biird._.nest

First, I think it's worth acknowledging that book Alby and movie Alby feel like very different characters. The same is true for several characters, honestly (namely, Minho, but Thomas too). I watched the first movie before I read the books, so my first impression of Alby came from the film, where I felt pretty neutral about him. When I later read the book, I was surprised by how much harsher and more intimidating he came across, especially in his early interactions with Thomas. Of course, he had every reason to be stressed—he'd just become the leader of a group of teenagers trapped in an impossible situation—but that doesn't necessarily make him immediately likeable from a reader's perspective.

I also think it's important to remember that we're experiencing the story almost entirely through Thomas' eyes. Thomas is intimidated by Alby and openly says he doesn't really like or trust him at first. Since these are YA books with a close POV, readers are naturally encouraged to share Thomas' impressions. By contrast, Thomas trusts Newt almost immediately, so readers tend to warm up to Newt just as quickly (which also explains why Newt became a fandom favourite). Whether that framing itself unintentionally plays into racial stereotypes is a separate discussion, and I do think it's worth having. But I also don't think it's fair to assume that every reader who came away liking Newt more than Alby did so because of conscious racial bias.

As for my own fic, my decision honestly wasn't based on Alby's canon characterisation at all. I'm a Newtmas shipper, and for me, Thomas and Newt are each other's only romantic pairing. Over the years, I've had some negative experiences with people trying to convince me that I should ship Nalby or Thominho instead, and in some cases, that crossed into harassment or personal insults simply because I didn't share their preferences. Looking back, I think that frustration influenced my writing more than I realised. I wasn't choosing Alby because I thought "this character would canonically be abusive"; I was reacting to my experiences with parts of the fandom and projecting my frustration with them on their preferred pairing.

That said, since people pointed out to me how common the "abusive ex Alby" trope actually is, I've had to reconsider my own writing. I genuinely wasn't aware that I was contributing to a larger pattern, and that realisation is one of the reasons that fic has been on hiatus for some years now. Even if my intentions weren't racist, intentions don't erase impact. If a trope consistently casts one of the few Black characters in that role, it's worth asking why, and it's worth reflecting on.

At the same time, I also don't think the conversation is as simple as saying, "Anyone who dislikes Alby is racist." There are legitimate reasons someone might not connect with his character, just as there are legitimate reasons to dislike any character. The important part is recognising when those individual preferences become a broader fandom pattern that might reflect unconscious bias.

One thing I also found odd in the responses to your post here was dismissing Frypan's representation!? While I also don’t agree with the take made that Alby wasn’t that important a character (he was, maybe not that much to Thomas, but definitely to Newt and Minho!) Even if his race isn't explicitly stated in the first book, he's widely understood within the fandom to be Black, especially because of the films. I don't think ignoring Frypan helps the conversation. Representation matters across the board, not just for whichever character best supports a particular argument.

on vacation rn and didnt feel like finishing this sketch but here it is :P

finally animated heavy breathing minho 🤭 maybe he was being chased by a griever or smthing 😀

but like…Becky, of course LGBTQ+ people existed before Stonewall. We’ve all existed since the beginning of time. But the movement got a shock to its senses, a jump-start, a rocket-into-space when that glass shattered via Marsha P. Johnson, and when Sylvia Rivera was up on-stage protesting guess who was on the sidelines heckling her?

Without a trans black woman, LGBT+ rights would not exist. Never forget. Never “pay it no mind”.