#Blue’s flaws and not manic pixie dream girl her! I will do this by *calling her out* on every judgemental or prideful or combative trait

[cabeswaterdrowned]

There’s something about Adam defending Gansey to Blue while also kind of defending him from himself, but also he’s probably glad to have Blue there partly because she’s like him enough to share some of his criticisms of Gansey and Ronan but because she’s less encumbered by performance she’ll just say these things and he gets to kind of play the opposite role while taking satisfaction that someone is saying them if that makes sense. Kind of goes along with him relishing Ronan’s shock when he invited her, yes he wants to go on a date with her regardless but like I said he could choose to do something else with her, but as someone hyper aware of power dynamics he wants her here to sort of be a barrier that keeps him from giving into being ‘one of Gansey’s things’ (him tightening his grip on her hand when Gansey’s looking is so. interesting) while also making himself seem more similar to / equal to them by comparison to her. There are posts I’ve seen mostly in older fandom that took Blue to task for kind of using Adam as an in to the group while also a barrier between her and Gansey / the fate she’s resisting and they aren’t incorrect that it’s unfair of her but I never find the sentiment of ‘pwoor Adam being used by Blue’ sympathetic because like, they’re pretty equal in that regard consistently. For reasons that make perfect sense for two inexperienced teens with a lot of baggage in their first relationship + … unconventional complications lol. 

[astudyinfreewill]

adam ronan are my favorite characters but hennessy and jordan are joining that list. i guess what i'm trying to say is thanks for always defending hennessy in your posts i don't get why so much people hate her ive only hit 100 pages in call down the hawk as well as read spoilers and your amazing metas and so far i think she and jordan are great hennessy is a complex character just like every one else is in trc and call down the hawk. i wish people gave her a chance like other characters.

you’re very welcome, nonny!

i’m not sure why so many people are struggling to connect with hennessy, but it’s a complaint i’m hearing a lot, both about her and about carmen (jordan seems to be an exception - i mean, fair enough, how can you dislike jordan? - but then again she’s also a love interest so that adds ~spice~ to her narrative).

what i do know is that women in fiction always seem to be held to a different standard than men. men are allowed to be nuanced and troubled, women are either Good or Bad, either a Strong Badass or an Annoying Bitch. a female character who is flawed will generally get much more flak, and much less empathy, than a male character. gansey self-pities as much as hennessy, ronan avoids his feelings just as much, yet people have no trouble connecting with them.

basically, the only female character type that a lot of people will root for unreservedly is the Manic Pixie Dream Girl, which... it pains me to say it, but i will say it... blue sargent is a pretty good example of. but even then, it’s not a fair treatment, because the MPDG is held to a standard of “quirky and lovable spitfire who can do no wrong”, and so blue never gets taken to task for her faults and flaws.

i guess what i’m saying is: please try to empathise with female characters, and see them with the same nuance you do the male ones. 

...then again, we’ve had 4 books to learn to love the gangsey -- i didn’t fully fall in love with ronan until the middle/end of book 2, and now he’s my favourite alongside adam -- so maybe the further we advance in the trilogy, the more people will grow to like and understand the new characters. i just hope they’re given a fair chance, that’s all.