#// you can argue with me now although I haven't even got to my nitpicking of god's so called 'personality'

[m0e-ru]

if atIus gives iznmi an ounce of personality I'll start biting people's limbs off

[saveme-storybrooke-potc]

Now that Manifest season 4 is over, there are a lot of Jared/Michaela shippers that are disappointed (even though the actors are dating irl) and even though I am a Zekaela shipper I just want to say from what I've noticed in the show about Jared and Michaela.

aside from the phenomenal chemistry that they obviously have because the actors are dating in real life, there were some things wrong with the two. I was always bothered by Jared dating Mick's best friend after she supposedly died, and of course, I don't blame them, they were both emotional, and they used each other to cope with it, but their whole hook-up in season one was iffy to me. He was also pretty cold towards her with the "callings" which yes from everyone else's p.o.v it's understandable but he KNOWS about her whole situation. And later on when Zeke came into the picture and survived the death he got mad that he did live thinking that he'd get his chance with Mick again but he doesn't.

Now I don't remember a lot about the first two seasons so I'm not going to nitpick at it as much or at all for that matter and if anyone has unbiased memory of it you're free to correct me in a polite manner and I'll fix it. *SPOILERS AHEAD* In season 4 part 1 we learn a lot about Jared and his family which is one of the things that I really love because I don't want to dislike him and it was nice seeing the Latino household he lives in. But you can tell from those flashbacks that Jared is a family man and desires a family could be a cultural thing because Latinos (Hispanics if you want to say it that way) are all about family but when you see Michaela and Zeke talking and Zeke mentions kids he says to her "I know you don't want kids" which isn't a problem at all for her, it's her choice on if she wants kids or not, but that is very different from what Jared obviously wants. And I'm not saying they wouldn't work out, Jared could agree to that and be in a committed relationship with Michaela but sometimes it won't work out that way. (Also correct me if I'm wrong, I could be mixing this up with OUAT but weren't Jared and his ex-wife trying for kids?).

Also before I get to S4P2 I need to talk about this, Jared and Drea Mikami started a "friends with benefits" relationship I believe as a coping mechanism to get over Michaela but then he actually wanted a relationship with her, to which she said no. (Keep this in mind)

So in season 4 part 2 (or B if you call it that) Zeke has died and all the 828 passengers are in a sort of Detention center (I think it's been a few months although Eden looks 7 and not 3 or however old she really is) Jared would visit Mick while she also had visions of Zeke visiting her and we got to see flashbacks into Zeke and Michaela's relationship which was lovely to see. But Jared kinda takes this as an opportunity to go back to Michaela and they bond and start to date again which honestly felt a lot like fan service. and you can obviously argue that they had the best chemistry but they are also dating in real life. But it's not until

*MAJOR SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE SHOW AND CHOOSE TO READ THIS*

Drea Mikami gets pregnant (which she slayed in each scene) that Jared gets what he wants, a child and a family, which at first they agree to co-parent but you can tell that that wasn't going to stick and when she accidentally spilled that their baby was a girl and she wants to name her Hope Jared gets excited and says "Esperanza, it's beautiful" (which really touched my heart) but you could tell that he desired to be with the mother of his child, and even Michaela knew this, which is why she let them be with each other.

And when the 828 passengers survived the death date and went to a time where they didn't miss 5 and a half years they still found each other (which he got over Michaela really fast)

obviously, I don't care who you ship this is just what I think and I mainly wanted to say it because on instagram all the Jachaela shipper were disappointed in the ending (even though they're canon irl) I really like the way it ended, but to each their own.

[galactic-pirates]

Romance Tropes Bracket (Semi-Finals)

First round post here, second round post here, the quarter-finals here.

Oh things are getting interesting now :) :)

Please go and see @purlturtle's semi-final post here.

We got two match-ups!

Fighting for glory and honour to the left is *drum roll*

Second Chances vs. Soulmates

aaaaaaand over on the right we have

Mistaken Identity vs Friends to Lovers

Oh dear, oh dear, how can there possibly be a victor with such impossible brackets???

Under the cut because of course it is :) :)

Second Chances vs. Soulmates Really two goliaths, how can there be a winner? Because there has to be. As mentioned in previous brackets there's no point to this game if a choice doesn't have to be made. One must win, therefore one must lose.

I'm not too sure what I can say about either that I haven't already mentioned on the previous rounds. The reason I feel the choice is so difficult is because they tap into a similar energy for me - real love is hard, it's waking up and choosing love every day. Relationships aren't easy, they take work, and so sometimes the love might not be easy to find - that's why love is a choice.

So is it "this could be your future but only if you put in the work" or is it "we let what we had slip through our fingers once, I'll be damned if I'm not going to fight for it this time". Tough, tough choice.

In the end I think I have to go with Soulmates. Because while Second Chance is incredible it's also fraught. Certainly in real life if people split up it's usually for a good reason. If it didn't work the first time, it's unlikely to the second. Now that take is simplistic because people can grow and obviously it also very much depends on why they split up in the first place. Plus these are fictional tropes and I can't nitpick Second Chances for being unrealistic because hello soulmates - that's by definition a fantasy thing! I think it's more the potential for misery though. Although I suppose if somebody gets told their soulmate is someone who is actually bad for them, then it can be 'doomed by the narrative' as they lock themselves into a miserable life 'because it's fate' and that sucks too.

(in which I'm talking myself out of the choice. really it can be argued both ways)

Also @purlturtle pointed out something I hadn't considered today - that maybe some tropes are more suited for queer romances. I was responding to the tropes purely as me - a writer, a shipper. I wasn't differentiating between the type of relationship (as ha! love is love) but that is a good point.

None of us get out alive. In this messed up world there's a lot of hate :( and while I can't speak for anyone but me I know I've internalised some of it. It's easy to be compassionate for others, but much less so not to self-direct that hate. So with queer romances maybe even more than het ones, I guess it's possible for people to have too much shit they got to unlearn before they are ready. Thus making Second Chances even more vital. Ok changed my mind!

WINNER - Second Chances

Mistaken Identity vs Friends to Lovers Ok all along I think I've been stretching the definition of Mistaken Identity by making it more of a theme, so thus linking it to masks and acceptance. Still I don't think that makes for an easy win for Friends to Lovers because well the very issue of identity is complex.

Can it mean undercover/espionage hijinks? Sure. Can it mean somebody thinking you are their blind date in a bar, but you're not? Absolutely. It can mean all kinds of fun stuff! But couldn't it also mean something more complex like assuming somebody is a certain gender of sexuality when they are not? Or maybe even somebody thinking that about themselves and then going "oh." when they start to question.

Friends to Lovers is fundamental. I know relationships can take many forms but this is about me - what I write, what I ship - and all my ships are friends before anything else. I have gone back and forth over whether that fundamental nature makes it the ultimate trope, or whether because it needs more to make a story (another trope) it's not competing in the same way. It is so, so hard to judge. On some brackets in past rounds I have decided one way, and on others I've had to give it the win. This time?

WINNER: Mistaken Identity

But I don't feel good about it.

My brain feels like a pretzel. So, so hard, but choices have been made and the final is nearly upon us!