Geralt and Ciri

THE WITCHER

Some Thoughts About Race in the SJM Universe

Obviously everyone knows the shitstorm that is going on over SJM characters in both ACOTAR and TOG.

(Frankly, I haven’t read TOG in depth so I can’t really speak for it as well, but I’m going to try)

Let me just preface this by saying three things:

First and foremost, I am a woman of color and a goddamn feminist. I know the importance of POC in mainstream media. It is not my intention to overlook or look down on issues regarding POC representation.

Secondly, I am not a visual reader (as some people may recall from my Tamlin the Yeti post). I don’t visualize characters as being of any race; that’s why I depend heavily on fanart. To me, characters are blobs of characteristics that just happen to have names.

Finally, think about the universe that ACOTAR and TOG are set in. Sarah has created such a definitive world of people who are obviously of different ethnicities. And as a writer, I can tell you that for me at least, race is the last thing on my mind when I build my characters. (Which probably has something to do with my characteristic blobs, but whatever.) Yes, it’s a current issue. Yes, our society has been predominantly white for too long. But for many people, physiognomy comes last..

There are two main race issues I’ve seen on Tumblr:

1) whitewashed fanart and fancasts

2) killing of POCs to further the adventure of the white characters

To #1: There is no excuse for this, really. But I’m 99.99999999% sure that artists will politely recognize their whitewashed art as a mistake and fix it. No need to get pissy all the goddamn time for what could be fixed in one PM.

To #2:: Strap yourselves in, because this is going to be a long, aggressive rant.

Is this an issue? Yes. Should you keep screaming bloody murder at Sarah for it 24/7? No.

And I’ll explain why.

This is a societal problem. It’s no secret that POC are hired in the TV industry as minor characters. Cab driver, IT person, receptionist. This is a mainstream issue. It’s one we need to fix.

But unlike those bitches in the TV industry, I don’t fully believe that Sarah meant to sideline POC, at least not in the TOG universe. Yes, everyone who died was a POC. Yes, that’s weird. But I also don’t fully believe Sarah constructed that world with the idea of killing off all the POC characters to further the journey of the white protagonist.

If anything, it shows that there is an abundance of all-white main casts.

SJM didn’t do that for ACOTAR. The Illyrians are canonically POC—they are tan. Not just suntan. Their skin is not white. Sarah has said herself that Rhys is not “pasty white.” At least four out of the seven courts of Prythian have leaders that are POC (Night, Day, Dawn, Summer). Feysand is an interracial couple. Nessian is an interracial couple. And I believe Drakon is a POC as well (and maybe Miryam)??

So yes. There are race issues. But they’re not ones we haven’t seen before. YA lit is filled with them. That doesn’t mean it’s right, but stop attacking Sarah from problems that are broadly present across the industry. There are plenty of bigger issues with bigger authors that no one seems to care about. I didn’t hear anyone complaining when books like Fangirl or The Fault in Our Stars featured all-white (or almost all-white) casts.

Stop hating on Sarah when she’s given us worlds where people are actually repsented. This is not an issue she fucking created. Stop acting like it is.

Okay, but Daniel Arlington and Richard Gansey would be best friends.

Let's review:

I love these boys, guys. If you liked the Raven Cycle, I really think you'll like Leigh Bardugo's Ninth House. It has a similar vibe of wonder and magic in modern life.

both kinda died but not really

I know he turns out to be a bad guy, but I’m reading Shadow and Bone for the first time and wow I’m a slut for the Darkling holy shit.

don’t worry honey, we all are

some of you never experienced the “this isn’t available in your country” situation and it shows

Unpopular Grishaverse opinion but I’m not a fan of Neelam gill??

Like she was great as a fan cast and god white washing is literally one of the worse things that could happen to the show but,,,,,, neelam gill is a model??? She has never acted before??? Idk if y’all are TSC fans but kat McNamara who played clary was in sort of the same position, and the acting was really bad????

Like I want my girl inej to be portrayed amazingly— not just a model that *looks* like inej.

THIS

Books with Morally Ambiguous Characters

I thought I might share my personal favorite books with evil or morally ambiguous characters since you’ve all shared your favorites.

Vicious

(main character is awesome and very grey)

The golden compass

(really goes into detail what evil and good really mean and has a ton of morally questionable characters in the second book)

The Bartimaeus trilogy

(main character does a lot of bad shit for selfish reasons but you still love him anyways somehow?? And there’s a lot of themes involving systematic oppression and propaganda manipulation and ethics)

The curseworkers

(the main character is constantly put into situations where he has to choose the lesser of two evils. Not to mention mafia families)

Six of crows

(do I even have to say…?)

Howls moving castle

(howl is seen as morally ambiguous in the beginning because of his reputations, so this technically counts. Also I love this book to death)

I hunt killers

(so the main character is super psychopathic and manipulative and overall a creepy ass person. He’s always questioning whether or not he’s truly a good person or just pretends to be or is hiding something worse. This psychological thriller is fucking incredible and underrated.)

The name of the wind

(the main character is the most realistically human I’ve ever met. He’s so real I can touch him. He’s also very morally ambiguous in ways I can’t say because it’s all spoilerly)

Artemis Fowl

(greedy selfish 12 year old criminal mastermind kidnapps a fairy for ransom money. What I love about this series is that he grows throughout the books and his character is constantly developing. He is definitely morally ambiguous and has no problem embracing his cunniving and devious nature)

The Cruel Prince

( every character is an asshole. Every. Character. No excuses, no secrets, just pure assholes. And you’ll love them)

The lies of Locke Lamora

(one of my ALLTIME favorite books. Locke lamora is like a darker shade of grey. He’s selfish, slightly murderous, incredibley human and very handsome. This motherfucker is the leader of a group of conmen who steal money from the rich but keep it for themselves. They are grade A smart assess and they have to make actual hard choices that really determine their character. I’m not gonna say more because there’s no way I can fit this masterpiece into a small summery bye)

The wrath and the Dawn

(The Prince is such a morally grey character. As you read on you’ll question whether or not he actually kills his brides or if there’s another deeper mystery to him. His choices are very questionable and very….bad? I can’t describe how amazing these books are)

everything dorian havilliard did in kingdom of ash: iconic

Manon and Dorian

Okay, I’m going to get this out before I get to a point in KoA where something horrible inevitably happens either to or between these two, and say that I really appreciate how seriously Manon takes Dorian. The majority of the other characters, especially Chaol and Aelin, are always like “It’s Dorian, he’s innocent and weak and needs our protection.” This is especially obvious in CoM and HoF, but it happens in EoS too. Manon doesn’t see Dorian like that, perhaps because she doesn’t meet him until he’s possessed by a demon in QoS. Regardless of why, Manon realizes that Dorian has been through Hell and is a different person because of it (something that I don’t think Aelin ever realized in EoS and that Chaol hasn’t had the chance to because he’s been in Antica). Manon is able to recognize Dorian’s strengths and capabilities in ways that Aelin and Chaol–who are still caught up on book 1 Dorian–can’t, so she doesn’t see the need to protect him.

So basically what this ramble boils down to is that I just about die every time Manon mentions something about Dorian acting like a blue-blooded witch because all I’ve ever wanted for him since book 2 is for someone to acknowledge that he’s powerful and capable in his own right. Also, if Sarah J. Maas is going to break these two up it better be because one of them dies and not because they just get in a fight.

When your whole squad backs you up in a fight but you music af.

Thanks for 1,000 notes guys 💕

i’m just mad that they were able to hide 2 whole people + trombones behind one person that’s amazing

when everyone in the campaign is a bard

It’s not even ok how accurate this is.

It gets funnier the earlier in the semester you reblog it

Sarah J Maas: mates are a very rare thing

Also Sarah J Maas: you get a mate and you get a mate

reblog if you want more interaction w your lovely followers

You folks are honestly amazing at interacting with me but I always love getting asks and messages from you about anything and everything so feel free 😊💕

j e s u s

psa

since the 100 is gonna be on a super long hiatus i kinda wanna change this blog into more of a multifandom blog. i wanna start with following a bunch of new blogs since i kinda only follow the 100 based ones atm. so … 

reblog if you post about 

have a great day y’all!

♡ rose

leigh and some fans: “the darkling is dead”

me: