Don't Talk To Me Right Now I'm Thinking Of The New Jupiter Photos And Vincent Van Gogh:

IF YOU DON'T AGREE WITH THIS,FIGHT ME!!!

fucking hate thar when you go to uni you have to actually do and turn in work like some kind of seventh grader. you should be able to just listen to the lecture & vibe

THISS

Let's Talk: TFOTA vs ACOTAR

Why compare them, you may ask? Well, mostly because I love analysing works of fiction, especially fantasy. But also because I love expressing my adoration for The Folk of the Air trilogy; and I wanna call out SJM on her writing, and I thought comparing these two series might be a great way to do so!

Let’s look at the similarities first, shall we? They are both about human girls being forcefully taken away from their worlds into faerie worlds. They are both marketed as YA Fantasy (yes, I know ACOSF is NA, but I will only be talking about the original trilogy). I’m gonna be completely honest here- I love the writing style of both the authors. SJM has flaws in her grammar, yes, but I would be lying if I said I did not like the way she expressed her writings through the figures of speech.

Plot:

Look, I know that TFOTA is more plot-oriented, whereas ACOTAR is character-oriented. But as far as fantasy is concerned, plot is a very crucial element. Holly Black manages to give proper arcs to her main characters without spoiling or disrupting the plots/plot-holes. SJM, on the other hand, has a very messy plot to begin with. It begins as a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, and then takes a turn to heaven knows where. And her characters aren’t well developed either. Why were Nesta and Elain so bitchy? What is Mor’s power? How did Feyre get those powers, and why didn’t Rhys get them, too, when he was resurrected? SO many unanswered questions.

Characters:

TFOTA does not have many moments where we get to see the characters have bonding moments with each other, and yet, we root for them. This is not to say that we don’t root for the ACOTAR characters at any given point. But some of the moments really do seem too unnecessary (*cough* Mor coming out for six pages *cough*). The backstories of each of the IC members were told, whereas Holly Black mostly showed the backstories of her important characters (in flashback).

Both Feyre and Jude have two sisters. We see Taryn go from the sweet twin, to a complete bitch. Our feelings for her develop throughout the first book (and continue in the rest). Vivi is the type of character who isn’t exactly portrayed to be likeable or unlikeable. She is a morally good character, but she messes up, then she feels guilty and tries to rectify her mistakes - it’s the choice of the reader whether they like her or not. When it comes to Elain and Nesta, however, we are told that we are supposed to hate them within the first few chapters. It isn’t shown how exactly they whine a lot, instead, we read about it in Feyre’s internal thoughts.

Love interests:

Wow I can’t believe I’m gonna compare Cardan Greenbriar with this Rhystrash, but here we are Both Cardan and Rhys were supposedly villains in the first book, and then became the love interest.

Now, the difference between them is that Cardan is held accountable for being shitty; his deeds are acknowledged; he feels terrible for doing them, and never justifies his actions. Unlike Rhys, who never apologises, never even admits to have done something wrong, and claims that he did all that to 'protect' Feyre. And SJM pulls the "I was good all along, even when I did bad stuff" trope, which doesn't make any sense. Especially because Rhys himself admits to have not done anything wrong. I'm just gonna add a little bit of Aaron Warner here, and say that even if he had good intentions all along, Warner never hesitated on admitting that what he did was wrong.

Also, one more thing that I noticed was that the things Balekin did to Jude when she was being held in the underwater kingdom (I forgot the name), is kind of similar to the things Rhys did to Feyre UTM. And while Jude kills Balekin, Feyre...well....you know.

Protagonists:

Buckle up bitches, 'cause this is gonna be a long ass rant. Jude vs Feyre - I have seen other comparisons between them, and I wholeheartedly agree.

To begin with: motive. In the first few chapters of TCP, we see Jude struggle in the face world. She gets bullied, insulted, and there is a whole chapter dedicated to some of her bad memories in Elfhame while growing up. Feyre, on the other hand, didn't have anything against fae when she kills one "in cold blood" (or wtv the phrase was idk). She also doesn't have a motive in wanting to be High Lady, considering she'd been treated pretty well in both the courts (not UTM).

Also, SJM chose the lamest protagonist she could choose. Feyre is mostly put into situations by other people, and she also gets out purely by luck-- or Rhysand does something. Whereas Jude makes her own decisions, chooses what she's gonna do, and creates her own schemes. Which one is an example of a good protagonist?

Honestly, I feel like Nesta would've been a better protagonist, considering she's way more like Aelin as a character (who was a very good protagonist, and I know this even though I haven't read ToG).

Feyre uses the same old "seduction" technique, which is probably the worst thing a main character should do. And since ACOMAF, she was lowered into being a narrative for Rhys. It is evident that SJM tried making Feyre a "girlboss" in which she failed miserably.

Conclusion:

People who hate on TFOTA saying there was not enough romance, and idolise ACOTAR never fail to confuse me. Like, it's literally fantasy. If you don't have strong characters (in terms of writing) and good worldbuilding, then there is literally no point of a good romance. And in my opinion, the romance in TFOTA was just fine.

TFOTA is everything ACOTAR couldn't be, and I stand by that.

just once i wanna put the blade of my sword under a pretty boy’s chin and tilt their head up so i can see both fear and arousal in their eyes is that too much to ask

Kim Taehyung as Vincent Van Gogh Paintings ♡ for @kimtaegis 

Süleymân I and Hurrem Haseki-Sultân’s wedding:

The controversial union had to be announced at some point, and the run-up to the Iran campaign in spring 1534, when the contract of marriage was sealed, was an inappropriate time for festivities, especially given the mourning for Suleyman’s mother Hafsa. Now [January 1536] that Suleyman was safely home, Roxelana may have pressed to have her stature as his legal wife made public. […] The royal wedding apparently caught some in the foreign community by surprise. “This week there has occurred in this city a most extraordinary event, one absolutely unprecedented in the history of the Sultans,” remarked the Istanbul representative of the Genoese Bank of Saint George. “The Grand Signior Suleiman has taken to himself as his Empress a slave woman from Russia.… There is great talk about the marriage and none can say what it means.” […] “At night the principal streets are gaily illuminated, and there is much music and feasting,” […] “The houses are festooned with garlands and there are everywhere swings in which people swing by the hour with great enjoyment.” […] “In the old Hippodrome a great tribune is set up, the place reserved for the Empress and her ladies screened with a gilt lattice,” wrote the Genoese banker. “Here Roxelana and the Court attended a great tournament in which both Christian and Muslim Knights were engaged, and tumblers and jugglers and a procession of wild beasts.” The giraffes had necks so long that to the unaccustomed spectator they appeared to “touch the sky.”

– Peirce, Leslie. Empress of the East: How a European Slave Girl Became Queen of the Ottoman Empire 

obsessed w this genre of art. me n my girl

Angsty Romantic Cliches I’m a Slut For 

Holding their partner’s unconscious/dead body

Sobbing into their partner’s shoulder/chest

One of them is hurt and the other falls asleep in their hospital room

The other losing their mind when their partner is hurt/killed and charging into battle recklessly

“I thought I lost you” hugs

“Don’t go where I can’t follow!” 

One is mind controlled and forced to fight the other

The other refusing to harm them and getting seriously injured as consequence 

The person coming to and seeing what they’ve done

I could go on about this trope alone for 5 hours

A last desperate “I love you!” 

A tearful, hard kiss before battle, bonus points if its a confessional kiss

“Please, I don’t know what I’d do without you.” 

Bandaging each other’s wounds

Both of them injured, and waking up beside each other

Lmao😂

there is nothing funnier than Cardan Greenbriar saying, "No, Locke hasn't gotten around to seducing me yet" idk about you but I wheezed when i read that

Solid support you can feel

look at their hands :) loved the hand hold

hearing that she cant leave the palace

his face, if he could snap won’s neck right now he would

when she’s scared she brings her other hand to his, a comfort to have him there. to feel his strength. 

he can tell she’s scared 

she tightens, i also feel it gives him support too. hes scared for her, there one unit. his hand stays clasped onto hers, unyielding

hes thinking, also worried . he knows shes scared and he cant think of a solution right now. it also a half a side glance

half a side glance to him as well. they wont fully look at each other as both are thinking of ways out of this- because it affects both, still the hand holds 

she edges her way slightly behind wang so, wang so notices it too. 

he’s her shield. before she never knew if he was going to come and be the knight. now there dating, he’s helped her before. Its a nice little reliance that she can have him as support and the fact he will readily be there. 

it draws the difference to wook, when she was in these type of situation he wasnt able to stand with her. or so valiantly stand tall to her problems and prove he would stop any harm. when she was about to die wook wasnt seen. 

during this scene its wang so and her against everyone. he doesnt cower or weaken his stance.

he backs her just like in ep 6 on the horse when she was about to get married. He’s a strong wall for her to lean on for support. when she read fear on all the other brothers face for their death if she didnt go,  she could feel him on her back. un moving. solid. strong. support.