Ireland Eenink

Note: Spoilers for both below

- eldest daughter, built up all her life by others who had huge expectations for her

- was forced to up and relocate to the cold north as a teen because of a family tragedy

- at one point was content to marry a man from an abusive family knowing it could somehow benefit her family

- got separated from her sister, lost her parents

- literally saw their father die in front of them

- both has their bodies brutalizes in a horrible way (Sansa got married off to Ramsay Bolton, Nesta got thrown in a cauldron by the King of Hybern)

- both also received justice delivering the death below against the aforementioned men

- suffered an unimaginable amount of trauma that would’ve broken most and still preserved

- learned how to play the game in their own way and achieve their own power

- both find themselves going up against a deranged blonde queen

- always kept hope in their younger, slightly feral, killing machine sister (Arya and Feyre don’t just sound alike either)

- Both were willing at the very end to give up their lives/power to save the ones they love (White Walker battle in Winterfell, saving Feyre and Rhys)

- One embraces her title as The Queen of The North, the other embraces her title as Lady Death

In conclusion: don’t always assume the worst of the eldest daughter with a chip on her shoulder. They’re badasses who deserve love and respect.

I said what I said. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

I’ve been reading Sarah’s books for about 7 years now. There are things I genuinely love about them. I’m not going to sit here and trash every single thing about them or shit all over her as an author. Her books have brought me a lot enjoyment and credit is due where it’s due.

However, if you asked me, point blank, “What do you think of Sarah as an author?” I’d probably sit there on the verge of an aneurysm because I genuinely don’t know how to answer this question.

As much as I enjoy reading her books and genuinely love parts of them, I’ve been growing more frustrated with them over time. This kind of all came to a head in reading ACOFAS and ACOSF. I used to think that these were mostly isolated little incidents involving random different characters. I used to think it was about Chaol, or Tamlin, or Lucien, or Nesta. I’ve come to realize that it’s really not. It’s about Sarah herself and the bizarre way she has chosen to portray her characters.

Every single one of Sarah’s characters do bad things. ALL OF THEM. There is not a single significant character she has written in any book who has not done something shady, or morally gray, or wrong, or hurtful, or whatever. I seriously challenge you to try and find me a character who has not. This is completely normal and understandable!!! No one wants to read about a perfect and utterly flawless character. It makes them uninteresting and unrelatable. ALL good books should feature nuanced characters.

The issue I have is this: while every single character in her writing does bad things, only SOME characters are DEFINED by these bad things. No matter what else they do or say, they are deemed an irredeemable piece of shit who will never deserve anything good. Even if other characters aren’t openly hostile towards them anymore, the narrative will always find a way to subtly remind us all that these are “bad” people who did bad things to others. Any criticism they receive is justified and right. It does not matter how many good and/or heroic deeds are carried out by these characters. Often times these very characters will end up expressing how awful and unworthy they are, either internally or to other characters.

At the same time, there are other characters who do equally bad things (if not worse or significantly worse!!!!!) and have every single one blatantly ignored or explained and justified by the narrative or other characters. They are treated in the exact OPPOSITE way. No matter what they do, they are right. No matter how hypocritical, cruel, or just plain wrong they are, it will never ever be acknowledged by anyone. They will never be made to hold an ounce of responsibility for any of it. Other characters, themselves, and the narrative will turn an absolute blind eye to any wrongdoing and will gush and fawn over them instead.

This would be enough to be incredibly frustrating. But it doesn’t end here!!

Not only will these special select characters have every single blatant wrongdoing ignored, they will also walk around smugly judging the characters who are less fortunate (aka less favored by the author). Despite the majorly shady acts of their own, they will walk around highlighting all the bad things others have done while self-righteously proclaiming their own moral superiority. The narrative and the thoughts and words of other characters will support this. Sarah will beat you over the head with it. An opportunity will never be lost to tell us (not necessarily SHOW us) what a morally good person they are in comparison to someone else.

It honestly makes me feel kind of insane when I’m reading it. It makes me stop and sit there and wrack my brain going, “Does Sarah know she is doing this????” Does she realize she is a giant hypocrite of a writer?? Does she know she makes giant hypocrites of her characters?? It’s honestly hilarious to me because in writing the way she does, she takes the characters who she clearly wants me to adore and favor and makes me end up hating them and makes me end up rooting for the characters who she clearly wants me to dislike. I never liked Chaol until I read Queen of Shadows, when he is irrationally blamed for every one of Aelin’s problems. I was never really that invested in Lucien until he started to get shit on by absolutely everyone in the Inner Circle. I was never a Nesta stan until I read ACOSF, where she is bullied and mistreated by her “family” and gaslighted into thinking that they are right and she is deserving of all they say and do to her. I never had any true passionate feelings about Tamlin until he became a personal punching bag for every single character in ACOTAR, despite the majorly important good things he does that everyone ignores. It blows my mind how Sarah seems to fail to realize that the people walking around with a Holier-Than-Thou Attitude toward these people have a laundry list of majorly questionable actions of their own that never gets addressed.

In short, Sarah essentially self-sabotages as an author and I don’t understand it. You wouldn’t see me and tons of other people posting essays with word counts in the thousands defending the actions of certain characters so strongly and passionately if her little favorites were made to hold even the tiniest bit of accountability over their own wrongdoings and weren’t crapping all over the less favored. It makes her faves come across as the stereotypical “favorite child” in a family who everyone secretly resents and rolls their eyes at. If you’re going to have characters who constantly judge and scorn others for their perceived wrongdoings, it would be smart to give them a spotless and crystal clear record themselves. People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.

deadass with the amount of discord and trauma those girls share, they need a fucking knock down drag out fight to get over their shit if that's what they need

Sibling relationships are messy as fuck. there's shared trauma and parental failing and there is no one that can get under your skin quite like your siblings

Honestly? if Rhys had kept his ass in his own lane and given those girls the space to work shit out, they'd have worked it out by now

but instead he needs to get between Nesta and Feyre and poke and prod Nesta and humiliate and abuse his powers on Nesta even tho Feyre has REPEATEDLY told his ass to stay the fuck out of it

“We would never ally with Hybern,” Mor said. “I am talking to Feyre Archeron.” I’d never heard Tarquin use that tone. Mor bristled, but said nothing.-Acowar page 370

“Is that how you justified stealing from me?”-Acowar page 370

Tarquin’s face didn’t so much shift from that cold wrath. “When you went into the Spring Court and deceived Tamlin as well about your true nature, when you destroyed his territory… You left the door open for Hybern. They docked in his harbors.” No doubt to wait for the wall to collapse and then sail south. Tarquin snarled, “It was an easy trip to my doorstep. You did this”-Acowar page 371

1) Nesta was not taking advantage of Feyre’s “kindness” by spending Rhysand’s money. She was coping for fucks sake. She was sick. Alcohol helped. She needed help. She wasn’t in her right mind. I cannot with these dumbasses saying she took advantage of bla bla bla. Did you not read the fucking book?

There was anger, occasionally. Sharp, hot anger that sliced her.

But most of the time it was silence.

Ringing, droning silence.

She hadn’t felt anything in months. Had days when she didn’t really know where she was or what she’d done. They passed swiftly and yet dripped by.

She didn’t know what she was doing because she’s mentally and physically sick.

2) Nesta cares about Feyre. If she didn’t, she wouldn’t have warned her about the mercenaries robbing her. Then Nesta proceeded to work with a mercenary to get Feyre back, and proceeded to ask her abusive boyfriend to help her, and he refused, so she left him and he tried to r/ape her. She risked her life, going near the wall, to get her sister back.

Then a slender hand clamped onto my forearm, dragging me away. I knew it was Nesta before I even looked at her. “They’re dangerous,” Nesta hissed, her fingers digging into my arm as she continued to pull me from the mercenary. “Don’t go near them again.”

She shrugged, looking at the sliver she’d pried from the table. “I hired that mercenary from town to bring me a week after you were taken. With the money from your pelt. She was the only one who seemed like she would believe me.

“What happened to Tomas Mandray?” I asked, the words strangled.

“I realized he wouldn’t have gone with me to save you from Prythian.” ~ Nesta

3)I don’t even like Elain that much but she does care about Feyre. She even gifted her paint during their years of poverty. Elain was apologetic and acknowledged that they failed Feyre. She convinced Nesta to help Feyre and the others, as Feyre helped them during those years of poverty. Nesta also was apologetic, and regretted everything she did.

And it hadn’t stopped her from buying me three small tins of paint—red, yellow, and blue—during that same summer I’d had enough to buy the ash arrow.

She put a hand on Nesta’s knee, the purple of my sister’s gown nearly swallowing up the ivory hand. “Feyre gave and gave—for years. Let us now help her. Help … others.” ~ Elain

Elain sat a little higher as she said to Cassian, “And as for Feyre’s hunting during those years, it was not Nesta’s neglect alone that is to blame. We were scared, and had received no training, and everything had been taken, and we failed her. Both of us.” ~ Elain.

She bowed over her knees, saying into her palms, “I can’t undo it. I can’t fix it. I can’t fix that he is dead, I can’t fix what I said to Feyre, I can’t fix any of the horrible things I’ve done. I can’t fix me.” ~ Nesta

She blurted, “All the things I’ve done before—” ~ Nesta

“Leave them in the past. Apologize to who you feel the need to, but leave those things behind.” ~ Cassian

“Forgiveness is not that easy.” ~ Nesta

“Forgiveness is something we also grant ourselves….” ~ Cassian

Stroking Feyre’s cold hand, Nesta spoke into the timeless, frozen room, “You loved me when no one else would. You never stopped. Even when I didn’t deserve it, you loved me, and fought for me, and ...” Nesta looked at Feyre’s face, Death a breath away from claiming it. She didn’t stop the tears that ran down her cheeks as she squeezed Feyre’s slender hand tighter. “I love you, Feyre.” ~ Nesta

Apologies aren’t just verbal. Actions speak louder than words and some words are left unspoken. This is Elain making up for it. This is Nesta making up for it and non-verbally apologizing.

3) Feyre only hunted because of the promise she made to her mother and she isn’t kind.

She wasn’t like Nesta, who had been born with a sneer on her face.

A kind sister doesn’t talk about her sister that way. Which shows us that they were both rude to each other. Nesta isn’t the only bitch.

“No, she just spent whatever money I didn’t hide from her, ”

Feyre just admitted she hides the money. So no, Nesta didn’t spend all the money.

Some days, I couldn’t tell which of us was the most wretched and bitter.

“But I’m freezing with my raggedy old cloak,” Elain pleaded. “I’ll shiver to death.” She fixed her wide eyes on me and said, “Please, Feyre.” She drew out the two syllables of my name—fay-ruh—into the most hideous whine I’d ever endured

This isn’t funny, clearly she needs a cloak because she’s cold. Feyre didn’t give a shit and proceeded to describe how hideous her whine is.

“I thought you were going to chop wood today.” Nesta picked at her long, neat nails. “I hate chopping wood. I always get splinters.”

She always gets splinters. Meaning this is something Nesta always does. So no, she didn’t just sit on her ass and do nothing.

“Get the knives ready,” I said, not bothering to sound pleasant. “I’ll be out soon.”

Clearly they are in charge of the house while Feyre hunts.

Every time I looked toward a horizon or wondered if I should just walk and walk and never look back, I’d hear that promise I made eleven years ago as she wasted away on her deathbed.

So if she never made that promise, there was a chance she’d run away and leave her family. It was only the promise that had her hunt.

“Believe me,” I said to her, “the day you want to marry someone worthy, I’ll march up to his house and hand you over. But you’re not going to marry Tomas.”

Feyre doesn’t even tell her the reason, she just barks orders. And it almost feels like she’s telling Nesta she’d be happy to get rid of her.

“We have nothing to offer them—no dowry; no livestock, even. While Tomas might want to marry you … you’re a burden.”

we have tamlin's family, his father and brothers were worse than the vanserras and his mom and father were mated, so it didn't matter how much shit his father was, the mom just accepted that.

feysand's bond, fucked up as fuck. after all rhysand put feyre through during UTM, we get to acomaf (and there is also that stupid ring quest, imagine if she died..) where he gives her a long ass sad background story and she just accepted it.... yet if she wasn't his mate she would be pretty much death in book 1, and oh wait, let's not forget the fact he hid life threatening information about her pregnancy, and like, she is still with him as if nothing had happened.

nessian bond! also fucked up, we have cassian watching nesta fall the stairs and be like "haha i watched bc if get to the end, i would have to take you back upstairs, also you fell bc you didnt train so it is all YOUR fault", cassian telling her everybody hates her, cassian doesn't understand how her sisters love her, cassian taking her to a hike bc she (25 years old) was the only one between all those 500+ years old bitches who had balls to tell feyre she was gonna die before christmas, makes her carry a bag that is a third of her weight (lets say she is 1,75m and weights 60kg, she was carrying around 20kg and according to a search in google, a hiking backpack shouldn't weight more than 10 percent of the person's weight, which in this case Nesta should be carrying 6kg and not more than that...) during this hike. He has sex with her after she gets sexual assaulted by a mythical creature, he gets butthurt when she says a fact about riceman, gets angry when she gets uncomfortabled about the fact he wants everyone to know they share bed (and he literaly says exactly that), like, he even says that he didn't choice to be shackled to her, that means he wouldn't choice her => he wouldn't be with her if there wasn't a bond. During acosf we see that he knows shit about her and he doesnt even like her but he stilld wants her exclusively bc of the bond and nesta is molded and treated like shit until submission so she can fit him and his family. Let's not forget that whatever thing nesta disagres, cassian get like "is that because i am a bastard low born nobody and my ass is flat?". Also from a logic point of view (considering the power thing and that the cauldron chooses who you are mated with and it blessed elain with gifts and got angry at nesta bc she took its power) wouldn't make more sense if nesta ended up with a high lord/high lord heir or azriel? nesta is powerful as fuck, powerful to the point rhysand, a pOWErfuLl high lord (take his telepathy away and he is in the same level as the other high lords) struggles to contain her power, she is in the same level of a high lord, and i know cassian had 7 siphons but it is azriel who has not only 7 siphons but is also a shadowsinger, they are poweful but not in the same level as a high lord/nesta yet azriel at least has a special power, so between them two azriel is more logical, and in a general point of view, a high lord/heir... (i repeat, this bond was a curse threw at nesta)

drakon and miryam, too fucked up, she was a slave, that was given to him as gift from his bride/wife/girlfriend whatever. she was a slave, and half human, and during this time humans were all slaves. and drakon, prince, faerie... she was with jurian then somehow she fell in love with drakon(?) i don't remember their story properly, but i am pretty sure that if there wasn't a mating bond, they would not have any relationship. I honestly find this one too weird/absurd that I even have a theory that drakon is daemanti and manipulated miryam to ''love'' him (pretty much like rhysand seems to be doing/did to feyre... maybe that is why drakon and rhysand were friends or something, drakon taught him the telepathy things)

vs non-toxic:

Lucien and Elain, they aren't together, elain doesn't want to get close to lucien and he respects it, lucien doesn't force himself into her, keeps his distance s he is aware she is not comfortable, he let her know they are bonded from the beginning as opposite to some people up there...

Kallias and viviane - we didn't see much about them but considering they were friends since young age, so we are supposed to assume they are good...

And then sometimes it’s an arranged marriage, where one or both parties does not want it yet has to be together. Tamlin’s mother is the perfect example, whether you hate him, love him, or somewhere in between, he did have a sad backstory.

Elain gave Nesta a grand total of two weeks to overcome her depression, self-loathing, and trauma before crying to Rhysand about how Nesta wasn't even trying, knowing full well that Rhysand wanted to throw Nesta in the human lands.

This is also after Elain didn't even try for months while Nesta sat by her side, taking care of her, and making sure she was eating and drinking. Nesta didn't go crying to Rhysand about how Elain wasn't trying. Nesta didn't pack up all of Elain's belongings behind her back. Nesta didn't let the IC lock Elain up in a house. Nesta would have never even let the IC threaten to throw Elain in the human lands or lock up her in a CoN dungeon cell.