do you think rhysand is a brown man? i feel like sjm did such a terrible job of trying to make him into a representation that it's better off if he's white. his culture is constantly represented as savages and barbarians and misogynistic and he's pining over a white woman while looking down over his own people 🗿

So big disclaimer here that I'm Black, not brown, and that I might get things wrong! If I'm corrected by a brown person in the comments or reblogs please defer to them, and I may edit this as necessary. That being said...

it's really a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. If Rhysand is NOT a brown man, and is, in fact, white (as some stans happily draw him) then his whole court REEKS of cultural appropriation. We got henna tattoos, stolen from middle eastern/south asian/north African/east african culture:

And we got bedlah aka the middle eastern belly dancer's outfit, complete with "harem pants" (probably the outfit that inspired Princess Jasmine's clothing in Aladdin):

But Mrs. Maas clearly wants us to view him as a person of color, at least in later books (and by extension, Illyrians as POC), and he, Cassian, Azriel, and the other Illyrians are described as having brown skin. So if Rhysand IS a brown man, then that's... almost worse. First is the fact that Sarah J Maas couldn't actually decide what specific culture the Illyrians were based off of, because the middle east is not a monolith! South Asia is not a monolith! I've seen some guesses that Rhysand and Co are Persian, others speculating he's Indian... and there's a BIG difference between those two cultures. You can't claim to provide representation if no one even knows what specific culture/ethnicity is being represented.

And second is the fact that Sarah J Maas really decided it would be a good idea to make her most prominent group of POC in this story a WILDLY sexist culture that mutilate their own women and are looked down on by the 'civilized' (read: mostly white) High Fae for being violent warriors. She really said that she was going to have a culture (Illyria) entirely of POC and make them sexist, violent, and cruel, and have them be called brutes and animalistic by white people. In what UNIVERSE is that ok? In what UNIVERSE is that good representation???

And thirdly is, as you said and as I mentioned in this post, the batboys are men of color who find their own women "plain" and pedestalize white women (Feyre, Nesta, and Elain) as the beauty standard. As I brought out in that post, the idea that white and lighter skinned women are better, prettier, and more valuable than darker skinned women of color is a real world issue with dangerous consequences, and it's disgusting that in a book series Sarah J Maas has declared is "feminist," she decided to promote the idea that white women are better than the rest of us. Hell- how many women of color are in ACOTAR? And how many of them are allowed to have a male love interest? Are allowed to be seen as beautiful, desirable, and worthy of protection and romance?

In conclusion: it's racist either way. I, for one, only view book one as canon due to this series becoming nothing but a pile of retcons and nonsensical worldbuilding afterwards, so I do view Rhysand as white in that book, especially with his "moon white" skin. But in the series as a whole? I think Sarah wants us to view the bat boys as men of color, due to the aforementioned cultural details and her giving them brown skin, but she handles it horribly all around. So for the intents and purposes of your question: from ACOMAF and beyond, Rhysand is a brown man. Illyrians are people of color. And it's one of the most racist portrayals of people of color that I've seen in a hot minute. Sexist, animalistic brutes are not representation, and brown people deserve better.

Rhys's Speech in WaR Hints at Elriel

I was reading Rhys's pre-war speech in Wings and Ruin, and couldn't help but notice that the attributes he mentions for Cassian and Azriel seem to maybe hint at their future loves

For Cassian:

"If I had not met an Illyrian warrior-in-training, I would not have known the true depths of strength, of resilience, of honor and loyalty."

We know in Nessian's story, strength and resilience were huge themes. Keep reaching out your hand. Building yourself up, getting strong, physically and mentally. They did that together.

For Azriel:

"If I had not met a shadowsinger, I would not have known that it is the family you make, not the one you are born into, that matters. I would not have known what it is to truly hope, even when the world tells you to despair."

This just screams Elriel themes. The family you make - meaning choice is more important than blood or even cauldron-made bonds. All the discourse of "pliant bones," Elain not having her anatomy changed, etc....none of that matters, because it is the family you make that matters.

And the part about hope? You know what seems hopeless? Being in love with a female who already has a mate!! Azriel is daring to hope - even when everything and everyone is telling him to despair. Because fighting for Elain is worth it. No matter what anyone else says.

I’m sorry. I try not to be rude about people’s ships because well you have fun with what you like and I’m totally okay with that. But the discourse about the Blood Rite and Hybern camp is hilarious.

Of course Cassian was freaking out knowing his mate was in the BR. A completely normal reaction when you have strong feelings/a bond with someone. Did Azriel? No. Was he still furious at the mention that the women he is training are in harms way? Of course??? Contrary to popular believe, Azriel actually exhibits way more protectiveness over the females in his life than any other character in ACOTAR:

Mor - Eris calls her a slut and he literally almost chokes him to death. Always protective of her in Court of Nightmares and around Eris.

Feyre - be careful how you speak about my High Lady. Helps her with flying and other moments.

Nesta - He brought her back from the mask and comforted her in CC3. Was never mean to her in any of the books even when the rest of IC was.

Elain - Hybern, when everyone (including her sisters and mate) thought she was crazy. There’s more.

His mother - Nesta makes a comment about how Az probably has a bad mom and he gets mad.

These are off the top of my head.

I feel like people forget that Az… does not like Illyrians. He literally said in ACOFAS:

“A pointless week of bloodshed” pg 25

“The Illyrians are pieces of shit” pg 67

If it truly came down to it, I’m sure that Azriel would at least argue to break their rules. Just like Cassian did. But Cassian still cares about the Illyrians. Azriel really doesn’t.

The involvement of Nesta and Gwyn is the Blood Rite is not as significant as Emerie’s!!!!!! Emerie is an Illyrian woman. She is the ONLY Illyrian woman to ever win the Rite. THAT is the biggest plot point of the event. Yes, Gwyn and Nesta participating builds on their healing journeys and the Valkyrie, but Emerie winning the Rite initiates what SJM laid out in ACOFAS. Where Cassian and Emerie first met. The layout for a change in Illyrians and the Illyrian women actually training as warriors.

If anyone is going to “fix” the Illyrians, it will be Emerie. Not Gwyn or Nesta. Emerie, the ILLYRIAN women. And Cassian would be who helps potentially. Because he actually cares about the Illyrians regardless of his history. He is the General. Of course he cares.

Now in terms of the rescue of Elain in Hybern, as many have already said, this was a massive risk. Cassian said "We'll get her back", but moved to comfort Nesta. Not only did Az actually notice Elain wasn’t there, but he also specifically said “I'M getting her back” twice (with rage if I might add) even after Nesta specifically said “then you will die”. Az, Feyre and Elain could have died in this rescue attempt too.

What was the point of this kidnapping if not to show he saves her? Tamlin redemption for giving Feyre the wind to fly? Jurian helping Feyre enter the camp? For Feyre to fly? Like maybe but the biggest point was Azriel going to save Elain. Tbh we kind of needed Feyre there to narrate lol. “You came for me” which Feyre says is what she saw in her dream of what the cauldron even lured Elain in by. That Grayson had come for her. He didn’t, it was Azriel.

Do I think if there weren’t the rules for the Rite that Cassian and Azriel would have went to save them? Of course they would have. But they weren’t meant to rescue them.

This was the big moment in all of the healing journeys for the Valkryie. For Emerie, becoming the first Illyrian women to win it. For Gwyn, leaving the library and becoming a true warrior. For Nesta, holding the line and protecting the people she loves like she hasn’t been able to before. THAT is the purpose of the Blood Rite. Not determining if there’s some couples involved. We already know the couple involved. It’s Nessian.

We seriously need to stop diminishing massive moments in the female characters journeys to ships.

Azriel Backstory Theory

Break line because it's long

I try not to get into these ACOTAR/TOG/CC theories too much because it just creates a lot of discourse, but I do want to explain my theory on what I think is Azriels lineage, and why I think his mom is from a powerful/old Fae line, and that he and Rhys are not brothers.

First lets just move Rhys to the side for a moment (sorry bb.) If Az was in fact the High Lord’s son with another woman ,and Az was an illegitimate threat to the future High Lords throne, why not just kill him? Why keep him in a dungeon AND THEN train him to fight AND THEN be cool with it when Rhys becomes close to him? If Az was the High Lords son, he'd either be a threat and killed, or just disowned and thrown into the cold with his mom. Keeping him around makes no sense, especially when he does not have his shadow singing powers until age 11.

(And before we go anywhere else, I am 100% an Elriel, that doesn’t come into play but I just need to make that clear)

So we know Azriel’s family relations are: Illyrian mom, Illyrian Lord dad, step mom, 2 half brothers.

The fact that Az has someone who is in title a “step mom” suggests that his father is with/or was with this person at some points during Azriel’s childhood. The existence of the step mother also suggests two reasons as to how Az’s mom ended up pregnant with the Lord’s child 

Az’s mom was actually his mate and he was with her on the side (unlikely)

Az’s mom was the victim of the Lord’s SA 🙁 (unfortunately likely)

A few points to keep in mind

It’s said in (I think) ACOMAF that his step mom was mean, and so were the half brothers, hence the burning of his hands.

A place called Rosehall was mentioned in ACOFAS and that Az goes there over Soltice

Az’s mom is still alive

Ok so we have to remember that Az was locked in the dungeon from a really young age, until he showed his shadowsinger powers at age 11, when his dad dumped him in an Illyrian war camp. So why was he locked up?

Step mom jealous of her partner's mating bond with Az’s mom: Maybe?! I forget where it’s said but it was the SM and the half brothers who were particularly cruel to Az, maybe it was because the SM was jealous of Az’s mom being the true mate to the Lord and took it out on their love child.

A couple problems: we know males rule in Illyria, so if Az’s dad wanted his mom I doubt already having a spouse would stop him. Also if Az’s dad loved Az’s mom, why would he allow for his sons physical torture, and his mates psychological torture? And if he was mated to the mom, but truly didn’t care about either her or Az, why not just have them killed? Or just disown them and throw them into the cold of Illyria?

2. Az’s mom was SA’d by the Lord: few reasons this could be the background. 1) Illyrian Males, according to Az and Cas, are assholes. 2) Az’s mom comes from a powerful Fae lineage and she is being held captive by the Lord/family

So to sum this up as easily as possible, I think Az was held hostage/tortured in the dungeon because the Lord was using him to control his mother. “Stay here, you get to see your kid once a week.” Easiest way to control someone is to threaten someone they love. If she is from a powerful family, but couldn't leave because of her son, it may explain why Az was in the dungeon. As a pawn in some sort of feud/war. I will also explain the connection to ROSEHALL farther down. 

So when Az gets his shadowsinger powers and is dumped in the camp, why does mom stay? Probably because the other parent is a lord and can easily have someone kill Az? Also shadowsingers are rare and giving him to the High Lord (Rhys’ dad) probably carried a lot of favours between the High Lord and Illyrian Lord. 

So where does Rhys’ mom come in? I think Rhys and Az’s mom’s are related, either sisters or cousins. So Az’s mom is able to get a message to Rhys’ mom saying her son was dropped off at the camp and to look out for him, which is how Rhys’ mom comes to taking care of Az. She was the mate of the High Lord, she probably had some sort of protection, or could protect herself and Rhys/Cas/Az when in Illyria. She would be a good friend/relative to have.

Loose ends:

Rosehall: I think this is the name of the fortress/palace/house where Az’s dad and his step mom and brothers live. As of ACOFAS, I think Az is permitted once a year to visit his mother here over the Solstice, who is still being held hostage/stockholm syndrome at this point. If she was a free woman, why would Az not go see her more often, or it be mentioned that he’s in Illyria more? Is this why he doesn’t go to Illyria because he can’t save his mom? 

Rhys’ dad having a special interest in Az: in ACOWAR, it’s mentioned that the High Lord does not let Az leave his side, it’s because he has rare shadowsinger powers, not because he’s the High Lords long lost son. If the High Lord doesn't let Az out of his sight as an adult fully trained to kill, I doubt he would have been nonchalant about Az in the camp when he was a kid who couldn't even fly.

So that’s just what I think. It’s obviously not perfect and there are some holes, which makes sense because Azriel’s backstory is a giant gaping hole, and we’ve been using a teaspoon to fill it in all these years later. And do you know who is going to be the main character in ACOTAR 5 when we learn the actual backstory? His mate. Elain.

(I lied, she came into play here because ACOTAR 5 is HER book and she is going to slay)

EDIT!

A very valid point was brought up about Az's mom (who I wish we had a name for) was just a servant in the Illyrian Lord's house. in ACOFAS Rhys references after the potato incident about how Az's mom was treated poorly as a servant. My thoughts on this:

Her being a servant does not negate coming from a powerful line, or that she is being held against her will in the household. Just like Sigird in HOFAS (sold to the astronomer), her parents could have sold her/gave her to the Lord as some sort of payment (or tithe) if you will.

If she were truly just a household servant of nothing, and Az is the result of a relation (consented or not) between her and the Lord, why lock him up? Again his shadowsinger abilities had not manifested yet, not to mention he's dropped at the camp when they do. If she were just a simple servant, and Az a biproduct of her and the Lord, why would the Lord/Step mom again not just kill him or toss him out?

Facts and Maas patterns pointing at Elucien endgame and the problem with anti arguments

Disclaimer: This is in no way an explicitly anti-Elriel essay. I acknowledge that the author has her own agenda and who Elain will end up with is at this point not determined and prone to flexibility.

While it's been more than 4 years since my introduction to ACOTAR universe, I'm relatively new to the Elucien fandom and I decided to put my two cents into the ongoing shipping discourse (which, I'm praying won't last too long).

I decided to address the following two points that are most prevalent today in fandom: Elain being "uncomfortable" around Lucien and the significance of Azriel's solstice gift.

Personally, if I were an Elriel shipper I WOULD be devastated by the whole gift ordeal because there are two possible explanations to it -either, Maas put it in there for the Angst's sake before they patch things up, OR it's a big foreshadowing: Elain rejecting any possible future chances with the Illyrian by returning the gift and by default him choosing Gwyn over Elain (The necklace after all ended up with the priestess).

Now, this whole gift thing becomes more meaningful because we know one more Male Elain has received presents from - Lucien. And while we haven't seen her using any of them, the Archeron sister hasn't returned those gifts for one reason or other, and we are yet to see the explanation. The aforementioned facts give a bigger advantage to team Elucien.

Moving on to the "Elain being "uncomfortable" around Lucien" argument. I simply love it! Isn't it ironic how we as a fandom act like we know who Elain is and what she wants? Exactly like the inner cycle. People forget that we are YET to see Elain's POV. We have no idea what she is like inside, what she thinks, or feels. The uncomfortable part is simply the onlooker's interpretation. And Maas has given a great argument supporting my point - Elain herself has said that Nolan has been the only one who has seen "the real her", thus making both Nesta and Feyre unreliable narrators and interpreters of their Sister's actions towards Lucien. There could be a million other reasons why Elain avoids her mate and "shrinks" around him. Let's not forget that both her sisters also resisted the mating bond before getting together with their significant others, so her being averse to the mating bond means very little at this point for the Elucien endgame. Moreover, Elain has shown that she can stand up for herself, she is no pushover - after getting rejected by Azriel she went and returned the gift, making a stance. Meanwhile, it's been more than two years and we are yet to see a solid rejection from her when it comes to Lucien. What is making us think that she is unable to straight up say she doesn't want to see him? She could've at the very least given back the gifts, but we have seen none of it. There is something holding her back and personally, it's the thing I'm most eager to explore in Elain's book.

Lastly, Elucien pair also fits another pattern of Maas writing: Female characters having failed relationships before getting together with their true love. Elain was rejected twice, first by her fiancee and then by Azriel. It's safe to say she went through her fair share of heartbreaks and is ready to explore the long road to her happy ending.

I just finished rewatching Star Trek Enterprise S3, aka the Xindi arc, and realized something I'd missed before. Don't know if it's been discussed elsewhere, but anyway....

The S3 story of a horrific attack on Earth by distant aliens who see humans as their worst enemy, and the Enterprise going after them to prevent Earth's annihilation, was explicitly inspired by 9/11. The showrunners said as much. Like most Enterprise fans, I've always appreciated the gradual development of the arc from a story about angry, grieving humans thirsty for revenge to one of diplomacy, mutual understanding, and cooperation.

But...cooperation against whom? Turns out there's a shadowy cabal behind the whole ugly mess. Literally shadowy. They're beings from a transdimensional realm who are transforming the fabric of space to be hospitable to their kind and uninhabitable by anyone else. They know that in the future, Earth will play a key part in defeating them, so they operate secretly and deceitfully to change the time line, manipulate the Xindi into destroying Earth, and prevent that future from coming to pass.

So...conspirators, puppet masters pulling the strings, a hidden enemy who's been there all along, controlling everything, with only their own interests at heart, causing suffering, death and destruction for their own benefit. In a story about 9/11. That's...troubling.

Almost immediately after 9/11, conspiracy theories began to circulate about who was "behind" the attack. A common one:

"The New World Order (NWO) is a conspiracy theory in which adherents believe that a cabal of powerful elites is secretly implementing a dystopian international governing structure that will grant them complete control over the global populace....Many modern-day conspiracy theories – including the NWO theory – have anti-Semitic origins....Within these narratives, Jewish people are frequently framed as the orchestrators of global events and accused of creating a supranational governing structure for nefarious purposes. These dangerous narratives are still widely promoted today....The NWO’s application within American discourse can be seen through the reaction to major events, such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks. As millions mourned, questions naturally arose as to culpable parties and their potential motives....Conspiracy theorists took advantage of the emotional turmoil to further sow their conspiratorial beliefs. NWO adherents were no exception and stood as major players in this conspiratorial competition."

-- Middlebury Institute of International Studies

No, I am not saying Star Trek writers were intentionally promoting antisemitism on Enterprise, any more than they were when they created the greedy Ferengi or the Illyrians-as-conversos. Star Trek is chock-a-block with cringy, unintentionally racist alien stereotypes, doubtless due mostly to lazy, thoughtless writing. What I am saying is that a lot of stuff floating around in the zeitgeist -- stereotypes, myths, conspiracy theories, etc -- makes its way into popular culture and implants an attitude that predisposes people to at least find it plausible that this is how things work, this is a thing that happens, this has some basis in reality. As story-telling creatures, humans are really good at finding the hidden messages and lessons. These story elements prime the pump. When people then encounter conspiracy theories steeped in bias, at least some will be disposed to think, "Yeah, sounds reasonable, an international conspiracy of Jews (or whoever) explains a lot," or at least, they'll buy into the vague notion that Jews (and Others) are disloyal, untrustworthy, etc.

So, hey, Star Trek writers, and all writers: Do better. Please.

NB: I still think Enterprise is kick-ass Star Trek. What would my life be without problematic faves?

Hi there, hope you're doing well ! I've been lurking around your blog for a while, but felt kind of shy to ask anything. In any case, and dunno if this has been asked to you already, but it is the first time I hear this term. Is this actually true?

I saw this comment on a video regarding the Byzantine Empire. People started a debate wether it's actually "just the Roman Empire" or the Byzantine Empire. I've been told Greeks call themselves ’Ελληνες, but it's the very first time in my life I hear the term Ρωμιοί.

Hello! It is totally true, albeit oversimplified in this comment and not at all easy to explain. I have answered a similar ask before but I have read a little more since then and I would like to give a new more informed and thus EVEN longer answer. Brace yourself.

So, there are actually four widespread names by which Greeks are known to this day: Hellenes, Greeks, Romans and Ionians.

The name Romans or Ρωμαίοι / Ρωμιοί (Roméi / Romjí) in Greek and Rum in Turkish is a remnant of the Roman / Byzantine heritage. So as you might know, the “original” Romans conquered the Greek territories and colonies around 200-40 BCE. For the most part, it is safe to say the Greeks were privileged in the Roman Empire. So much so, that Romans maintained Greek as the lingua franca and promoted Greek culture in at least the whole eastern part of the Roman Empire, while the initiation to the Greek language and culture was also a “must” in the elite of the Western part. Under these circumstances, the Greeks naturally embraced their new status as Roman citizens.

In history, such a thing as a Byzantine empire does not actually exist. In the end of the 4th century the Roman Empire split into western and eastern, theoretically in order to be better reigned. The Latins / original Romans were in the western part. The Greeks were in the eastern part which retained the Greek heritage the original Romans had more than allowed them to preserve. The western part was however dissolved for good within a century or so. That left the “non-Latin Roman” Eastern Roman Empire to be the remaining Roman Empire for the next 900 years!

For the first couple centuries of its solitary existence, the Eastern Roman Empire (known back then just as Roman Empire as there wasn’t a western one anymore) was in more or less good relations with the Latin states in the west (and also incorporated them for a little while). Progressively more and more problems arose with a most critical one being that the practice of Christianity was becoming more and more different. The bigger the gap, the more the Eastern Roman citizens immersed themselves back into the Greek and a more oriental heritage, originating from the other people of the empire (Armenians, Syrians, Egyptians, Illyrians, the new-coming Slavs etc). After the sixth century AD, Greek was adopted as the official language of the empire and there was clear desire to cut all associations and dependency by Rome’s Pope. The citizens of the Eastern Empire kept calling themselves Romans, which now outraged Western Europeans who considered them heretics and imposters and fabricated a very lurid and unflattering image of them, driven by the Pope’s fury.

Western Europeans usually refused to call the Eastern Roman Empire as such and called it Greek empire instead, due to its most populous ethnic people and its dominant (yet not exclusive) culture. The name “Greek” took a negative meaning in the hostile west at the time. It was true however that the Eastern Roman Empire had ceased having crucial similarities with the original Roman Empire, save for the legislation and maybe a love for horse races 😜

This is what leads to the modern discourse of what the Eastern Roman Empire should be considered. The Byzantine Empire is a term historians came up with to underscore all those differences which according to them made the Eastern Roman Empire a different entity from the initial Roman Empire. The citizens of the actual empire though did consider it Roman as the empire had not ever dissolved properly. Furthermore, as the leading element in the eastern part of the Ancient Roman Empire was already largely Greek, the citizens of the Byzantine Empire weren’t that aware of any sudden radical pro-Greek changes that would make them perceive the empire as a new entity. It is thus almost certain that at that point Roman did not mean “resident of Rome” or “Latin speaker of the Italian peninsula” in the east at all. The Byzantines thought they were the ones who were keeping the Roman Empire alive and as such they were the rightful heirs to its power, glory and title.

All eastern Roman ethnicities were largely aware of their descent, their background outside the Roman citizenship. Maybe the Greeks a little more due to the empire’s raging “Grecophilia”. We know that the Byzantine Greeks studied extensively the classics and the Ancient Greek philosophers and acknowledged them as their ancestors, and not the ancient Romans. This becomes more evident as the Eastern Roman Empire started losing lands to invaders. The last lands standing save for Constantinople were roughly the regions corresponding to modern day Greece. At this point and in general gradually after the 10th century, more and more eastern Romans, especially the wealthier and more educated, start identifying by the ancient term “Hellene”. The name Hellene was avoided considerably before the 10th century as it had acquired the meaning of “idolatrous”. The name “Greek” was used probably prior to the “Hellene” but might have been more avoided once “Hellene” took over as the West had given it the meaning of “debaucherous and corrupted”. Maybe this is the reason Greeks might have embraced the term Roman for longer than the other East Roman ethnicities but it’s also certainly because the Greeks were also the last standing Roman citizens. About 1000 years after the actual Romans!!! Crazy huh?

Then as you know the Ottoman Turks arrived. The Ottomans were trying for about two centuries to conquer the fast weakening and dismantling (thanks to the Crusaders) Roman Empire. But when they did, they knew they conquered the Romans. In a way, the Ottoman Turks got to know the Greeks as Romans and not the Latin Romans of Rome.

Just to complicate things a little more, the Ottomans categorised people based on religion and not ethnicity. So they created the Rum Millet, meaning the “Roman nation”, which was consisting of the Christian Orthodox believers. The Ottoman Sultans relied on the Greeks of Constantinople to govern the Rum Millet and all the ethnicities it consisted of, and as a result the term Roman / Rum remained strongly associated to the ethnic Greeks and the Greek speaking Orthodox people. As a result, Greeks kept calling themselves Romans in the Ottoman era. By that time though, the Greek word for Roman had been influenced by the Turkish word Rum and it had changed from Ρωμαίος (Romaeos) to Ρωμιός (Romiós).

During the Greek revolution and the independence, 300-400 years later, all sources we have point at the fact that wealthy, educated, poor and illiterate Greeks alike used the names Hellenes, Greeks and Romans interchangeably to identify themselves. The ways these names were preserved might have been different though:

Romios/Roman: preserved through the Turkish name for the Greeks and the Greek Orthodox

Hellene: preserved through the Orthodox Church (Greeks are mentioned as Hellenes in the New Testament), by the educated Greeks and by all Greeks who focused on the significance of Greek culture and history as the foundation of the ethnic identity

Greek: either the steadily more colloquial choice and / or popularised once more after several Greeks interacted with Western Europeans, eventually reclaimed by the Greeks without its medieval negative connotations (here I must add that the actual ancient word Γραικός - Graecus had no negative meaning whatsoever)

Nowadays, the name Roman is still used by the Greeks of Turkey and some other Greek minorities in the east. In Greece, it’s falling out of use at exponential rate since the early 20th century, especially as we realise there are less confusing terms to describe us more accurately. But it’s not considered problematic or anything. Nowadays we are “okay” with the term Greek, but we are not enthusiastic about it. Some dislike it as they can’t get over the negative connotations it had for a while. Our historically preferred way to call ourselves is Hellenes, it is the name that reflects our perception of our heritage, language and history. It is also the way we perceive our ethnicity for most of the stages of our existence, even when we called our nationality / citizenship “Roman”.

BONUS 1: And what about the Ionians? Ionians has its roots in the Ancient Greek tribe “Ionians” who first inhabited Anatolia (modern day west Turkey) in the early second millennium BCE. As a result most nations in the Near East call Greeks a variation of Ionians, because this is the easternmost indigenous Greek presence. Turks do too, an ethnic Greek is called Yunan which means Ionian and Greece is called Yunanistan. Yevan is our name in Hebrew and so on. This is a term we embrace but we generally associate more with the ancestral tribe and don’t use it for ourselves regularly.

BONUS 2: Western Europeans were adamant to separate the Byzantine Empire from the Roman Empire as long as all negative stereotypes and beliefs about it were surviving (until very recently). Nowadays that history buffs have spread that research starts showing that the Byzantine Empire has been the longest lasting and a very fascinating part of medieval European history, all of a sudden Western Europeans like to scream at your face the Byzantine Empire never existed and it’s “purely the Roman Empire through and through”. You can draw some interesting conclusions from that…

I like the use of the term Byzantine, not because it’s historically accurate of course, but because the good old western appropriation has started doing its wonders once again.

Hope this is shortened automatically as I don’t see the read below option available anymore, pro-scrollers may you have the best of luck 🤞

you are downplaying elriel scenes tho💀💀even the way you're talking about azriel saving elain says everything.

as for tt, how old is azriel again? around 500 yeah?? do you really think that a 500yr old illyrian warrior has never been in a situation where he gave his weapons to comrades? for someone who is oh so holy about context, you're forgetting that rhys mentioned to feyre that az never let anyone TOUCH tt. it's not just a matter of lending tt to someone during battle. it's so important to him that he's not let anyone before even hold the damn thing.

'But your claims that TT and his rescuing Elain equals love and feelings is pretty much disproven considering he was still in love with Mor months later on Solstice. He's not simultaneously in love with Elain.' - could you point me to these claims of mine? I don't recall me saying that🤔unless, it's your age working tricks on you...

elain reminded azriel of his mother as a servant which is why he helped her?😶how long did it take you to reach for THAT take?💀

you people are just so dramatic. you're acting like azriel locked elain away and took all her choices when all he said was that the trove has a darkness that elain shouldn't be exposed to. (to which cassian replied "and nesta should?" showing that he has similar thoughts about nesta). he expressed that he doesn't want her involved in something so dark. did he go to elain and tell her that he forbids her from going? no. and your little examples dont change the fact that rhys and cassian DO have their overprotective moments. rhys literally growled at nesta when she so much as looked at feyre wrong😂

it's actually kinda hilarious that you're sitting there accusing me of 'glorifying' elriel scenes when you're the one swooning over lucien giving elain the space she needs which is the bare minimum a decent person could do.

I also don't see where you got the idea of me trying to influence your opinion from?? it's simply discourse on social media. if you don’t want to interact then turn off your anons. (I can send you tutorials on how to do that, sweetie😘)

Oh my god, another "sweetie" 🤦😭. You really have no shame 😂. And once again trying to insult my age which further proves your immaturity.

I promise you, one day your 40 / 50 year old self look will look back at your actions and be embarrassed.

It's absolutely PATHETIC that I blocked your main account yet you are logging on to a secondary account for the sole purpose of harassing others.

Once again, you misunderstand the true spirit of discourse because snidely sending anons is not it.

You completely miss the point of what I'm saying, a common occurrence for you.

Is it possible Az has lent out weapons to other soldiers? Sure. But have we any proof that Az has ever needed to sit out of battle?

NO.

He ALWAYS has TT on him which means if Az is in battle, HE will use TT.

And what reason would Az ever have to let someone touch TT? 😂. "Hey baby, want to touch my dagger?"

Everyone in his circle is a warrior and they have their own weapons.

The only reason TT was available for someone else to use was because Mor begged him to sit out. Az was planning on flying into battle after being severely wounded which strongly suggests he doesn't sit out of battle for anything. Yet the female he loved begged him not to go so he suddenly had no need for TT. And in this storyline, there just happened to be a human recently turned Fae who had no weapon on her person.

I highly doubt there has ever been a scenario where Az was preparing to go into battle, decided to sit out, and had a random female hanging around who needed protection but in that case he refused to give it to her because he was saving that action for the female he'd someday love.

If you want to throw context in my face, I'd like to remind you letting Elain touch TT didn't mean what you think it means since he's never thought of her beyond his sexual fantasies. 🤷. You say I'm downplaying E/riel scenes whereas I'm merely explaining why those scenes all amounted to a whole lot of nothing except Az wanting a mate and using Elain as spank bank material.

Rhys growled at Nesta? THAT is what you're trying to compare to Az saying Elain shouldn't be allowed to do something dangerous? REALLY?! 😂

And Cassian said, "and Nesta should?" only in response to Az basically saying one female shouldn't be allowed to do something dangerous yet the other females don't matter.

He's not saying Nesta shouldn't be allowed to search for the Trove, he's saying no female is more exempt than any other which is basically what Az is suggesting. He's calling out Az for his idiot comment, something Amren also had to do.

And my take on Elain reminding Az of his mother is a REACH?! It's in the text!

Let’s just say it hit a little close to home. At my beat of confusion, he added, There are some scars when it comes to how his mother was treated. Many scars. His mother, who had been a servant—near-slave—when he was born. And afterward. None of us bother to wait for everyone to sit, least of all Cassian. It can strike at odd times.

I'm not sure how many more ways I can say this, in my opinion your interpretation of the text is weak and uninspired. There is no insult you can throw my way, no take on the series that is going to change my mind.

And once AGAIN, you take one sentence of a post and run with it. Lucien has never once demanded Elain make a decision on the bond. That's not all he's done for her but it is a big deal when you consider all the E/riels that claim Lucien harasses her. And the phrasing for that sentence was in regards to that fact and that he has given her space and freedom to deal with her trauma and being made before dealing with the enormity of a mating bond.

I don't know, it seems like a pretty obvious concept to me. Maybe it's just something that comes with old age 😉

You are wasting your time sending messages and this will be the last time I respond to them. My anons are open because some Elucien's and Gwynriels want to share their thoughts without becoming a target for people like you. They are not open for trolls who enjoy starting shit "anonymously" under the guise of wanting to have a "peaceful" debate. You're not fooling anyone.

Omg what was up with that Feysand stan on ur post????? ITS JUST A THEORY. (Not to mention a MUCH better pairing) and lol if Feysand was always endgame why in the fck does Rhysie SA Feyre??? Did Sjm do that to build sexual tension (cause Feyre says in Acomaf she had "wanted him even then") AND THAT'S INFINITELY WORSE!!

Lmao they tried to fire up on one of my posts too and I immediately blocked them. Seen them one too many times fighting about posts that's none of their business. Like life is so empty u need to fight with strangers on the internet to feel something. I am literally so mad not them saying Tamlin Apologists deserve to be bullied?!?!? For liking a fictional character????!!

I took personal offence to that

Ha! See! I told you I would respond today. I totally didn't get sucked into Skyrim and my writing and nearly forgot.

Idk what their problem was. They blocked me like the first week I was on here so I didn't think much of them. I knew about them because there would be discourse on posts and an invisible opponent. So I guess they unblocked me to stir shit and idk, get more traffic to their blog? They rebranded with a name that is clearly meant to draw in Antis of Feysand. I think they're like 15 and so I guess they're in their "I'm edgy look at me phase" where they want to pick fights because they think they're always right and special. I'm so glad I didn't grow up with my cringe behavior on the internet.This is why we don't sell erotica or "dark romance" to children. They can't handle speculation or discussions. I bet they cry over Marvel's What If... series because it's not Canon. Like... the post that had them all fired up was speculation about something we have receipts for. And a lot of people liked the idea. All they do is make the books look worse.

And the way they talk about Feyre vs. Nesta is like they think they're written by two different people. This isn't Harry Potter (fuck you Rowling) vs. Twilight (fuck you Meyers). I don't think Feyre gets a free pass to transform into a person of another race just cuz Nesta and Gwyn modelled their stuff after the Valkyries. I think both are bad and icky because the same author wrote both and clearly doesn't see how offensive that could be. I do, however, think that there's a difference between what Feyre did and the Blood Rite. Nesta, Gwyn and Emerie were kidnapped and forced into the Blood Rite. They didn't actually choose to.

Side note though: Valkyries are from Norse mythology. It does chap me that she couldn't use a mythology or create something new for her Illyrians to flesh out their culture. She just used a primarily white culture for her non-white character's culture.

Sorry to rant about that. It just irked me.

I can't for the life of me understand why anyone would ship Feysand the way it's written in Canon. I can with 100% confidence say I've never written a romance that involved anyone SAing anyone. Hell, I don't feature SA at all really. I don't want it in my fantasy. I want people to find peace and love in my books. Men have written enough SA in fantasy, it doesn't need any from me.

But like... if you look at their posts, the reason I don't like Feyre is because I wanted "my fav" to end up with Rhys. They can't fathom that I don't like Rhys at all. I don't like any of her men. They don't appeal to me at all. The only one I might’ve had any inkling of interest in is Kallias but I'm sure if we spent more than a handful of pages with him, I'd hate him too. I think she'd eventually change all of them regardless of appearance to something shallow and toxic.The Bat Boys specifically are boring to me. Their designs suck, their personalities suck and the way they treat their women sucks. Nothing I see in her books is what I would classify as love. Her books aren't about love. They're about sex with hot dudes. But you know what? Other books do romance, love and even just sex better.

I'm glad you blocked them. Just know, they still spy on us.

Thank you for your ask. I hope you're doing well.

Bestie, don’t you think there is a bit of a parallel to Bryce hating the faes and still being their queen and whatever, to Azriel hating the Illyrians and likely being the one involved with their plot? Didn’t Aelin also have some bad feelings about her people? Or even how Feyre hated the faes and then good d*ck changed her mind?

honestly i'm so glad you brought this up!! i've been thinking about it ever since finishing hofas and seeing everyone hate on bryce lol

basically, yes, i do! i personally found it very annoying that people are this upset with bryce over her hatred, like obviously it's not good but she's clearly traumatized by her father and the fae nobility?? sathia rightfully called her out and by the end of hofas she's started to realize the error of her thinking??? also saying she doesn't deserve to use her powers or fae artifacts AS IF THEY'RE NOT LITERALLY HER BIRTHRIGHT.... omfg ok let me relax before i get too heated

anyway, i've never seen this level of discourse surrounding az's opinion of the illyrians. i have seen some discussion over the years yes but never ever to this extent. both bryce and azriel's way of thinking is problematic but when you take a look at their upbringing it makes sense. they were both treated like shit by their fathers and others within their fathers' circles. there is a level of self hatred there, i think both of them hate that more than anything. it's not about the people, not really, it's issues they have within themselves

bryce has started taking baby steps to get over this and i'm hoping we'll see more development regarding that in cc4 and as for az... well it's like 95% confirmed without being actually confirmed that he'll deal with the illyria plot so he'll have to start working through his own shit

as for aelin, it's been a hot minute since i've read tog but i think her issues weren't really tied to one race of people. it was more so that she just didn't want to lead her kingdom, she was scared more than anything and she just wanted a safe place to escape to and call home, but this also falls under the somewhat selfish thinking of bryce and azriel. like do i understand why aelin wants to disappear forever? of course. she, like the others, is deeply traumatized. sjm had her work through her problems surrounding it, step up, do what's right and take back what's hers and i really admire aelin for that

now that last comment about feyre... WHERE'S THE LIE LMFAO. i love my girl feyre and understand her, good dick can solve (almost) anything. i also just think it was easier for feyre since she had to live with them for months and tamlin and lucien were pretty tame compared to... well... *gestures to under the mountain* and by that point, she'd already realized that "hey! the fae are people too, they're kinda fucked up sometimes but there are some good eggs just like any other group" you know??

I know everyone talks about SJ/M plagiarizing things from other cultures but I hadn't really thought much of it until my Classical Greece lecture today was all about Illyria and classical illyrians and let me tell you - the way I went into shock lmao, not only was it pronounced differently than in my head when I was reading but I had to sit there and pretend not to know anything about ACOTAR and all the discourse, taking notes and pretending to be normal. It was not a good time lolol

See, i think it's perfectly fine to base a fantasy group of people off of a real group of people so long as you are respectful, but she failed at this miserably. And it's hard for her to code the Illyrians are south asian when she bases them off a group of real people who weren't. It just makes her worldbuilding more of a mess, honestly.

I kinda need to vent a little and you seem like the person everyone vents to so:

I can’t have kids. Like I am physically unable to (thankfully my husband and I don’t want them anyway, but that’s beside the point).

There are days when I’m in my head..when I feel like I should want them, and since I’m already depressed about the fact that I “should” but don’t, I start feeling bad that I CAN’T. Like I’m less of a woman because my body decided that for me.

The whole reason I’m saying this is because no matter how long it’s been since ACOSF came out, there has been and will be discourse regarding Elain’s ability to procreate and whether or not that means she’s Azriel’s mate/LI/whatever. That ideology hurts real women.

It fuckin sucks that we lose ourselves in this fantastical world only to be ripped out again by people saying a FICTIONAL CHARACTER is not worthy of love because they can’t bear their FICTIONAL love interest’s child. I-? And that’s not even starting on the way the whole pregnancy was handled..we’re sticking with Elain here.

I know there’s nothing you personally can do about any of this. It’s not like you can find SJM and shake some sense into her (not that any of us would complain about that lol). Like I said you seem like the person people send stuff like this in to, so thanks for that.

So this is an interesting one, because I bitch and moan about SJM plenty, however, in this case -- the stupid pregnancy plot aside in general -- I really have a hard time with blaming her.

Yes, her fake feminism died the moment Nesta began augmenting everyone's pelvises and making them nice and stretchy for Illyrian babies. However, I think that the place where SJM wrote this from was ...positive? I think she really wanted to make sure that none of the sisters are left with the same choices and no answers as Feyre did. And I think in SJM's mind, it was another step in Nesta's 'redemption arc' that she thought of Feyre, herself AND Elain when she was playing god with her sisters' hips. Now, the whole thing is ridiculous of course. But SJM did the best she could with the wording of that conversation between Nesta and Feyre. So not to give away her precious endgame couple, SJM still had Nesta say 'so NONE of us have to go through this again'. She could've said 'so you and I never have to go through that...' ir 'the two of us...' But she said 'none' which implies Elain is included. Now, the ethical ramifications of whether someone's body should be changed against their will, or at least without their consent, I think are lost on SJM. But I think that she left all of it open ended, and a choice.

Fertility and childbearing are complex issues. Personal and societal. Whether you want, you can't, you don't want, you planned, you didn't plan, etc. it's an issue wrought with both sorrow and pain.

The problem is that SJM decided to switch the direction of her writing mid-series --went from YA, geared towards younger audience, where sword fighting is a lot more important than baby making (hence no one except Yrene had children there on page), to NA, which should be geared towards a more mature audience. Or at least an audience which wouldn't take the issue of fertility so lightly and flippantly. Yet unfortunately, the switch wasn't done well. So now, we are stuck with 13 year old TikTok pontificators who think that they know something about something. And they amplify their own noise, talking about something which I don't think SJM ever meant to be talked about. I certainly would never think that she'd write a storyline where a woman is rejected by her potential lover over her inability to have potential children.

a. I don't think that's what she was hinting at at all

b. And while she is definitely very much an author where HEA means happy coupling with offspring, she did create quite a number of couples where children were not their HEA at all.

it's frustrating that so much animosity and sometimes real pain has been generated over a stupid ship that doesn't even exist.

Self indulgent discourse no one asked for -

Based on all the asks yesterday about the um well endowed* batboys, all I can think about is how they must anticipate being larger than most other males, no? Like whenever they’re trying to sleep with a female it must be in their conscious awareness that there’s a high likelihood of hurting her with their mere size 👀 and they’re simply used to needing to really get the female prepared* otherwise it ain’t an easy fit 😃

Perhaps azriel in his large selection of secret lovers, they know to be prepared and he can’t sleep with just anyone because of this inconvenience* if you catch my drift. I just keep thinking like is this normal amongst the fae or are we operating under the assumption that they are above average even in their kind. That’s what I think at least.

Like what I’m trying to get at is that the mere thought of them being self aware and operating according is 👀 👹hot👹 and having to know what they’re doing just to prepare these females is 👹🤠👀🥴😳😮‍💨 please

I mean if it's an Illyrian thing then I would assume that the females would evolve to have coochies to fit the largeness of the males? 😂😅

But also I can't stop thinking about Nessian having sex cuz there wasn't any preparedness? Or my mem is shit lol. Because Ik cass fuckin hung so if nesta can take it why wouldn't other fae females be able to do the same?

Don't the fae have like advanced healing or something? Like, ya cooch could just mend itself once he's in? 😂😂

But I think Az would be so sweet preparing her if this is what they'd have to do and then fuck the shit out of her. 🤭

what is your opinion on the illyrian poc debate? on one hand, it’s amazing to get some diversity in this series. annoying that ofc the one poc group of people in the series is misogynistic and abuses women but it’s still poc?

on the other hand, illyrians are described as tan. tamlin was described as tan and he was a whole ass white man. i’m not sure if, for me, quick remarks about their golden tan skin is enough to give sjm applause for poc characters in her books. it’s amazing to see fans call out artists that draw the bat boys as white but at the same time, sjm literally described them as ‘tan’ and i feel like this whole debate of whitewashing the illyrians is just giving sjm credit for poc representation when she .. doesn’t have enough of it

Hm, I guess I don't know what the debate is! I am more aware of Stranger Things discourse atm 😂

SJM says that Illyrians are a race. They've been described as being different than High Fae. We now know that the Asteri created them. It's pretty clear that they are not like other fae. Race =/= POC, but they've been described as having darker skin tones, and I think the more important thing is actually their otherness. SJM has Othered the hell out of the Illyrians.

I see the things that sjm wrote and then the way that we interact with what she wrote as being connected but not necessarily the same thing, if that makes sense.

So like sjm says that Illyrians are tan, they are a race, they are also super misogynistic etc. That is NOT a positive look for her, it's not something that anyone is claiming as a good thing but is actually pretty racist. It's a group of people who have been written as a separate race, as tan, but she also slapped them with this "backwards", "brutish" characterization. And then meanwhile she doesn't follow through on that because most Illyrians that we know are actually good people (Emerie, Cassian, Az, Balthazar, Rhys, Rhys's mom) which makes me wonder why she's emphasizing their negative qualities so much? Her villains suck, she just does not put much thought into why a villain or even an antagonist does what they do. So like with the Illyrians, they just *are* that way for no reason, but then when she writes them as named characters that we get to know, they aren't like that at all... anyway.

But to me it seems like the fandom is trying to embrace the positive aspects of what she created, so that's the flip side of the "she created a thing, here is how we interact with it" coin. I've never seen anyone be like "yeah, those Illyrian misogynists have the right idea so here is my 50k fanfic about it!" It's always "hey these are POC and should be depicted as such", and the way I see them talked about in fan works is also generally positive.

So... based on what I've seen, the fandom has embraced the positives of what she wrote, while discarding the crap. We are aware that it's crap - I and many others have written multiple times about how her creation/depiction of Illyrians is problematic at best, racist at worst. We know that. But that's not how we then proceed to think of them in the fandom, and so when people say "hey this art is whitewashed", that's fans who are actively trying to combat something problematic.

Side note, but any argument that says "well this is how it is in the book so I have to accept that and cannot think critically about *why* it was done that way" is.... well. Not my favorite.

To me that's part of being in a fandom anyway, like I've written fanfic where Nehemia doesn't die because that was crap and I don't have to accept that as gospel when it comes to me and the fandom.

Sorry this is longish, I just don't know the full context of the debate so hopefully this was somewhat useful! I just know that the depiction of Illyrians has always been acknowledged as problematic (at least in my corner of the fandom it has been) but that's on SJM, not the fandom. Like if I decided in my fanfic to keep Nehemia alive or to portray Illyrians as nuanced and misunderstood and complex, then that's me leaving behind the parts I don't like because I am aware it's... not good.

Hey just want to let you know I’m really enjoying your story. Danae is a joy and fascinating to read. We see she’s past the loud stage of her anger. She’s now calm and in the acceptance stage. She’s accepted the fact that her high lord is trying to rid his hands of Illyria but what wants them under his thumb. 500 years is plenty of time to change things but he just has 500 excuses for her. But when you are calm and angry that’s when it gets taken to the next level because now you’re calm and fed up, rational and able think things through. She’s weighed the pros and cons and knows what she wants for her fellow Illyrian kin. Change is not pretty, easy, or done with pleases and thank you’s. Poor Emerie has drank the inner circle kool-aid but hopefully Danae was able to plant some seeds in her head to get her to second guess the half ass attempts that Rhysand and co. have done for her people. I know emerie extended the Valkyrie invitation but with Danae had no interested in fighting for her high lord? Danaes stance is that their options shouldn’t just be between cannon fodder or wives or live in constant fear of their own high lord and other Illyrian men. Emerie shows what Danae could have had but Danae would not be satisfied because then she would see that she would just be one lucky Illyrian out of all the other unfortunate ones who don’t have the luxury of being close to high lords family. I hope their talk made Emerie realize that letting Illyrian women serve as soldiers is a false liberation because now they are given the choice of being slaves that die for the high lord or slaves in their homes.

Hey nonnie!  Do you see these tears?  They’re for you and this feedback because I’ve been dying for discourse *cracks knuckles* alright here we go:

Danae is...impulsive and easily pissed off.  She really does just blurt out her unfiltered thoughts, but she’s not always wrong.  Her perspective as a twenty-something Illyrian who’s never actually met her High Lord and only really lived during Amarantha times is one we haven’t gotten yet, and one I was dying to write.  I mean, consider all of the WACK stories she must have heard, whisper down the lane, from Under the Mountain.  And that’s legitimately all she knows.  If that High Lord came up to me and smiled, I’d be terrified.  And she is!  Rightfully so!  Even before Amarantha, Rhys was fueling those horrible rumors.  He spent hundreds of years playing the Nightmare.  If anything, I’m surprised at how easily some of the acotar characters have just....accepted that he’s a nice guy.  It took Feyre longer than a lot of these side characters, and she’d only seen him be Mr. Scary for a few months, not centuries.

Emerie (ilysm babe) was a really good way to showcase how Danae hasn’t had enough time to learn to be quiet.  Danae hasn’t learned to accept “the way things are” yet.  She hasn’t grown accustomed to really questionable history and behavior in the Night Court.  Emerie is older (that’s the impression I have, anyway) and has lived her whole life in Windhaven, the only place anyone seems to visit in Illyria.  Her opinions have skewed over time, and that’s not her fault at all.  At some point in time, she stopped asking questions, and when she joined the Valkyries, nothing really changed, because who was going to remind her that things could be different in Illyria?  Nesta knew nothing about the place, and neither did Gwyn.  The inner circle isn’t going to suddenly start brainstorming reforms over dinner without some kind of spark, so why would Emerie suddenly start questioning her High Lord or Illyria?

To sum up, Danae is basically that kid you babysit who won’t stop asking “but why?”  Rhysand is the babysitter tiredly answering “because I said so, that’s why.”  And Emerie is the kid who just woke up from a nap and is hella confused.  There’s a debate going on?

no, rhys isn’t a ‘feminist icon’ but not because he isn’t a feminist

onto more rhys slander. i’ve seen so many people criticize rhys because he isn’t a ‘feminist icon’ or he ‘doesn’t do anything for women’s rights other than make feyre high lady’.

first of all, did we read the same book? did rhys not: make the practice of wing clipping women illegal, mandate that women be allowed to train in the war camps, make amren his second, give mor full control over the fate of her abusers, rescue feyre from an abusive situation, provide refuge for abused women to be librarians in a safe space.

no, he isn’t an icon. he’s simply doing the right thing by attempting to rewrite several hundred years of history. it’s important to remember that rhys isn’t a dictator, he can’t simply outlaw something and then assume that will immediately stop. it’s literally canon that the illyrians are their own race of people living under the night court. it’s the same as in our world, just because something is illegal doesn’t mean people aren’t going to do it. rhys isn’t responsible for the ill treatment of illyrian women in the past. all he can do is exactly what he does which is, over the centuries he’s been alive, try to make slow, PERMANENT, change. with the help of cas enforcing it in the camps, of course.

it’s not lame to like the love interest of a book series. y’all aren’t being unique because you don’t like rhys and think az/ cas is better- saying this as a total az simp, mind you.

so no, he isn’t a ‘feminist icon’ but he sure as shit isn’t the sexist dictator some of y’all pretend him to be.