anti-tog

Anyway Moriel shippers whining about Mor being gay can suck my dick lol.

Is it probably tokenism? Yes. Is it probably going to be lazy, last minute representation? Yes. Do any of you homophobes using these things for your complaints actually fucking give a shit about whether or not it’s tokenism? No! You’re just homophobic, so stop pretending like you actually care about the quality of gay representation!

I can’t believe some of you actually have the audacity to to say shit like “this is coming out of nowhere” and “Mor just doesn’t SEEM like she’s gay” and “but poor Azriel!” and “but I wanted Moriel to happen!” and “I’m not saying I don’t want representation, I just don’t think it should be Mor.”

First of all, if you’re straight (and most of the people complaining here are) how DARE you say anything about Mor “seeming gay” or not. How DARE you. What the actual fuck could you possibly know about it. Nothing. You could know nothing.

Second of all, of COURSE you don’t think it should be Mor. You CARE about Mor. Mor is beautiful, bubbly, funny, smart, outgoing. Her storyline is important to the main plot. She’s survived tragedy and emerged triumphant. You relate to her. And most of all, you want her to get together with a male character. And for her to be GAY? Oh no! Now this is ruined for you. Now she’s not perfect anymore. God forbid gay people have a gay character with positive traits they can look up to and relate to in a series. God forbid ONE character out of a TON of straights had to be made gay and now you can’t relate anymore.

I’ve seen multiple people say “I like the representation, but I thought Mor should be with Azriel and Amren should be gay. Why couldn’t it be Amren?” This. Is VERY telling. Amren is described as not overly beautiful, she has a more abrasive personality, and most importantly, she doesn’t seem interested in any kind of romantic relationship. At all. Her being gay would not get in the way of ANY of your straight romances/ships/plots. It probably would’t even be brought up a lot, because it’s doubtful she’d even be with someone. So people saying that Amren would have been a better candidate feels very much like “Ugh, the gays can HAVE that weird freak Amren, but it’s not fair they get that pretty girl! How can MOR be gay?? What about the boy I want as her boyfriend?”

So many people are shielding themselves from being called homophobic by saying “I want a character to be LGBT! I want there to be representation for LGBT! (Just not THIS character)” Well that’s bullshit, first of all because the way you say “LGBT” instead of “LGBT characters” or “gay characters” kinda reveals the way you view representation as some nebulous kind of check-the-box category to get over with instead something actually important, and second of all because the “LGBT representation” that you’re “all for” is a very specific kind of representation. It’s the kind that isn’t really representation at all.

You’re “all for LGBT rep,” but you never actually want characters you LIKE to be gay. You never want the characters you ship in straight relationships to turn out gay. You want the ugly characters, the evil characters (who are going to die anyway), the characters who never end up in relationships, (and the “smol bean xD” men who you fetishize and ship with other men, but that’s another issue) to turn out gay. That way you can pat yourself on the back for how good and diverse your series is while continuing to enjoy the main straight characters in their straight relationships. That way you’re never forced to invest in the humanity of gay people and their stories, because their “stories” are just a casual mention of their sexuality, or a side plot so tiny it might as well not exist (like in tog).

And as for “poor Azriel!” do I really have to tell you why that’s fucking dumb? I guess it’s not uncommon in this fandom to always prioritize men over women (re: “poor Rhysand when Feyre had to sleep with her abuser that must have been so hard for HIM!!”), but still. Listen to yourself.

On top of all of this, I find it pretty funny (I don’t. I don’t find it funny. At all. None of this is funny it makes me want to vomit) that straight people are throwing a tantrum and acting like it’s the worst thing ever that a ship they were passionate about couldn’t work out because of the characters’ sexualities. HAHAHAHAHAHA! The irony of it, honestly, and the fact that none of you realize it… wow. Do y’all. Have any idea. How many times that happens to gay readers? On a REGULAR basis?? The two characters are similar. Have good chemistry. Interact in a way that hints at a relationship. Would be perfect together. You care about them, you grow invested. And just when you think they might be endgame… oops! They’re straight, and they can’t be together. I don’t have an ounce of pity for people saying that they’re SO upset by this because they were in love with the ship and now it can’t happen because of sexuality. This is our LIFE. It happened to you one fucking time, and the relationship wasn’t even that developed; somehow I think you’ll be okay.

To sum it up, when I hear people complaining about Mor being gay because they thought she should be with Azriel, literally all I hear is “wait but gay people are fine only as long as they don’t get in the way of straight ships and characters :( why can’t they stay on the fringes of the plot where they belong and leave us straights alone :( we used to have 100% of the characters and plot and now we only have 99% :( life is so hard :(“

2/2 but after the Middle Ages, king jure uxoris becomes less common (when Mary I of England marries Phillip II of Spain, a specific bill is passed to prevent him from gaining too much power). So it’s possible for Rowan to be king, but these examples are kind of rare, and tbh, tog doesn’t feel that medieval to me. I mean, I think it’s supposed to be a run of the mill generic medieval fantasy land, but it feels more 19th c to me

Hmmm, now why would that be of all choices. Not to entice anyone towards anything, but BDB is all (adult) vampire erotica:

The leads are 6 ‘vampre brothers’ names: Wrath, Phury, Zsadist, Vishous, Rhage and not-so-long-human Butch (aka Dhestroyer after he turns paranormal)

They all are over 6 ft, either long haired or trimed, brutal in combat, and don’t forget the eight-pack toned abs and lean built.

They all call/refer to their mates as female/woman/never by their first names.

Thus, automatically kicks in the territorial alpha-male syndrome.

Their dicks are humongous and what’s weird is that they always have an erection ‘escaping their pants’.

For a bunch of powerful vampires (ever) they crave for one thing above all: Violence, and yes, ding-dong. It’s actually the women who crave blood the most.

Don’t get me started on the tragic back-stories (poor lot indeed).

“Faster than lightening, his hand shot out and she gagged, jolting as he grabbed her tongue between his fingers…He released her tongue, and she gasped for breath. She swore at him, a filthy, foul name, and spat at his feet. And that’s when he bit her. She cried out as those canines pierced the spot between her neck and shoulder, a primal act of aggression–the bite so strong and claiming that she was too stunned to move. He had her pinned against the tree and clamped down harder, his canines digging deep, her blood spilling onto her shirt. Pinned, like some weakling. But that was what she’d become, wasn’t it? Useless, pathetic.” (Heir of Fire)

“Aelin slumbered beside him, her breathing deep and even, yet again wearing one of his shirts. Some primal part of him snarled in satisfaction at the sight, at knowing she was covered in his scent.” (Queen of Shadows)

“Empire of Storms”

get it she’s s.j.j.m because she wants so badly to be g.r.r.m. this has been a very bad joke, thank you and goodnight

“officer, THATS the woman who killed my wife! i’d recognize that silver hair and those high cheekbones anywhere!”

A character with an ambiguous skin tone and/ or racial identity is not good representation, even if you headcanon them as a POC. The likelihood is that the writer also perceives this character as white. Stating white skin tone/ race is often unknowingly perceived as unnecessary, due to our (society’s) gross, internalised bias that the ‘default’ is white.

Do not give credit to the author for allowing their characters to be headcanoned as POC. A headcanon is something you or a group of people believe, but not necessarily the author. If the author wanted true representation, they would have downright and concretely stated their character’s skin colour/ race in the texts of their work. By all means, headcanon race, but just be wary about giving credit where credit is not due. No one deserves brownie points for doing a sloppy job.

Stating a character is “tanned” or “olive-toned” is also not good representation. These are often considered ambiguous terms because, first and foremost, white people can be tanned. Olive can work, but there is dispute over whether it’s is similar to using tan, so it’s generally not recommended to use it.