REBLOGGED ON December 1, 2014

I see hate tossed around towards a lot towards people who don’t support After (as a book and as a movie) and don’t worship the author. I see people getting hated on and bullied because they can’t bring themselves to like the piece of trash people call “literature”.

I’m about to break down some of the arguments I’ve seen After fans using to defend it.

1. "You only hate After because you’re jealous of Anna Todd and all her success!"

No. Just no. No one is jealous of Anna Todd. Literally. No. One.

Anna Todd is an absolute joke. She’s a married, twenty-five year old, unemployed woman who does nothing but sit around and write nasty fanfiction about a man five years younger than her, in a boy band, no less. She can’t write for -it’s all repetitive, tasteless bull. Literally the only things she’s got above me are a husband and her age. Why would ANYONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND be jealous of her? Why would anyone want to be known in the world as “the girl who wrote Harry Styles fanfiction in her mid twenties”? She isn’t anything new, she isn’t anything special, and she hasn’t changed the face of fanfiction, except for probably making everyone view people who write fanfiction as disgusting fangirls with no lives. I would rather be homeless than be known for the garbage she’s written.

2. “Even her husband supports her! Why is it so hard for you to?”

If you honestly, legitimately believe that her husband is 100% okay with his wife writing out her fantasies in fictional stories starring a man from a boy band whose fans range from ages 5 to 18, then you’re delusional as . It’s so easy to pretend you’re okay with something when you’re really not. What man would be okay with their wife writing One Direction fanfiction at 25 years old? Please get your heads out of your asses.

3. “She changed the names in the book! No one will ever know it’s Harry Styles or One Direction fanfiction!”

She barely changed the names. They’re pretty much the ing same, using the same initials and fairly the same letters. Also, anyone with internet access, a computer, or a phone can EASILY find out the origins of After. It would take two seconds, and by this point, EVERYONE knows that it was a 1D fanfiction. Why? Because it’s been all over the news, it’s on her ing instagram for God’s sake, and all her fans are not talking about Hardin, Zed, Landon, Logan, and Nate; they’re talking about Harry, Zayn, Liam, Louis, and Niall. There is absolutely NO WAY for Anna Todd to keep people from finding out that After is a Harry Styles fanfiction, and changing the names did NOTHING.

4. “After doesn’t have any abuse in it! It’s a touching love story about how no matter how messed up you are, you can be loved!”

After is literally a story that condones abuse. Harry is manipulative, abusive, an alcoholic, and tries to dominate Tessa at all times. He dictates who her friends are, he controls her actions, and continuously ruins her life because he “can’t stand the thought of being alone or without her”. He pushes her around, yells at her, calls her names, and insults her and the people she loves. I don’t know what planet you’re from, but on earth that is ing abuse. And it’s not okay. There are girls as young as twelve saying how much they wish they had someone like After Harry in their lives. There are people who think the way Harry treats Tessa is healthy, and they aspire to have a relationship like Hessa. After is teaching girls that abuse is okay so long as he’s attractive and has a ed up past. So that means that none of his actions are his fault because his life , right? That means that he’s allowed to pressure his girlfriend into even when she doesn’t want it because he had a bad childhood?As long as he says he loves you afterwards it’s okay!!1! Even after making a bet with his friends that he can take your ity, saving the bloody sheets with plans to use them as proof, and looping you into a contract for the two of you to live together so that, it’s okay because he said sorry!1! It’s okay that he knows you’re vulnerable because you have no ual experience besides him and you’re a freshman in college, far away from home with every friend of yours also being friends or relatives of his. You’re so vulnerable and your life is now built around him; your internship, your friends, your relationships, your living situation, your closest friend since childhood that’s relationship is now tarnished because of him. It’s okay because, even though he cheats on you and talks down to you and gets drunk all the time and treats you like , he’s cute and characterized after Harry Styles. Right?

Not only does After teach that domestic abuse, or any type of abuse, is cute and lovey dovey and desirable, and that your boyfriend or significant other constantly keeping tabs on you and belittling you and dictating your life is okay, so that teenage girls who have that as an influence now believe so as well, but it’s going to further tarnish the career of an innocent celebrity, someone whose reputation will never be able to recover afterwards.

Anyone who thinks that After doesn’t glorify, romanticize, or promote domestic abuse and alcoholism can believe what they want. but they’re ing wrong.

5. “After is perfectly written and Anna Todd is so talented!”

After is terribly written (even for a first draft). There’s zero characterization, limited plot, and tons of cliches. The story line is built off of the same three elements in each chapter: , fighting, and drinking. Typos litter the book and the lack of proper use of commas and punctuation, along with failed attempts at proper dialogue, is abominable. I’d be okay with all of this stuff, if it weren’t for the fact that it’s being published. I would be fine with After existing, despite my hatred towards it, if the writer (I’m using this term loosely since I’m a writer myself and I definitely do not want to be be categorized with the likes of Anna Todd) wasn’t receiving a six figure paycheck and selling the book rights for it to become a movie.

Not only have young girls been put in harms way with the belief that a relationship like Hessa is something they want, but I think we constantly fail to forget that Harry Styles and One Direction (as a brand and a band) are being affected too. Anna Todd is portraying the boys of One Direction as the exact opposite of who they really are, and basically ting on their namesakes.

What originally caused me to dislike the story was that the entire relationship between the two main characters was based off of a humiliating, violating bet. Tessa, the female protagonist, stayed with Harry, who should be the antagonist, yet is also portrayed as a protagonist, despite the horrid situations he puts her through. It’s sickening. It’d be different if this was a story about a girl persevering and getting out of an abusive relationship, but Tessa constantly went back to Harry, constantly took him back even though it was OBVIOUS she should have dumped his , and her character taught girls that in a relationship like that, an “I’m sorry” and an “I love you” can fix everything. It’s teaching girls to take back guys who abuse them.

Anna Todd romanticized abusive relationships and not only is she getting published and a movie deal, but she’s also getting six figures for portraying a celebrity she claims to like in a way that could be very harmful to him emotionally, the people close to him, and his career. What kind of sick person does that and feels proud of doing it? How can anyone support something that encourages all these things?

All in all, After is disgusting and foul, as well as Anna Todd. Supporting After being published and made into a movie would not only be harmful for young teenage girls with minds that soak up information like a sponge and consider every influence that’s presented to them, but towards a young celebrity who’s done absolutely nothing wrong. I’m not saying supporting After makes you a bad person, but it definitely doesn’t make you a good one, either.

*drops mic*