Well, since The Sith Resurgence is garnering attention again, I wanted to focus in on one of the more easily overlooked but (I think) interesting of her Writing Tips, in relation to Aliana and how Lily doesn't consider her abusive:
(94) Vampires/Werewolves are not inherently "LGBTA-Coded" and doing so is an example of othering. They work better as metaphors for aristocracy and predators respectively than as the "Underclass."
I'm sure most of you see the problem here, but since we know Lily likes to sneak through the thread, let me actually explain.
First, I admit I've never actually seen vampires and werewolves represent 'LGBT+' peoples. They've been used for plenty of metaphors in the past, and maybe I've missed a particularly dumb cultural wave on this, but I've never seen them specifically LGBT. Werewolves in particular are used as a very broad metaphor in popular culture, for anything from puberty (a lot of YA werewolf stories will feature the wolfening as part of growing up, as a metaphor for the painful, confusing changes kids go through as they enter adulthood) to basic animal instincts that even human adaptation can't fully control. I guess an argument could be made for 'representing' LGBT+ people in that werewolves are oftentimes ashamed of their nature and have to hide what they are against a world that fears and loathes them, but anybody who thinks that kind of repression is exclusive to LGBT+ people has a very limited worldview.
However, the thing that struck me about this was the vampires and how Lily things they're a metaphor for 'the aristocracy'. I assume this is because vampires are routinely displayed as having fantastic fashion sense and a lot of money (which is commonly a side effect of their long lives and mystic powers giving them a better opportunity to put themselves in positions of authority and influence). They are not 'a metaphor' for aristocracy, they are commonly portrayed
as aristocracy. They are literally aristocrats. That's not how metaphors work.
They are, however, a traditional metaphor for sexuality. They are, very
very commonly, meant to depict
sexual predators.
They are, by nature of their undeath, very much older than their victims. Vampires are usually represented as being very human (rather than animalistic, like werewolves) and so oftentimes rely on human guile against their victims. 'Wild' attacks are usually performed the way an assault in an alley would happen -- getting a person alone before the attack -- but vampires will also lure in their victims using their charm and elegance. Vampire attacks are profoundly intimate, indistinguishable in most depictions from a lover's kiss on the neck, and the act of feeding is oftentimes portrayed with a nearly (or overtly) sexual bliss on the face of the victim even as they're being drained of life. You'll even see depictions of vampires (if lore allows) taking victims who willingly allow themselves to be fed on without being killed, which is oftentimes indicative of a manipulative, abusive relationship.
But vampires don't attack the way werewolves do. They don't leave behind the kind of burtal physical evidence that a werewolf does. Therefore, they are not predators.
Even though they literally are.
When I first saw this is really put into perspective why Lily refuses to acknowledge that her characters are sexual predators and abusers. If the abuse isn't physical, then it's not actually abuse. If you look good and insist that it's love, it's not actually abuse. Aliana is a predator -- preventing Rey from forming real connections to anybody but herself, taking her away to locations Rey doesn't recognize so she is reliant on Aliana, Aliana sets herself up as older and more mature and capable and makes herself the only authority figure (nearly the only person at all) that Rey can look up to and trust, she talks over Rey and removes all of her agency when they go visit Luke (which I believe in this treatment is Aliana's idea? At the least she's the one that does all the talking while Rey just follows her and Luke around like a puppy). She makes sure that Rey is completely emotionally dependent on her as a naive and inexperienced younger girl while Aliana has had over 70 partners and knows exactly how sheltered Rey is... and just keeps her sheltered. Keeps her on the ship like a pet. Makes sure to twist anything she is told by others so she can rely only on Aliana, who is so good to her, who would never lie to her, who loves her more than anything...
I said this ages ago (and somebody else brought it up recently), but Aliana would be such a great villain, twisting and corrupting the young impressionable chosen one into a willing instrument for her new reign. Even the parts where she lets her 'mask' slip to show how vulnerable she is to Leia (playing on Leia's hopes of returning her own son from the Dark Side by saying that, perhaps, this fragile young woman could be turned to the Light too) would actually feed into the whole idea. Aliana's constantly shifting personality would make so much sense.
Instead, Lily doesn't realize that vampires are predators. She doesn't seem to get that abuse isn't just throwing somebody down the stairs. (Which is odd given that she constantly insists Lizzy 'abused' her... although now that I think about it, I don't recall her accusing Lizzy of actual psychological abuse, just varying levels of neglect.) It's also about making sure they are wholly reliant on you. That they are so afraid of losing you as a lifeline they won't leave because they won't know what to do with themselves. That it really is love, and that you are the only one that will love them.
Aliana's a vampire, Lily. She's an abuser. The relationship you're portraying isn't love, and it's deeply worrying that you seem to think it is.