Do you guys think that Adaine and Aelwyn ever had tiny moments of solidarity in their young childhoods? Like a small glance across the kitchen table when their dad said something particularly uncomfortable at dinner, or a late night conversation in the kitchen that lasted a little bit longer than either of them really expected it to?
Like maybe Aelwyn would cast healing on a knee scrape that she most certainly was the cause of, or Adaine would make a quiet comment about a good test score she got to make her feel better about something. Maybe Aelwyn passively read up on calming panic attacks and anxiety episodes, while Adaine secretly wished she got to keep her sister’s old clothes as hand-me-downs. Maybe they used to hold hands when crossing the street, or did the dishes together, or smushed together on the couch so they could both read the same book.
I think that for as much as they have always “hated” each other, there have to have been moments where love seeped through. They lived in that house together, and as much as I know their experiences were wildly different, they both endured abuse and neglect at the hands of their parents. there has to have been some times where they aligned into some kind of more gentle understanding of one another even if only for a few moments.
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having a moment. but when i was little and first getting into writing stories and drawing characters i always used to make every single character white, strange when you consider that im literally black but much less strange when you realize that at that point in the early 2000s i had never before seen a black person play a hero in something i loved or see a black person on tv with an actual role period (me and my sister used to see how long we could watch tv without ever seeing a black person, INCLUDING ads and it would go on for hours) so to little me, all the heroes were white. things slowly got better and i obviously got over that idea but still most roles i saw a black person play on tv was the sassy best friend of the white protagonist who existed only to be a sidekick or anything like that. but this is the first year ive actually felt like things were actually looking up.
between spiderverse, doctor who, and percy jackson i have never seen so many widely loved protagonist roles in mainstream media held by black people ever before in my life, ESPECIALLY by dark-skin people!! and they're well written! and they're the hero! and they have full lives outside of just being "the black character"! idk man it's just nice to finally get this, i love u miles morales, i love u the 15th doctor, i love u annabeth chase <333
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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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