried about Lucie, but more importantly needs to find her so he can go back to worrying about Cordelia and Matthew.

iii. The whole series has been a barrage of period typical social etiquette and decorum fed to you with a spoon. Even The Infernal Devices wasn’t this intent on it. Men did not usually accompany even wives or sisters into a dressmakers shop. What do you care about mundane decorum, you are Shadowhunters! Have some etiquette of your own.

iv. “…one of the modistes attacked the closures at the back of Cordelia’s dress without requiring any instruction—clearly she had done this before—and pushed and pulled at Cordelia as if she was a stuffed mannequin.” CcLeEaRrLy. You just told she didn’t need instruction, the rest is rather obvious. And I hope she knew what she was doing, she works there!!

v. Then there is this ridiculously complicated sentence: “Madame Beausoleil, who kept her salon on the Rue de la Paix, where the most famous dressmakers in the world—the House of Worth, Jeanne Paquin—were situated, was, according to Matthew, well acquainted with the Shadow World.” Like, what. Honey. Darling. “Madame Beausoleil kept her salon on the Rue de la Paix, where the most famous dressmakers in the world—the House of Worth, Jeanne Paquin—were situated. She was, according to Matthew, well acquainted with the Shadow World.” Or does that info about the location have to be there at all? Surely there were plenty other paragraphs where you could’ve stuffed that.

vi. Apparently this, apparently that, apparently everything! Whenever Clare uses such a word, it is a sign that she is unnecessarily feeling the need to justify why she is giving some particular piece of information or why a character is making an observation they could realistically make.

vii. Cordelia’s savings to pay Matthew for the dresses? What savings? From what and where?

viii. There are so many parentheses explaining things

ix. There is not a one scene in Paris where Cordelia doesn’t think how other people might see her and Matthew as a couple. Every time, which is in basically every scene they have in public, someone watches them and admires them and their “young love.”

x. “I have never heard anyone sound as if they were in such pain. Jamie, you must talk to us.” Yes, no one has ever been in greater pain than James Herondale, and that has the stamp of approval of Will Herondale so it really means something.

xi. a lot of the gray is gunmetal gray

xii. Having Tatiana comment on Jem’s appearance as Silent Brother and call it privilege for knowing the Lightwoods and Herondales doesn’t take away the fact that it is awfully convenient that Jem isn’t bald or his face isn’t sown shut. Though I get the intent behind this was to elicit such reaction as how awful of Tatiana! She doesn’t know anything Jem has suffered! It was not his choice! and the like. Blah.

xiii. What is it with these YA books in which waiters always give the characters their unsolicited opinions on people’s orders?

xiv. I assume Madame Dorothea of Brooklyn named herself after this famed Madame Dorothea of Paris. Why didn’t Malcolm go to her about Annabelle? I don’t remember if there ever was a mention of it.

xv. When Lucie tells the truth about Jesse and her powers to Magnus and Will, the PoV changes from James to Lucie with no indication of PoV change:

xvi. “James thought of the box of matches in his pocket, each one a sort of signal light that, when struck, summoned Jem to his side. He did not know how the magic worked, nor did he think Jem would tell him even if asked.” Just leave this part out, readers will think it’s just magic and that’s it. Now this just sounds that you couldn’t bother to think about it and just tried to explain possible scrutiny away. This instead just points more to the fact that you have no clue how the magic in your world works.

xvii. “James returned to the house, crawling into bed with his coat still on.” James can’t return to the house and crawl into his bed at the same time.

xviii. Take a shot every time the same steel and temper as Joyeuse and Durendal is said in TSC

xix. It’s annoying how Matthew speaks so lowly of Charles wanting to keep Alastair a secret when their own society supposedly sucks ass and enables shame and discrimination

xx. Cordelia only accepts Matthew’s affections once she thinks she has truly lost James. Why did she want to kiss Matthew if she didn’t even fancy him? She just selfishly used him and his love to forget her own mistakes, which I didn’t like about her at all. But that of course just fed into the love triangle that Clare is so insistent on writing in each one of her series, and the end couple is always obvious.

xxi. “…and James could remember, painfully, what kissing Cordelia was like, hotter and better than any fire.” I don’t think being burned by fire is good?

xxii. It’s torturous—and not in the good giddy way—how Clare finds even the tiniest excuse to prolong James and Cordelia finally getting together. “I should tell her the truth but Cordelia looked so happy with Matthew, so I didn’t.” Good grief.

xxiii. “Pity and kindness were not love. Only free choice was love; if he had learned nothing else from the horror of the bracelet, he had learned that.” Only a free choice to those who are free to love and go for that love and their dreams without having to make a choice between either. So fuck that.

xxiv. Ari didn’t bring any clothes with her when she left her parents. “She’d have to buy new things.” WITH WHAT MONEY? FROM WHERE? HER “STIPENDS” WENT TO LIVING EXPENSES! EXPLAAAIN

xxv. “At the breakfast table sat Anna’s brother Christopher, and, of all people, Eugenia Lightwood.” Yes, out of all the people in this world that is sitting at the table is Anna’s cousin. Truly odd.

xxvi. “The Institute is the safest place in London when it comes to demons; if he did somehow attack, the whole Enclave would retreat here as a matter of policy.” Not when it comes to the Jack the Ripper one in The Whitechapel Fiend.

xxvi. Will discusses Tatiana’s vengeance for being wronged: “Will sighed. “That was me. I read her diary out loud at a Christmas party, long ago. I was twelve. And I was quite severely punished, so in fact, the Enclave was on her side.”’ No, he wasn’t. And the whole Enclave punished Will? Please. There was no culpability, no apology, and no admission of guilt. And he also broke Gabriel’s arm. This is an attempt afterwards to alleviate the guilt on Will’s end when it comes to Tatiana’s madness. More realistic approach, less let’s-make-Will-more-shiny-and-not-at-all-a-participant-in-Tatiana’s-insanity would be something like: “That was me. I read her diary out loud at a Christmas party, long ago. I was twelve, but that’s on me.” And they would’ve gone on that it didn’t matter because in grand scheme of things it was such a miniscule thing.

xxvii. Take a shot every time the writing tries to stealthily prop up Will and Tessa as good and kind. Clare is really adamant at making the Herondales victims at every turn.

xxviii. “Benedict Lightwood brought down vileness upon his family, and Tatiana could not accept either his culpability or her own.” True, yet funny how the same does not apply to the ones who are on the right side of things. Accepting culpability on all that…

xxix. “He thrust the hand at James, who slashed an iratze across Matthew’s palm, followed by two Energy runes. He would not normally give Matthew, or anyone, more than one, but they would act as knives, cutting through any fog in Matthew’s brain.” One very profound problem (which I will bring up with TMI in time) is that this excerpt reveals that Clare thinks we know how runes work, when she has in actuality laid no groundwork for it. Is there a limit how many runes one can bear at once? What are the adverse effects of too many energy runes? What if you use iratze when you don’t need one? Are there runes that, when used at the same time, might hinder the effect of one another?

xxx. Take a shot every time a character narrates other characters on how much they have changed.

xxxi. “Now, Thomas has lost a sister and a friend as close as his brother, all in one year.” Weird way to say a cousin. You surely mean his cousin as close as his brother??

xxxii. “Grace said, not unkindly, “I’ve come to know Lucie quite well, you know, the last months. She was probably as close to a friend as I ever had.”’ Christopher was her friend, hellooo???

xxxiii. There seems to be a theme that whenever things are getting hot and heavy, something abrupt happens and interrupts the scene. Not that I am complaining, interrupt that awkward shit.

xxxiv. The bodies of the Iron Sisters and Silent Brothers don’t decay, but so what? Everyone else gets burned after dying, why not them also? Are they not inflammable? Also, what a great opportunity to mention Abigail Shadowhunter and David the Silent, but did we just once again wave at that opportunity as it passed by? Yes, we did.

xxxv. “Alastair waved his hand. “Yes, yes. It has been Roman and Saxon and now it will be demon. It has survived plague and pestilence and fire—”’ Best quote.

xxxvi. “It is easy to confuse monstrousness and power,” said Cordelia. “Especially when one is a woman, as one is not supposed to possess either quality.” Again, a weird fucking take for people whose numbers are dwindling and need all the fighting power they can get and half of that power are women

xxxvii. “he had been sure, somehow, that Cordelia would come after him, would find a way. And it did not surprise him at all that Lucie had not left her side.” James sure has faith in his sister to rescue him in dire need. No, Lucie came because Cordelia came. Whatever, what do I care.

What, in the end, was the true purpose of this trilogy? What merit is to it that it exists? How has The Wicked Powers become richer for having The Last Hours precede it? It’s actually devastating how inconsequential all of this is. The true Belial has been vanquished, but another demon has taken his place as Belial. Is this new Belial even a fallen angel or just some demon? Because otherwise he is not like the rest of the Princes at all. I would’ve hoped that at least one thing, like Emma getting to finish Belial with Cortana, would’ve given this trilogy even a little bit more purpose. 700+ pages and all is still left rather unfinished. Nothing at least feels concluded other than James and Cordelia’s love for each other being stronger than a Prince of Hell is capable of breaking. Blergh.

[Additional notes]

#Cordelia Carstairs #James Herondale #Matthew Failchild #Thomas Lightwood #Christopher Lightwood #Alastair Carstairs #Anna Lightwood #Charles Fairchild #Grace Blackthorn #Jesse Blackthorn #Lucie Herondale #Chain of Thorns #The Last Hours #Anti CC #Anti Cassandra Clare

[set-in-eternity]

I'm noticing something VERY interesting [maybe only to me] about SJ/M's latest release, both from an author/personal standpoint and a reader/book standpoint. [saying this as someone who has followed her, and her work, for at least a decade now]

the anticipation for CC/3 is huge. her fans are frothing at the bit now that the ACO/TAR world has collided with it. everyone wants THEIR ship to sail, everyone wants to see the culmination of their theories unfold.

BUT throughout all of this, in the space between the books, people have been getting upset at her, too. the latest issue has been about fans coming to notice how much money blooms/bury is asking people to pay to see sj/m for for each live event, in addition to the purchase of a book.

this is also riding on the coattails of a larger discussion, seen all over publishing, about how there are 5 [more?] special editions with separate bonus material across several stores, and fans are BIG MAD about that.

so people want the book, but they're upset at the way the publisher is handling the release, and sj/m has been DISTANT herself for years.

on a personal standpoint, which i'm tempted to connect to the reader standpoint: she's MUCH more visible now than she's been in years.

suddenly, within the last 2 months, she's been posting more. teasers, to be fair, for a new release, so not surprising, but that's [i think] her trying to calm the crowd a bit.

midnight release parties? interviews? willfully interacting with fans? yes and yes and yes.

early release material on her website? yes.

people are connecting her current career trajectory with that of smey/er and twi/light because sj/m is so big now and has so much attention and hype.

i agree, but i don't think they're right in how.

it's only been, what? two days? three? people WHO ACTUALLY LIKE HER are already not so happy about what she produced. it's early, but i'm tempted to think it's getting something like break/ing da/wn attention. people who genuinely love her are calling this book sloppy. rushed. they're saying that everything in it is too easy.

i don't think sj/m's going to ride this high forever. i think she's doing some PR for more than just the book.

i also don't think she's going to flop as quickly, and as badly, as smey-er did. smey/er hadn't faced much criticism before, which she'd admitted as much at the time. sj/m has, which is why she distanced herself. where smey/er shot pretty much straight up from where she started, and then totally fumbled once she reached such heights, sj/m has fumbled before, but despite distancing herself, she's still popular, it's not yet totally in vogue to tear her down, if only because her online fan base has given her so much clout [deserved or not].

I don't see this as being the mess that smey/er faced. i think sj/m will hang on for longer, but based on the reactions to the book itself that i'm seeing, i don't think people will let her get away with as much. if she doesn't address the glaring issues the antis have pointed out, she's facing a healthy decline going forward.

ETA: i think a lot of why she's doing the interviews - on daytime TV no less, this is highly unusual for her - is because her numbers [how much fans are buying from her] are down, which is reflected in how upset the fans were about the 5+ special editions across 5 stores with 5 separate but RELEVANT TO THE STORY bonus chapters that blooms/bury wanted them to fight over.

i think sj/m is being told to appeal harder to the adult/middle aged market. she was the "queen of YA" for years, but her books are being challenged in schools and libraries, people online were furious about the highly adult book box that went around with references and/or links back to sj/m's work [and the book box was supposed to be geared towards younger readers? i think? which again, upset a lot of people because sj/m's work has intimate scenes that not everyone agrees on YA readers reading].

so blooms/bury put a fresh set of "older fantasy" and discreet covers on sj/m's books to get some fresh, not-YA eyes on them, she's going on talk shows to say "hey, i write books for adults who like spice," and they're going to push harder for the crowd with slightly more money [not really, but they need to sell books] who won't be totally offended by the spice, and who may not know about her.

the one issue i see right up front is: they DON'T always know about her. their KIDS might, but middle aged/older readers aren't necessarily the same rabid fanbase making tiktoks online that she currently has. her readers are AGING, for sure, and she's having to keep up with that fact, but we know for sure that Millenials and Gen Z aren't exactly rolling in money right now. so she's relying on the Gen X+ crowds to be as hungry for spice and fantasy mixes as the younger ones were...back when they could afford them.

this might pan out in her favor, but i don't see gen x and the older people lining up for midnight book releases. they might watch the show, depending on how well it's done, or they might decide the books are too young for them as older readers who lean more heavily towards GRRM's work. again, this may well be the start of sj/m's decline, but we'll have to see how much traction she gets with the older crowd AND if that reflects in future print runs - does the publisher do more special editions? do they demand twice the price for live events? or do things start to look more reasonable?

ETA 2: the obvious similarity between sj/m's career and smey/er's [besides having a huge fanbase, made mostly of female-identifying people, who want and enjoy romance] is also that sj/m has been in talks for an adaptation of her work, like smey/er got, which could definitely bring in new readers, not sure how i missed that in the rest of the post.

#publishing #thoughts #anti sjm #anti sarah j maas #anti acotar #anti tog #anti cc #anti crescent city #anti throne of glass #anti smeyer

[lesbocrocker]

Why do you hate Jordelia? Lol I don't mind, I'm not very emotionally invested in them either way, but I'm super curious

Alright Herondaisy stans please scroll im about to be very mean

tw for incoherency

It’s just aaaaaarrrrrrgggggghhhhh in a bad way yk. Like there is no growth in this ship. Nothing happens apart from James talks about Cordelia’s tits. Like, you’re not special for that James. Your literal sister had more chemistry with your literal wife.

chog herondaisy is basically cordelia going ‘when will he notice me :(((((‘ while james goes ‘hm. 🙂’

and THEN Cordelia decides to defend James for fucking burning a house down by saying that she fucked him. Now, if I’d had a crush on a guy for years and he hadn’t even noticed me, I would most likely cheered when his ass went to jail. You’re better then me daisy.

and then we have that stupid fucking fake marriage. I want to preface by saying I really fucking hate fake marriage. basically all that happens there is horny chess playing for sooooo fucking long. Also that fucking whispering room scene. seriously it’s such a fucking cliche. ‘oh no we’re in trouble we should kiss’ AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHBKVOKFJFGUFFSQTHJVF

and then we finally get to chot Herondaisy. this is where i enter my will wood era. In his words: ‘I am shitting. I am pissing. I am holding a toaster over a bath and sobbing the merciful name of G-d.’

the only good thing i got from chot herondaisy was james when fairstairs walked in making out because that shit was hilarious to me.

but oh my godddddd. Cordelia going ‘actually i choose my own man 💪💪💪’ WE ALL KNOW YOURE GOING TO PICK JAMES HOLY SHIT

Anyway they angsted for a bit then Christopher ‘The Cupid Of This Shit’ Lightwood came and single-handedly (well he had grace to help him) saved their marriage.

THEN they fucked. a lot. the end.

also cordelia is like very weirdly sexualised through the whole thing? like yes cc we get it this seventeen year old woc has massive tits okay???

ALSO it seriously feels like to me that it’s a childhood crush on both of their parts that they should have grown out of years ago.

so yeah it’s just a very flat and annoying ship to me and i am genuinely wishing divorce on them.

#anti herondaisy #anti jordelia #the last hours #tlh #the shadowhunter chronicles #tsc #cordelia carstairs #james herondale #anti cc

[sheisbeautyweareworldass]

“alistair” almost 10 years since alastair was introduced and she never bothered to not misspell his name lmao

#her replying to the tweets saying there was no jessa on this because there was plenty of them in twp……. #why do we have wessa clace blackstairs and herondaisy then…? #she entire their entire series around those couples and it never stopped her from writing extra stories before #but when it’s jessa it’s a problem💀 #anti cc #alastair carstairs

[wingsdippedingold]

SJM majoring in creative writing and being the laziest writer on eath who constantly plagiarizes her own and other people's works its comically hilarious

#anti sjm #anti acotar #anti sarah j maas #sjm critical #anti throne of glass #anti ccity #anti cc

[ebooksupremacy]

Exploring dark, toxic and otherwise unfavourable subjects isn't something that should be discouraged amongst writers and authors. These subjects have produced a multitude of classics and critically acclaimed works such as A Clockwork Orange and American Psycho.

The problem with the modern toxicity in the booktok/booktube YA favourites is the lack of nuance and tone.

These darker subjects, written to be palatable for adults by adults, aren't appropriate for such a broad age demographic as YA.

They go unchallenged with little to no commentary on the subject itself, which leads the work into meta romanticism (which I define as the romanticism of the act and/or subject outside of the fictional work and subjective narrative).

There's no nuance that requires the reader to re-evaluate their views or cause them discomfort. Reading is an emotional experience, and dark subjects should trigger negative responses.

Darker subjects can be included in romances and adventures, as long as you make time to explore them -- all of them, from the build up to the climax to the aftermath. If you can't or won't follow through with the whole thing, it will become meta romanticism and that's not only toxic itself but lazy.

Portraying in-world romanticism of the darker subjects whilst also avoiding romanticising it to your readers is incredibly difficult and shouldn't be added to novels that you'd rather focus on something else. Make sure you know how you want the subject to come across before you commit yourself to writing it.

Booktok/booktube needs to stop fawning over authors who are romanticising the dark subjects in their stories both in and outside the narrative. Yes, reading should be fun, but when we read too much of something we either become desensitised to it or we normalise it.

With booktok/booktubes obsession with certain romantic dynamics, the results of seeing these pairings as "goals" could be damaging.

#anti booktok #anti booktube #anti sjm #anti cc #there are more authors i know #these are the only two i've personally read #enjoy reading but be aware and be critical! #don't just accept things for what they are #if you question what's going on then take a moment to process that on your own #keep a notebook and pen while reading and write down the page and a brief summary of the scene that makes you think #then put the book down and put how you feel or what you think into words #don't listen to people if they try to tell you it's attractive or endearing #my post

[moonssalad]

Honestly Im not the biggest fan of the fated mates trope. Atleast not by SJM.

It feels like almost all of the couples are only together because theyre mates. Like if they were not, sure maybe they would hook up a few times but actually get together... dont think so.

#anti sjm #anti tog #anti throne of glass #anti acotar #anti cc #anti ccity #anti crescent city #anti feysand #anti rowaelin #anti nessian #anti sarah j maas

[persiesposts]

Ever since I finished reading HOSAB I noticed some stark similarities between the Asteri and the Skeksis from the Dark Crystal. Maybe it’s just a niche antagonist thing but I’ve only ever seen this done in Dark Crystal and now CC.

***SPOILERS FOR HOSAB/ DARK CRYSTAL KIND OF***

So in the last like 1-200 pages of HOSAB, it’s revealed that the Asteri are not from Midgard and have in fact been traveling the known and unknown universe, consuming the essence or “firstlight” for sustenance and to maintain their youth and power. They are the last of their kind, were once many and are now few. Worlds that rebelled were destroyed and when the people united as one they were able to drive the Asteri out. They land on Midgard and assert themselves as the overarching rulers of the planet (?) They lure beings from different lands to use them as a source of power and as subjects to rule over.

As I was reading this it started sounding reeeaaally familiar. It’s definitely not exact but IMO the similarities are too close to ignore.

The Skeksis are a race of beings who are not originally from Thra, they landed there and asserted themselves as Lords. They initially fed off the Crystal of Truth to extend their lives but when it became corrupted they started using the Gelflings and Podlings (the civilians they rule over) for their essence/lifesource. It’s heavily implied if not outright stated that they have been scouring the universe for a food source/home since being banished from theirs. The skeksis that remain on Thra are the last of their kind after many years of traveling the stars and losing numbers from quelling uprisings.

Is it just me or do these sound super similar? Not trying to imply anything about SJM but Dark Crystal as a movie has been out since the 80’s and the TV show came out in 2019, HOSAB came out in 2022…

#anti sarah j maas #anti cc #anti crescent city #sjm critical #the dark crytsal: age of resistance #the dark crystal #anti acotar #skeksis

[im-out-of-it]

thank the devil for Jem

will herondale is tolerable because of Jem. if Jem wasn’t in the picture, will herondale would be insufferable.

I don’t tolerate jace herondale but he may be tolerable to others because of Alec Lightwood. he’s alive because of Alec.

James and Matthew are both equally messy but I don’t have issue with James. dude just bores me and if any more material comes with James and he mentions pity- I’m fucking done.

Emma and Julian are both practically unbearable. neither make the other bearable.

this is just to say that all of CC’s main male characters are intolerable. it’s no wonder she sets them up with an Alec or a Jem. if I’m being honest, 99% of CC’s characters are toxic as fuck. (this doesn’t count: Thomas, Jem, Alec after TMI, and Alastair- no, he didn’t deserve all the shit he got. these characters are not toxic and deserved much better storylines.) like majority of her characters are extremely problematic but that’s the way she prefers it.

#anti cassandra clare #alec lightwood #anti cc #anti jace herondale #thomas lightwood #alastair carstairs #anti will herondale #jem carstairs

[hahahax30]

Esme Hardcastle: professional theorist and horrible scapegoat

This is my Official Essay-Post complaining about the absurdity that was the family tree. I'll be trying to explain my thoughts in a well-structured manner.

Firstly, I think we can all agree that making that goddamn family tree was one of the greatest mistakes CC's ever made, if not the greatest. It's been haunting her and us since tlh was announced and, frankly, should never have seen the light of day. However, once it did, it was a reality whose incorrectness the story had to live with and explain. And CC explained it, but in the most underwhelming, unsatisfactory way possible.

We're told that Esme Hardcastle, an ascended mundane James first meets in the shadowhunter academy, was the mastermind behind the family tree and that her mind is, actually, quite underdeveloped, hence why the family tree is full of errors. Well, that is a good way to explain certain aspects of the family tree, for example:

Why Alastair's name is misspelled as 'Alistar' -> many English names have different spellings and Esme might not have known which one to go to for Alastair; or perhaps she just made a typo because she was writing the family tree too fast

Why Sona's name is way off -> Alastair is a bitch and who knows what lies he could've told her to get her to leave him alone

Why some people (like Thomas) are supposed to die earlier than we now can expect them to -> she got angry and shortened their fictional lifespans

If the family tree had only silly mistakes like those, then Esme's existence would be nice, but nope. The family tree royally fucked up.

For once, it shouldn't contain info up until tda, since Esme surely didn't get to live until 1995 (when Emma was born), but also, she's a real character in-universe. She's supposed to know everyone in tlh, she should know that Barbara and Christopher died in 1903, she should know that Christopher certainly didn't get to marry Grace nor have children with her (even if they'd married they wouldn't have had any because they're both ace). Why, then, did she write that?

Esme is stupid, but she's not blind ffs. If CC really wanted to make her the reason behind the family tree, she should've explained further why Esme went full happy-flower-power mode and imagined a whole future for a guy who died at sixteen: is she a hardcore gracetopher shipper? A conspiratorial theorist who, in spite of seeing Christopher's body literally burn in a pyre, still thought he was alive? Both? I guess we'll never know.

This is all, for obvious reasons, frustrating.

I'm beyond overjoyed that she won't make another family tree. I wouldn't be surprised if she actually wrote a trilogy about tlh's children after twp (since her idea of it being the last shadowhunter trilogy has pretty much disappeared) and I don't want her to have to make up any other stupid reasons for why xyz info is wrong because Idiotbrain McStupid wrote it to compliment his real-person fanfiction of the next generations.

#chot #chain of thorns #anti cc #anti cassandra clare #(just to be safe I'm actually not an anti) #esme hardcastle #tlh #the last hours #christopher lightwood

[astrababyy]

the second cc book is so weird because cormac is the guy fighting for justice and pushing the plot along, and he’s got to drag the actual mcs along with him kicking and screaming. like, HE’S the good guy who’s fighting for human liberation, and all the others are playing the whole “reluctant hero” cliche but it just doesn’t work cause they’re, collectively, two royals, an ex-member of a super powerful wolf pack, the underwater queen’s spymaster, and the fucking umbra mortis who JUST got his freedom back after centuries of slavery. but then the mcs are the saints on a moral high horse and cormac is the devil incarnate. idk if it changes as the book goes on, but i’m on this part where declan is joking around about a situation where people could die and cormac is the only one taking it seriously. like this is so tone deaf???

#i’m beating a dead horse lmao #this book came out ages ago #but i’m just reading it now so i can see nesta again in book 3 #and i’m so irritated with every single character except for cormac like i kid you tf not #anti sjm #sjm critical #anti cc #anti crescent city #anti hosab #astrababyy

[4uru]

My insane urge to rewrite tmi but good.

>no incest bullshit.

>show malec dynamic and age

> izzy gets a personality

>Simon gets therapy (and better friends)

#anti cc #auru's tmi shitpost #anti tmi #the mortal instruments