#no matter if it's a ship or friends or what have you

[lovemyromance]

"All fated mates end up together and it's happily ever after."

Yeah that doesn't hold true if the author herself writes that Rhys & Tamlin's parents didn't have luck with their mating bond. She couldn't written them as just an unhappy marriage, arranged marriage (like LoA & Beron, Mor & Eris almost)... but she made them MATES.

Doesn't matter if they're abusive. If fate was ALL that mattered - SJM wouldn't have even included that little tidbit.

Why create a universe where all mates get together and then show us not one but two instances of mates being together and being miserable?

If fate is right every time - then there would be ZERO instances of a mating bond gone wrong. Abusive people wouldn't deserve partners - point blank.

Like you're telling me mates are so rare and a perfect pairing of souls - but fate decided to deal such a gift out to a BAD PERSON? What's more - Fate decided to PUNISH a good person by pairing them up with an abuser?

That's what you're oh so great romantic standard of fated mates love implies??? That's fucked. I'm sorry - I'm not afraid to say that's a CRAZY message to send.

What's more / SJM wrote that not all mates pairings work out in the same conversation about Feyre questioning Elain & Lucien's mating bond.

Regardless of what you want to believe about Elucien - that is a damning factor.

Their entire idea of Elucien depends on the fact that they are mates. If they weren't revealed to be mates already - nobody would have read their already limited interactions and come to the conclusion that "yeah ... these guys are giving 'mates'".

Don't tell me I'm wrong. We have been given nothing about their relationship or compatibility during interactions to show us this couple has chemistry and would fit well together.

You can sit here and pull out a screenshot from 2015, you can sit here and fantasize about Lucien clicking with the kind of social butterfly Elain was at age 13 (bc yeah people never change from their preeeten selves) ....

But nothing on the page - not even a wayward thought about the couple from her sisters or friends and family - has done anything to suggest this couple is compatible. In fact, MULTIPLE characters have done the opposite. They have questioned their bond and pointed out how uncomfortable Elain & Lucien are around each other.

Just because Lucien allegedly "fucks like fire" whateva that means and SJM said once they'd like nature together (btw she also said Tamlin was her favorite just the year before) ... doesn't mean even SJM is planning for them to be together.

Not when everything she has done SINCE they've been declared mates has been against Elucien. The only saving grace of the Elucien ship has always been "but they're mates!"

And even that shit went up in flames the moment SJM said sometimes mates don't work out.

If that wasn't enough - SJM continued to write this couple to have the most uncomfortable stiff interactions for the next 3 books.

She continued to have OTHER characters even witness their reluctance to be near each other.

She continued to go on talk shows, give her stamp of approval interviews that all talked about when fate pairs you with the wrong person, about wanting to explore a rejected mating bond.

There has been so much evidence against Elucien that I'm convinced even the people that cling to the "but they're mates " excuse know they're on a sinking lifeboat.

Literally WHO ELSE could the rejected mates theory be about if not the ONLY unacceptable mating bond we have in the series??

Why would it NOT be about Elain & Lucien is the real question.

"Because Lucien isn't abusive"

Ok... and yall the same people who think the rejected mating bond is about helion & LoA... don't tell me you think that Helion is abusive now...

Face the facts! It's not too late to take the clown makeup off folks

[evilbookworm]

Answering dumb milkvan arguments I’ve seen on YouTube and Reddit because I don’t have accounts on there.

“There weren’t that many gay people in the 80”s! Robin and Will is already pushing it!” There were gay people in the 80”s. They were just scared of being dragged through the streets. Being gay isn’t a statistic. Anyone can be gay. You can’t just base it off a number. That’s just stupid. Like saying that there’s too many people of different race or nationality in your friend group. Find a better argument.

2. “But Mike and El have been endgame since season 1!” Ok, first of all, El was originally supposed to die, so no, they haven’t been endgame since s1. And last time I checked, the first meaningful interaction in the show was between Mike and Will. Not very concrete.

3. “Bylers look too much into things! What does the camera angle have to do with the ship??” Everything. It has everything to do with it. If you milkvans would stop and pay attention for once, you’d see the things we do. Basic cinematography tells you that you’re meant to interpret everything. Mike bathed in bisexual and gay lighting? Not a coincidence. Mike and Wills interaction at the airport being directly paralleled to the scene between Ron and Hermione in HPATCOS (not to mention it was also on the duffers list of movies that inspired them)? Not just a happy accident. So stop. Think before you make stupid points.

4. “Oh but heterosexual relationships are the norm, so obviously milkvan is going to be canon!” First of all, there are so many things wrong with this argument. Starting with the fact that there’s obvious homophobia coming from this statement, and remind me, why are you a fan of a show that villainizes homophobia??? Not to mention the fact that this is the piece of evidence you’re relying on, and not something from the actual ship, or show, for the matter, tells me plenty about how that couple is going to go down.

Anyways yeah long rant that was but it just really annoyed me.

[macethetiredartist]

Curly is an enabler

TW: MENTIONS OF RAPE AND SEXUAL HARASSMENT, SPOILERS FOR MOUTHWASHING

Listen, I know Jimmy is a rapist and he is absolutely irredeemable and overall just a POS, but Curly isn't a saint either. After Anya told him that she was pregnant, his immediate reaction was to go to Jimmy. However, this doesn't make him a monster. Jimmy is Curly's best friend and has been for years, it makes sense that he'd be conflicted. But his friendship doesn't matter, and it shouldn't when it comes to something as serious as sexual violence, he is the captain of a ship and it is his job to keep his crew safe. He couldn't have stopped the rape, but he could've made Anya feel safer.

In this situation Jimmy is the abuser, Anya is the victim and Curly is the enabler.

Adding onto this, Jimmy's joke about being sexually attracted to horses can be seen as a silly little joke that can be brushed off, but knowing what Jimmy did to Anya, it is sexual harassment. He is intentionally making her uncomfortable to have power over her, to let her "know her place".

Curly is a kind and trusting person, which is an attribute to strive for, however in his case it becomes his biggest weakness. It is Curly's fault that the ship crashed. He knew that Jim was at least somewhat unstable and yet let him run around unsupervised. He is in a hell of his own making. I'm not saying that Curly is irredeemable, but he isn't a good person. He's nice and caring, but he's not good. The victim always comes first, regardless.

Of course, feel free to correct me on anything I got wrong or debate with me in the comments if you think Curly is genuinely a good person. It was kind of hard to write this because he's a good person but at the same time he's not? idk.

[quinnverse]

“You flatter me, Mister Bolton.” She retorted in a dry tone. “But I have a feeling I’m not the only one who thinks poorly of you. I’m just the only one brave enough to do something about it. I'm not some arse-kisser who's going to lick your boots like the rest of your conquests might be eager to do. I, for one, despise you and I will not allow you to forget it.”

I told you to leave Finnegan alone. I told you, I told you, I told you. The more he told her things, the less she wanted to listen, but he didn't care. Emma knew that men like him were probably used to people taking his word as gospel. While the world bent to his every whim, she would stand her ground and remain resilient against his orders.

"What makes you think I'm inclined to listen to you? I told you I won't marry you, but you don't listen to me. It's awfully frustrating, isn't it?" Emma crossed her arms over her chest, knowing full well that she was being catty over the situation, but too deep into her ire to backtrack. “Besides, I enjoy the sea as well. I spend a lot of time on ships traveling across the pond. Perhaps, him and I might find ourselves married to it together. And far, far away from you.”

He gritted his teeth and Emma thought, for a split second, that he might raise his hand to strike her. She braced herself for the force of his hand, but when it clasps onto her neck and brought her closer to him, she froze. It took her a long moment to realize what was happening, in the moment and in her body as she resisted the urge to wrap her arms around him and tug at his clothes. His soft groan sparked a fire in her stomach and she nearly gave in until he tugged on her lip with his teeth and broke the spell.

“Get off of me!” Breathlessly, she shoved him away, batting at him with her arms like a feral cat. Her lips still tingled with the taste of him but she tried to ignore it. It scared to her to think that if she'd spent a moment longer kissing him, she might not be able to control herself. If she spent another second with his tongue in her mouth, she might end up begging him to take her virtue here on the barn floor.

“What is wrong with you? Jesus H. Christ, do you have no shame?” The words flew from her lips with a small spray of spittle, her own mind unsure of who the words were directed at. Shaking her head of the embarrassing thoughts, she wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand. It didn’t matter that she wanted to continue, that she enjoyed the way her body warmed at his touch. She didn’t want him. She couldn’t want him.

Ignoring the furious blush on her cheeks, Emma shot a quick, panicked glance towards the barn door. His friend could easily meander back in to witness such a scene. She doubted the man would be too offended by it, but it would certainly make it harder for her to continue her flirtatious charade if he caught her canoodling his partner. Or even worse, she realized, her father could decide to pay an impromptu visit to the stables and stumble upon this horrid scene. Then, she would have no choice but to marry him. Then, she would lose the game entirely.

“I can pursue whoever I damn well please. You're not my father and you're certainly not my husband. So, if Mister Finnegan likes me, I don’t need your permission to reciprocate his affections."

When he spoke, she bristled, fingers curling into fists at her sides. Her eyes glowed with anger as she stared up at him. I don't think it will be difficult to prove to him just what kind of woman you are. Emma gawked, brows furrowed in disbelief.

“And, pray tell, exactly what kind of woman is that? The type that is harassed and threatened by men with no concept of the word ‘no’? Or the type that is hunted and bedeviled and, now, accosted in the safety of her own goddamn home?" She perched her hands on her hips, a spark of defiance catching alight in her chest. “Or do you merely mean to stick your nose into this because you’re upset it isn’t you I’m flirting with?"

She found it harder and harder to maintain her composure around him and Emma was infuriated by how easily he managed to pester her. Belle had told her more than once that she was lucky to be an only child, but she was beginning to realize that having the practice of an obnoxious younger brother would've helped prepare her for such a thing. Normally, she considered herself unflappable, but the presence of this heinous mam had proved that perhaps she wasn't as invincible as she thought.

“Our agreement was that you behave yourself. That very same agreement is the only thing stopping me from giving you a matching bruise on the other side of your stupid face. Either follow the rules of the game, or the deal is forfeit.”

Taking a step back, Emma tried to collect herself. She wiped the sweat of her hand off onto the bodice of her gown, flattening out the rumpled fabric. Whenevr she was around him, she felt like a child. They argued like children, teasing and tormenting one another, and--not for the first time-- she found herself wishing they were children so that a swift kick to his shin wouldn't be considered uncalled for.

"Really, Mister Bolton, do you think behaving like a child will make me want to marry you? Because as far as I can tell, Mister Finnegan is twice the man that you are! And if he got on his knees and proposed to me right now, I’d be damned well tempted to accept!”

She didn’t mean to raise her voice, didn’t even realize she was shouting until she heard the echoes of her words reverberate throughout the barn. Gritting her teeth, Emma lowered her voice and spoke in an even tone.

“I might remind you that I gave you the chance to act upon your carnal desires, but you refused. You had the chance to kiss me, touch me, ravish me, and whatever else you please, but you thought your hand far more suitable for the job, so you don’t get to choose me now that your britches have grown too tight." The words were laced with more venom than she had intended, realizing only in that moment how desperately she had wanted him to accept the offer to follow her to her boudoir.

Huffing, she began towards the door, only pausing to toss a warning over her shoulder. "I urge you to behave yourself, or I will match your immaturity. And I will do it far better than you."

"I assure you, I have no idea what you're talking about." Emma affected a look of faux innocence, her eyes wide and imploring. "Your friend is quite the catch. Especially compared to you."

Benjamin snorted. "No argument. But perhaps it is you who brings out my alleged loathsome side."

Emma's eyes narrowed at the unspoken challenge. "Tell me, do you think he's the marrying sort? You couldn't possibly marry a woman who's already engaged, now could you?"

Benjamin bristled. "I told you to leave Finnegan alone. He's married to the bloody sea, so you can drop this charade whenever you're finally ready to admit this is merely an attempt at proving your point."

A darkness shrouded Emma's eyes, stark and chilled akin to a deadly ocean. "Are you threatening me, Mister Bolton?" She stepped forward, crowding his personal space.

"When it comes to my friends and loved ones, then yes, I suppose I am," Benjamin fired back.

She simpered. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were jealous." Smug in her amusement, she raised a challenging brow. "Don't tell me you're actually starting to take interest in me. I'd hate to break your heart."

Benjamin gritted his teeth. With vindictive fanfare, he curled his hand around the back of her neck, then yanked her forward until their lips were clashing in a fierce, almost painful kiss that rolled through him in needful waves. Even with her smug mouth otherwise detained, she was so damnably infuriating. His goal was to stop her sneer, to make her regret her decision, and yet with their tongues tangling and his hand twisting through her hair, it was difficult to ignore his own mounting want as he groaned into her mouth and gently bit down on her bottom lip.

This was the kiss that had haunted him -- baited him, tortured him -- and breathless, he finally broke away from her in a huff, his eyes glittering as he warned, "You leave Finnegan alone. I don't think it will be difficult to prove to him just what kind of woman you are." Wiping the back of his hand against his mouth, he coolly gestured her onward. "After you."

[voxofthevoid]

relate to being turned off from satosugu bc of the fandom. especially being on twitter makes me feel crazy omg bc i'll see posts where people are straight up acting like gojo was completely fine with what geto did bc gojo is just oh so down bad for him and loves him more than anyone else in the world and he doesnt care about anything he just wants geto back. and that is just. so untrue and also so boring, imo.

Because to me, gojo truly *is* a good person in his actions. he says crass things and maybe his mentality can be detached at times, but he always helps people where it counts. Even when he was taking Riko's body away and he asked geto if he should just kill the cult members and geto said no- I have a hard time picturing gojo actually going through with it even if geto *had* said yes. Because for all that gojo postures, I don't think he truly has that kind of bloodlust and rage in him, imo. Not even saying that I think killing those cult members would've been bad, or that Gojo would never ever kill anybody (simply not true), I just simply don't think gojo wouldve stopped walking, turned around, and killed allll those people in that instance (or if he did, I think he wouldve felt,,, off about it afterwards, despite what he said).

But I see so many stsg shippers who act like the only reason gojo was heartbroken about the situation was just because geto left him, and not bc, yaknow, geto committed reprehensible atrocities and became a supremacist. and i'm like,,, are we watching the same show? it's truly such a BAFFLING perspective of the relationship to me. like why erase their moral differences ? doesn't that make the ship more interesting? Sometimes I feel like the reason they do that is bc they can't handle the fact that Geto post-defection is seriously NOT a good person. at all.

stsg as a ship could be sooo much more interesting, imo, if people didn't erase the fact that geto BETRAYED gojo with what he did. not just the leaving. the village massacre, the parricide, the fact that he had no shame about it and stuck by his actions. all of those things betrayed gojo. bc i think gojo truly does want to help people, and he thought that, no matter how hard it was, he would always have geto along with him to do it, and that would make the pressure easier. instead geto chose to become one of the people that makes gojos job harder, lmao.

i think if shippers actually acknowledged that fact the ship wouldn't feel so fucking boring to me.

I’d save you from Twitter if I could, friend. Not saying other sites are free of harebrained idiots. I have Getou and satosugu blocked here for a reason, and I’ve seen screenshots of rancid fucking takes from TikTok and Instagram. Even Reddit—and I’m talking about canon discussion subreddits that generally ban ship talk—didn’t spare me from having to see people’s most reductive takes on this ship. But Twitter in particular seems to be where brain cells go to die.

Nothing in the world can make satosugu compelling to me, but objectively, it’s a ship with rich potential—for angst, for drama, for fluff, for toxicity, for love, for hate, for all of it combined. Like you’ve said, one of the most interesting facets of their relationship is how their bond culminates in betrayal. I’m personally quite interested in the fact that Gojou killed Getou despite loving him, after sparing him for eleven years because of the very same love. It’s not like Getou was ever harmless—he was a special-grade curse user, not the kind of threat you want running around. His cult activities and killings weren’t exactly subtle either. That angle—the fact that love makes Gojou turn a blind eye to Getou’s actions until he crosses a line even Gojou can’t abide—is very, very interesting to me as someone quite obsessed with Gojou’s characterization. People who have an equivalent interest in Getou would find plenty there to peel apart, probably. The two of them together would also offer rich, nuanced grounds for exploration, and I’m sure there are people doing just that.

But fandom spaces as a whole have become exceptionally sanitized recently. I’m not talking about people who generally simply prefer fluff and write that regardless of canon dynamics; there’s nothing wrong with that. We’re all allowed our self-indulgent tastes. But what you’ve described—a tendency to erase characters’ dark or grey morality, to think along black-and-white lines that put people into neat little boxes, to remove unsavory or unhealthy elements from relationships—has been plaguing fandoms more and more, especially fandoms with a large number of young(er) fans. JJK is definitely one of those.

I’ve seen similar takes on a lot of JJK ships as well as platonic relationships, like goyuu shippers asking why fic authors write Gojou as predatory toward Yuuji in canon settings with their canon ages (yeah, a real mystery why a 28 y/o romancing/fucking a 15 y/o would be written as predatory) and dad!Gojou truthers earnestly arguing that Gojou has paternal feelings toward Megumi (or Yuuji or his students in general) and is also such a good dad. I’ve seen it with even sukugo and tojigo, in the brief days before both wound up on my blacklist.

Basically, it’s a fandom-wide issue in the English-speaking JJK sphere (I’m sure the Eastern side and other language/region-specific sides have their own debates and issues, but I’m unfamiliar with those), and because satosugu is the biggest ship in this sphere, it has a significantly larger number of voices making themselves heard—as well as a significantly larger number of nuance-allergic dumbasses making themselves heard. The latter tends to be so fucking loud, often drowning out the other voices. It can feel inescapable, even with filters and shit.

[skateboardtotheheart]

there is just something about the difference between edwin's love interests and having the cat king's reaction to edwin in hell being "i'll be waiting when he gets back" vs charles "no version of this where i don't come get you" rowland convincing a powerful trans-dimensional being to open a door to hell just so he could get him back

i am insane

[gomzdrawfr]

content warning: blood

Loyal to a fault

bonus + other versions:

Bonus:

Alt:

the words on Ghost's body reads:

LOVE (level of violence)

it takes a monster to destroy a monster (poorly cropped i apologize)

Loyal Dog

Vēnor (Latin verb for hunt, chase)

this is something very different to what I usually do I hope yall don't mind....also this was me when I was sharing this with my friends...because priceghost/ghostprice dynamic really gets a grip on me

[sskk-manifesto]

Bungou Stray Dogs: Dead Apple and how “ability users” (opposite to “normal people”) learning to accept themselves through the acceptance of their own abilities is a queer metaphor of acceptance of own's sexual orientation and gender: an essay by me

[dykedvonte]

Honestly I see Jimmy's refusal to put Curly out of his misery less about his weird feelings of envy or his delusions but the fact Curly is all but stated to be a shield to Jimmy from his actions and people seeing the worst in him.

The only characters that Jimmy really interacts with one on one before the crash are Curly and Anya, two individuals he has wildly different relationships with. It's likely that Curly really did most of the talking between them as the pilots and the rest of the crew as staff. They didn't know of Jimmy's more reprehensible behaviors cause they never really had the chance to and Jimmy is subconsciously aware. If they had disliked him more than Anya would have told Swansea earlier or even Daisuke when things got really bad.

It's why he takes the immediate opportunity to blame Curly; He's the shield. He's saved Jimmy's ass more times than he can count and more times than Jimmy would ever admit. Even when he can't really do it anymore, he mentally shields himself from his own faults by putting Curly between them. Letting Curly die puts too much on him because he doesn't know how to function without a safety net.

In the end Curly only lives because Jimmy needs the idea that Curly will inevitably make things better to stay alive, meaning Curly has to live, no matter how much it pains him to do so.

[phoenixcatch7]

In love with the idea of captain marvel being Billy's imaginary friend. Like, it'd be so easy. Early depictions had them as almost fully separate people sometimes, like one soul with two minds, rather than just two filters like we mostly see now.

But imagine a Billy down on his luck, hurt and hiding from police and criminals alike, daydreaming the hours away as children do, taking inspiration from all the superheroes rising to fame, making little stories to play out his dreams of saving the world with a generic action doll he found while dumpster diving once. Most of the paint's rubbed off.

Red's his favourite colour, his comfiest jumper is a bright ruby even after all the grime and washes. Gold, too, it's shiny and warmer than silver! A hero cape is a must, big and eye catching! And he can fly, of course, like superman, and in his daydreams, when he's sore and frustrated after a long day's grind, his superhero is smart enough and knows all the right words to get the bullies to stop without resorting to fighting.

His superhero fantasy is one he spends a lot of time on, the first one he goes for when struggling to sleep at night, and he can picture it so clearly. Captain marvel is big and bright and kind, strong enough to lift the boxes for the old lady up the road who's moving all by himself, fast enough to catch Jamie who fell out of the tree on Saturday and broke his leg and couldn't come to class for weeks. He appears at the entrance to alleys when Billy is cornered, he steps up behind to cover for him when he gets caught shoplifting, he sits at the bus stop with him when it's pouring rain and the right bus doesn't seem to be coming.

And then the wizard comes, or rather whisks him away, and like a magician from a fairytale breathes life into his imaginary friend until Billy feels thrice his size and a million times more invincible.

From then on, captain marvel is a real hero, just like Billy is a real boy, and as one they save the whole city, and then the whole world, and get cats down from trees and help Mrs Victoria move the last of her boxes and she gives them a pinch in the cheek and cookies for the road and sometimes it hurts but it's so much better than he imagined.

[ghastlyaffairs]

Strife! Strife! Shoot the freaking imp!!!!!

[creativesplat]

ok... so Lambert x Eve...

Eve and the two Blaiddyds

Lambert and the two Fierenes

The step-siblings

@blaiddydbrokeit and I were talking, and they have now sent me down the wonderful rabbit hole that is Eve and Lambert getting married and looking after their children.

[razzledazzletrassh]

no major fic updates just yet guys TAKE MY WOY OC I MADE LIKE. April of last year IM PLUGGING SOME INFO ABOUT THIS GUY IN THE TAGS.

I may also redesign her soon or something. Make her more bug-like with some stuff. I can cook guys let me cook !!!

[cuteniaarts]

@katkastrofa, circa 40-ish hours ago: Hey, what if our newest bunch of OCs adopted a baby from one of the other brothel girls who knew she couldn’t afford to raise one? That would make for some fun shenanigans :D

Me, with a notoriously non existent sleep schedule, instinct of self preservation or concern for my poor wrist: Alright, bet. Watch how fast I can make you fall in love with this hypothetical baby >:)

Daneli as a gentle and loving caretaker-turned-adoptive-mother is something that can be So Personal, actually, and originally I was going to leave it at this quick sketch, but then I got carried away thinking about what this child will grow up to be like raised by this little gang of misfits, so…

Here she is!! A little older and so, so beautiful, I need more of her in my life immediately, she’s way too precious

And, because I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t also add a sapphic element to this absolute cinnamon roll, a small crack ship that I’m only half serious about for when she’s a little older still:

All in all, we may be getting impossibly far from canon, but I for one already cannot get enough of sweet darling Kumisai <3

(I fully drew three pieces from scratch in 9 hours I cannot feel my brain or my hands anymore send help)

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

Kingdom Hearts 🤝 Sonic Prime

Listen, focusing on a person's relationships/friendships with a bunch of people and their very strong relationship with a particular person are not mutually exclusive things. It is true there is a focus on bonds and the main character's relationship with multiple people as there is a very clear focus on their relationship with one particular person.

[pissfizz]

I remember why I stopped reading this fic oh my god