#bellarke positivity

[togetherkru]

Clarke Griffin + worrying about him (Bellamy’s version)

[delicatebluebirdruins]

i love you guys so much meme left is Mia and Ethan from Resident Evil and Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin from t100

[yiangchen]

t100 is one of those shows that should have only had 3 seasons...but like in an alternate universe where s3 was good and lincoln didn't die you know...

[178owintersball]

I would put money on it that every show runner and exec in Hollywood is looking at the overwhelming positive reception of making buck bi AND giving fans what they want. I don’t know when it became best practice in television to do the EXACT opposite of what fans wanted but I’ve been sick of that shit. From queer ships like Destiel to het ships like Bellarke. Show runners have been sabotaging their own shows for years for the dumbest shit like being upset fans guessed the plot to flat out bigotry.

I hope they all take a good look at how successful 911 was for 7x04 and take fucking note.

[for-ships-that-never-sail]

LISTEN

I’m on the ✨ #LukolaEndgame ✨ hopes and dreams delulu (but hopefully not actually delulu) train 🚂 just as much as the next person here

BUT ALSO

I wouldn’t be mad at this?? 👀

Like…. He’s a handsome man, and if Nic intends to respectfully climb him like a tree, I GET IT. 👀🤤

See below for more Lukola positive thoughts though…

👇🏼

SO Nic has already mentioned Eamon by name (as a friend) in at least 2 or 3 interviews during the recent press tour… She’s also said she very much believes in the friends to lovers trope that is just as applicable here…. Andddddddd I’ve seen Nic hug A on video in a very friendly way (not that she wouldn’t hug her or be nice to her even if she didddd want L rn) and I also just saw someone’s theory on the Lukola tag about Nic’s “shit or get off the pot��� paddle hit side eye vibes potentially being about her just giving L friendly advise on his stuff with A, which I can technically see as plausible…

So yeah, I know those ideas are gonna pisssss people off, but I’m just saying…. It would be a gorgeous love story for Lukola to one day be endgame, BUT in the meantime, I can see their current situations being all of thisss^

NOW in terms of my personal hopes and dreams of Lukola actually being endgame… I see it the way I see #Beliza 😅

Is anyone here from THOSE days?? When we used to look at #Bellarke and say, “if Bellamy is not supposed to be in love with Clarke, someone needs to tell Bob to stop looking at Eliza like that” (because we thought it was justtttt an acting choice)???

And then BAMMM

Out of absolutely fucking NOWHERE (I mean for some of us crazies that were following too closely it wasn’t 100% out of nowhere… but I knooooow that’s how the majority felt) they’re about to be filming the last season of the show and they’re just like yeah so GUESS WHAT GUYS I MARRIED MY BEST FRIEND and everyone is like ??? 🤯 I mean y’all were definitely close friends when you were shooting and doing promo every year for sure but like when the fuck did you become actual bestttt friends irl??? When the fuck did you start dating???? When did you even decide you’d get married?? Cause just a few months ago we were still seeing both of your other public shipssss!!! (Let’s also fully jump over THAT drama 👀) And then they were just like, so ummm we kissed after our first date and we just KNEW this was ITTTT so we got married 2 seconds later cause like why wouldn’t we?? We are best friends and soulmatesssss ✨🌈🦄 🥰🦞

Anyway

That’s how I imagine Lukola to one day become official 🤷🏻‍♀️ Like they’ll date other people openly, and then suddenly OUT OF THE BLUE they’re MARRIED and everyone’s fucking confused AND elated! Lol

I do wonder if already having been so intimate with each other as Polin (unlike Bellarke, which, let’s just not think about that anymore either 😫) would delay or speed up Lukola if this were the case.

Like either it’ll speed them up because they know they LIKED all of THAT 👀 so by the time Bridgerton is officially coming to a close they’ll feel comfortable enough to stop being so professional about their relationship and acknowledge the 🐘 in the room and get on itttttt and get married 4 dates in… ORRRRR it will slow them down because they would continue to think they LIKED IT only because they were experiencing emotional residue from being too in character as Polin. Meaning the show would have to end and they’d have to actually part ways for a while, and they’d have to miss each other a LOTTT, and realize it wasn’t just Polin that created all this 🌩️ energy 🌩️ between them, and then one of them would need to just jump in the deep end and be like, so uhmmmm I thought I was feeling the tingles cause I was just super into being Colin but maybeee that wasn’t ittt…. so do you, errr… wanna??? 👀

My concern with option 2 is that it has higher potential for “ships that pass in the night” vibes 😫

So

GOD I humbly pray that it’s actually the first version, and that they’re just sowing their wild oats until Bridgerton is nearly over, justttt because they don’t wanna accidentally fuck up any work dynamics, and that as soon as the official end is in sight, they will just get married two seconds into dating irl AMEN 🙏🏼

[everyeyeneverlie]

bellarke positivity meme: seven quotes[1⁄7]: 3x05 Hakeldama

Bellamy... I need you. You need me? Yes. I do. You left me. You left everyone.

[alannacouture]

Clarke, Bellamy, and their friends have started building new lives on Sanctum, quickly becoming part of the new community that’s forming. A surprise awaits everyone, though, when an old tradition from Sanctum, Valentine’s Day, suddenly becomes the only thing anyone can talk about. Clarke, still struggling with the after effects of her mind and body being stolen, doesn’t much care about this new holiday, but Madi is determined that her mom has a wonderful Valentine’s Day (and will find Clarke a Valentine herself if she’s not going to do it). Clarke might not be ready for Sanctum’s huge Valentine’s Day celebration, but Madi and Bellamy are determined to make it a night she never forgets…

Full disclosure: I’m suffering from the worst writer’s block right now, so this was written in about three hours and I don’t know if I like it. But it’s a holiday and I was hoping writing this would motivate me to start working on all my WIPs (I’m still working on a sequel for “i’ve got you for that”, a prompt from a reader on Ao3, and about six other projects I really want to finish). So please come check this out and leave me some positive reinforcement so I’ll actually start writing my other works. Happy Valentine’s Day, fellow Bellarkers! ❤️❤️❤️

[honestlydarkprincess]

🤍💋💔

🤍 - buddie no nut november

Buck didn’t last the two weeks.

He made it to week three before the frustration drove him to speed over to Eddie’s house at one in the morning after a long shift. He was exhausted and so fucking desperate. He needed to come. Could he have just called Eddie and told him he was going to lose the bet? Yeah, he could’ve. But something in him had him driving over and rapping his knuckles harshly on the front door, forgetting entirely that he had a key.

Finally Eddie pulled open the door, looking at him with bleary eyes and yawning. “Buck? What’s up? Why are you here at,” He checked his watch and groaned. “Buck, it’s one a.m. What’s up?”

“I need you to let me out of the bet.”

💋 - bellarke kissing lessons

But when she opened her text thread with him to text him her decision, she paused. What if…what if she went through with it? After all, this might be the only chance she ever got to kiss Bellamy.

She typed out Hey! Are you free today? and sent it before she could second guess herself. Then she tossed her phone to the side and scrubbed a hand down her face. “Why is this so hard?” She asked the empty room. Clarke groaned and got up and out of bed, pointedly not looking at her phone as she got ready for the day.

She picked it back up once she was dressed and let out a quick breath when she saw that Bellamy had responded.

Hey, yeah I’m not doing anything today. You want to come over?

Heart racing, Clarke responded affirmative and they set a time for her to come over.

💔 - stiles didn't know they were dating

Stiles woke with a start, right as Derek was shutting the front door to the pack house. He scrambled into an upright position and stared at Derek, who looked absolutely haunted. His jaw was clenched and Stiles got the feeling that without werewolf healing, his eyes would be red and puffy.

“Hi,” Stiles croaked out, flexing his fingers against his side. He desperately wanted to reach out and take Derek into his arms and plead for forgiveness, tell him that this was all one big mistake and he was so fucking sorry.

Derek swallowed roughly, giving a hesitant nod in reply.

“Can we talk?” Stiles asked softly, his heart beating quickly in his chest with worry that Derek was going to say no.

make me write!

[alphinias]

I wasn’t in the bellaclarke fandom but I keep seeing comparisons to the characters being killed off, regarding backlash is OBX worse? Cos I’ve never seen anything like this.

I don’t know if it’s “worse” backlash. Different, though.

The showrunner for the 100 constantly spit in the eye of the fans and it was a last fuck you to us in as spiteful of a way as possible with Bellarke. We never even got the justification of seeing them admit feelings for each other after being strung along for years. But the whole season had been shit and we had week by week to prepare for it. It was also the show’s last season.

Obx meanwhile expects people to stick around for another season after this shitshow. The binge also made it much more… unexpected, as well as the Pates’ general positive vibe towards the fans in the past.

Fuck both endings, from the bottom of my heart.

[superficialseer]

HEMLOCK & HOLLY one-shot | complete | 4.2k.

“You could win an award when it comes to making my life so hard,” Bellamy complains, the hard line of his shoulder bearing uncomfortably into her belly as he makes to carry her down the hallway, “I literally do not understand. You hire me to help you balance out your magic, but you also do everything in your power to make everything harder on yourself. Which also means making everything harder on me.” “It’s not my fault,” Clarke groans, blanket-wrapped feet slung awkwardly atop the air, precariously missing accidentally kicking down the atrocious amount of artwork lining the hallway, “Christmas is my busiest season- I can’t not work.” Bellamy sighs, the rattling breath of passive frustration slipping into the soft muscle of her own belly, the uncomfortable position slung atop his shoulders cutting into the narrow expanse of her diaphragm. “You don’t have to not work, you just have to sleep. For once.”

my @bellarke-eventss gift for @carrieeve

witchcraft au | modern setting | getting together.

ao3 link | fic song | twitter.

[eruherdiriel]

20 questions for fic writers

Tagged by @cellsshapedlikestars. Thank you!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

5.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

40,689.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

ASoIaF/GoT, mostly Jonsa.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Well, lucky me, I have 5, so you get to see them all:

In the blood (the first thing I published, and it predates everything else by about 6 months so it makes sense)

Your crimson hands all over me

My eyes were wide open

The poor thing in the road, its eyes still glistening

Darlings (my ficlet collection)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes. I like the interaction, and I like acknowledging I saw people's comments.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

None of them really end with angst. I have an upublished WIP that would end in angst but IDK if I will finish it. Angstiest overall is probably "The poor thing."

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Uh, they all end on a positive note if not outwardly happy. The most lighthearted overall is my "Pumpkin" ficlet.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not much actually, and I've been theorizing about why while also being grateful for it. The rudest thing someone has said actually didn't bother me that much, and I had (I thought) a solid response to it. Shout out to the commenter who replied to that thread and agreed with me. You're a real one, whoever you are 😅.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Only pretty mild stuff. x

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Nope.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Hopefully not!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Jonsa ...

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

So far, I've only published when I was 98% sure I was done with a piece, and I'll probably stick with that because it suits the way I write (out of order, feeling my way around in the dark, general chaos lol). But I have LOTS of unpublished WIPs, including multichapters. I am trying to believe I will finish the one that I am currently trying to make progress on 🫠, but how much I believe it depends on my mood.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Ummm rhythm of the text? I just made that up.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I rarely outline. I actually like the feeling of uncovering a story as I write, but boy does it bite me in the ass sometimes.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Go for it.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Wrote and published = Jonsa. I started a Bellarke (The 100) fic several years ago but never finished or posted it. I only started writing fic seriously about a year ago.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Whichever one I've published most recently 😆. But I don't think I can pick. I'll just say "My eyes" because I like the concept and it hasn't had a second shout out here.

Tagging @estherruth-jonsatrash @jonsaslove @esther-dot @ofsansa @greenhikingboots if you want.

[ninappon]

Happy Tuesday folks!

How's everyone doing this second week of January? Now that we're past new years I feel like we're so much closer to spring over here (yeah I know, still months and months away) and I cannot wait! It also makes things feel more hopeful, doesn't it?

Last week was pretty crappy due to the fact that I lost my job because my boss is a genuine douche (it was the last drop for my colleagues because they have been badly treated by him as well and it has snowballed into a big mess that the higher ups are looking into now), and that caused me to have some stress related issues. Don't feel bad for me about the job thing though, it is such a huge relief to be away from both the boss and the work itself (it was never a job for me but at least the colleagues were great), and I feel so much better now. Now I'm onto finding something that suits me better, and while job hunting is both boring and frustrating, I still feel hopeful about it 💪🏻

Sending positive vibes to you all and hope that you are well @togetherkru, @igotbellarkeforthat, @carrieeve, @roguetwelve, @natassakar , @infp-with-all-the-feelings, @bookwormforalways, @heartbellamy, @moreflowersthanweeds, @geekyogicheese, @travllingbunny, @jeanie205 and everyone else in the bellarke fam 💛

[bellamyblake]

Bellarke and leadership

something i wanna talk about now that I’m rewatching s1 and perhaps awfully late realizing for the first time is the part about leadership and especially when it comes for Bellamy and Clarke to take up on those roles.

While yes, it’s true that when Clarke comes down, she tries to take charge and make the others listen to her, I don’t believe she’s in an absolute leadership position, not even when they decide to banish Murphy in 1x04. It’s interesting for her because the progression that’s happening there for her is a bit different-she loses her dad, then she’s locked up, then she comes to earth where she does try to take care of the people but in fact just kind of gets caught up in some personal problems. The first of which is the one with her mom, dad and Wells-it takes some time figuring out what happened there. The other one is a newly created problem that is Finn, falling in love with him, then Raven coming down and her having to first swallow down her feelings for him and then save his life and keep doing that for the good of him and Raven as she can see how much they mean to each other.

In other words, I don’t think she fully assumes the role as a leader until 1x07/ or maybe I dare say 1x08 where she 1st-decides to agree on torturing Lincoln for information which is a big step, a leader step where the decisions weigh on you and it’s not just maps and runnign around trying to find Mount Weather or being in the weird dynamic place beteween an old friend who’s in love with you and a new guy who’s interested in you.

She actually takes a step towards real leadership there and later absolutely fills in those shoes when she meets Anya.

But What I want to talk about here is Bellamy. I believe he assumes the real leadership position at first and carries it on a bit longer before Clarke joins him in. That is of course, a product of the circumestances-he has taken charge a long time ago when his mom put his sister in his hands and told him she was his responsibility. She makes him name Octavia and take care of her, promising to keep her quiet and safe. The whole reason why we were lucky enough to have a Blake siblings flashback was, I believe, because of that-showing where it all came for for Bellamy but not just the understandting behind his current actions (aka taking off the wristbands for his love for his sister) but also why he fits in the leadership position from the moment they hit the ground.

He had already been a parent and a leader for the past seventeen years. With a mom who made sure she did just enoug hto survive but offered no love, he had to fill in a gap between Auora and Octavia, while putting himself away from experiencing what a real family was in order to take proper care for his sister and please his mother. 

When he comes to the ground he tries to ensamble his people, then convinces them taking off the wristbands is good for them (even though he is indeed trying to save himself here FOR Octavia, a part I think people forget often), he surrounds himself with people he trusts but also helps built this camp-organizes the delinquents to build a wall (remember 1x04 “If it wasn’t for her, those idiots would still be building a wall” when he talks about Clarke saying the truth about Wells;), He quickly realizes what’s good for the people-the truth and omitting it in the case with Charlotte because it will safe them in this unstable situation; He cares for them which is shown when he goes out to look for Octavia and Roma and Mbege die. (I hate when ppl say he only started caring about the delinquents later-he did, from the beginning), he went hunting with them, made them work on rations, etc. 

He also makes some very big leadership mistakes-the first one being hanging Murphy and the second one-throwing the radio away in the river when Raven lands. Now that second one is a really big and very heavy decision, one that Clarke if you think about it doesn’t get to make until the end of the season where she agrees on Raven using the hydrozyne to kill the grounders. Yes, he does make it so he can save himself but his personal decision weighs on the whole camp because if the rest of the Ark doesn’t come down, how do they survive. The whole conversation with Jaha in 1x08 where he hallucinates him just proves all that. While for Clarke it’s her dad she sees and misses, Bellamy is the one already beating himself up for mistakes akined to someone who’s ruling and leading. (and who feels the same amount of guilt the council on the Ark does, aka the parallels between Kane and Bellamy starting here)

Then there comes Lincoln and I think that’s the moment that kind of glues Bellamy and Clarke as leaders which is concluded in 1x08 when they bring the guns back home and it’s quite clear and established who is in charge of those kids. 

That is where they take their first big decision together (yes, I scartch Murphy because while he was a hard choice, he was one of them, he made mistakes, a kid died because of him and banishing him was the only thing they could figure out at the moment but Lincoln is an outsider, a grounder, the enemy. And this is their first time trying to decide how to deal with that.) You could see how new in it all they were, how uncertain-they argue and they do not want to do any of that. They are both mentally torn-you could tell so by the looks in their eyes but they’re also fighting with the new reality-the one where the world is cruel and those people out there already killed 10 of their friends and what is there to do?

What is the RIGHT thing?

And all of that was solidified in the last conversation they have in 1x07 where Bellamy picks her hand holding the screw he put in Lincoln’s hand and he says “Who we are and who we need to be to survive are very different things.” I believe this is the first time he’s being honest with her, basically screaming ‘I am not this person, I am not a killer, I’m not a torturer but I have to be this now. For my sister. For us. Do you understand?” but she’s lost herself and doesn’t know what to respond so he adds, shyly, almost as if he didn’t want to give himself away “It’s not easy being in charge, is it?” because he already HAS been in charge but now she truly IS too. Finally, in that moment.

[sometimesrosy]

The 100 Rewatch 2023 1.09

Unity Day

I gotta catch up. I'm gonna watch this one, no editing, we post like men. And then make some lasagne, and while my food is in the oven, I will watch 1.10

My typing is a MESS. And I think i lost some of my trains of thought. Like I feared, season 7 affects all the others, because we know have a context for what the struggle all means. It's hard to forget that. sigh.

Delinquents watching Jaha go on nd on about Unity Day and telling everyone they're on the groundf. Miller: after we did all the work. Raven is a bit snotty. And Finn is saying Unity Day is a lie. The ark only came together after the thirteenth station was blown out of the sky. We know why that happened now. That's kind of cool

Monty makes Moonshine. Jasper calls it UnityJuice

On the Ark. Diana Sydney is being catty and evil to Abby about the council seat and now is annoyed because he cut his words short. Because she's blowing up the unity celebration. I always hate Diana SydneyAnd Vera Kane is being blown off by Kane a mere few minutes before she is blown up.

Okay. I apologize. That was tasteless.

Oh that's a lot of blood. Gruesome. Maybe they think it's doable because of the dark gray tone to the ark scenes. You can't see the vivd red. Now Kane gives his mom the travelers blessing. He's had a rough few days.

And it's about to get worse. Poor Kane. He really is about to have an extremely bad time.

They just figured out that Sydney did it. Diana Sydney is willing to let people die and steal the Exodus ship because she thinks it's ok to

BEST UNITY DAY EVER. Bellamy and Clarke having a celebration he tells her to have a drink. have more than one. He's happy because he's been pardoned. All that guilt and anxiety goes away.

Their little light flirting. I wouldn't call it hardcore or even implying anything. Sorry is that bellarke sacriledge? They like each other thought.

Raven is again hardcore and kinda violent. She doesn't think the grounders are human. Finn is very empathetic to them. I supposed that's not a terrible Finn trait, but he's still really disapproving of everyone around him which is annoying.

O following a trail of lillies to find Lincoln. I guess this is more the butterfly girl. Lincoln is teaching her to stalk. And to kiss.

I am not finidng their story all that romantic anymore. Despite what the music is telling me. I can't get over his age and her trauma. She doesn't need a boyfriend she needs a therapist.

Finn finds them and gives Lincoln back the knife he stabbed him with. I stabbed you we tortured you. Truce right? I mean i suppose. He's also telling Lincoln about the soldiers coming. That is not wise... knowing what we now know about grounders. They are unrepentantly violent. (this is not a natural state of 'the other' but actually a characteristic the writers designed to cause unending conflict without any hope of peace and which always annoyed the hell out of me)

Diana turns in her mechanic as the bomber. Abby and Kane don't trust her. Wise.

Drunk delinquents. Clarke playing drinking games. Oh look Fox. She dies next season. Finn comes over and ruins Clarke's fun.

Finn has set up a meeting with the grounders.Finn thinks they have a chance to live in peace with the grounders. It's not true. Like I said before they were manufactured to be enemies. you CAN'T make peace with them. Unfortunately. And That is a huge flaw in this show. You keep hoping for them to be rational and human and it ALWAYS returns to them being violent barbarians. Terrible.

Clarke tells Bellamy that Finn set up a meeting, and she's taking Finn's position, she wants to attempt peace, but she wants him to follow and be their backup. Bring guns. Fair.

Aww. Jasper comes in to help Raven with her gunpowder because he was great in chemistry.He talks about his family and asks her about hers. "Nope, just Finn." Ugh. "We all got each other now, right?" Another great story line that went away by the end.

Bellamy wants Jasper to be back up because he's steady and brave in the cave with Lincoln. Raven comes along.

Finn with Clarke always icks me out. "You're sounding more and more like Bellamy," he says to her. His rival. She leaves a trail of nuts for Bell to follow.

The whole class war storyline is a big thing in season 1. Your people and our people. And they break out and lock Kane in the cell.

Aw Sinclair. I love him. People are going to freeze to death in the sections Jaha tells him to evacuate them. They figure out Diana is taking the exodus ship. Abby is hiding and watching. Jiana calls herself Chancellor. Onlly 50% of her people are on the ship. "This exodus ship belongs to all of you, you're the future of the human race and today i'm going to lead you home." She's just like Jaha sacrificing people for her own needs.

Finn and Clarke meetup with O on the bridge. Lincoln hugs her.

Finn grabs Clarkes hand when she backs away.

OMG horses. Clarkie. aww. They are armed. "Hey we said no weapons." Big surprise.

Clarke meets Anya. Hey if she didn't bring backup, Anya would have killed Clarke and The Ark would all have died when they ran out of air and Mount Weather would have gotten out of the mountains.

Anya thinks Clarke started a war. THeir flares blew a village to the ground. She calls them invaders. She says they sent an armed raiding party to capture one of theirs and torture him.

But like. Anya. You impaled Jasper first. Oh yeah. And then you hunted the kids. Oh yeah. And Lincoln kidnapped and chained Octavia. FIRST before Bellamy captured Lincoln.

WHY DO THE GROUNDERS ALWAYS BLAME THEIR VICTIMS FOR STARTING THE WAR WHEN THEY FINALLY STAND UP AND FIGHT BACK. UGh I hate that.

Now I know how it ended, I can't hope for them to change because they never ever do.

Clake is conceding the point. Because she TAKES the blame. Girl. Do you remember what they did to Jasper?

Jaha looks emotionally compromised when he sees Abby on the exodus ship. They haven't dropped that crush on her yet. Abby opens the door from inside. "ABBY!!" Jaha cries in despair as they knock her out. But they have opened the doors and they cant' take off.

Anya is mad they're sending down warriors. Clarke can't promise they will honor the terms she sets with her because she's not in charge.

"Grounder princess looks pissed."

"Our princess has that effect." Great line

Jasper sees someone in the distance with weapons pointed at Clarke.

Is it a hallucination??

No it's not. They're falling from the trees. Bellamy stops Anya from stabbing Clarke. Lincoln steps in front of an arrow to save O.

The deinquents flee.

The dropship hasn't been uncoupled and it will kill everyone on the Ark. "You don't want to be remembered like this."

And she says "I won't be." Rude.

He doesn't take blame like Clarke, blames her for having him shot. But then Sydney tells them that there aren't enough drop ships for everyone.

The drop ship breaks off and things start exploding. Then going dark.

Back to the kids. And they all yell at each other. "You didn't have to trust the grounders. You just had to trust me." Dumb finn.

B. LLike I said. Best unity day ever. C laughs.

Oh look the exodus ship is coming. "Your mom's early."

Wait. Too fast? No parachute? Something's wrong.

KABOOM.

Clarke crumples.

[clarkgriffon]

OBX Season 3: Jiara

Okay, let’s do it. Let’s talk Jiara. This one might get long.

Jiara fascinates me on a fundamental fandom level and always has. As a long-time Bellarke, one of the things that roped me into the show was ship gifsets (mainly JJPope and Jiara). So, when I first watched Season 1 to see both of those relationships be comparably so small in screentime, I was surprised. I’ve been neutrally positive on Jiara over the seasons (definitely with a boost after S2), but have watched this ship have such a huge fanbase after S1 alone, so much so that writers rerouted their own course to respond to fans. It’s fanservice, but that doesn’t make it bad. In fact, it makes it fascinating to me because I’m just so unused to that concept. (Legitimately, this is something I’ve discussed with my IRL friend because I’m just so intrigued by it.)

So, I’ve paid attention to Jiara, knowing that the writers were pivoting and being extremely interested to see how they’d pull it off.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I think I’d give it like... an 8.5? It was a really good pivot in my opinion (not the concept of Kie/JJ together generally, but how well executed they were in changing their flight path).

Starting with my gripes, Season 2 was used to put closure on Pope & Kie and to slightly build up JJ & Kie, especially in the late season. Retrospectively, I could’ve used something a bit more explicit in late Season 2 about Kiara’s feelings because we jump into Season 3 with the longing glances and heavy focus shots on Kie and JJ’s reactions to each other, which I think could be jarring to people who haven’t really been paying attention to this relationship. (Another mini gripe is that I wish we’d stayed a little longer on the “We never should have left Poguelandia” thing with JJ & Kie. I feel like it gets one mention and then let go even though it felt significant for both of them. Like I thought maybe JJ would get mad/be disappointed in Kie for helping flag down the plane, something like that.)

Additionally, OBX... well, they pulled an OBX. The main ship of the show fell in love in an episode. So was I surprised to JJ/Kie almost kiss by episode 2? No. And I don’t think it’s great writing, we skip the “figuring out their feelings” part and go straight into acceptance/denial. HOWEVER, I think they accidentally made something really unique out of OBX’s tendency to fast track their romantic subplots. A full season surrounding a romantic storyline fully about the aftermath of realizing that you have feelings for someone. It’s less of a “Will they/won’t they” and more of a “They almost did. Now what?” And to have that for a full season feels very unique, which I loved.

I adored the scenes they had. Starting with the JJ going into full panic when Kiara gets kidnapped (the first time) and then progressing from there. I really don’t know that they had a scene that missed? JJ’s freakout once they’re back in Kildare is one of my favorite scenes of the season because of how telling it is of JJ’s character. A great choice, in my opinion, to use the relationship with Kiara as an exploration of JJ’s low self-worth. He trashes her, calls her the worst thing imaginable (*shudders* Kook), and even though she’s mad, she still sees through it. Because she knows he’s just scared and vulnerable about fucking up AND has the added insecurity that he’ll be stepping on Pope’s toes. I think the one falter is maybe the money clip storyline, which I think was actually quite smart in JJ’s intentions (intentional self-sabotage), but was better in theory than execution.

I think the relationship was definitely a better exploration of JJ’s character than it was of Kie’s, but it did display Kiara’s deep levels of compassion, empathy, and understanding.

Overall, I’ve been fascinated to see if the writers could pull something that fans made out of one-off lines and actor chemistry and make it work and I think the answer is very much yes. As for the Bellarke to Jiara pipeline, after three seasons, I am finally jumping on (maybe not as rabid as the rest of you but yes I am finally here).

[hawkeene]

jjpope & bellarke go

jjpope: SHIP IT!

1. what made you ship it?

god, where to start. you know best friends to lovers is my favorite trope and they're just... peak best friends. early on in s1 they're shown to be closer together than with the rest of the pogues (even though they're all really close), planning things together, being partners in crime, jj sacrificing himself for him (although he'd do it for any of the pogues). then midsummers happened and i was gone. the way pope hugs jj like he needs it to breath, the kiss on the cheek, jj acting like the HUGE thing he did for pope was no biggy while pope didn't know how to thank him. like, beside the chemistry i think they're just everything i want in a relationship. the banter, the laughs, the fights that mean nothing because they know they love each other unconditionally, the infinite loyalty. they're just so <3333

2. what are your favorite things about the ship?

GOD that's hard. i'd say how unafraid they are to be touchy with each other, and the unconditional love. like there's an understanding between them that no matter what, no matter the fight or the argument, they love each other and nothing can ever change that.

3. is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

i hc jj as gay, not bi, idk if that's unpopular

bellarke: DON'T SHIP IT

1. why don't you ship it?

i just never saw any chemistry or anything other than platonic friendship here (which is ironic given i love friends to lovers) and then the fans were just. absolutely unbearable i'm so sorry and then the later seasons happened and 6 years had passed and they had different priorities/families and it was obvious their chance (if they ever had any) had passed

2. what would have made you like it?

i guess clarke treating bell better? and just more chemistry i guess

3. despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

they had a sweet relationship at first, i liked their development! the enemies to friends was sweet

send me a ship and i'll tell you: