#but it's not always even problematic groups. a lot of the time it's just fans of characters or something which is even worse

[coulsonlives]

For self-proclaimed leftists, some of y'all seem weirdly comfortable with telling people to kill themselves

[rainbowsky]

Hi rbs !! I m huge fan of your blog. I really love it. I want to ask you about crown ring that rumours say dd give to gg when he proposed him. And all their family members knows about their relationship. And some say they even brought house for them and have joint property. I personally believe this all. But I want to know more in details.as you always do best. Thanku.

Hi sweetpuri, thanks so much, I'm glad you're enjoying my blog! ☺️

Sorry I've taken so long to get back to some of these asks - I've been pretty busy lately, but I'll try to make more time for it.

All of this that you're talking about comes from fan fiction stories and a (not at all credible) fake rumor, and as a package this group of beliefs has been circulating the fandom for years. I hate to break it to you, but none of this is very likely to be true, at least not in the way it's packaged or shared.

However.

I do believe GG has a ring - whether wedding ring or just gift from DD - that he wears when he's not on camera. We've seen evidence of this in tan lines and in an indentation on his finger in some photos. He also is frequently seen with a chain around his neck, which we know he wears a ring on at least some of the time, because of a few incidents where the shape was visible under his clothing. I talked about this a bit in this post.

But the crown ring - not likely. This rumor came around the time GG was seen wearing a crown ring on episode 3 of Our Song, and I just don't buy that's The Ring.

I also do believe that they're committed and most likely married, which I talked about more in this post.

As for their parents knowing about (and supporting) their relationship - I think we have abundant evidence to suggest this might be true. There is the sauced beef saga, there's also the quarantine 'ma/mom' moment and some other items I talked about in this post. Also some fan repos and LRLG rumors that give us clues.

There are a lot of beliefs that circulate around in the fandom, that were taken directly out of fan fiction, but which fans vehemently believe to be true. This is one of the reasons why (although I feel everyone is free to read and write whatever they want) I don't like fan fiction that tries to give a telling of actual events, or that closely follows their actual lives. These stories can (unintentionally) mislead people (and can sometimes lead to characterizations of them that are problematic and harmful - for example, claims that they're jealous).

This happens totally accidentally. We're in a fandom that moves pretty fast, and which has a ton of new information coming at us every day. It's so easy to forget where we heard something, or to mishear something, and then walk around with mistaken beliefs that are unlikely to be debunked. False ideas spread like wildfire in the fandom, especially ideas that are sweet and cute like grand, dramatic marriage proposals and rings and luxury houses.

I recommend being extra cautious and conscious of where we hear things, and be careful of the sources we rely on. If you can't remember where you heard something, it's best to treat it as 'likely false, or maybe from a fan fiction'.

At least, that's one of the ways that I try to stay accurate and honest. I'm not pretending to be perfect in this regard, but skepticism can help protect us from misleading ideas.

[solsays]

okay guys hello hi so a (more serious) post before we’re back to the sillies but like I’ve seen a bit of this in the QSMP community recently and I feel like it needs to be addressed

you’re free to dislike a creator/cc’s fanbase, but don’t lump them all together. Every fanbase has its different parts, and that means that not everybody is the same. I’ve seen this most with Wilbur and Phil mains, how people are like “oh you’re oblivious and don’t care to watch other streamers” or whatever it is, and often they get accused of summing characters/creators up to all they know them as through Phil or Wilbur or their relationships with other characters. This isn’t to say that doesn’t happen, but it’s not nearly as common as many seem to think!

This is coming from someone who has been watching Phil for going on four years now; we know more than you think, and often there are actual reasons for why we don’t watch other ccs. For me, it’s because I can rarely tune in when people are actually live thanks to school and work and such, so I take to watching vods and clips to keep caught up on the events. I am also not fully bilingual (English, and I speak partial Spanish but fast Spanish still confuses me sometimes) which makes it hard to watch people like the Brazilian or French players (I don’t speak either language) outside of clips where they’re playing with the English or Spanish speakers! As a result, my knowledge of many of them (Mike, Bagi, Antoine, etc) is pretty limited. I try my best to keep up with everyone on character stuff, but it can be hard if we’re busy. Another thing is that a large part of (especially) Phil’s fanbase are adults, who have families or college or work and they can’t always keep up with every minute detail or trait of characters, and I know this is true for many other cc’s fanbases as well.

of course, everybody is allowed to have their own opinions, and it’s okay if you aren’t a fan of a cc or their fans! All I’m asking is that we don’t hate on those creators or their fans, especially if it’s because you’ve had not great experiences with some of their fans. Often I think the former DSMP members fans are seen as stupid little kids who are toxic and childish, while in reality most of us are over 16 or even adults. Phil, Foolish, Slime, Quackity, etc were never really the problematic part of the dsmp fanbase, which was kind of split into Techno’s friends and their fans (who were always pretty chill for the most part) and then dream’s friends and their fans (who were and still are pretty problematic a lot of the time). I never was a huge dsmp enjoyer, so I never really watched the lore and preferred to watch their other stuff, but I always disliked the dream team and their little group, they always rubbed me the wrong way.

I only truly watch Phil’s streams, but I’ve taken up watching Cellbit and Fit as well, even if I can’t understand Cellbit sometimes, so remember that we won’t know everything niche about characters because of the language barriers! Don’t be a dick or rude to people who are unaware of certain parts of lore and such because they don’t watch multiple creators, we want to keep the QSMP fandom a chill safe place where people don’t feel hated or excluded just because of which creator(s) they watch, so in summary just be nice to everyone and don’t hate on people just because they don’t do things the same way as you. This community was created with the purpose of bringing people together and breaking barriers, so let’s try and keep that moral in mind while interacting with other fans!

TLDR: you’re free to dislike creators or their fans, just don’t lump them all together and say they’re all clueless or don’t care about any other characters! Let’s keep the point of the QSMP fandom what Quackity intended—breaking language barriers and bringing people together/lifting them up instead of putting them down :)

[tossawary]

Part of the problem with discussing how racism manifests in fandom and in fan organizations is that to present a nuanced and thorough take on a complicated problem, which actually consists of a number of different complex issues with lots of different potential solutions each, you have write really, REALLY long posts about it.

And people don't read long posts.

Or they read the first part and get stuck on one point they don't agree with or can't 100% agree with. So they get caught up in proving one point wrong instead of at least expressing sympathy or sharing the parts they do actually agree with.

(Or people make fun of you for caring about "people being mean in fanfiction communities" as an issue. Because caring is cringe, apparently. Racism in hobbies like book clubs and local knitting groups and kid sports leagues is also important, even if it's "not that big of a deal" in the grand scheme of things in your opinion.)

Which can have (unintentional or intentional) vibes of telling fans of color to shut up about racism. Which is rude and understandably upsetting to people who have experienced this kind of harassment. Saying "go make your own archive" implies that the affected fans of color have not been a part of building the OTW or in running AO3 and don't belong there as writers or readers, which is untrue and unkind.

Now, I know that people have a kneejerk defensive reaction to any form of "We Need To Ban The Bad Fic That I Don't Like". I have that too. And I won't deny that this is a conversation partly about content moderation. And I won't deny that within this broad conversation between lots of different people who want to do something about fandom racism, there are probably some people who are calling to ban everything they find even a little problematic. They're always popping up. I don't agree with those people.

I didn't reblog End OTW Racism's Call to Action post the first time that I saw it because my brain wanted to chew on the thoughts it inspired. I thought a lot about how exactly to write detailed policy that could explicitly ban the worst examples of fanfiction used as intentional hate speech provably for the purpose of targeted harassment, while still ensuring the protection of the queer content, the problematic darkfic, and the explicit kinky fiction that the archive was created to host (which EOTWR also cares about). I do want fans to be able to explore some disturbing and distasteful topics, even if they don't always write it well, without being censored. And yet I also thought a lot about the "Paradox of Tolerance" as a social contract and what it meant to be "Fair to Unfair Voices".

I also thought a lot about how AO3 volunteers can never review every single thing posted to the website (which was not being suggested). And about how this issue intersects heavily with the structural issues that leave some AO3 volunteers overworked and underappreciated. And the structural issues that leave some AO3 volunteers feeling isolated, neglected, ignored, or mistreated. And also how AO3 is shockingly enormous now for being the result of volunteer work on a budget that's small compared to other non-profit organizations.

And honestly, I was fucking exhausted from my job that day and I cynically thought to myself, "I'll read through the links later, but I don't really see how changing the names on a bunch of fics is going to inspire great change within an organization."

(And the people behind this online protest are pretty open about the fact that they didn't expect their awareness campaign - and that's what it is: it's just an awareness campaign - to do anything on the front of "Solving Institutional Racism Immediately".)

But then I thought to myself, "Okay, but I do believe in antiracist action. And even if I don't think some of these suggestions are workable with the current state of things, or that the OTW will ever agree to some things here, there has got to be something here that could be done right now to make things a little better."

I kind of like the idea of expanding the required archive warnings so that more well-meaning people will opt-in to tagging triggering material, which is a form of content moderation. Like the way that the "Graphic Depictions of Violence" tag works already. Major Archive Warnings are left up to the author's best judgement unless reported. And even if people repeatedly refuse to use any relevant warning tags when writing blatantly racist stories, when they get reported for not even using "Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings", then we'll be pretty sure that they're doing it to be a jerk, and AO3 volunteers can suspend or ban them for it.

I like the idea of expanding the abuse policy and clearly defining its terms so that Policy and Abuse volunteers can still retain some freedom of best judgement, but also be more consistent about recognizing when someone is being a racist jerk in the comment section or being racist by gifting violently racist fic to fans of color or otherwise behaving badly. And I like the idea of improving the reporting system while keeping potential misuse in mind. And giving PAC volunteers better admin tools and other resources.

Even if you believe that AO3 is largely run by well-meaning queer women, I personally don't 100% trust that every single volunteer will be great at recognizing the many varied forms of racism, or antisemitism, or transphobia, or prejudice against bisexual or asexual or polyamorous people, or against mentally ill or physically disabled people. And part of this discussion is about when individual members of the PAC team have failed to address malicious behavior that is already explicitly covered by AO3's existing anti-bullying policy. Or that can't be solved by just blocking and muting someone.

Like, this discussion is about racism, and it's worth caring about solely for how it affects fans of color, but optimizing the abuse policy and protocols against harassment would better protect everyone. (And also, please do not assume that fans of color are not also older fans and/or queer fans who care about censorship.)

Some of End OTW Racism's offered solutions are suggestions originally made by AO3 itself back in 2020. A huge part of this discussion is just some fans (they're only, like, 5 people) trying to make some noise so that the OTW will give all users a thorough update on their progress. They are trying to raise awareness to keep the conversation about fandom bigotry going and recruit people to show up to OTW Board meetings to ask what obstacles need to be tackled. They want volunteers trying to change things internally to feel supported and for some more transparency on this subject to externally hold people accountable to their promises.

And I also thought, "Fuck it. This post is worth reblogging if only to remind people that AO3 needs work, to educate new fans on the history and present of fandom racism in general, and to maybe make one person out there feel less alone and connect them with some new friends. Fans of color don't have to be perfect to be heard."

I believe that AO3 has gotten bigger than ever anticipated and management of the OTW has only gotten harder. And I think hiring a diversity consultant, as per AO3's own suggestion back in 2020, sounds like a good idea to curb harassment of all kinds and improve the working conditions of volunteers. Outside contractors have been hired before and these professionals have no effect on OTW's non-profit status. A temporary consultant's job would be to identify where the organization is getting stuck and give suggestions on how to fight bigotry, and the OTW Board can just pick the solutions they think will work in practice with their mission statements.

Honestly, I kind of think it might be a good idea to also hire a security consultant of some kind after some of the harassment of AO3 volunteers in recent years. And if hiring some programming contractors would help the coding volunteers build better admin tools and make tag blacklisting happen sooner, then I support that as well. But that's all up to the OTW Board. And I want the OTW volunteers to know that I support their original suggestion to hire some outside professional help, so that fandom can begin to address some of these ongoing problems beyond just acknowledging that they exist, even if it simply starts with AO3 explicitly calling for more volunteers to get the planned work done.

Saying that there's nothing to be done is defeatist. Saying that the affected fans of color and their allies sound too angry or too serious or too ungrateful, or that everyone involved just doesn't understand how hard these things are, is pretty rude. I don't expect perfect solutions on the first try. I don't expect them immediately. I expect some of these things to take the OTW... years, honestly. I don't always feel very optimistic. I find this entire discussion discomforting and depressing. I'm not ungrateful to the OTW and AO3 when the community has been an undeniably good experience for me personally over the past 10 years. I want people to be able to escape into fandom at the end of a shitty day.

End OTW Racism's awareness campaign is one small part of a much broader discussion and you don't have to agree 100% with everything that they say. Or with what other people talking about fandom racism say (and some people, including academics and journalists and media critics and video essayists, have been talking about fandom racism for a long time). And you definitely don't have to 100% agree with what I've said here.

You don't have immediately volunteer all of your time to the OTW to fix these problems to be a good person. We all have other shit going on in our lives. Just... keep some of the points being made in mind moving forward, yeah? If you have a moment, maybe listen to some of the frustrations with an open mind, and maybe show a little extra love to your fellow fans who are going through it.

And if you have the energy to tear down what you think just one of EOTWR's suggestions is as bad - and they are NOT calling for every single fic on AO3 to be reviewed for problematic tropes or racial slurs before posting, that would be ridiculous, and it's disingenuous to misinterpret them that way - are you also separately talking about and supporting any of the antiracist actions and other harm reduction policies that you think are genuinely viable?

[cosmics-beings]

I wanted to make a post like this for a while, but since i was asked the question i can make it here!

i'm also speaking as an actual black person....so if you don't like these conversations where black people speak on black issues and how we feel, then just ignore this.

So in the past, yeah I agreed with this but my opinion has kinda changed with TF One.

However, I am still extremely uncomfortable seeing depictions of Black human formers Megatron because most of it, especially in ship art is extremely racist and relies on racist stereotypes of black men being abusive, violent, and problematic when his partners are drawn white or lightskinned (i see this all the time in megastar and megaop art. megatron is portrayed as the huge brutal black man and starscream/optimus are the small white twinks who are being beaten by him - it's gross and racist but for some reason it's common).

In general, I think it can be harmful to make a slave character, who inevtibly turns into a genocidal war lord and a generally awful person, a black person (even with his redemption arcs). it also racializes slavery, when we know that slavery doesn't have a race, and Megatron himself is a gladiator. Gladiators are slaves, and one of the most famous gladiators was from Thracia. This again is mostly a fan issue, because I at least have always seen Megatron coded as white in the comics and in the shows. In many depictions, he has a European accent, voiced by white European people (posh english lmao, or in ES Scottish).

That said, in TF One, I'm willing to let it slide. That's because Megatron isn't the only slave. Optimus, who is voiced by a white man, is also a slave, as is Elita, and Bumblebee. I think you know, not racializing slavery and having this notion that slave = black by default, is what makes it okay.

I still wouldn't feel super comfortable seeing Black megatron fanart because again, none of the depictions have been good in my opinion, as a Black person. And i mean none of them, and I do wonder where the thought in this fandom came from that making a person who canonically is violent and aggressive, was okay, just because he happened to be a slave. It is a far too common trope that I see in fanfic and fanfart, especially again...in a shipping sphere.

But I think TF One is able to balance it out, and since this is D-16, he is. a lot calmer, kinder, etc. I think things can get in muddy area when he eventually does turn into Megatron and he becomes the genocidal tyrant we all know and love....especially when you make the black one of the group the one who chooses violence whereas the white voices ones don't.

but who knows? My opinions are ever changing depending on how things are handled.

if you disagree with this, that's fine just do so respectfully and i mean at least be black

[writingforatwistedworld]

For Vil: H, I, J, please! I’m very interested in the Housewarden’s mindset as a yandere

Self-aware au

I do not take any responsibility for you reading this no matter which age group you are from!

WARNINGS: Yandere themes, manipulation, imprisonment, murder, poison, unhealthy relationship

H, I, J

Hell: What would be their darling’s worst experience with them?

Being put on a way too high pedestal

It’s not like Vil would do this on purpose

It’s actually the oppesite

He praises you constantly, telling you how perfect you are

It’s nice and all when your partner tells you that they love every single part about you but nothing comes close to the extent Vil does

For a normal person like you it is absolutely impossible to be what he envisions that you are

And when you tell him that this is too much he is going on and on how humble you are

Safe to say you will never be able to climb this mountian

Vils fans

Many of them understand that Vil is also just another human being who wants some love in his life

And then there are also like “DON’T TOUCH MY VI-VI!”

To be fair, Vil also dislikes those fans a lot but there isn’t much he can do

So he does try to keep your relationship private but there is only so much someone like him can do

If you didn’t have the same experience as the NRC cast (aka meeting your vessel Yuu, getting to know you through Yuu) it can be a bit hard to figure out at first glance that you are the Overseer

So even that isn’t necessary some sort of protection for you

Just avoid crowds and learn how to make yourself look like someone else entirely with make-up

Vils fretting over you

“OH MY GOODNESS IS THAT A PAPERCUT??!”-Vil Schoenheit, model with 5 million followers

To say that he is always worried would be an understatement

He just wants to make sure you are always taken care of, ok?

Well guess who isn’t so thrilled about that? Ding ding ding! Ten points for the right answer! You

I’m not talking about a few minutes of attentio. I’m talking about him coming back to Pomefiore and then it starts for the entire rest of the day

And it’s not like you can tell him that it’s too much

That would be just rude and we also don’t want to know what happen if you ever were to take that “privilege” away from him

Ideals: What kind of future do they have in mind for/with their darling?

A “normal” relationship

You know, getting registered on the paper, being able to go out with you, yada yada

Sadly he is not able to enjoy this at the moment since he has to shield you from the more problematic part of his following

Why the “ “?

Well because in that vision you are not really having any contact to anyone besides him

Unconscious manipulation is also a normal thing, the world is evil you know? Only he is on your side

Maybe if you ask nicely he will get you a goldfish or somethign like that. You know, to talk to

One where he isn’t interrupted

At the moment the young model still has to study and also take care of his more or less dormant career

So “sadly” to your joy he can’t be there all the time

If worst would come to worst he would step down from his job

He has so much money he could probably pay easily for everything Ruggies family needs for fifty years

Man just wants to spend every minute of his life with you

Whether you want it or not does not matter

One in which you love him enough for him to stop feeding you secretly potions

Have you ever wondered why you are still here with him even though he is so overbearing?

Well congrats! You just broke through the effects of one of Vils potions

He hates it, ok? He hates it to always tiptoe around you so he can put it in your drinks

Vil thinks he has no chance with you, perfection itself, so he sees no other way but to cheat a bit

So the next time you see him with a heartbroken look on his face you know what he just did

Jealousy: Do they get jealous? Do they lash out or find a way to cope?

Easily jealous

I would like to remind you that he has a background as an actor

This means you won’t even know that he is jealous… until it’s too late

The sight of others being around you, looking at you, being close to you, potentially taking his spot besides you

It makes his blood boil

If he didn’t have a reputation to uphold he would have fed all of them apples a long time ago, and those do not keep doctors away

If you look really close and are Rook you might see his muscles being a little more tense than usual so… Nah, no way you can spot this sign early enough

Bettering himself

Vils jealousy stems from a place of fear

What if you were to find someone better than him?

So he takes it out on himself… and a teeny tiny bit on you

He wakes up earlier, runs longer in the morning, sees something ugly in something totally normal

You know, the unhealthy stuff

With him raising his standards for himself he also raises his for you

Suddenly that papercut isn’t just a papercut (to which he already reacts way too much) but a stab wound in your side

He goes from mother hen to Bridezilla before a wedding… just in a caretaker sense

Snapping

If you don’t see the signs even then he will snap

Full on reenactment of Snow White

No need to worry why he gave you that apple. It’s good for your health!

Two seconds before catastrophe struck

So whilst you lay there, your vision going dark, you can still see his visage torn by a unnatural wide smile

If he can’t have you no one can

And if eternal sleep is the only solution to you never leaving him then so be it!

[lemotmo]

I’ve seen people say that before that tumblr is just overrun by BTs and it seems like more people ship BT than Buddie on tumblr - I also think a lot of this is because the small BT fandom also includes a lot do people that straight up changed their blogs/created new ones to be solely focused on Tommy/Lou including usernames and icons whereas a lot of Buddie fans that have been here for ages don’t necessarily have 911 related usernames or profile pictures. Their fandom definitely reads as a loud minority that thinks they’re in the majority. I’ve seen several try and claim that the general audience loves Tommy when from what I’ve seen the general audience doesn’t really care one way or another about Tommy they just care about Buck (rightfully so he’s the main character we’ve been rooting for for 7 seasons)

Yeah I agree. The general audience just wants to watch the main cast do their thing. That's why they tune in every Thursday. They have probably already forgotten about Tommy, because he was hardly even seen in the last episodes.

And as I said before, I get the appeal of a new shiny canon couple and the buzz around it. It's great if you love them and want to ship them. Go on, ship them and be happy. I don't care.

What does bug me is the fact that there is this very loud core group within the minority who do not subscribe to the phrase of 'Ship and let ship' and who keep on bugging Buddie shippers, calling them homophobic and problematic.

Most of us are just here, biding our time, waiting for season 8 to see Eddie come out as queer on our screens and for Buddie to happen. We aren't doing anything wrong besides doing what we have been doing for six seasons now: ship two firefighters with insane chemistry.

That is it. So why do we have to defend ourselves for that? It's very strange fandom behaviour that I have never seen before in all my years of hanging around in fandom spaces.

But whatever. This too shall pass. It always does.

[sokkastyles]

What are your thoughts on Pakku going to the SWT and he and Kanna becoming a couple again? Personally, it always felt really rushed/out of nowhere to me. Not that Pakku would go to the South to help rebuild, but that Kanna would accept him back into her life romantically or that it would take so little time for her to decide to do so.

It is rushed, and pretty questionable storytelling wise, and there's no real reason for it to happen. What is especially jarring about it, though, is how little Kanna gets a voice in this storyline.

I mean, forget for a minute the questionable choice of having a woman who went across a continent to flee an arranged marriage just get back together with that person after decades. Even if we accepted this as a choice the writers made, the problem is that we have no idea how Kanna felt at any time about any of it.

It seems like there was an attempt at character development there, but a lot of it is actually assumed by the fandom to fill in the gaps. All we're actually told in the series is that Kanna left because she didn't want to marry Pakku. I have seen some fans extrapolate that Kanna did love Pakku, but that what she wanted was a choice, and that's why she agrees to marry Pakku in the end, after Katara taught him How to Respect Women (another problematic trope that this series has a problem with in general). But even if we assume those things, all of that is still fanon. We aren't told any of this, how Kanna felt or why her feelings changed. Katara actually says that Kanna didn't love Pakku, and while Katara could have been incorrect, the problem is that we never actually get to hear from Kanna about it, at any point. Even when they get back together, we don't know why. All we hear is that Pakku says he made a new betrothal necklace for her.

It would have been very easy to fix this problem by just adding a few lines of dialogue to make Kanna's feelings more clear and present in the story. Maybe Pakku tells Katara how Kanna gave him an ultimatum and said that she would not be another man's prize. And then when the group sees Pakku again with the White Lotus, Pakku tells Katara how her bravery in standing up to him made him realize how he had lost Kanna through his own pigheadedness, and he proposed to her anew if only she would have him. In just a few lines of dialogue, we get a lot more of Kanna's agency and we see that Pakku has actually changed as a person. It's still problematic, but a lot more palatable.

Hell, you could even add in a line of dialogue about how Kanna is helping Pakku open up a school for female waterbenders now, and that would give us some sense of character development that would have helped us understand how their relationship developed. It also brings things nicely full circle from Kanna watching Hama and the other waterbenders from her village being taken away, and solves the exceptionalism issue that is part of the problem with that whole subplot, because we don't get so much of a sense that Pakku has actually learned to respect women vs learning to respect Katara because she is tough or because she is Kanna's granddaughter.

What's even more confusing is how the necklace came to symbolize what it does for Katara, and how that fits with the Pakku thing. It's my personal headcanon that Kanna passed it on to her daughter as a symbol of what she had overcome, of her own determination to be free, and Kya did the same thing with her daughter. Katara had to get her feminism from somewhere. But then that's hard to reconcile with a Kanna who was secretly pining for her lost love all these years and who would accept another necklace from the same dude.

The show just didn't bother to give Kanna a voice here, and that's the biggest problem.

[kandyzee]

What do you think fionas childhood was like 💓

I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY thanks for asking :pp.

I used to be a reallly big fiona fan, so I've thought about this a lot.

I imagine fionas upbringing was similar to Debbie's in alot of ways. They both find themselves in problematic relationships, forced to look after their siblings.

Fiona is mentioned to have a LONG sexual history as early as s1, where she's only 21. Given the lack of attention and validation she was getting, I think fiona has been having sex since she was a child. She probably fell into the "mature for her age" group. Her parents were neglecting her, possibly physically abusing her (we've seen Frank hit his kids in the show), and she wasn't able to get academic validation because she had to drop out. It wouldn't surprise me that this led her into having older bfs and stuff like that.

This makes even more sense to me given how she reacts to her siblins minor /adult relationships. Fiona didn't have anyone to tell her that her relationships were wrong, so when she saw her siblings going through the same thing, she saw nothing wrong with it. Like when she says that ned and Ian is "just sex"

We also see that she , like Debbie and a lot of the other female characters, is scared of abandonment. She tells Jimmy Steve that everybody leaves and keeps going back to Jimmy even though she knows he's bad for her because she's desperate for someone to stay. She rushes into relationships, remember when she married someone after like a week of daiting ?? Fiona has a hard time accepting love even though she craves it. She cheats and ruins one of her most stable relationships. I think that all comes from the way she was treated in her romantic relationships as a child. Of course, a lot of her abandonment fear comes from Monica, too.

Okay moving away from guys.

We know fiona ran track in school and that she was really fucking good at it. This was probably one of the most stable things in her life, an activity away from her siblings and the stress of home. Running is a good way to feel in control. I think fiona developed problems around running ? I'm not sure what exactly you would call it. Fiona would push herself too hard on the track so that she was responsible for the aches she felt instead of them being stressed. I can also imagine having an ED around this time. Her siblings are young, so they're struggling even more with money than normal. She starts to skip meals, and eventually, she finds control in what she eats when she's forced away from track.

I imagine fiona to be relatively popular in school, mainly with guys, but she struggles to keep real outside of school friendships. This changes when she meets Kev and V. I think they probably met after she dropped out of school. V is like 23, I think, in the first season and Kevin 25 ish ? I'm not really that sure, but we know fiona didn't go to school with them. Kevin and V helped fiona a lot, and she definitely needed them. They started to help her with the kids, and for once, she had people on her side. Things get better for her when she meets them.

Baby fiona (5-12) was definitely the in ur face demanding respect, kinda kid. She was sassy and always trying to seem as strong as possible. She will haggle prices for anything and isn't afraid to scam and cheat to get what she needs for her family. But I also imagine her being good at acting sweet. She's a great sweet talker. This is a prominent trait Ian has, and I think he got it from his big sister.

Teens, she's all about drama. Boy drama petty teen girl drama, watching reality TV when she can and stealing gossip magazines. I think she latches onto the typical teen girl image hard. She definitely has a short phase of always getting dress coded. I don't think this lasts that look tho.

Same as in the show, she's always got a new job, sometimes working 2 or 3. She's stressed ofc but learns a lot. She has little hacks and tricks for almost any job. She's resistant in the way she will do anything. Nothing is too dirty or hard for her.

Her relationship with Frank is complex. Fionas Frank's favourite, but she's also the oldest and likely the one he takes his anger out on most. When ur someone's favourite, it hurts them even more when they feel you messed up. I don't think Frank was consistent with his abuse, but it was definitely there. Frank was a 'good' dad sometimes. Fiona gets to know Frank when his alcoholism and drug use wasn't at its peak (He gradually gets worse with age) So fiona got more good dad moments but also felt the disappointment harder as she watched him get worse.

Fiona tells lip (pretty sure it's him) that he's always been Monica's favourite in s1, and I think she has always thought that. Later on in the show, u obviously see Ian and debbie are monicas favourites, tho. I don't see Monica and fiona ever being particularly close. Fiona was hit hard when Monica leaves for the first time, Frank's a mess, and now she has the unfortunate job of explaining that she's gone to her siblings. Unlike her younger siblings, who are probably too young to fully understand what's going on, fiona feels the abandonment full force.

Fiona is 4 / 5 yrs older than lip, right? (Their ages confuse me so bad) so she I'm guessing she was always in a different school than him. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if he's in elementary school, she's in high school. Fiona has to miss school to run all over the place and collect her siblings from different places. She might have to be the one to unroll her siblings in school, too, a couple times.

Finally just some random things

She has a purple flip phone at one point that she's super protective of

She loves family movie nights and would try to do as many as possible.

She cried when Debbie was born cause she was so excited to have a sister.

Similarly she cried when Ian was born cause he was a boy and she wanted a sister.

She really wanted a pet when she was young

She has 100s of diary's from yrs and yrs of writing in them (we see Carl read one)

Would always struggle with her hair cause it's curly and v helps her learn how to style it even tho she hardly does

She's the kind of person who finds comfort in sitting on the floor, in the bathroom, bath tub

Had a pink hating phase

Had a collection of different fake IDs by the time she was 16

Definitely got in at least 1 fight in school cause of boy drama

Hated cooking

ANYWAY I love fiona

[devyuence]

Controversial take: People's hatred for Mew is related to their attachment to real life ship which takes the fun out of Only Friends (at least on their end)

This is going to be my random thoughts and I had a couple of shots of gin and tonic while writing this so excuse me. I am gonna mix up the real-life and fictional scenarios so sue me, I guess.

Before anything else, I like ForceBook a lot but I can understand if TopMew will not end up together. For the most part, I see Top as a person I can never like in real life and you cannot blame me if he just gives me bad vibes.

However, I want to know more about him and how their story unfolds. I actually want TopMew to pull a 188 Men's Group wife-chasing crematorium trope (look it up) or an ending like Cruel Intentions.

In addition, even if I will be proven wrong soon, I will still defend Mew. He is just complex and reminds me of myself. Someone who just wants to graduate with flying colors in an Asian society (SEA to be exact) then came along Boston pestering him about his virginity.

Now you know my biases, let's get to the real reason why I used the said title.

People are hating Mew for cock-blocking Ray and Sand. Calling him names and anything but never Ray. Never Ray. I am actually glad that happened because at least Sand knows that Ray is still hung up on Mew—even if some viewers will say that it is not love but more of the idea that he loves Mew. Again, Ray is still hung up on Mew (or has lingering feelings) and I am glad he stopped what they are doing. At least Sand had a heads-up, a warning that he is just a rebound.

If we go back from last week, people hate Mew for ditching Ray and P'Jojo had to explain that Boston and Syrup forced him to go home with Top. You will not see people making threads gaining hundreds of likes of how Boston is a bad friend for Ray—it is always Mew that is the face of betrayal. Never Boston because he is not a threat. Or Neo. Or Mark. Unless Nick hooks up with Sand. Lol.

This leads me to the conclusion that some of the viewer's hatred for Mew (or Book) stems from how he intervenes with the existing ship. People nitpick everything he does. Some shippers feel threatened about his existence—may it be in the series or real life. His ghost ship with Khao (or Ray with Mew) annoys the hell out of people. In some clips with Khao and Book sailing RayMew, fans are saying First is jealous and Khao should pay attention to him. This is somehow converted to how people pity Sand even more and dislike Mew in the series. Ray can be an alcoholic and Mew saves his ass multiple times but Ray can never do wrong. Even if he wants to drive while drunk. Never Ray because Ray is Khaotung. LOL.

Some are also saying that only Ray cared for his friend group when in the very first episode, the first cut at that, Mew is picking up Ray's drunk ass. Hell, he even reprimanded him (R) for picking fights while drunk. Now, people are saying that Ray should have continued the deed with Sand instead of taking care of his friend who does not care about him. That or people throwing a pity party for Ray by being a true friend when it was implied that Mew is always the table keeper, taking care of his drunk ass and it did not happen only once.

I know some of you are raising your eyebrows right now but I mean, everyone just tends to nitpick about Mew. Or Book. Before, I had seen people calling him bland and boring. Like a cardboard without personality. People are like: How the hell Ray even like him? Now that he is showing his true colors, people are calling him scheming and manipulative.

When Mew did not let Top go further from his advancements, some are criticizing him for acting like a kid and virgin (he is btw). When Top did not pick up his calls, people are saying that he is evil and manipulative. That he deserves it. When Boston does something problematic, people will say he just have insecurities and unresolved daddy issues. When Nick installed that in the car, people will say that he is just in love and obsessed. When Ray wants to crash his car, it is because he has mommy issues. That they are just kids and needs guidance but Mew? Mew is hated for acting like a kid aka stopping Top when he realized he is not ready. That he deserves getting cheated on. That he is the most evil guy. Hell, even Top, according to viewers cannot be an assault victim because he is not played by an actor who is a crowd favorite.

See what I mean people? Like make up your minds. You love to psychoanalyze other character's personalities and why they are behaving but Mew (even Top) has no excuses. Heh.

In addition, people are questioning why Mew did not call Syrup or Boston. Bruh, Syrup cannot drive. Boston is yeah, Boston. Also, some viewers say that Ray does not really love Mew but is in love with the idea of him or because Mew cares for him. Some even theorized that he has an Oedipus Complex. Now tell me, Mew does not care about Ray but the reason why Ray is still hung up on Mew is because he is caring? Make it make sense, please.

Some viewers will disagree with me, especially those who have a strong attachment to their own ship, but I wonder if they are still having fun going through hoops and hoops and throwing pity parties over characters? I, for real will still defend Mew but I acknowledge that he is gray. I wonder if they will combust if we get a RayMew kiss in the next episode? I wonder how they feel seeing everyone in the Only Friends casts are friendly with each other?

Anyway, I just said what I said.

If your hatred for a character is unreasonable and you see him as a threat (esp in real life). I think you need to reevaluate and ask yourself why. Or maybe you just need a Sand, a shrink. Either way, everyone in OF needs therapy.

Cheers to people who consume this drama for pure bliss and whatnot. The not-too-invested crowd with real ships. The messy crowd.

If the show is not for you and you want chummy cutesy BLs, you can save yourself, honey. This is Jojo we are talking about. If you think that you have the right to watch despite nitpicking everything (I mean we all have the freedom), okay. Please feel free to do so.

However, if you think this will not affect how others, even the directors, will see your fandom, I am speaking in general, well, you are in for a ride. Idk, be sensible I guess.

I do not even know how from an OF meta, I ended up saying something about fandoms. Guess alcohol in your system really does wonders. I will never hate the actors for their fans though. I just think that this is something that people need to think about.

Like if you have seen the reception in the F app and T app, it's more welcoming but the former chicken app? It is a more restrictive echo chamber that dismisses discussion because again, it is dominated by big accounts of shippers.

We are only in Episode 3, I hope everyone is ready for the chaos not just in the show but in the fandoms.

Anyway, I am done editing this. Hate me but I said what I said.

PS. For the Mew defenders out there, hi! I love you! For my cutesy Forcebook fans, how is it that we like unproblematic besties? Toughen up though! It's gonna be a war zone.

From your resident Mew defender until the end

XOXO, Yue.

[spyridonya]

How the Drow Became Problematic Faves - a Badly Written Meta History of D&D

Oh, hey. It feels like newcomers to D&D via BG3 fandom have discovered the Problematic Nature of Drow via Halsin vs Minthara conflict. 

Cut because of talk of racism and it being fucking long.

Let's talk about meta, first. So, the very first usage of 'drow' came from a dialetc of Scots as a term for troll, which was used to talk about all sorts of evil spirits. When Gary Gygax had to make a war game, he decided he'd make evil elves. They were based on 'black elves' in the Prose Edda and saw the word 'Drow' in a dictionary that claimed it was a term for underground elves who were skilled workers in metal. Being a white guy in the late 70s, he saw no issues in making evil elves actually black. For the next decade or so, they were canon fodder for modules and novels and always evil and repugnant. 

In the late 80s and early 90s, R. A. Salavotre and Ed Greenwood slapped on the concept of drow society being an evil dystopian society run by dominatrixes who emasculate men, in the Forgotten Realms setting. There were a few token dark elves, namely the super popular Drizzt Do'Urden, who were good but the majority were not. Like Gary, RA and Ed were white guys who did not see the problem of black elves and putting their kink into deep lore. Not all settings went by this, Dragonlance for example had drow just be ‘evil assholes elves who got kicked out of their society’ and look like just any other elves.  

(Quick note on Drizzt, he became iconic not because of his race but so much as being an outsider to two cultures while being a badass. I might not be a fan personally, but I know the appeal of the character.) 

The 90s came along and by the end of the decade, TSR was bought by Wizards of he Coast who proceeded to make the Drow even Grim Darker during 3rd edition  to go along with the times. Yet, too, didn’t stop to think about the problematic issues that were being brought up by more thoughtful fans - WotC hired another module company who wrote about  drow women being so fucking evil, they an orgasm like reaction when embryo killed each other in the womb. 

4th Edition came and went. No one talks about those times. Drow existed as evil. 

2014, 5e comes along and drow are so fucking popular, they’re included in the Player’s Handbook, rather in errata based books, as ‘humanoid’. In fact other evil races were introduced under the label of ‘humanoid’, indicating orcs and goblinkin. About a year later, Matt Mercer switched up his TTRPG to 5e because it was an easier system for his friends to understand, and they began to show their games online under Critical Role while a year after that Stranger Things came out and became a smash hit. 

Between these two, D&D explodes in popularity with an entirely new demographic group that began to outnumber the old guard. This larger and more diverse popular saw drow and other ‘evil races’ and went ‘wtf’. They didn’t exactly like the concept of ‘an always evil race’ and discovered the problematic issues that collected over the last several decades not with just drow, but with ‘monstrous’ races. 

WotC wanting money began to listen - just really slowly, and not so much in Forgotten Realms.They dropped the ‘always evil’ from the stat block but refused to change anything else to their older settings. 

(Incidentally, the company that made Grim Dark Drow really disliked 4e. They decided to make their own take of 3.5e with Hookers and Blackjack and made Pathfinder, which was supposed to be Edgier Game than D&D. However, a lot of people they hired were quick to notice the nature of the game and say, ‘nah, this shit is stupid’. As of now, Pazio is retconning drow from their lore. - That my friends, is called a character arc.)

During this 46 year span, drow have been fucking evil because their goddess made them do it as justification of their evilness - and not because they were black or born into it. In fact, Lloth, Gruumsh and Maglubiyet are the reasons why the Drow, Orc, and Goblinkin society is so evil and they’re also why they can function as a society when in truth, they all should have fallen apart. And no one has bothered to change this lore. In fact they avoid mentioning this lore rather than changing it to avoid conflict with older fans and newer fans. 

Then BG3 hits and hits harder than anyone expected. A lot of new fans come on aboard and really begin to like Drow, who are super sexy evil elves, not knowing the lore and kicking the problematic issues down the road. Larian was a bit quicker than TSR/WotC to realize ‘wow, this is fucking yikes’ and decided to make Seldarine drow. I’ve been playing since I was young teen, in the last years of 3.xe. I saw a lot of wanna-be Drizzt and Good Aligned Drow that were played variably, but there were a lot of people who loved the concept. While Seldarine aren’t a concept in TTRPG canon proper, the idea of Seldarine drow has existed for decades at tables, and Larian acknowledging that is something I love.

But they made Llothsworn Drow as the ‘lore compliant drow’ because WotC hasn’t changed drow in decades. 

The thing is, Drow being Problematic Faves isn’t because WotC is wildly racist on purpose, it’s just that during the majority of Drow being A Thing in D&D, they have been Sexy and Evil Villains and play the role of Misunderstood Outsider (though this recently has been taken over by tieflings).

In fact, I’m seeing a lot of new fans getting kicked in the teeth when characters react to a Llothsworn drow as flat out evil and not being judged by their actions, because they don’t know it’s been a thing in D&D for years with narrative excuses to justify in-universe racism. And then there are some players who make an evil Llothsworn drow and still get upset despite playing into in-universe reasons for the excuses of racism.

We’re seeing it as a reaction to datamined information with little context other than an abused white guy feels uncomfortable with an abused black woman - and it’s super hard to justify in-universe reasons for this because in the real world, a white guy is going to be listened to and believed regardless of it being true or not.

Essentially, the drow are a fucking mess due to D&D ignoring the racial implications of drow in the real world for nearly 50 years. The only way to fix it is making major lore changes, which is something they’re reluctant to do because they’re making their errata books so damn light on lore as to avoid conflict and the model sells.

Will this change with BG3? I don’t know. But I kinda hope so. 

[olderthannetfic]

/726901861182996480/ a lot of the Richard Siken response is honestly so homophobic, trying to come up with some sinister reason for why a gay man would be interested in writing or reading sexy fanfic about attractive men in a TV show. There was a viral post going around here by some person with a Stranger Things username (not insinuating that fandom is especially weird or anything, just that I remember this person had one of the characters from that show as their username) that suggested he was a creep or groomer or something because he had not responded well to a teenager basically wanting him to do her homework for her, but “he happily writes fanfic of shows for her age demographic” (or something like that) which is both a truly bizarre description of Supernatural, a show that’s always been aimed at adults even if it also has a fair number of teenage fans, but also is really clearly trying to invoke some sort of Groomer Panic in a time when that’s rising as a form of violent homophobia toward LGBTQ+ people especially those who are AMAB. And it’s just such a bizarre statement: even if we were talking about a drama that was aimed at teenagers, in what ways is it “groomer” for an adult to watch this show (lol, on the website that is full of adults freaking out over kids’ shows) or for that adult to find the adult characters played by adult actors attractive enough to write sexy fanfic about them? It’s just really obviously reaching for an excuse to call a gay man a groomer.

In general, I feel like this website has a serious problem (it’s been the case at the very least since the panic over CMBYN, and before anyone gets pissy, I’m not talking about anyone taking issue with the content of the film itself, but the people making weird insinuations about gay/bi men for liking it or “the gay community” for embracing it or over the bi male novel author’s own sexuality or reasons for writing it, etc.) where a lot of people who are not gay/bi men think it’s okay for them to make weird homophobic assertions about it, and generally not bother to question their homophobic beliefs about gay and bi men, because they themselves are some other kind of LGBTQ+. I’m a cis lesbian and a lot of this particular seems to come from cis lesbians and bi women, often trying to couch it in a general sort of skepticism that women as a marginalized group might have toward men as a privileged group, but then it only ever seems to be directed at men who are also marginalized such as gay/bi men (and also MOC) and specifically for things that are a result of those marginalized identities and that don’t affect women — NOT a situation where a man is using his marginalized identity as an excuse for misogyny or anything like that. Anyway, people need to knock that shit off. Not every person in the LGBTQ+ community has the same experience, and being, say, a cis woman who is queer doesn’t necessarily make you any better of an authority on gay or bi men’s lives than cishet people if you aren’t making an effort to talk to them or read stuff by them or learn about their lives, and certainly doesn’t mean you can’t be homophobic toward them — just like how in turn, queer men can be bigoted toward lesbians and/or bi women. I don’t understand how people can be aware of other kinds of intra-LGBTQ+ bigotry — cis gay or bi people being transphobic, gay people being biphobic, etc. — and not be aware that this is also a thing that can happen from other LGBTQ+ people toward gay men.

And being ANY kind of queer absolutely does not give you a get out of jail free card for buying into and disseminating the moral panics about groomers, “kink at pride,” “drag is problematic and always sexual” etc. which are used by the right wing to hurt all of us. This was bad enough in like 2018 as part of the perennial brain worms people on this website have about Pride (that are because way too many of them don’t leave their houses and actually go to a Pride parade) or when people could plausibly believe that “groomer” was purely about shipping discourse and maybe the occasional actually kind of creepy older adult in fandom spaces who spends a little too much time glomming onto teens specifically. But in 2023 you don’t really have any excuse for not being aware of how those terms have broken containment and are now part of regular right-wing propaganda, and particularly a concerted right-wing campaign to try to re-mainstream homophobia in places where it had become socially taboo. Your discomfort around a real adult gay man just enjoying fanfiction, which does not affect you, is not justified and you need to work through that. Using terms like “groomer” for fucking fandom discourse when it’s come to mean what it does in the broader culture is just completely morally reprehensible. Get a fucking grip

--

[primroserising]

Giving the Pretty Little Liars characters a Big Three... Pt. 1

"Friends share secrets. That's what keeps us close."

MATURITY RATING: 18+

SPOILER WARNING: If you haven't watched most of the show then this post may not be for you!

Hi all, this is my first post on Tumblr and I wanted to do something silly. I'm an astrology enthusiast but by no means a professional. Yes, some of my opinions or observations may be wrong or some people might not like them at all, but that won't stop me from making the fun posts I want to make.

Pretty Little Liars has always been my go-to comfort show when I want to watch a drama. I'm always happy to dive back into the PLL universe any time of the year, and I usually watch it during the fall/winter season when it's cold and I can bundle up and binge-watch many episodes at a time.

I will be including the less popular characters in part two as well, not just the main characters because I've rewatched the show over five times now and I've come to have an opinion on everyone. I'll also include some little tidbits in some character sections that don't pertain to astrology, so if you're here just for the big three, kindly disregard them!

WARNING: Really long post, with lots of gifs and pictures - read at your own risk!

Dividers by: cafekitsune

And now, without further ado, the first little Liar we will be analyzing is...

Aria Montgomery

“When you love someone, it's worth fighting for. No matter what the odds are.”

In my opinion, Aria is the quietest personality of the Liars and understandably also the most controversial of the bunch because of Ezra being a thing (oh brother…), and I have observed that many fans of the show generally don't like her for a multitude of reasons. That aside, I think every character on the show had their personal charm even if they were all problematic. The only time I really liked Aria was when she was with anyone but Ezra. And after the time jump, her character was less annoying (until she got with Ezra) and I thought it was neat that she had worked in publishing. I also liked her moments with Spencer (team Sparia!) and I always thought she was much better when she was with her friends.

I remember when I thought Aria was A at some point because she would do the "SHH" in the intro and it had sent me and my mom into a frenzy trying to come up with a believable theory that she was betraying the girls the whole time! Aria is my least favorite, but I still appreciate her because I can see a lot of myself in her, she and I share the same hobbies and some personality traits as well. I think Aria might either be a Venus or Neptune dominant because of the artistic and dreamy persona she has. Her appearance also reminds me of the moon.

Cancer Sun

Much like a Cancer, Aria cares a whole lot about her family and I think she's particularly close with her mother. Throughout the show, she displays lots of Cancerian traits and acts very maternal around her loved ones especially with Ezra (ugh), for example: bringing them food, making sure they're taken care of emotionally, giving them a safe space to talk about their feelings (I noticed she's usually the one that the rest of the Liars go to when they need to have an emotional conversation). She's also very bright and has many creative hobbies that act like a protective blanket for her when she's feeling emotional, e.g. reading, writing, drawing, and photography. I also noted that she's very protective of her friends and family and she acts like an angry mama bear when her loved ones are threatened.

Libra Moon

From what I've read, Libra moons thrive in partnerships, whether romantic or platonic, and they always try to keep everything balanced/harmonious. And for Aria, that sometimes means keeping secrets or telling little white lies (or even big ones) to keep the peace between her and her loved ones. There've been multiple times when Aria has lied for her friends and for herself to keep everything balanced between the group. She's also very intelligent and open-minded, made evident by her consistent interest in learning.

Libra moons also have trouble making decisions or making up their mind about things, and they often need a little nudge or push from their loved ones to make a decision and I think that matches up with attributes of Aria's personality as well. She's also very warm, friendly, and sociable and really just wants the best for her loved ones. And if I remember correctly Aria has had a looooot of relationships/flings throughout the show and I read somewhere that Libra moons are almost always in a partnership. And sometimes (this isn't every Libra moon, don't come for me) might start a new romance in the middle of their current one!

Okay, moving on to her Ascendant, I will go with...

Gemini Rising

I put Gemini rising for Aria because I read somewhere that mercurial risings or mercury contacting the ascendant can make someone look very youthful and bright. Also because she is a very mercurial coded person imo. She is very intellectual and has very quick wits about her. She's also very curious and excitable when speaking to others, and is actually very talkative when you get her going. Sometimes Gemini risings also get overwhelmed with the feeling of wanting or needing to do everything at once, and often have two personalities much like I observed with Aria. They also tend to like traveling and are usually very active and thrive on change, fast pace, and variety.

Okay, we're done with Aria, I hope the placements I gave her also make sense for you guys too - now the next little Liar we're moving on to is... *drumroll*

Spencer Hastings “Why enjoy today when you could be worrying about tomorrow?”

Spencer is one of my favorite characters on the show because every time I watch the show she constantly inspires me to be brave and more confident in my opinions. I also appreciate the actress, Troian Bellisario because she's so underrated, I think she and Ashley Benson (Hanna) carried the show with their comedic timing and great acting and should be more recognized. Spencer's character also really satisfies the wannabe detective in me and I looove that she's like a mini Sherlock Holmes. I like that she wasn't just a preppy rich girl and was actually very smart and investigative; she would've made a great detective if she went into the line of policework like Toby did. She's also very headstrong and sometimes a bit hardheaded.

Spencer is such a caffeine addict and I love it lmao but I don't see how some people drink just straight black coffee, I hate how bitter it is. I love Spoby (Spencer and Toby) with all my heart but I feel like she would've been a better match with Caleb or Alex (if they kept him on the show). She was also very cute with Wren (rip...) even though he was a little older than her. Toby is a great guy but I just never saw the chemistry with those two like I did with her other romances. Spencer being Mars and Mercury dominant makes a ton of sense to me. I think her having a fire grand trine in her fictional birth chart would explain how restless she is. From what I've read the keywords for fire grand trines are vital, bursting with energy, restless, enthusiastic, and prideful.

Aries Sun

Spencer being an Aries sun makes a lot of sense to me partially because of how hard she works to be the very best and is always charging headfirst into everything that she does whether it be schoolwork, playing detective, or protecting her friends. She's also very impulsive from what I've noticed and it often gets her into trouble or sometimes accidents. Aries placements are prone to accidents or injuries due to their impulsiveness. She never really thinks much before she does something and that's gotten her into some very embarrassing situations on the show (but we love her for it). She's very competitive and witty and also loves debating and is usually the one starting confrontations with people alongside Hanna. I also think it's cute that she is very energetic and an adrenaline junkie, I think she loves the thrill of dangerous situations, and that screams Aries to me. Overall a very chaotic and smart cookie, it's very easy to see why Toby fell in love with her.

For her moon sign, it was a tough decision to make but I'm going to have to go with...

Scorpio Moon

Scorpio Moons are so alluring, mysterious, and unbelievably smart. Spencer can be very intense. On multiple occasions, she's gotten called out for being a control freak by the other Liars in the group. As a fixed moon sign she can be very stubborn and assertive (I almost gave her Taurus for this one). She has an insatiable need to know everything at all times and often presses for more information any chance she can get. She also displayed exceptional intuition and was almost a little psychic at times which is why she was so good at being the detective of the group and also figured Mona out. She's a suspicious girlie and finds it hard to trust anyone that she doesn't already know. As a Scorpio moon and just a water moon in general, Spencer often experiences intense emotions and is prone to having breakdowns or self-destructing when things get hard. To people outside of her close circle of friends and family, she can seem very intimidating and hard to approach and even sometimes a bit snappy.

For her rising sign, we're giving her a...

Sagittarius Rising

I was going to give Spencer a Capricorn or Virgo Rising, but I decided that her being perceived as a Sagittarius would make more sense. She has a love for new adventures and exploration (prob why she snoops into places where she doesn't belong smh), and is quite curious. She also has a love for languages and I think it was pretty cute that she offered to tutor Toby in French, it reminded me of someone saying that Sagittarius loves learning different languages and teaching as well. Spencer is also very honest and direct in her communication though she has been known to be very humorous and sarcastic when it's called for. She speaks her mind freely and doesn't care what other people think about her opinions and she loves taking risks like they're a piece of candy or something. Also isn't afraid to call someone out on their bullshit or correct them if she feels the need to do so. She is skilled in verbal combat and isn't afraid to whip out some badass comebacks!

With Spencer out of the way, we have three more main characters to go, so let's get into...

Emily Fields

“Ruin one of us, ruin all of us.”

Emily is such a sweetheart omg. I loved how soft she was compared to the other girls even though she saw it as a weakness. I see a lot of myself in her character and she helped me become a little more confident in who I was. She was always in my top three for favorite characters for this show because I could see myself being really close friends with her. She didn't deserve all the trauma she got from Alison constantly toying around with her but I do think it made her somewhat stronger in the end. I am however still a little salty that despite all that, she and Alison still ended up being together but it looks like they might've been in a rocky situation if we go off with what The Perfectionists (what even was that show anyway) told us about the original couples of PLL.

I was so sad when Wayne died. RIP. He was such a great father figure for her and I liked that he was accepting of her. Her mom on the other hand was a mess for a while but I think she became better as the seasons went on too.

Emily and Maya were the sweetest couple and I was so sad when we got the news that Maya died. I feel like they were truly soulmates and even though Emily found other girls, I don't think she ever loved anyone as much as she loved Maya. Except maybe Alison.

I wish we got more of Emily dancing or doing more activities besides just swimming. It didn't make sense to me that she was the "jock" character but the only thing she really did was swim and that was about it. I could see Emmy doing soccer or tennis imo.

Pisces Sun

Emily is shy and soft-spoken and she almost reminds me of a mermaid which is really funny since she's known for being the swimmer of the group. She's very romantic, compassionate, friendly, artistic, and intensely empathetic which is why her being a Pisces sun fits the bill perfectly. A kind and gentle soul, I think her soft disposition is very valuable to the Liars and she is often there to provide emotional or moral support when the girls need it. She's also the most likely of them to cry if she saw a cute animal or something that reminded her of her childhood. I know that's sort of specific but still it's true. She also loves to dance and is pretty good at it imo (even though no one knew until that fateful episode with Hanna's pageant training...).

Taurus Moon

Emily's emotions are honestly very stable and fixed; and when she is in partnerships she is able to stick to them (usually). She loves connections and is able to charm anyone she sets her eyes on. Em is very trustworthy and loyal to her loved ones and honestly has very good taste when it comes to style and decoration. She is very persistent and determined with anything she takes on and doesn't appear to have a lot of patience for flaky, or people who create a lot of drama in her life. She is almost always very patient with her friends, family, as well as herself and I think that's a very admirable quality to have. I think the Liars needed her because she can be very dependable and loyal. Taurus moons can also be more responsive than active and that's sometimes why they can come off as passive or immovable.

Emily's ascendant is...

Cancer Rising

I gave her a Cancer rising because Emily's aura is so soft and angelic and she gives the best hugs. If PLL was a supernatural drama, I think Emily would definitely have healing powers or be a literal angel with how sweet she is. Everyone always views Emily as the weakest link or the least likely to do any harm to anyone and I think that's because she has such a soft disposition to the point where people think she's a pushover. As a Cancer rising she sometimes takes things personal and does have a bit of a mean streak but I think her Taurus moon helps keep her grounded most of the time when it comes to her emotions. I see Emily as very supportive and tenacious, the girl's been through a lot and she still shines as brightly as she did in the first few episodes of PLL. Also her skin sometimes appears to be moon-kissed and she looks so good in silvers and blues so that's another reason why I gave her a Cancer ascendant.

Woo, that was a doozy. Stealing the show is...

Hanna Marin

"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool my best friend, you're dead freakin' meat."

Hanna Banana is also another character that is very near and dear to my heart. I appreciated her character so much and I'm glad she wasn't just a "dumb blonde" like some characters thought she was. She was actually very smart and if Spencer wasn't the brainiac of the group I think Hanna would've at least been runner-up. I have so much in common with Hanna's character and I appreciate her so much - she's definitely one of the most memorable characters on the show and I also think she had some of the best lines. From saying, "Please, Jenna can't hear us, she's blind," to "Read her boobs, the girl loves Christmas." She's always cracked me up and I think she's so entertaining to watch. I also loved her character development throughout the seasons but got a little disappointed with the Caleb x Hanna x Spencer triangle that happened in the later season and it kind of annoyed me.

Hanna and Caleb are my favorite couple in the series although I really liked Spencer and Caleb too. I was torn apart with that whole love triangle storyline and it broke me. I like that Hanna decided to become a fashion designer. I guess her love for shoes, pretty dresses and fashion really paid off lmao. A part of me kind of wonders what kind of couple Hanna and Lucas would've been although I really loved their friendship, too.

Leo Sun

Hanna is definitely a fire sign through and through, and I almost gave her Sagittarius because her actress, Ashley Benson is one, but I think Hanna's personality and overall character fits a Leo more than anything. She definitely has a very bright and sunny disposition and radiates a confident aura to those she is around. Hanna loves shopping and she loves sparklies; good shoes, pretty dresses, eye-catching jewelry that reflects the bold, charismatic and fierce personality she has. It's no reason why she was known as the popular queen bee of the school after Alison's disappearance. Leo suns love to be admired and they bask in the compliments when they look and feel good. On the negative side they can be very self-absorbed or narcissistic and Hanna's definitely had her moments. While she is usually confident and well put together, Hanna is a soft and sensitive person deep down and can have some insecurity issues. I also believe that past Hanna (when Alison was still around) embodied a undeveloped Leo sun and after Alison she started gradually shifting into a more developed Leo sun and I think that's made more evident when Caleb rolled around.

Hanna's moon sign is...

Cancer Moon

This is so generalized and cliche but since Hanna has a beautiful, unbreakable bond with her mother and I wholeheartedly believe Hanna would do anything for her mother, just as Ashley (her mom) has shown that she'd do anything for her. Hanna cares a lot about her loved ones and seems to turn into this bright ball of sunshine whenever she is around them. I think she's an amazing friend to have and anyone that knows her is very lucky to have her. As a lunar Cancer she can be a little moody and sometimes snaps at people when she feels overwhelmed, but on the other side she can be very empathetic and has a reliable intuition or "gut feeling" which has helped her on multiple occasions. In relationships and friendships she can lean towards being maternal and sometimes unintentionally smothers the people she's closest to. I think Hanna is generally very sweet and her helping Caleb come into his own was a very beautiful story and really spoke to her character. She also has a strong lifeline to her past, like all Cancer placements, and her past often haunted her - but I think talking about it with Dr. Sullivan really helped her get over a lot of things that happened with Alison.

Aries Ascendant

Hanna has always given me Aries vibes. She sometimes acts before she thoroughly thinks things through and that's definitely gotten her into a lot of trouble. Like any other fire placement, her temper can go from zero to one hundred pretty quickly and it can be scary when she's mad. It's often hard for Hanna to sit still or contain her emotions; it's usually written all over her face. She's always moving around and if others get left in the dust, that's their problem. Part of the reason why she worked so well with Caleb was because they balanced each other out. He was more calm and a little more rational and always had to talk her out of being rash or talk her out of doing something completely stupid due to her emotions being high. I think she's also pretty clumsy and her bumping into people (and sometimes impulsively kissing them lmao) or things a lot is an Aries or Mars conjunct ascendant type motif for me. I think her and Spencer sometimes butt heads because of the sun - rising connection and them being a little too similar in that way.

And now for the OG queen bee herself. We'll be analyzing...

Alison DiLaurentis

"It's immortality, my darlings."

Alison, Alison, Alison. She was such a problematic character but I loved her in the flashbacks. I think when she came back her character and charm really started declining and it's kinda sad. But nonetheless, Alison was obviously the big talk of the show for a reason. She was the kind of person you loved to hate or hated that you loved her and I think Sasha Pieterse really slayed her role. Alison had everyone in the town wrapped around her little finger and it took the girls quite a while to get away from her grip. I think Alison would definitely destroy Regina George in a battle and probably some other popular mean girls too. I enjoyed watching PLL because I was so obsessed with finding out what happened to Alison, and when we finally found her and got to know what really happened that night I started sympathizing with her character. I think deep down, she was probably a very sweet person but over time became corrupted and tucked her soft side away where no one would ever find it because all of the trauma and terrible situations she went through. This is probably gonna be a longer analyzation, we'll see.

Alison and Emily were not my favorite couple at all but I appreciated how Emily was a very evident soft spot for her and it showed a bit of her emotional, human side. I think Mona and Alison would've made pretty good friends if they didn't get off to such a rocky start. They're honestly so much alike and I feel like if Alison wasn't such a bitch to Mona in the beginning she would've had no reason to run away from Rosewood in the beginning like girl.

I don't really think Alison had one decent romantic interest besides that one cop that everyone forgot about. And I guess Emily.

Scorpio Sun

Being a water sign, Scorpios can be very intense and have a magnetic aura around them as well. Everyone either wanted to be with Alison or be Alison herself. Despite Alison always being the center of attention and the apple of everyone's eye, no one really knew that much about her, not even her friends. Scorpios are known to be extremely private, or even secretive about what they truly think or feel. A developed Scorpio can be known to be creative, healing, transformational, loyal, determined, intimate, and overall very passionate in everything that they put their mind to. Alison spent most of her teenage years being an underdeveloped Scorpio; constantly manipulating and cruelly criticizing people, even her friends. She also had a very sharp tongue and wasn't afraid to bring out her claws.

She knew everyone's secrets and had no problem using those secrets against them and boy did she do a hell of a lot of blackmailing. Alison was very vindictive and quite destructive as well, and I believe she had what could only be called the opposite of a Midas touch; everything she touched always became cold and she would often suck the life out of the people closest to her so she could feel better about herself. She only became more developed as the seasons went on, and I'm sure in a world where Marlene King didn't write that horrible storyline between Ali and Emi we would've seen more of that character development from Alison.

Capricorn Moon

I've put a lot of thought into this and I think Alison may or may not be a Capricorn moon. With all the trauma and obstacles she had to endure, she always found a way to get right back up and try, try again. She strove to be successful in everything that she tried to do with her life and actually acquired a mass amount of wisdom from all of her experiences which I think would've made her a great counselor if they had went that route with her instead of just making her a teacher. Having the moon in detriment, where Cancer is one of the most sensitive and responsive, Capricorn is usually more controlled, disciplined, and strategic. Sometimes they can even be unemotional, and it often looks like Alison turned her humanity off like the vampires do in The Vampire Diaries. Dry humor and sarcasm are often the go-to deflection mechanism for Capricorn moons when they are dealing with uncomfortable feelings from themselves or other people.

Alison was a bit of a pessimist and often slipped into moods where she was very hard on herself and felt like she was stuck or had to be the person everyone remembered her to be. But I think Emily (and her friends, but especially her) was the light at the end of the tunnel for Alison with how nurturing and patient she was. Emily might've gotten mad at Alison and there were times where she couldn't deal with her anymore but I don't think Emily ever gave up on Alison and that probably meant a lot to her as a Cap moon and I think their relationship was a good example of a Capricorn-Cancer connection. Also put Capricorn moon because of Alison's mother being very strict and not very nurturing at all - often a very karmic connection.

Aquarius Rising

Aquarius risings are known for being unique, intellectual, individualistic and having a "freaky" or weird personal quality about them that just makes them stand out. Ali definitely had a thing for books and seemed to be very knowledgeable even though it appeared she never cared that much for school. Aquarius placements are unapologetic for the way that they are and are confident in themselves. Cliché, but where the crowd goes left, Aquarius risings go right - they walk to the beat of their own drum and some of them might even have a god complex. As a fixed air sign ruled by Saturn, they can be aloof like Aquarius moons and self-righteous like some Aquarius suns. Alison had a very hard time admitting when she was wrong and having a predominantly fixed chart she was also very stubborn and controlling as well. On a lighter note, Alison did always constantly show up her friends and Aquarius risings are known for being committed to community and being humanitarians - but only to the people that they choose. Even while she had been on the run from Mona, she came back to Rosewood to see her friends and even save them on multiple occasions. It seemed to everyone that Alison didn't have a heart, but I think her friends eventually brought out the warm and caring person she actually was deep down.

I hope you guys liked this post! A lot of time and effort was put into this and I'm excited for people to read what I've written about these characters. If you guys want a part two with the other characters, let me know!

And if you have any special requests for other shows, my asks are open as well!

If you've made it this far, I hope you have a lovely day and thank you for reading all of this. It means a lot, and I hope you'll stick around for my other posts as well. Leave a like, reblog, and keep being you!

XOXO,

Zara

"We'll be friends forever."

[talesdevourer]

The issue with the Elain’s week made me think about fandom in general.

I’m not going to say those same things about censorship, tags, etc. But I wonder since when the need to question our own morality in shipping and having fun in fandoms (as long as you have respect for other people)? I’ve lot of experience on Tumblr and ao3 and this is the first time I see fictional characters treated like they were real life persons, or people being judged for their ships/likes.

I dont want to look down on people traumas and personal triggers, right now I can read almost anything but there’s been a time I was highly upset by suicide or the mention of it so I understand how triggers work on someone. That’s why, to live happily in a community, knowing how to block and filter tags is super important and tags and warnings are ALWAYS NECESSARY. But that’s not my point rn.

I’ve read posts saying that , for example, if there were content about Gwyn with her assaulters then people would go rage so it’s the same for Tamlin. And even if this example isnt even right and there’s no need I explain why… this kind of content probably exists yet I don’t see anyone raging. Fanfictions with Elain with all the Vanserras exist too and I’m not here to question the morality of these because I DON’T CARE, I just filter what I want to read and see.

I wonder if the group of people who state these things are even aware of how fandoms work. Or know why ao3 exists in the first place. Or never met tags like ‘dead dove do no eat’.

And yet the acotar fan contents are the less “bolder” I’ve even seen in my fandoms history.

I’m not writing this specifically because of Tamlin, but cause I hope this is not the start of a behaviour (not only in the acotar fandom but in others too) who will claim to protect victims when actually is just censoring and shaming for some people.

And I will end this post packed with grammatic errors saying this: I’ve had a problematic adolescence, I suffered some serious things and I’m very sensitive about mental illnesses/mental health, and when I was younger in those moments I felt alone the most, there wasn’t a place I felt more safe at than fandoms communities, with all their issues however there I felt the acceptance I couldn’t find irl.

[petty-pumpkin]

Might be controversial but I've got to say this.

So we all know that the soukoku fanbase has a toxic side right? Right.

It was very talked abt how a big part of skk shippers were toxic and blah blah blah. How you would say you liked a ship nd they would come at you, right?

Well, I just want to say that ppl who STILL say this are dumbasses, honestly.

First, to prove my point, I just wanna say that EVERY fanbase has a toxic side, there's no way to deny it, there's always that one mf that ruins the harmony in a fandom and has to be a pain in the balls.

Now, ik that a big part of the skk shippers WERE toxic af, more than the average of toxicness in a fandom, not going to deny it.

BUT THAT WAS BEFORE BRO. I remember that in 2020/2021 it was FULL of toxic skk shippers. You litterally could not like any other dazai or chuuya ship w/o being attacked for it by a cray cray skk shipper.

Because of that, the skk fanbase has a really bad fame, and it's known for being 1- very fucking passionate abt a fictional relationship, and 2- very fucking toxic about said fictional relationship.

In 2022, the toxicness was becoming less. Of course the toxic shippers were still in the shadows ready to attack, but they were less than b4. Now why were they less? Bc ppl actually fucking complained abt it and stopped acting like the skk fanbase was a normal one.

In early 2023, other dazai ships begun to have more popularity, and it stopped being only dazai and chuuya. This was also the era when ppl actually started to understand dazai's character a little better than before and stopped being blind ass mfs. Thanks to this, a LOT of skk toxic shippers disappeared or matured to realize that ppl have different fucking opinions.

Of course the fanbase still had quite a variety of toxic shippers inside of it, but they started to eradicate fast.

Now we're heading to the end of 2023 and I had not ONCE in 5 whole months seen a toxic skk shipper ever again. It's like they rlly disappeared. And I gotta say, that there's obviously still a lot of toxic shippers out there, ik that, but I'm still really proud bro.

Like, it's so nice how an entire fanbase maturated that much in such a short span of time, the mha fandom could never.

Anyways, having said this, I just want to sincerely say, WHY THE FUCK DO PPL STILL SAY "oh i hate skk bc of the shippers" LIKE WHAT.

Ok, first of all, it's totally fine if you dislike skk, everyone has their own opinions (weird opinion, yeah, but I still gotta respect it bc I'm a normal human being (not rlly)) but using that lame ass excuse that litterally every idiot uses when they dislike a popular ship?? Yeah no. Just say u don't like the ship and move on. We, as a society, (a group of shippers) have maturated enough to understand that not everyone has the same taste as us, WE WONT JUDGE YOU IF YOU DISLIKE A SILLY SHIP FROM A SILLY SHOW ABOUT DEAD GAY AUTHORS, EVEYONE HAS THEIR OWN PROBLEMS BRO, WE DO NOT CARE IF YOU DISLIKE IT OMG 😭

BESIDES, why the fuck do you hate a ship bc "oh no the shippers are kind of really intense when someone doesn't agree with them" like ???? Bro, how the fuck do the shippers affect the canon relationship between chuuya and dazai??? Do you see them making a pact with the devil so asagiri could make their ship canon???? That's litterally a monkey's train of thought.

Anyway, it litterally makes no sense if you dislike something bc of it's fans or creators. That's like saying "flashing lights" by kayne west is a bad song bc kayne is a son of a b1tch. Like, kayne is truly a dumbass, but the song is fire. BESIDES, IT'S NOT EVEN ASAGIRI HIMSELF IT'S LITTERALLY THE FANS, AND NOT EVEN THAT BC MOST OF THE TOXIC SHIPPERS ERADICATED FROM EARTH MONTHS AGO.

It used to make sense b4, but now it doesn't. Stop attacking skk shippers for litterally nothing when they stopped being THAT problematic a while ago.

Like rlly. It makes zero sense.

[halfmoth-halfman]

Wait why the SJM hate? Honest question I had no idea she was a bad person?

ok so i've gotten quite a few asks like this and i'm gonna answer them all here. sorry anon, i'm using your ask as my little soapbox for a moment.

explanation under the cut- fair warning it's long and talks about racism, misogyny, abuse, and rape/sexual assault

this is also gonna be the one time and one time only i address this because i'm a CoD writing blog and (and i'm gonna sound mean here) google is free and if a bunch of people, especially a large group of poc (and more specifically black people), have said an author is problematic and you don't take the time to at least listen or do your own research on that author that's your own fault and willful ignorance.

for some of the other anons asking who sjm is: sarah j maas is an author most famous for her throne of glass (tog) and a court of thorns and roses (acotar) series.

for people who want to say i don't like her because i haven't read her book: i was, at one point, a fan of hers and have read every single one of her books.

sjm and her works are presented as ya and for a lot of people, much like how harry potter and jkr were for my age group, her books were probably their first pick up at around 13 and their first introduction to the ya fantasy genre, to ya romance, or to sexy scenes.

the problem is, her books are hailed as "feminist" titles, when all she does is romanticize these extremely toxic and straight-up abusive relationships between her characters as romantic. the moment the dark, broody love interest is introduced, the female mc loses all agency. (this isn't just an sjm problem, but she's who we're talking about right now)

(tw: rape/sexual assault/abuse/misogyny)

you're given a protagonist who's supposed to be intelligent/capable/able to take care of herself, but as soon as the male love interest (who you can tell sjm likes far more than the female mc) swaggers in, and become a part of the story. the moment the heroine starts to fall, she becomes a side character in her own tale: all of her motivations, her purpose, her desire are now only about furthering this broody mystery man with shadow powers and his ambitions. it may be said that they're equals, there might even be a few tender moments of false hope that the heroine is going to get her spot back as the main character of the book, but it's all a façade. she is and always will be subordinate to the male love interest, and every other man she comes across. and sjm has a big problem with making it clear through her writing that really, it was never the heroine's story in the first place, it was always the man's.

@happysharkintensifies put it best in this post:

It was never her story in the first place. It was his. She no longer makes decisions or takes initiative for herself; it's now for him. It's no longer about her mission or goals or desire; it's now about his. It's no longer about her struggles or pains or hardships, it's now about his. And it's not just her story that's stolen from her. Her personality, character and strengths are wittled away as well. If she's competent and skill at something, then she'll suddenly have the rug pulled out from beneath her by a man who inexplicably outclasses her. If she's confident, well-spoken, and respected, then she'll suddenly become tongue-tied, flustered and condescended to by a smirking man who's somehow more witty and eloquent than she is. If she has ambitions that don't immediately revolve around men or relationships, then she'll suddenly have her mind changed by a man who'll make her forget and discard her goals in favor of his. If she's disinterested in, or indifferent to men, she'll suddenly become infatuated with and softened up by an excessively attractive man almost instantaneously. And, worst of all, if she confronts him for his gaslighting/manipulation/violence/abuse, she'll suddenly find her anger and will crumbling as the story and narrative excuses and forgives him for his misdeeds. Worst of all, she'll be forced to admit that she's wrong."

and to especially add on to that last point, in the acotar series, feyre (the golden white woman) is raped and sexually assaulted by both of her love interests. and when it happens at the hands of rhysand (sjm's favorite brooding love interest) it's described and romanticized as an act of protection- he's doing this for her benefit, and it's not allowed to be brought up in a negative light because he's assaulted her for her own good. the amount of times women in her series are abused/gaslit/manipulated/killed and it is framed as romantic because she's either in a relationship with the man doing it or because he "likes" her is quite frankly disturbing and is a shit message for her majority teen fanbase who are reading these books and solidifying that same stupid rhetoric we all heard as kids that "if a boy hurts/bullies/is mean to you that means he likes you".

there's also the trope she seems to favor in her books of "only good (and mostly white) girls get to keep their powers".

good girls put their man first. they're modest and humble. they need to be saved by a big, strong, brooding man with a dark past. they would never wear revealing clothes and are so so scandalized when they have to be paraded around half-dressed for a plot point. they only fuck when they have to or are forced to because any sort of sexual agency is immediately looked down upon by their man and god forbid they disappoint their man. they're often mistreated by any man they meet and will take the abuse and thank the man for the treatment because they're a good girl.

they're not like other girls, the bad girls.

bad girls are too independent. they're too strong, too proud, too into their looks. they need to be put into their place. how dare they be seductive, wear revealing clothes, sleep with whomever they want.

@ekileh puts it well in this post:

feyre is the literal holotype of a good girl. she puts everyone else, especially her male partner, before herself. she is a little more selfish at the beginning of the books, but she undergoes a lot of character growth by acowar/acofas. in acowar i think it makes her compelling because she’s so recklessly brave that it almost sets her allies’ efforts back (it’s almost a mistake!) but everything always works out for her. but by acofas, when she’s wearing herself to the bone doing charity work, she’s become a martyr. she also is forced into wearing sexy clothes (by rhys) and they don’t do anything sexual until there’s, of course, only one bed. she’s so OP her powers eventually get nerfed for plot reasons (nesta, elain, and other side characters need a chance to shine, so feyre gets pregnant, shielded, and now has a baby to protect so she probably won’t risk herself unless anything threatens nyx), but her powers are still there. she still has control and agency over her powers. she’s just choosing not to use them or put herself in harm’s way because she’s now a mother. nesta, amren, and aelin are bad girls because they are selfish, proud, difficult to get along with. we don’t know much about amren’s sexual history but we know aelin cockteased rowan for months, and nesta made her way through velaris and jumped right into bed with cassian—not for love, but for a distraction—once she was confined to the house of wind. (i know feyre claimed her one bed moment with rhysand was for a distraction as well, but she wasn’t really in the same place as nesta where sex was an active self-destructive coping mechanism for her. and she later admits to rhys she was lying about wanting distraction to protect herself.) and yeah amren and aelin gives up their powers for the wars and nesta gives up her powers for……a wider pelvis. because bad girls can only be redeemed by sacrificing their power. good girls will gladly sacrifice their power and lives, but they are always spared. bad girls may offer their lives too (as amren and aelin did), but even if their lives are spared they never get to keep their power like good girls do. (and of course OP men always get to keep their powers.)

(tw: racism/homophobia/ableism/abuse)

before we get into this next part: i am black, more specifically a queer black woman living in america.

it's no secret that sjm's books are severely lacking in diversity. there's the illusion of diversity with the "dark" brooding love interest and his gaggle of equally broody assholes- the slight tan, or golden bronze, or light olive skin meant to placate readers looking for more representation. and sjm knows this, so she gives them a setting and culture that's a poorly picked apart and reduced version of real life non-white cultures without any care of thought.

and what representation people of color do get in her books are almost the same as most other popular fantasy novels (looking especially at you, game of thrones):

they're the dark-skinned savages, the uneducated and violent

they're the conquerors, the people who have been harassing our straight white girl main and ethnically ambiguous faves and need to be put in their place

they're the former servants or slaves who are rising against their oppressors but aren't doing it in a polite or kind way the mc's deem fit so their often valid points are immediately dismissed

they're the beautiful, strong seductresses who are in the way of the perfect white mc getting with her dark, broody man so they must die, often in an unnecessary or extremely violent manner

sjm says she supports the black lives matter movement, says that there is diversity in her books, and then in the same breath will prop up and praise art for her books that blatantly whitewashes what few characters of color there are, she will give the excuse that it was her publishers who lightened these characters skin without her knowledge because, of course this character who she's never described as anything other than tan with european features is actually supposed to be a character of color,

she will use the death of a real black woman murdered by police as a way to promote her next book (link)

it is exhausting and unbelievably hurtful, to have to watch as an author (especially a non-black author) who has shown no respect towards her black characters or any of the real cultures she boils down to basics for her books praise herself and let her fans praise her on having diversity in her books, blatantly and carelessly use a movement meant to bring to light and discuss the violent ways black people are murdered at the hands of the police to promote herself and her books where black and characters of color exist only to be killed and black and poc women are fridged for white pain.

it is also hurtful as someone who is a part of the lgbtq+ community and disabled to have to sit through books that contain things like:

this woman identifies as lesbian, but she's going to be in a love triangle with men and will suffer unbelievable amounts of sexual abuse and violence at the hands of men so her lesbianism will disappear because sleeping with men is her trauma response

all bisexuals are threesome sex fiends

magical cures for disabilities because how dare someone not want to be "normal"

it's not abuse if it was done for your own good followed by the outrageous lengths sjm goes to in order to redeem male abusers and rapists like rhysand, and tamlin, and eris to the point where some of them get the best happy ending but then violently murder all female abusers in the most horrific ways

look, at the end of the day, sarah j maas is a popular author. she writes (imo) mediocre books that are really only for white women/teens/young adults to live out their tall, dark and handsome mystery magic man fantasy. but she's famous, and more than happy to let her fans speak over any valid criticisms black and people of color have brought up over her writing, and her acts as a person.

she will never go away, most likely never change or acknowledge or take responsibility for things she's said/done/written, her fans will probably never care or give a shit about these problems, and as long as people continue to support her and buy her books she won't give a shit either.

all i can do is curate the content i consume to ensure i don't have to see or deal with her or her writing.

if you're a fan of hers- fine, you do you. i know there are people who i'm sure are perfectly nice individuals who are fans of her and i'm sure there are people of color who enjoy her books- that's entirely up to them. i'm not going to go around telling people to not read her books, or go into spaces for her fans to scold people over their like of her. If you want to read her books and support her despite the harm she's caused and the criticisms poc have spoken about, that's on you and i have little respect for you.

i know i sound mean in some of this, but this is my blog and i'm sure there are hundreds of other blogs out there ready to sing sarah j maas's praises. so, if you're a fan of hers and don't want to see criticism of or any type of negative feelings towards her or her books, i am going to politely suggest that my blog is not the place for you.