#really really gross imo

[qu0rky]

As much as i can understand where Via is coming from, and her feelings are valid, she doesn’t see her dad as a living person outside of just being her father. And that isn’t right. It’s especially not right seeing just how many people feel absolutely no empathy for him.

“She was just a child having to endure all that!!” Okay, and how old was Stolas when he had to marry an abusive girl and have a kid of his own, exactly? At least he gave Via a chance to have a good childhood, he didn’t have one. He didn’t have anything except for his duties to carry out.

And while it’s heartbreaking that Via sees herself as an obligation, that’s literally what she was supposed to be. Though that doesn’t mean that was how he saw her. She was what saved him, what made him endure all the abuse, what kept him going.

But sometimes that’s not enough, he had NO ONE to confide in and couldn’t put his frustrations on his own kid (because he’s a good father, despite what some of you would like to believe, clearly you didn’t grow up with a parent trying to guilt you by traumadumping when you can barely understand it), so he also NEEDED the pills.

The thing is, i also had that mentality towards my mom for dealing with depression UNTIL i started experiencing it myself. Because it’s so hard to realize that your parents are also human beings, since they’re supposed to protect you, they’re supposed to have everything figured out, to be the shoulder you cry on.

But if i see another dumbass claim that he CHOSE to leave and made the wrong decision in Mastermind, i need you out of this fandom. The whole point of that was that he had no choice, was he supposed to throw away the man he fell in love with, his first friend, his first time that wasn’t for procreation, and the one who liberated him? Stolas is allowed to care for more than one person, and he deserves to be loved romantically by someone.

You’re being too harsh on Stolas because for whatever reason you hate an abuse victim finally having a say in how to live for once in their lives, adding on top of that the weird, underlying homophobia in some of your criticisms for him.

Also i have a bad taste in my mouth from Via only seemingly hating Stolas, despite having SEEN how shitty Stella is. Sure, she doesn’t know the full extent of the abuse, but she’s heard the yelling, she’s seen the throwing, the ridiculing, the insensitivity. And most likely that woman neglected Via as much as possible, because she also didn’t choose to have her, but unlike Stolas she didn’t give a fuck to take responsibility regardless. (Reminding you of the “You get up” comment from Loo Loo Land). This was all happening before the cheating, so that’s not an excuse for her behavior (not that the cheating was, but at least Via would have been able to reason with her reaction to it).

It’s a complicated situation and it’s so shitty to put all the blame on Stolas, he tried so much for his family, but it was never going to be enough, because he’s gay. I’m glad he got out of that marriage.

Honestly, had i been given all those responsibilities at his age in a loveless marriage, i would’ve gone insane. I wouldn’t have been kind to my child, the cause of my shit life. But he never saw her as a weight on his shoulders, he has so much love for Via.

[ravenkings]

can anyone explain to me how this isn’t just purely antisemitic and misogynistic

[blackseafoam]

✨SHIN✨

[oceanwithouthermoon]

another thing i dont like about the belief that soulmates are a strictly romantic thing is like... people in this fandom will be like "aiura and saiki are only not dating because hes aroace" which does not make sense and is weird 😭 so like you think soulmates have to be romantic but it can cancel out if one of them is physically incapable of feeling romantic feelings... which, even though its STRICTLY romantic in your mind, is apparently totally possible and somehow more acceptable than just not dating your "soulmate" because you dont like them like that

"theyre not dating AND hes aroace" makes sense. "theyre not dating BECAUSE hes aroace" does not make sense.

[shuteyelenz]

The amount of HATE I have for Fanon Billy is crazy like what the fuck he does NOT talk like that or act like that shut up..

[thepoisonroom]

apologies if this is a dumb question and i won't be offended at all if you dont answer/dont know but since you've worked in libraries before i was curious if you knew how to let your library know you're interested in an audiobook they haven't purchased ? i know i used to be able to make requests on overdrive but since the switch to libby i haven't been able to figure it out. i hope youre having a lovely day whether you can help or not and appreciate you taking the time to read all this 💛

sorry for the late reply, i haven't been online much and just saw this! most public libraries will have a form on their website called something like "purchase request" or "suggest a title" that you can use to request things! people often think this is only for books, but most places will let you request audiobooks, DVDs, etc. librarians won't always add the things you request to the collection, and they often can't explain every decision in detail due to volume, so results may vary.

the one thing to be mindful of is that audiobook/ebook licensing can be really weird, and sometimes publishers do make it really difficult or impossible for libraries to license certain items! so if your library doesn't get something you ask for, that sucks and is disappointing, but please don't hesitate to keep sending in requests as you have them! that info is always super helpful for collections folks looking to add things to the library that they think you'll want and use!

[midwesternlariat]

i was late to raid tonight due to texting about old man yaoi

[give-grian-rights]

did you see the statement against Majo- Ellen's actor, it's...a lot to take in

https://x.com/artistz93/status/1724168049480085988?s=46

i contemplated not posting this, but I know there's only so many other blogs that'd do so.

I am disgusted and appalled by the behavior shown in these screenshots. It is incredibly frustrating to see yet another individual come out of that sphere of people and be horrid. I was already familiar with the depravity of Yuki, and the quiet allegations posed against them.

I do not have my own experience along the same lines (much less with a creator) but I do believe that bringing some of this information to enforcement might be for the best. I understand that this is easier said than done, due to either online anonymity, family, etc., and as such respect and understand the lack of involvement with law enforcement.

I'm so fucking sorry to any of the people who had been affected by Ellen, and I hope that you guys can find some sense of closure from this. Out of my own experience with his lack of maturity and inability to reasonably approach these matters, I would like to say to any of the parties involved that I would not recommend bringing this to Sam.

While I am not saying he would support these actions, I am willing to assume he likely would not care, nor is there any responsibility he could really claim, outside of giving Ellen (and Yuki) the means to start a platform.

really fucking shitty way to end the night. fuck Ellen, Yuki, and Sam How I will go forward with YHS: I have taken a break from posting about Ellen, as both he and Yuki truly do not deserve any sort of positive affirmations regarding their past work. While I'm not sure how long this break will proceed for, any further communications involving their fictionalized characters will likely be altered, and I'll likely change aspects of their characters.

I'm not the most active or frequent when it comes to commentary and fan content involving YHS, due to quite obvious reasons. However, it's still something in the back of my brain and something I don't intend on straying far from with my fan creations. For better or worse, it shaped a part of me. Quite frankly, in ways it never should've.

EDIT: I did not feel satisfied with this my original posts as my thoughts were generally disorganized due to the fact I was beginning finales at the time this situation was brought forward to me. I also broke it up into how I will be going forward with their characters, and my message to anyone involved as I do not want to make this about me. It is not. It's about the gross behavior displayed, and I hope that everyone involved in these situations are able to move forward.

[dracolizardlars]

Sorry this is completely random but Fates could've gone a long way towards fixing the fuckedupedness of Corrin x Hoshidan Royals S-Supports by making the very simple, tiny change of having the revelation (ha) that they don't actually have the same father moved to their respective A-Supports... Like I would have still not really agreed with the concept but honestly that would make so much difference lmao... Like ok you find out you're not biological siblings and then you potentially HAVE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT TIME between unlocking the next support for your relationship to change with this person and to start seeing them in a different way... It's not a lot better, but obviously devs were determined not to break the rule of the player character being able to marry ANYONE (so long as you're being heterosexual of course, incest is fine but god FORBID you be gay with anyone except our few pre selected Queer Characters™)

[ispyspookymansion]

i will say everyone should read a head full of ghosts by paul tremblay by far my fav recent horror novel. also anything by stephen graham jones but im very partial to my heart is a chainsaw, and i know most of you here who like the same kind of horror as me will love it too!

[mermaidsirennikita]

what your thoughts on title cole's hades hangman series?

My immediate thoughts are that Tillie Cole is a racist who should be actually cancelled (not the weak shit we call cancellation), as in any possible publishing career, indie or otherwise, done. Nothing. I'm honestly worried about the pen name shit I imagine she'll pull or has pulled, because I dread people buying books by her without realizing it's her after all this.

But uh.... yeah. I have zero tolerance for Nazi romances, KKK romances, any romances featuring a racist, genocidal protagonist or protagonists. And I do want to be clear--genocide is what the KKK wants in the end. As is the case for most hate groups. They may say they want people "in their proper place" or "over there instead of here" (displacement being a part of genocide) which is all heinous and unacceptable. However, the reality of the nitty gritty is that they want them eradicated, or at least eradicated from the part of the earth the genocide mongerer feels entitled to, which is most of it. The only alternative, if you could call it that, being that the racist wants the "inferior" race enslaved or subjugated for their own gain (the implicit word usually being "again"). And I think that even the "smallest" breadcrumb of racism can easily tip into these mindsets with some degree of radicalization. So yes, zero tolerance.

I often have seen the "devil's advocate" arguments from "liberals" (white feminists who want to read these books) being "but how is this any worse than books where the heroine falls for her rapist".

And here's the thing--there are a couple books I've read wherein the heroine does fall for her rapist, and I like them still. I'll be clear--these are historical old schools (as in, the 80s) which I don't think came from the perspective of say, a contemporary Sam Mariano book. (I haven't read her books, but I know they can contain this content). I have yet to read a recently published contemporary wherein the heroine falls for her rapist that works for me. I have spoken to people for whom certain books have worked, including a couple survivors.

What I think sets these books apart is that a heroine in a dark romance falling for her rapist, however fucked up and unrealistic, is based on a personal relationship between two people. It isn't about anyone the reader represents, and I don't even really think it's often about gender (though it can be, which I think is probably a line--if a hero is a serial rapist because he hates women, I don't think the reception would be the same). And let's be real here--most of the time, this does reflect real life. The vast majority of sexual assaults are the result of intimate partner violence. It is something between two people, and while I would personally never suggest anyone forgive their rapist and reconcile with them, or frankly forgive them in general... That is something where it is about the one individual and her perspective, and in a romance it follows the same mentality. I may not LIKE that book, but I do see that as a book about harm to a PERSON and within a RELATIONSHIP, which is more individualized.

A KKK hero or a Nazi hero or what have you is often paired with a woman who represents a group he hates (though in Tillie's case, the heroine is a white-passing Latina, a "cartel princess", which lol, ALSO RACIST, but I suppose her complexion is meant to create ambiguity). If he isn't, she's the white woman he is allowed to be with anyway. Either way, he hates a collective. He is enacting violence, physical or otherwise, against a collective. Even if the heroine is of the group he hates, SHE cannot validate his redemption arc~ or "forgive" him. However unrealistic the forgiveness or validation of redemption a rapist "hero" may be, that is a situation where I can say "fucked up, but her choice". This is very literally not something a single heroine can give, and even if the author came from the same marginalized group as the heroine in a genocidal hero book... that author can't speak for the collective either. (I say this because I have heard of authors writing about sexual assault and reconciliation in books state that they're survivors, and I really can't speak on how they work through that on an individual level, but I do think it's important to again note the individual.)

While sexual violence is absolutely a worldwide epidemic, it is NOT the same thing as genocide. Doesn't mean it's better or worse... Though I will say, I think the fact that sexual violence is used as a tool by genocide mongerers does speak to the fact that genocide is obviously a more existential threat, here. And I don't really care for the comparisons I've seen made between the two in discussions of this book and its place in dark romance--because they often seem to be coming from my fellow white women, and I feel there is often a "we're all women, we're in this together" mindset. When the reality is... no. First off, women aren't the only targets of sexual violence, and men are not the only people who perpetuate it. Second of all, not all women experience rape culture in the same way. Cishet white women live under the threat of rape culture, absolutely. But white women don't experience racialized predation. Nobody is trying to "convert" cishet (or simply cis) women through sexual violence. Nobody is killing cis women because they feel "tricked" by us. And for that matter, white women, especially cishet white women, can be the oppressors of women of color, queer women, trans women, and so on. They can encourage sexual violence against women with a single vote--and have. How many white women voted for Mr. "Grab 'Em By the Pussy", again?

So yeah, I don't really like the whole "well this is fine for me to read because y'all read your rape books" discussion of these books when we get into discussion, because these just are very different topics. And I don't like conflating them to either EXCUSE the violence of these books, or once again devolve into a "dark romance readers are universally dirty little perverts". Because--while there are ABSOLUTELY dark romance books that go way too far, which I wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole... I think there's a point where a book isn't even dark romance, it's just using that as a mask to perpetuate a form of like... artistic violence against an entire group of people.

Because these genocidal hero books are about violence against the collective marginalized group being dismissed, "redeemed" or "forgiven", there's this inherent dismissal of what has happened to potential readers of these books, and I see that as a kind of casual violence. That dismissal happens every day, and it is ESPECIALLY happening right now, when so many western nations (and I'm not denying it's happening elsewhere, I'm just much more aware of the USA, Canada, and Europe) are in the midst of nationalistic far right swings. And hell, let's be real, most people of color are not reading Tillie's books on purpose, I imagine--but frankly, that doesn't matter. Tillie has, I suppose, a legal right to write these books. But I don't view them as any different from the vitriol spewed from a Westboro Baptist Church representative, or the people calling BLM protestors looters.

You just can't slide this shit into a "dark romance is gonna dark" slot, or "why do dark romance readers keep bringing this to us" whine rant. I will bet you anything that a lot of the readers who read this book and rated it a 4 or 5 on GR haven't read a single other dark romance novel in their fucking lives. They enjoyed it because they want to romanticize a guy in the KKK and act like he can be redeemed, because their sick little fantasies about their white prince proud boys are what they're looking for here. This isn't about tiptoeing to the ver edge of dark romance, this is about wanting to bathe in a racist fantasy. It's their Birth of a Nation moment, but with porn.

I mean, what has been really frustrating to me... because obviously outright racists will shamelessly defend Tillie, outright... is just this idea that this somehow has come back to a discussion of dark romance, when really, it should be a discussion of RACIST ROMANCE NOVELS. Which is something that extends faaaaaar beyond dark romance, or any subgenre. I've read a fuckton of racist contemporary romances. Obviously historicals have quite a long journey with racism in books. I've read racism in paranormals, for fuck's sake. I believe one of the big Nazi romances was an inspirational romance. To me, there's just been this dancing around admitting that this is a romance-wide issue, because people want to go "well, it's only an issue with dark romance, MYYYYY favorite romances would never" and it's like. I don't know, girl. People of color are widely underrepresented in the genre (as are queer people and trans people) so maaaaybe just maaaaybe romance isn't your perfect haven where all we need to confront is men being misogynistic. Maybe, just maaaaybe, there are other issues going on here.

[shoechoe]

The other day my friends all got together and watched a bunch of movies we brought. Some of them were decent and others were torture

[risingshards]

[nightmareonpeachstreet]

I reeeeaaaallly really like Brave Bernadetta....finally they didn't do my beloved Bernie dirty....

[sapphicdessi]

Also, all the “lesbians” who say they’re just flirting with men for free drinks.

Never done that.

WHAT? bi women who larp as lesbians say they flirt with men for drinks?? they're insufferably annoying. lol bi women on here lost their shit when some of us feel they're worse than het women but the list never ends. no lesbian flirts with men eww. if a man spends money on a woman at all he always thinks you owe him sex, touch, or attention yuck. I would never want anything from a man but for him to leave me the fuck alone and die

[murderlite]

I wasn't going to say anything but perhaps I should. I will be putting this blog under hiatus for an indefinite amount of time at least until muse returns/I figure out a new fc.