#s3 is the one that makes a point to address blood relations and what worth they have

[spacedlexi]

Hi Lexi

What do you think of partially blinded Vi? You never seem to draw her that way, and I kind of just wanted to know what do you think of it as a certified Vi lover.

I personally think that while something like this can be "cool" (as in, being beneficial to the character design), it's handled quite poor for Vi and it just looks a bit... ungrateful. Simply doesn't look good, doesn't fit her personality or character (am I missing something?) and it doesn't seem to fit or suit her...unlike Kenny's iconic eyepatch. To me, it has become a pivotal thing in his design to a degree in which Kenny with both eyes seems a bit odd looking. I see it as a symbol which stands for Ken being a martyr and all he's lost and sacrificed. He is all about family and helping those he loved, his loved ones truly were the "apple of his eye". It all makes sense, doesn't it?

But for Vi, it's excatly the opposite. I'm just so sorry to see her like this. 😭😭😭 I don't think it makes sense in any way. Louis losing his tongue because he's so talkative and "won't shut up" does kind of make sense, but I cant help but see Violet losing sight as kind of lazy writing. "We need something bad happening to her!!! suffer the children!!!'- the writers exclaimed.

i think vi losing her eyesight is incredibly impactful on her character and i honestly dont understand why some people say its lazy writing. especially since it was foreshadowed multiple times. vi losing her eyesight i think is even more impactful on her character than louis losing his tongue because at least louis still has his music to express himself and uplift spirits through (and its not like he cant communicate At All. his note still makes clem laugh). the reason i dont draw blind vi very often is because of how sad it is to me. for multiple reasons

violets whole thing is wanting to be able to protect the people she cares about, and feels immense grief and guilt about the times she feels shes failed them (thinks if she had been there with the twins that day that she couldve done something to save them. feels she failed everyone taken by the raiders. is scared of failing clem too "if something happened to you because of me? i cant lose you too. i wont". its why she cant leave minnie after shooting her. and a kidnapped vi attacks clem because she doesnt want anyone else to get hurt. hell it even ties back to her grandma and feeling guilty about not doing anything for her)

so for her to lose her eyesight? she took pride in her ability to fight and now she cant do that anymore. cant protect the people she loves. and as someone who started the season as an isolated loner, it forces her to rely on those around her for help, stripping her of her independence (and her independence is what allowed her to stand up against the group for clem when it came to the marlon situation in ep2). a blinded vi is forced into accepting community, whereas a saved violet accepts it on her own. her and clem turn ericsons into the home violet could never see it as

the other reason blind vi makes me so sad is that it is Directly a result of clems actions. kidnapped vi had nothing and wanted nothing to do with the bomb, and yet shes the ONLY ONE who gets hurt by it. clem choosing to let vi be taken means clem both breaks her heart, and then burns out her eyes. louis and his tongue is between him and lilly and was a choice THEY each made outside of clems direct influence (even if it was clem who inspired him to speak up, it is ultimately his choice to keep talking, and lilly hurts him for it. its sad he gets punished for a character moment, but clem had no direct hand in him losing his tongue. its why hes not angry to see her in the cell. he doesnt blame clem for what happened), but the way vi is feeling in that cell is DIRECTLY due to clems actions. vi feels like clem abandoned her after she had put herself on the line for her multiple times. she always had clems back but clem didnt have hers. clem is the one who planted the bomb and vi gets caught in the blast. clem hurts her emotionally And physically. and vi apologizes for getting upset (she tries to apologize on the beach too before theyre forced out in the cart, so she felt wrong for those actions immediately even tho they were understandable. lilly and minnie used her moment of weakness to get in her head. she just wanted everyone to be safe)

kidnapped blinded vi is just so incredibly sad to me, especially when you compare her to a fully realized violet. a violet who has come into herself, has confidence, has opened up, has stopped pushing people away out of fear and lets herself love again. shes a leader. a fighter. a protector. and those are all things a blinded violet loses

neither vi losing her eyes or louis losing his tongue is supposed to add anything to their characters. its about what theyve lost. both of them have important parts of their identity stripped away from them after being taken by the delta. its supposed to be sad. heartbreaking. regrettable. unfortunate. they have not gained anything by their time at the delta, only lost important parts of themselves to it

#twdg #like idk to me kennys eyepatch symbolizes his descent into madness. its the impact carver had on him #hes 'lost his sight' hes losing his way. becoming a danger to the people he says he cares about #kenny gets waaaay too much forgiveness in the fandom and i cant take it honestly. his motivations dont justify his actions #i dont hate him but god do i hate the way the fandom talks about him #esp when certain kenny stans ignore all the protagonists and hate all the women/anyone who opposes a protagonists views/actions #EXCEPT for kenny for some reason???? like when he opposes lee its fine but no one else can do it #you cannot deny hes a scary man by the end of s2 regardless of his motivations and people loooooove to handwave it away #i hate that 'family is family' crap #have none of you ever had a family member do something so horrible that you cut them out of your life completely? #HES NOT EVEN BLOOD FAMILY like that idea doesnt even apply here!! #the whole point of that phrase is that you cant choose who youre related to. twdg is LITERALLY about choosing your family #s3 is the one that makes a point to address blood relations and what worth they have #ok unexpected kenny rant over sorry but boy does the overwhelming kenny love get to me sometimes. there are other characters #sorry i hope this doesnt sound directed at you personally its just the overwhelming fan opinion i see and it drives me mad #where is the NUANCE?? #replies with lexi #plamglam

[fire-of-the-sun]

The Core Four / The Four Pillars

If characters are the heart of a story, then their relationships are the soul. They’re the connections that inspire change on a character and plot level that further solidifies the overall themes.

In The 100, there are four relationships in particular I think stand out the most as the foundational dynamics of the show: Clarke/Bellamy, Clarke/Abby, Bellamy/Octavia and Kane/Abby. I’ll address each relationship individually and in relation to each other to support my theory.

PLEASE NOTE: This, of course, is in no way a means to suggest that these relationships are better/superior to any others on the show. They all matter in their own way. This is simply my interpretation of the impact of these four major dynamics in particular.

Each of the characters depicted in these relationships are also solid characters in their own right outside of them, each exhibiting well-developed arcs, unique personalities and solid motivations. It's also worth noting each of these characters have been mains since episode 1.

Beyond the obvious bond of family that Octavia/Bellamy and Abby/Clarke have that instantly binds their characters, there is also an immediate friction/gravity between the other two that invites the audience to pay attention to them and speaks of a larger story to come.

I will address each other these dynamics individually, why they’re important, how they’ve changed and where they may go in future seasons. Let's start with the blood/familial relations.

BELLAMY / OCTAVIA

Protecting his younger sister Octavia has been Bellamy’s #1 drive since he was a child - an immense responsibility bestowed upon him by their mother. This is a huge aspect of his identity and one that takes many seasons for him to learn to let go of.

Over time, their individual paths and personalities end up creating conflict between them. Octavia's dedication to becoming a Grounder warrior vs Bellamy's skepticism of them in particular comes to a head in S3, leading to a huge fallout between them.

This fracturing continues into S4 as Octavia continues down her negative path, pushing away those around her. By the end, the possibility of death in the Conclave allows them to put aside their past differences and hostilities and embrace as loving siblings once more.

Of course, even before this, the sparks of tension have always been lurking under the surface of their bond as Octavia's developing 'rebelliousness' as she finds her true identity on the ground often conflicts against Bellamy's desire to keep her safe above all else.

In S4, Bellamy finally learns (with the help of Kane) that he has to learn to let Octavia go - to be her own person, trust her to make her own choices and that he can't always save her just as he learns he has his own identity outside of his relation to her as well.

The good will they finally established by the end of S4 - after enduring their own individual trials - is further solidified in their final conversation over the radio. This is the last chance they get to speak for 6 years and it's a wonderful way to cement how far they've come.

Unfortunately, the resulting years were not kind to Octavia and the rift between them grows wider than ever after they reunite as very different people with conflicting loyalties and motivations. In a long history of complications, S5 marked their lowest point to date...

It will be a long road to recovery, but I have no doubt that they will eventually find their way back to each other. Fate has torn them apart and transformed them but at the end of the day they're still family and I believe the love they share will shine through again.

Overall, their relationship is an interesting representation of a close sibling bond and spotlights the ability to forgive loved ones, accepting other people for who they are and even letting each other go in a healthy way to grow as individuals.

ABBY / CLARKE

There are few bonds as strong as that between a parent and their child and Abby/Clarke present no exception. The very premise of the show wouldn’t exist if not for their love. Sending the kids to the ground was an attempt to protect Clarke from execution after all.

Similar to the familial bond of Bellamy/Octavia, they also struggle with the similar conflicts such as learning to let each other go & letting each other become their own person as Abby is in the unavoidable position as a parent of watching Clarke grow into an independent adult.

They struggled a lot in the beginning - separated by both physical space and emotional distance as, after losing her father, Clarke places the blame for it on Abby. This makes Abby even more determined to find and reconnect with her daughter.

Much of Abby’s story in the first two seasons revolves around the desire to keep her daughter safe - as any good mother would - and this is further exacerbated when Clarke continually puts herself/ends up in a line of fire and Abby naturally becomes even more protective of her.

Of course, this sparks conflict between them and they struggle throughout S1 and S2, culminating in some devastating decisions and betrayals that shakes Abby's view of her own daughter.

Abby progresses a lot in this regard, allowing physical distance between them and learning to accept that she has to let her daughter follow her own path wherever it leads her. Though she doesn’t always agree, she supports her, stands up for her and only ever wants what’s best.

By the end of S2, they've accepted each other for who they are/who they've become and remind each other that their love and support is ever-present no matter what. Even though Abby searches for Clarke after she leaves, she's resigned herself to the distance for the first time.

Their relationship is a wonderful and much needed portrayal, especially to show younger audiences, of the importance of a loving, supportive parent and learning to respect and accept each other for who you are and be there for each other no matter what.

Though they haven’t had as much significant interaction in later seasons as they did in the beginning, the love they share always binds them and continues to impact the story. I hope we will be able to see them spend more time together in the future after being separated.

This bond is one I’m hoping will play a role in the evolution of Clarke and Madi’s mother/daughter relationship as well, which can also be used to further their own relationship as Clarke comes to understand her mother even more (more on this later).

ABBY / KANE

Though they started in opposition to each other - clashing as Kane was driven by logic (head) and Abby by emotion (heart) - over time they were able to connect as allies, become best friends, close partners, trusting co-leaders and eventually fell in love.

Though Kane took steps towards redemption on his own, Abby eventually plays a beneficial role in his development as a source of support. She comes to believe in him - as a man, as a leader and someone she can put her faith in and work with to achieve the same goals.

Since S1 they only ever grow stronger, closer, more understanding. The shock lashing was one step back, but they quickly took two steps forward soon after as they came to understand each other better for it. This marks a huge, positive turning point for their entire relationship.

Through their challenges, they come to realize they are more similar than they thought and help each other become the best versions of themselves - a union that creates a powerfully effective pair as they lead their people into the longest period of peace on the show.

Like many relationships in S5, they also reached a low point after both suffered individual setbacks that negatively affects their relationship. They didn't get to work through all of this, but I have no doubt they find their way back to each other again once they begin to heal.

They’ve endured countless trials and tragedies but their love has endured it all and only ever grown stronger from it. Disagreements between them are handled with care, respect and maturity - a true example of what a strong and successful relationship should be like.

Through their interaction, they've come to represent healing, hope, redemption, understanding and, of course, true, selfless love as well as offer a refreshing portrayal of older love, the positivity of finding love again (Abby) and finding it later in life (Kane).

CLARKE / BELLAMY

Confirmed to be the main dynamic of the show, their relationship has evolved immensely since the beginning. Similar to Kane/Abby, they are introduced as a pair at odds whose opposition sparks change and often proves mutually beneficial to each other.

They were presented as co-leaders of sorts in the past, specifically in S1, which made a way for them to relate to each other in a way their fellow teens couldn't. The burdens of leadership and responsibility acting as an initial conduit to better understand each other.

That more direct co-leadership has diminished over time a bit and became defined more as support rather than actively making decisions together as they both have their own strengths and weaknesses in their interaction with others. They always work better together than apart.

They help each other become less polarized versions of each other. This is stated plainly multiple times as Clarke encourages Bellamy to use his head over/in tandem with his heart as, from the beginning, they've been presented as 'head' and 'heart' respectively.

They don't always agree though and are shown to be more than capable of calling each other out on their mistakes and encouraging the other to learn from them. A common friction that breeds growth.

Though their stories often lead them on separate paths with little communication, the show allows them to reunite at some point each season and there’s generally a sense of connection regardless of the amount of shared screen-time.

Given this lack of proximity (only a few months of interaction overall) keeps further exploration of their relationship at bay. Direct contact is key to this and they’ve been denied it in many ways. No matter what people want them to be, I believe this needs to be remedied first.

Because of this lack of time, they’ve also never truly been able to work through past issues and this is another thing that I feel is important to address before their relationship moves forward in any way. For example, Kabby had ample time and it helped them grow close faster.

Clarke/Bellamy hit quite a few roadblocks in S5 as well and logically have a lot to work through before they can see eye to eye once more, though, despite it all, surprisingly seem to be fine in the finale despite not having attempted any reconciliation yet...

Regardless, like many relationships on the show they've always represented redemption, forgiveness and the benefits of a trusting partnership that is sure to be a constant through the entirety of the series no matter what.

THE IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY

As a whole, the consistent theme of these four is that of family. Two of blood, two of bond/choice. Octavia/Bellamy are half-siblings, Clarke/Abby are mother/daughter, Clarke/Bellamy became unlikely friends and Kane/Abby represent the same bond as husband/wife/parents.

With this in mind - and knowing how much they impact the story - it’s easy to assume that family is being presented as the lifeblood of the overall narrative. They also represent different kinds of love - allowing familial, platonic and romantic bonds to shine equally.

These relationships also spotlight the characters that comprise them and further cement them as integral parts to this story. For example, Abby, Clarke and Bellamy are each represented in 2 of the top 4. That's pretty special!

I'd also like to note that these characters still connect with each other outside of these presented dynamics as well. For example, in many ways, Kane connects to every single one of these characters to some degree: Abby, Clarke, Bellamy and Octavia.

In many ways, Kane acts as the missing piece that helps to bind this family together: the husband Abby lost, the father Octavia and Bellamy never had and one that Clarke could have again. Which only further shows us that family is the heart of it all.

NEW DYNAMICS

Now, there's one more I need to address. In S5 we are introduced to Madi who, now in many ways, has become the driving purpose for Clarke. This is an unprecedented level of connection for the show to establish so late and with so little on-screen development/set-up.

Despite the fact that they are not afforded the same rich history or shared screen time of the other four, it's no question the show wants them to be the next big family dynamic - the fifth of the big mains that's bonded in mutual, familial love.

Regardless of their unconventional origins, their relationship represents a driving force that's certainly not new to the show. Both Abby and Bellamy were introduced in the beginning entirely motivated to protect their loved ones Clarke and Octavia as well.

IN CONCLUSION

Relationships/characters come and go, but these four have always remained – the only that have remained since the very beginning. No matter how they’re pushed or pulled apart, they evolve (for better or worse) but never fully break and I don't think they ever will.

Once more, this essay is not to negate the power of any other relationship on the show. All had their own impact and purpose from Clarke/Lexa, Monty/Jasper, Murphy/Emori, Raven/Abby, Octavia/Lincoln, Indra/Octavia, Indra/Kane, Monty/Harper and so on.

As a bonus, I think it's also interesting to note that 2/4 relationships parallel each other deeply and I don't think that's an accident e.g. Clarke/Abby and Bellamy/Octavia have similar elements as so Clarke/Bellamy and Kane/Abby.

#the100 #the100meta #clarke griffin #bellamy blake #octavia blake #marcus kane #abby griffin #kabby #bellarke #the100writing #Shannon writes about the 100 #shannonwritesaboutthe100

[marypsue]

Speaking of That Paranormal Show (”but Mary, no one was -” no, shhhh, play with me in this space), I'm seven episodes from the end of s3 and I've got some Thoughts.

I gravitated to Dean like rocks gravitate to gravity (pretty sure it’s a combination of Snark + Martyr Complex, I am predictable) but I feel like, in trying to do Dean’s emotional storyline justice, the show is kind of doing Sam dirty. It’s really easy to look at Dean’s thin veneer of sarcasm and recognise that it’s covering up a whole mess. Dean deflects, and the show and everybody in it seems very devoted to breaking his defenses down and getting him to acknowledge his shit. And the show seems to want to reassure him - he’s a good man, he has worth beyond what he can give up for the people he loves, he matters. 

But they’ve got Sam doing a lot of the heavy lifting on that, and Sam is just as damaged, has just as much weight on his shoulders if not more, especially with the whole demon blood shitshow storyline. Sam needs the same kind of support and reassurance, and he’s just not getting it. At all. Instead, he gets Dean (the one person who should have his back! who should have unconditional faith in him!) under a truth spell (of sorts) admitting that he’s scared of what Sam could be and isn’t certain that Sam won’t be, even though he knows Sam better than anyone and should understand by now that Sam’s pragmatic, not evil. I’d be cool with this if I thought they were focusing on Dean’s trauma this season and next season they’re really gonna dig into what’s going on with Sam, but I know that the angels show up in s4 and (I think) that’s where we get “You don’t think you deserve to be saved”, so I kinda doubt that’s gonna happen. 

And like, maybe Sam doesn’t deflect, but he sublimates. Everything he feels - fear, grief, the loss of a life that meant a lot to him, the betrayal of having even his own family believe he's got something monstrous in him and trying to hide it from him, whatever - goes straight into fueling Anger and Vengeance. On the surface, he looks more - modern, enlightened, whatever, has more stereotypically feminine traits, and his way of handling emotional baggage is to take action, so it looks like he's doing something about whatever it is he's feeling. 

But that doesn’t actually mean he’s any better at dealing with his shit than Dean is. It’s just less immediately obvious that Sam's hiding stuff or pushing it to the side, because he isn’t trying to pretend he doesn’t have negative feelings. But he’s just putting all that energy into unrelated or tangentially related things, which means he's still not facing and actually dealing with the stuff he needs to deal with. (And I can't always tell, from episode to episode, if the writers can tell the difference and are writing him this way on purpose, or if they actually think 'taking it out on something' counts as 'dealing with it'.)

Dean - to his credit - tries to push Sam to acknowledge his ~feelings, but doesn’t reciprocate by opening up and offering Sam anything of himself unless under extreme duress, which undermines his best intentions. All he’s doing is continuing to prop up the toxic, shitty nonsense they both got fed from very early childhood, continuing to model to Sam that Dean really believes only girls and babies actually talk about their feelings, even as he’s telling Sam in words that he’s gotta talk about it sometime. No wonder Sam’s not exactly eager to go pouring his heart out to his brother.

(And I think that’s part of the issue I have, too - the show itself seems determined to try to convince Dean he’s a good person and has worth by propping him up with those around him, but it also seems to be overlooking or minimising how his negative coping strategies are contributing to his own and other people's problems, and that’s a major narrative red flag for me. I’m really not going to enjoy this if it continues to be The Make Dean Feel Better At Sam’s Expense Show, especially since not addressing the behaviours that are causing the problems in the first place is a temporary bandaid solution at best. Good grief, can we just get both these boys some therapy already?)

Anger and Vengeance are acceptable emotions to the brand of toxic masculinity John Winchester bought into. So’s deflecting until you can make some big, showy sacrifice. The show had Sam go out of his way to force Dean to admit the latter is bullshit, acknowledge how he feels, so they can try to work it out and make it better. I want somebody to do the same for Sam, dammit. I want somebody to get him to admit he’s scared. I want somebody (who isn’t themselves evil) to have a little honest faith in him! Because Sam’s always been ruthless, but he’s never been bad. At least, not until the only person who’s always had his back suddenly doesn’t anymore. And that’s a problem that they could solve if they just talked to each other about their damn feelings! 

I know, I know, midpoint of the planned story arc, this will probably all come into play later, and it does leave Sam isolated and vulnerable to Ruby's manipulations, but - dammit, I hate miscommunication plots! Especially drawn-out ones! And I don't feel 100% certain that setting Sam up like this was entirely intentional on the writers' parts, which is...not great. I kind of feel like I as a viewer am supposed to be agreeing with Dean's perspective, supposed to be concerned with how 'cold' Sam's becoming, but it doesn't...really...work when that's a character trait the show established for him from episode 1. 

If I was supposed to be sympathising with Sam, feeling like there's nobody left he can trust, not even himself (yes, cue meme), and looking to the one person who still seems to trust him for whatever nefarious reasons of her own, I feel like Dean would get the last word way less often. As it stands, I feel like I'm doing a lot of the heavy lifting for the show, and I don't love that, exactly. Like yeah, headcanoning Watsonian explanations is fun, but I also exist on a Doylist level and on a Doylist level I am disappoint. I want a tragedy not to try to bias me against a character who's going to be struck low by their fatal flaw, because that's...exactly counter to the point of tragedy, and I want a story that promises me a tragedy of brother against brother not to pick sides with one of the brothers! 

I dunno. I've just been badly spoiled by the Stan twins. For all that Alex may think Ford brought all his misery on himself and deserved to die for it, at least it didn't show up in the show itself. Really, Gravity Falls is just my gold standard for writing sibling conflict, and I guess I hadn't realised how much it would affect my ability to enjoy other things. Maybe this show is going to go on to address my concerns and knock my socks off, or maybe it’ll just get more frustrating, and the only way to find out for sure is to keep watching.

#mary watches supernatural #this is behind a cut to spare yall #listen. listen I did try to warn you! #I got really invested in the Stan twins! #you should have seen this coming. #anyway that's where I'm at with this #you're right 'is this brilliant or is it completely missing the point' is the true spn experience