#( elena alvarez // interactions )

[pcetstcrtured]

@melodyplucked liked for a 1989 tv starter!

"we were born to be national treasures."

[damagcdsouls]

@battlefallen​ liked for a recently added muse!

“hi i’m gay.” elena greets, before internally cringing and giving the other a slightly sheepish smile. “sorry i - it’s just kind of instinct for me to greet people like that and also maybe, slightly, out of spite towards certain family members of mine.” she gave a slight roll of her eyes, before straightening up and trying again. “but anyways, hi - i’m elena.” she offers out a hand.

[starstaiined-old]

@fortiitudes continued!!

          it was decided - elena was going to strangle her brother. she swallowed thickly, letting out a very heavy, very slow sigh in an attempt to relieve the worry sitting on her chest. worry that quickly turned to frustration at her brother’s response. her lips are pressed together tightly, unamused at his blatant disregard to their current situation. ❝ you’re lucky it’s a sprained ankle. you could have been seriously injured, idiot! who cares about some stupid instagram post? ❞

[hydrosspyross]

Elena : Why do you look so nice?

Penelope : What, this? This is what i always wear when you guys aren't here. You just never see it.

Lydia : I have never been more proud of you.

[chaosintended]

One Day At A Time

On ODAAT season 3!! I think I’m going to be able to finish the show before the week is over. I started watching it last Saturday, so damn am I speeding through this. I’m super sad that there’s only four seasons. Maybe I should slow down a bit to make it last longer, but if I had that kind of self control, I would not have been watching it during zoom class in the first place.

It’s my new favorite tv show for a couple of reasons.

Elena. Elena Alvarez is an absolutely amazing person. To quote Lydia, she’s a ‘social justice warrior’. Although it’s sometimes played for laughs, I think it’s great to have a character like her speak out about issues she feels strongly about. She’s a strong woman who won’t be bossed around by anyone, and she’s also gay!!

Penelope. I honestly wish she was my mother. She has flaws and makes mistakes, but she truly loves and cares about her family. She’s totally badass too. Her struggles with depression and anxiety were really relatable to me, because I have mental health issues as well. She’s a freaking excellent nurse while being a freaking excellent mother at the same time.

The LGBTQ+ representation. The big issue with shows that have ‘representation’ is that it almost never goes past the basic ‘oh they’re gay’. Granted, it’s much better than the show being homophobic and making an unnecessarily big deal out of it, but I think we really need to move past the stereotypes. Elena is a three-dimensional character who isn’t defined by the fact that she’s gay. She’s a good student, and a good daughter. She’s good at making and fixing stuff. She once tried to make money on Twitch by playing video games. She once dressed up as the fourth doctor and tried to go to comic con. She’s relatable. Syd is also one of my favorite characters. I thought it was cool ODAAT had a non-binary character. They/them pronouns and everything. There was also a ze/zir character (I think) as well who appeared in an episode.

The humor. I love comedy in all its forms, but I can’t stand it when the humor is overdone, or too cringey. I can’t bring myself to watch another minute of the show if the jokes just don’t land. That wasn’t a problem here. It was funny in a witty way, and the dialogue is really well written. The characters’ interactions are dynamic and interesting to watch. Schneider and Lydia regularly provide comic relief, and this is made even better by the fact that they’re both fleshed-out characters who have a serious side.

The family fluff. I have a thing for warm family fluff, probably because I have mommy issues. It’s my dream to have a family that accepts me for who I am, just like the Alvarezes. Sometimes they fight, but at the end of the day, they’re a family, and they love each other. I have a thing where I cry over fluff (hey I know it’s weird), so ODAAT had me in constant tears.

The way it deals with important matters. The show is pretty light and funny most of the time, but there are deeper themes that run through the comedy. Racism and stereotyping is something the characters constantly fight against. Sexism, homophobia/queerphobia and mental health problems are all dealt with in a way that shows the writers actually care. It was good to see that the writers didn’t try to worm their way out of having to address actual issues by throwing a couple lines in there and giving the excuse that they made a statement about it.

Anyways, so 100000/10 def would recommend.

[strwbrymoonchild]

The Strides and Shortcomings of Queer BIPOC Representation on Television

Series like Orange is the New Black and The L Word pioneered the contemporary lesbian revolution on television by introducing us to entire casts of queer characters and relationships. Characters like Shane and Piper were beloved and revolutionary to an audience that could relate to the experience of being white and queer, but for a BIPOC audience, the portrayals were often tragic, unrealistic, or insignificant. Although these shows exist in the LGTBQ+ television canon, having predominantly white producers and writers leads to myopic portrayals of BIPOC characters. Orange is the New Black was praised for its range of representation but where that diversity ended--and was needed--was the Writer’s Room.

While the show struggled to portray its BIPOC characters with dignity, Piper, the protagonist, profited from the system in a way her BIPOC counterparts did not. Criticism grew louder with the death of beloved character, Poussey, and continued for its treatment, of the remaining BIPOC women and queer-identifying characters. Similarly, The L Word has been criticized for its treatment of BIPOC characters (the few they had were either killed or reduced to stereotypes), and specifically the show’s handling of bisexual and transgender characters.

The television industry tried to answer the criticism by introducing new BIPOC queer characters to its larger casts. Rosa Diaz from Brooklyn 99 came out as bisexual in the fifth season of the show, with an entire episode centered around her coming out to her Hispanic parents---highlighting a culture where homosexuality is often not accepted. Kat from The Bold Type came out as queer---a pivot from the standard formula we’ve seen of shows that star women navigating a big city like New York. After her first relationship with a woman, she further explores her sexuality within an open relationship. Then there’s Eric Effiong, the bestfriend of the straight protagonist, Otis Millburn from Sex Education. His sexuality is never troped but instead, is a facet of a charming and complex teenager. While this is a step in the right direction, the problem remains that BIPOC characters are often minimized in favor of their heteronormative, white counterparts. We see this in shows like Shrill, a comedy series that offers a variety of BIPOC queer characters, but reduces them to stereotypes to play off of the complexities of the protagonist, a heterosexual white woman.

Characters often lack authenticity, a problem that stems in part from the lack of representation in producer and writer roles. A significant moment, in which Kat is arrested for trying to stand up for Adena, is lost as writers fail to acknowledge what a situation like that could realistically look like for someone like Kat. Love, Victor which attempts to show the struggles of Latin protagonist, Victor, by giving him a traditional Latinx family to come out to, falls short at portraying an authentic experience. Both producers of Love, Victor are white, but contrast that with One Day at a Time, a series co-produced by Gloria Calderòn Kellet, who is Cuban. The series, about a Cuban American family--one member being the queer daughter, Elena--is rich with cultural authenticity. This is showcased in the way the Alvarez family, especially the younger generation, interacts with cultural traditions, like Elena’s resistance to a traditional Quinceañera because of its misogynistic history. Kellet also made sure to have a predominantly Latinx writing staff for the show. 

There are a few series who have taken the lead in portraying nuanced queer relationships and identities with a BIPOC protagonist. High Fidelity stars Zoë Kravitz as Rob, a biracial Black queer woman, who keeps a list of her “Top 5 Heartbreaks,” including a woman. While the show explores Rob’s relationships with men more thoroughly, that doesn’t negate Rob’s queer identity. In Vida, Emma is a queer Chicana, kicked out of her home as a teenager by her mother for her identity and she later returns to her old neighborhood to help run the family bar after her mother’s death to reconcile with the emotional damage her mother left behind. Emma’s identity is fluid and she finds herself having to defend her queerness at a table full of fellow queer women. Known as “identity policing,” this moment shines a light on the complexities within LGBTQ+ communities. Twenties is another series we see with a BIPOC, queer protagonist. Hattie, a character based on show writer Lena Waithe, boldly navigates the entertainment industry by defying the norms of what it means to create good work as a Black creator while also navigating within a community of straight friends and unhealthy relationships. Jonica “JoJo” Gibs, the actor playing Hattie, said, “Having Hattie on TV as a masculine-presenting queer person — female — I think it’s revolutionary.” A nuanced portrayal of queer love is explored thoroughly in Euphoria with Rue and Jules.  The show’s portrayal of a relationship on television between a cis woman and transwoman, especially one that is interracial, is not a dynamic we see often. Each of the above-mentioned characters are multifaceted and rooted in their cultural and queer identity. But being a revolutionary character in television can isolate them as the example for what it means to have a certain identity or a certain experience. Emma’s story is not the epitome of what it’s like to be queer Chicana woman living in Los Angeles. Kat’s is not the only story for a biracial Black queer woman in New York. 

While it’s great to see more portrayals of BIPOC, queer characters written by BIPOC creators, it’s important that we begin to see these characters on a broader and mainstream scale, or risk-reducing these single narratives and characters to stereotypes. We’ve begun to see more Black and Latinx creators, but there is still a lot of representation that is lacking. Where are the stories centered around Indigenous people and their specific struggles? Asian? Transgender?  The television industry needs to allow these stories to reach the mainstream, to stop relegating the many intricacies of these underrepresented identities and experiences to the periphery of the industry. And although these conversations are not always palatable to a white audience, that is exactly why they are so important to have.

[ask-team-rainbow]

Hello! Could u do some hcs on how Wamai is perceived by the other ops? (Or any Wamai content tbh i'm starving) Please and thank u!!

That’s a lot of ops to try and give perceptions from, so I’ll start with a few that I know would have interacted with him up to this point and rate their dynamic on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best)! I’ll also include my OC’s perception of him, if you don’t mind! :)

-Jack “Pulse” Estrada: Not long after Kali and Wamai got to the new HQ in Greece, Pulse was one of the first ones to greet them and give a warm welcome. While Kali gave a sort of cold shoulder to it, Wamai was very warm and smiled in return. He and Jack have had a few conversations, some philosophical and some just casual talk about interests. Over all Pulse likes Wamai, and they’re aiming to have a good friendship (10/10)

-Marius “Jager” Streicher: These two have a fun riot trying to see who’s device is superior in the R&D testing facility. They have Fuze come and assist in their friendly wagers, and so far Marius is winning on account of how many of the “pucks” he’s been able to deny over Wamai’s device. However, they do get along very well outside of work. Marius’ curious nature and friendly aura definitely makes Wamai feel welcome to open a conversation with him. (10/10)

-Elena “Mira” Alvarez: She’s a little frustrated that she isn’t allowed to give a proper analysis on either Kali or Wamai’s devices, but overall if she had to pick which one out of the two she liked more, she wouldn’t hesitate to say Wamai. She doesn’t quite understand his behavior or how he acts, but she isn’t opposed to interacting with him should he come talk to her. (7/10)

-Eliza “Ash” Cohen: Eliza absolutely hates the idea of any NightHaven operative being brought into Rainbow. Despite Wamai’s more charismatic attitude, she still doesn’t trust any of them, Ace included. Something about them doesn’t sit right with her, and even though she’s forced to communicate with them on a daily basis, she makes it very clear how unwanted they are in her eyes. She’s not looking for any sort of friendship with them, not now or ever. (0/10)

-Alexandre “Soutien” Moreau (OC): Alexandre is very intrigued by how Wamai perceives the world around him, and often times has sat down to ask about his views, and what got him to think the way he does. It’s a very refreshing mindset and one that has an endless sea of questions for him to explore. With Wamai’s calm and friendly behavior, Alexandre and him would totally get along! Though due to Alex’s busy schedule, it’s hard for them to find a lot of time to hang out. (9/10)

Thank you for requesting this! I whole-heartedly agree that Wamai needs more content. Reading his bio made me realize just how underrated he is by the fanbase. The man is so cool!! How could anyone not want content for him?

-Elsa

[of-monsters-and-werewolves]

Favourite Character Tag Game

Rules: name ten favourite characters from ten different things (TV, Movies, Books, etc), then tag 10 people.

Got tagged in this by @intothewickedwood and so for a bit of fun, particularly in these trying times, I'd thought I'd join in.

Keep in mind I have an absolute ton of fandoms over a wide range of mediums, so this list is anything but exhaustive. Picking 10 was quite hard and there were several characters I had to miss out.

So in no particular order (except for Alice, she's my ultimate fave):

Alice Jones (Once Upon A Time)

(I mean look at this precious bean, how can I not love her. My blog is practically a shrine to her.)

Elena Alvarez (One Day At A Time)

Claudia Donovan (Warehouse 13)

Alex Danvers (Supergirl)

(I'm way behind with this show so I really need to catch up, but as of S3 at least, I freaking love Alex.)

Scorpia (She-ra and the Princesses of Power)

(Yet another show I'm not fully caught up on yet, but as of the first few episodes of S4, I love her. Though this was quite hard as there are several characters I love in this show. But Scorpia just manages to beat them.)

Jana Vilkas (Wolfblood)

Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter)

Rey (Star Wars)

Axel/Lea (Kingdom Hearts)

(Another franchise I haven't quite caught up with yet (there's a pattern emerging here XD), this time referring to me not having finished KH3 yet. But yeah, I love Axel. And he's one of only two characters on this list in which I've met the actor.)

Morgana Pendragon (Merlin)

(I'm not one to usually fall for the villains, but Morgana is one of the most complex villains I've come across. Also it's Katie McGrath, so...)

In conclusion, there's a lot of: canonical queers, heavily implied to be queer, characters I headcanon as queer, and in one case, could have been queer but CBBC were too cowardly to let Debbie Moon give us canon bi Jana!

There's also an unsurprising number of mentally ill characters, either canonically so, implied or headcanoned too.

Anyway, I'm tagging @boldlyshamelessfun @enixamyram @shadowedoracle @theloveyourselfdragon @thasminlove @4pondsinabox @niki-the-cutie @sweetcabbageprince @toohufflepuffforyou @iescapedmayday . Some of you are mutuals, some are followers, some of you I've interacted with before, some I haven't. Feel free to ignore this if it's not your kind of thing, but I thought I'd spread some interactions and tag games around during this situation we're all going through right now, in case anyone needed a pick me up of some kind :)

[pcetstcrtured]

@inspotlight liked for a 1989 tv starter!

"so hey, let's be friends."

[actuallylorelaigilmore]

Okay... going on a bit of a Schneider x Avery rant for a little bit. I've been reading some of your old posts about them and honestly I really do think they're endgame. If the show were to continue, I think season 3 would've been the closest we ever see Schneider to the family, but I think Avery (bc she doesn't have that much character development) would pull him back to the outer circle for season 4. I don't think they would've brought her back for the finale if they weren't endgame.

(cont) Schneider just barely makes the cut for family in this show. I mean I love him, but the show is about Penelope and her family. If they made too much noise between Penelope’s best friend’s love interest, who has no connection with the rest of the family, it would distract from the main characters too much. Nikki, Schneider’s only other “love” interest had a connection to both Penelope and Alex. But Avery’s there just for Schneider and I’m afraid it would stay that way.

hi anon!! i had to wait a while before answering this one because i knew i would need coherent thoughts and that hasn’t been working so well for me lately

you make two important points here, so i’ll start with the schneider side of it. i agree that s3 was the closest that we’ve ever seen schneider to the family, and that makes sense because honestly even as s3 progressed the storylines for everyone in the family, schneider kind of had the biggest, most consistent arc. (i think alex’s was the next biggest/most consistent. elena and pen and lydia’s stories were more episodic in s3 and sometimes connected more to previous season events than the preceding episodes.)

the showrunners/writers had been planning to address schneider’s sobriety for a while and talked a lot with the actor while they worked on it, and i think they handled it really well. but in my opinion, that all builds up to cementing schneider’s place in the family. not just pulling him into the circle, but making it clear that he belongs there–in a way they aren’t likely to go back on. 

we went from penelope shutting the door in his face in 1.13 when he’s telling her they’re like family, to elena joking about him NOT being family in s2 and him telling a comatose lydia that they’re his family while punctuating his grief with jokes…to the entire family rallying around him in 3.12 after they were all a bit more distant earlier in the season.

elena is the first member of the family to actually direct the word ‘love’ his way! penelope tries to make it clear that he’s important to her just as he is and that he needs to fight his addictions not just for his sake but because of her family, especially the kids! schneider interrupts his big romantic reunion with avery to focus on lydia officially claiming him as an alvarez!

this snippet of an interview todd grinnell gave after s3 mentions the tension between any future schneider would have with avery, and his ties to the family. i don’t know how much the plans for a potential s4 might have changed over time, but since we know the writers do discuss plot arcs with the actors in advance (or at least they have done so with todd before) i believe that when he said this, it was based off his awareness of what the writers were thinking. 

which means that avery could have been brought back to be a source of future conflict–and after schneider’s s3 declaration that ‘family is everything’ it’s not guaranteed that he would choose avery in that scenario. i could see him learning to balance and compromise, maybe, but schneider drifting out of the picture because of his love interest wouldn’t make sense for who he is–unless the actor was leaving the show maybe? i still wouldn’t find it very believable though.

i do agree that avery’s only connected to the show through schneider. that actually bugged me in s3, because they gave her so many little great moments in the beginning to establish who she was, and then she really never interacted with the family even when she was in scenes with them!! they either need to fully include her in s4 or keep her more separate; now that we’re more familiar with her, it won’t make sense at all for her to be in the apartment or at events and ignoring the rest of them most of the time. (unless that’s part of the plot, of course.) i think that avery won’t be likely to get much actual plot unless it starts to be about non-schneider things, like how she affects family members.

i honestly have no idea if schneider and avery are endgame or not. india is too adorable for me to be against it, despite my many objections to how avery was handled in s3 (so much potential after that meet-cute! i ranted in multiple essays about about it!). because the actors are married it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s what the show does, letting schneider’s storylines going forward be more about him maturing and dealing with his first serious lasting relationship. 

i think that how long the show gets to continue existing will also have a lot to do with what turns out to be endgame–if it ends on its own terms in a few years, then we’ll know what their intended endgame was. but if it gets cancelled then i’ll always wonder what they might have been really aiming for.

the biggest thing that you and i seem to disagree about, though, anon, that probably affects how we see the avery stuff playing out, is schneider’s role on the show. you say that he just barely makes the cut for family, and i would argue (as i sort of started to, messily, above) that in fact it’s season 3 that doesn’t just confirm but yells that he’s completely family. 

in the first scene of the season, he comes in and tells the rest of them who their own dead relative is, and in his last scene, avery passes along the news of lydia’s official adoption of him. between all of that, the family sees him turn into someone else while he’s trying to please his father–and they see the relapsed alcoholic he’s never been in their presence before–and they commit even harder to making him feel loved and like he’s a part of them. 

along those same lines, i’d also argue that schneider is a ‘main character.’ not only just technically (because he’s been included in things like promo images for the show since s1, where leslie wasn’t) but in terms of the story. if he wasn’t a main character in seasons 1 and 2, he definitely became one in season 3, when two whole episodes were formed around his arc in addition to his usual mini stories alongside the family.

tl;dr i have no idea if avery is schneider’s endgame but he is an alvarez now and i’ll believe him choosing her over his family when i see it 

[damagcdsouls]

@liveshaunted​​​ liked for a recently added muse!

elena took in a deep breath, steeling herself before approaching the other. it isn’t necessarily that she thinks this is going to go bad, but well, it hasn’t exactly been going great so far. she gives a smile once she’s close enough. “hi there! my name’s elena and i’m trying to start a gsa here, gay-straight alliance, and i was wondering if you might be interested in joining?” head tilts a little. “it doesn’t matter what your sexuality or gender identity is, everyone’s welcome!”

[blog-of-a-multitude-of-fandoms]

Interfere- Elena Alvarez

Pairing: Elena Alvarez x Reader

Characters: Elena Alvarez

Warnings: N/A

Request: Anon- Can you write an imagine for one day at a time where elena has a crush on the reader who lives in their building and is a year or so older, so elena has a hard time even talking to her but she becomes close with the rest of the family who try to set them up? thanks so much! 

Word Count: 529

Author: Charlotte

Since you and your fathers had moved into a new apartment, you had become close friends with one of the other tenants’ daughters who was a year younger than you. You had both gotten along quickly, going to the same school, so she showed you around and also got you a place in her Straight Gay Alliance where you both found out that the other was a lesbian, giving you something else to have in common.

As both of your fathers worked, you had spent a lot of time at Elena’s apartment, getting to know her and her family. You didn’t have much in common with her brother Alex, but you got along well enough, and you had gotten along with her mother and grandmother who both seemed to like your friendship with Elena. Their acceptance in your friendship was only supported when Penelope invited you over for dinner, even though you could tell Elena wasn’t a fan of the idea, later finding out it was due to the fact that she didn’t want her family to embarrass her. Of course, you agreed to the meal, but you didn’t expect your landlord to be there too.

You happily sat with the four Alvarez’s and Schneider for the meal but before you were able to take one bite, her grandmother begun to talk to you.

“So, Elena said that you are gay,” she started. “Elena is always annoying with the different marches and parades and meetings she goes to. I didn’t know that being gay could be a passion, but it is for her.”

“Abuelita!” Elena exclaimed. “Y/N doesn’t want to know about any of that. She is part of the GSA though.”

“Elena was also accepted to a writing program,” Penelope added. “No matter what she sets her mind to, she is able to do it.”

“Mamá!” Elena said through gritted teeth.

“And our Elena-“ Schneider started but her was cut off by the screeching of Elena’s chair being pushed away from the table.

She let out a loud and annoyed groan before stomping off to her bedroom. The rest of you were left in silence before you rose to your feet too.

“I’ll try to speak with her,” you said following after her, her family calling out good luck as you all knew that Elena could be rather fiery.

You knocked on her bedroom door, but she only told her mother to go away, not acknowledging if you had come to the door.

“Can I come in Elena?” You called.

“Yeah.”

As you entered the room, you found Elena lying on her bed, her glasses removed and her eyes red from a few tears escaping.

“What’s wrong?” You asked, sitting on the edge of her bed.

“They always try to intervene,” she frowned. “I shouldn’t have told them.”

“Told them what?”

She paused, realising there wasn’t really any way to escape what she had said.

“That I might like you,” she sighed, avoiding eye contact.

“Then I guess it’s a good thing that I might like you too,” you smiled.

Elena looked up at you with a beautiful smile, almost thankful for her family interfering in your interaction.

[lisbonsteresa]

I think one of the biggest sign for Alvareider end game is that they have Penelope in a relationship with all these swell guys. They've all been great so far! Right? But there's always that /one/ thing that just isn't right. Like season 2 - Max? He was good but he wanted kids. But Schneider, elena and alex /are/ his kids. Mateo? She doesn't care enough about him enough. But she cares about Schneider so so much. and I'm not making sense, am I?

And that’s another thing!

The men Penelope’s dated are all great guys and she’s happy with them……until she’s not. Because like you said, there’s just something about all of them that doesn’t match what she’s looking for. (For a better explanation than I can offer, I think it was @actuallylorelaigilmore who did a fantastic meta on the men in Penelope’s life in comparison to Schneider).

Like, let’s run down the list as I remember it lol

Ben in s1: great guy, helped Pen work through her feelings about Elena coming out, was as cool as he could be with Lydia having his phone number without meeting him, didn’t actually seem to meet any of Pen’s family, wasn’t as connected to her life as Victor obviously was when he returned, things ended largely because Pen was unsure how she felt about Victor

Victor: good guy, clearly still loves Pen and her family (I mean, that almost goes without saying), comfortable and familiar for her…..until he’s not, still struggling with his addictions and ptsd but still refusing to seek or accept help, reacts very badly to Elena coming out, ultimately leaves because he can’t accept it

Max in s2: fucking HOT (what, don’t tell me you weren’t thinking it), great guy, has the passion and fire that Pen likes, connects well with her family, i haven’t seen s2 since it first came out so sorry Max i don’t remember you as well as i’d like ultimately broke up because he wanted to have kids and Pen did not

Mateo in s3: great guy (sensing a theme?), clearly gets along well with Penelope, shares a lot of cultural values with her, fits in well with her family, but doesn’t have that…..fire that she’s looking for (he does, but like once, and then she literally starts forgetting to interact with him), ultimately broke up because to be blunt he didn’t hold her interest

Victor (again) in s3: comes back with a new fiancé, not really of romantic interest to Pen anymore, but helps her further realize that she doesn’t want to stay in a relationship if it’s not everything she wants, (also apologized to Elena and tried to start making things up to her so that deserves at least a small thumbs up)

And then if we compare all of those men with Schneider: clearly very cool with her family (to the point that they’ve probably wished he wasn’t so cool with them lol), like LOVES the entire family to death, dying to be included in it in any way they’ll take him, barely even blinks when he finds out Elena’s a lesbian, keeps her secret up until the point when she tells Penelope, struggling with his addictions but more open and honest about it (after a bit of trying to cover up is relapse, something we learn he largely does because he thinks he’ll be cut off from the family if they find out) and more accepting of help, helps Pen deal with her trauma, shows no inclination of wanting kids that are biologically his but adores Elena and Alex and considers them his kids if only by Pen/Lydia’s allowance, is - as much as she would like to deny it - pretty damn easy on the eyes, eager to learn and absorb the Alvarez’s culture (even if he is less than graceful and sometimes offensive in how he goes about it), comfortable and familiar for Pen but also has moments where he clearly shows the fire she likes so much, is goofy and privileged and clueless about a lot of things but knows her, has seen her at her very worst and not only accepted her when she felt out of control and lashed out at him without argument because he knew that wasn’t really her but comforted her and shrugged away her apologies when she came to him later feeling bad about doing so, is always there for her; to help bring Alex to baseball and cheer him on or set up Christmas lights around Lydia in her hospital bed and whisper that they’re not going to lose her or spout out endless possible couple names for Elena and Syd when the rest of the family have already grown tired of the debate or hold her after she gets bad news and the world feels like it’s cracking under her feet, makes her laugh, makes her roll her eyes when he does something stupid, lets her yell and cry, makes her feel that her kids and her mom and she herself are safe with him, a part of her life, fixed and permanent.

BASICALLY, the man’s the whole package. She just hasn’t realized that he’s her whole package yet.

[yorkesteins]

But the answer is 002 for all six Runaways. :P Tell me your deep thoughts on all the babies.

Gert Yorkes

How I feel about this character: baby angel, love of my life, best girl in the world, object of my projection

All the people I ship romantically with this character: chase stein

My non-romantic OTP for this character: obviously i love her relationship with molly, but her and alex had a couple of moments where they played off of each other in a very fun way! 

My unpopular opinion about this character: idk that i really have one? i love hulu gert more than comic gert but idk if that’s super unpopular? ariela plays her so beautifully and i adore that girl but let people be sad about the fat rep being erased bc it was already inconsistent? 

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: ariela’s mentioned wanting to explore her latinx heritage, and i want that so badly.

my OTP: gertchase gertchase gertchase

my cross over ship: lmao idek maybe elena alvarez bc i deserved elena/carmen

a headcanon fact: when she was six she told everyone she was gonna marry nico so nico would have to share her light up sneakers which made nico cry bc she didn’t want to get married OR share, which made gert cry, which made chase cry because gert was crying. Amy told on all of them. 

Chase Stein

How I feel about this character: he’s BABY. i love him. he’s trying his best. leave him alone he’s sad.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: gert yorkes. 

My non-romantic OTP for this character: also alex tbh. let them be BROS. 

My unpopular opinion about this character: it’s possible to make dumb decisions for valid reasons tbh. chase still has a lot of growing to do, but he got really vulnerable this season. he’s starting to confront and untangle a lot of shitty weird feelings around an abusive upbringing and i think it’s so far pretty fuckin nuanced. 

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: lol i want him to be able to say that the way both of his parents have treated him isn’t okay, and i want him get closure, and i want him to talk to his friends.

my OTP: gertchase gertchase gertchase

my cross over ship: uhhhhh idk peter parker would be funny tbh. or ty johnson?

a headcanon fact: was the green power ranger four times for halloween as a kid. bullied karolina, gert, and amy all into being the pink ranger different years; nico kicked him in the shin in lieu of a no.

Molly Hernandez

How I feel about this character: sweet baby child!! 

All the people I ship romantically with this character: she’s a baby!!! klara prast i guess? 

My non-romantic OTP for this character: oh chase and molly siblings in law 4ever

My unpopular opinion about this character: i’m torn between missing the dynamic that came w molly legit being so much younger in the comics but also liking the conflict being treated as younger when she’s really not much younger brings.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: i wanted chase to nickname her bruiser so badly lmao.

my OTP: i don’t rly have one? i do know molly is a lesbian tho 

my cross over ship: don’t have one

a headcanon fact: pretended to like one direction more than she ever did so gert could use her as a cover for going to concerts willing keeping her pretentious 14 year old Indie Fan Cred. Pretended to dislike them more than she did in front of gert for Bribes.

Nico Minoru

How I feel about this character: my witchy daughter whom i love!

All the people I ship romantically with this character: karolina dean. i didn’t mind alex, just not long term.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: nico and chase bickering siblings forever!!

My unpopular opinion about this character: i think my hulu nico opinions are all really standard, but i had a ton of issues with how she was written in the comics? mostly i do not think there’s a single man including bkv who has written comics of that character in a fair way lmao.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I just want quieter, relationship navigating moments with karolina, because they’ve been pretty plot centric or Big Declarations which is so nicer to see centered for a f/f ship! but i want some of the smaller moments where they’re just teenagers dating in a precarious situation

my OTP: deanoru

my cross over ship: idk kate bishop?

a headcanon fact: misses her co-star app with a burning passion, forced alex to let her use a hostel computer to do everyone’s charts. gert started off very critical, ends up yelling THIS IS BECAUSE YOU HAVE VENUS IN VIRGO at chase two hours later, nico is very smug

Karolina Dean

How I feel about this character: baby angel daughter!!!!

All the people I ship romantically with this character: nico minoru. julie power was fine you guys are just mean! interested to see how they do xavin in the show?

My non-romantic OTP for this character: more karolina and gert please!

My unpopular opinion about this character: i think her motivations w jonah made sense but weren’t earned enough by the storyline and it kind of did a disservice to her character development and also made her reaction to chase’s stuff kind of weird ngl. 

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: i just kind of wish her conflict with her parentage was stronger ngl? i think she had the best written parent betrayal in the comics, and i kind of wish we’d gotten something similar.

my OTP: deanoru

my cross over ship: america chavez?

a headcanon fact: tells nico she thought being born on a cusp meant she gets to pick which zodiac sign she feels more like. she kind of knows that’s not right, but nico’s really cute when she gets worked up about that kind of stuff.

Alex Wilder

How I feel about this character: BABY BOY

All the people I ship romantically with this character: livvie. again, liked nico in a temporary way? i’ve seen people write alex/victor mancha and i’m not mad about it.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: CHASE ALEX BROS

My unpopular opinion about this character: uh i love him and think he’s Trying His Best to stay in control of situation that he’s increasingly disillusioned by and also comic alex was a 16 year old kid who trusted and loved his parents in a way that was a lot more nuanced that the villainry he gets painted with~

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: i just want him to interact with the other kids more. rhenzy plays off them all really well.

my OTP:  alex/livvie? I think i’m less invested bc we’ve seen less of her but they were SO cute and i really want to see more of her

my cross over ship: .......also peter parker?

a headcanon fact: him and chase did star wars marathons like once a month growing up and always yell HAN SHOT FIRST in unison like total fucking dweebs. he hasn’t seen a new hope since before amy died. 

[chaengsooyaa]

guys im so happy rn... i was watching Isabella's live on Instagram and she answered two!! of my questions!! she said she's not going to see Ariela's band live cause she already had plans AND she SAID SHE'S 5'3!!!! I can't believe she noticed me twice I'm crying...

[bellabooks]

How “One Day at a Time” breaks new ground when it comes to sex and sexuality

“The Talk” is never easy, for teens and parents alike, and that’s why when Penelope and daughter Elena sit down to have it, it’s one of the most important LGBTQ moments we’ve seen on scripted television.  There’s an authenticity to One Day at a Time‘s handling of Elena’s sexuality, and perhaps that is because the show is at its heart, a comedy, and at moments of real connection, they never forget that life can be serious and sweet, funny and frantic, all at the same time. Spoilers ahead, so if you haven’t seen “The First Time” you may want to come back to this later. Penelope Alvarez is just trying to do the best she can, keeping her family afloat financially and emotionally, while remaining perfectly flawed and human. That’s why her response to finding out that Elena used her credit card as a deposit for a hotel room with Syd, hits her like a ton of bricks. In her heart and mind, she’s been preparing herself to have “the talk” with Elena, but when the moment actually presents itself, she can’t quite wrap herself around it. How do you have “the talk” when the script is very much flipped from your own experience? Well, the answer is…pretty much exactly the same way. That’s where One Day at a Time breaks new ground. (It helps to have queer voices in the writing room, too, and the show is blessed with Janine Brito on staff.) Penelope turns to her support group lesbian friend, Ramona (the always terrific Judy Reyes) for some real talk about non-hetero sex. Penelope learns that besides a few basic differences, Elena is going through much the same thing she did with her first. Mother and daughter sit down and for the first time that I can recall on a major television platform, discuss sex from a queer women’s perspective. Penelope doesn’t want to shame her daughter for having sex with Syd, and she also wants to make sure that Elena knows that sex can also come with a lot of emotions and connection that can change everything. Elena opens up, and we see her experience with Syd from her point of view. Desperate to be alone, Elena and Syd get a hotel room so they can finally, well at least Elena thinks, lose their virginity to each other. When Syd reveals that this is not their first time, Elena goes through the gamut of emotions. For Elena, it’s one thing to step into the unknown with someone on the same footing, but another when suddenly all your insecurities start popping up when you least expected them. For Syd, they are devoted and in love for the first time, and willing to wait for Elena to be 100% ready. This interaction, one that is the opposite of pressure and the epitome of kindness and empathy, helps Elena get past her worries and take that leap with Syd. That she shares this with her mother, shows the trust Elena and Penelope have with each other. Elena is good with her decision, and Penelope supports her daughter’s decision…but that doesn’t mean she gets to have the bedroom door closed now. It’s a parental statement that makes the audience laugh and is something many of us have heard as teens ourselves. The fact that Elena is gay doesn’t change a thing, and that’s pretty darn special. Season Three of One Day at a Time is available now on Netflix.   http://dlvr.it/QyqTPL