#our version of their romance has been distilled into 'heehee can't wait to see him jealous and crying over our queen'

[dollypopup]

just. . .do y'all remember when Polin actually loved each other in our fandom? do you remember when our posts were about how sweet they were together? when it was about how they were on one another's teams? when it was story after story and post after post of polin against the world? of 'I like you' 'I like you too'? of 'Is life meant to be this happy?' 'I think so'? Do you remember when we were all about how much Colin loved Penelope and Penelope loved Colin? When the biggest narrative was that they saw one another, made one another brave, brought out the best in each other? When the mirror was more than just a sex scene and was also a metaphor for what they saw in each other and how they reflected one another? When they were kind to each other? When we were kind to them as characters? When they were encouraging? When they were affectionate and loving and tenderhearted and messy and silly and loving with one another? When Penelope chose Colin at every turn and Colin chose her?

Where is it? Where is the love for our couple? Be honest, wanting Colin to grovel and suffer isn't for Polin fans. It's for Pen stans. Because us Colin fans are shown time and time and time again that it's okay to call a character we love an idiot, want him egregiously punished or humiliated, to see nothing good in his character at all. So who else is it meant for? I miss when we cared about them. I miss when there was a place we could go that was about their romance and tenderness. I miss when it wasn't just straight up hating on him, or us obsessed with Penelope getting with other characters, or thinking he's less than.

We have one of the *best* Male Love Leads in the entire series. And if you don't think that way. . .I just don't understand why you claim to ship this ship. We have an amazing pairing. A wonderful couple. A couple who cares about each other, a couple who builds one another up, a couple that are friends, a couple that has passion and happiness and so much potential.

Do you remember our gifsets gushing about how much he cared for her? Do you remember our metas about how they could bloom and flourish around one another? When we looked at how Colin was hypervisible but ultimately unheard and how Penelope was invisible but the loudest voice in the ton and sighed about how they fit so well with one another? Do you remember when Penelope was proud to have Colin as a partner and he showed her off at every turn? Do you remember when it wasn't a scorecard? When it wasn't about suffering and was about tenderness? Do you remember when they LOVED each other in our fandom? Do you remember when we loved them?

I remember.

And I miss it. I miss it so much.