#GOD FORBID Disney not having a romantic couple in their movies

[skyyytower]

Zootopia 2 is confirmed to be in production and I saw a person on Twitter begging for Judy and Nick to not be a couple in the movie and oh my fucking god, there was such a big amount of people who ship them getting SO defensive of them not becoming a canon couple, I am going crazy

[asexualone]

(pls take the time to read)

Signs I should have known I was aro: Disney edition

I think this topic has been stressed a lot already. But here is my take, anyway.

Of course, romantic love had been, is and will always be one of the main themes in kids' movies. Why, I can never fully understand. I'll explain below how I like other themes more.

Some time ago, I did a post on the kiss/hug scenes in Rapunzel which depicts how much more I value acts of showing love that don't include kissing.

Not only those two. I have a history of hating Disney on-screen smooches. As a kid, I thought, "Well, maybe, I don't like seeing these characters kiss because it's a grownup thing."

Could you blame me? When my parents were in the room and a kissing scene appeared on the screen, they changed the channel. So my toddler brain concluded that the reason I didn't like watching kisses was because I wasn't of age to like it. Or something.

At the time, I had no idea that I was hand-picking my favorite movies by the level of romance they had in. Or lack thereof. And I was a very judgemental kid. Let's go through my original thoughts on some Disney classics.

Snow White — No. Just no. She's a child, fourteen. Marrying an older guy she doesn't even know. After he kisses her corpse. NO.

Cinderella — The age difference is a little better, I guess. So is the age of consent. But they only talked one (1) night and he relied on that slipper to find her instead of asking to meet all women and see for himself. Fairytale logic I guess. I didn't like how she called it love immediately and kissed the prince at least once that same night. Or how they got married immediately.

The Sleeping Beauty — Must I even explain? Aurora didn't even know Philip that much, had only met him once (if you exclude the "dreams"). And yet, he's her true love, the only one who can revive her corpse. Ridiculous. And yes, kissing a comatose body, ew. Also, the arranged marriage trope pisses me off, royalty or not. Aurora was engaged as a newborn baby, come on.

Mulan — Cinematic gold. I didn't know it back then, but the fact that romantic love is such a pushed-aside aspect in this movie gives me life. The songs give me life. Especially when the trio dresses as concubines and "Be a Man" plays in the background. An absolute gem, lmao. The sequel however ruined the story somewhat for me, too much lovey-dovey stuff. I like Mulan more when she's fighting than when she's acting all sappy towards Shang, sorry not sorry.

Peter Pan — Loved it, still do. But I did dislike the mermaids, the image of fangirls who are petty towards other girls. And Pan's brief "relationship" with Tiger Lily was nauseating to me. I couldn't explain it but when Pan blushed at her nose-nuzzling thing, I always pulled a face.

The Princess and the Frog — In my opinion, (remember, always my opinion): Tiana, this hard-working girl who doesn't belong to anyone, was lost to love. Well, not lost. But falling for Naveen in the course of three days? Unrealistic and kinda unnecessary. Sweet, but still. I adored the "relationship" between Ray and Evangeline more. Either way, it's a movie that I enjoyed when love wasn't that prominent on screen.

Aladdin — I love this movie because of the Genie. The relationship between Jasmine and Aladdin is meh. She forgot his face and didn't recognize him until later. Their coming together is a lot like that trope "first guy who treats her right sets the expectations and wins her heart". Usually that's a thing, not only in Disney movies but media in general. The female lead settles for the first guy that treats her right because the bar is that low. A good movie, all in all. Love how Jasmine stands up for herself at least. Not a lot of princesses fight against the objectification of women.

Pocahontas — I used to hate this movie. I didn't sit right with me: the racism in it, the manipulation, the murders. And the romance, yes. Pocahontas fell for the strange man who tickled her curiosity in the span of two days. I also hated how her father just sold her to marry Kocoum like that. I know it's tradition. Heck, that's a tradition that still goes on in my country. Maybe that's why I didn't like seeing it on screen. And Pocahontas doesn't even end up with John Smith. The second movie definitely ruined the story. So yes, she's the first princess who fell for a man in three days, TWICE. Needless to say, only the songs kept me from blacklisting the movie entirely.

The Little Mermaid — I actually loved this movie for some reason. I can't explain why, maybe it was my obsession with mermaids. Yeah, that was probably it. But I was pissed when Ariel exchanged her tail for legs. Not to mention human periods and overall, all the bad in the world, for a man she'd only seen once. As I grew up I realized just how f*cked up that story was: Ariel giving her entire lifestyle, family and identity up for a guy she hadn't even spoken to. I don't know why I loved that movie, alright? Hell I still do a little. The sequel too. Say what you want.

Brave — (I know this is technically Pixar, shut up) Much like the paradox with Ariel, I didn't like this movie. I can't explain it. Maybe because Merida wasn't the typical Disney princess I had been used to seeing. Now though, I ADORE that story. No, it's not because Merida knows archery... Okay, yes maybe a little. I love the aro-arrow word play, alright? Anyway, the way Merida fights against being shipped to a husband like the "tradition" I aforementioned asks her to, has always had my heart, even when I didn't like the movie. The focus on the mother-daughter relationship is special, I love it. Stellar movie.

Tangled — One of my favorite Disney movies, my favorite princess. But her relationship with Eugene.... Well. Again, three days. That's all it takes to fall in love. Classic of Disney. Not only that, but Eugene is literally the first man person Raps has ever since, besides Gothel. The bar is nonexistent for her, she would have fallen for anyone. He lied to her and she still... Well, I won't stress that any longer. Their relationship in the end is sweet, one of the few cases where we are actually shown that they would risk their lives to save each other. Respect that. Mostly, I love her magical hair and Pascal. And the guys of Snuggly Duckling.

Moana — EPIC MOVIE. The story, the culture, the character growth, the plot twist, everything! Loved it at first sight, at second and forever. Even more when I became aware that there's no romance in it. I don't think I need to say more.

Frozen — My opinions on this movie have always been changing, accompanied by mixed feelings. So the relationship between sisters was cute, but Lilo and Stitch made that more realistic. Anna's relationship with Hans, ugh. I think that for a long time I used the fact that he was the antagonist to justify my absolute hate for the way Anna "fell" for him in one evening. Again, Anna sweetheart. This is the first man you've met. The bar is nonexistent for you too. God bless Elsa for forbidding her to marry Hans. And while it's cute to think Elsa as a lesbian, she has aromantic vibes. Sorry not sorry, but she's also a God by the end of Frozen 2. Gods are beyond attraction, I said what I said.

Raya and the Last Dragon — Loved it, still do. Say what you will about "dragon Elsa". Sisu is her own character, and I adore her. And yes, I love the lack of romance in the movie. Make no mistake, I shipped Raya and Namaari from the first moment they smiled at each other. I swear on my name that I paused the movie and screamed, GAYYYY, at the top of my lungs. Luckily, I was home alone. If only Disney directors would do the right fcking thing and give me a queer main couple!! I swear I wouldn't mind the lovey-dovey romance one bit.

Of course, I've left dozens of movies out. This post is already way longer than I wanted it to be. But I think that was enough to make a point.

While I'm not romance-repulsed, seeing animated kisses (and unnecessary relationships) on screen makes me uncomfortable. As a child and as a grownup. It just doesn't sit right with me. Not to mention all these princesses who identify with their princes and specifically their relationships with said princes when they're perfect on their. Wreck it Ralph 2 made them a favor, I think, by making them work together and showing their strengths. Another movie I love.

Friendship just makes an overall better theme to apply to kids shows, my opinion. Family, work, self-discovery, mental health, happiness. These are all better themes to portray in media dedicated for children. Which is, again, my opinion.

And yes, Disney has been getting better. They've fixed the age difference and the age of consent. The female characters no longer depend on the male ones, at least not as often. They understand the assignment, alright. There are still many questionable things about Disney's reputation though, things we all choose to overlook for the sake of the good movies. But who knows? They might change. Hopefully soon we'll also have an obviously queer couple in a movie. Hope dies last.

[hazelandglasz]

Klaine Soulmate AU: "The first words your true love(s) will say to you are tattooed on you and why the fuck are their first words something really ridiculous like ‘I’ll pay you a tenner to punch me in the face’ or ‘quick what’s your favourite animal’ or ‘fucking shit hell holy fuck wow oh my god jesus h Christ fuck me’ etc." - and I'd really love to see your rendition of the 'punch me' or the 'fuck me' one! ❤

On AO3

Until the age of thirteen, Blaine used to think a lot about his Words. What they would be, if it would be short and sweet or long and heartwarming.

Being a big fan of Disney movies, he hoped for something romantic and meaningful.

For a solid week after his first time watching Aladdin, he hoped for a “do you trust me” to appear on his skin on his thirteenth birthday.

But on the morning of said birthday, when he woke up with a long sentence etched on his skin—around his wrist, like a bracelet—Blaine lost his illusions of romance.

“Oh Wow, Jesus Christ, Fuck. Me.”

Punctuation and all.

What kind of True Love would say that upon meeting him, Blaine wondered as he went to the Soulmate Office to get his cuff. Because that was not romantic, and that was not meaningful either.

When some older boys at his school managed to corner him and remove the cuff, they decided that his Words were blasphemous and beat Blaine until a teacher stopped them.

His parents quickly made him change schools, and that’s how Blaine ended up at Dalton, where there was a strict no-cuff touching policy. But deep in his heart, Blaine resented his True Love.

Why couldn’t their first words be something neutral or at least not something as risqué as “fuck me”?

Over the years, though, when it became obvious for Blaine that his True Love would be another man, he started to feel differently about his Words, and he grew to be excited about them.

Because those words have an obvious meaning: his True Love, wherever he is, will think Blaine is hot upon meeting him.

Blaine is not vain, per se, but it’s good for his sense of self to know that he will be, at some point, one very attractive specimen of a man (especially during the hardest years of teenagehood, when nothing makes sense and it feels like your limbs are not coordinating their growth).

When he arrives in New York, Blaine is lucky enough to find a roommate who takes good care of him. Eliot is slightly older, but he doesn’t mind Blaine’s innocence. He introduces him to the best New York has to offer, and particularly, brings him along on his Saturday night outings.

Blaine doesn’t know how, exactly, Eliot manages to find the best parties in the city, but every Saturday is better than the previous one, allowing him room to dance and mingle and create a social circle of his own.

And yet, Eliot doesn’t seem satisfied. 

“If only I could get Hummel to come with us,” he bemoans, head thrown back over the arm of their couch. “I’m sure you two would hit it off!”

Blaine snickers, preparing himself tea and getting a can of Diet Cherry Coke for Eliot.  “Yeah, sure. Though you do know my motto, don’t you?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Eliot says, rolling his eyes fondly at his roommate. “Nobody but True Love, I get it. Spoilsport. But still, Kurt and you would make a perfect couple. Of friends,” he adds in a rush before Blaine can protest. “You’d make the best of friends.”

“Hm, sure.”

“Here, let me take a picture of you for him, maybe that will be incentive enough to drag him out of his office.”

“Eliot, come on—”

Click.

“—you’re being ridiculous.”

“And you manage to still look good even though I took a picture mid-sentence. That’s so unfair.”

“Is there a compliment somewhere that I lost on the way to your jealousy?”

“Maybe. Don’t fish for compliments, Blaine, it’s really unattractive.”

“I don’t fish, and you know I am.”

“Cocky.”

“Knowledgeable.”

Eliot bursts out laughing before being interrupted by his phone pinging in his hand. “Well, hm. Kurt will be one of us tonight.”

“What did he say?”

“Like Hell I’m telling you. Just know that he will be at the club, so, you know...”

“Look good?”

“Look amazing.”

---

Kurt loves his Words.

What kind of teenager doesn’t enjoy knowing his True Love will say “Fuck yeah” upon meeting them?

He does wonder what he says to provoke such a response, but if anything, that means his True Love is an enthusiastic one, and a life filled with passion looks like one Kurt would enjoy.

Ever since he arrived in New York, Kurt has met plenty of enthusiastic guys, plenty of passionate people, but none of them said those words upon meeting him.

One said “fuck me,” which could have been close enough, but unfortunately for her, Kurt was decidedly not interested.

Mercedes is still his best friend, though, so it ended up well for all parties involved.

But Kurt is not worried. When it’s time for his True Love to find him, it will be the right time and he will be allowed to let his romantic self thrive in this passionate relationship.

For now, he enjoys his life as a busy New Yorker and builds a circle of friends and acquaintances and chosen family members.

Amongst whom, Mercedes, of course, and Eliot “Pain in The Ass” Gilbert.

(There is nothing that can save Kurt from them when they decide to join forces, but God does he love them.)

And right now, they are both being the most annoying people Kurt ever had to deal with.

“Come out with us.”

“I’m busy.”

“You don’t have a life, come on, just one drink.”

“To paraphrase the good philosopher Iliza Shlesinger, that sentence is the way to the party goblin and I don’t have the time for that.”

“Kuuuuurt!”

“Mercedeeeeees.”

“You’re no fun. What will I do without you to stop me from dancing on a table?”

Kurt glares at the window where Mercedes’ face is pouting at him. “You will dance on a table, sprain your ankle and invade my living room for a couple of weeks to keep me as your nurse.”

Mercedes bursts out laughing. “Doesn’t sound so bad when you put it that way, damn you.”

Kurt smirks. “I know how to make a compelling argument.”

Mercedes sighs and shrugs. “Alright, I give up. If you change your mind, we’ll be at ‘Pumpin’.”

“Classy.” Kurt smiles more gently. “Have fun, ‘Cedes.”

“Will be more fun if you join us! Love you too, boo.”

Mercedes hangs up, and Kurt stares blankly at his screen for a moment. He’s in his twenties, after all. It wouldn’t hurt to go out with his friends, would it?

His eyes land on the rest of the screen, where his article still waits for him to write it.

He has the title, which is already something, but he can’t possibly go out when he has to deliver this piece to Isabelle’s desk before noon tomorrow and it could be his big break to move from P.A. to P.A./Columnist.

With a deep sigh, Kurt returns to his notes in order to write his first draft. If he works quickly, he will be able to rework it and have a final draft to propose to Isabelle before the night is over.

His phone beeps right as he reads through his plan.

“What now,” he mutters, picking it up and opening Eliot’s message.

And then, his words and his breath get stuck in his throat, because…

Because there is no message, per se, just a picture of a man obviously in the middle of a sentence and looking absolutely stunning.

“Kurt Hummel, meet Blaine Anderson,” Eliot sends immediately after the picture.

For months now, Eliot has tried to arrange a meeting between Kurt and his new protégé from NYU, and for months, Kurt has had to excuse himself from all of them.

But now that he sees who this Anderson guy is, Kurt wants to smack his past self.

Holy young Montgomery Clift, is this man handsome or what.

“Are you coming or what?”

Kurt snickers as he types his reply one-handed, saving his work with the other.

“Am about to just from that pic.”

“xflkbdfbhofd”, is Eliot’s interesting reply, followed by the address of the club.

“You win,” Kurt writes, rushing to the magazine’s Closet to snatch a shirt that will elevate his outfit.

He has to make a good first impression. Nay, a memorable first impression.

The Adonis now saved in his phone may not be his True Love, but there is no rule forbidding Kurt to appreciate his aesthetic while he waits for Him to show up.

---

Blaine had his own outfit but one pre-clubbing alcoholic drink on an empty stomach somehow convinced him to let Eliot dress him up, and he barely recognizes himself in the mirror.

He looks awesome. Like the baddest bitch version of himself, sure, but still. Far fetched.

“Own it, Blainey!” Eliot shouts at him as the club’s doors are opened and the music fills their ears.

Instantly following the rhythm, Blaine throws his head back and struts to the dancefloor.

In the distance, somewhere, he hears Mercedes, Eliot and Kitty wolf-whistling for him and he smiles, closing his eyes and throwing the fluffy jacket toward the sound. He slides his hands down his jacket, over the smooth leather and, yes, lives the fantasy.

Eliot is dancing nearby, his hands on some guy’s hips, thus how Blaine hears him calling Kurt’s name.

“Kurt is here!”

Blaine smiles, still shaking and dancing like nobody’s watching (and like he knows everybody is). “I figured!”

“Kurt, over heeeere!”

Blaine chuckles, looking over his shoulder for the newcomer. 

“Oh Wow, Jesus Christ, Fuck. Me.”

Blaine freezes, using his momentum to turn and face the man who just uttered those words.

The man, Kurt, is, without a doubt, the most beautiful man Blaine has ever seen.

Lucky him, if the man is indeed his True Love.

“Fuck yeah,” he manages, taking a step toward Kurt.

Whose eyes—those mesmerizing blue eyes, shining surreally in the strobelights of the club—widen as the words leave Blaine’s lips.

“What did you just say?” he asks, moving closer too.

It’s impossible for them to have this conversation here, on the dancefloor, when the words are only audible because they managed to say them during a lull in the playlist.

Blaine doesn’t hesitate or pause to think about his gesture, he reaches out to take Kurt’s hand and pulls him across the room, toward the more quiet rooms in the back of the club, under Eliot’s laughter.

The whole process feels like it happens in slow motion, but Kurt’s hand solidly grips his, and it’s warm and soft under Blaine’s touch.

Blaine closes the door when they get to the room and smiles at Kurt, the music now only a vague background.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

Kurt’s voice really is as beautiful as Blaine thought when he heard it.

“Can I see your wrist?” Kurt asks, voice soft and shy, in total contradiction with his earlier words.

Blaine may have been influenced by his borrowed outfit until now, but he is feeling a bit nervous himself. “S-sure.”

They both reach for their cuffs at the same time. Blaine holds his arm up, next to Kurt’s.

Sure enough, Blaine’s Words and Kurt’s respond to each other in a perfect conversation.

Well, perfect—perfect for them, it would seem.

“I am really sorry,” Kurt says, a blush appearing on his face. “I am not that crass, usually. It’s just—you were just, I mean you are so—wow.”

Blaine scratches the back of his neck. “This isn’t my usual way to dress,” he mutters. “Eliot insisted.”

“I knew I recognized that waistcoat,” Kurt laughs, gesturing at Blaine’s top. “Though I feel like you inhabit it way better than him. Don’t tell him I said that,” he adds precipitously, making Blaine laugh.

“I am really glad I found you,” he says, still giggling, before he can stop himself.

Kurt blinks and smiles so tenderly at him that Blaine feels like they just had the most sensual experience while still being dressed. “Me too,” he replies simply, holding up his hand.

Blaine immediately takes it, letting Kurt pull him closer.

“Can I kiss you?” he asks, brushing his knuckles along Kurt’s jaw.

“Fuck yeah,” Kurt breathes with a smile Blaine cannot wait to taste any longer.

In total contradiction of their first exchange, the kiss is soft and tentative and gentle and, yes, romantic.

Blaine lets his lips slide against Kurt’s, happy to kiss him this way forever if he is allowed to, until Kurt reaches for his cheek, tilting his head to the side and opening his mouth to caress Blaine’s with his tongue.

Blaine moans into the kiss, placing his hands on Kurt’s waist to get him as close as humanly possible while keeping upright. Truth be told, the kiss is so earth-shattering that Blaine’s knees are close to buckling.

Kurt’s hand on his cheek is still soft, but the one on his shoulder tightens its grip.

Blaine pulls away because, in this moment, as much as he enjoys kissing Kurt, he needs to see Kurt.

“Hey,” he says breathlessly as they part, caressing Kurt’s cheek until he reaches to cup the back of his head, bringing their foreheads together. “There you are.”

[nirah10]

So I got a couple of messages about the “straight ships” post and I feel the need to clarify that I don’t have any issue with people who don’t ship m/f pairings. I wholeheartedly believe in letting people enjoy whatever ships they enjoy, but I have come across some people who berate those for enjoying straight ships. I’ve come across some people who have some kind of superiority complex over the fact that they don’t ship straight ships. I’ve come across people who have acted like shipping a straight ship somehow makes you less accepting of non-straight ships. I’ve come across people who agree certain characters would make a good pairing but still argue against people shipping them simply because they’re straight (which is what I think the OP meant by the first sentence about people who “refuse” to ship m/f pairings), like there’s some kind of rule about it. I’ve even come across people who do like certain m/f pairings but have said that they feel like they shouldn’t because they’re straight and they’ve been pressured by other people.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with people who don’t ship straight ships (I ship very few myself) but I do think there’s something wrong with acting like people who do are somehow homophobic or ignorant.

As I said, the wording in that post was much stronger than I would use for expressing that idea, but I still agree with the idea. Shipping is supposed to be fun so, if people ship straight couples, just let them enjoy their ships.

Anyway, I’m going to add the messages I received regarding this here (don’t worry, everyone one was perfectly polite--I just got the feeling that the post had been misunderstood as me saying you should ship straight ships, when it wasn’t).

From Anon,

http://www.ilovetelevisionzines.com/another-boring-straight-couple-why-i-hate-your-canon/

This article has some points. Ross and Rachel are often deemed one of the best and romantic Canon ships on a show of all time. But I always thought even this so called most romantic sitcom trip was very unbalanced.

Tiny extract but the whole entire is worth a read.

’On Friends, Ross loves Rachel. And heshows that love through a jealousy and obsession that should send any flesh and blood woman running for the hills. Ross can’t stand it when Rachel has a male co-worker or - God forbid - friend. His acts possessive of Rachel and marks his territory. He treats Rachel like an object to be fought for. His jealousy causes bitter fights and leads to the first of their many, many break-ups. In real life, a man trying to separate a woman from her friends is the redest of flags. Here, it is a sign of the depth of Ross’s passion. In reality, people are autonomous beings, not objects to be fought over. But on Friends, Ross fights to win Rachel because he loves her.’

I think this article has quite a few good points. I don’t prefer f/f or m/m because I’m hetrophobic, but because m/f have made me numb with it being pushed on me since I was four with romance being added into every kid movie ever. Most 12 years old I know don’t care less about romance. But so many 12 year Olds in films and TV end up invested in a realtionship or whatever. I was like ‘why are they targeting this stuff at is so early?’ and a lot of it just seems unhealthy.

http://www.ilovetelevisionzines.com/another-boring-straight-couple-why-i-hate-your-canon/

Dear Anon,

I actually agree with this quite a lot. There are so many problematic “love” stories out there and Ross and Rachel is one in particular that I always disliked (even though I love the show). Everything about their relationship, mostly due to Ross’s behaviour, was very unhealthy and I don’t think they would work. They only “work” because the writers wanted Ross to get the girl in the end. There is a lot of harmful sexism still present in the writing of TV and movies (mostly involving women being a prize whose own feelings are unimportant) and the traditional boy-likes-girl therefore guy-gets-girl story is lazy and boring, so I totally get the points this article is making. At the same time, Friends created Monica and Chandler, a straight couple who I feel did have a really good story and did have a very healthy relationship. So, while I despise Ross and Rachel, I ship Monica and Chandler to hell and back.

From Anon,

https://www.google.com.au/amp/www.afterellen.com/tv/475459-im-boycotting-straight-white-television/amp

Although I do think this article has a point. I mean, it it is a little blunter than I would say, but I don’t think people are boring for not personally shipping m/f. Even in m/f today there are so many unhealthy gender dymanics that get passed over for being cute. And there is still a crazy huge amount of m/f compared to E everything else.

A study was just published by USC demonstrating how exclusive film and television can really be. Out of the 414 films and television shows they examined, and the 11,194 speaking roles, only 2% were LGB. Out of that number, 72.1% were male. That leaves only 49 lesbian speaking roles and seven transgender roles. And seeing about fiften percent of people identity as none straight, 2 percent of characters (normally side charctersc, not even main characters) is not a lot.

Dear Anon,

I don’t think people are boring for having their own preferences either. I think I interpreted the first sentence of that post differently than others did. My mind focused on the word “refused”, which I took to mean they were talking about people who would ship an m/f pairings because they do think their personalities match up well but, despite how they actually feel, will refuse to ship them just because they’re straight. I have met a few people who are like that and it’s just bizarre to me. Why put a weird set of rules on what things you’re allowed to like and not like? That’s strange enough as it is, but I’ve met a lot of people who also try to impose those same rules on other people (which I think the rest of the post was about) and I’m really not okay with it when people do that.

I understand not shipping m/f pairings just because they aren’t interesting to you anymore because you see them everywhere. I ship very few m/f pairings myself for that exact same reason but, once in a while, I see an m/f pairing that just clicks so well that I ship them anyway despite my usual preferences.

From Anon,

My brother is a straight dude who only dates women but will only read f/f or m/m novels. I get the f/f but I asked him about the m/m and he told me it was because he felt these novels had more room to explore a different dymanic with gender politics thrown out the window in these relationships. He said he grew up on f/m Disney films, movies, books, tv and that he was just wanted a change. So while Tumblr heavily leans towards same sex couples, most of the world of fiction is still the opposite.

Dear Anon,

My response to this post would basically have been the same as the one above so I likely would have posted the two submissions together and responded to them together. The formatting for this is just kind of weird so I thought I should clarify that lol But, yeah, please read above ^_^

From Anon,

So this blog needs for straight ships them. Hmmmmmmm. Rose annoys me so she's out. I like Kevin/Annie. Hmmmmmmm. That is only one though. I shall ship Doug/Celeste to even the numbers out a bit then.

Dear Anon,

lol You don’t have to ship straight ships or invent some just for the sake of balancing out, but I appreciate the effort XD

[ruffoverthinksthings]

So you've done what will likely to happen to Bal in the future. What about Devie?

@magenta-sunrise Think you might be interested in this.

With the Power of Disney, even the most unlikely and incompatible of couples will be Together Happily Ever After.

Realistically?

Also “No.”

If you look at a lot of the VK’s romantic relationships, they have a similarity to those of victims of abuse and their dysfunctional romantic habits; namely, after a lifetime of being made to feel like crap emotionally, oftentimes being hurt physically and God forbid sexually, they will tend to latch on strongly to the first person that shows them anything closely resembling warmth and affection.

Both Mal and Evie are EXTREMELY lucky that they eventually hooked up with some very good men, but as you can see in the movie and Disney was daring and kind enough to show us, Evie is still VERY much prone to “Chad Charmings” who will woo her with a combination of potential future reward (a literal big castle), flirtation and charm, and of course, implied threats to the relationship if they don’t do something to “earn” their love--in this case, his homework.

Doug’s definitely a nice guy, a catch for a girl out there. And he may definitely be the man for Evie, but the circumstances are SO iffy and rife with potential abuse and mistaking her emotions for genuine love for Doug.

Let me list the concerns I have, below the break:

Evie has, for the past 16 years and systematically with the Isle, been taught that her only value in life is to be beautiful, attractive, and marry a “rich prince.”

Doug was the first person who has ever valued her outside of her looks or her skill with cosmetics, which makes him very different in Evie’s eyes and all the more attractive--but mostly out of novelty, his newness, not him “seeing” a side of her that she wished others would. Evie has never even considered that her intelligence could ever be seen as attractive, and probably thought of it as a huge turn-off to be downplayed or outright denied at all costs.

Evie had just (presumably) broken up with Chad or left him, and even if she was using him and he using her, she’ll probably be in an emotionally vulnerable state, not helped by the disaster that was their first Parent’s Day. “Rebound Relationships” where someone realizes that true love was staring them right in the face make good TV... but not so much real life, as people tend to enter into terrible relationships and make very poor decisions immediately after a break-up/rejection.

This is really the first time that Evie has ever been shown any genuine affection or love, more so a romantic relationship. Think of an extremely long, 18-hour workshift that ends with you gorging on a whole chocolate cake you bought on impulse; think of someone who just ran a marathon with no water breaks getting a whole 5 gallons worth to themselves; unexpected, cool rain after a scorching heatwave. You love all of those things, more intensely than you normally would, because of the context, the situations that led to that moment; had the scenario been different, you probably wouldn’t have loved them as much, or even hated them, which brings me to...

My main fear of the relationship with Doug and Evie, is that I feel it’s largely based out of outside events and circumstance, than any genuine emotion or love between them. It’s been proven than when you’re an American in Mexico and you meet another American, you two are best friends; go back home, and suddenly, you lose the connection you had because the context that made it so intense is now gone. Same with Evie, when Doug loses the novelty that he’s the one that saw her for her smarts, that Auradon and its residents are the only people who’ve ever shown them genuine, unconditional love and care.

Their honeymoon will end eventually, and the both of them have to keep the relationship going on their own merits, not the Power of the Plot, and I just don’t see much of any compatibility between them outside of “The events of the movie brought them together!”

Devie feels very much like a Whirlwind Romance, than a fantastic “How We Met” story to be told to the kids. And like most Whirlwind Romances, it ends as it starts: quickly and memorably.