GLTR THE GRRRL

I'm going to preface this by saying I, personally, Do Not at all ship Coyle and Liliya. I see her as a lesbian, and I imagine he would only like her based off a physical aspect and not of any emotional or ideological connection. But I'm genuinely so confused.

So what if it's fucking toxic? The same people denouncing Coylemolova are shipping Waylon and Eddie in the same breath. Coyle and Liliya are consenting adults and from what I can tell far less harmful than a good chunk of the other ships I see on this app. If you are a lesbian, gay man, etc. who headcanons them as the same, then fine, but again those are fucking headcanons, you have a block button, and not everyone is going to think or imagine them the same. It is insufferable to have to share a Fandom with people who take their personal interpretations as Canon when they are not. Respect your peers, and yourself, by moving on.

Yes, Liliya is a sexual assault victim. But as this Fandom seems to confidently forget, Coyle is a CSA victim. It is the first goddamn thing we see in his background comic (At the bottom of rant), and influences his prejudices, his actions and personality, etc. Outlast is about how what happens in your environment changes you as a person. None of these characters are evil just because, and yet Coyle is constantly chalked down to "racist hillbilly cop" while other characters are seen a lot more favorably and even pardoned for their abuses. Considering the gray areas of the characters you like but boiling the ones you don't to static, one sided cardboard cutouts does not make you nuanced.

It's 'incest twins' this, and 'racist cop' that, until the same happens to your favorite and suddenly the characters ARE deep, actually. You're not better than a Coyle, or Franco, or Liliya, or Gooseberry, or Twins fan. They are all murderers, abusers, etc. Their actions aren't excused by their histories, none of their crimes should be swept under the rug, but they ALL deserve introspection. Not just the handful you like.