Line #51 WMG/TheClique


1	[[WMG: The books are actually a stealth warning to ''not'' act like the Pretty Committee.]]
2	One of the things on the Fridge page under FridgeHorror is that these girls are going to be seriously fucked up when they're adults. If any tween girls who read these books figure that out (and I'm sure ''some'' of them must have. Tweens are smarter than you think), well, why would they ''want'' to act like them? I pray to God that this is true, because if it's not, I really fucking hate these things.
3	* WordOfGod says she wants the books "to teach readers how to treat and respect themselves and each other in an entertaining way."
4	** Well that is vague.
5	** Seems to be confirmed, surprisingly enough. According to the author [[http://lisiharrison.com/2014/08/13/calling-all-cliques/ here]], "[her] point in writing the Clique was not to glorify hate and competitiveness and superficiality among girls...Rather to satirize it and show what real strength is though characters like Claire and Layne".
6	** To an extent yes. In modern times thanks to a bit too much academic-pandering we sometimes lose sight of the larger spectrum. If we want storytelling to be fair we have to let the pendulum swing to both sides. Having a series where the lead characters are ones you don't like isn't any kind of automatic defending their behavior, but it is a way of giving a voice to the other side. It isn't exactly "fair" you only let the good role models get all the stories, why not flip the script and let the bad ones tell the story and see how it goes? Historically speaking series like this have to reach a certain level to stay in the spotlight, they are an important counterbalance that some would rather be pushed aside to our own detriment.
7	** It's important to bring up the different perspectives for those tropers who don't get into these debates on a frequent basis. It is important not to paint everyone into one side but generally this breaks down into two general sides which we'll call academic and historic here. The Academic side often believes we should champion fiction that respects the values we wish to impart and shame/ignore ones that don't. It believes in leading by example. The Historic side on the other hand believes in fair balance. Where both sides should be allowed equal distribution and people should have the independence to choose which ones are better. The academic side would tell books like The Clique series are more dangerous because they put spotlight on characters who we shouldn't glorify, and that not shaming them will allow people to follow their lead. The historic side would tell you books like The Clique series offer people a chance to see these interactions from the perspective of a different side. They'd argue having them is an important part of allowing people to learn to disagree with how the characters act instead of just being told not to do something. When you hear stuff like this on a regular basis, academics often fire back that historics are reckless and should learn certain things are okay to be left behind. Historics then fire back the academic side are just worried with freedom people may in fact choose not to agree with what they wanted to teach which threatens their authority. Don't worry though folks, people will be having these same arguments long after this was written, why? Because they've been having similar debates for centuries before this was written. Series like The Clique wasn't the first to spark these debates nor was it the last.
8
9	[[WMG: This is a StealthParody.]]
10	It has to be. ''It HAS to''.
11
12	[[WMG: This is a SelfInsertFic made by Massie that's RevengeFic about Claire and WishFulfillment for the entire Pretty Committee]]
13	The real Dylan is genuinely overweight, and real Alicia is flat-chested and HollywoodHomely. Not sure about real Kristen, though.
14	** Or this is all a wish fulfillment fic by a girl with emotional/psychological problems who wishes she was popular and rich.
15	*** Or actual wish-fulfillment by the actual author herself! (hey, you can't prove me wrong!)
16
17	[[WMG: Massie is a sociopath.]]
18	Does horrible things with no motivation? Check. Cold nature? Check. Controlling nature? Check. Lack of guilt? ''Big'' check.
19	** Plausible, but Massie has been shown crushing on boys. Most sociopaths feel no attraction to anybody.
20	*** According to my source, some sociopaths are overly promiscuous. But you have a good point. More sociopathic traits Massie has: views people as objects and not ''people'', early behavior problems in childhood, lack of a realistic life plan, overly self-centered.
21	*** Going off of treating people as objects, did Massie ever find herself attracted to a boy because of his personality, his dreams, et cetera? Nope. It was mostly based off "hotness", the status she would have as girlfriend of the boy, or how the boy made Massie feel important. Even Landon's endearing attraction to animals is just Massie seeing her own characteristics in him.
22
23	[[WMG: A sequel book will come out taking place after high school]]
24	It will be dark and disturbing, but ''oh so satisfying''.
25	** There is a book called ''Bass Ackwards and Belly-Up'' that's about a group of girls in their college years and (though written during the same time as the first Clique novel) considered by many (including [[WordOfGod the author herself]]) to be a SpiritualSuccessor. ''Unfortunately'', it's about as far away from Dark Fic as you can get.
26
27	[[WMG: Alicia and/or Massie has Narcisstic Personality Disorder]]
28
29	[[WMG: Massie will become a future series' BigBad]]
30	If you thought she was bad as a middle-schooler...
31
32	[[WMG: The series was originally going to turn into a downright {{Deconstruction}}]]
33	It never happened due to ExecutiveMeddling or something like that.
34
35	[[WMG: Dylan has an eating disorder due to stress and depression caused by Massie]]
36	This one should seem almost too obvious.
37	* Pretty much confirmed in the prequel.
38
39	[[WMG: Claire is the group's new Kristen]]
40	They would be (or ''were'') considered "[=LBRs=]" before they were adopted by the Pretty Committee and they both end up being pretty similar to the point of almost being interchangeable.
41
42	[[WMG: The Pretty Committee (not so) secretly despises Massie]]
43	Throughout the series, there are ample (actually, ''tons'') of hints that the other girls are at least aware that many of their problems stem from Massie's incessant intra-group bullying: Dylan struggles to avoid being bullied over her (perceived) weight, Kristen and Claire are afraid of being labeled as "[=LBRs=]" and [[TheStarscream Alicia]] [[KlingonPromotion just wants to get Massie out of the way so she can be the new Alpha]]. Which leads to....
44
45	[[WMG: ''The Clique'' '''''is''''' a {{Deconstruction}} - the proof was right there in front of us the whole time!]]
46	It's not about other girls being bullied by the Pretty Committee - it's about the Pretty Committee being bullied ''by itself''. Specifically, how the other girls continue to suffer from Massie's bullying, but are too afraid to do anything about it. Not only that, but Massie adds peer-pressure for them to further bully each other.
47
48	[[WMG: Massie is a young alternate universe DistaffCounterpart of [[Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy Joruus C'Boath]]]]
49	Since there's probably not a lot of crossover readership between ''The Clique'' and the Star Wars EU this warrants background: Joruus C'Boath is a Dark Jedi who, unlike the Emperor and above all things doesn't want to control all people in the galaxy (which he sees as a given anyway) but specifically wants to have complete control of ''all other Jedi'' to the point where it makes up his entire motivation and planning in the Thrawn Trilogy (including his repeated and failed kidnappings of Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade to try to bring them to the Dark Side). Massie isn't so much concerned about ruling the other girls at OCD (which she sees as a given anyway). She wants to have power over very specific girls whom she thinks will be worth more of her time. There's even very similar speeches and diatribes given by both Joruus about how Jedi are far superior to normal humans which is eerily similar to Massie's speeches and diatribes about the importance of ''Girls Like Us''
50	** Does this mean Alicia is Grand Admiral Thrawn then?
51	*** And Kristen is Captain Pellaeon!
52	*** So is Dylan Mara Jade then?
53	** So The Clique is an AU High School retelling of The Thrawn Trilogy!
54
55
56	[[WMG: Massie and/or Alicia's lives took a steep downturn after the events of this series]]
57	* I would really like to see a fanfic based on this idea.
58
59	[[WMG: ''[[Literature/TheHungerGames The Hunger Games]]'' is a RevengeFic written by Layne]]
60	Katniss is [[CatchPhrase ah-bviously]] Claire and Peeta is Cam. Glimmer and Clove are Massie and Alicia. "Foxface" would be Kristen, [[spoiler: since Kristen is also Layne's (secret) BFF and caught between two worlds, so Layne has her not trying to kill Katniss and Peeta and has her die of an accident]]. President Coin (in the sequels) would be Mrs. Burns the OCD Principal. I don't know where Dylan would fit in though, or who Rue, Prim and President Snow would correspond to.
61
62	[[WMG: ''Series/GoodLuckCharlie'' is a SelfInsertFic written by [[ActorAllusion Kristen]]]]
63	This way Kristen gets to live out a fantasy life away from the Pretty Committee where things would be "normal" and she wouldn't have to stress out about maintaining her scholarships; her [=BFFs=] would be Layne (Ivy) and a much, much nicer (albeit dumber) version of Alicia (Skyler). She would also have a much more normal family closely resembling Claire's (complete with her own version of Todd - Gabe) in the middle of the country, far away from Westchester.
64
65	[[WMG: ''Series/{{Jessie}}'' is a Self-Insert Fic written by Dylan]]
66	Instead of being a somewhat shy girl with body issues, she gets to be a confident and proud young lady living out on her own in the Big Apple, living a glamorous life as the au pair of one of the world's most famous and glamorous couples. She still occasionally alludes to her "real" life in how Jessie was treated back in Texas and how Massie (Darla) is still much richer than her.
67
68	[[WMG: Massie is JustForFun/OneOfUs]]
69	That's why some of the [=WMGs=] on this page keep mysteriously disappearing!
70
71	[[WMG: ''The Clique'' was inspired by ''WebAnimation/TeenGirlSquad'']]
72	Think about it: both series are about air-headed fashion and boy-obsessed girls in popular cliques, and both even have a girl named Kristen in it! ''The Clique'' would just be a version played entirely straight. ''Teen Girl Squad'' predates ''The Clique'' by a couple of years so it's entirely plausible.
73	** What's Her Face is Claire. Called it.
74	** "Ehmagawd. That Miu Miu lace cami and those Louis Vittons look SOOOOOO GOOD!"
75
76	[[WMG: One of these days, Layne is going to ''snap''.]]
77	And she'll go a {{Film/Heathers}}-style killing spree, killing everyone who did her wrong. Alternatively, ''Claire'' will snap and Layne will be her partner in crime.
78
79	[[WMG: Alicia is a victim of sexual abuse.]]
80	Her parents made her get implants, what more proof do you need?
81
82	[[WMG: Alicia's dad is a ConArtist.]]
83
84	[[WMG: Massie Block later becomes Blair Waldorf]]
85	After moving to England and living there for a while, Massie and her family later move back to America, this time in New York. She changes her name and keeps her spoiled and self-centered personality, continuing to rule as Queen Bee.
86
87	[[WMG: Massie is a closeted LipstickLesbian]]

Context WMG / TheClique