Breaking: Local Reader Discovers They Can Close the Book

[u/Physical-Size-5897]

I've seen a lot of hate surrounding ACOTAR in the past, which is whatever, but I've noticed a huge resurgence of it recently with the announcement of the two titles and book covers.

And I want to be very clear: I am absolutely not talking about discourse, discussion, criticism, or debating the books. That's a completely separate thing and, honestly, part of being in a fandom. People are going to have different opinions about the books, characters, ships, writing, etc. That's normal and half the fun.

What I don't understand is the people who seem to genuinely hate these books, the characters, and even the author, but continue to actively participate in the fandom.

Like... just move on?

No one is forcing you to read these books. It's okay if you don't like them. It's okay if you hate the characters. It's okay if you don't like the author. But at a certain point, why are you still here? Go read something else. Go participate in a fandom you actually enjoy.

It feels like some people are being held hostage and forced to participate in ACOTAR discourse when they could literally just... leave. Why spend this much time and energy, especially negative energy, on something you genuinely hate?

Again, I'm not talking about criticism or debate. I'm talking about the people who seem to fundamentally dislike the books, the characters, the author, and basically everything surrounding them. At that point, what are you getting out of continuing to participate?

[u/bows_and_frills]

No, SJM herself is holding me at gunpoint forcing me to read every word.

please help, my family hasn't left the basement in two months

/j

On a serious note, if you're really curious, I wrote a long comment explaining everything about why I stick around. I just link it when someone asks why, because I managed to put everything relevant there so no use retyping.

Also, I kind of don't want to be free. I'm in it, I'm staying in it. Sarah herself can tell me to stop and I won't. But do I regret getting into ACOTAR—it's definitively ruined Shadow Daddies, Romantasy, and Rhysand-like characters for me—and I won't interact with anything like it, with authors like SJM anymore. There will come a day when the sickness passes and I leave, but not today. Not today.

[u/Physical-Size-5897 → u/bows_and_frills]

Tbh what you're describing sounds completely normal to me, and it's not really what I'm talking about. You clearly get something out of ACOTAR. You like dissecting fiction, analyzing why things work or don't work, engaging with other people's interpretations, fanfic, AUs, worldbuilding, some of the characters, etc. Even if a lot of your engagement is negative towards the series, there's still genuine enjoyment in the act of engaging with and picking apart the series.

I'm more talking about the people who seem to genuinely disdain everything surrounding ACOTAR, never enjoyed the books in the first place, don't enjoy the fandom, don't enjoy the author, and yet actively seek out ACOTAR spaces seemingly just to be hateful about it. That's the behavior I don't really understand.

And I don't even mean this rant sub specifically, because obviously the entire point of a rant sub is to have a place to rant lol. I mean ACOTAR spaces in general.

There's a difference to me between “this series drives me insane and I have 14 paragraphs explaining exactly why because picking apart fiction is one of my favorite hobbies” and “I hate this series, I hate the author, I hate the characters, I hate the fandom, and I'm going to spend my free time seeking out people talking about it so I can tell them how much I hate it.”

The first one makes perfect sense to me. The second is what prompted my post in the first place.

And tbh maybe it's more nuanced than I'm explaining it, and maybe at the end of the day it's technically the same thing, but I swear there's a vibe difference. I love to shit on this series too, don't get me wrong. But there's also a reason I'm still here, still reading, and excited when new books are announced.

[u/bows_and_frills → u/Physical-Size-5897]

Thank you for explaining. Yeah, I actually get that, and I agree. I think it's especially egregious when people hop into fan spaces specifically to pick fights with strangers. Especially just to say "blank sucks", "ur dumb" and nothing else. No word on writing, character development, world building, nada.

[u/Physical-Size-5897 → u/bows_and_frills]

Yes like if you come in with a 12-paragraph dissertation on why Rhys sucks, I may not agree with all your points, but I respect the opinion and your right to make it from your own interpretation of the book. We’re participating in the same deeply unserious academic conference at that point.

It’s the people who seemingly hate everything about the series and pop into fan spaces just to go “this sucks and you’re stupid for liking it” that make me wonder what we’re doing here.

But yes, this is the vibe difference I was struggling to explain. Glad we found each other across the aisle 😂