#endgame gave me a new otp

[hidinginthespicecabinet]

Like many, I recently binged The Wilds Season 2 after a year of anticipation. I was obsessed with the first season, and I was excited to see what they would do with the boys. Also, I wanted to see how they would progress the girls storyline to move the plot forward. So, here are my thoughts on season 2: 

THE GIRLS

1. First and foremost, Shoni. They are one of my favorite fictional couples, really. In season 1, they were FOILS of each other, opposite in every single way. But, this season, we see Toni finally getting some emotional peace due to her security with Shelby. This kinds makes Toni blend into the background more while the focus jumps back and forth between the girls and the boys. Shoni was a lot of fanservice, and I think it was executed well because it gave us a healthy, queer relationship that’s not ruined by the typical force of internalized homophobia. They broke up because of Toni’s natural stubbornness and anger towards the Martha dilemma. It wasn’t perfect and I think that’s what makes it so effective, especially because it showcased their love for each other in the small moments. Overall, I’m happy with how they played and explored Shelby’s fears and how they impacted Toni in small ways, eventually leading to their breaking point. I do think they are endgame and will get back together in season 3 but they’ll definitely milk their conflict. 

2. Leah. Leah. Leah. My one and only. I’m glad that they explored Leah’s mind in this season. We were able to see the effects of Nora’s manipulation and everyone’s lack of belief. Yet, although it weakens her in other’s eyes, it brings out her strength and ability to solve complex issues. She is a natural leader but is relegated to the sidelines in the island. I think in season 3, they’ll explore how Leah will handle a leadership role within the new control group. Also, she’s canonically bisexual, which is AWESOME. She is my star this season, along with Rachel. 

3. Fatin + Leah are my OTP. I love the way Fatin’s feelings for Leah are subtly revealed. There is just a softness with them this season that is unmatched. The “Ditto Bitch” moment is one for the books really. I do think they will get together but I think it will take Leah a bit more time to become aware of her feelings for Fatin. This is proved by the scene where she is submerged in her delusion, yet snaps out of it when Fatin screams. Her pull to her is there; it’s just buried deep. Idk, their dynamic just seems more poetic and satisfying than Shoni to me. Don’t come for me. 

4. The scene with Marty and the bunnies was haunting and soo important. It marks a breaking point for the girls. It also shows the impact survival has on Marty because she is breaking her moral code in so many ways and that’s the first time she has to face her actions without the lives of the others in the equation. It also reveals her darkness because her story is not talked about enough and her character serves as an innocent, comfort character in season 1. I’m anticipating the way they’ll explore the effects of her breakdown. Also, it directly contrasts to the boys. When they killed the panther, it was pure jubilance afterwards. It was a show of their strength and in a way, masculinity. While with Marty, the bunnies took her back to her old life and idk it was like she murdered a sacred part of herself in the process. She snapped and fell inward. 

5. Rachel and Shelby. There is something so important in Shelby sharing her faith. Throughout the show, we see Shelby’s complicated relationship with religion because she finds comfort in it but it also hurts and rejects her. I feel like a part of her was trying to leave it behind when she started dating Toni, like she was shedding the mask, and that’s why she was nervous to share it with Rachel. I think she was afraid it would cause more harm than good. Yet, I think she understood that Rachel needed to latch on to something to feel better. Nora used to be her anchor and without her, she needs a tangible thing or idea, to tether herself back to life during her grief. Rachel was just wonderful this season, beautiful in everyway. 

6. Dot is such a comforting character to me. Yet, I’m disappointed that we didn’t see much of her character. I am glad that they showed that she is still grieving her dad and how Martha’s comatose state affected her survival instinct. I just wanted more of Dot and cheesy romanced novels. 

7. Last but not least, Fatin and the mystery of the island. You don’t understand how happy I am that Fatin was shown as a grounding character this season. All of her protective instincts just came out and she became the ultimate mom friend to all. I am especially excited to see her tell Leah that she knows she was right and how that’s going to alter their friendship. The fact that her main motivation was to tell Leah is heartwarming to an extreme. JUST KISS HER ALREADY... okay, that’s out of my system now. 

I was very satisfied with the girls this season... They needed more screen time though. :/ merp

#the wilds #shoni #leatin #leah rilke #the wilds season 2 #we need more of the girls #fatin jadmani #toni shalifoe #ahhhhh #thoughts #dead serious

[uncleasad]

Farewell, Riverdale…

…and The CW, and perhaps TV…

I (finally!) just watched the series finale of Riverdale, and it wrecked me. In retrospect, it seems like it was still too soon, what with the recent rash of deaths (Mrs Carter, Norman Lear, among others) and the year’s losses in my own family. The series went out with a bang, wholly unlike the bang it entered on, but an emotional wallop nonetheless. The first season was gripping and, while I am no television aficionado, one of the most powerful seasons of TV I’ve seen. And then it promptly went off the rails, way off the rails, before finding its way back with the lovely, timely bookend that was this final season. The finale was imperfectly perfect, and while I’m sure we all have little things we’d have liked to have seen (what happened to 1950s Tabitha?) or done differently (Archie Andrews, poet extraordinaire, gave us a final poem that was far more schoolboy—middle school, even—than the meaningful poems he recited over the course of the season), it was, by and large, a fitting capstone to the series—as well as to the The CW that was… It was a poignant reminder that death comes for us all, and that those brief few years when we are all together, taking those first steps towards figuring out who we are and who we will become, neither last—nor can they be recaptured (unless, I suppose, you’re Grandma Betty Cooper and Angel/Narrator Jughead). People grow, move apart, befall tragedy, and never see each other again…

While I still feel that Season 1 was a tighter, more powerful season, this final season felt more timely and relevant. Not only was it a big middle finger to the values and politics of The CW’s new corporate overlord, but the season served as a reminder that our struggles for freedom and equality, to become a better people, are not over. This past year we’ve witnessed a steep backsliding in women’s liberty and bodily autonomy such that what we saw on the screen scarcely felt like a different, bygone era. Hate and discrimination have come roaring back, and while the kids at Riverdale High were making progress—small steps, the beginnings of an avalanche to come in the subsequent decade and beyond—that progress remains very fragile and in need of constant defense.

The series finale brought us happy endings for all three same-sex couples—two of whom were interracial, even!—a definite rarity. And then there was that Quad! On the one hand, I’m a bit miffed that they chickened out on picking endgame, but on the other, I’ve never seen a better, more productive way of chickening out! As someone who had no true ship or OTP in the series, I found most all of the characters’ relationships over the seasons compelling (even Archie and Cheryl, both times…something poignant about the way the two redheads supported each other through situations over which they had little control)…I started the series with that same longing for the BFF that Betty had, fell into Bughead, appreciated the complexities of Archie and Veronica, and enjoyed how Jughead and Tabitha supported and improved each other. Cheryl and Toni was perhaps the relationship closest to my OTP for the series. The chemistry this season between Veronica and Jughead was a revelation—even Jughead and Ethel were a great pairing, albeit far more platonic (at least on Jughead’s part) than Jughead’s other relationships. Could it be that intellectual loner Jughead (Cole) oozes chemistry?! This season also saw the return of Bee and Vee forever, as well as substantiation of the long-simmering attraction so many of us saw, topped off by Betty’s confirmation of their—“more often than you’d expect!”—core pairing within the Quad.

There was a note of wistful sadness to the post-high school lives of the Quad, but those lives felt authentic. Archie was always the one who was going to get married and have the traditional family, passing down the honest, hardworking life and kindness imparted on him by Fred and Mary. Jughead was the loner—and happy that way, surrounded by cultural criticism through his beloved medium of comics. Veronica would be driven, the businesswoman, still Hiram and Hermione’s daughter but with fewer of their character flaws, and perhaps that success was enough for her. Betty was always going to be the modern woman, smashing glass ceilings in a slightly different manner from her raven-haired BFF, and trying—and mostly succeeding—in having it all, a successful career and a family. Even the four best of friends were never all in the same place again, but they all lived full, happy, fulfilled lives, and it’s hard to complain about that.

As hard as it is to picture the put-together, uptight Cheryl Blossom in the hippie/activist scene in California, being with Toni helped her see her privilege and taught her to use it to move the needle, as well as softened her and helped her to free the woman trapped inside, so I can see a trajectory and path of growth that puts her there, arm-in-arm with the woman that she loved. After the ghastly mess after the first time jump, seeing Cheryl and Toni get a happy ending—along with some form of Bee and Vee forever—was my top hope for the final season.

Poor Fangs, lost in Riverdale’s own version of The Day the Music Died (the Ritchie Valens tune playing in The Sweet Hereafter was a nice nod to that, another memento from the town lost in time). But Alice Cooper finally broke the chains of conformity and an unhappy marriage, reconciled with Polly, and had her adventures, becoming the sort of woman she had longed to be, and, somehow, had imparted in her daughters as well. Mary Andrews, too, got her second act, with a woman who walked into her dress shop. Kevin and Clay, living the dream in Harlem, free to be themselves. The biggest shock to me was seeing the dates on Pop Tate’s headstone—1881, part of the first generation born into freedom, yet only two or three lifetimes removed from us. That’s how recent the 19th Century was, even now, a quarter of the way into the 21st. You may know someone living today who lived part of their life alongside a relative who was born in the 19th Century…in the aftermath of the Civil War, perhaps even before the Centennial of our Republic.

And so it goes. As Riverdale exits stage left after its most activist season, holding a mirror not just to our past but also to our present, so does The CW we knew and (mostly) loved. That network has been replaced by a vehicle for a bizarre mix of thinly-veiled right-wing and conservative-Christian propaganda, low-brow, sex-sells, low-budget knockoff reality shows, and cheap Canadian and British imports. (Sorry, Canada. But Burden of Truth was great, and Family Law is interesting—and probably the most progressive thing on The CW anymore.) And, with those exits, so goes the likelihood I’ll watch much television in the future. Broadly speaking, it feels like Hollywood has ceded the younger demographic The CW once programmed for to Netflix and its “20 episodes and cancellation” mantra, a horrible way to sustain a work of art or entertainment, but a fantastic way to poison a generation on episodic visual storytelling. I haven’t been aware of anything on SyFy (another former mainstay of mine) that seemed interesting in nearly a decade, and I’m not a procedurals and sitcoms kind of person. In tandem with the studios’ failure to negotiate, and therefore subjecting their fall season—and us—to a strike (which the writers and actors won, hooray!🎉), this may have been the longest period of time I’ve gone without watching a television series. What incentive do I have to seek out visual entertainment when I’ve survived for months without it? I suddenly see why so many people are eliminating their TV service….

But I’m not here to bury television, only to bid adieu to a lovely season of television and a series that, though uneven, in its moments was great, and a finale that hit all the right notes and landed every breath-stealing punch with grace and love. Farewell, Riverdale, and may we meet again one day in The Sweet Hereafter…

#musings #Riverdale #The CW #future of television #Riverdale series finale

[cuddlyreader]

Hi friend! What are your top ten favorite OTPs of all time - in order, if possible. You're allowed to select more than one ship from the same fandom :) And I always love to hear the reasons why you love a given ship if you're up for including them! I'd love to hear your top ten female TV characters as well but don't want to be greedy :)

Oh, my. Well, I'm old enough that I can remember rooting for Kevin and Winnie on the Wonder Years. Lol. So, this is going to be fun and all over the place.

P.S. This is in chronological order and not by favorite because there's no way I could put them in that kind of order.

P.P.S. This is super long, so it's under the cut.

Top 10 OTPs:

Brenda and Dylan (Beverly Hills 90210) - As I have said before, I love Shannen Doherty. This show is the reason why. Brenda was my favorite character from day one, and her romance with Dylan was so intense and epic. This one has to be the first time an emotionally damaged character stole my heart. He needed her screaming and crying at him to understand that someone loves him because no one did until then. She needed his recklessness to temper her own. They grounded each other with their love.

Buffy and Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) - Watching these two fall in love and be unable to resist it was so much fun. They were actually doomed from the start. I mean...a vampire and a vampire slayer...that has tragedy written all over it. She literally killed him, and he came back from a Hell world (sounds familiar). Then, they fell right back in love (hmm, also familiar). They loved so hard, and their world was always in peril, which kept the angst level pretty high. For years, Angel wallowed in the torment of guilt that his soul provided. She gave him a purpose...her purpose. Her entire reason for being was to save people. She made him want to do that, too. He made her realize that not all monsters are evil and not all "good" guys are good. In my mind, they found their way back to each other and lived happily ever after.

Willow and Tara (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) - These two had the most beautiful and sweet love, and I am bitter that the idiot writer killed off Tara. Shy, bookish Willow really grew into a powerful and strong witch because of this relationship. She could fully be herself, and it was amazing. Tara, sweet Tara, was so kind and compassionate. She held Willow accountable in her magic, which turned out to be pretty important. I won't even get into the fact that at this time, there was very little LGBTQ representation on television. Yep, I'm still angry.

Pacey and Joey (Dawson's Creek) - Dawson's Creek is my comfort show. I watch it all the way through several times a year. There is nothing that soothes me like it does. When this show aired, there was nothing more enjoyable than watching Pacey and Joey fall for each other against their own wishes. Pacey knew first, and he tried not to act on it for the sake of their friend Dawson (I won't go into how annoyed that makes me given that Dawson didn't want her.). Joey fought it with everything she had for the same reason and also because it was so real that it scared the hell out of her. He pushed her to grow and become the person she was meant to be, and she accepted him as is without any expectations other than they would do it together. They had the best dynamic. They bickered and laughed and cried, but they worked at their relationship like you do in grown-up relationships. Even when they broke up, they cared about each other consistently. My favorite episode is when they get stuck in K-Mart overnight. Joyously, they were also endgame.

Max and Liz (OG Roswell and Roswell, New Mexico) - By now, I have established that I love intense love. That's exactly what og Max and Liz had. Liz was very structured and academically driven. Max was very closed off from everyone including Michael and Isabel. He opened her mind and heart to possibility. She made him feel and be open about it. They loved so intensely that even supposed alien fate couldn't keep them apart. I was so sad the show was canceled so soon, but I am eternally grateful that they were endgame and that I got to see it. They sort of switched the emotional roles of new Max and Liz, which I like. They would still do anything for each other, so they are still my OTP. Admittedly, I haven't watched the last season because I'm sad about it being the last.

Peyton and Lucas (One Tree Hill) - Look, they were always drawn to each other, but their timing was awful. I loved how no matter what, they were there for each other, even if it was just as friends. Peyton was the broken one in this relationship. She lost too much at too young an age. Feeling so deeply terrified her. And let's face it, Lucas was intense. He felt everything and didn't shy away from it. It was immensely gratifying to see them finally be happy together.

Logan and Veronica (Veronica Mars) - Logan was a real ass at the beginning of this show, and they were full-on enemies. So, I can honestly say I did not ship them at first. The metamorphosis that Logan goes through to be a better man is truly remarkable. To be fair, they both have emotional damage in this one. Veronica copes with her losses by saving others, but her love for Logan scares her. They both had to work out their own stuff before they could successfully be together. Thankfully, we got to see that they made it. I have no comment about the killing of my beloved Logan.

Damon and Elena (The Vampire Diaries) - Anyone that follows me knows that these two are my current obsession. Damon has literally spent over a century and a half being abandoned and rejected by his father, mother, brother, and love. To say that I love him is the understatement of the century. He had no intention of falling in love with Elena. He wanted to save Katherine, and her rejection nearly killed him. He feels everything so much that he can't cope, and then he snaps. Elena saves him. Period. She makes him feel human because she treats him like one. She expects him to care and makes him want to do better. And he does, starting with her. He loves her so much that it is palpable. Damon makes her look at herself and the world differently. He pushes her to be and accept her true self no matter who that is or who she is with. I am elated that they got their long and happy human life together.

Clary and Jace (Shadowhunters) - I love Jace with every fiber of my being. I just want him to have love and happiness. He did not get that deserved love from his parents, and he never felt like he deserved it after that. Clary brought him to life. She was caring and compassionate for everyone: mundane, shadowhunter, or downworlder. Loving her opened Jace's heart to everything. I choose to believe that the ending we got means they find their way back to each other and live happily ever after. I know I could finish the books, but I honestly cannot read Cassandra Clare's writing anymore. Besides, where they are in my mind is good for me.

Magnus and Alec (Shadowhunters) - Magnus is one of my favorite characters ever. He's loved many times over the centuries he's lived, but what he has with Alec is so much more. Like all shadowhunters, Alec doesn't trust downworlders, but for him, it's more than that. He believes he has a duty to his family, and being with Magnus flies in the face of that duty. Magnus not so subtly or easily pushes past Alec's defenses. Once they get together, they make each other better, and it's literally magical. Their wedding was everything I could have hoped for as far as endgame goes.

Honorable mentions:

Isak and Even (Skam)

Michael and Alex (Roswell, New Mexico)

Nancy and Ace (Nancy Drew)

Top 10 Female TV Characters (not in any specific order):

Brenda (Beverly Hills 90210) - I was and still am the "rebel" in my family, so Brenda was me. She fought for herself and to be herself and to live life on her own terms, and I think that is wonderful.

Buffy (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) - Buffy was destined to be the hero, but she faced death and loss and came out stronger on the other end. Plus, I love the wit.

Willow (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) - I was the shy, bookish girl in school. Willow's adorable geekiness was so endearing, and then she grew into this powerful, strong woman. Fantastic.

Joey (Dawson's Creek) - I probably relate to Joey because my mom died when I was four, and my brother died when I was twelve. Joey experienced terrible loss, and she understandably clung to Dawson as a lifeline. Her journey to adulthood is still my favorite thing to watch. She grew into herself and became a self-sufficient woman.

Veronica (Veronica Mars) - Veronica lost her best friend, and her mother left. Everyone that was supposed to be her friend abandoned her. So, she puts on emotional armor and finds a killer. This girl just doesn't stop fighting. She's ridiculously smart and intuitive. Also, I love her wit.

Emily (Revenge) - Emily had bad things happen to her, and she deserved to exact revenge. I love that she is intelligent and cunning and playing the long game.

Blair (Gossip Girl) - Blair put on a good front, I guess, but my girl was broken. Her mom was not nice to her. Her dad pretty much abandoned her. Her best friend slept with her boyfriend and then abandoned her as well. The guy she loves is too damaged to love her back properly. Blair just keeps on doing her best and loving those people that don't love her enough.

Callie (The Fosters and Good Trouble) - I'll probably get hate for this one, but I love Callie. She lost her mom and didn't know her dad. She went to juvie because she was protecting her little brother from the abuse she suffered in the foster care system. How could I not love this girl? Because the Fosters took her in and showed her what family is, she grew into a strong and successful woman. The whole journey was beautiful to me, and I'm not sorry.

Elena (The Vampire Diaries) - Elena lost both her parents, her aunt, her bio parents, her guardian, her own life, her brother (temporarily), and the love of her life (also temporarily). That's a lot for one person to endure even without all the supernatural happenings. She manages to hang on to her kindness and compassion. Through it all, she perseveres. I love her a lot.

Bonnie (The Vampire Diaries) - Bonnie is a badass hero. She saved all their butts so many times, and I'm here to give her the credit she deserves. Bonnie also suffered greatly, and I think that's why she and Elena are bonded. Bonnie struggled to get ahold of everything at first, but she literally became the woman who saved them all in the end.

#my asks #dr-alexandra-caroline-sloan #my favorites #beverly hills 90210 #dawson's creek #buffy the vampire slayer #roswell #roswell new mexico #veronica mars #the vampire diaries #shadowhunters #one tree hill #skam #nancy drew #the fosters #good trouble #revenge #gossip girl

[gritsandbrits]

What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?*

Since my day off got ruined by real life b.s. expect an extra load of salt from me

Bakudeku: same reasons for why i don't ship SentiOp; Bakugo was a mean ass bitch to Deku to where it wasn't even a normal rivalry but straight up bullying. It's not Deku's duty to fix Bakugo, and they would not last long.

Bwen: just....why?

Joey x Mai: I admit when I was a kid I used to ship them until i found out later on Mai is a grown woman.

Joey x Kaiba: again, Kaiba was a mean ass hoe to the poor lad. Joey deserves someone who won't put him down for every little thing and Kaiba needs someone who he can get along with but also willing to set personal boundaries if needed.

Holley x Mater: i still think this pairing exists to stave off Holley x Finn (which i also don't ship) but Mater and Holley literally has no romantic chemistry and just shoved together. Holley doesn't need a love interest neither does Mater.

Oh y'all gonna be so mad but...Peter x MJ WAIT NOT THE COMICS but I'm talking about the one from Spectacular Spider-Man. Peter x MJ exists in so many universes but I love Peter x Gwen in Spectacular and I hate for them to be permanently broken up just for the sake of Peter x MJ. I also don't really like Garfield!Peter x MJ, I don't like the idea of using her as a consolation prize right after Gwen's death

Llorumi/Lloyd x Harumi: Harumi faked having feelinga in order to harm him and his friends. She gave the poor boy trust issues that lasted entire seasons. He deserves someone who he can trust, and Harumi needs to focus on healing. Also Lloyd wouldnt have forgiven her that easy

Jasonnie: didn't he know her when she was a still a teenager? Uh anyways I greatly prefer them as friends since it's so rare for intimate platonic relationship between a guy and a girl. Besided I prefer them having love interests outside their social circle

Tucker x Valerie: she is way too good for him

Nigel uno x Numbuh 362: i never saw them as a romantic ship plus i feel like they needed all the knd to be married when Nigel easily could've been the cool single uncle or had a new love interest

Robin Hood x Regina: why date the woman directly responsible for your wife's death?

Hook x Emma (uh oh) yeah I wasn't a fan of them back then and still not really big on them now. I wished Graham or Bael was still alive to be her endgame and Hook got with someone else (or maybe that's the Hook x OC shipper in me talking)

Hades x Maleficent: yeah no. They'd bring out the worse in each other and based in very superficial qualities even for villain standards. Hades needs someone who can help him keep calm.

Max x Bradley Uppercrust III: no. Bradley was straight up rude to Max, and Max wouldn't put up with his antics no matter how rich he is.

#gb asks #fandomsalt

[actuallylorelaigilmore]

It's your long lost Julia Nunes anon ;-) I'm so with you on Carson and Ms. Hughes being *the* romance of Downton. There's just something both poignant and affirming about how they know each other so well and find themselves together after such a long road. Glad you ended up enjoying it!

hi JN anon!! you may be long lost but you are never forgotten. i've never had such a great time as i did in the odaat fandom, and it gave me the best real life friends and so much inspiration.

downton abbey is honestly the closest i've come to getting any spark of that back lately, because while it didn't immediately make me want to write fanfic i did find myself taking down notes for gif ideas, and i'm planning to rewatch it while i make gifs (whenever i actually get back to doing that).

so i can't entirely rule out fanfic for it, either--shows full of endgame otps that i like don't inspire me as much, usually, because i don't feel any need to mess with their happy endings. but the new movie (for me) was not quite as good as the previous one, and i felt like thomas in particular got cheated out of a more rewarding ending and mary's life had been reduced to her leadership role and we skipped right over a whole wedding i would have liked to have seen.

carson and hughes just stole my heart though, with their handholding and forehead kisses and careful conversations about what relationships should be. they are the very best of the friends-to-lovers trope and i am here for it. i can't wait to see their dynamic evolve again, now that i know where it goes. thanks for saying hi. :)

#elsie hughes #charlie carson #carson x hughes #downton abbey #the julia nunes anon gets their own tag too :) #replies

[dustbunny105]

Simpatico, RodiDrift, and BumbleBlades for ship bingo? :3

Woo! Tackling theses in order:

So, the funny thing about Simpatico for me is that I was heavily invested in it at the end and their interaction was one of the few things I really enjoyed about the finale but I was genuinely incapable of caring about it for most of the time I was reading MtMtE, lol. Brainstorm having an intense, platonic colleague-crush was just too relatable to me. Also I was sort of obsessed with Brainstorm's tragic taste re: Quark, to the exclusion of any other romantic prospects for him. Something made me start to develop an interest in them as a couple riiight around the mutiny, which nearly killed said interest until we got to see more about what the real situation was back on the ship, at which point the realization that they had completely different ideas of wtf had happened and how that would impact their relationship smacked me back and forth across the face and I was just in it. The Mederi fiasco made it weird for a hot minute-- on the one hand, the potential implications of the Quark construct were highly appetizing and so was the sparkester scene but the recollection that Brainstorm used to try to reach Percy was so obnoxious (I guess the bantz were just too important to not undermine the respect Percy had developed for Brainstorm??) that it legit almost killed it dead for me, lol. BUT I got over and I enjoyed them for the brief rest of the series. I honestly have rarely thought about them since, though, and I'm not sure why since they both went out on a high note and had a lot of interesting stuff left to explore.

NOW, THIS IS WHERE MY FEELINGS LIVE. This is how I know it's not just my general disconnect from MtMtE/LL that keeps me from bothering much with Simpatico anymore, because I think of these two sometimes and wanna cry. Which is also funny because I feel like I only started getting retrospectively invested in them at the point when their relationship was the least interesting to me, lol. Like they're both such glorious messes of unresolved trauma and bad coping mechanisms and they can bring out the best and the worst in each other that way and, Idk, the way they treat each other specifically feels like such a close view of the ways they're both bad at peopling in general? I'm not finding the right words but that's the feeling, for sure. And the thing is I think I've said before that I could've been just as happy with them as an endgame ship as with them having had something that just didn't work out and they're past it but I think I actually wouldn't have been happy with them as endgame just because their reconciliation gave me roughly the end result I wanted without the work I wanted to be put into it? And I say roughly because there were times that their new dynamic just felt like a less aware version of the old dynamic, Idk. I dunno, I guess the idea was that it was supposed to be a more genuine reflection of their genuine affection for each other but it just missed the mark for me. Anyway, yeah, I love them a lot but that love is wrapped up almost entirely in a part of both their lives I'm happier seeing them moved past. Which is more what I meant by marking that I like it platonically here, as opposed to being open to a purely platonic read on Simpatico still.

Yas!! Y'know, I'm only just now realizing that I never read Blades's interest in Bumblebee as platonic the way I did Brainstorm's in Percy for so long and I really don't know why. Maybe IDW gave me certain expectations that were not being met. In any case, yeah, I am all the way on Team BumbleBlades. Or, well, I am actually open to other potential Blades ships sometimes but I chose the OTP square anyhow because I simply cannot care about Bumblebee's romanic prospects outside of developing a return interest in Blades. Probably a byproduct of not caring or barely caring about his shows, lol. I do love his appearances in Rescue Bots, though, and would've liked to see him appear more often (even though I appreciate that he didn't) because I do love his interaction with Blades and really would have liked to see it further developed. My love for this ship is easily the least conflicted of the three, haha. Granted, my standards for Rescue Bots are different than my standards for MtMtE/LL, not because I think the former is beneath the latter in any way but simply because it did not have to go as hard as it did but it did. Plus, entirely different tone, so. Anyway, yeah, I love them a highly disproportionate amount because of that, lol, and probably also because Rescue Bots didn't disappoint me the way MtMtE/LL did. In fact, the only thing I don't like about this ship-- namely, the apparent one-sidedness of their friendship-- is entirely down to the limitations of the story each of their shows was telling and so I simply can't be bothered to dwell on it. I am still pretty disappointed that Blades never got to make the jump to RiD, mind, dunno what made Blurr so special...

#transformers #mtmte #simpatico #driftrod #rescue bots #bumbleblades #rescue-ram

[carolrance]

episodes: post-finale carol/helen moodboard “come on. of course i love you.”

#carol rance #helen basch #episodesedit #sho_episodes #carol x helen #moodboard #episodes #i love them so much #i know nobody else will care about this but i've made a bunch of moodboards and never liked the final product enough to post #except i liked this one so i'm posting #i like stealing templates from advertising agencies lololol #i didn't fit everything on here i wanted but i got the scrunchie. weed. baby. la. and blue james perse tshirt #so somewhat successful #i realised i've lost like all my old carol/helen edits. and saved pics from krp and andrea's instas etc. hmmm #anyway #so here is my otp of otps i guess. there is competition but since they got a happy ending in canon. which is crazy wild awesome #i dont' remember being this smitten after the lost girl finale tbh and that's the only other big show i loved that gave me #the endgame that i wanted. (i guess the xfiles did?? but that was so long ago hahahaha) most tv shows i just quit #before they even end cos they've already screwed over my otp 100%. this is like a whole new world and i can't stop. #edits #carolandhelenhaveababyontheway

[ichinoue]

Idk if this happened to anyone else, but I was introduced to Bleach through a friend. He told me it was great, and I needed a new anime to get addicted to.

I first looked on forums, to see if I really wanted to invest my time into a series which wasn’t even done. I don’t care about the romance aspect of it, but somehow fans were talking about IR in a forum which had nothing to do with pairings lol I’ve seen enough to be interested in Bleach, and gave it a shot. I started reading Bleach assuming that IR was the couple to be, not knowing anything about IchiHime.

I just remembered being so confused when starting Bleach. Because the only time you could possibly argue “romance” for IR, was during SS Arc, but even then there was a lot more implications with the girl Orihime and Ichigo. I ignored it, and continued reading. But again, No romance between IR. When the hell was their love going to start?

Read through more chapters and just kept waiting for the IR romance to set in, meanwhile trying to ignore the obvious IchiHime hints practically smacking my face.

Then I got to the HM Arc, and was 100% convinced IR was not going to happen because the IchiHime romance was prominent AF. I shipped IH officially now, though alone lol

After finally finishing the HM Arc, I was caught up and waiting for chapters to be released. I Found the IH fandom, and joined immediately!

I brought this up because I am honestly baffled that so many people claimed IchiHime would never happen. I literally was told that IR was end game, went into Bleach LOOKING for signs, moments, practically reading in between the lines for a drop of romance. And nothing.

In conclusion, y’all read with your ass lol I cannot understand people being confused

Yup, I had the same experience except I started with the anime first. I had heard about IR's popularity, and so I was waiting for some IR romance to happen, but I still took note of Orihime's presence and her feelings for Ichigo (even though the anime definitely downplayed them). And I actually started shipping RenRuki before IchiHime because of Renji's flashbacks about Rukia, how he regretted letting her go, and begged Ichigo to save her. And then when Renji cradled Rukia in his arms while she cried into his chest, and he stared Aizen down while saying he would never let her go I was like...??? Hold up, shouldn't Ichigo be the one doing all of this instead? If he's the one who is supposed to end up with Rukia? Especially when Ichigo rescued Rukia and then like two seconds later he throws her to Renji and said it was his job to protect her. So I was so confused lmao. I was like where the hell is all this IchiRuki love people kept harping on about, because so far all I'm seeing is RenRuki. And then I started paying more attention to IchiHime by the end of the Byakuya battle when Orihime kneeled at his side and cried tears of joy that he was okay. And by the time I got to the arrancar arc and Ichigo made the vow to protect Orihime, it was a wrap. I was like "okay....so IchiHime is endgame then."

SO THEN, I was wondering if maybe the anime was just twisting things and downplaying IR while playing up IH/RR, so I started reading the manga from chapter one so I'd know exactly what was canon vs filler. You could imagine my surprise when I found that it was the exact opposite of what I was expecting--turns out the anime was playing up IR while downplaying IH! Cutting out or changing tons of canon IchiHime moments, while adding in a bunch of IR filler moments.

It's like I've always said, I think people jumped the gun in the first chapter/episode thinking that a main male and female duo were bound for canon like an Inuyasha thing, and so they immediately started shipping it, and even when IR's screentime and potential for canon continued to decline while IH's increased, it was too late. They had already declared IR their otp and were reluctant to jump ship (particularly to a ship they had already spent so much time bashing).

[fatefulfaerie]

Wrapping Paper

December OTP prompt #12/31

This is post-canon that hasn’t even canonized/released yet so...like YEARS after RWBY endgame. Maybe not read if you aren’t up to date with V8.

“You’re amazing,” Ren observed. He took a modest sip of his tea where he sat on the couch. “You know that, right?”

“I am?” Ren heard somewhere behind the couch, amidst the rustling of plastic grocery bags as Nora sorted through the stocking stuffers she’d purchased.

“Remind me to give you a lesson in how to wrap presents next year,” Ren said.

“It’s that bad, huh?” Nora said. Ren couldn’t help but stare at the collection of presents under the tree. Some of them were from the kids and concealed by gift bags, but most of them were either wrapped by Ren or Nora, and it was easy to tell which was which. The presents Ren wrapped were neatly folded, paper tucked and not a piece of tape in sight. The ones wrapped by Nora, in contrast, had tape all over, sometimes even without a purpose, and the colored paper ended up looking like crumpled cabbage. In fact, he almost threw his son’s gift away earlier thinking it was leftover paper.

“You did your best,” Ren admitted. “I guess I never really thought about why all the gifts you gave me in the past were in gift bags.”

He didn’t mention how she didn’t have a traditional Christmas during her childhood, her mother abandoning her during a Grimm attack when she was young and, even before that, it wasn’t the most ideal household.

Ren felt a soft peck on his cheek from his wife and she approached the fireplace with the sorted bags of stocking stuffers. Ren put aside his green tea on the coffee table and picked up the five stockings that were laying beside him, ready to be stuffed too full to actually stay on the flimsy hooks above the fireplace.

The family was filling up, too. When Ren and Nora first got married, they both agreed they wanted to adopt, being orphans themselves. Yet nature had other plans and the paperwork moved slow as molasses, so they ended up having one of their own before they adopted.

Carob was eight years old now, his brown hair a mixture of his father’s black and his mother’s orange, yet his turquoise eyes were all from his mom. His adopted sister, Taffy, wore her rich, magenta hair in thick pigtails. She was six years old and she was deaf, but she was fluent in sign language and so was her family, the little girl gravitating especially to Ren’s quiet nature. A third child sat in wait to be welcomed to the family, warm in the womb and developing healthily in Nora’s stomach. The couple didn’t yet know the gender, but they knew they would name it Juniper, for old time’s sake and in tribute to their dearly departed friend Pyrrha. The name “Juniper” was already embroidered onto a new stocking and the children were to be told about their new brother or sister tomorrow, on Christmas Day.

It was the gift they were most excited about and, thankfully, they didn’t need to wrap it.

#renora #so cute it hurts #i love them #because crwby said yes they are in love but healthy separation is also valid and we stan #rwby #rwby endgame #team jnpr #nora valkyrie #lie ren #nora ren? #is that how it's going to work?

[elriel-oblivion]

Okay here's the thing.. I respect everyone's opinions and they can ship whoever they want but like... For Elucien and Gwynriel... I literally cannot even see how. I would gladly ship them if someone gave me a valid reason. Elain avoids talking or even being in the same room as Lucien, and Azriel had one polite conversation with Gwyn. Az is just nice to her. As nice as he would be to any female. Elriel has foreshadowing & chemistry- The roses painted on her drawer and the rose necklace...👀

Strongly agree with all of this!! My main problem with anything that's not elriel is that a lot of anti-elriel shippers completely ignore or erase Elain. With these ships, it's always what benefits Elain does or doesn't bring. It's so misogynistic, people just ignore everything she's mentioned about her own heart and how she doesn't want a mate or the bond, she doesn't care for it, but oh Lucien's had such a hard life, he deserves his mate!!!!!

😒😒😒

Surely he deserves someone who wants him as much as he wants them, no?

Non-elriel-endgame with the canon we currently have would mean Elain's choices are stripped once again since she'd have to give up/lose the love she actually wants in favour of one she doesn't want that's attached to some cultural concept that means zilch to her and her human heart. I mean, sure sjm could spin it so Elain catches feelings for Lucien and they end up happily mated. But then what is the point of having Elain constantly avoid him for three books? That's not even setting up for a good relationship bc every time they interact/meet, the communication just gets worse.

While I can honestly see the potential of gwynriel bc platonic interactions can later become romantic, I still don't ship it bc it doesn't feel right the way elriel does to me. I can def see gwynriel becoming a strong healthy friendship, but if it's endgame then Elain ends up with Lucien, whom she visibly shrinks from and has been avoiding since acowar. She doesn't feel seen by him at all - as much as I love Lucien and truly do want him to have his own HEA, we can't deny that he's really just pursuing (I use pursuing in the loosest way since he's very respectful about it 😅) Elain bc of the bond. If we take that away, there's nothing between them imo and he probably wouldn't give Elain more than a passing glance for her beauty and that's it bc she's not the type of girl he's into.

But people don't wanna think about how that makes Elain feel. This girl who previously felt seen by only one person - who then rejected her bc of that bond itself - and craves someone to see who she truly is, is being courted by someone who doesn't actually like her for her, but just the idea of what a relationship with her would entail. He's only trying bc of some divine belief she doesn't share. That must suck like hell. It's almost objectfying, the bond. And again, I don't blame Lucien at all, not even for trying bc it is something that's important to him and his culture, but it's not a mutual thing. If it were important to Elain too and she just wasn't cooperating bc of some stupid shallow reason, then I'd be angry at her. But that's not the case at all.

But with Azriel, the first person to see her since Graysen, there's so much potential for growth - for both of them. They make each other feel seen. And for all that antis say neither has grown in the time they've known each other, how did Az pluck up the courage to almost kiss Elain after having not done anything with Mor for five centuries? How did Elain initiate that kiss - ie have the courage to follow her heart again after having it torn and shredded by Graysen? And anyway, weve never seen into Elain's head so we don't know what she feels has changed within her; we can only detect subtle changes from other povs, but there might be some huge changes in her learnt from Azriel, maybe about her outlook on life/strength, that she's just keeping hidden for the time (or that no one has bothered to see bc Elain is invisible 😭). Same with Azriel. One little chapter isn't gonna tell us everything he's been thinking the past two years.

But either way, we know now that they both have feelings for each other. Why is a mutual healthy relationship shut down so quickly, one where both partners' choices are taken heed of? If Elain had said no in that moment, Azriel would've stepped back instantly, no questions asked. He probably would've have some huge internal conflict about his own self worth but he wouldn't have gone further without Elain's consent. He's already shown he respects her, he said they've been sharing looks and touches, and these are things fandom eat up, so I don't understand why it's suddenly wrong or unwanted just bc Elain makes up half the ship.

And there's so much foreshadowing/symbolism that antis seem oblivious to, which, fair enough, interpret the text how you want. But even if somebody doesn't see the spark or blooming feelings between the pair throughout the books (how do they explain away all the stiffness whenever one of them is mentioned or is in the same room or something though? Genuinely curious here), there's a lot of plot foreshadowing. The Blood Duel has now been mentioned twice, as has the idea of breaking the bond, maybe more. There's the issue with Koschei and Elain not being able to see things related to him past mist and shadow. There's all this potential conflict that could arise between the Courts if elriel pursue their love, and conflict is the driving force of any novel.

If gwynriel were an IRL couple, I wouldn't care if there were never any conflict, but if I'm reading their story, I want more than just them falling in love and having internal conflict about whether they should kiss the other or not. Especially if the backdrop is a fantasy world on the brink of war with many players. I saw a gwynriel post mentioning Merrill once and while I do think she has the potential to be a running antagonist, I don't see her as anything but a subplot/crony for/associate with another stronger villain. I don't think she could carry a whole novel at the moment. So Gwyn is tied to nothing in the overarching plot. Same with Az. Not to mention all the theories about the Koschei/Swan Lake/firebird folklore that is potentially inspiring this new series in the acotar world. Of course, this could all change as we get more info about the next book/s and all, but compared to elriel certainly, I don't think there's as much conflict with gwynriel.

Ultimately, I don't claim knowledge of the next books' content, so I don't really care what people ship, but the main thing I take issue with is how they treat Elain in the midst. A lot of gwynriel arguments I've seen portray certain acts in a romantic/positive light for Gwyn but either completely ignore or erase any semblance of romance for Elain or tear her down. Like, we shouldn't push the narrative that Gwyn as an SA survivor can't have healthy meaningful sex in the future (yeah, of course I agree), yet some of the same people who say that are also people who judge and make fun of Elain and call her too vanilla for Az without having a clue what her bedroom habits/preferences are 🤯 This is just one of many. There are so many double standards I've seen for gwynriel against elriel and I'm just tired of it. And even if they're not doing any of that, they simply hate Elain and don't want her to be with Az and so ship gwynriel as the next best alternative. Like, can they not push down Elain in favour of Gwyn, please? That's so misogynistic 🤮

For all that this fandom flaunts the series being feminist with strong female characters, they sure do a good job in tearing down females who don't fit their definition of strong, despite even Feyre stating and acknowledging multiple times that Elain has a different kind of strength 😒

Gahhhhhhh. *exhales deeeeeeeeply* Sorry this is so damn LONG!! 😅😅😅😅😅 I did not expect to write a whole bloody essay lol but I hope it was fun/comforting to read at least 😅😆 I know I fall back on elriel posts when the ship war gets too intense bc I actually enjoy shipping elriel. They've become my otp, and I absolutely adore both characters of the ship; I think most of us elriels do. I haven't really seen any elriel stans who dislike/don't care for Elain and her welfare so it's nice being in this corner of the fandom where we can appreciate both Az and Elain equally. And of course, the other characters with their due respect. I truly do want Lucien to finally get his good life, but I don't think that's with Elain 😕

#elain archeron #elriel #azriel acotar #elain x azriel #Acotar #Acosf spoilers

[weirdthoughtsandideas]

VIOLETTA UNPOPULAR OPINIONS, GO!

OH FUCK YES

Tomas was very whiny. I can understand how you could like him and why you’d want him and Violetta to be endgame, but tbh he was just. Always whiny and blamed everyone else. I lost all respect for him as an 11yo when I first watched the episode where he was like ”The kiss you gave Leon was my kiss. I can’t get over it”

Lara was NICE. She was SUPPORTIVE and WANTED THE BEST for Leon. She didn’t even dislike Violetta. Sure, she could make some comments towards her, but nothing was mean spirited. I don’t know why she just disappeard

Same for Braco, Napo and Luca. I absolutely support Tomas going back to Spain (lol) but the rest?? Where are you, come back!

I think Jade and Matias were just uneccessary after the first season. I feel like they were only there for comic relief, but tbh they just take up scenes I feel like other characters can get. Like BRACO AND NAPO AND LUCA.

It would have been pretty fun in my opinion if Esmeralda were out for stealing German’s money herself, without having Jade and Matias there. Like, her seeming like the perfect woman, and then as we go by, we realise something is not right, and we find out before the wedding exactly what has happened

I don’t mind the english dub, but it fucking sucks in season 1, sorry not sorry, and I think that is a reason Violetta never got as popular in english speaking countries. Plus, Violetta’s english singing voice is weird in season 1. But in season 2 her english singing voice got a complete GLOWUP, so I like that. But also, the english dub sometimes don’t translate correctly. They changed funny lines as ”Oh, a mexican” and ”What is up with this girl and astronomy?” to ”Oh, they’re arguing!” and ”I wish I learned astronomy in kindergarden”. Why??

I understand that, in season 2 when the characters were gonna sing in another language, the english dub had to come up with a new language. The only problem is that I personally don’t understand french at all and I didn’t know Camila was pronouncing everything wrong. I sort of wish the swedish dub (that I grew up with) had the original spanish songs, because we got the english dubbed songs, and swedish kids know english better than french, so I think we would understand if Camila pronounced english wrong

I did not care for Clement and Gery at all and I sometimes forget they exist

Sometimes I think Angie would’ve been happier if she ended up with Pablo

The last 10 episodes of season 2 >>>>> all other episodes

The end of ep75 of s2 always makes me emotional. Just... Violetta crying on stage, not being able to sing, LEON SAVES HER. Leonetta may not be the most stable couple but THAT IS LOVE

And also ep76-80 in season 2, where everyone is so bummed out and sad. I feel for them and I get so happy every time when they DO finish the song, Vilu DOES get her father back, everything is GOOD again.

The Roxy and Fausta storyline was always weird to me, it felt a bit ooc. But it was at the same time kind of funny. I think what I would do if I rewrote it is to still make them dress up as them, but not to spy on Leon. They... just dress up for another reason. Maybe to sneak into the kareoke bar because they weren’t allowed there anymore or something

Honestly season 3 is just in general a little off to me. Nothing is really the same. Maybe it’s this... less colorful filter it has on it? Idk it feels like s3 has this lighter shade on it. Maybe to reflect that the characters are older now. Or smth

I also feel like some characters in season 3 just changed personality. Violetta is much more stubborn and short tempered than before. They try really hard to show that DIEGO HAS CHANGED, HE IS NICE NOW. Which, yeah, I get it, but it’s just a little funny seeing him be a manipulative stalker and now he’s sweet Diego on guitar

I tbh never cared about Francesca’s love life. Everyone was like ”OMG DIECESCA IS MY OTP” and I’ve been like ”??? Fran hated him last season what?”. I’m not hating on Diecesca, they are a lovely couple, but I just never really... cared? I didn’t care about Marco much either. They were sweet? Then he couldn’t stop sending flowers and I’m like ”dude calm down”. And Fran’s relationship with Tomas wasn’t very good. The only relationships with Fran I cared about was her friendships and her relationship with her brother

Priscila is SUCH a psychopath and the second she showed her true sides I wanted to hug Ludmila. Please I hope Ludmila seeks therapy. Poor girl.

Season 3 felt like a fanfiction but the biggest fanfiction in this universe is Tini the movie. We don’t talk about that. What WAS that. I’m so confused. If they wanted to make a Violetta movie they could make a ”reunion” movie or smth, not WHATEVER THAT WAS. Though the visuals and angles are pretty nice.

Llamame with the cowboy hats are the funniest thing I have seen in my life and it felt so off from all the other songs, but ESPECIALLY the version with cowboy hats really gets me cackling

They wasted potential to have LGBTQ+ characters. I get it, it’s Disney, it’s a kids show, it was made in 2012. But I still just feel like... the POTENTIAL. There’s so many characters that gives off queer vibes and I- I don’t know. I feel like the majority is bisexual and then some of them are fully gay/lesbian and the rest are either straight or homophobic

I have since the ripe old age of 11 been a Leonetta shipper, and I still have a very soft spot for them. But recently I have been like ”Francesca and Violetta? Would make a good pair. Germán would approve, Francesca’s not a boy”.

I’m glad Maxi and Cami didn’t end up together, but I also wish they explored that storyline a bit more. Because they kind of just ended it, but then it was still a thing with Marco being mad at Francesca after she didn’t want to tell him Camila kissed Maxi, but then they just... dropped it. Never discussed it ever again. I feel like it just ended on a weird note.

Maxi and Naty are super cute, I love every time Maxi has to turn his cap backwards to kiss her. But Naty also gives off huge lesbian vibes, so now i’m conflicted

I think Gery’s half shaved eyebrow is ugly and now you know

Leon is very chaotic and I think we don’t appreciate him for that. Like, searching his girlfriend up on his motorcross to tell her ”let’s skip school and go and almost kiss at a secret spot in a public park”, calls girlfriend’s overprotective father ”future father in law” before running away, that whole ”LoVe Is LIKe a tHuNDEr” scene-

Diego had more chemisty with Leon than with anyone else in s2

I don’t remember Milton at all and I forgot he was a teacher. What did he do? Like... he yelled at students and that’s all I recall. Then he disappeared? What???

I have lots more but now I can’t come up with more

#violetta #unpopular opinion

[gra-sonas]

Do you think the shows taken it too far in terms of malex not being together because the fact that people are having to ask actors for their opinions tells me it's being shown to the audience as hopeless. I think they've had Michael choose M*ria one time too many and driven in the nail a bit too hard. Balance is needed!

Has the show taken it too far? Not an easy question to answer.

Casual viewers, people who actually enjoy M/M, and some Malex shippers would probably answer with ‘no’.

But there’s a growing number of people (I consider myself one of them) who feel like the show’s taken it too far. Which is understandable imo, fans of queer ships are naturally an anxious bunch. We never have the luxury of knowing for sure that our pairing will make it in the end (apart from that, we don’t just want Malex together at the end, but that’s a different point).

And so far there’s a severe imbalance when it comes to Malex. And it’s more than one.

Imbalance I: Echo vs Malex

I don’t want to make this a competition, but I’d like to point out the differences between both relationships. I don’t want Echo to have it worse, but I definitely want Malex to have it better.

With Echo, no one ever has to truly worry that they are not it, that they won’t end up together - you know that watching the first scene of episode 1x01, the way they look at each other and say each other’s names. There’s no doubt whatsoever that they are the show’s OTP.

Kyle and Jenna were in the picture for a bit, but neither was ever actual competition, and Max/Liz/Kyle or Jenna/Max/Liz were never actual triangles that were explored in earnest. And even when Max died, it was clear he’d come back.

When he came back ‘evil’ it was handled in one fight. When it turned out he had Liz!amnesia, him and Liz got an entire episode of falling in love with each other all over again. I’m not saying that they don’t have problems to overcome, or that they don’t deserve to be happy, but in comparison to Malex, they’ve had it fairly easy (by TV drama standards anyway). Apart from that, there are no alternative relationships presented for either of them to pick.

With Malex, we got a mostly tragic love story that’s lasted for over a decade already, despite them having experienced a brutal and homophobic attack on the day they got together initially. And over the course of S1 they showed us, that their love is cosmic. 

But no matter how clear it is on screen in every scene how much they LOVE each other still, that ‘the pieces want to be together’ regardless of trauma and years apart, a potential relationship’s been painted as ‘too complicated’, ‘too painful’, ‘toxic’, and burdened with too much trauma and bad memories to be a viable option from day one.

So, whereas Echo did get more than one shot at being in a relationship, got love declarations, happy kisses and dates, Malex got half a shot at being together between 1x01 and 1x03 and have been broken up since.

Imbalance II: mlm vs m/f

On top of that, they were thrown into an actual triangle, with one of Alex’s (alleged) best female friends even. An mlm relationship deemed too complicated and ‘toxic’ competing against an m/f relationship lauded as ‘easy’, a ‘breath of fresh air’, and something that will finally allow Michael to be ‘happy’.

We saw Alex’s friend go behind his back even tho she’d told him, had she known about him and Michael, the no-good-Texas-rounder would’ve never happened in the first place, and now that she knew, she promised him it would definitely never happen again.

She didn’t keep her promise tho, invited Michael to kiss her, kept pursuing him, and ultimately he started ‘parking in her lot’ a couple weeks later (not before ‘ending’ things with Alex for the umpteenth time tho, while casually informing him about the fact Michael would be moving on with Alex’s friend - a fact he clearly hadn’t known about before).

“Best friends who?” - She didn’t talk to Alex about entering a relationship with the guy she knew Alex still had feelings for and felt hopeful about for months, and when she finally came to talk to him, she didn’t even apologize, instead Alex was the compassionate and understanding Gay Best Friend™, and gave his blessings. Clean slate for m/f and the gay seal of approval. Awesome.

And to really hammer it home that Malex won’t happen anytime soon, the gay man was roped into a threesome by his female friend with the man she knows he loves. And, you’ve guessed it, it ended with Michael picking her over ‘too complicated’ with Alex yet again.

These are all writing choices made in favor of the m/f relationship,  while the gay character's been left in the dust over and over again, and the mlm relationship's never been considered an option.

Imbalance III: Michael vs Alex

Halfway through S2, they finally introduced a new love interest for Alex. A man picking up on his reluctance to kiss in public (which he easily and correctly interpreted as lack of enthusiastic consent), respecting Alex’s boundaries without throwing a fit, and being okay with Alex not having it all figured out right from the start. An actual breath of fresh air...

But of course Alex can’t just be ‘happy’ like Michael, who gets to play caring boyfriend, casual kisses and domestic-y moments included. Nah, Alex has to work twice as hard to even get to kiss the new guy, bc there’s a severe case of childhood abuse anxiety and internalized homophobia he has to overcome first.

Smooth sailing and a relationship for one, queer trauma struggles for the other.

* ~ *

Is anyone still surprised that Malex fans are losing hope, or flock to ForIex instead? Even those of us who believe that Malex are ‘endgame’ in some nebulous future (I’m still one of them) are losing hope because we see Michael pick someone else over Alex again and again, and the magic of their cosmic love fades and dulls every time he does.

Also, what kind of endgame are we actually talking about? The kind where they are finally allowed to get together at the very end of the show, making viewers go through an endless parade of will-they-won’t-they situations for seasons on end? I don’t think many Malex fans would stick around to see that happen, especially not when the show keeps treating Alex like a burden and leaves him sad and alone in almost every episode.

So yeah, there’s no balance imo, and the longer Malex are kept apart, and the longer the show keeps telling/showing us that Michael will always pick someone else over Alex, hope for Malex to find a way back to each other will dwindle, until one day there’s no hope left.

#you can probably tell that i'm bitter #i'll be salty about this for a while #walk in the park for the straights #climbing mount everest without oxygen device for the queers #i'm exaggerating (am i tho?) #but it's frustrating to see how different all of this is treated #malex #echo #don't get me wrong #i don't begrudge echo what they have #i just wish malex didn't have to overcome as many obstacles as they do #and yes i'm an alex stan who thinks he's treated unfairly #again i don't want any other characters to be treated worse #i want him to be treated better #nonnie asks

[limerental]

I’m so over the mcu in general. All my old otps have become notps except for thorki, which still has a special place in my heart and which I revisit every so often. I haven’t watched Loki’s new show, I’m waiting for it to be done and to have an idea of how it goes, but I’ve been very much enjoying your thorki and sylki posting, keep it up! :)

Yeah, I had burned out entirely on the mcu post-IW and had a few last gasps after endgame but largely just was jaded about the whole thing. The TV series runs have reawakened some interest in the ability of the MCU to tell interesting stories in smaller formats (still need to watch wandavision but tfatws was nice and I'm obviously enjoying Loki).

But yeah, my initial investment in the mcu was in Stony in 2012 lol which the mcu obviously tanked in a big way which was... disappointing. And then to be reinvested in it through Ragnarok and fall headfirst into the Thor and Thorki fandom only to immediately have to crushed by IW and further smashed by Endgame was uhhhhh never thought I'd be back here giving a shit!

I think the thing that has reignited me most about the Loki show is its investment in the "what if" of it all, the "what changes if thus happens instead" method of storytelling... which was coincidentally exactly a way of approaching stories that I had never thought about before but that I discovered on my first forays back into fandom and writing in 2017 after giving up writing at all and not being involved in fiction or fandom for years. It was a Loki writer on here who made me have that lightbulb moment of approaching stories that way and it's wild to be back here having changed and grown so much as a writer and a person.

Anyway lmao not to get too deep on your ask about thorki but I will say I've always loved the energy behind this ship and the loyalty and the desire to keep telling these stories over and over because they're ones that matter.

My first fumbling steps back into doing this thing that had once defined my life and that I gave up on were rooted in those stories and these characters. Especially in Loki. And that's neat to think about! That this stinky little creature of a man was compelling enough to drive me back to what has become a really important feature of my life, even if he's just the worst and I hate him.

Anyway, the show is fairly enjoyable in a kind of simplistic way and I find it entertaining. Sylki is really fun and interesting to me for a billion reasons and I'd encourage you to give it a watch once it's finished.

#sowwy about this lmao i got emotional this morning #hes just the stinkiest

[kirwani]

BARCHIE. YES.

I loved what they did here. It only seems right for Betty to shut things down romantically. She always does the right thing, it’s only normal. But she’s also super scared of these feelings. If they would have just gone through with it, kiss again it would make for a cheap and out of character storyline. 

I’m glad they talked about this and she ended it. She does love Jughead. It would be weird for them to just jump into another relationship like this. JUST BRING ME THE ANGST. Thats the thing I am hoping for, for it to continue. Let the tension and angst between Betty and Archie grow, that makes for a really good storyline. 

It was right of Cheryl to call Betty out on these feelings being all a fantasy. Especially since Cheryl doesn’t know what happened.. that these feelings just became a reality. I am happy they threw that in there and gave them some more thought to it then just two people giving into this insane chemistry. 

It makes it all the more real. 

And clearly these feelings aren’t over. Or aren’t just a fantasy. They threw in a flashback of S1 as well, when Betty’s heart got broken because of the rejection of Archie. And Betty is clearly still hurt by this. She’s scared to give into all these feelings. Scared of breaking Juggheads heart, scared of breaking her own by pursing these intense feelings. 

All of this just makes that Riverdale is finally ready to explore Betty and Archie and are willing to take their time to do so. And it does feel like the writers aren’t ready to let go either. Since they did “break things” but Archie’s mom still gave that line of “must be for someone special” and Betty’s mom told her to keep holding on to one diary (that hopefully has some Barchie in it). 

If they had just persued this cheating relationship it could have been just the longing and more about how betty said it well, all the changes and them feeling safe. And Riverdale knowing Riverdale they would let the secret come out it would cause some drama between the other ships and we would get back to 5 betty archie moments for a whole season. But now they’re finally going to explore that and show us that Barchie is also, very much, alive in the present. 

It shows that this storyline is about Betty and Archie. And not about Barchie causing drama with Bughead or Varchie. Its theirs and their own. Hello otp!

Also Varchie and Bugheads should just be happy. It still think their ship is endgame. But Barchie needs to be explored also for them. Betty and Archie need to know what this thing is between them for them to truly move past it and get closure. But it would be great if the writers could just let it play our for a whole thing in S5.

The longing storyline is always better then the actual relationship (on TV duh). And the flashbacks <3 Barchie, to me, is the only relationship storyline with true depth on this show. I do hope so that they’ll take this to a new lever. Fill it with more moments in the presents, angsty talks, mature talks and SEXUAL TENSION. SO I AM READY FOR THIS. 

(but I do think the season will end by Jughead/Veronica finding out about Betty and Archie - CLIFFHANGER) And with Riverdale you never really know. lol. 

EXIT RANT. 

#barchie #betty x archie #betty cooper #archie andrews #riverdale #but i'll probably end up being dissapointed

[smolbeandrabbles]

Still - Director Keller x OC (Captain Marvel)

Out Of Nowhere Girl (For Reference):  Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

Author’s Note: I wrote this as soon as I got out of the theatre when I saw Endgame... As the eventual ending to ‘Out Of Nowhere Girl’... Anyway, basically I spent so long talking about these two to @mendelskrull​ and this fic was basically finished anyway, that I decided to put it out! 😁

UGH. I love them. They must be my second OTP after Lorennic... Now they need a name...

I also realise that he’s referred to as Keller for the majority of this story... 🤔 We’ll just roll with that. 

Keller’s astronomy ring is like this.

Disclaimer: We’re going to pretend that timelines don’t exist. / MCU characters/plots/events not mine / lyrics not mine

Premise: When Thanos snaps away half the universe, Maliyah loses everything. It’s a long and difficult 5 years, but now the battle is won...

Words: 1830

Warnings: N/A. I mean we talk about stuff that happened in Infinity War and Endgame, so, a little bit of angst.

_____

Remember when I told you you were mine, all mine I couldn't get you, baby, off my mind Me and you we were the real thing You didn't know but I had butterflies 'Cause I knew then, leaning in Baby I was never looking back again Every day changes but it doesn't change The way you make me smile when you say my name And when you laugh, it makes me laugh And when you cry, it makes me cry Yeah like it did back then When we were just beginning And girl it always will I want you, I need you, still And I don't care how many times that story is told Cover to cover, it never gets old Like a fairy tale, gets better and better Boy meets girl and spends forever together Yeah and, oh my God You are my whole world And we're spinnin' When you look my way  Everything stops And time stands still

---

The Snap

Maliyah had barely been able to face Keller’s family.

His parents had lost their only son, and their grand-daughter. His sister had lost her best friend, and her niece. Maliyah had tried to make sure they hadn’t lost her too. Turning up on their doorstep two days after their worlds had been utterly devastated, it was nothing more than constant hugging and crying. She should have been there for them before then, but for those first few days she was in too much pain – it was beyond unbearable. The bond between their DNA was very suddenly ripped apart, the brightly lit patterns that used to cross her body were now solid black lines. She’d told him once that was never something she wanted to happen; and now Maliyah had failed to protect him, so these marks of shame were his. Maliyah wanted to stay with what family she had left on Earth, but there was so much to help Carol take care of around the Universe – that was before adding on trying to settle whatever was left of the Xandarian’s. Her home destroyed by Thanos even before he’d done the unthinkable. Maliyah was their Supernova – it was her duty to help them rebuild what they could. It kept her preoccupied, a fact for which she was glad. There was so much pain that those two names bought her she wasn’t able to return to Keller’s family easily. Maliyah knew she shouldn’t, but she wanted to face this alone. There were many memorials around the world to the victims of what Earth was calling ‘the Blip’, but this one was her favourite. If that was even the right way to talk about it. Maliyah touched his name gently, but her lip quivered and pretty soon she found herself with her forehead pressed against the letters and her tears wetting the stone. Why? Why had they taken him from her? Why had they taken their daughter? This wasn’t right. Maliyah’s name should be on this, not theirs. She knew she didn’t deserve to live on, not instead of them. Talia was nothing but innocent, and Keller, he’d pretty much single handily raised her. He was a good man - a better husband and father than Maliyah would ever be mother. And yet she lived... She had never deserved anything less in all her life.

She remembered her final conversation with him. Thanos had taken her home from her, Xandar was no more. And he was coming for Earth for the infinity stones, and then god knows what would happen if he succeeded. “You’ll get him. Maliyah. You’ll stop him.” “What if I can’t? Even with help, what if it just doesn’t happen? What if he wins? With those stones-” “If. IF he gets them, Mali... then you can reverse it. I know you can. I know you will. But it’s a big if.” And that smile he’d give her, of assurance. Keller was always so sure. “And I know it won’t come to that.” But it had, and it had taken her family away from her. Maliyah had watched too many turn to dust with shock on that initial battlefield before pain shot through her. At first she thought that she was dying too, but Maliyah hadn’t been that lucky; curled up in pain and screaming as her body warned her that he was in trouble. Just like that Keller was gone, wiped away so unnaturally that her body still didn’t know how to react. Panic for her daughter had eventually spurred her to the house – still too young to be able to fend for herself alone. Maliyah had found nothing but an empty home. And all she’d felt was empty ever since. It had been hard to walk around with the silence hanging the way it was. Uncomfortably loud. The only real indications that anyone had just disappeared was the computer system was still on, pages of notes with a word half written… drawings and crayons on the floor – too peculiar to look like two people had just left in a hurry. Keller’s astronomy ring sat on his desk in open position – that wasn’t insignificant. He knew what was happening, he’d have left it for her. Maliyah picked it up delicately, closing it back to a single gold band: an unusual choice of wedding ring. She’d worn it on a chain around her neck ever since. It had been 5 years, and some had simply accepted and moved on. Maliyah was one of the few that couldn’t – he’d told her not to give up, and she never would no matter how long it took. She refused to believe that Keller was gone forever. And with the help of the assembled team, constantly in contact over video link, she would get him back; everything would be as it should. Maliyah could afford to wait for eternity…. But his family couldn’t. They needed closure and answers: she vowed to help them.

 *** The Aftermath.

Maliyah and Carol arrived on the battlefield together, Earth bound shooting stars. They were used to teaming up by now – and with the Universe corrected, there was only one thing left to do. Win the battle and the war. She knew before the battle was even won: the energy and serenity that suddenly flowed through her could only have one source. How, despite him being a few thousand miles away, Keller’s colours ignited over her skin as she fought. Time to show them what a real Supernova could do… The funeral of Tony Stark was a quiet affair, even if it was well attended. She stood respectfully back, nearer to Carol and Nick than the rest of the group. They were probably her closest friends here, standing slightly forward for Peter Quill – he’d been missing for the past five years too. Maliyah had too much to catch up on. There was a lot of quiet contemplation between the groups. A lot of where to next. For Maliyah there was only ever one answer to that question. Before she jetted off to the stars, or helped anyone with anything. “Maliyah... won’t you stay??” She shook her head at Nick with a small smile, “What’s left of the S.H.I.E.L.D organisation could really use you...!” Carol scoffed, arms folded, “No! She needs to come with me!” She gave Maliyah a soft wink, “What do you say? Marvel and Supernova saving the universe?” Maliyah couldn’t help but laugh, “If you wait for me Carol, I’ll take you up on that... but right now I’ve got somewhere else to be...” “... Right. Of course, Maliyah Keller has somewhere else to be!” She turned from Carol’s big smile and grinned across to Nick Fury with a nod, knowing how perfectly he understood, “You’re damn right!”

***

Flying halfway across America was not what was sending Maliyah crazy. Her palms were sweaty and her heart was beating so fast as she landed herself softly in front of the country home. Surrounded by acres and acres of land, it was in the middle of nowhere for so many reasons... It reminded her so much of his parents.

The breeze tousled her hair as it played through the trees. It had been 5 long years - or short - but it felt to her like a lifetime. Every time she read those two names on the mural she broke down in tears. It only served to shatter her heart into more pieces. But all that was reversed now... The door opened, and Maliyah didn’t think her heart had the ability to beat as quick as it did. She couldn’t breathe. He was standing in a three-piece suit. Sans jacket. Sleeves rolled up, he placed both hands in his pockets. The sun hit his face, his hair, his eyes; that gorgeous blue she hadn’t seen in 5 lifetimes... and he smiled taking the two steps down to the driveway, she illuminated in blue and white - brighter than she ever had before. His emotion hit her full force and she could feel herself start to cry. She wanted so badly to sprint to him, but he engulfed her. Her senses were overwhelmed by Keller. Something they had yearned for for 5 years.

It didn’t matter, because Jonathan sprinted to her, and suddenly she was in his arms. She couldn’t grab enough of him close to her; and he couldn’t either. “You did it, you did it... I knew you would.” Keller’s voice was soft as he held her to him, breathing her in as much as she was him. He’d woken up in the same place he’d watched their daughter disappear into thin air. The same place he’d done exactly the same thing - but years after... he’d known life without Maliyah for maybe a month. She had been without him far longer. She laughed through her tears, “I think my input was minimal!” He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her forehead. Her colours burning a new level of bright. “We’re back. Because of you.” There was nothing she could say back, it was hardly true but Keller wasn’t about to let her argue with him – she knew that, pushing up on her toes to press her forehead against his, Maliyah slipped the chain from her neck, taking his hand to reunite him with the ring. “I knew you’d have taken it with you.” “I needed you.” “You didn’t give up. Not that I expected you to, Supernova.” Keller pulled her back to him, capturing her lips. “MOMMY!!” Maliyah left Keller’s arms, kiss cut short, to see her daughter now sprinting down the same steps. “Tali!” She ran, skidding to her knees. She was still 6; still her baby. Maliyah had missed to much already, she was glad she wouldn’t miss anything else. She placed her head gently against her daughters, Keller watched with a smile as they both lit up in the same amalgamation of purples, pinks and soft blues. There was a communication there he would never understand, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know what it meant.

Maliyah stood, gathering Talia in her arms, and Keller wandered to them, taking them both in his own arms. His girls were both okay. And they were both here. Talia wrapped her arms tightly around Maliyah’s neck and entwined her tiny fingers with his. Keller kissed her again. A real kiss, one she savoured with her eyes closed; gentle, nice and slow. “Stay...” He breathed it. “This time, please stay.” She knew Jonathan wanted nothing more than for her to be here. For them to finally be a family. For Maliyah it had been 11 years: for 6 she’d been unprepared to be a mother, for the last 5 she hadn’t had a choice.  Those five years put the three of them into real perspective. She smiled; as if she really had a choice? “I’ll stay.” Maliyah took his hand, “I’m going to stay.”

---

Thank you for reading! 😅

#My little Space Girl deserves her OG story #But I don't feel like I'm at OG level yet I really do #There's much work to be done yet. #Director Keller #Maliyah x Keller #Maliyah #Captain Marvel #183 #Note: His sister knows that she's from Space but his parents don't. #Not that that makes an overall difference to the story - buuut! #It's been sitting in my notes too long and I just kinda want it gone so we're going to get it gone. #I wish I could do these two better justice than this... Buuuuut #They're certainly not my forte #Linzi writes #Smol Bean Drabbles #we'll bury this and move on. #Wont tag Mendo this time

[letstrywritingmaybe]

It feels weird to be writing a Christmasy setting when it’s January, but hey, tis the damn season. Onto more important news

Y’all I literally can’t. Okay I don’t watch Chinese dramas cause of reasons... (I’m biased okay, I’m Taiwanese and proud), but I somehow ended seeing a part of this chinese drama that I don’t know the name of, can’t name an actor in it, wouldn’t even know how to google it cause it’s not in my search history. Point is, I saw the snippet and it gave me major ShinShi AU vibes! Like I saw it and immediately projected my otp onto the two love interests (and I know they have to be endgame cause dramas like these are predictable. They don’t break my heart unless I fall for the secondary guy/girl character). Ugh and now my heart wants this to be a thing. Or maybe just to actually cave and watch the drama... anyways, as you can see I have an obsessive personality and I have zero chill

#cynful babbles #why oh why can’t I just be a casual fan? #my life would be so much easier if I didn’t experience a gold rush every freaking time I get into something #I’m gonna try very hard to focus on something else now and not let it consume me...