Asking for acceptance

Priceless

One word.

Growth.

That's it, isn't it? It's what keeps us going, and therefore our fictional counterparts.

For starters, mentor/student dyanmic would place Lucy in an immediate sidekick role; think Batman and Robin. And this just isn't viable due to Lucy clearly being one of the three main characters. Secondly, the narrative is entirely based around transformation and choice. And good god have you seen the Fallout TV Season 2 trailer?

Shit is nothin' but tension.

Now I'm not saying there is no mentor/student dyanmic between Ghoulcy; but where does it become evident? Where does it shine through where it is not drenched in something else? "Oh! But he sold her for organs! For parts! She bit off his finger! He cut off her finger in return!"

And he sewed her finger onto him.

"Now that right there is the closest thing we’ve had to an honest exchange so far."

The Ghoul keeps the finger. That is a loaded, grotesque subtexual element. It is a bizzarre form of intimacy. And hot, we can't forget that people.

It's likely he did not intend at first to sew it onto him, and I'm well in the boat that The Ghoul had zero intention of romance, connection, nor even attraction up until Lucy did not leave him for dead; she gave him rad-away.

Radiation King: A Ghoul who requires radiation to stay alive, to not transform into something worse than what he already pereceives himself to be. Lucy offers him that; his rad-away. She bestows that chance onto him. Atomic Queen: A woman who is considered quite a small thing in a large world. She is nothing. Almost no-one. But she's not. She is atomic in a much grander scheme. Specifically to now, him. Ever had a dream of someone and when you wake up you can never quite see them the same? Yeah.

Think of the fact that after this exchange, he reminisces by watching his old mortal self on the television set.

Ghoulcy feels romantic because the story codes their bond as transformative. A mentor/student reading would emphasize hierarchy and instruction, but what we see instead is two flawed people drawn together in ways that blur all possible lines and concepts together. Their partnership/relationship grows from tension and choice, not instruction and obedience.

Ghoul: Now you’re getting it. How does that Golden Rule jibe with what’s going through your head right now?” Lucy: “What are you?” Ghoul: “Oh, I’m you, sweetie. You just give it a little time.”

Understanding the nuance of the Ghoulcy ship is primairly digestable to people who understand or relate to wanting to be loved/cared for at their worst, to be aided through their trauma, and not to be seen as something in need of fixing.

See me as I am and not for who I could be.

Oh, I'm you, sweetie. You just give it a little time.

𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐎𝐍 𝐆𝐎𝐆𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐒 as 𝐂𝐎𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐇𝐎𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃/𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐆𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀 𝐏𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐋𝐋 as 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐘 𝐌𝐀𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐍

female-dominated spaces, like many fandoms, are growing more conservative in tone, especially around complex female characters, and there is a growing discomfort with heroines attracted to villains. this trend parallels the conservative impulse to judge a person's morality based on their reading preferences. (a bad, bad thing.)

we are seeing a huge shift towards puritanical ideals of female purity (check out the trad-wifers on tiktok), and it is a rot seeping into fandoms. we have to keep shipping discourse alive. we have to keep talking about female characters and their complicated relationships with themselves, but also with other characters, including their attraction to morally-grey or outright villainous characters. keep asking people to examine and re-examine their perceptions of womanhood. keep them thinking.