#otp: every day for six years. | clarke & bellamy.

[pretttyvacant]

also updating my current otp tags!

[t100ficrecsblog]

an interview with @burninghoneyatdusk​ (she/her) What are you working on right now? Right now I’m prioritizing prompts for the Bellarke Writers for BLM Initiative, which is a mix of new prompts and requests for WIP updates. I just posted a chapter update of my fic Voices in the Water, which is a canon-verse/everyone is a grounder arranged marriage AU with a bit of a twist, and next I’m working on a new prompt. After that, I’ve got three chapters of All Because of You  requested. All Because of You is a modern AU with bellarke as *platonic* coparents. The story is told in alternating flashbacks and present day (every other chapter). The flashbacks focus on them growing closer during Clarke’s unplanned pregnancy and the present is seven years later, where they have to come to terms with their feelings for each other when Clarke gets engaged to someone else.

What’s something you’d like to write one day? I would love to publish a novel one day. For years I had a YA dystopian/time travel trilogy kind of planned but I poked too many holes in it and want to start from scratch in that regard. Another novel I want to write is one that covers three generations of women, looking at mother-daughter relationships, women in society, generational trauma… a lot of stuff. It was inspired by learning about my grandmother’s life more and thinking about how it impacted her relationship with my mother, and in turn my mother’s relationship with me.

For fanfiction, beyond my current prompts and WIPs, I have two other fics outlined. One is an AU inspired by the movie Plus One. The other is a soulmate AU that’s a bit dark and involves immortality, magic, and essentially Bellamy as a villain with a redemption arc.

What is the fanwork you’re most proud of? I think All Because of You will probably remain my most popular, but right now I’m most proud of Voices in the Water. More so than my other fics, it has a more concise plot and I’ve done a deeper dive into Clarke’s character as an Azgeda assassin and I think the reader really gets into her head more than my other multiple POV fics. It’s also my first canonverse fic and I’ve enjoyed diving into that world and expanding upon it where I want.

When did you first start writing fic? I didn’t start writing fic until the beginning of 2019. I first published in February 2019, which was Homesick (It’s a Bittersweet Feeling). It was my first fic and the only multichapter WIP that’s complete right now, so it’s a special story for me.

What frustrates you most about fic writing? I’ve mostly had only a positive experience with fanfic writing. With the exception of a couple stray comments, my readers have been gracious, kind, and most importantly, patient. But I guess it can be challenging when you self-impose pressure because you’re aware that people are waiting for you to publish so sometimes I rush things. I haven’t personally experienced this, but I think that fic writing can also be frustrating when readers feel like you owe them something or unnecessarily offer negative comments that aren’t at all constructive. Some people forget that people are publishing stories for free, in their spare time, often in addition to full-time jobs or school and parenting.

What are your top five songs right now? 1. castles (freya ridings) 2. maniac (conan gray) 3. fired up (grace carter) 4. I am not afraid (g flip) 5. wanna be (betty who)

What are your inspirations? (books, songs, other fic) I take inspiration from all of those things but I would say mostly quotes and random photos on tumblr. I wrote Homesick because I liked the step-siblings/forbidden trope and wanted to write in a small town setting like the one I grew up in. All Because of You was honestly the classic “this is my bedtime daydream story I think about every night” so it’s pretty self-indulgent with the tropes I wanted to use. Voices in the Water was started because I loved the grounder!Bellamy / arranged marriage trope. The wanheda twist came from me reading the 4x11 script to screen with Clarke trying to force herself to shoot Bellamy to save humanity, but realizing that she can’t.

What first attracted you to Bellarke? What attracts you now? I’m not sure I remember a specific moment but I think I remember bellarke being all over my tumblr dash when I started s2 so kind of paying close attention to them during s2. s2 was of course a great season for them and by the ‘knocking on heaven’s door’ scene in 2x16 I was a goner.

Regarding what drew me to them, I think I’ve always loved a good slow burn with the partners/”I’ve got your back” vibe that they have. My first (and biggest) OTP before them was tony & ziva from NCIS which is a really similar vibe although a very different show.

Besides Bellarke, what character or pairing do you like best on t100? I think that Memori is probably my second place ship. Before s7, I would say there was a HUGE gap between my love of Bellarke and Memori, but this season has made me an even bigger Memori fan. I have to say that while I don’t think there was ever a chance of Murven happening, I do understand why people ship it. I think they have great chemistry/a great dynamic and in another life, so to speak, I would have shipped them. 

Regarding characters on their own, I just love all my delinquents, but I think that Murphy is solidly my third favorite character. Raven and Octavia are probably tied behind him.

Why did you decide to start bellarkefic-for-blm? I credit the reason to Kara ( @queenemori ). (Sidenote: everyone go follow her! She’s an amazing fanfic writer and overall just a really positive, awesome person to have in the fandom). I remember reading her post  - and I won’t try to paraphrase, so please take the time to read her it - but in general it got me thinking about how we as a fandom could support the BLM movement in a substantial way that is more than just spreading posts on social media, and in a way that doesn’t lose momentum as time goes on and the movement becomes less “trendy.” I thought about how many people collectively read our fanfiction and how we provide it for free, and if people could just pay a few dollars or however much they can afford and donate that to the cause, we collectively could make a huge difference. So that’s what I’m hoping this is - making a substantial difference in a way that doesn’t fade in time and also uses the power of fandom in a useful way. We have a lot of power if we collectively put it towards something like this instead of fighting over ships or actors or whatnot. I also figured that maybe we’d have readers who weren’t paying attention to the movement and that maybe because they want to submit a prompt, they’d do some research on where to donate, and that in turn helps educate them on the issue - or is at least a start.

Has it been as successful as you’d hoped? So on the positive side, I do think it’s incredible that in about six weeks we’ve raised nearly $1250 and have been able to donate to a variety of organizations. I’m incredibly grateful for the authors donating their time and the enthusiastic readers participating. I don’t mean to sound negative at all, but if I’m being honest, I do feel a little frustration at the lack of participation across the fandom as a whole or maybe more specifically across the AO3 readers. I know that my WIP chapters average about 1k hits per update. That’s a lot of people. Even if you cut that in half because maybe people are rereading, that’s still 500 people. So why are only about 20 of my readers donating to this initiative? I think it’s a bit discouraging when you look at the percentage in that way. 

That’s not to say that I don’t understand that some aren’t financially in a position to donate, but I’ve made it clear that there are other ways to contribute (e.g. signing petitions, writing to politicians) and there hasn’t been traction with that either. So I think that in general, something is always better than nothing and it has in no way discouraged me from continuing this. But I’m hoping that more people are able to participate as time goes on. It’s truly a win-win situation of generating more fanfics for readers and donating to an important issue, so I hope to see the percentage of fanfiction readers submitting prompts increase and am doing what I can to continue spreading the word about it. 

I guess in summary what I’m saying is, I’m proud of what the fandom has done so far, but let’s step it up. We can do more, we can do better. Maybe people will get pissed I said that, but idk. If you read fic and can buy a $3 coffee, you can donate to this cause. It’s important. As was Kara’s point, let’s not see this momentum fade when the BLM movement becomes less ~trendy~.

What are some things you’d like to recommend? Instead of writing an essay about all the fics I love, I’d like to link both my bookmarked fics which is my complete list of bellarke fic recs.

I also want to recommend visiting the Bellarke Writers for BLM Initiative writers’ page - these writers are incredible so please go check out their existing works and continue requesting prompts for the BLM movement!

On the note of BLM, I'd also like to link this article. It's older, written in the aftermath of the Charleston attack, but it remains one of the most thought provoking pieces I've read on race in our country.

it was my honor to interview burninghoneyatdusk! honestly, if you aren’t reading Voices in the Water, which is Bellarke except Clarke is an assassin, you should be. it haunts me. she also organized the very cool bellarkefic-for-blm. 

[togetherkru]

OTP PROFILE GAME!

rules: answer the questions about your favorite ship (all time or current) then tag 10 people to do it too!

tagged by @pendragaryen 🥰 thank you Anne !  Well i’m not a fanfic writer, but i do have some headcanon, so...

SHIP AND FANDOM: Bellarke, The 100

MOMENTS:

What were their first impressions of each other?

Definitely not a good one : she’s one of the privileged, thinks she can rule everything. And he comes out of nowhere, and wants to rule everything. It obviously tastes like Pride and Prejudice after the Acpocalypse.

A moment you think that both/one of them will remember forever about each other:

Anne you’re so right, this is very very hard...

But if I have to choose one, i would say Praimfaya : she will always remember when her heart broke because she saw the rocket, when she understood they were leaving without her. But because she was ready to die to save them all, to save him, she had made her choice.

And he will never forget the pain he felt when he had to tell Raven “It’s the only choice”, using Clarke’s words. He’ll never forget what it cost him to let her die on Earth. He would have liked to die with her. BUT she asked him to take care of the others... So he survives, and makes them survive, FOR HER...And ”he can’t do that again”.

A moment you think that both/one of them wishes hadn’t happened:

Maybe Hakeldama, though I’m not sure... So maybe I’d go with the end of S4, when Clarke and Jaha capture Bellamy without Octavia. As soon as Octavia wins the conclave, Clarke regrets what she did (and honestly she already regretted it before). And Bellamy sees Clarke with new eyes... So maybe that moment, when she felt she had disappointed him.

What is Their Moment for you?

Okay, I won’t choose a hug, it would be too easy... I’ll go with the campfire scene in 2x05. They’re so hesitant, so shy, so uncertain and at the same time, I think both of them begin to understand what the other means for them. And apart from the feelings, they’re honest, true to each other, and still pure. Yeah for me it’s THE moment that changes their relationship. And then there are so many more...

LIFE QUESTIONS:

Marriage? If yes, who proposes?

Aren’t they already married ? lol I know I know...

Well like you Anne I don’t think the 100 would go there. And honestly, i really think they’re already engaged for life. They don’t really need the proposal, or the ceremony.

Children? If yes, if one had to stay home with them, who would do it?

They’re both great with them. So as they’re the perfect couple, they are both good parents. They would totally share.

Housing? Where do they live together?

I can't help but imagine them in a little house by the sea. I think it's because of Survivor's guilt, the ending of that fiction is so perfect that I can't really get it out of my head.

Pets? Do they get a pet together?

DOGS, yes, it’s so obvious...

PERSON A & B…

Who would kill/remove the spider and who would leave it under a cup and leave the room?

Well I think Clarke would probably kill it... She spent 6 years on Earth alone with a child, so she had to do this...

And Bellamy leaves it under a cup : it makes perfectly sense, because after so much time in space, he needs to protect every LIVING AND BREATHING BEING ON THIS PLANET. 

Who sings all day long and who gets so used to it they don’t even hear it anymore?

I don’t know why, but I really could picture Bellamy singing, not very well, and Clarke be totally okay with that. I can even imagine her smiling as she listens to Bellamy make fake notes.

Who can cook a gourmet meal for two and who can maybe use the toaster?

Both of them for sure : Bellamy is a hunter, he knows how to cook for his sister (and mom too)...And Clarke, well... She didn’t know much about this when she landed with the 100, but she likes to eat and enjoy a good meal. And she had Madi. So...

Who wakes up before the sun rises and who would sleep in until 2pm if they didn’t have an alarm?

Clarke used to get up early, watch the sun rise at Shallow valley time. I think she's the one who keeps this habit, but Bellamy often joins her, and it's even one of their favorite times. They don't talk, and they quietly watch the dawn.

Who is more affectionate/touchy?

This is hard. I'd say Bellamy, because he's always worried that he won't find her, that she's gone. Like he's afraid to wake up on the Ring and it's all just a dream. So he often needs to touch her, to kiss her. But Clarke has six years to catch up on, so I think she likes to cuddle, too.

Who wears the other’s hoodies/shirts?

Clarke definitely wears Bellamy’s clothes. What a question?

Who said “I love you” first?

Sorry Anne, i don’t agree with you on this 😋 .

I think Bellamy needs to hear his princess say it, because he never allowed himself to think about her like that. He’s just too chivalrous, too respectful. So I think Clarke HAS to say it first. And then, only then can he look at her,  approach her, and kiss her, hesitantely at first...And after that, well...

Wow this was really cool...I’m very tired, so i’m gonna stop and post this... Sorry if there are mistakes, i won’t read it again...

TAGGING/saying Hi : @geekyogicheese, @natassakar, @lee-em-dee, @immortalpramheda, @famousflowermagazine, @goddess-clarke, @katersann, @carrieeve, @wolfheartgirl, @burninghoneyatdusk (let me know if you don’t wanna be tagged)

[osleyakomwonkru]

hi, for the salty ask list: 1, 5, 10 and 19

1. What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get? /  5. Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?

I’m answering these two questions together, because they very much go together for me, and the answer is: Clexa.

As I’ve mentioned before, I started watching the show between S4 and S5. And before I’d met my infection vector (Ilian and then by extension Octavia), the only thing I’d ever heard about the show was that there was this badass lesbian called Lexa who had this epic romance with an equally badass bisexual Clarke, until Lexa was killed in a particularly tragic case of the Bury Your Gays trope. 

That had been enough to put me off the show initially, since LGBTQ representation and portrayals in media are very important to me. But Octavia’s storyline intrigued me enough that I was like, okay, I’ll give it a shot anyway, and then I went into it all ready to be righteously angry when Lexa died. 

Only... that didn’t happen. I watched the first three seasons, and couldn’t see any sign of that epic romance that fandom had told me about. Clarke and Lexa were actively hostile with each other (well, the hostility was mostly on Clarke’s part) for much of their screentime together. Then things began to soften, and then they slept together, and then Lexa died. This last sentence all happened within the space of three episodes - not a lot of time at all.

Was it a bad case of the Bury Your Gays trope? Oh, for sure. There are a hundred better ways Lexa could have died. But she was always going to. This isn’t a romance tale of happily ever after, and people in her position live dangerous lives, and once she’d been brought into focus she wasn’t a character that could be put Out of Focus again. She wasn’t ever going to survive the plot. Not in this sort of ‘verse.

But fandom had built them up to be this huge epic sweeping romance, when in reality they had very little time together under very trying circumstances. The epic wasn’t there. It was the start of something, which may have turned epic had Lexa lived. But she didn’t and it didn’t, so the idea that it was this grand love that Clarke still mourns intensely years later just doesn’t sit right with me.

I think had fandom been honest about what their relationship was - the start of something then cut tragically short - then I wouldn’t have gone into the show with the expectations I did, and I could have appreciated the relationship for what it was rather than what fandom told me it was. So yeah, fandom ruined Clexa for me.

10.  Most disliked arc? Why?

Bellamy taking Clarkephine on their forest walkabout in S6. And if we want to expand that a bit further, Bellamy’s entire arc with Clarke since the beginning of S5, where he’ll throw everyone else under the bus and even ignore her own wishes to save her from either a perceived or actual threat.

If there *hadn’t* been a six year separation where they each lived very different lives, maybe I could buy it. Maybe. But as it is, especially given that she hasn’t done the same for him? No. The only conceivable explanation - where he’s willing to throw both his blood family and his found family under the bus on a consistent basis for her benefit - is that he’s in love with her. Yet we’re supposed to believe their relationship is platonic, but he does things for her that he won’t do for any other platonic friend - so why is this girl who he’s known personally for mere weeks the one he chooses, especially given he’s repeatedly chosen her over his sister who was the centre of his world for seventeen years, as well as over Spacekru who he lived and formed bonds with for six years? I’m not a Bellarke shipper, but if they’re not supposed to be endgame, I don’t know what the hell they’re doing here. It doesn’t make any sense at all.

Then there’s the overt hypocrisy where he’s ready and willing and wanting to know about and accept what Clarke went through during those six years, but won’t do the same for Octavia. Where he’ll forgive Clarke for what he did to her (no, that’s not a typo, he somehow thinks that he’s the aggrieved party when he’s quite the opposite), but not do the same for Octavia. Where he’ll prioritize Clarke over everyone else, even her own daughter that she’ll risk everything for.

I hate it. Hate hate hate.

19. What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

I have to pick just one? Haha. Well, there are many different ways that I could answer this question, depending on what precisely is meant by “fandom” - does that mean in this context the canon source material, does it mean the fans of the show? Because other questions in this quiz make it sound like it could go either way.

I’m going to go on the “fans of the show” aspect here, since the canon would make me rant for days in many different ways, so let’s stick to fan behaviours.

At which point, I have to go with the rabid shipper behaviour - you know the type, where their every response to JRoth’s Twitter posts is something about their ship, even when the post has nothing to do with any of that. Where they threaten X, Y and Z if their ship doesn’t happen. Where they hate on actors whose characters are standing in the way of their ships.

This is not a romance show. Who is fucking who is not the be-all end-all of the universe. If you’re still reading this post after I’ve already ranted about both Clexa and Bellarke, then I’ll assume you’re probably not one of those rabid shippers. I mean, obviously, love and relationships are a part of life, but the most compelling storylines and story arcs are not about romance. They’re often about how far people are willing to go to save the people they love, but what type of love that is can vary drastically, and more often than not, isn’t based on romance.

[mia-cooper]

Fanfiction Questions

from here

Fandom Questions

1. What was the first fandom you got involved in?

Involved as in ‘frantically read every book I could get my hands on, daydreamed about being part of that universe and wrote stories/made art inspired by the books, if not actual fanfiction’? Mm, probably The Chronicles of Narnia when I was six or seven. The next great obsession was The Silver Brumby when I went through my horse stage around age 12, and then Sweet Valley High when I was 15. Hahaha.

2. What is your latest fandom?

Marvel! I’m not into comics and I’m definitely not interested in consuming every last bit of canon material or memorising the variations of every universe, but I love (most of) the movies and Agents of SHIELD is pretty cool.

3. What is the best fandom you’ve ever been involved in?

Star Trek Voyager. No contest. I venture to suggest that the older fandoms, the ones that are all about defunct shows, are a hell of a lot more chilled. Maybe because we’ve come to terms with our shitty canon endings and learned that liking the ship you hate doesn’t make someone problematic, unlike some newer fandoms I could name (Yes I’m talking about you, Game of Thrones fans. What the fuck.)

4. Do you regret getting involved in any fandoms?

I’ve dipped a toe into one or two fandoms for shows or books I’ve really enjoyed and backed the fuck out when the vibe gets weird (oh hey, it’s GoT again), but nope. No regrets.

5. Which fandoms have you written fanfiction for?

All the Star Treks except TOS, and a Trek/MCU crossover. I’d like to write more for MCU someday. Plus I’ve written longhand entire notebooks full of teen romance shit that bore an uncanny similarity to SVH, and my first short story was a fantasy fic that featured a girl whose guardian was a wise talking lion who led her into mystical secret worlds, which is kind of familiar.

6. List your OTP from each fandom you’ve been involved in.

Wow. I’m going to define ‘involved in’ as ‘cared enough about to have an OTP’, but I’m guaranteed to forget a ton. In no particular order:

Voyager: Janeway x anyone who can get her off

Discovery: Lorca x Cornwell or Pike x Tyler x Burnham (or any combination of)

DS9: Kira x Jadzia Dax

TNG: Picard x Vash, I guess? I don’t really have any TNG ships

ENT: T’Pol x Trip x Hoshi (or any variation therein)

MCU: Cap x Widow

AoS: Coulson x Skye... no May... no Skye... I don’t know

CAOS: Madam Satan x Zelda

Timeless: Garcy

The Good Place: Eleanor x Tahani

The 100 (shut up): toss up between Clarke x Bellamy and Kane x Abby

Veronica Mars: Veronica x Leo (first run), Veronica x Logan (s4)

Orphan Black: Cosima x Delphine

BSG: Apollo x Starbuck

SG1: Sam x Jack

Arrow: Olicity (so over the show now though)

This Life: Milly x Egg

Yeah you know what... I’m drawing a blank. I can’t think of any other shows where I’ve been invested in The Romance that much.

7. List your NoTPs from each fandom you’ve been in.

I’m too tired to do every fandom, and besides, I can come around to almost any ship if the headcanons (or fics) are convincing enough. I do have a few hard no-gos, but they might be someone else’s OTP so I’ll shut up about them.

8. How did you get involved in your latest fandom?

Reluctantly. The MCU movies are not something I ever thought I’d enjoy beyond a dull evening’s entertainment. I never expected to get attached to the characters. And yet.

9. What are the best things about your current fandom?

Voyager is my forever fandom and the only one where I’ve really interacted with other fans. The best things about it? In general, everyone is just cool, accepting, open and basically awesome. And talented. I love my Party Bus people.

10.  Is there a fandom you read fic from but don’t write in?

Sure. The 100, Veronica Mars and Agents of SHIELD are the ones I’d dip into more frequently. I really enjoy crossovers between Trek and BSG or the Stargate variants, too.

Ship Questions for your Current Fandom

11. Who is your current OTP?

Janeway x Chakotay.

12. Who is your current OT3?

Janeway x Chakotay x Paris.

13. Any NoTPs?

A few.

14. Go on, who are your BroTPs?

Janeway & Tuvok! Also Torres & Chakotay, and I’d have killed for more Janeway & Torres in canon. (If they kissed sometimes that would be okay too)

15. Is there an obscure ship which you love?

Yeah. Paris x Seven. There are like two fics in existence, and yet ... the potential! (Sorry, B’Elanna)

16. Are there any popular ships in your fandom which you dislike?

Nope.

17. Who was your first OTP and are they still your favourite?

Janeway x Paris. And they’re still way up there, but not quite at the top.

18. What ship have you written the most about?

84% of my fics feature Janeway x Chakotay as either the primary or secondary pairing... holy shit.

19. Is there a ship which you wished you could get behind, but you just don’t feel them?

Paris x Torres. I mean, I feel them. I just don’t generally feel the need to write about them.

20. Any ships which you surprised yourself by liking?

Chakotay x Seven. In another universe, it could’ve been beautiful.

Author Questions

21. What was the first fanfic you ever wrote?

Actual story that was clearly fanfic? A farcical drunken romp told in the 24th century equivalent of email format called PADDemonium (see what I did there?)

22. Is there anything you regret writing?

Lol, a few things that should probably have never seen the light of day for various reasons, some of them leola related. But I’ve only deleted two fics that I can recall.

23. Name a fic you’ve written that you’re especially fond of & explain why you like it.

Relieved. It’s a 30k AU Chakotay moral dilemma backstory that brings in DS9 characters, Section 31 and his longstanding history with AU Janeway. I did so much research for it (way back in the days before memory alpha and chakoteya.net) and I’m really proud of how I wound in canon stuff across series but changed a few key bits and pieces. Only problem is, it’s a sequel to ...

24. What fic do you desperately need to rewrite or edit?

... Pressure, which I can’t even read without cringing. My characterisation of Janeway, even Angry Maquis AU Janeway, is way over the top and there are moments that verge on Mills and Boon and give me first, second and third hand embarrassment. God, I’d love to rewrite it. Actually, that’s a lie. I want someone else to rewrite it so I can read it without covering my eyes and moaning.

25. What’s your most popular fanfic?

Desperate Measures, by about 70,000 light years, lol. Although Fragile Things beats it on bookmarks.

26. How do you come up with your fanfic titles?

You know what? A fair percentage of the time, I think of the title first and come up with a plot second. Aside from that, I prefer shorter, punchier titles that clearly tie into the story (Flight Risk, Speechless), though sometimes it’s song lyrics (Burn Our Horizons, your body like a searchlight) or a literary quote (Required to Bear, All the Devils are Here) or a turn of phrase from the story itself (The Prisons You Inhabit). Hey that was fun. Thanks for letting me pimp the shit out of my stories.

27. What do you hate more: Coming up with titles or writing summaries?

Ugh, it depends on the day. Summaries are harder, I think. I never want to give away too much of the plot, but there has to be enough there for people to know whether they’ll bother clicking. Funny story: I actually ran the stats on this a few months back. Here they are for your edification:

Fics with a one line plot summary = 54%

With two or three line plot summary = 18%

With a short snippet directly from the fic = 16%

With a snippet + a one line explanation = 3%

With a one line plot summary plus a line to date the fic (eg "set in season 3", “episode tag to Worst Case Scenario") or the fic prompt = 7%

And finally, a quote from something other than the fic = 2% (that's only 3 fics).

28. If someone were to draw a piece of fanart for your story, which story would it be and what would the picture be of?

Ooh. I’ll say the final scene in Explosive.

29. Do you have a beta reader? Why/Why not?

I used to regularly ask @jhelenoftrek​ and @littleobsessions90 to beta for me, and both of them are brilliant at it. Lately I’ve been posting without sending my stuff off for editing. This is partly because I’m impatient to get stuff out there, partly because I don’t have as much time to write/edit, and partly because I’m a little less focused on improving my writing and more on enjoying it for its own sake.

30. What inspires you to write?

Little bits of episode dialogue I haven’t noticed before, other people’s fanfiction, stray conversations, fic prompts, song lyrics, random headcanons, fever dreams, dares ...

31. What’s the nicest thing someone has ever said about your writing?

I’ve been really lucky with comments on my fic. The least helpful comment I’ve ever received was on one of my early 30k fics and all it said was “Did you have to take the name of the lord in vain?” Which is kind of funny. The nicest thing anyone’s ever said? I’m very partial to the feedback that starts “I don’t even like this pairing/genre/trope/show but you made me love it”, and particularly “I’ll read anything you write, I don’t care what it’s about.” But all comments are gold. The little heart button is cool too.

32. Do you listen to music when you write or does music inspire you? If so, which band or genre of music does it for you?

I’m not someone who can tune out music I love, or leave it in the background to inspire me. If it’s on, I’m fully invested in it. I’m that annoying person in the car who flips radio stations every three seconds until I find something I like and then it’s on 11 and I’m singing along to it. I’m also really picky but extremely eclectic, although there are genres I can’t stand (anything with autotune makes me stabby). That said, sometimes I find a song that I can’t stop listening to for weeks and often that perfect combination of music and lyrics will inspire me to write a fic. For example, I just plotted out an entire J/C story because of this song.

33. Do you write oneshots, multi-chapter fics or huuuuuge epics?

All of the above. Although I’m not sure if my longest epic is huuuuuge or just huuuge.

34. What’s the word count on your longest fic?

101,467.

35. Do you write drabbles? If so, what do you normally write them about?

I have two drabble collections. One is all J/C, full of responses to random prompts and I add to it sporadically. The other is episode additions set on Kathryn Janeway’s birthday (May 20) and added to annually.

36. What’s your favourite genre to write?

Angst, definitely. Sometimes it’s smutty angst or fluffy angst or hurt/comfort angst, but often it’s just fucking unrelenting angst. And I’m okay with that.

37. First person or third person - what do you write in and why?

I did the stats on this once, too, haha. Pretty sure I came out fairly even on first and third person with a smattering of second person in there. I’m probably even-ish on present vs past tense, too. I make it a point to mix it up to avoid my writing getting stale or same-y. And sometimes a fic doesn’t really click for me until I try it in a different POV or tense or from a different character’s perspective.

38. Do you use established canon characters or do you create OCs?

I mostly write for canon characters - the fun is in all the different ways you can interpret and imagine them - but I’ve been known to throw in the odd OC, or focus on a character who only got a brief cameo appearance, or write about someone who only appears in beta canon, or who only rates a mention on screen.

39. What is your greatest strength as a writer?

Oh, wow. I’m not sure. I guess the thing I value most about my own writing is my willingness to try different styles, characters, pairings and so on. The thing I strive for most is characterisation that feels true, and I really love it when I get comments on that. Exploring a character in a way that rings true with a reader is the best thing ever.

40. What do you struggle the most with in your writing?

Overly long sentences and adverb abuse, haha. No, truthfully, there comes a point in most of my fics, particularly the longer ones, when I really just want to scrap it because in my heart I know it’s dreadful. Usually that passes once I slog through the ‘I don’t wanna’ stage because I’m a bloody-minded bitch, but sometimes fics do get left in the dust half-written. Honestly, though, they’re the ones that probably should stay there.

Fanfiction Questions

41. List and link to 5 fanfics you are currently reading:

This is hilarious because I was just talking on discord about my problematic ‘to read’ pile. My unread AO3 subscription emails currently number 29 and my phone browser has 71 tabs open. So here are 5 random picks from that list of exactly 100 fics I should be reading:

Sex on the Beach (E, Janeway/Chakotay) by @traccigaryn​

The Ruby Ring (T, Janeway/Chakotay, Janeway/Tighe) by @trinfinity2001​

Earth is But an Idea (T, Janeway/Chakotay, Carter/O’Neill) by @caladeniablue​

Home (E, Janeway/Chakotay) by Cassatt

Wise Up (E, Janeway/Chakotay) by KimJ

42. List and link to 5 fanfiction authors who are amazing:

Only five? Shit. Okay. In no particular order, these are five of the writers I keep coming back to:

quantumsilver (also here)

northernexposure

LittleObsessions

Helen8462

Cheshire

But there are so many others. My chosen fandom is chock full of amazing talent.

43. Is there anyone in your fandom who really inspires you?

All of the authors above for various reasons, but also august because her writing is so spare and delicate and devastating, and runawaymetaphor because she writes the most delicious Janeway/Paris, and @seperis​ because I read In the Space of Seven Days literally 20 years ago and I still haven’t recovered, and I could be here all night raving on this topic but there are still many questions to get through.

44. What ship do you feel needs more attention?

Janeway x Paris. I’m so happy there’s been a little bit of a resurgence in J/P fics lately. Thanks, @curator-on-ao3​, you’re doing the lord’s work.

I’ll also take Janeway x Johnson content any day of the week.

45. What is your all time favourite fanfic?

What the hell? I can’t pick just one! Ugh!

... but okay, here’s the first one that came to mind when I tried to think about this: if you came this way by tree. I’m not sure I’d call it my favourite, but it’s one I revisit often. Ugh, there are so many other fics I’m thinking of now that I really want to list.

46. If someone was to read one of your fanfics, which fic would you recommend to them and why?

Oh, that’s hard. I should probably pick an angsty smutty J/C because that’s a fair proportion of what I write and it’s good to let a new reader know what they can expect. But honestly, I think the best fic I’ve written is The Uncharted Sea. (It’s safe for work. Maybe not for makeup.)

47. Archive Of Our Own, Fanfiction.net or Tumblr - where do you prefer to post and why?

The Archive, of course. Where else can I find ad-free hosting on a stunningly user-friendly interface with absolutely no moralising content restrictions and the world’s best tagging system? That Hugo award is well deserved.

Tumblr is good for headcanons and meta and gifsets and a few other formats that I’m less likely to post on AO3 because I’d feel like I was pissing off people who subscribe to me by giving them some random garbage.

I also have my own website, but I’m not really sure why. Sometimes I post fic there that doesn’t make it to tumblr or AO3.

48. Do you leave reviews when you read fanfiction? Why/Why not?

I try to. Honestly I do. I love it when I get reviews, so I figure paying it forward is the least I can do. I’m less scrupulous about leaving comments when I’m busy or reading on my phone.

49. Do you care if people comment/reblog your writing? Why/why not?

I mean, I love it when people reblog, but I certainly don’t expect it. @arcadia1995​ is amazing for reblogging stuff *blows kisses*

Nobody owes fanfic writers shit, but I feel like there’s a tacit agreement that if you like what you just read for free and you’re on a platform that makes it easy to do so, you leave a review or at least a kudos, because I’m not gonna lie, posting a fic you’ve worked super hard on and seeing it get very few kudos or comments is a bit deflating. I’m sure a lot of us have been there.

50. How did you get into reading and/or writing fanfiction?

During Voyager’s original run I was trawling the internet for Endgame spoilers (I don’t know why; I usually love surprises) and I guess I googled (or whatever the 2001 equivalent of googling was) something like “how does voyager get home” and somehow I stumbled across Revisionist History. At first I had no idea what I was reading - was this a lost story pitch that somehow got leaked? A professional novella commissioned by the showrunners?

Then I started following links and discovered yahoo groups and webrings and Trekiverse and fanfiction.net and all sorts of incredible things I’d never guessed at, including the now defunct ‘archipelago of angst’, a collection of Voyager writers who focused mainly on a darker Janeway than most of the other fic writers I was encountering, and I was hooked. So I wrote a few of my own pieces, and then I lost interest for 15 years. I’m still not sure how I got dragged back in.

51. Rant or Gush about one thing you love or hate in the world of fanfiction! Go!

Honestly, in what other way can I indulge my obsessions, hone my skills and talk about it endlessly with like-minded people? Where else can I instantly find a plethora of fiction about the exact topic I feel like reading about on my mobile device and for free? Fanfiction is fucking amazing and I’m so glad it exists in my life.

[professorbellarke]

Honestly a bit disappointed in the “traitor you love” moment. Am I crazy for wising it had been a quieter character moment instead? I love soft bellarke so much. Please convince me I’m wrong! im begging you, I don’t want to be a negative Nancy :(

OHHHH. Oh sweet honey baby, you have come to the right person! And I hope you have some time to relax and pull up a chair as the dining room proudly presents the thesis you didn’t ask for! This is going to be a long one.

Because I loved everything about that scene. Honestly, I loved the entire episode top to bottom, and I’ll tell you why. Because this story is a genre story. It is science fiction. And while good genre stories have intimate character moments and connections as the…I don’t know, the flesh and blood of a story, the BONES of genre fiction must be plot. And sometimes, it feels like The 100 carves away too much of that flesh and blood to focus on the bones, when the blood is what makes us care about the bones (this metaphor went cannibal places, oh no). BUT THAT MOMENT! Ohh, that moment, sweet anonymous, was the perfect fusion of flesh and bone. Heart and head. Plot and character. In other words it was our beloved Bellamy’s favorite thing:

!!!!!!HIGH DRAMA!!!!!!!!!!

One of the things I love best about genre fic is that everything—even and especially emotional revelations and turning points—must be done in the most dramatic way possible. It’s ingrained in the dna of the genre, and I’m always disappointed when sci fi and plots take the easy way out. No, I don’t want a magical amulet that’ll just fix everything! YAWN AND SNOOZE AND OO. The 100 never does this, which means it always pushes its characters into impossible corners, forcing them to make unthinkable choices, and that is what I love. If there’s an easy way out, like say, a space station that can shelter Skaikru from the radiation, THE 100 BLOWS IT UP. I LOVE WHEN SHOWS BLOW THINGS UP! I want the drama so explosive that my nose is three inches from the screen because I’m so eager for what’s next that I’m trying to physically leap into the story. I like the stakes SO HIGH that I’m in a constant state of tension. It’s why I’m obsessed with this show. It’s why it’s also not for everyone.

But like I said, this show is at its best when it has the character stakes and the plot stakes working in harmony. 5x08 was a masterclass in that.

For an example in how stakes make a story, Clarke’s radio could have worked (ignore science, I don’t know her, I know only story.) So Spacekru could have known she was alive the whole time, she and Bellamy could have had merry chats across space, she could have told them about her berries, they could have laughed together about that time Murphy slid into a coma, lol, classic Murphy. Then Spacekru could have come bback down when the five years were up, because of course they had enough fuel, and then Clarke would be waiting for them and yay! Good times.

Good snooze.

I have read really good fics that are about this exact thing. They’re cozy, dreamy, romantic, and beautiful. They fill a crack in my heart formed by the agony of Praimfaya. They are also NOT MARKETABLE GENRE STORIES BEING EXPLORED ON THE SCREEN. There are certain expectations there. You need obstacles before you earn the payoff. Bellamy must think Clarke is DEAD!!! And learn to move on without her! And Clarke must talk to him EVERY DAY because the thing that keeps her going is that he’ll come BACK TO HER! BUT THEY CAN’T GET BACK BECAUSE NO FUEL!!!! BUT CLARKE IS IN TROUBLE AND NEEDS THEM NOW!!! Ahhh! The stakes raise with every plot twist. And we’re personally invested to boot.

Bellamy could have learned Clarke was alive in a million ways, by stepping out of the dropship and seeing her waiting, by hearing her on the radio, on and on. But it’s so much better that they reunited in the climactic scene of the WHOLE EPISODE. That the first time Clarke sees him in six years is through a haze of pain, when all hope is lost, and then there is hope. Her drama bae. Dramatically saving her life like no time at all has passed. The whole plot of 5x03 was Bellarke reuniting! That’s what the stakes were. Will Bellamy get to Clarke in time? First he must overcome the fact that he’s stuck in space, and then that he thinks she’s dead, and that Diyoza will kill him, and ack it’s getting harder because Clarke is getting in deeper water by the second!

I LIVE FOR THIS. Those are the moments I watch over and over and over again.

So Octavia could have thrown out that “lol, you love Clarke, you’re so lame, sick burn Blodreina well done have a humansnack ration” at any time in the episode to try to get a rise out of him. But they saved it. For when it counted most. For when it would have the most impact for us and for them.

Bellamy (and the writers) didn’t just not deny that Bellamy loves Clarke. No, Bellamy’s love for Clarke was declared by the narrative while he was POISONING HIS SISTER to SAVE CLARKE’S LIFE as the FATE OF ENTIRE SOCIETIES AND THE LAST LIVABLE PLACE IN THE WORLD HANG IN THE BALANCE. BUT NONE OF THAT MATTERS AS MUCH AS HIS LOVE FOR CLARKE! HIS LOVE FOR CLARKE WAS THE FINAL PLOT TWIST, THE TURNING POINT, THE STRAW THAT BROKE THE BELLAMY’S BACK! BELLARKE WAS THE PLOT!!! THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PLOT!!!!!!

That is my ABSOLUTE JAM RIGHT THERE oh my god. Oh my god I can’t even word about it. Yes, I love quiet character moments. I love them so much. And this show could use more of them. Honestly, this episode was so strong because it not only HAD them, but it let us feel them: Bellarke in the tent, Monty and Harper planning their happy farmlives, Emori and Murphy having a very sad second breakup in the woods while McCreary cursed his entire existence, Raven and Echo holding hands, Raven breaking down with Zeke at the end. From a character point of view, this episode was a gift.

But one of the things I’ve always loved best about Bellarke is that their emotional beats are TIED DIRECTLY INTO THE PLOT IN THE BIGGEST WAY. The stakes in their relationship are literally world-changing, life or death, apocalypses and war and, well, epic, in the Logan Echolls sense. What’s the first time the word love is used in connection to Clarke’s feelings for Bellamy? WHEN SHE’S SENDING HIM TO SACRIFICE HIMSELF IN MT WEATHER. When is the first time Clarke realizes how much losing Bellamy will hurt her? When she closes the dropship door on him and believes she has just killed him herself. Who is the one person on earth Clarke cannot sacrifice, even if THE ENTIRE HUMAN RACE HANGS IN THE BALANCE? Bellamy freaking Blake, that’s who. Your OTP could never.

I love quiet, subtle, low drama Bellarke in my fan fiction, so very much. They deserve to have a break and so do we. But there’s a reason that never happens on screen—because that’s not Story, in the classic way of sci fi and fantasy, where the stakes are magnified. I had a writing professor who liked to use the common writing adage Twist the knife. You stab them right where it hurts, but you don’t just leave it there. You twist it. You milk it for everything its got.

Everything in genre fiction must be bigger. It takes the themes of our world and blows them up by adding bloodier stakes. It’s the same interpersonal struggles, but instead of you losing a job or a friend, you lose a kingdom. You lose a planet. Genre stakes are both personal and external, and the really good genre stories manage to fuse them—which is what they’ve done with Bellarke since day one. The fate of the hundred, of skaikru, of spacekru, of humanity, rested on Bellamy and Clarke being able to forge a working partnership.

And, spoiler alert, they did. And now they have to fucking kiss, hopefully in a moment of high plot-related drama as well.

I know fiction is objective and you super don’t have to agree with me. But I’m a high stakes ho, and 5x08 gave me my high stakes fix. Thank you for coming to the TED talk you only a little bit asked for.

[tamalam11]

5 Ways S5 Failed Us

an I’m-Still-Bitter-Almost-3-Months-Later Post Mortem (part 4/5)

Bellarke Who? - as individuals -

Full disclosure: I have never loved a ship more than I love Bellarke. They are my OTP to end all OTPs. So if that’s not your thing, bail out now (Also, this is gonna be a long one- you’ve been warned. So long, in fact, that I’ve now broken it into 2 posts- individuals & Ship). I read the book. The first edition. The one with just the words “The 100″ across the white cover with pictures of people in space inside the letters. I picked it up at the library because it has a “coming soon to the CW” sticker on it. Bellarke owned my ass by the time I finished it. So I went into The 100 TV series already expecting them to be a thing. Waiting for all the book Bellarke moments to happen. Fast Forward 5 seasons and not quite 5 years later-- I’m still waiting. 

Book Bellamy Blake captivated me from the first line of his first chapter. Bob Morely took an already brilliant character and made him utterly fascinating. Bellamy, it’s safe to say (tied with Stiles Stilinski probably), is my favorite male fictional tv character ever. Or. He was. Until S5 happened and made him almost unrecognizable. I was on the Hashtag Not My Bellamy bandwagon, not gonna lie. My Bellamy’s actions are always driven by love; whether they were wrong or not, the motivations behind them were pure. A near psychotic love for and devotion to his sister was first and foremost. Six years is a long time, yes. People change, yes. Especially when they think the person they were closest to in the world (Octavia not withstanding) has died, so that they could have a chance to live. Bellamy spent 6 years trying to make sure that Clarke didn’t die in vain. He spent 6 years with the sole purpose of trying to get back to his sister. He kept his promise to Clarke to use his head more and not let his heart alone rule him. 

Bloody. HELL. *Epiphany explodes in my face*  Am I suppose to believe that that’s why he betrayed Clarke by helping convince Madi to take the flame? That even though he knew it wasn’t what Clarke wanted, even though, as Madi herself says, “Clarke will never forgive you”, even though it wasn’t even really what he himself wanted-- it was the smartest thing. A decision he made with his head, because it wasn’t what his heart would’ve done. The very act of betraying Clarke, was, in fact, only in keeping with what Clarke herself had asked him to do. Shiiiiiiiiit. (Now I need to go rewatch the whole season and ask myself is Bellamy “Using His Head” Here? every time he does something.) BUT!! That doesn’t explain his complete and utter assholery toward Octavia. Okay, so your sister is the leader of a gladiator blood cult. AND she tried to kill the love of your life. And THEN she threw you into nearly certain death when you almost killed her to stop her. But telling her you wished she was dead?? Telling her you don’t love her and she’s not your family anymore?? That just doesn’t jive. Not after a lifetime of basically being her father. Not after 6 years of waiting to be reunited with her. Be mad. Need some space for as long as you want. But, when you’re literally one of only thousands of people left in the Universe, when blood family is so rare, when you’re literally the living embodiment of any hope & humanity left in a person-- don’t be a dick to them dude! My Bellamy would feel that.          

And then we have Clarke herself. Who paced L/xa’s battle tent in S2, worried that she’d gotten Bellamy killed by sending him into Mount Weather, and stalked the radio in Raven’s shop waiting to hear from him. Clarke, who we have never seen more relived than every time she found out Bellamy was still alive - the hug at the gates of Arcadia in 2x05, seeing him under the mountain in 2x16, when they’re reunited in 5x04. Unless it was the relief we see in 3x13 during the beach scene (my 3rd favorite Bellarke scene after 4x13 and Hakeldama) when Bellamy forgives her and Bellarke hug No.2 happens. Clarke, who spent literally ever day for 6 years calling Bellamy once a day to stay sane. Because he’s her person. Because she loves him. And then she leaves him to die?!  No. Nope. He betrayed her, yes. She’s devastated, yes. But abandoning him to die?? After she knows he poisoned his sister to save Clarke's own life?? And she had time to think about it. To go back. To try and save him. And pre-S5 Clarke would have. But nearly unrecognizable end-of-Season-5 Clarke, with her shock collaring of children, and serial killer saving- what does she do? She drives away from her handcuffed & captured best friend and doesn't look back. And we never see her mourn. We never really see much of a reaction at all from her. (And if Bellamy and Clarke have swapped their roles, as we’ve been led to believe, and Clarke is now the heart of this duo-- it doesn't make sense for her to show no emotion.) Until-- she finds out he’s alive. Then... relief, regret, tears. Almost too little, too late Clarke comes to her senses and allows Madi to go with E/cho, telling the Azgeda warrior to go save Bellamy. 

...and any E/cho mention seems like a good place to stop....

[thelovelylights]

@ your tags about the radio, BUT REALLY THOUGH. There’s also that scene in 2x11 where she talks to Bellamy and comes up with a plan. Then there’s when they’re in Mount Weather and she shoots Wallace and makes Cage listen so he knows she’s not bluffing when she says she’s going to irradiate the level. Then there’s her saying “don’t wait” in 4x13 to Raven and Bellamy when she saves all their asses. Bonus: she calls Bellamy every day for six years like a boss and put Noah to shame.

Clarke x Radio The true OTP

Clarke x Lever Anti’s found dead in Miami

[raven-reyes-of-sunshine]

45 for the OTP prompts omg please my heart won't be able to take it

Here you go, babe! Hopefully this improves your shitty week (writing it kind of improved mine). 💖💖💖 

Operation; GCGL

Clarke Griffin has known Bellamy Blake forever. He was her best friends brother, who somehow went from the most annoying person in the world, to one of her favourites. He’s been there for every memory she has. Grazing her knees while trying to stop kids in his grade picking on Jasper when she was six, Bellamy had run over and pushed them away from her. He’d taught her and O how to ride their bikes without training wheels. He’d been the one that encouraged her to paint the walls of her tree house, despite what her parents said. He was who she went to when her first boyfriend cheated on her, when she failed her first test and when didn’t know how to tell her parents she didn’t want to go to med school. He was there for her high school graduation and when her dad had been killed in a car accident. He helped her figure out her sexuality and dealt with the mess of her last relationship.

Bellamy’s always been there for her. And somewhere along the line, Clarke fell in love with him. But he sees her as another sister, one he’s only slightly less protective over and slightly more inclined to get drunk with. He’s someone she goes to when she’s moody or bored and just wants to hang out. She wants to spend the majority of her time with him, but she can’t. Because they’re just friends.

Which is what she’s telling Raven while they get ready for Monty’s twenty-third birthday. She’s also messaging Bellamy, who is complaining about having to go out on a Friday night. He acts an awful lot like a seventy year old man, given he’s only two years older than them.

“Are you’re sure he doesn’t like you back?” Raven asks, rummaging through Clarke’s makeup bag and pulling out a red lipstick that Clarke had recently bought but not been game to try. “Because I’m not.”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Clarke shrugs. “He treats me the same as Octavia.” She’s leaning into the mirror, carefully running her eyeliner over Raven’s handiwork on her eyelid.

“He definitely doesn’t. And even if he did, he doesn’t look at you the way he looks at Octavia.” Raven scoffs, rolling her eyes. “And I can prove it.” Raven waves the lipstick that Clarke had thought she was going to use on herself in front of Clarke’s face.

“I’m not wearing that.” Clarke says, mostly because she doesn’t know how to not argue.

“You want me to prove that he’s into you?”

“He’s not, but go on.” Clarke mutters, reaching for her drink. She’s too sober for this.

“You show up, wearing this and the black dress we bought the other day and then show him that you like him.” Raven says excitedly.

“Show him that I like him?” Clarke repeats dubiously.

“Up your flirting game, Griffin.” Raven says, waggling her eyebrows. “Seduce him.”

Clarke sighs.  It’s not like she doesn’t flirt with Bellamy, it’s just very low key. She sends him slightly cuter Snapchats than she does the rest of their friends and she always makes sure she seeks him out first when they go somewhere as a group. But they’ve been friends for so long that it would be weird if she suddenly started brushing up against him or make casual innuendos.

Which of course is exactly what Raven tells her to do. And with each extra sip of her drink, she’s somehow convinced that maybe it’s a good idea to at least let Bellamy know she’s interested. Then the ball is in his court. He can politely turn her down or pretend it never happened.

“Or maybe he’ll shove you up against a wall and finally make a move.” Raven suggests, a shit eating grin on her face. “Commencing Operation; get Clarke Griffin laid.”

“Shut the fuck up.” Clarke mutters and then groans when she hears the words repeated back at her. Raven recorded it. She groans again when she looks down at her phone and sees the video from Raven in the group chat.

*

Half an hour later she’s adjusting the skirt of her dress and checking her lipstick in the reflection of her phone as they walk into Monty’s favourite bar. They’re a little late, so they immediately spot their friends crammed around a table in the back corner.

“Commencing operation; GCGL.” Raven whispers and it takes everything in Clarke not to smack her as they cross the bar.

“You made it!” Monty cries enthusiastically, scampering over Jasper to throw himself at Clarke and Raven. “Jasper got me drunk.”

“Of course he did.” Raven grins.

“Hey.” Clarke glances over and sees Bellamy sliding out of his seat and stepping beside her. Time to do this. She leans in to give him a hug, which isn’t unusual but she makes sure to linger a little longer than necessary. It’s instantly worth it when he doesn’t pull away until she lets go. Raven gives her another grin, before purposefully turning her back to them and engaging Octavia and Miller in a conversation.

“Want to come get a drink?” She asks, putting her hand on his arm. She feels his muscles tense under the black button down he’s wearing and she rolls her eyes at him. He can’t help but show off and now that Raven’s put the idea in her head, she can’t help but think it’s for her.

“Sure thing, princess.” He says, leading the way back across the crowded room to the bar. She lets him order the first round, accepting the vodka cranberry and taking a sip through the straw. She doesn’t miss the way his eyes linger on her lips and maybe Raven was right? She raises her eyebrows questioningly at him and it’s hard to tell in the dimly lit bar, but she’s pretty sure he’s blushing.

“You look great.” He tells her.

“I know.” She smirks. “You don’t look so bad yourself.”

“Very humble.” He mutters, putting a hand on her back as they cross the room again.

They return to their table, sliding into the booth which is now so crowded that she has to press into him to not fall off the seat. Not that she’s complaining, unnecessary touching was part of Raven’s plan. After fifteen minutes, Bellamy seems to give up and lifts his arm, draping it over the back of the chair and allowing Clarke to tuck herself into his side.

As the night gets later and Clarke gets only slightly tipsier, she finds it easier to flirt with Bellamy. A hand on his leg as she leans over the table for her drink, one hand on his arm when she laughs at his jokes, a compliment between the teasing insults they always drop. She’s being so obvious she’s getting a look from Miller, who normally just minds his own business. But at least that means Bellamy has to have noticed. Even if he isn’t acting any differently right now. There’s no way he hasn’t noticed.

“Let’s dance.” Octavia calls as she returns to the table with a pitcher of whatever she and Raven had been drinking.

“O.” Lincoln mutters, shaking his head as she tries to drag him and Raven out of the booth.

“Dance with me?” Clarke asks, in what she decides is her final attempt at seducing him. If this doesn’t work, she’s going to accept that he’s not interested.

Bellamy glances at Miller with what looks like panic in his eyes, but Miller looks away. Clarke is about the give him the easy option out, when he finally concedes and laces their fingers together, letting her lead him to the small space that doubles as a dance floor.

She wraps her arms loosely around his neck in a way that could be platonic if you squinted and can’t help but smile when he puts his hands on her waist. Raven smirks at her and mouths something that looks suspiciously like ‘Operation GCGL,’ but mercifully leads Octavia and Lincoln to the other side of the dance floor.

After a slow song that has them swaying in a circle and teasing each other about their dancing technique, the music changes to something she doesn’t recognise but has a lot of bass. Before she can overthink it, she pulls him closer and tightens her arms around his nick. He freezes for a second, but then wraps his arms around her waist.

“You’re killing me, princess.” Bellamy whispers, leaning forward so their foreheads are almost touching.

“Am I?” She breathes, leaning in further.

“All night.” He mutters, meeting her eye. “And basically always. But you’re drunk, I’m not doing anything tonight.”

“I’m not drunk.” Clarke whispers. “I’ve had like two drinks since I’ve gotten here.” Her head still reeling for his confession. Basically always? Does that mean what she thinks it does?

“If I kiss you right now, I won’t be able to stop.” Bellamy confesses, ducking his head so his mouth is pressed to the corner of hers.

“I don’t want you to stop. This is what I wanted.”

“Fuck it.” Bellamy pulls her closer and puts one hand on the back of her neck. “Promise me you’re not going to regret this in the morning?”

“I promise.” She tugs him down so his mouth finally meets hers. Kissing Bellamy is a lot like she always imagined. He’s warm and insistent, like he is with everything they do. He tastes a little like the beer he’s been drinking and a little like the gum and a little like home. It’s perfect and she never wants to stop. She can’t help the little whine that escapes when he pushes closer still and opens his mouth. But then he pulls away.

“Actually killing me.” He whispers, gently pushing a lock of her hair of her face and tucking it behind her ear.

“I tried.” She says, pressing a kiss to his jaw. She misses the contact of his lips on hers but they should probably have a conversation before they make out anymore. If only to make sure they’re on the same page before they do – anything else.

“You tried to kill me?” He teases.

“To seduce you.” She says, willing the flush off her face. This is important and Bellamy deserves to know how she feels. Especially because (and it pains her to admit it) Raven was right.  He seems to love her back. “But I definitely don’t want a one time seduction.”

“Just to clarify, I’ve been into you forever.” Bellamy tells her. “And you tried to kill me tonight, to seduce me permanently.”

“Or to be your girlfriend.” She laughs a little, giddy with excitement because after years of wanting and not thinking her feelings were returning, she’s finally got Bellamy.

“Girlfriend sounds perfect.” He agrees, kissing her again.

“Operation; GCGL is a success!”  Raven shouts, interrupting their kiss. “Now take this somewhere else so we don’t have to watch.”

On AO3.

[sly2o]

This is just a quick PSA that I’m going to be posting a lot more general The 100 Crack and less Bellarke crack than usual as a result of the premiere. 

A way less quick spewing of details/complaining/meta under the cut on why I feel that way and where I think the season is going.

Alright friends I have to admit... the premiere put a damper on my “IT’S HAPPENING THIS SEASON” Bellarke torch. 

After the premiere I got the distinct feeling that we are going to get the 3A experience again where Clarke and Bellamy are doing very similar but slightly different storylines. 

In 3A, we had Clarke and Bellamy learning about leadership. Clarke learned about it from Lexa, and Bellamy learned about it from Pike. One had romantic overtones, and the other had mentorship/familial overtones. (Bob has previously quipped about saying “let me know which one of you will be my dad” to the actors for Pike and Kane when they got into a debate during the filming of S3). 

For 5A (and maybe 5B), I think we’re getting two very similar stories again that follow that same pattern but flipped. One has romantic overtones (see: Bellamy x Echo), and the other has mentorship/familial overtones (Clarke described as Madi’s mother). 

What they are learning about, I’m not sure, but I think it’s answering that “Who am I?” question we saw in the Serpent trailer, and asked again by Clarke during the premiere. We also saw Bellamy accusing Murphy of having lost his sense of identity, so I think it’s already shaping up to be a prevalent theme.. maybe this needs to be its own meta, but I don’t know if there’s enough details available yet. 

I digress.

Putting my Bellarke glasses on - this is flipping of who they are partnered with for learning this lesson is good. Clarke has lots of experience the ups and down of romantic love, and Bellamy has lots of experience with the highs and lows of family love. They are going to come out of this season understanding themselves and each other better than ever before. But at the same time... I enjoyed that they each brought this separate perspective to their relationship. Do they really need to learn each others lessons on their own? We’ve already seen these stories... I hope the writers prove me wrong. I love a parallel, but I don’t need a repeat. 

Anyways, although I think the Bellamy x Echo relationship will be stress tested, I am not convinced we’ll get an immediate break-up. And I know people talk about how Bellamy will run straight from Echo to Clarke’s arms... but if Bellamy does love Echo I think he will need a time of mourning if they breakup or she dies. They’ve been hanging out every single day for over six years. You don’t just forget someone when you’ve been through that.

At this point I’m at a bit of a pessimistic “can’t wait for the crumbs JR will serve up in the finale!” attitude. 

I hope that changes.

But at this point I’m lowering my expectations because I currently think I will have to wait another season to see my OTP together on screen. 

I mean - Clarke and Bellamy might say each others names for the first time this season next episode so I guess things can only go up from here.

[kinetic-elaboration]

December 10: Thoughts on 1x08 Day Trip

Wow it’s been a long time since the last installment of my re-watch. That’s okay. I’m continuing now with Day Trip; here are some notes:

This is something I should have realized ages ago but Clarke actually says in her voice over that the Ark has kept them alive for “three generations.” So in other words they (JRoth et al) know, explicitly, that their timeline doesn’t make sense!!! Three generations means Clarke’s grandparents were Grounders. How tf did they get so many people so motherfucking fast?? Generation 1 must have had 15 kids each.

Netflix subtitles suck: “Earth is survival. Mankind if going home.” Thanks Jaha, that’s helpful.

The dual sides of Miller: breaking bad news to parents, then down for some murder. I wish we knew what made him turn around re: Grounders during the S2-S3 hiatus. Did he and Lincoln became buds?

Also speaking of Miller, before S3 I didn’t like him much, tbqh, and even now that he’s a low-key fave I still laughed when Lincoln head-butted him and he went down. Because I mean he really goes down, it’s hilarious.

So for some reason I remember reading that S1 is supposed to be roughly October and S2 is roughly November. And I live just a tad south of where the show takes place so I know something of VA winters (or as I like to call them “winters”) and, yeah, October IS probably when people who don’t know what seasons are should start worrying about the cold. So this episode’s story line makes sense in and of itself. But my question is: why was winter never actually a problem??? Like there’s been snow in the background on occasion but literally no one has ever been cold? It’s such a bizarre problem to just jump up front and center in ONE EPISODE and then, without being remotely solved, just disappear entirely from view. This has bugged me for years and will continue bugging me forever. [Actually ETA everyone forgets about winter about a third of the way through the ep so literally it’s not even an issue for a full 40 minutes.]

Kane: look at this supply depot I learned about from “civil defense plans from before the war.” First, later retconning says there was no war so what’s that about? And second and more importantly I get giddy whenever I hear “civil defense plans” because whoah-boy do I have a whole cache of trivia about those!!

“The 100 would die from exposure before help arrives.” They are really assuming exposure-death is going to happen like NOW aren’t they? That’s unrealistic, October is not that cold. (Fuck, October this year was like 80 degrees.) Also, again, no one is ever chilly, not in this episode or any subsequent episode. Please explain.

I had a semi-theory about Bellarke and leadership and here’s another data point for when/if I put that together: Clarke is seen as the leader from the POV of the Ark leadership, going all the way back to their first contact. This is somewhat understandable, given that Bellamy, still a fugitive, can’t be having one-on-one chats with the Chancellor. Plus, Clarke’s lineage makes her an obvious point person. So here we see the different spheres of leadership further dividing: Clarke still isn’t (I don’t think) really a leader to the kids but she IS a leader from the point of view of the adults. This paves the way for Bellamy to be side-lined in S2 when the Ark comes down, because he was never a leader in their understanding.

They’re even breaking up ice from the dropship seats--that’s an early frost right there. A frost we never see again!

I love the socialist delinquent collective. We needed more of this, everyone working together and shit. Could have sustained like 4 seasons on that.

ALSO THERE ARE JASPER AND MONTY I LOVE THEM.

As far as I know, Dax is the only delinquent with an actual violent past. And of course he doesn’t last long. Also interesting for my purposes how Shumway manipulates him: with favors, including a “choice assignment.” Fits my theory that one’s job is one’s life.

It’s been a long time since I watched a S1 ep but apparently Bellarke are still pretending they don’t like each other. Interesting. Man to follow the twists of this relationship requires watching more than one episode every six months. I’m just going to say this here but there is no way that it would make sense to have “I don’t want to be around anyone I actually like,” even said not-entirely-seriously, coincide with “Clarke run away with me” all within one 40 minute episode. Like honestly cutting that dialogue was SUCH a good idea.

Jasper and Monty are the best everyone else GO HOME RIGHT NOW. Here we see Monty having literally no idea how to actually cheer Jasper up because Jasper is legitimately terrified of the future and Monty survives on dry wit and nihilism. I do appreciate how that bit of disconnect grows and grows over the course of the next four seasons.

#Awkward love triangle alert. Honestly I don’t hate it as much as other people but the worst of it is that it puts Raven in this position where she just doesn’t shine as bright as we all know she can.

Miller is really not a great guard. Just wanders away from Lincoln and lets Octavia in to set him free. That’s the opposite of “guarding.”

Octavia’s like a totally different person in current-canon. She doesn’t even have the same voice anymore.

I don’t know if this is a fair criticism given that current-canon Octavia is hardly what anyone would call mentally stable but in a certain sense I wish she’d been...more explicitly fucked up? Like I can’t always tell if the ridiculous things she thinks are meant to be read as ridiculous. For example, “I’m sorry I freaked out when you kidnapped me, it’s because of my childhood” is deeply ironic. It IS because of her childhood--her childhood makes her incapable of understanding that kidnapping is wrong. But that’s not what she thinks she’s saying. But, like, is that what the writers think she’s saying? I’m not really sure. Are they on the same page as Octavia, or are they like me, on a plane above? Maybe I should have more trust in them, but did you see S4? Mmmmm hard to trust after that.

Speaking of O being fucked up, this story line would make somewhat more sense if Lincoln were actually a bad guy. It’s hard to reconcile the Stockholm Syndrome-y elements of their love story with him being, from like 1x08 on, basically a stand up fellow in every respect. Not that I don’t love Lincoln as is. It’s just that I kind of have to throw out whole episodes of characterization to make him make sense.

“I want you to remember me after I’m dead.... This only ends one way” could have been long-term foreshadowing except that we all know why Lincoln was really killed off. Plus there are too many twists and turns along the way.

Miller thinks he can give Lincoln a beating when Lincoln literally felled him with his hands tied, I mean, wow, glad you have some self-confidence at least.

Nothing will ever beat the aesthetic of Bellarke at the depot site. Also Clarke is so convinced that Jaha will be lenient on Bellamy when if she just thought about the events of her father’s death with some degree of care she’d realize that perhaps (and don’t get me wrong I love Jaha, but just maaaybe) he’s not someone to count on for forgiveness or rule-breaking. Possibly. He’s just too unpredictable. Also what is Clarke carrying, and where tf are they supposed to be? There’s like a...Colosseum there??

I think that by S3 Raven has a crush on Octavia but I also think that this Octaven scene is evidence that they were never actually friends and that Octavia, in particular, really honestly likes almost no one except Bellamy (partially out of obligation because that is NOT a healthy relationship), Jasper, Monty, and Lincoln.

Do they have furs??

Raven is so beautiful. She is the most beautiful.

Clarke has some kind of knitted thing on her ankle. The costuming on this show is A+. Wow.

I’m not sure what I think this “supply depot” is supposed to be. Why didn’t they just call it what it really is: a “bunker”? It looks sort of official (”Supply depot #22″) and it’s on the civil defense plans so it’s obviously a government site. But was it intended for government relocation (conceivable, Mt. Weather and Raven Rock are the big ones but there are others on the East Coast) or for civilians? My understanding is that the civilian shelters were mostly above ground. They were for re-location post-blast, away from the major cities. I’m also semi-confused as to why it’s in such bad shape. They built good bunkers during the Cold War, and that’s true in this universe too: Mt. Weather survived, and so did Murphy’s lighthouse bunker. Why is this one such shit?

Bellamy Blake/Guns: The true OTP. I know we all gush over Bellarke but has he ever smiled at Clarke the way he smiled at that firearm? I’m afraid not.

Jasper’s first words while high are “Earth is scary” and yet the jobi nuts are what he wants to ingest for fun during his last days on Earth. Not realistic.

“You’re acting weird.” / “I’m feeling weird, but in a good way.” WINK. BRING DEVON BACK FOR A FLASHBACK EPISODE THAT IS JUST JONTY ON SPACE WEED FOR FORTY MINUTES.

He says “Earth is scary” before he sees the Grounder hallucination so what prompted that observation?? Is that just his unfiltered thought all the time? Poor Jasper, so sad all the time.

The Jasper & Octavia friendship was so meaningful, and so beautiful, and I miss it. (Sidenote: Octavia does know how to sew, and sewing is one of her jobs in the camp, fits with my other theories, good.) I love that Jasper’s the sort of person who wants “I love you” to be the last words he says to someone before his certain death.

....Well I just realized something. FUCK EVERYTHING. We’re not gonna think about that.

(This is why I don’t want to watch S5, because I’m afraid it will distort even more my otherwise pleasant experiences watching the show’s first two actually-good seasons.)

“Here buddy, take this.” I know I point out this line every time I watch this ep but BUDDY. He’s the little brother of the group I don’t make the rules. Also of importance: “You’re bombed.”

I love sneaky-Octavia and frankly I don’t think she gets enough credit for being sly. I wish they hadn’t played up her great warrior prowess as much because it’s totally unrealistic, but that she has a natural head for low-level treachery is reasonable. Also she and Clarke could have teamed up for some Slytherin-y evil-plan fun times.

READY TO BE A BADASS CLARKE.

This learning-to-shoot scene, in all its cliche flirty glory, is officially the moment Bellarke became endgame, jsyk. They’re hot, he’s obviously attracted to her, they snark at each other, there’s touching involved, they’re bonding over a (newly) common interest....

Clarke at least obviously perceives them as co-leaders (following the “for now we make the rules” Charlotte story); she wants to talk about how they’re going to deal with the guns in camp. Those questions interest me a lot and, hey, do we ever find out how they DO deal with them, like what the rules for access to weaponry are? All that government-building stuff is of interest to me but w/e. Meanwhile, Bellamy sees Clarke as the obvious (sole) leader in his absence (he tells her to keep Miller close).

Bellamy’s experience with the glitter berries is ALSO negative, yet he also chooses to use them as a party drug. Maybe I just don’t have enough experience with drugs but is that not odd??

Jaha would definitely refer to the victims of the culling as “320 souls” who were “sacrificed” but is this also how Bellamy thinks of them? As SOULS? Or is he just really good at keeping his hallucinations IC?

Clarke playing with the bendy gun is the second most hilarious thing in this episode, second only to Lincoln knocking Miller out using his head. Clarke’s a riot. She would be so fun when drunk.

My entire Miller-is-a-drama-nerd headcanon comes from a post someone made about that 2-second moment he’s standing there talking to himself while high and I have NO REGRETS. It’s canon.

“Finn, babe, I know you’re grievously injured and need to stay lying down but the whole camp’s nutter-butter for some unknown reason so get your butt out here to enjoy the hilarity. This is priority one.”

Shame on everyone who doesn’t properly appreciate Stoner!Monty. SHAME.

Clarke is so efficient she uses her state of intoxication to do some problem solving.

She’s obviously a Daddy’s Girl. The excessive use of the word ‘kiddo’ alone basically confirms.

“Forgiveness isn’t about what people deserve” is a criminally underrated line. Especially given the running thread of forgiveness and absolution through the whole show. I agree with that meta from back in the day that Bellarke’s view of forgiveness in the first two seasons is shallow, that it’s harder than just “if you want forgiveness, I’ll give it to you” but I still think there’s something there in Clarke’s initial glitter-berry-fueled realization.

You know what I had always previously assumed that Raven was high when she said “You are the most beautiful broom in a broom closet of brooms” and I wondered, you know, why she chose to eat the nuts AFTER she saw the full effects of them, but now I think she was sober and that was her way of taking care of Connor (?). Because she doesn’t sound space-y when she says it, and at the same time Finn is dumping nuts into the fire and then he says “I got this one,” about another delinquent who is high, which makes it seem a lot more like they’re wrangling their wasted compatriots rather than getting wasted themselves. Which brings up the inevitable question: how did Raven and Connor get to talking about brooms??

Bellamy has explicit suicidal urges but also sees suicide, or death, as something he doesn’t really deserve. Which is fucked up but also...I wish that had come up more explicitly in S4 when so many other characters, including characters he interacts with, start talking about ending their lives. He tells himself (I’m assuming this is him and not Dax speaking through Jaha) that “life is a struggle.” Here he frames it as ‘the struggle of life is what you deserve as punishment for your sins,’ which is interesting enough though bleak, but perhaps he could find some slightly-less-bleak framing of it a (canon-verse) year later?

Bellamy’s confused face when he realizes his gun is a hallucination is the third most hilarious part of this episode.

The Bellarke story line in this episode (both in the sense of the Bellarke-relationship and the Bellamy and Clarke intersecting story lines) IS SO GOOD. Hot damn.

This scene by the tree is also why I still haven’t forgiven Clarke, like 10 years later, for walking away in 2x16. Because Bellamy didn’t run! She asked him to stay and he stayed! She offered him forgiveness and he knew, I’m sure, on some level, that it wasn’t that simple but he still came back! And she couldn’t do that for him.

“All I think about is how to keep everyone alive. But we don’t have a choice.” Already she’s seeing their leadership as pre-ordained (I think in part to alleviate her guilt for all of the things she’s already had to do as a leader, which we see in her convo with her dad weigh on her heavily), and this is the weakness Lxa exploits in S2. The hero/martyr complex.

Bellamy and Clarke walking into camp with the guns = the reason I’m bi.

Bellarke are so smart in this convo with Jaha: Clarke gives her speech first, and then Bellamy’s like “I see that doesn’t convince you, how about some of the coin of the Ark-realm: we make a deal. You live, I live. Everyone wins!”

Lol @ Finn thinking he’s a part of the leadership team.

I feel like one way of summarizing S1 was “how the first people back on Earth after the nuclear apocalypse set themselves up for another apocalypse” but then the show kind of...didn’t go there? Like they make their Oppenheimer references and there’s tons of stuff about accidental escalation and accidental war (a big fear during the Cold War irl btw), and Finn even lays it out here in this conversation with Clarke: bringing in guns is a first step down a dangerous road; this is how it starts. What happened to that whole theme?

I know I talk shit about this show a lot (probably more outside of tumblr than on, actually) but I really do honestly love it, at least in its first two seasons. Like this episode...that was some good shit.

[bellblakes]

@hiddenpolkadots

lmao you think you're really important, don't you? i wasn't aware of your existence until your post was sent to me

maybe you should start caring about poc and bi issues when they affect other real poc and bisexuals, instead of throwing us under the bus to protect your shitty straight otp

oh my godddddd are you really this stupid or are you just pretending? costia died for loving the commander, who is a girl. lexa died immediatelly after having sex with a girl, with a bullet that was meant for her, because her father figure didn't approve their relationship and clarke's influence on her. the implication is there. lmao the lexa/clarke/titus storyline was word for word an analogy for homophobic parent against their child's relationship. what's next? are you gonna tell me wells and lincoln didn't die because they were black? that raven isn't tortured because she's a brown latina? that indra isn't portrayed as an angry savage because she's black? you're backing up jrot's pathetic excuse that his show can't be racist and homophobic, because in his world racism and homophobia don't exist. fiction doesn't exist in a fucking vacuum. racism and homophobia exist in real life, and that manifests in the writing

clexa is a racist mess to whom, exactly? both are white. the narrative treats them as equals. wtf do you mean lexa never apologized? "i'm sorry. i never meant to turn you into this" - lexa, season 3, episode 3. clarke tried to kill lexa once, because they were on opposite sides of a war and lexa betrayed her. clarke told bellamy, supposedly her friend, that his life is expendable and sent him on a suicide mission, and shot at him. i'm convinced y'all snort coke before watching every episode

you say you're not homophobic but you're claiming that a straight ship has the same social significance of a wlw ship lmao. do you realize that young lesbians and bi girls NEEDED clexa to survive, and feel loved and accepted? that to us this is more than a ship, it was a lifeline? that clexa taught us that our love isn't wrong, and that we deserve better? fuck you

bellamy is an asian main without clarke. i don't see what bellarke has to do with this? are you saying that he has no value without her?

y'all care so much about raven, but ship her with wick the abusive white man played by a racist, homophobic actor, jasper the teenage boy, roan the man twice her age, murphy the man who disabled her, luna the woman she barely knows, echo the woman y'all hate, and a character who doesn't even exist yet. you'll ship her with a fucking rock before shipping her with bellamy, the only person who loves her the way she deserves to be loved. neither bellarke or braven is canon, but braven kissed and had sex, and they have a mutually supportive, respectful friendship, which is more than bellarke will ever have

lmao you're using racism to cover up your homophobia again. bellarke is a straight ship that the cast has every right to hate because they don't owe y'all shit. wlw are demonized all the time, and all the supergirl cast had to do was respect them and validate their feelings. it really is that simple

clarke will never stop loving lexa, her soulmate. if you really wanna go that route, bellamy and clarke knew each other for less than a year, and have been separated for six years. their relationship is non-existent. bellamy is focusing on his friends and possibly new love interest, and clarke is focusing on her daughter

i will take a straight girl who validates us and did her best to make us feel better, over homophobic bellarkes, any day. eliza hates your straight ship and protects her wlw fans, and you can't stand it. bellamy and clarke are the main characters and eliza loves their friendship, but that doesn’t mean they should be together. "i think that it’s something that people saw in the show that we didn’t necessarily write" - eliza taylor, 2015. “we wanted to think outside the box” - eliza taylor, 2015. booed for talking about bellamy? you mean when bellarkes call her a drunk fat bitch, accuse her of not knowing her own character, and send her death threats because she loves lexa and supports clexa?

it doesn't have anything to do with lexa, really? i guess i imagined bellarkes celebrating lexa's death and making jokes about it. i guess i imagined bellarkes calling lexa an abusive rapist. i guess i imagined bellarkes demonizing the lesbian. yeah, i'm bi and i know the meaning of bisexuality, unlike bellarkes, who think that clarke needs to be with a man to be a valid bisexual. you invalidate her feelings for lexa. you want her to be straight. that's biphobia. here’s a post that my friend wrote, explaining why bellarke is racist towards bellamy. bellarke is racist towards raven because you see her, the disabled brown latina, as not good enough for bellamy

lmao the show wants you to ship clexa, and the fact that so many ppl invalidate it and choose to believe that clarke’s in love with a man, means that there’s something VERY wrong. you see lesbians in real life as evil and predatory, so you hate the lesbian character. you see latinas as undesirable, so you hate the latina character

it’s amazing the nerve you have to call clexa a 2-week romance, when they spent more time together than bellamy and clarke

bellarke is inherently homophobic and racist

lmao @ "dreadlocks" you don't get to pick and choose when clarke is a racist white savior, and when she's important bi rep. her bisexuality doesn’t override her whiteness. she's still a racist white savior when she's with bellamy, dumbass

i mean, clexa are actually best friends, they got four kisses, two love declarations, had sex and a scene in bed. all you have is bellamy wiping sweat off clarke's face. if i were you, i'd be bitter too

[head-and-heart]

I'm not agree with dragging out ships till the end. In the case of BC I get why they didn't put a kiss yet. They were broken, mourning someone, the end of the world... they're not going to happen like the others but I do think after the time jump, following the romantic trope there should be a kiss/confession. The will they/won't they doesn't work anymore and I feel fans/viewers reached the state where they're more tired and annoyed than excited. Writers shouldn't take that risk imo

I mean I think that the will they/won’t they trope actually is pretty effective (that’s basically what slowburn ships are when it comes down to it) - but to a certain extent. So long as the relationship continues developing without the added romance factor, the trope will work. The relationship is still interesting, still evolving. The problem is when the only step left for the relationship to take is into romantic territory … and the writers still don’t take the leap.

I think that’s where people’s frustrations with Bellarke were happening in Season 4. They didn’t seem to be developing platonically much more. Their relationship was beautiful and supportive and full of trust, respect, honesty, and - yes - love, but we already knew that. So fandom started tapping their feet and asking “what the hell is taking so long”?

It didn’t really become clear until the end of the season that a large part of Clarke and Bellamy’s relationship this season revolved around their fear of losing the other and their hesitance to express their feelings (4x06, 4x13) when deep down they both knew the possibility of them burning in Praimfaya was extremely high. They didn’t want to take on the undue pain, they didn’t feel like they had enough time - that’s why their relationship is so tragic. It all comes down to that goddamn ticking clock, and the pressures of everything they had to do for their people without leaving enough time for them to give in to what they wanted for themselves.

If you look at the plot of Season 5 now, what’s the better story: a) Bellamy and Clarke becoming romantic in Season 4, losing each other, and having to deal with their awkward old feelings (especially if Bellamy comes to the ground in a new relationship) which inevitably creates more unneeded drama I hoped we left behind in Season 1 and essentially ruins the excitement of their first kiss and witnessing the immediate aftermath of it OR b) Bellamy and Clarke both realizing their feelings for each other but never acting on it and regretting it every day for six years, only to come back together and have to relearn each other and discover that even though they have changed, that they still fit and fall in love all over again - stronger and more mature this time - so we get that epic, long-anticipated first kiss born from love that withstood the obstacles of literal space and time with the hope of a future established relationship between these two characters who love each other to look forward to.

For me, I’d way rather watch option B. It suits my angsty heart’s needs. But the thing is, the process of Bellamy and Clarke relearning each other and readdressing their feelings from all those years ago that they never managed to quite bury is sensitive and delicate and absolutely necessary to be done well. It’s IMPOSSIBLE for Bellamy and Clarke’s relationship not to develop in Season 5, due to circumstance. And for that reason, it may take longer for the actual romance to happen. But I’m OKAY with that, because I know that so long as their relationship doesn’t remain static, so long as it keeps evolving, the story will always be worth it in the end and - really - so long as the story is good, and the end result is worthwhile, it really doesn’t matter how long it takes to get there.

There is an inherent difference between writers dragging out the will they/won’t get trope simply for the sake of dragging frustrated shippers in the dirt season after season in order to maintain viewership and the alternative of putting off the romantic inevitability of a pair because there is still a story left to tell before taking that extra step. I have high hopes for Season 5 because, while I don’t know if Bellarke will finally be canon, I am confident that we’ll see their relationship evolve in ways vastly different and fresh from what we witnessed in the first four seasons.

Oddly enough, I actually am a lot more open-minded about the possibility of Bellarke being put off going into this season than I was going into Season 4. Last season it really felt like there was only one way for their relationship to develop, and during 4B it became frustratingly clear to me that my worries about Bellarke canon being put-off were turning out to be true. But this reboot changes things: it means that Bellarke’s relationship, romantically or otherwise, simply cannot be static after a time-jump of that size. I know I may be creating a minority here, but because of the reboot I’m actually okay with waiting a little longer for my OTP, since I am content in knowing we’ll get new developments in their relationship regardless.

(That being said, I really do hope for canon Bellarke in Season 5. But I’ll survive if we get some good relationship developments and then canon in Season 6.)

[drarry-with-a-side-of-wolfstar]

All-Time Favourite Ships!

From books, movies, Broadway, and TV shows!

(list not in any particular order and may contain spoilers).

1. Bellarke: Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffen from The 100 (TV)

Okay, I know I said that the list is in no particular order, but this ship is my all time OTP since I started watching The 100. And I can’t sleep at night knowing that they are not officially canon yet, even if it was pretty clear in Praimfiya that it will be endgame! So exited for their reunion in Season 5. I spend hours on end reading Bellarke fan fiction all day, every day. And Bellamy is my baby and I love his so much. And I can’t wait to see how he is after the six-year time jump on the show. Sometimes, I think that I watch the show just for these two.

2. Haleb: Hanna Marin and Caleb Rivers from Pretty Little Liars (TV)

Again, like I said that this list is in no particular order, this ship would defiantly be in my top 5. Anyway, I still have to properly sit down and watch Season 7B of Pretty Little Liars so don’t spoil anything for me. Haleb in my opinion, is the best ship on this show, but I think towards the early seasons I used to ship Ezria more but when Caleb showed up with his long hair, I died. And therefore, they became my favourite ship. I remember, I put watching the show on break after Caleb left to do his own show is either season 3 or 4, I don’t remember exactly. But yeah, these two are pretty cute together and I hope it stays that way.

3. Stydia: Stiles Stilinksi and Lydia Martin from Teen Wolf (TV)

Okay, again, probably in my top 7. So, the thing with Stydia is that they dragged it out for so long that the anticipation killed me. But I love them still so much. And Dylan O’Brian is just on a different level of awesomeness (and cuteness). And Lydia, even though she used to annoy me at first, and Teen Wolf is probably not my favourite TV show, but it’s still good, and Lydia’s character started to grow on me and I need to catch up on Season 6, (don’t judge me guys, the past few moths for me have been really busy) and I just recently started to watch this show, like maybe two years ago, but still, love love love.

4. Linctavia: Lincoln and Octavia Blake from The 100 (TV)

Okay, so another The 100 ship, but oh my lord I scream every time someone mentions them! They are so adorably cute and the flyest of power couples who don’t give a damn about what people think. And every time I think of Lincoln, I just might well cry because he didn’t deserve what he got. Fucking Pike. I’m glad Octavia killed him. And the song to which Lincoln dies to, and the one where Octavia’s scream and cries are kinda muffled, it’s called Cloud by Elias, and it’s in my playlist and then I have a mini breakdown when it comes on and think of Lincoln falling on his knees in the tiny puddle and Octavia and I just cry a little more on the inside. Anyway, probably the best couple to ever exist on the show and maybe even ever in this whole damn world. They were so fucking badass together, I loved every minute of it.

5. Sciles: Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski from Teen Wolf (TV)

Okay, so this is like my favourite BROTP of all eternity. I just think that their relationship is so cute and how much they care about each other, and the hug in season 3 is my everything, ahhh, I just love them so much it hurts. And throughout the show we can see their friendship grow even though they have been friends since they were little. Damn, I wish I had a friendship like that. 

6. Chair: Charles “Chuck” Bass and Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl (TV)

Ahhh, Blair and Chuck, Chuck and Blair! I don’t think anyone will ever know how happy I was when the endgame for their endgame actually happened. Honestly, I was rooting for them since Blair’s birthday episode in the first season, even when everyone was after Nate and Blair, but no, not gonna happen. I just thought that Nate was very innocent and nice for Blair. Blair needed someone like Chuck and I don’t think anyone ever loved anyone else as much as Chuck loves Blair. I love them, they are so perfect for each other, with their games. I wish I had a Chuck. Blair’s lucky. Haha.

7. Literati: Jess Mariano and Rory Gilmore from Gilmore Girls (TV)

I wanted them to be endgame so bad. I remember I stopped watching Gilmore Girls after Jess leaves to go to the West Coast, and I wanted to punch his so bad, but I didn’t want to destroy his pretty face like the Swan did (if you know what I’m talking about HMU). And I low-key hated Logan, I don’t know exactly why, but I just did, but I think I’m over it now. But still I wanted these two to be together forever, cause they are just so perfect for each other and so balanced I loved it while it happened. But they can’t be together, and I shall be forever sad. 

8. Percabeth: Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase from The Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series, and The Heroes of Olympus Series (Books)

Okay, so the kiss underwater made my 4th grade self go absolutely crazy with happiness. But I guess, my favourite moment from (both) of the series is probably at the start of Mark of Athena when they run towards each other and fall into each others arms and kiss when they reunite after eight long years, and everyone knows that they were endgame except when Percy had that thing with Rachel, but I was glad when that ended. Anyway, I just re-read the Heroes of Olympus series and I fell in love with all the characters again. 

9. Jasiper: Jason Grace and Piper McLean from The Heroes of Olympus Series (Books)

Ahh, absolutely love these two. Too cute! Okay, I don’t have much to say for them besides that they are completely badass together. I mean, I was really sad for Piper when she realised that her memories pre The Lost Hero were not real. But the whole “look at that comet from the rooftop when it’s just us” would have been too cute it it was real. 

10. Dramione: Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter Series (Books)

Okay, so I read a lot of fan fiction, and this is the one that I fully support no matter what the circumstances. I really really did wish that this could be possible but it’s not, it was never even canon! But yeah, I think that they would make an amazing couple together, and would be so cute, even if it is a very unlikely pair. But still, I do think that love sparks between them still. 

11. Drarry: Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter from the Harry Potter Series (Books)

Oh, my god the amount of fan fiction I read for this is incomparable. I just love this pairing so much I can’t handle myself sometimes. Anyway, maybe in another world this is true and the people are happier there. 

12. Aridante: Aristotle Mendoza and Dante Quintana from Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (Books)

Okay, I don’t know how this ship name makes sense but whatever. I love love love this book so much, and I think these two, in whatever kind of relationship, make so much sense together. If anyone has not read this yet, what are you doing with your life? Anyway, this book is amazing and Benjamin Alire Saenz is an amazing author.

13. Adlock: Irene Adler and Sherlock Holmes from Sherlock (TV)

Okay, it was hard to chose between Johnlock, Sherlolly, and Adlock. But then A Scandal In Belgravia will forever be one of my favourite episodes, and honestly, their relationship just excites me and that message tone in the last episode got me all excited and happy again. Anyway, I wish they were canon but I respect whatever Sherlock is and how he does not want a relationship.

14. Triles: Tristan Milligan and Miles Hollingsworth III from Degrassi: Next Class (TV)

Anyway, I was getting so mad when I could not find a gif that fit the aesthetic of this post, but then I finally did and that’s all that matters. Anyway, I’m so glad that this is cannon and hopefully endgame, but Miles little slip with Lola in Season 3 got me so mad! Like, how could he, his boyfriend was in a coma and he’s cheating on him! That’s totally unacceptable! But then I guess I came to terms with why he did what he did. And I’m glad that Tristan (kinda) forgave him. Yay.

15. Bughead: Betty Copper and Jughead Jones from Riverdale (TV)

Okay, so I haven't read enough fan fiction to say that this is my absolute favourite yet, and since this is a newer ship than most others mentioned on here, it’s kinda hard for me to feel for them what I feel for the others. But I still really like this pairing, it’s kinda unique, and a little different from the normal TV shows, so yeah.

16. Lams: John Laurens and Alexander Hamilton from Hamilton: An American Musical (Theatre)

This is my favourite theatre ship, but somewhere in my heart, I think Jefferson and Hamilton secretly love each other. No, but seriously, I think John and Alex are just the cutest friends, and the fact that their friendship existed so heavily in real life makes me so happy.

Okay, so that was the list but I have a few honourable mentions that did not make it on here and they are:

1) Sherlolly from Sherlock (TV)

2) Hamiliza from Hamilton: An American Musical (Theatre)

3) Snowberry from The Flash (TV)

4) Samaustin from A Cinderella Story (Movies) (I made up that ship name and I  am not very good at it).

So, that was it! And I’m pretty sure I missed some but I hope you guys enjoyed!

[ponyregrets]

This is not a prompt and I know you usually don't do asks... but! just in case: the finale is really messing up with my mind. The idea that she talks to him every day and he probably doesn't know she is alive is too much for me. What worries me the most is the idea of Bellamy getting romantic with somebody in the ark, given where the storyline is going do you think it's a possibility? How do you see things panning out?

In general, you’re right, I don’t do much speculation of this type, and I’m afraid I’m not going to start now. But here are some things that I consider to be important and good:

That was not a finale you write unless you care very, very deeply, about the relationship between Bellamy and Clarke. 

Clarke doesn’t really have a non-Bellamy love interest other than Niylah, and Niylah hasn’t ever really been treated like a love interest so much as a FWB. Obviously it’s possible they could leave her single or give her a new love interest from a number of places, but I think the lack of an extant obvious person is probably a good thing, in terms of Bellarke.

I also think their being separated makes it much more likely that the show is, if nothing else, considering making Bellarke canon. If they were together, they’d have to deal with their relationship in the Ark, with the following possible outcomes:

They get together during the time jump (unsatisfying)

They do not get together during the time jump and their relationship is at its current level for six years, and then they get together once they get back to Earth (bizarre and probably also unsatisfying)

They do not get together over the time jump because they are not interested in a romantic relationship and enter S5 as Firmly Just Friends (ugh)

They do not get together over the time jump because they have a Huge Falling Out and have to learn to be friends again on Earth (probably the most interesting of these but also like wtf why)

So being separated basically allows the writers to delay making a decision about whether or not they will be canon, whereas I think that leaving them together would have necessitated making that choice, and necessitated it in ways that would not be promising for the ship. I like the time jump, and as much as the sadness both of them are doubtless feeling during their separation hurts me, I much prefer it to the alternative, from both a story and shipping perspective.

Our cliffhanger was literally Clarke calling Bellamy EVERY DAY because she misses him so much and Bellamy being in actual mourning, so there is every reason to believe we are getting a fucking EPIC reunion.

On a broader note, I come from the old way of fandom, and from the old way of slash fandom, especially, where we never really expected our ships to become canon, and just sort of assumed every important conversation involving our OTP would end with some variation on “no homo,” so I get that my perspective on this is probably different from some people’s. Will I be frustrated if Bellamy and Clarke don’t mash their mouths together at some point? Yes, I totally will. I desperately want them to mash their mouths together, and I do think it’s pretty possible that they will. But my shipping of things has never really taken becoming canon as a very important factor in how much I enjoy them, so I am much more likely to think of all the reasons it might not happen to keep my expectations low than try to reassure myself that canonization is coming. So I’m not a good resource for that kind of reassurance.

But that also means what I mostly think about is all the things that will make me happy aside from actual face-mashing, and that finale was basically non-stop Bellamy and Clarke love each other so much, holy shit, with every indication that S5 will continue with that. And that is 900% what I’m about.