#this actually reminds me of one of the reasons i don't care for dick/babs over in dc

[burr-ell]

Seeing the art gallery and the ep thumbnail and cast and fans and such all focus on the kiss/ship (which i'm not begrudging their excitement about they're genuinely happy and that's great) is kinda jarring to me because in the long run of that episode. Nothing actually changed much because of the kiss. There really wasn't any paradigm shift, no further discussions, not much to talk about, and nothing that lends itself to any of the things that happened with the m9 where we had the brjeaus and Jest and Veth having their freak outs over their crush romance developments @ each other. Like obviously they were kinda busy over the moon and rq visions business but like. Where everyone else had so much character material going on, there's just so little that the romance can provide.

It really is odd—especially because you could cut out the kiss entirely and even the conversation they had when it happened wouldn't really be any different, nor would it be distinguishable from any other conversation they've ever had. They don't talk about it with anyone, either, even Ashton or FCG, who are the ones who have encouraged it the most, so the result is that it makes the relationship feel even more insular than it already is.

I think part of what it comes down to and why I don't enjoy this ship is that it feels like we're all watching two separate stories: one is an action-adventure story about this big moon conspiracy and the other is a YA romance novel. (Which is not at all helped by a fandom that consistently judges every character and story development based on whether or not it supports The Ship.) So every time the characters have another 'I depend on you SO much" "No I depend on YOU so much" remix, it's like...okay, but what's going on in Campaign 3 right now? And that is incredibly weird when every other romance these players have done feels more integrated into the overall story, even the ones they've done in oneshots. But it's because even their friendship has been so isolated from the rest of the group in a way that even Vax and Vex or Caleb and Nott weren't, and yet when they're around each other there's still so much they aren't willing to say.