#SICK AND TIRED OF HEARING THAT

[thependorika]

Dark Romance as the New R!pe Culture?

A study conducted by The Ripped Bodice, a bookstore specializing in romance, revealed that 90% of romance authors are women. This highlights the predominant female perspective in the genre, including dark romance.

Dark romance also includes LGBTQIA+ narratives, providing a platform for marginalized authors and readers to explore dynamics of power and consent from a different angle, contributing to the necessary diversity in the genre.

In a world where r!pe culture is at the heart of social and artistic issues, it is legitimate to worry about the consequences of excessive consumption of this genre.

But dark romance is much more than a genre that trivializes reprehensible acts. It is a universe in which readers (and authors) regain control over a given situation.

It explores dark themes, complex human emotions, with deep and nuanced characters.

This fictional and narrative framework creates an emotional outlet that speaks to an informed audience. Often, dedications clearly identify to whom the book is addressed:

“For the broken ones who are in need of something dark, morbid, and beautiful.”

“To the girl who falls in love with the villain.”

“For anyone who has ever felt invisible. I see you.”

“For the ones who’ve spent their lives being just a little too agreeable. Here’s to getting comfortable disappointing other people to avoid disappointing yourself.”

Through consumption or creation, fiction has always allowed exploration, projection, and research into one’s own psyche. This is also related to the formation of trauma.

Trauma comes from the word “wound” in Greek and literally means “psychic wound.” It refers to a disturbing or significant event that cannot be integrated into the individual’s personality.

These wounds can take various forms, including abuse, violence, or traumatic sexual experiences, and are often difficult to confront directly.

Often, trauma shocks the individual’s consciousness, who then tries to create more acceptable versions of this event.

Sometimes these events are fragmented into several distinct memories, leading some people to doubt the reality of what they experienced.

However, these events remain inscribed in the subconscious, where they influence daily life through behaviors, defense mechanisms, and often unconscious thoughts.

The path to healing is complex and non-linear, and fiction, especially genres like dark romance, can offer a safe space to process these experiences.

This genre, while often controversial, is now better mastered than it was in the past. Research has been conducted on the impact of these narratives and how they influence perceptions of consent, power relationships, and psychological trauma.

Authors and readers form a community that actively reflects on these issues and the creative responsibility that comes with them.

Previously, many new romance narratives explored dark and complex dynamics without always providing clear contexts or trigger warnings.

For example, in the first volume of Beautiful Bastard, by Christina Lauren. the book is about the relationship between a woman and her boss flirts with sexual harassment without explicit consent being clearly established.

This complex dynamic, although fictional, invites the reader to reflect on what is acceptable or not in a relationship.

The way consent is treated in these narratives has been the subject of discussions in contemporary studies, highlighting the importance of responsible representation of interpersonal relationships.

Today, dark romance has evolved, pushing the reader to reflect on what they read, while respecting their limits through clear warnings and greater awareness of sensitive topics.

Dark romance and new romance narratives also include LGBTQIA+ stories that explore relational dynamics within queer couples, including trans characters or other gender identities.

These stories allow for the exploration of often marginalized experiences and offer a space where identity, consent, and power relationships are at the center of the narrative.

(Although this is not my area of specialization, I find it essential that these narratives exist and are represented with nuance and respect.)

In this context, it is important to note that the new and dark romance community often attracts individuals from groups marginalized by patriarchy, particularly women and the LGBTQIA+ community.

This literary genre allows these readers to explore themes related to sexuality and consent in a narrative framework that belongs to them.

By creating and consuming these narratives, they retain control over how these subjects are treated and represent their experiences.

This allows them to subvert traditional power dynamics, offering a new perspective on often delicate and controversial issues like r!pe culture.

By reinventing narratives, these communities can create dialogues around what is acceptable or not and redefine the norms of consent in their own terms.

Engaging with dark themes in fiction can provide a cathartic experience for some individuals.

It allows them to explore their own feelings of sadness, anger, or fear in a controlled environment where they can also achieve a sense of closure or relief.

Characters in dark thematic narratives often face significant trials or distress. Readers or viewers may see parts of themselves reflected in these characters, creating a feeling of connection or understanding that they are not alone in their experiences.

Fiction provides a narrative structure that often includes resolution, whether it’s justice for a wrongdoing, the overcoming of a personal demon, or simply closure.

This can be psychologically satisfying, especially if such resolution is lacking in the person’s real life.

Consuming or creating dark fiction allows individuals to confront traumatic or intense situations in a way they can control. They can always close a book, turn off the screen, or stop writing whenever they want, which isn’t possible with real-life trauma.

Dark romance, while often misunderstood, represents a rich space for exploring human emotions and the complex dynamics of power and consent.

As authors, it is our responsibility to navigate these themes with sensitivity, ensuring that our narratives are enlightening rather than harmful.

Discussions around r!pe culture and consent must be at the heart of our creative approach, while recognizing that fiction can serve as a mirror to social and personal realities.

By listening to our community of readers and being attentive to their needs, we can contribute to a positive evolution of the genre, fostering a constructive and inclusive dialogue.

Thus, dark romance can become not only a reflection of our fears and traumas but also a pathway to understanding, healing, and redefining societal norms.

[mythicalcoolkid]

You don't wish your disability was worse or more visible, you wish your disability was taken seriously. Please stop confusing the two, I guarantee you would not get the support you need JUST by being more severe or more visible. Please listen to visibly disabled people when we tell you it isn't better on our side

[iilmunchkiin]

Just saw an absolutely amazing post that convinced me that Ceroba would be the one who confesses first.

(op turned turned off reblogs unfortunately so I'm making this post (┬┬﹏┬┬)) ("Just put the link to the post here-" No, you absolute buffoon, they turned it off for a reason and I'm going to respect that) (also potential rambling?? again??) (future LM here, yep there is alot of rambling. this was supposed to be a character analysis but I accidentally made a fic halfway LMAOAOAOAOAOA )

god I'm a sucker for slow burn and angst (duh, you all know that) I used to think that Starlo wouldn't be able to take it anymore and finally get the balls to confess to her, he goes up to her and it'll be the usual cheesy but wholesome moment with him nervously laughing, Ceroba getting surprised so she turns away while brushing off some hair that got on her face, Starlo sheepishly rubbing the back of his head and stuttering to get the words out. It'll all be planned of course he's a gentleman, he's just so stupidly nice and understanding that if Ceroba just flat out tells him "I don't wanna be in a romantic relationship with you" I just know he's going to smile and tell her it's okay and he'd still be there for her and it won't affect their friendship at all and he's going to stay by her side de jashdkahsd sorry the brainworms are doing the thing again.

Of course the idea of Ceroba confessing first also came into my mind, her realizing she's in love with Starlo but now has to fight the guilt thinking that she's "betraying/cheating on Chujin" made the little angsty gremlin in me giggle but I just preferred it would be Starlo who breaks the ice just for shittles and giggles (I like seeing him get all blushy and shy HIHIHIHIH). Also adding the fact that Ceroba DID consider getting together with him but she brushes it off cuz she thinks he's still too immature. (Yes I am aware Ceroba acknowledges Starlo growing up in True Pacifist but I didn't give it that much thought I was in delulu land)

But then I saw the post and ho h my god oh my goddddddd.....

I was a fool

Starlo is aware of what Ceroba has gone through and as her childhood best friend he would respect her and not risk overwhelming her with a confession cuz OF COURSE HE WOULDNT, and if he DID consider confessing it would be YEARS after the whole "Clover-sacrificing-themselves-for-the-futue-of-monsterkind" ordeal but he would have probably fallen out of love at this point and it would go

⭐: "OH YEAH btw I had a crush on you when we were kids" 🦊: "HUH"

(not dismissing the chance he could still be in love with her despite that I mean he's dedicated and loyal and so damn devoted to her it makes sense, it was just had a funny thought giggles)

But then after reading the post, it reopened the idea of Ceroba confessing first and... oh my god it was glorious. It would start small, thinking he looked nice one day, subconsciously gazing at him and adoring him at the distance as he talks his usual nonsense at the saloon with the feisty 5, wanting to hang out with him a little more than usual, until it slowly builds up over time. She starts noticing the little things about him, his wide smile, the sound of his voice and the laughter he makes when he does his usual shenanigans with her in post-pacifist where things are starting to get brighter as they heal together, she would call him an idiot but god he would just smile at her again and the little dimples on the sides of his face would make her melt without knowing and she swears she felt her face get warm but brushes it off, thinking it's nothing. But that's where the snowball keeps getting bigger, she would see him talking to the folk again at the saloon and wish it was her he was laughing with, she'll quickly snap out of it, shake her head a little and think about how weird it was for her to have thought about that. She'd find herself beaming when he calls her name and feel so stupid for doing so, "Why am I so happy all of a sudden? He says my name all the time..."

And the snowball finally crashes when they have one of those talks, y'know the ones where you usually have at 3 am with your friends? Just talking about life in general, talking about the future, what are each of them scared of, what they feel and what they think about things, just being so vulnerable and open with each other. They've had their fair share of these talks but today was different. He looked absolutely stunning, despite being mentally exhausted he still looked divine, the way his eyes droop when his expression softens, the slow rise and fall of his chest when he sighs, his wide glistening smile turning into a small and soft curl on his lips. She can't help herself but make subtle touches and discreetly brush her shoulder against his as they lean towards the railings of the balcony, fighting the urge to just reach out and figure out small ways to make contact with him. She gazes at him the entire time, analyzing him, noticing all the little changes he makes, why can't she look away? She can't, she tried, so many times but it still ends up with her looking at him again trying to burn the image of him in her mind, wanting to leave it there forever. When the talk comes to a close, he turns to her and offers a hug, she accepts it and the moment he melts into her arms, she feels a sudden warmth on her chest and it instantly scatters around her entire body, enveloping her. They share each other's warmth, she slowly buries her face onto his shoulder, cherishing this small moment with him as they hold each other tight in each other's embrace. She's closing her eyes, inhaling his scent, it feels like she's in a dream, she doesn't want this moment to end, she doesn't wanna wake up just yet but.... They break a part, he gives her his goodbyes. As she goes home she lays in bed, face up, staring at the ceiling as she recalls everything that happened to her, putting pieces of the puzzle together as she finally comes to terms with herself and gets hit with the realization. It all comes crashing down to her, her eyes widen and she lets out an audible groan. She lays in silence for a moment, feeling absolute agony for being so stupid, she peaks through her fingers and looks back up the ceiling again, "Fuck..."

I haven't even dabbled with what goes on in her head after she accepts this fact, the sudden guilt consuming her, feeling like she betrayed Chujin, the person she loved with her entire soul only to fall for another. She hates it. And if she confesses she's going to be a wreck and Starlo just instantly goes to comfort her, telling her it's okay, she doesn't have to force herself to confess to h- No. She wants this, she's absolutely in love, he may have fallen first but she fell even harder, but with so much conflict in her mind, wanting to hold his hand without the weight on her shoulders pulling her back. The entire time they're together, Starlo finds the time to console her, comfort her, feeling horrible for making him stay up late just for her but he says he doesn't mind and he himself wants this, feeling absolutely honored to have her in her arms and that she trusts him so much that she's just so open and vulnerable and he's being so kind and patient to her I hate them I HATE THEM I FFUCKING HATE THUEJN R F FUCK FUCKF FFIFUUCJCC N I HATE THEMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

thE SLOW BURN IS SO SLOW BUT KEEP UP AND SET THE KITCHEN IN FLAMES PLEASE RAUGHHH

SAVE ME STAROBA W AS SAV VE MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

TL;DR: uhhhh read a post and it convinced me that Ceroba slowly falls in love with Starlo over time without realizing it and when she finally does she feels really guilty cuz it feels like she's betraying Chujin, the slow burning is burning and the angst is scrumptious. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. /j

[jakeperalta]

I get why people complain about the overexposure of celebrities..... I'M sick of hearing about taylor and I'm a fan :/

[syn4k]

[fandomsnrambles]

Got like… a question for people who hate or dislike misako, nya, harumi, maya and other female characters…

Who are they to you outside of being someones love interest/ sister/ mother?

Like genuinely can you describe who Misako is without tying her to Garmadon or as a mother? She’s flawed but hating Misako to lift up Garmadon has never made sense. Can you add nuance to your takes when realising she left in order to find a way to make sure her family didnt break further? She left to make sure her husband and son didnt kill eachother?

can you give me a reason for why you hate Nya other than her valid criticisms for Jay? In fact, could you listen to her criticisms before saying ‘i hate how she makes Jay feel’ as if shes not lashing out BECAUSE of how Jay is making HER feel? Or do her feelings not matter as much as his?

Could you add nuance to Harumi that isnt calling her degradatory words like ‘sly bitch,’ ?

Why can’t you give the same grace and nuance to the female characters as you do the men? Are they just not worth the same effort and time to understand?

[reel-fear]

Genuinely so curious who Mike thinks is gonna be buying The Cage or the new DCTL GN bc with the way he tweets as far as he's concerned, it's not gonna be:

The queer people he has actively admitted he will never show any representation of in the games.

2. The POC he has actively fought against representing in his franchise. [Who he also mocked for thinking they would be represented in his franchise]

3. The Bendy fandom which has always been concerned with topics of diversity esp in the sense of queer people since its creation. Who he has responded to really poorly esp in regards to the GN.

4. The fans who critique him. [He blocked me for doing so lol]

5. His fans in general who he tweets about like this currently. [He's being vague about why people were mad at him or sent him 'nasty messages' because if you actually looked into why you'd see he was in the wrong. Either way, a very hateful way to speak abt ur own fanbase.]

Reminder while Mike is trash talking his fans he has always treated them rather poorly. The fans who won the fanart contest for Chapter 5 never got their posters actually in game due to it being rushed. Not only was chapter 5 a big slap to the face story wise, but it was literally so rushed he couldn't be bothered to add in the art his fans gave him for his game FOR FREE. [Meatly blames this on a crazy timeline, reminder him and Mike are the literal ceos of this company. The proposal of future updates here is also pretty cruel considering Mike nowadays happily admits he corrupted Chapter 5's source code and therefore literally can't update it At All currently. Because he is a moron]

At least they got to be in Boris and the dark survival, and by that I mean that was the Only game they got to be in so far, isn't that just treating your fans like you love them? Shoving their hard work into a spin off game almost nobody has played or addresses much. [Hell, who knows if with the Lone Wolf rebrand they'll even stay there. In which case they'll be in None of the games, only in the credits of BATIM]

6. The Bendy fans who just generally disagree with him on stuff. Like the new ink demon design where there is literally a public poll showing people generally prefer the old one.

7. The Bendy fans who can see he is actively lying to them. To their fucking faces.

He says this has always been the case, but screenshots and links to tweets regarding the books being canon prove it was not. Does he really think bendy fans are stupid or something? [Unless he's admitting here he lied to Kress when he told her the books were canon which sounds worse!]

8. Anyone who doesn't like the idea of giving money to a guy who laid off tons of employees then afterwards thought it was a great idea to express his anti-union views! Also brag about how good of an employer he was, according to his employees, he was not!

So in summary; Mike is an awful person who has not learned anything from the awful things he did. I will not be purchasing The Cage because, combined with this and his absolute refusal to take any kind of critique or see any differing interpretation of his franchise, I have no reason to think my problems with the franchise will ever be addressed or fixed. I probably will pirate The Cage along with any future Bendy Products [Including the movie] and will do my best to avoid giving it any kind of monetary support. Unless this changes any time soon, I can't see myself making anymore positive Bendy posts soon.

Mike has just managed to make it so hard to speak positively or optimistically of this franchise when he's so willing to broadcast how little he cares about it or its fans. I'm at the point where I refuse to pull any of my punches with my problems with it. What's the point of trying to play nice with my critique when either way the people creating it don't care?

So with this post, I want to invite anyone who feels similarly about the franchise to tell me, make a post or send an ask talking about how all of this makes you feel. It may not change how things are, but genuinely seeing other people share my feelings of anger makes me feel better. It feels nice to see when other people share our same concerns and worries. I'd also love to know if anyone else thinks they'll be avoiding purchasing Bendy products over this.

I'm not forcing anyone to participate in it nor trying to say anyone who doesn't supports mike but genuinely maybe if we can collectively decide to boycott things like the movie, graphic novel and The Cage... It might at least make the bendy devs acknowledge how much they have destroyed their own fandom's faith and trust in them.

The way Mike tweets about his actions like he had no control over why people were mad at him at least proves to me he takes NONE of it back nor regrets it. If you didn't know about his actions and only went off his tweets, you would be led to believe Mike has been needlessly picked apart by fans over things he couldn't control [or in his own words, had his words twisted and taken out of context]. That is not how you speak about your actions if you have actually learned better from them.

anyway, that has been my bendy dev callout post. This is an open invitation to anyone feeling similarly upset about the way the franchise is going to talk about it. It's genuinely nice to see how people feel about this and the more we talk about the more it's likely the bendy devs are forced to address our concerns. I don't think they will but hey, that's why I'm not gonna support them with my money anymore nor am I gonna be nice to them in any content I make critiquing Bendy. I mean I'm also basically making this post just in case anyone asks me Why I feel this way towards to bendy devs/as a way to respond to anyone who thinks I am too harsh in my critique in the future.

As always, it seems the best part of Bendy isn't actually anything about canon but about what the fan's are creating with the ideas Bendy failed to do anything interesting with.

Also the books, the books slap.

[kirby-the-gorb]

[callie-flower]

"proship dni" this, "comship dni" that, "neutral dni" unfortunately the people you don't like are still human and deserve comfort. my fucking god shut the hell up you're just as annoying as they are and protest WAY too much about it. go unlearn your purity morality shit

[gaymothman]

and y'all think it's the southern voters' fault right? y'all think it's cuz we are all maga crazy right? y'all think we like living like this right?

[andrwgarfields]

tiktok: nick nelsons mental health is overlooked!!! The show needs to focus on it more

me: *screaming crying throwing and breaking things*

[a-crystalclearsquid]

some of you have never lived with a family member whose whole personality is taylor swift and i live with 2 of them and every fucking dinner we get together there's always that white ass loser slipping in in the conversation and you can't do anything about it lest the both of them go against you

[lemotmo]

What do you think of lfjr saying “stay tuned for this weeks episode I think you will like it”? A bt Stan posted this on twitter saying this is a direct quote from lfjr in camio message. My hopes of buddie going canon are already low and with messages like this it’s on the floor now.

Oh come on! The man is full of sh*t! We all know that by now. Stop believing him.

He said the exact same thing about episode 4 and 5. And look what happened. 🤷‍♀️

He wasn't even in episode 4! 🤣 He had either forgotten he wasn't in 4 or they cut out a scene with him in it. Both options are equally hilarious.

And episode 5? It wasn't exactly the great BT episode the BT stans thought it would be, was it now? Buck and Tommy spent each and every minute of that episode phyisically seperated and in half of their scenes Eddie was involved. I mean... 😏

This guy has proven he will say ANYTHING for money on Cameo. He just did the same thing this time around. He tells them what they WANT to hear and he gets paid for it.

Also, this was posted by a fan yes? Was there an actual screenshot of him saying it? Because otherwise it might just be a fan making it up to stir up trouble in the fandom. This has happened before and I'm sure it will happen again. 🙄

So no. I don't believe anything that comes out of that man's mouth anymore ever since he started doing these ridiculous Cameos.

I'm going on what Oliver, Ryan and Tim talked about in interviews. They said that episode 6 will be a big Eddie episode and Oliver seemed excited about the episode as well, saying it had a great scene with Buck and Eddie. I will believe them in this.

And I'm still aggressively manifesting the BT break up in episode 6 or 7. I truly don't see the show dragging this dead end relationship out until 8b.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[munchboxart]

I need them to add a Splat playlist or something in-game if they're not gonna add an option to mute the music, because I can't keep listening to the same Splatfest song that I hate every time

[theethlezprincez]

oke guys… hear me out….lowkey……🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[dekarios]

im literally so sick to death of finding out the person who was telling my friends im into incest with zero proof to make them block me, while telling everyone i accused them of being a pedo to make them block me, literally posted on their blog my fucking name saying if youre friends with fray block me, AND allowed people who dislike me already to misgender me to them without correcting their pronoun usage despite previously being my friend and knowing my pronouns, is constantly posting i am the victim woe is me i isolated myself and no one likes me anymore posts and saying theyre leaving tumblr to come back 5 hours later fucking weekly or straight up remaking over and over, all because you cannot fucking apologise for the shit you did, not even just to me but multiple people you wronged, OFC PEOPLE DONT LIKE YOU youre a chronic fucking liar who runs away when you get caught in your lies, WHOS COOL WITH MISGENDERING TRANS FOLKS IF YOU DONT LIKE THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!