#just to clarify i am not shipping real people

[fiorewashere]

Someone needs to take my phone privileges away

[pupitorium]

Dear fanfiction writers, headcanon makers and anyone in a fandom :

it doesn't matter if they're out of character.

it doesn't matter if you add your own headcanons.

it doesn't matter if you project onto the character.

it doesn't matter if your ship has never canonically interacted.

it doesn't matter.

its a work of fiction, you are allowed to have fun. fandom police are annoying and suck the fun out of everything.

there is nothing wrong with liking canon.

there is nothing wrong with liking canon ships.

there is nothing wrong with prefering characters to be in character.

but don't go around policing other peoples interpretations, fictional works, headcanons, ships, etc.

you aren't 'fixing the fandom' you aren't 'being part of the good side of the fandom' you are being a bother. you see content you don't like? ignore it.

"oh i hate fanon xyz" i get that. its annoying when so many people mischaracterise someone, but you don't have to fixate on it. avoid that content. you are not the only person with that opinion, i guarantee you, so i am sure you can find content in which the character is portrayed in a canon way.

[scattered-winter]

sometimes i see a post and its like. hm. you actually care very little about the story or characters or plot at all bc all you want is for the token male twinks to kiss.

[littlejowo]

Anyway hopefully that weeds some of you abuse supporters out, if you somehow managed to hang around this long and not read my bio or pinned tweet but followed me anyway. I will not be discoursing here again

[theunsinkableship1]

Lukolaship: Why are you here?

I have one simple question for you: Why are you here?

If you’re a fan of Nicola or Luke individually, there’s no reason to be so deeply invested in their private lives. Supporting them as actors and celebrating their professional achievements should be enough. If your goal is to see them happy in life, you could simply assume they are, because nothing publicly suggests otherwise. Why concern yourself with what others think about their personal lives? Focus on your own and sleep peacefully at night.

Here, however, we are focused. We are here for a specific purpose, and that purpose is rooted in a belief in the bond between Nicola and Luke as a duo. We don’t ship them with just anyone, nor do we treat this connection as trivial. We see something rare and precious that transcends the superficial dynamics often seen elsewhere.

We believe they are uniquely compatible in every way professionally, personally, and emotionally. As they’ve described themselves, they are very similar, and their connection is something that doesn’t come easily. It’s not the kind of bond you let slip away without a fight.

If you don’t share the belief that the best foundation for their love is friendship, then it’s worth asking yourself what you’re doing in this space. Because staying here while harboring doubt or skepticism will only lead to frustration, disappointment, or even resentment. And why put yourself through that?

Of course, this is a space open for discussion, but we must acknowledge that engaging in conversations centered on ideas completely opposed to what we’re collectively rooting for is both unnecessary and counterproductive.

This space is for those of us who see, believe, and hope. For those who recognize something special when they see it and want to nurture that belief, even from afar. If you don’t share these wishes and expectations, perhaps this isn’t the place for you and that’s okay.

But here, we celebrate, support, and believe in something extraordinary. If that resonates with you, welcome. If not, it’s best to part ways now to save yourself and others unnecessary grief.

I want to start by emphasizing that I don’t know the truth in this situation. I don’t know these people personally, so I can’t claim to speak for their reality or their intentions. What I have are beliefs and speculations based on the reality they have chosen to present to us. And among all these uncertainties, one belief stands unshaken: they belong together. That belief is the cornerstone of my presence in this corner of the internet.

Now, let me clarify I’m not opposed to the idea of Lukola being in relationships with other people. They could very well be in relationships with entirely different people, and we wouldn’t have any way of knowing.Life is complex, and these things can happen. Nor am I opposed to the idea that they might already be together but keeping it private. In fact, that’s the outcome I’m openly hoping for.

The truth is, either theory whether they are in other relationships or together in secret is just that: a theory. Speculations woven from bits of information and perception, none of which constitute definitive proof. I resist accepting either scenario at face value because, frankly, this story isn’t straightforward. There are too many inconsistencies, too much plausible deniability, and far too many coincidences for it to be simple.

Some individuals are actively seeking out this space, a niche corner of the internet that is not easily found unless you are deliberately looking for it solely to challenge the idea of Lukola being real. They argue that it’s all just PR and treat the very notion of their connection as if it’s utterly impossible or absurd. What’s puzzling is the intensity with which they dismiss it, often acting as though the mere suggestion of Lukola’s reality is offensive or preposterous.

This behavior raises several questions: Why does the idea of Lukola trigger such strong reactions? Why do these critics go out of their way to invade a space they fundamentally disagree with? A psychological phenomenon like reactance might offer some insight.

Reactance is a reaction to perceived threats to autonomy. When people see others confidently supporting a theory or belief they don’t share, they might feel compelled to push back, not necessarily because they have concrete evidence against it, but because they view it as an encroachment on their sense of "truth."

What’s even more contradictory is that these critics often engage in behaviors strikingly similar to those they criticize. They comb through interviews, scrutinize body language, and form conclusions all while claiming to be grounded in “realism.” If Lukola isn’t real and this space is so misguided, why invest so much energy here? The truth is, some of these individuals may be grappling with their own unspoken doubts or insecurities about the narrative and find it easier to ridicule others than to explore those feelings honestly.

Ultimately, this space is built on a foundation of speculation, patterns, and observed dynamics not absolute certainty. If the concept of Lukola is so untenable to someone, perhaps they should question why they feel so compelled to disprove it rather than simply disengaging. This kind of behavior only underscores the uniqueness of what’s being defended here. Why else would they care so much ?

This brings me to what I believe is happening with certain Lukola shippers who react under the guise of pragmatism and so-called reality. When the facts are murky and there’s no concrete proof one way or the other, it’s natural to feel uncertainty. But for some, the fear of being wrong of committing to a belief that might not hold up pushes them toward the opposite stance. It’s a kind of cognitive dissonance avoidance or fear-based contrarianism. Rather than risk the emotional discomfort of being wrong, they align themselves with a narrative that feels safer because it seems more grounded in realism, even if it goes against what they truly want.

But this reaction isn’t as rational as it appears. By clinging to the guise of pragmatism, they often ignore the layers of meaning, patterns, and behaviors that suggest this situation isn’t as clear-cut as it might seem. They risk dismissing the extraordinary connection that brought us here in the first place, the looks, the smiles, the synchronicity, and the undeniable intimacy.

What’s unsettling, however, is the behavior of certain non-believers. Some have started attacking others, calling them delusional or crazy for holding onto their beliefs. What’s ironic and frankly hypocritical is that many of these people were doing the exact same thing not long ago. They were analyzing smiles, interpreting body language, and weaving narratives just like the rest of us.

Psychologically, this could be explained by reaction formation, a defense mechanism where individuals suppress emotions or beliefs, they are uncomfortable with and adopt an exaggerated opposite stance. For example, someone who once believed in Lukola but feels betrayed or disillusioned may go to great lengths to ridicule others who still believe, as a way to distance themselves from their former vulnerability.

Another phenomenon at play is projection. Those who call others delusional may actually be projecting their own internal conflict and doubts. It’s easier to label someone else as "crazy" than to confront the discomfort of one’s own cognitive dissonance.

Finally, there’s the bandwagon effect. When a few vocal individuals start asserting that believing in Lukola is irrational, others may follow suit to align themselves with what appears to be the majority opinion. This creates a cycle where dissenting voices are silenced or shamed, even though everyone in this fandom is ultimately speculating and interpreting limited information.

It’s not just hypocritical but it’s unkind as well to attack others for believing in something extraordinary. We are all here because we were drawn to the same connection, the same magic that transcends the mundane. Whether you still believe or have chosen to step away, there’s no need to tear others down.

The truth remains elusive, and it’s okay to admit that we don’t know everything. What’s not okay is to dismiss or ridicule the hope, joy, and creativity that others bring to this space. What is absolutely unacceptable is harassing Lukola, their friends, or their families online simply because they aren’t aligning with or reinforcing our preferred narrative. Such behavior crosses the line from passionate support into harmful intrusion, and it reflects poorly on this community as a whole.

We must remember that Nicola and Luke are real people with lives, relationships, and choices that extend far beyond what we observe or speculate about. Their friends and family are not all public figures and certainly not part of this fandom discourse. Dragging them into the conversation or pressuring them to validate a narrative diminishes the respect and admiration this space claims to hold for the pair.

Moreover, harassing anyone be it directly through comments or indirectly through insinuations and speculation achieves nothing. It doesn’t bring clarity or truth; it only fuels division and hostility. This behavior contradicts the very foundation of why many of us are here.

If anything, such actions could damage the very dynamic we cherish. It creates an atmosphere of distrust and negativity that might push them to withdraw further from public interactions or force them into making statements or actions they wouldn’t naturally take.

As fans, we must hold ourselves to a higher standard. Our actions should reflect kindness, respect, and understanding, not entitlement or hostility.

Let’s remember why we’re here and not go overboard, this ship is rare and beautiful, even if its true nature isn’t yet fully revealed. Until clarity comes, let’s choose kindness and patience over judgment.

In conclusion, we are not required to take a definitive stance right now. There’s wisdom in waiting, observing, and letting the truth unfold in its own time. For me, this isn’t about being right or wrong. It’s about honoring the belief that their bond is rare and worth rooting for, whether the evidence for it is subtle or glaring. Until clarity comes, I will continue to hold space for the possibility that love complicated, layered, and extraordinary is at the heart of this story.

[lmaowhatt]

utterly obsessed? - one

summary: actress y/n I/n has recently skyrocketed into stardom after her breakout film 'castaways' alongside sarah cameron, kevin hart, chris evans and chris hemsworth. weeks after the movies premiere, she drops her debut single, further cementing her place in the spotlight. as millions of people around the world begin to idolize her, and as she struggles with her own demons, she catches the attention of rafe cameron, who doesnt shy away from becoming utterly obsessed in what seems to be the cutest way possible. however, not everything goes as smooth as they both would've hoped.

main masterlist | series masterlist

intro - one - two

youruser

liked by jjmay, sarahcam, chrisevans and 1.1 million others.

youruser thank you all for all the love on wildflower and castaways! words cant express how grateful i am for all the love ive gotten in the past few weeks. but, from the bottom of my heart, thank you! p.s. hellraiser coming to you december 27, 2024 ����

sarahcam ahh! so proud of you!

➯ youruser love you sar🤍

jjmay yay, love you! (is this supportive enough?)

➯ youruser love you for everything jay, thank you. (yes it is)

user lowk ship her and jj🙂‍↕️

➯ jjmay oh..

➯ youruser thats not..

user her and rafe?? in a movie?? together?? WHO took my clothes

user im LIVING for this

cleopatty i kissed my screen on your slide tbh

➯ popeh im right next to you??

user congrats!

user no rafe like or comment is crazyy..

➯ user he rarely comments on sarahs or his friends posts be fr😭

➯ user chris evans barely LIKES anyones posts sum happened fs

kiekie proud of you baby!

➯ youruser i love you so bad its unhealthy🫦

user someone slap me. her and THEE rafe cameron? i WILL watch.

user this was NOT what i expected but im in love

user idk why but she screams julia stiles in 10 tihay

➯ youruser best compliment ive ever gotten tbh

hellraisermovie

liked by youruser, rafecameron and 967k others

hellraisermovie hellraiser coming to you december 27, 2024! starring rafe cameron as trevor and y/n l/n as riley mckendry!

user dude im SO excited

➯ hellraisermovie we are too tbh

rafecameron best looking cast member i fear

*liked by creator*

youruser thank you for this opportunity, love yall!

*liked by creator*

user so the guy comments on this but not y/n's post😭

➯ user exactly like what?😭😭

user so im the ONLY one seeing rafes hand around her waist?

➯ user you are NOT

user its all over the screen

popeh so proud @/youruser @/rafecameron

➯ youruser love you popey!!

➯ rafecameron youre getting it tn

user i cant tell which one i want more tbh

➯ hellraisermovie me neither

user someone BITE ME i wanna lick his arms

kiekie i will be caught watching

user yo theres a SMEXY scene in this, you will catch me watching

user hes so bbg

sarahcam EEK! im so proud

jjmay bestfriend! @/youruser IM SO PROUD. WOOHOO!

➯ youruser where was this real enthusiasm on my post

➯ youruser im just kidding, i love you bestfriend!

user something mustve happened. does he not like her orr😭😭

➯ sarahcam heehee.

➯ rafecameron sarah. stop spreding shit.🙎🏻‍♂️

it was barely past midnight when you and sarah had arrived to you and jjs shared apartment in la since the two of you were staying to record more music and for your hellraiser premiere in a few days. plopping onto the couch with tired sighs, the two of you received a raised eyebrow from jj, who stood at the kitchen counter, sweats hung low on his torso as he prepared himself a midnight snack. "tired?" the man teased with a small laugh.

you gave him a pointed glare, standing from your spot on the couch and walking over to the fridge next to him, grabbing two water bottles and handing one to sarah who had walked over, stood on the other side of the counter. "so you two.." she trailed off, moving her fingers in between the two of you ass jj snatched your water bottle from your hands, taking a sip before handing it back to you. jj raised an eyebrow, "friends," he clarified. sarah nodded, not entirely convinced, "right, right."

"so you two never.. like, nothin'?" jj gave her a pointed look, laughing quietly at the glare you gave her, "you ask too many questions. but, we did, some point in high school. but it didnt work out so were just friends," jj turned away to put the butter knife he was holding in the sink, completely missing the raised eyebrows sarah gave you, to which you rolled your eyes.

he turned back and grabbed his plate of everything bagels, which were lightly smothered with cream cheese. "early day in the studio tomorrow, for the love of everything, get some sleep." he spoke outloud, but directed his words to you. he walked behind you, ruffling your hair and placing a kiss on the top of your head. "night!" you called as he shut his bedroom door. after a couple quiet moments, sarah spoke up, "dated, huh?" she tilted her head towards jjs door, taking a sip of her water.

"whatever," you laughed with a roll of your eyes, "we did. he was a good boyfriend, but there was more of like a sibling bond between us. he has two brothers and i only had an older brother so," you shrugged, taking your water bottle back over to the couch. sarah followed after you with a soft smile, "makes sense." the two of you continued talking for what seemed like forever.

once you realized it was almost one in the morning, you and sarah both decided it was a good time to wrap up the night, saying your goodbyes. "text me when youre home safe," you said as you stood by the door. "love you!" the both of you repeated back to each other.

you shut the door with a small smile, stretching your body. you reached down to grab a room temperature water bottle from its pack, jerking up when jjs bedroom door opened. "still awake?" he asked as he moved around you to place his late in the sink. "so are you," you pointed out to which he rolled his eyes, "well, yeah but i wake up on time." jj retorted.

you rolled your eyes, "yeah, yeah. im gonna go sleep, for real this time. goodnight," you saluted him. he reciprocated the action, flipping you off after a few seconds holding holding the position. "i was trying to be nice," you rolled your eyes as he laughed, placing another kiss on your forehead.

"goodnight," he let out with a chuckle, "for real this time." you nodded, offering him a soft smile as she walked to her room on the other side of the apartment. "goodnight. wake me up if i dont wake up on time please," you turned at the threshold of your door with a small smile. jj laughed, "i will, just go to bed," he turned away to walk to his bedroom, shutting the door behind him as you did the same.

your phone

sarahs phone

enews

liked by toppert and others

enews y/n l/n and bestfriend jj maybank were photographed at an ice cream shop near downtown la in the early morning. they were also captured by fans meeting up with l/ns cousins harry and gemma styles after his 5 year celebration of 'Fine Line.' it was heard by fans that his ex-band mates from his 'One Direction' days have also congratulated him.

user that caption is so eugh. they werent JUST bandmates what

user cousins?!?

➯ user thats not even the most surprising part of this

➯ user her dad his mom

youruser that last picture is from almost six years ago, thanks tho! and please let harry have his own privacy rn. he, gemma and i are all our own people, as well as jj. my fame shouldnt be defined as something of his doing, he shouldnt be seen as attention seeking because of me, he doesnt need me to push him into the spotlight when hes had his place in the industry. and gemma shouldve been contacted if she wanted to be kept private or not mentioned.

➯ user shes so well spoken what

➯ kiekie preach it!

➯ popeh as you should queen.

➯ cleopatty i love sassy pope, but yes, as you should!

jjmay why dont these people do their research? (wrong answers only)

user what the fuck?

user can we blame enews? they dont care about anyones feelings or opinions.

user this aint even about y/n at this point. that caption kinda weird, making it seem like y/n got all her fame from being cousins with harry when she wasnt even known or mentioned during 1D.

*liked by youruser*

sarahcam oh ew?

➯ user i cant tell what shes 'ew'ing.

➯ user its not obvious? tagging and the caption is BEYOND insane, even for them

*liked by sarahcam*

user enews social media admin is having a panic attack rn

enews we are truly very sorry to everyone that may have been photographed, posted, or mentioned in this post. this will be taken down and dealt with accordingly.

➯ user LMAOO

➯ user this is SO embarrassing

user oh to be a fly at enews hq rn

user those genes are STRONG

a/n: i dont know if i mentioned but this will be an irl x smau book, but ill focus more on the smau part of it.

a/n pt.2: because i miss my baby liam payne, he will not pass away in this story. however, no disrespect towards him will be shown nor will be applied to this story.

a/n pt.3:the way i should be studying for final exams but im doing this...

[celtrist]

Hazbin & Helluva Vs. Aromanticism

(Aka: I have a problem with the Spindlehorse team about this, not shippers.)

(Also this is mainly about Alastor but can go for Octavia and Mammon too.)

Alright, so I've cleaned up this uh... rant, to make things a little more clear hopefully. But to summarize here, this is about the team's lack of commitment when every other character is allowed full confirmation of their orientations but these (potentially) aromantic characters aren't.

While I have no beef with shippers (I think you can ship whoever with whoever you want, I ship Alastor too on occasion), there is some conversation about how the fandom might be a bit of a reason WHY they "can't" be confirmed as aro. But again, my main problem is more with the showrunners than the fandom at this point about this.

I'll also be getting into why it's "important" and the double standards against characters being aromantic.

This is not an attack, ship however way you wish (again, I do it myself). My intent isn't really to stop the shipping, that would be ridiculous. But more so to give my thoughts on why it's BS characters like Alastor can't be confirmed as aromantic when other characters are allowed confirmed orientations.

I will start off by saying I don't mind the shipping of Alastor. While it's NOBODY'S business but mine, I suppose it's important to clarify that I'm someone who does currently identify as aroace. I might be wrong but who cares, it's how I think of myself now at least to some degree (I do after all still have fictional crushes. Real-life romance is not an interest for me though, don't like 'em).

I'm gonna get what I don't think people talk about enough on both sides of being for and against shipping Alastor, and then I'll talk about the shippers as they're (I realized) not my main issue at this point.

A little history: So Alastor has been long time confirmed as an ace character. He hasn't been confirmed as being sex-repulsed or anything, but I can personally say I don't mind either flavor of him being repulsed or favorable (though I imagine the series will lean towards the former to counter everyone else's sex-favorable attitude and for jokes). This statement was initially taken VERY poorly by fans who, at the time, were shipping radiodust and radiobelle/charlastor, one more than the other. Care to take a guess which? The answer will not surprise you.

But then people realized "Oh, asexual doesn't mean he COULDN'T get with someone" and people even went further to "Being asexual doesn't mean he CAN'T have sex", both very true statements. So shipping was back on the menus boys! And his asexual was certainly blurred a bit (to the point where it wasn't even him being sex-favorable asexual as much as just not asexual, something that still happens but certainly not as bad). But overall, people were taking his canonicity as asexual with as much grace as a duck.

So here's where MY problem comes in. While I have some gripes with shippers, I had an epiphany that "Oh. It's not really the shippers I have a problem with. It's the people WRITING THE DAMN CHARACTER". Which, might I just say, is so much worst.

The shippers, while they got annoying at some points and certainly can be still, are just having fun. Because shipping just happens to be the way most people like to interact with characters in the media they're into. Hell, I am no different. I just have the misfortune of only really getting into rarepairs most of the time (curse you my bizarre tastes). I've even shipped with Alastor, I like AngelicSmile/radiojoy quite a bit.

Back on track. Now, what do I mean by my main problem being with the writers more than the fans with this? Well, queue this darling of a clip about the topic (this is the only clip I've found of the live stream, feel free to watch the whole video but just wanted the clip here).

This. Single. Clip. Infuriates me.

Vivzi, while I'm sure not meant to, pretty much implied "Alastor being aromantic and 'non-shippable' would ruin people's fun". I'm sure she meant it as a way to keep others from policing shippers (which didn't work, it still happens), it really just reads as "a character being aromantic is not a fun character". Like there's something wrong with being aro.

Not to mention some other things that would contradict this statement:

Viv in the past said "fans are allowed to ship outside character orientations", so... what makes that so different here with confirming Alastor as aromantic?

It being confirmed is not relevant to the plot. Great, so is every other orientation not relevant. Why can't Alastor be confirmed as aromantic but Vaggie can be confirmed as a lesbian or Vox bi? What does Vox being bisexual have to do with the plot? Neither is relevant to the plot, but one can be confirmed but not the other?

People were gonna ship him ANYWAY. Like, there's really no point in pretending. They were going to anyway because of the first point I already mentioned, but also people ship against canon orientations ALL THE TIME. It's just gonna happen and there's nothing wrong with that in of itself.

You've kind of just implied it's canon by not wanting to say specifically him being aromantic is canon or not. If Viv had just said "I don't wanna confirm his romantic orientation because...", then this statement would be fine and fair I suppose. But she had to call out him being aromantic specifically. And I mean, he COULD be something else (he was slated to be a couple with Mimzy originally after all), but the context doesn't seem like that would be the case. Plus, would she really feel the need to hold back from saying "Alastor is homoromantic" or biromantic or heteroroman- actually yes for that last one probably.

So riddle me this, with these points, why the FUCK would it be so wrong to confirm Alastor as a canonically aromantic icon and help get MORE REP for this very very very VERY underrepresented orientation? And I've thought of a few reasons to this, one of which being to avoid the same backlash that they got for Alastor being ace. Which, DID HAPPEN WHEN THE VOICE ACTOR AND SOMEONE ELSE ON THE SHOW CONFIRMED ALASTOR AS AROMANTIC BUT BACKTRACKED ON THE STATEMENT.

To which, fine. THAT'S on the fans (especially as no one would've complained if he was confirmed as homoromantic, which is a double standard VERY PRESENT in this fandom, but also many others quite honestly). But I can see another reason is to avoid others policing shippers about it.

Which, if that's the case, shit luck it's happening anyway.

To cower away from this orientation because of fans being upset says a lot, both about the fans and the creators. There is a whisper of "Alastor isn't allowed to be aromantic". That "being aro isn't allowed or appreciated".

We live in a world that at this point has a lot more lgbtq+ characters than ever before. At this point, there's just a lot of gay/lesbian and bi characters, and that's wonderful. But, there's barely a handful of aroace characters. And when they are, nobody wants to pay attention to that part of the character. So why can't the deer man be aromantic? I would imagine it would honestly make things a little better ship wise because ship wars wouldn't occur seeing as, well, there's no ship to be fought for. None of them could be canon.

So you might see where I'm leading into this, but I can only really think of one real reason Alastor being aromantic just "can't be confirmed" where as everyone else's orientations can be.

His popularity. Like, that's weird but walk with me here. Alastor is the most popular character in the fandom. There's honestly no denying it, he just is. And what do people do with the most popular character?

THEY SHIP THEM OFF IN A LOVEBOAT.

But wait, if he's aromantic, he can't be on a love boat. THIS IS BS-

And then... the outcry. And we HAVE seen this happen. I mentioned before, he was stated to be aromantic on two occasions by two people who work on the show, one of which is his voice actor (which I'll be fair, I personally don't think VAs always know the characters they play the best, that's the writers). But they had to backpedal because people DID complain. People WERE upset. So it's kind of shown just aromantism isn't really welcomed, at the very least not for a character like Alastor.

And that's the key: "Not for a character like Alastor". But if it were say, Niffty or Mimzy who are either overlooked or just not very popular, THEN it's probably more than okay for a character to be aromantic. Because no one wants to ship with them much, so they can be aromantic all they want.

AKA. The aro community is allowed the scraps but not the dinner.

At this point, you've probably noticed I switched gears from the creators to the fans because I DO think they could be a reason why Alastor "can't" be confirmed as Aromantic. I'll give credit, I'm pretty sure it's mainly on twitter and wouldn't be surprised if it was a "loud minority" thing going on, but the people have spoken. They vehemently cannot STAND the idea of Alastor being aromantic.

But I don't have a problem with these people quite honestly- I mean I kinda do, but my main issue is the lack of commitment when the other characters are allowed confirmed orientations. Why can't aromantic people get confirmed rep? Because "it'll ruin people's fun?" That's such a crappy reason because it's just saying being aro is bad on some level or isn't okay. Why can't the aromantic community get the dinner this ONE TIME? It's one character in a pool of many others that are canonically gay or bi, so why can't the aro community have this ONE popular character?

I'm not even asking for people to stop shipping him, I think that's perfectly FINE. It wouldn't change the canon. I'd appreciate more LOVE given to the aromantic identity (and I'm talking about the far end of it, so absolutely NO interest in romance as many have used aro Alastor but it still comes off as just normal shipping, but that's just me). There's such a double standard to the treatment of aromantic characters to the other characters in these shows (because Octavia and Mammon are in the same boat here), and the reasons given are so crappy that they sound more like off-hand excuses.

Again, I don't MIND people shipping Alastor, or Octavia, or Mammon who is randomly shipped with Adam the most. Let me repeat:

YOU. ARE. ALLOWED. TO. SHIP. THESE. CHARACTER.

But what I have a problem with is that these characters aren't allowed to be OFFICIALLY aromantic. How would it feel if this was a gay character? That they didn't want to confirm it but there's been indications with past statements and even in-universe stuff indicating so? I WANT Viv and her team to STICK with what route they were gonna go with.

And some might argue "what's so bad with nothing being confirmed?" Other than the fact every other character's orientations are allowed confirmation and Viv's crappy way of putting it in not confirming anything. There's, by all technicalities, nothing wrong.

However, if I may pose a counter, why is it fair for people to demand or ask for gay representation or confirmation but not aromantic? Because it's "not ruining anything"? If that's the case, I'm inclined to say that may be a bit aphobic. Because how is it that a character being aromantic can "ruin" the character or something, but a character being gay DOESN'T "ruin" the character. It's a double standard that I don't think most people realize or want to say because you don't want to be dissing on gay stuff.

But WAKE UP SHEEPLE. The gay stuff has PLENTY of things by this point. Whether through fan works or official media, it is growing and it is growing rapidly. And we should be HAPPY about that. But alternatively, Aromantic (and asexual) rep BARELY gets any attention in either fan works or official media. People would be UPSET if a ship like Angel Dust X Vaggie or Stolas X Verosika got into one of the top most popular ships. But Alastor? Nah, it's fine.

Again, while I don't mind the shipping itself, hopefully, you can understand how it might feel to see one of the most popular ships involve a character that goes against their orientation and it's YOUR orientation. It doesn't. Feel. Great.

And not everyone who ships Alastor even would LIKE him to end up with who they ship. Some people just like it staying in fanon. I have met SO MANY nice people who ship Alastor with characters that I personally don't really like him shipped with. But it's clear that I don't think THEY'D mind if he was confirmed aromantic because it doesn't change their life. They'll still keep shipping him because that's fun for them and that's FINE. People explore themselves through characters with confirmed orientations and they don't always line up with canon, and that's FINE. I don't think people should be policed on shipping with the deer man, they're just having fun. Would I appreciate a little more love for the aro identity? Sure (I mean just look at Alastor's ship weeks activeness vs. his aro week activeness), but if that's not how people have fun they shouldn't be forced to do stuff with it.

But Alastor being seemingly "not allowed" to be confirmed as aro has set a precedent that there's something wrong with being aromantic. And personally, it makes me feel a tad unwelcomed sometimes.

It's the precedents. Again, why is every other character's orientation allowed to be confirmed but Alastor's isn't? What is so wrong with him being aromantic? Hell, he might not even BE aromantic. But at least I'd KNOW instead of floundering around hoping upon a star for some aromantic representation.

It's okay to be gay but- WHOA HOLD YOUR HORSES THERE. WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO PUT A PAUSE IN THAT ARO BUSINESS YOU GOT THERE.

A character's worth is in how shippable they are. And if they're aromantic, they're not shippable. And unfortunately, there are just enough people to throw a hissy fit about it that Viv doesn't want to confirm it.

Because apparently being aromantic would "ruin" things.

[bloggingboutburgers]

I think everyone will benefit from properly tagging posts. xreader fics abd ship fics ONLY include the relevent _x_ tags but none of the character's name on its own, allowing all the usual fanart, theories and such to stay on the main name tag and not be crowded out by horny fanfiction (I say this as someone who very much enjoys very horny, very smutty xreader fanfictions. I want to be able to search the fics I want directly without having to trawl through headcanon posts, fanart, unrelated ship posts, etc.).

No one really has a tailored experience on the internet (I'm glad tumblr is at least a little more user dictated than advertiser algorithm based), but I do get the frustration and discomfort that comes from the abundant hornyposting feeling inescapable.

It's tempting to take offence to persistent cries against xreader stuff. I like special POV episodes of shows for the same reason I like xreader fics. My favourite characters WERE the company I kept, my only real form of companionship (albeit simulated) for many many years. Not because I am allo, basically. I sought something to meet my social needs growing up where I was unable to find community or companionship in real life.

Unfortunately, because they are usually sexual in nature I just came to associate a need for human connection with sex (so am I allo or just conditioned to blend sexual, platonic and romantic feelings and actions together?). I was just happy to feel like I had someone to hang out with. I knew they weren't real and that I needed to find real people to connect with (not for lack of trying, kids are just cruel. Finally made friends as an adult, yay).

Didn't intend for any of that to be so sad or pathetic, but hopefully it gives context for the prevalence of xreader fics. Alongside the varied reasons people write / read them (no just blind allo horniness), especially in light of the widespread loneliness epidemic over the past decade.

It's still more than ok to not want anything to do with them either (be it due to being aroace or not - I know plenty of allos who find xreader fics cringe).

Something I need to clarify here – we get it. Well, we don't fundamentally get it, but trust me, we've been told time and time again why people would write/draw/be into xreader content (it's all part of the package of "aroaces MUST put themselves in allo people's shoes at all times"), and we know they're perfectly legitimate reasons, and we don't find it sad or pathetic, or cringe. At the very least I don't at all. That's not what it's about. It's not something as surface-level at that.

The thing is... The same kind of understanding effort is VERY rarely put forward in return for us. And the fact that we're perceived as naysayers is symptomatic of this. We're not crying against xreader content. People are free to do whatever they want. We just want it to be tagged to keep ourselves safe, and so we can appreciate some variety and find fandom content we can properly connect with with the identity we have.

The issue isn't that there is xreader content, or heck, that there's lots of it. It's that, as @kaoruko-han put it, "everyone is assumed to be into this", and that you can't express something as simple as "I'd rather read something else" without being finger-pointed as a villain.

Yeah, no one has a tailored experience online, but there's still a very clear lack of balance on what is acceptable to tailor to or not (and for us, that includes tumblr). And trying to find fan-content while being sex-repulsed? Bruh, you'd better pray on your lucky stars and be ready to trudge through an ocean of stuff that's loaded with the very thing that makes you scared, uncomfortable or downright triggers a feeling of sickness in you, because a lot of it ain't tagged. An alarming amount of people don't bother, because why would people like you exist, right? There's only ever them, and puritan bigots. It's that black and white in a lot of people's heads.

Here's the difference though: we, too, want people to be able to vibe to whatever fan content they want. We just wish "people" included us properly in this case. As it stands now, trying to find fan content that won't give you an uncomfortable feeling as a sex-repulsed person feels kinda like this (I'll try to illustrate that to the best of my ability as a vague comparison, please no one take that as a clear parallel, I'm literally just trying to explain how it feels in a way people who have no idea how it feels might understand): you're not into gore at all, you don't wanna look at it, but your streaming platform keeps recommending you those series that are loaded with gore. You try to filter it out, but no matter where you go, you keep being recommended those series. And no one ever gets your discomfort and you're being branded as nothing but a wet blanket for not wanting to see gore. It's kinda like that.

At this point I admire sex-repulsed or romance-repulsed people who still TRY to find anything at all in fandom spaces. I've stopped reading fanfic altogether and I've largely stopped engaging with the large majority of fandom spaces for those reasons. And that wasn't an easy choice, or one that I find fun because it feels incredibly lonely, but it's the result of years of exhaustion and strain on my mental health trying to navigate something that's so hostile to me at its core, even if it's unintentional.

So... Yeah. We know the reasons, just like the content itself, they're kinda impossible to ignore. But we are largely being ignored in this, and it's not just something at an "ick" or "picky" level ; for a sex-repulsed person, being spammed with sex entails much more than that. It's not even frustration anymore at this point, it's downright despair a lot of the time. So... Yeah, like you said, everyone would benefit from stuff being more properly tagged. For us it'd be so huge to know our safety is taken into account – that we're taken into account at all. Thing is, we're not, and we're so invisible in this and most other things that at this point, I don't have much hope. Sex-related controversies allo people can understand would sooner create a change than anything done for our sake.

[fawnprincessblog]

Hi everyone, guess who's back.

After 2 months of absence i've decided to bring myself back on here and explain some things that have happened.

💗

After publishing a post a while back regarding incest, i had recieved a lot of hate since then. When i posted it I had no idea how much hate I was bound to receive from all of you once you guys saw it, and honestly i didn't think it would get that much attention. After realising it was clearly causing so much hate I posted an apology, which all you also thought was total shit, so I deleted that too.

And right after, I was bombarded with an ungodly amount of death threats through my inbox, people asking me to kill myself and end it. It was a whole lot, and I really didn't think that one measly post would set you guys off so fast. And honestly I was surprised to see how much there was. My inbox was full of them, and I couldn't handle it all.

Soon enough as expected one person had gone anonymous, sending inbox messages to my followers to report the 'heinous crime' I've committed by posting one silly thing, which by the way, put out a lot of false information. The person was over exaggerating, putting shitty words in my mouth. And I'm here now to talk about all the accusations the person has made. To the people who recieved the inbox message, here's your real explanation from the blogger who made the damn posts.

1. I 'nonchalantly' wrote twincest about Tom and Bill.

First of all, I have never in my life intended to ship the damn twins. If you have checked tumblr well enough, you should be aware there's tons of threesome sex fics about Tom and Bill, where they both fucked the reader at once. And if you fucking bothered to read my fic properly and not jump to conclusions to try so damn hard and cancel me, you'd know damn well Tom and Bill never even touched eachother in the fic that I wrote. They didn't have sex with eachother, they didn't DIRTY TALK eachother, and they did NOT do anything that would have come across as incest.

They both simply fucked the reader and talked to the reader, having nothing to do with each other in the fic. Get your damn facts right b4 you try to sound like a fucking smartass.

2. I want to be 'chained up and used.'

Kinks and fantasies everyone, c'mon. People have FUCKING KINKS. And mind you, this is tumblr. If you srsly see shit like this and start acting out because it makes you sad then clearly it's not for you so like just scroll? You have a damn finger, don't you? Unless, y'know, you cut the damn thing off.

Anyway, I think it's pathetic you're acting all petty over it cause you wanna cancel someone so bad and be the fucking hero of the day. Nobody cares, cunt.

3. I wanted to 'abuse' Bill.

To clarify this one, I do agree that the term 'abuse' was too strong. I don't intend to fucking abuse the poor guy, I just had no idea how to fucking word my sentence and how I was trying to get the damn message out. I've already edited my post on this one. So, chill out.

4. I'm 'anti-lgbt'?

This shitty one has been going around a LOT ever since I posted something regarding how annoying Bill was in the Kaulitz & Kaulitz series, where he talked alot about his sexuality.

First of all I'm not fucking homophobic. To let you guys know I am a Catholic Christian, (ik, not a very holy one) and supporting the lgbt community is definitely not on the list. And even if so, I do not disrespect anyone who's part of it. We aren't told to treat you guys any less. And for me, although I never encouraged the idea, I don't look lower on the person. Even I myself catch myself in a 'lesbian-feeling' situation sometimes.

And if you've seen the comments on the post I made about that Bill thing, all the comments agree with my anyway. We all collectively agree he went a little overboard but so what? I'm just saying. Suck on that, stupid hoe!

5. I support pedophilia.

Babe, check the post again and see how many people were totally okay with the damn post in the first place. I have never agreed ever that pedophilia was okay, and there's tons of older Tom fics with this age gap. Please, istg, do your research before crying over spilled milk to save yourself the embarrassment.

And, to let y'know, who ever sent these inbox messages, one of the friends that you sent these to—I think her name was 'pain of l0ve' or smtg—was totally one of the biggest supporters on that post asking for a full blown fic of older tom and the 17 year old girl. She uses to be my follower too. Dw, I have a screenshot before she blocked me and tried to act all shocked and surprised that I post those malicious things you said! ^^

mm...that really pissed me off ngl 🤷‍♀️

Anyway, that concludes it. Hope this answers your questions about all this misinformation that this person has spread in attempt to cancel me.

I also just want to put it out there that I'm really sorry for posting something like that, and now looking at it I do agree that it was weird. I apologise for anyone who got uncomfortable. All the death threats I've received weren't necessary though. I don't ever think it's right to go that far on anyone. Please be mindful sometimes. Other than that, I'm really sorry.

And I also wanna thank @itsangelll for being there for me when I couldn't answer all the haters myself. Girl you really helped me out, standing up for me and explaining the situation. Ilysm always 💗💗

But for the cunt that sent out all the inbox messages, I hope you had fun doing so anyways :3 I really do appreciate all the stalking and effort you put in just for me so you could cancel me and be heard! 🥺 Seriously the hero of the day! You really read through all my stuff so you could dig out the littlest things! Talk about dedication!! Quite obsessed I must say.

Kisses, love ya! 💋💋💗

[generalluxun]

MLS6 Sublimation

An analysis of Marinette's behavior/reactions (by request) Salt-Free.

This post is in response to an ask, because tumblr ate that reply and posts save drafts!

The ask was in regards to my statement in another post that Marinette's actions were a 'control' move, asking me to clarify what that meant. I'm going to break it down here, referencing (but not quoting I do not have transcripts) on screen statements and behaviors

The goal is explaining, not vilifying.

I don't blame anyone for missing some of this, the messaging was very muddled in this episode and you could easily lose things in Marinette's breakneck word-vomit as well as some mixed messaging later in the episode.

You can break down Marinette's behavior re:Sublime like this:

Motivation:Fear

Response:Control

Tool:Friendship.

Early on we establish that Marinette is afraid. She's 'not jealous'(she claims) but she very much is catastrophizing. She envisions Adrien liking Sublime better than her and deciding to go out with her. We'll put a pin in this for later but for our purposes now this admits her emotion: She is afraid.

Her response to this fear is an attempt to gain a level of control over the situation. If she has control, she doesn't need to be afraid!(She thinks) She goes right back into her (worst) habits of the previous seasons. She gathers intel, follows/stalks/spies on people, and forms elaborate plans.

All of these are bent to trying to befriend Sublime- but friendship isn't the real motivation, just the tool. I have no doubt Marinette would like to be friends with Sublime bit in this instance that is not *why* she is going to these lengths. Marinette believes if she is Sublime's friend that somehow she(Sublime) won't want to date Adrien, or maybe just that Marinette could spot anything forming and head it off. -She will have more control.

And that's it really. I'm not going to dig into Marinette's specific behaviors as I think they were done 'for the show' you *could* make the final talk with Sublime into being a control move too (guilt/pity so that Sublime would feel bad 'stealing' Adrien) but I think that was more about shoehorning in a 'lesson' while not wanting to address the lesson set up at the start(for unknown reasons)

Now I am going to get into *why* what Marinette is doing is actually worse than what she has done before. If you can't stomach even a well intentioned critique of our protagonist, this is your warning.

In Sublimation Marinette is treating Adrien as an *object*. From the very beginning her fear discounts his agency. Marinette us afraid Sublime will be better and so Adrien will leave. It's 1+1 to her.

The fact that Adrien has openly and repeatedly professed his love for her doesn't seem to weigh for anything. Are we to assume her own love is so mercenary? If someone just slightly 'better' than Adrien came along, would she jump ship? I'd like to think not.

Now, this is a common (and very tired) romance trope, but it is one that needs to die, and it feeds poorly into Marinette's other behaviors. It also shows a regression. It was one thing to worry that an Adrien who she wasn't dating, who hadn't told her he loved her, might be wooed by someone else amazing(Kagami). It is something else entirely to consider him fickle and a mere creature to be dazzled by a new and shiny thing.

Her approach -inserting herself into Adrien's friendship- also disregards his autonomy. Her little 'my future friends' speech might seem cute, but with the knowledge of her fear and the lengths she goes to, it is clear- Adrien can't have female friends who Marinette doesn't have an eye on.

A healthy response is to wait to be introduced. It is good to have friends who are 'yours' outside of who you are in a relationship. Each party should know people who are not beholden to the other.

If she couldn't wait(which we will allow for, anxiety exists) ask to be introduced. Keeping Adrien in the loop and letting him have agency in the hows, whens, and ifs of things is still reasonably reapectful.

Going behind his back to forge a connection without his involvement and 'usurp' the friendship is is just flatly unhealthy. Yes Adrien makes light of it, but this is the abused boy who has been told the person who abused him was a hero. His ideas about autonomy and self-worth are a bit sketchy at the moment.

This is not all to say Marinette is a 'bad person'. It *is* to say what she is doing here is bad, top to bottom. Marinette behaved terribly in this episode. Do not do anything remotely resembling what she did. Do not take away any of her justifications as valid. They are the same logic that an alcoholic uses to say 'Just one won't hurt'.

Here's to hoping this particular arc of Marinette's journey ends quickly. It feels like a real step back for her.

[offtorivendell]

On Elain, Gwyn and their apparent romantic worthiness.

TW: mentions of death, violent or sexual assault, infertility and pregnancy/childbirth related trauma. Please do not proceed if these topics bother you.

Disclaimer: please, please engage with this post with kindness. I promise I am not writing it to stir the pot, but because I - and many others - are fed up with seeing hurtful and harmful rhetoric spewed by the fandom, yet having no back up when dealing with it. Word vomit incoming, I'm sorry. This has been bothering me for a while.

My love to everyone who has been hurt by things they've read in this fandom. 💜

It's 2024 and I cannot believe we are still seeing posts, almost daily, about both of these women; all giving reasons why they cannot possibly be with Azriel. And I don't mean the debatable but utterly harmless discussions about Elain not looking good in black or Gwyn blabbing to Merrill when asked not to. Whatever, go nuts. I mean the truly horrific takes based around things these two women have had no control.

Now, my post history makes it very obvious where I stand in terms of ships, and yes, I'm well aware I've spoken before about the inherent power imbalance - that I perceive - which would exist if Azriel ever became involved with any of the priestesses in the women's shelter he is charged with protecting (to be clear, that's not me suggesting that Gwyn and her story isn't powerful, or powerful representation to those who see themselves in her, nor is it personal to Gwyn, or indicative of any of the sheltered priestesses and their ability to heal; it's purely a function of Azriel's position of authority over their sanctuary). I want to reiterate that my stating my feelings about this was never done with the intent to shame people who do ship them; we all ship who we like, and real world ethics should rarely come into it.

That being said, the following, in my opinion, is one of those times.

Firstly, I just want to say that lived experience informs how we interpret fiction, so please let me clarify something: the people who have said that they don't think Gwyn is ready for a relationship yet, and that NSFW fan art of her with anyone makes them uncomfortable, are not in any way in the wrong. They're simply the other side of the coin to those who find it empowering, and both are valid responses, often related to personal trauma. The problem lies with those very few who say that Gwyn could never have a romantic relationship, and call those who talk and/or post about it "gross." Some have called her "damaged goods." This is absolutely wrong and whoever is doing it needs to stop.

The entire fandom, even those who find romantic or NSFW content involving Gwyn uncomfortable to consume, frequently acknowledges that her trauma doesn't define her, and of course she should be able to enjoy love whenever she feels ready for it. Those who say otherwise are readily condemned from all corners. I've seen it happen and called the people out myself, as have many other Elriel shippers when necessary. However, Elriels are still very regularly and very publicly blamed for the actions of a few (some of whom I truly believe are burner accounts wanting to cause chaos, with their Elriel themed usernames and no post history), despite our largely collective action to call them out when we see it.

Could we do better? Absolutely, but so can you!

Because, on the other hand, I've noticed that, whenever I or others have tried to explain why the pliable bones "theory" - which attempts to reason that Elain could never be endgame with Azriel, as she and any baby would die during the course of pregnancy or childbirth - is equally as harmful, we are met with people publicly and wholeheartedly refusing to understand why (especially recently). Some horrific comments have been made to my friends, not to mention all of those I see well after the fact, which are never widely condemned by any but us. People will argue back that we're wrong, and have even suggested we're weaponising infertility! On Mothers' Day, of all the fucking painful days to say that.

Some of the push back I've seen recently includes:

"Nobody has said Elain is infertile."

No, nobody has, and that's not what we're saying or have ever said. We know you don't think this, as the Elucien fandom loves to write and draw Elain and Lucien's hypothetical future children (which is super understandable, as this is a romantasy fandom after all - no shame, enjoy your warm fuzzies).

What we are saying is that, if it's true that Elain's anatomy wasn't changed as Feyre and Nesta's was - and to be clear I cannot stand that entire plot, I wish SJM had chosen literally any other reason why Feyre's pregnancy was dangerous, as it is simultaneously degrading and doesn't fit with her previously established lore - then Elain and Azriel, together^, would be functionally infertile. Yet it's only ever framed as Elain's body not being able to work with Azriel's, never the other way around.*

^Why didn't the bat boys have to sacrifice their wings to keep their wives/mates safe? Why did the women have to change their anatomy? Because it would make it harder for them to be all powerful? Well Nesta sacrificed her powers! Why not just have Feyre be cursed by an enemy or something, and Nesta found a way to use the Dread Trove to save them all. Ugh. I love SJM's books, but this was such a miss.

*HOSAB/HOFAS SPOILER: funnily enough, this was never said about Ruhn and his eventual mate, even though he actually did think he may be unable to father children, thanks to the Oracle's prophecy. People shipped the hell out of him and a couple of different women throughout the CC series, despite the chance he could never get them pregnant.

"People haven't called Elain damaged goods, so it's not the same. We're allowed to not like her."

My faerie porn* lover in christ, what the fuck do you think the pliable bones "theory" is actually doing? It is suggesting that Elain's hypothetical inability to survive having children with Azriel, and for those children to also survive childbirth, is impaired. Ergo, she's damaged.

We don't care if you don't like Elain, we're allowed to have different preferences in characters and ships. That has never been the problem.

*I use this term with affection as a great lover of the genre.

But "damaged" vs a functionally "impaired" uterus? It's the same damn thing, and sorry, it's misogynistic af, not to mention ableist and homophobic at a minimum. In the same breath you are also reducing your favourite to her apparently functional uterus (even though the pliable bones argument is medically inaccurate, by the way - this is really damning of the state of health education across so many countries).

"Hahaha/lol."

Yes, I have seen people laugh and treat this as a joke. As recently as tonight, in fact. It's disgusting.

Regardless of your lived experiences and shipping preferences, both of these takes about Elain and Gwyn are equally degrading and horrific and need to stop, but if you're only calling out the comments that hurt you/your friends/your ship and not the others, then you should maybe attempt some basic self reflection and analyse those double standards you're carrying.

This entire fandom needs to do better. I'll say again, for the umpteenth time, to any of my fellow Elriels that if you think mocking Gwyn's past is funny, then you're not mature enough to read an adult series. But this works both ways, and if you think mocking infertility is funny/use it as a win, then you're just as immature. I would really and truly appreciate it if we were not left alone to argue over and over again why discriminating against someone who couldn't "have a man's children" is wrong, and why many, many people in this adult fandom - that is largely comprised of women! - might find such a theory, and the resulting discourse, incredibly upsetting.

Infertility hurts; not having a kid when you want one can be viscerally painful. Besides that, I know very few people who have given birth who don't carry around some sort of emotional or physical trauma from doing so. Treating a character's hypothetical infertility with one man as a joke is gross.

Please don't call Gwyn "damaged goods" or suggest that Azriel would choose somebody else over Elain because she couldn't have his kids.

They are the same thing.

It's not hard to be kind. Pain is not a competition.

We should all do better, and take care of each other.

[kanohivolitakk]

Ok let me explain why I reacted as I did in my last post, which was indeed regarding the scrapped Toa Inika concepts essentially vindicating why I'm one of the few people who believe love not being canon is a good thing.

Firstly, before anyone gets assumptions let me clarify something. I don't think having romance existing in Bionicle is inherently a bad idea in and of itself. Those who followed me in le olden days know I do ship characters from this stupid series. Romance existing in the world and characters having romantic relationships is something I don't inherently oppose.

That said

I've always believed that romance wouldn't work as a proper element of the story itself and would've made the series worse for a few factors.

For starters, I feel romance kinda, clashes with Bionicles core essence. Bionicle is fundamentally an action adventure story that focuses on mystery, intrigue and discovery in a fantastical setting, with heavy emphasis on worldbuilding and intrigue. Sure, there are other series with similar styles and goals that have romance. But usually they happen to only have part of those elements than all of them. Bionicle is already packed as is, so as such having romance would've just muddied the pack than made actual worthwhile addition to the story

Secondly...romance in these kinds of stories is rarely done well, unless it is one of the core components. In action and fantasy stories aimed at kids and teens romance is rarely (if ever) done well. Usually it's regulated to onedimensional love-interests, will they won't they plots or compelling characters being ruined by forced romance plots. While there are exceptions, most of the time romance in these stories feels forced rather than organic, and as such more of a detriment to the narrative than a benefit. Given how Bionicle was released during the heyday of mediocre forced romances and how the series already isn't that character centric to begin with, I absolutely believe the series would've stumbled with handling romance.

Thirdly, it's just nice to have a story that doesn't have romance at all and instead focuses on fun adventures and interesting mysteries. As I said, romance could've most likely been felt shoehorned or forced in, and thus its nice for Bionicle to exist as is without any unnecessary elements to drag it down. But in addition it's just...really refreshing and freeing. A lot of stories (especially of the time) feel very amatonormative where romance is expected as a natural part of live and thus exists in everything no matter what. As someone who both was annoyed by romance being everywhere no matter what (and is possibly onarospec on some degree) that kind of..refusal to amatonormativity is just...really nice.

Fourthly, it allows platonic relationships to shine. I feel that often (both in real life, fiction and fandom spaces) romantic relatinships are put bigger emphasis on than platonic relationships, whenplatonic relationships are just as valuable if not moreso. Platonic relationships are undervalued and certain traits are seen as inherently romantic. As such its just...nice to see characters have deep bonds and connections without being forced red string of fate either by the narrative, fandom or both.

And lastly...I just kinda prefer shipping in fandom over canonical relationships. Unless the story is focused on romance, has romantic relationship being important for the larger narrative/themes or there's a relationship that is geniunely compelling and fascinating I just prefer when audience can choose which characters they see being "together" rather than the writer "forcing" a relationship onto them. Like, I love Daggerspider but part of that is because I get to choose the ship myself rather than Greg (or anyone else) forcing me to accept it as canon.

So yeah that's why I always believed romance not being canon was ultimately a good thing and why I am somewhat against the fandoms desire to make it canon. If you want to meet me halfway I'm willing to accept romance as an element of the setting or have romantic relationships be subtext/canonicaal couples. But Bionicle should never be focused on romance because its lack of romance is ultimately for it's benefit I feel.

[funhouse-mirror-barbie]

I’ll be writing a critique of the way Blitzø and Stolas’ relationship was handled more at length, but I wanted to stop and take a moment to look at this scene from the new episode, “Full Moon”:

This is the sort of power and control that Stolas has always had over Blitzø.

It does not matter that Stolas has never threatened to take away the Grimoire before, or that they were “friends” as kids, or that he offered Blitzø a few months off, or that he’s been nice to Blitzø in the past, or that Blitzø actually does have feelings for Stolas.

When you are in a situation where you cannot say no at the risk of losing your livelihood, you cannot give true consent.

This is the very BASIS of their relationship. It has always been the basis of their relationship—a quid pro quo relationship where Stolas holds all of the power.

I have seen countless people go over and explain in great detail why the full moon deal was not truly coercive, or a quid pro quo situation, or how it was completely consensual.

And it’s just not. It is sexual coercion where Blitzø cannot give meaningful consent. Because if he refuses Stolas, he’s at risk of losing everything.

I want to clarify that my criticism here isn’t with this writing decision. I’m not trying to say anything along those the lines of “because this fictional character did a bad thing the story is bad and people who like the character support sexual coercion!!” That’s not what I’m saying at all.

I am bringing all of this up because my criticism is not of this writing decision, but because of the framing of the Full Moon deal and of Stolas and Blitzø’s relationship.

The narrative often frames Blitzo as if he is the one who has wronged Stolas by not prioritizing Stolas’ feelings and needs above all else. Or, it frames both Stolas and Blitzo as being equally in the wrong for the conflicts in their “relationship”.

This framing, and the extent to which fans try to justify it as being ANYTHING other than what it actually is—Stolas coercing Blitzø into a relationship where he has no power and is at the risk of losing his livelihood—is baffling to me.

This framing, coupled with the writer’s absolute refusal to ever have Stolas held accountable for his actions (including Stolas still not actually apologizing for the situation he put Blitzø into—he acknowledges that the relationship being transactional is wrong, but does not acknowledge that he was wrong to coerce Blitzø into that relationship. He says “…it isn’t right…it never was”, not “What I did wasn’t right, and never was”) is why I can’t consider St0litz to be just a “complex” or “messy” relationship.

It don’t think it can be, because it’s not a relationship. Not a real one. It’s a transaction, where Stolas treats Blitzø like a sex object. And whether that was the intent or not, Blitzø’s reaction above and saying that he would do anything to keep the grimoire makes it really hard for me to see St0litz in any other light.

As a final note, I’m not saying that you can’t write dark relationships, or have complex and unsympathetic protagonists. You can ship whatever you want! You can have characters that sexually coerce and abuse others, you can write every dark and twisted thing your mind can come up with.

But it’s very clear that Helluva Boss’s writers want to frame Stolas as being the wronged party, and the one who we are supposed to sympathize with—and you just can’t have it both ways.

You can’t act like you’re writing a complex love story between two very complicated and real people, when the relationship that you’re describing is so utterly one-sided and unbalanced.

[anoray]

Yep, lots to learn about pirates

Episode 5 of Skeleton Crew was great all the way around: the build up of tension, the hunt for the pirate's lair, the various revelations of key information while still keeping us in the dark about other remaining mysteries. SM-33 continues to be a crusty delight. Oh, and loved the huge octopus/squid who turned out to be an ally rather than a vicious monster. Keep the surprises coming, gang :)

This ep was able to combine a lot of humor with some genuinely scary moments, most notably showing how ruthless Jod can be. This did not come as a surprise to me considering we were introduced to him in the very first episode as Silvo in the violent attack on the other ship. I think the story needed to remind us at this point without any doubt that pirates are not actually the nicest and most trustworthy of people considering they are thieves, murderers and pillagers. They have a "code" of sorts amongst themselves to avoid utter chaos, but will turn on each other if they feel the end is worth the means.

Back to Jod, once he had the information he needed about At Attin, the children were no longer vital. Now, if he were truly vile, he would just either kill or leave them behind, but the fact that he planned to take them prisoners indicates he intends to return them home. He held the blunt part of the knife against Fern and clearly did not want to hurt her. For now, he knows the pirates and bounty hunters are not going to stop and he no longer has time to play cat and mouse with the kids. I am not excusing his behavior at all, I am just presuming this is how he is justifying his actions to himself.

I'm feeling quite sure we are going to get some sort of flashback next episode to help clarify Jod's background. At this point, he's reminding me a smidge of Peter Quill in Guardians of the Galaxy, who was snatched from home and raised by basically space pirates. It did not destroy his innate sense of right and wrong, but certainly twisted it up a few notches. I'm guessing a similar background for Jod, especially when he seemed to react to Wim's loss of his mother. I'm very interested to find out whatever tidbits we get before the season is over.

As for Wim, after all his missteps and awkwardness, I do believe he will finally get a real hero's moment before this is all said and done. It seems likely that the pirates are going to follow the group to At Attin and everyone aboard the the Onyx Cinder will be tested to their utmost, including Jod. Hopefully, he will redeem himself by or before that point! It's just fun feeling excited about how it's all going to turn out :)

[whoishotteranimepolls]

Welcome! Requests are Closed

I post a lot of polls, all in the name of some good fun. Please stick to the rules. If you made a request I'm getting to it, but I am a full-time college student, so I am very busy.

Propaganda is welcomed. However, please be respectful.

Disclaimer: My rules state characters must be canonically over the age of 15 or assumed high schooler or adult. Now that means minors can and probably will be matched up against each other and against 18+ characters. Please don't come at me about that choice. These characters are fictional. You can't hurt them, and a blog like this isn't going to normalize preying on minors. YES, it's wrong in real life, but anime teenagers are not normal teenagers. I literally just finished an anime about an assassin trying to get back to his wife. He was 16 and had a wife. I swore he was at least 20, but sometimes anime ages don't make sense. Please don't start anything, or I will start blocking. But for those of you who don't want to participate in those polls, I will tag them with #minor poll so you can block all polls that have confirmed 15-17-year-old characters. So if you have a problem with this decision, block the tag and don't participate. Don't start crap I have ways of punishing people even if they cause issues anonymously that's why there is fandom jail.

Now, that does mean please, in your request, mark that there is a 15-17-year-old so I can add the special tag for the sake of everyone that doesn't want to participate in these polls. To clarify, if they started the series at 14 and ended the series at 16, they will still qualify for my polls.

Now if you see a character that is a minor and the poll is not tagged, please let me know. You can politely leave a comment or shoot me an ask and I will add the tag. Some people are not the best at letting me know their poll has a minor in it and needs the tag when they request

Characters, where age verification is complicated due to magic, time travel, other universe shenanigans, or the immortal child trope are accepted on a case-by-case basis and will be tagged with the #schrodingers minor just to be safe

If the ship is incest, whether it be adopted or blood I will have to tag it with #incest ship so So people can filter it out if they don't want to see it. So if you see a poll that needs it. Let me know in the comments. However, this does not include found family. Please do not try to argue that ships like Naruto/Sasuke or Zoro/Sanji or somehow incest. I have seen things on the internet so I have to clarify.

If you have particular photos in mind, you can submit them through the inbox. Now if you send photos please no photo links. They are unreliable. They frequently do not work. And because I try to only use official photos, I do not accept links to Facebook or Pinterest for photos

Polls that contain spoilers relating to any fandom will be marked with the tag #spoiler poll so you can go ahead and block it now Now if you see a poll that contains a spoiler you can leave a comment and I will mark it. People are also terrible at letting me know if things are spoilers.

Not sure if the show counts here. Is it a list of cartoons and anime-like shows and if can they be requested before you ask

Please be aware sometimes people are degenerate and love to respond to things, with unhinged thirst so those posts will be tagged with #spicy or #nsft if you would like to block those tag

Non-Poll Series

These can all be found under their respective title tags

Poll Analysis, where I write down my thoughts about observations I have made about fandom behaviors and trends because some of you guys have interesting behavioral patterns, and I read every tag and comment left on my polls

Nicknames and Funny Tags, where I collect All those creative tags and comments that have been left on my polls for your viewing pleasure. I have posts dedicated to specific fandoms and their creativity, which I update whenever I have time

Fandoms vs Illiteracy, where I publish one of the many essays I receive asking me to ban certain characters or fandoms and due to their problematic nature or other stupid reasons. This can sometimes turn into a fierce debate

Defend Your Blurbo, (Series moved to sideblog) my bi-weekly series discussing how some people can find (insert Blorbo of the week) attractive. This can be funny. This can be stupid. Sometimes, this involves PHD level dissertations in defense of our favorite 2D characters. You never know what you're going to get. Also, look under the Defend your Blurbo response tag. That's where all my followers send their responses to the original Defend Your Blurbo post. Those can get wild! DyB Masterlist and Series rules and guidelines. This series is the reason I now have the #spicy and #nsft tags due to the amount of unhinged thirst that is NSFW so you can block those tags if you don't want to see it.

The Horny Scale (Series moved to sideblog) is a series where people ask where particular fandoms fall on the horny scale. I made details here, and the Masterlist. The series also use spicy tag system

Horny Jail's Anonymous: (Series moved to sideblog) Dyb and the horny scale's bastard child. For all the unhinged thirst and love letters to blorbos that I have received that do not fit dyb. Think of it as anonymous confessions. They come in two varieties: the Thirsties for all the thirsty confessions and the Fluffies for all the wholesome fluffy ones. They will be tagged with #thirsty and #fluffy accordingly, along with the usual spicy tags. More details here & here

Sideblog for the thirsty non poll series @welcometothehornyjail

Fandom Jail, aka the Wall of Shame

All fandoms listed below are serving their jail sentence due to bad behavior. Here are the dates of when you can expect to see polls from these fandoms again

The jail is empty. Everyone has been on their best behavior. Let's keep it that way

[yanderefairyangel]

Little ranting ( I know for a change) but

(warning : discussion of vanijeanne if you dislike this ship don't read)

Vanijeanne is that sort of ship you know is a real media literarcy test for people

And to clarify

I don't mean "people who dislike it because of how it's a toxic realtionship" that is perfectly valid

I mean the people who say stuff such as "it completely ruined Jeanne's character, she used to be cool and badass and now she is all blushy mushy" or "Jeanne is a girlboss she doesn't need a love interest especially one that cheapens her character to "cute uwu blushing waifu" or "vanijeanne is just shoujo trash and it ruins Jeanne's writing from a cool woman to just a "love interest", in short mainly critics of how it affected Jeanne's character and how she went from a "cool girlboss" to "cute uwu anime girl"

I am going to be harsh but someone needs to say it : Jeanne was never a "cool badass girlboss" and if you still think she is, I beg you to re-read the manga with close attention with the Gévaudan arc in mind

Jeanne as she appears at the begining of the story is a traumatized broken girl who bears a mask because she is told to by people

I think the Gévaudan arc made it very clear that Jeanne used to be closer to how she came to evolve then she ever was in chapter 1, look at little Jeanne

She was an energetic, lively kid honest with her emotions. To those who read PH, you might remember how Oz expressed admirations to the sincerity with which Alice expressed her emotions because he himself is unable to be as sincere with himself

Jeanne used to be Alice. She used to express herself with authenticity and you might be thinking it's to be expected, she is a kid, but she radicaly changes after her parent dies executed in front of her very eyes

Her whole life is completely shaken by this whole event, this doesn't just mark the begining of a traumatic new life with a haunting traumatic memory but a life of objectification

The main chapter exploring what happened to Jeanne after her parents died and she is about to become a bourreau is called "POUPEE FISUREE - the essence of the witch", it literaly means "the essence of the witch is broken/cracked doll".

There are thousands of explanation you can theorize about what is Jeanne's exact nature but one thing is for sure is that she existed for the sole purpose of being used as a tool, she is objectified down to her very core

The dialogue is explicit enough but the fact the first "You are a doll" is a black speech bubble conveys the tone of the scene, you don't even see Jeanne's face, only elements meant to convey the fragementary aspect of this memory

It all began long before Jeanne was found and adopted by her parents, how exactly it happened isn't the point here, rather it's because she was with them she could live as an average child when she was not meant to

The transition between how Jeanne used to be and how she is after her parents are killed is brutal but here is the interesting bit, the parallel between this page and the following

"You are a bourreau, a tool" is presented in the exact same manner as "You are a doll"

Jeanne's reminiscene upon hearing this is enough to understand that "you are a bourreau" = "you are a doll" = because "you are a tool"

Jeanne immediately prooceeds to believe that what happened was a punishement because she did the contrary of "what she was told"

If what she was told was "don't think, don't want, don't wish" it's easy to understand that back then, when she used to be a all happy child she did think, want, wish and the fact that she expresses herself with sincerity was meant to reflect that, she didn't felt the pressure of her fate yet but now that her parents are dead and because she believes its a punishement for her disobeying, she now has a pressure put unto her shoulder to accept being objectified

The bottom of the page specfically, with a dead looking Jeanne, the text, and the image of bodies piles is enough to understand that Jeanne's lack of expression comes from the fact that she is broken, that she musn't disobey this time and that she embraced her condition as a tool and the meeting with Chloé is essential to understand the extent of her condition

When Chloé faces Jeanne, this is how the scene looks like from Chloé's pov

There is a clear contrast between Chloé's memories of Jeanne and the Jeanne that stand before her, it's not just a matter of growing up, the change of expression from an innocent smile to a bloody expression, the light colors used in the flashbacks vs the reality where Jeanne is cloacked in black, the use of screentoones making the scene shine vs the other scene being darken by screentones

From Chloé's pov, it's like the Jeanne of the past is gone and got replaced by someone completely different, even thought the similar hairstyle proves otherwise

As for Jeanne, from her pov the scene plays like this

She is conflicted between her new nature as a bourreau and her frienship for Chloé, she don't want to kill her but "she can't want anything", she doesn't have the right to, and while from Jeanne's pov this is just a flux of contradictory thoughts

This is HOW her internal conflict looks like to an outsider

Even though we thought the old Jeanne gone, she is still there, she is simply supressing herself due to the trauma, her survivor guilt enticing her to repress herself, her emotions, her true despire but she can't

This is one of the time where she let the mask slips, she can't go on, even if Chloé encourages her, she can't bring herself to kill someone she'd much rather protect than go on, she is completely tore apart between her feelings and her new condition that forbids it, this is specfically why Chloé let herself fall from the cliff, to spare Jeanne from having to live with the pain of having to kill her, but that was still too much for Jeanne

I hope I don't need to point out how deshumanizing of bourreau the way these vampires talk is, the words they use in regards to Jeanne just kin her to a doll, if you gave this page out of context to someone who doesn't know any better about VNC, it's likely they'll think the characters are talking about a literal doll ! She stopped "being useful", they want to "throw her away" because "she broke", this is like a kid talking about getting bored of his toys !

Jeanne's hair is very imporant to understand the difference between past and present jeanne in a visual language, her long hair showcases which Jeanne is talking but that's how Jeanne feels inside, much like how little domi is how presetn Domi felt inside

She has been used way too much as slaughtering doll to view any solution to the problem as other than killing, she has been told naught but that and the situation in Gevaudan is making all of it resurface

So knowing that Jeanne when we first meet her in vol 1 is a girl that has been objectificed all the rest of her life (not even mentionning that Jeanne is like.... centuries old), had to deal with survivor guilt over her parent's death, unability to do anything when facing Chloé and that now, apointed as a chevalier she is having constant anxiety over her condition as a curse bearer and constant fear to harm Lucas because she had to face losing all the people that mattered to her

Are you still going to call Jeanne a "girlboss" ? Are you still going to insist the story used to present her as a "strong female badass, cool and emotioneless" ???

It might come off that way when you read the story for the first time when no one knew anything more about Jeanne, but in retrospective it is obvious that in reality it was just a mask that Jeanne bore because of her being told she is just an object !

"she is the hellfire witch she is meant to be strong she doesn't need a man !" I hear, and I have to remind that Jeanne NEVER CLAIMED this title for herself, it was IMPOSED on her by people, this contributing to her objectification, not a way to sound cool. Jeanne would much rather be something else than the Hell fire witch and this is part of the reason why her relationship with Lucas is important, it gives her something to protect when she was a mindless killing doll after she had lost the people that mattered to her. Lucas himself state that jeanne doesn't need to kill anymore because even he can sense she doesn't enjoy her role as the "hellfire witch", all it entails and Jeanne's continuing on insiting to kill even almost to a reflex level reflect the extent to which she has been objectified to the point she just can't see another way

In these early chapters, she isn't strong, she is simply bearing a facade, a mask. A motif re-used later in the ball masque arc to indicate all characters hide their truth self behind a mask. So you'll excuse me for thinking that there is NO ground to call someone putting a facade due to her contasnt objectification at the ends of powerful vampires exploiting her survival guilt a "girlboss"

And no, her falling for Vanitas does not make her weak !

In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if the real reason why Sensei had Vanitas approach her in such a disturbing way was to make him come off as also objectifying her to better reverse this idea rather than "making a shoujotrash plot point" (do I need to point the misogynistic implications of calling this "shoujotrash" or)

By this point in the story we know nothing of Jeanne and Lucas doesn't seem to be using her, he cares about her, so when Vanitas forces a kiss on Jeanne because he got "zoku zoku" over witnessing Jeanne letting the mask slips for the first time when she believes Lucs is in danger, we are compelled to think that Vanitas is a jerk because he is being a creep to a woman without thinking upon whether or not other people did worse to Jeanne

But as the story progresses it becomes increasingly obvious Vanitas was not the only one nor the first person to do things without any consideration of Jeanne's personal feelings, in fact it's the opposite !! It's specifically because few people treat Jeanne right that she is so easily swayed away by any act of kindness !!

This is portrayed comically because we are from Domi's pov who has no real idea of what Jeanne had to go through (as seen per pondering on who in Jeanne's family committed a crime)

But the point is that Jeanne's weakness to kindness stems from 1) she is being hated and feared as the "Hellfire witch", another form of objectifcation 2) she has been reduced to a tool and goes along with it because of her survivor guilt 3) Jeanne is deeply someone who is kind hearted and caring, a "maiden at heart" and this isn't here just for gap moe's sake, it's there to show the extent of her situation

It is absolutely twisted that someone who is fundamentally innocent and naive about many things shows a face that compleltey contradicts these notions for the only reason being "she has to bear a mask, she has to force herself into not wanting anything"

Because she internalized the orders given to her to her core, she is not used to receive any act of kindness nor to enjoy herself or just live like a normal person, she doesn't have the right to according to her superiors

That's not even mentioning she doesn't have a lot of people around her and isn't used to healy relationship

We all already know she lost her parents and her frienship with Chloé ended tragically to the point it haunts her still, but who else is in contact with ?

Ruthven : he is her teacher and he spared her a dreadful fate but it's very obvious Ruthven keeps a lot of secret from her, he made her swore an oath and shee cannot even talk about her condition due to it

I think the way she pictures Ruthven in this scene says enough about their relationship not being the epitome of healthiness. Ruthven's feelings regarding Jeanne are very complicated no doubt, but this is still an unhealthy relationship where Ruthven has control over her in ways Jeanne herself doesn't necessarily realizes

Luca : while Luca treasures her (and has a puppy crush on her) and Jeanne wants to protect him at all costs, Jeanne is also haunted by the fear she might hurt him

Dominique :

She originally approached Jeanne to tease Noé and immediately starts to feel guilty upon realizing Jeanne is a "good girl" because of Jeanne telling her... basics facts. Like, you have to understand that this scene right here just confirms that Jeanne doesn't have many friends and that she even worry about people getting close to her either 1) because they might be in danger if she doesn't behave 2) because she might be a danger to them 3) because her bad reputation and status as a tool can put them in a pitch

I don't have the domijeanne mini comic, but Jeanne is aslo swayed by Domi's acting kind towards her and that's how they befriend but you have to keep in mind that Domi wasn't in the best place mentally either when she approached Jeanne

Ultimately while not "toxic" Jeanne can't exactly confide in fully because 1) She views Luca as someone she has to protect so they cannot be equals 2) Domi views Jeanne as a reflection of her weak self, thus as someone needing to be protected thus they cannot be equals

This doesn't exist with Vanitas, he can be approached as an equal. Yes, you heard that right. Yes, Vanitas approached her in the creppiest way possible and should have been put in a jail a second time, yes Vanitas was being terrible to her many times, yes be blacmailed her, yes there are endless jokes about how jeanne just dances in the plams of his hands and yes their relationship isn't by any stretch of the imagination a heathly relationship

That's the point and Jun sensei's owns it

Vanitas clearly approached her in such manner because he was still thinking about how much he isn't worthy of love and he can safely love Jeanne because with how he treats her, he can be sure she will never reciprocate any feelings he can have towards her

And because he approached her that way, Jeanne can more easily let the original fear she expresses (for example when Domi invites her to dancing) aside, this how he progressively becomes someone Jeanne can relies on and thus, despite it looking like there is a power imbalance in favor of Vanitas, he is in reality able to be on equal terms

Most if not all of the Vanijeanne moment in the manga serves to flesh out Jeanne as a character which might be why detractors of the ship refuses to look past what it actually says about Jeanne's character in favor of a narrative where the "cool badass girlboss" has been ruined by the tiny rat doctor

However, they allow us to see past the "hellfire witch" facade and approach little by little to Jeanne's real core, but because she is still fundamentally conflicted and torn appart by condition, she isn't able to reveal herself fully, not to mention she is still warry of vanitas but because she is wary of Vanitas she can talk to him without feeling inferior or unworthy of it

Vanitas quickly becomes the one person she relies on the most, not just for blood and yes this is very likely what Vani truly meant when he told her to drink only his blood, especially given how the second condition is "call me by name. Even if he purposefully acts unlikeable, Vanitas is still Vanitas, he sensed Jeanne needed help and he investigates it, Vanitas deep down is someone who is kind and selfless after all, even if he would rather cut his tongue than admit it

Vanitas doesn't really take off his mask in front of her unlike how he does with Noé because Noé constantly confronts Vanitas, Jeanne is very passive in contrast, the one time she begins to see through the cracks is during the cabin scene where her getting angry isn't amusing Vanitas (because he likes to see her emote instead of her putting the poker face) because she is trying to make him think of his own safety for once, you know ? Self care, the thing Vanitas hate because he hate himself so much he think himself underserving of love

That is ultimately why Jeanne ends up falling for him

Vanitas is the first person ever to tell her she has the right to want things, that she is more than a doll, to explicetely tell her to her face she can wish for something

Even if Luca and others treat Jeanne kindly, they didn't necessarily told her outright "you can desire things" and yes, this is largely because Noé's influence on him is showing but given how the previous intereactions with Jeanne didn't got him to blame Noé for him saying certains things and making certains promises, it's fair to assume that prior to these, the moment where he was being considerate where just... Vanitas being Vanitas. He might have kept his mask on, he is still like this

Ultimately Vanitas keep his promise and that's what enable Jeanne to move on from her internal conflict : because now, she has seen one of the people she cares about being saved. It didn't ended like her parents, it didn't ended like it used to in Gévaudan and it doesn't implicate any of the fears she has towards Luca (largely fed by these two bad ending to her past relationships), her friend is safe and she just let her happiness explode with no restrictions

By helping Chloé, Vanitas also helped Jeanne finally come to term with one of the biggest issue she had so far : think of herself as someone who has the right to live (you know, like Chloé)

This is why finally allows Jeanne to reconnect with how she used to be in the past and deliver a big bright unrestricted smile with later on appearances confirming that Jeannes expresses herself more sincerely and without any complex, Domi commenting on her shinning or her contribution to the Attraction park arc

Falling in love with vanitas didn't made her weak, it did the opposite : it helped her finally break free from a doll of the senate, to be herself again

Jeanne never wanted to be a "cool girlboos badass" and when she appears as the Hellfire witch, it's not what she was, she was a girl whose innocence was broken, who was objectified and taken advatange of for her survivor guilt and forced herself unto a mask, to stop thinking, wanting, desiring, living in short, a simple killing machine

She fell in love with vanitas not just because he was kind to her but because he helped her overcome a situation that could have easily put her in her past situation again, making her go through the same internal conflict as she did, because he told her she has the right to live as an individual and not a tool

And that's what allows her to finally overcome this, to finally be able to be true to herself

How exactly is any of this weak ?

Since when strong is when no emotions, cool, etc ??? You know what that is ? It's just pushing toxic masculinity standards unto women, which is what has been happening in the whole subgenre of the "girlboss" protagonist making these characters unsufferable

You don't have to like Vanijeanne, you have the right to dislike it because it's not a healthy couple, because it makes you uncomfortable, because you prefer others ships heck if you think that's so bad it prevents you from enjoying moments in VNC that is fine

but don't call a victim of severe objectification forced to hide her feelings because of her survivor guilt a "strong cool badass girlboss", dont use her name of Hellfire witch like it's something she claims and is proud of when it's been put on her by people as another mean of objectification and don't call her finally recovering from it "weak" or "cute uwu blushing anime waifu shoujo trash slop" or any of the nonsense I have seen

It's one thing to dislike a ship, it's another to completely miss the point of what Sensei is trying to accomplish in the first place