yes i'm rooting for m*leven breakup because byler is neat but mostly? i'm rooting for m*leven breakup for the sake of el and mike.
to me, their romance was always a puppy love born out of a combination of social pressures, naïve curiosity, and a lack of true understanding regarding intimacy and romantic love and what it really is. it was real in that they do truly, deeply care about each other and they are close friends, maybe even shared an attraction, but a maturing romance is so much more than that. they've grown up and out of being boyfriend/girlfriend, and that's okay! i think television/film needs to show more often that most of us don't have definite "soulmates" or first childhood loves that we spend our whole lives with. it doesn't mean these relationships meant nothing and didn't impact us, it just means they've run their course and that something else is in the cards, and this is part of life!
i've always felt el was at her best and most confident self when broken up with mike, discovering who she was and what she liked alongside another girl her age instead of just relying on mike for mentorship on how to live in the real world. she deserves more of an opportunity to find herself, her autonomy, and her independence, and to love who she is, and she's made it clear she's felt insecure in the relationship with mike because she isn't being loved and understood the way she wants, needs, and deserves from someone who is her partner.
also, it's okay if mike doesn't love her in "the way he should". he is not obligated to love her romantically and stay in a relationship with her just because she's a girl, because she "needed someone", or because he cares about her a lot. he shouldn't be pressured into a romance if it's not truly coming from his heart. he deserves freedom to find out and honour who he is, too, instead of just staying in his non-functional first relationship — one he got into as a child, essentially — and defining himself that way because it's what's expected when a boy and a girl are close. he loves her in some way, yes, but it's okay if he doesn't feel comfortable or secure being her boyfriend anymore, for whatever reason that is. he's felt insecure too, and that's valid and it matters.
they are their own people and are steadily growing and changing every day. they need time to figure out who those people are, and it's become clear (at least in my opinion) that those people aren't meant to be a couple at this stage.
they deserve freedom. they deserve to grow up and be authentic to themselves and not feel like they need to lie for the sake of a relationship. they deserve to move on from this version of their relationship that isn't making them happy and rekindle the best part of their bond: their strong, beautiful friendship. they don't have to be a couple if it doesn't make them stronger and better and happier people.
i think it would be healthy and wonderful for a show, especially one consumed frequently by young adults, to show a relationship starting, progressing, and ending on good terms in this way. sometimes things don't work out, and that is okay.
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all quiet on the western front is literally a movie discussing the futility of war, of how little boys sign up to march to their death because of propaganda fed to them by their teachers and mentors who prey on their idealistic view on life. it is a film that makes you watch death after death after death, without giving you a single cause or philosophy or ideal for you to soothe yourself with—because there is none. there are only boys and men, bleeding cold and alone on the dirt and mud. there is no worth. there is no reason. there is only death.
and you reduce it to a "war movie". it's based off a book brave enough to depict the realities of war in the charged political climate of 1929, and you call it "the war movie".
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Angel Dust receiving dozens of messages from Valentino. Every message switches between Valentino, apologizing for his behavior in a friendly tone, and then him screaming threats of violence. Then red mist covers Angel speaking in Valentino's voice. This is also the first of many examples of Val leaning into the of horrors of abusive relationships, since Val tried to lure Angel back into his clutches by playing up a friendly façade and making excuses for his previous toxic behavior is a very real manipulation tactic that actual abusers do indeed use.
Valentino: Angel baby, come home! It's not the same without you here, I miss you! Come back—
Valentino: ANGEL, YOU BITCH! IF YOU DON'T COME HOME, YOU'LL BE FUCKING GREASY TRUCKERS FOR THE NEXT YEAR—
Valentino: Hey, amorcito, I didn't mean to yell, but you know how crazy you make me—
Valentino: YOU FUCKING SLUT!
Valentino: Hey, Angie! About earlier—
Valentino: —KILL YOUR WHOLE FUCKIN' FAMILY!
Valentino: Work's really stressful!
Valentino: —LITTLE COCKSUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!
(And then there's the last message Angel listens to, where Val's tone suddenly becomes dead seriously).
Valentino: You actually think you can change? Addict trash like you doesn't change. I'll see you soon, baby.
It's a chillingly accurate example of gaslighting tactics that abusers rely on in real life in order to maintain obedience from victims. The messages seem to drive Angel deeper into despair, and he hears Valentino telling him that "addict trash like you doesn't change", signifying Angel's regret over certain life choices that he has made and showcasing his feelings of hopelessness regarding redeeming himself to leave Hell and enter Heaven.
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I can see why some disagree...but? I really DO think it's sad some fans veiw Gales ending in MJ as this attempt to make him some message from SC that people like him are evil and aweful because to me the masterful way Gale's story was handled as non-main character is missed out on.
Gales story was built up to be what it was, in a POSITIVE way, from the very first pages. We learn RIGHT away that he wants to rail agasint the Capitol, to help people be free of the suffering he's seen and expereinced. Katniss says this is so vital to him she lets him go on about it. We see right away where his passion is, what he wants. And the arch he goes through brings him to that exact place he wants.
Like ALL other characters, he looses so much as a price for that but he gets to enjoy that freedom. Gets to make that passion of his a reality.
And the fact his ending can't make fans as happy as Katniss and Peeta's bothers me sometimes.
Katniss useing spesific words like 'rage and hate' to desrible him espeaislly when it isn't in context where it seems like she is saying this in a negitive way (cause mind you...she says the same thing about herself in THE SAME BREATH and not in a 'oh look how horrible I am!' way either in fact I would say she says this in a very comfortable and confident way) should not discount that Gale got a very similar ending to every other character. To me the sad part is so many people seem to think this is somehow meant to mean the audiance should somehow take away that Gale is a bad person.
That was never the case: Gale was representing a different path, one Katniss didn't want. Nothing about that makes him out to be the bad guy, NOTHING does. He just isn't who Katniss wants romantically. And outside of that, he was able to achive what he wanted and find a life doing that. Which is something fans should celabrate I think!
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𝐓𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭
𝑪𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝑫𝒖𝒕𝒚
I really love doing the text stories, I think they're a short and cute way of showing the relationship between you and a character. I'll also be doing this for other fandoms as well, so don't be shy - I'd love some requests xx
𝐒𝐢𝐦𝐨𝐧 '𝐆𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐭' 𝐑𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐲
part one
𝐊𝐨̈𝐧𝐢𝐠
part one
a surprise
𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧𝐧𝐲 '𝐒𝐨𝐚𝐩' 𝐌𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐡
part one
𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞
𝐊𝐲𝐥𝐞 "𝐆𝐚𝐳" 𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤
𝐀𝐥𝐞𝐣𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐨 𝐕𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐬
𝐑𝐨𝐝𝐨𝐥𝐟𝐨
𝐍𝐢𝐤𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐢
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[A few minutes later, Erin has her suit on and her axe on her back. She takes out a potion from her pouch and drinks it, letting the potion run through her veins. She puts the bottle down and climbs out her bedroom window and up to the roof of her apartment building. She pulls out her phone to call Leo, once he answers she lets out a slightly shaky sigh.]
Ok, I’m ready, Leo.
@hamat0leonard0
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