#I'd do anything for Gwen to get a nice character arc

[alexvacice]

having 1 am merlin thoughts while reading fanfic and ughhhh

I was thinking about Arthur's bane and how someone on here mentioned that it would make more sense for it to be Merlin, not Arthur himself and all the angst possibilities that could come from that. If it really played out I imagine they'd say Emrys was Arthur's bane, so the writers would have to have him figure out that Emrys is Merlin, basically a magic reveal, at basically the start of season 5. They could have a falling out, where Gwen would have the opportunity to be a person and not just wife(tm), yknow help Merlin out, reason with Arthur and whatnot. Then they'd band together again and we'd have time for a Merthur adventure with magic revealed and the ending could still play out the same (I will not be taking any fixings for that, I love how it ended, you can't change the most important part of the legends).

I know Emrys is already Morgana's bane but honestly if you changed it to Arthur not much would change storywise, she'd just have a better reason for turning on Arthur.

And I have a fix for Mordred's arc as well. Instead of Kara, who's addition really bring the emotional impact the writers were going for, we'd built it on a misunderstanding. Merlin can't be with Arthur for a few days because he's helping Gaius gather rare herbs (wowee love that excuse) so Arthur's standing on his own. Some random guy, who's staying with the druids, tries to assassinate Arthur. He takes it surprisingly well and tries to visit the druid camp to discuss it (cause he's being a proper progressive king, can you tell I am not a writer?) but he brings a legion of knights with him just in case. Shit goes nut nut, because druids think they're under attack. Some of them have survived Arthur's last raid and they're terrified of him now so they immediately go into defense. Arthur fights back and because he's a killing machine it quickly truns into an actual raid unintentionally which destroys the entire camp. Mordred, back in Camelot hears about this, and thinks to himself that Arthur isn't reformed at all, that he will still kill innocent people only for having magic, so he realises Morgana was right and goes to her. It's a mmmmm yummy scrummy cycle of terrible decisions and inascapable horrible events, just how I like all my shows.

[nitewrighter]

On the (continued) topic of Spidey in DC, if I can be a bit crass with the subject matter... how many DC heroines (or DC villainesses, if you want to dip your toes in that puddle) do you think would find Peter/Spidey genuinely attractive as a person, even if they might not actually get to see his face? Not to step on Gwen or MJ's toes or anything but I feel like a lot of DC ladies would see that prime real estate and want in on that property, iykwim.

I just feel like there'd be, on more than one occasion, moments where a few random lady members of the League would absolutely play a few rounds of FMK if bored enough, Spider-Man would be among the choices, and it's usually F or M, but almost never K for the webslinger.

Honestly Spider-Man's like a brother to me, and a kid brother at that (...maybe because he's my younger brother's favorite superhero...), so beyond MJ (and to a much lesser extent Deadpool), I never really 'got' the concept of Spidey as the Marvel Comics Community Bicycle. He talks too much, and when he's put next to other heroes, it very quickly becomes "talks too much because he's self-conscious," so like, he's relatable to me, absolutely, but he's never really been that much of a romantic lead in my head. He's too much of the narrative's chew toy to be that, so like... you do have some overlap with Jimmy Olsen in that respect.

That being said, if I had to pick like... potential DC characters that would be into him, I'd say definitely Misa, my deep-cut fave from the 90's Superman comics that everyone has forgotten about. She has a fun tech-hippie look. She's obnoxious, she likes to cause problems on purpose--but deep down she's actually surprisingly well-meaning and very supportive of other characters going through really sloppy points in their own character arcs. She can be delightful fun in that "Aren't you tired of being nice? Don't you just want to go apeshit?" sense that I think would be a good contrast to Spidey. On top of that, they both have a passion for gadgetry! I'd love to see her tinker with his spider-suit capabilities! This, again, is Spidey moving into Jimmy Olsen's territory, because Misa was also a romantic interest for Jimmy Olsen for a handful of issues.

Again, I'd also like to see Spidey get sucked into the Forever People polycule. There's no escape. Just osmose him in.

I should probably try and veer this to more recognizable names, but I could also see 20-something Spider-Man getting with a Green Lantern. Either Kyle Rayner or Jessica Cruz. The mainstream Justice League I largely see perceiving Spider-Man as pretty much a kid. Zatanna could be a fun option, and also versatile depending on like, what level-of-maturity Spidey you want to work with.

OHH DONNA TROY OR CASSANDRA CAIN. WOMEN WHO WILL ELBOW-DROP HIM AND HE'LL THANK THEM FOR IT. Guy who goes "Hiiiii" and girl who goes "Bruh" power couples.

Blonde Twink stick-in-the-mud Brainiac-5 is an option, too. Someone to be geeky with but who is also kind of a bitch to offset your obnoxiousness. (Give him back his looong haaaaair).

Also I don't know if this would be shippy, but I would be interested in seeing him interact with Raven. Just the combination of Hope/Despair/Crushing Responsibility/Empathy would be very interesting to watch.

[thelaurenshippen]

I absolutely love TBS, and I got my uncle to listen to it : from all the podcasts I rec'ed to him, this is the one he prefers! I really appreciate how complex (yet coherent) all of your characters are, and how real their relationships seem. The way you write flaws is really inspiring and incredibly comforting as well. Do you maybe have any advice on how to write believable romantic relationships? I've never had one and thus struggle to write it, especially the process of starting to build one.

ahhh thank you SO much! and omg, I'm so glad your uncle likes it!! uncle approval!!

I also really appreciate the kind words about character flaws - I love writing complex and imperfect characters, so its always nice to know when they resonate!

in terms of romantic relationships....that's SUCH an interesting question. and I absolutely do not think that having a romantic relationship in your real life is a precursor to writing compelling romantic relationships. when I wrote TBS, I'd only had one serious romantic relationship and used exactly....zero of it for inspiration. I'm in a serious partnership now (only my second serious relationship) and I don't think I ever really directly draw on it - it's a relationship that's taught me a lot about myself and helped me grow (as great friendships do too), which of course makes me a better writer (and I hope a better human too), but when I'm writing romance, I feel like I'm building it from an entirely different set of blocks, if that makes sense.

I think a big part of it is that I love romance. I love love love it. and there's so much I love in romance stories that I would never ever want in my real life! which I think gives me the flexibility of (hopefully) being able to write different types of relationships.

okay, so, then, where do I turn for inspiration if not in my real life? well, a few things:

read romance! a few favorites from the last few years - anything by Alexis Hall (Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake and Boyfriend Material are two faves and I'm reading and loving A Lady for a Duke right now), The Charm Offensive, The Ex Talk, One Last Stop, Spoiler Alert

read Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes! it's a book all about how to structure romance novels, but I think all the principles apply to all mediums

watch and rewatch your favorite romances in tv/film and take notes on what works for you and what doesn't. I can't tell you the number of times I've watched the 2005 P&P. I've thought seriously about why Rachel/Joey works for me in Friends more than Rachel/Ross. I've watched how they pull off the will-they-won't-they in New Girl and Chuck a million times (both are a masterclass in timing - they get the two people together within the first two seasons (VITAL!!! you can't take too long!) and then maintain tension and conflict while giving you reasons to always keep rooting for them). Hannibal is one of my favorite tv shows of all time specifically for the way it unfolds its central romance - how do you make a story a love story when it is primarily about murder and losing your mind? what does that love story look like when consummated? (bloody, the answer is bloody)

and then I love reading fanfic of these love stories! what does Jonah/Amy from Superstore look like if they get together earlier and other parts of life don't get in the way? what happens if you pair a character with their canon partner versus a non-canon partner? a big thing I've been doing recently is diving into the tag for popular ships on tumblr that I don't personally ship. there's lots of ships in things I watch where I'm like "I get it, but I don't feel it" and I think it's so valuable to read a few beloved fics to try and understand it. even if that understanding is "nope! still don't like it!" that's so valuable too!

which brings me to - keeping notes. I have a running list of themes/tropes/archetypes/romance arcs that I like and dislike (sometimes this is a real list, sometimes its mental). it's just as important to know what you don't like as it is what you do. especially since, if you come across a trope you don't like in something but it doesn't bother you as much in a particular ship, you can learn so much from how that person wrote that trope in a way that didn't bug you! for instance, both cheating and accidental pregnancy are two big turn-offs for me in terms of ships, but, like, Sense8 with Kala/Wolfgang/Rajan tracked over some cheating elements but did it SO elegantly (and then solved the problem of love triangles the way I wish ALL love triangles were solved lol).

let all this stuff stew and marinate and when it comes to building a romance, start with the things you know you like! for instance, with Caleb/Adam and Max/Ross (The Bright Sessions and Maxine Miles respectively) I knew I wanted to start with a kind of enemies-to-lovers, because that usually compels me more than childhood-friends-to-lovers. BUT because they're teenagers and teenagers can be very cruel, I wanted to make sure never to veer into the bully/bullied getting together trope, because that's veryyyyy hard to do well imo. so Caleb and Adam were more slightly estranged/not friendly rather than enemies and Max and Ross had the history of being friends and then just growing up and starting to annoy each other bc deep down they wanted to kiss. that's another thing I love - mutual pining. and with that, it can't just be that each character is pining equally and equally aware of it - Adam knew he was pining for Caleb but Caleb had no idea until all of a sudden he did, and then his ability created a nice complicating factor for the pining. for Max and Ross, it's the same thing - Ross knows he's pining and Max is pining but oblivious about it (for now). for mutual pining in general, there has to be a reason why they can't just get their acts together, and one of them being an idiot is usually a good one lol. or, I'm writing a cowboy romance right now, and both men know they're pining but there's so much baggage in their past (enemies to friends to pining to enemies to reluctant partners to lovers) that they're shoving it down

practice on fanfic! I did this so much last year, and worked out a lot of different strategies - fanfic bingos are great for practice because they can force you to try out tropes you wouldn't ordinarily

okay, gosh, this got so long and I'm not sure it was helpful at all, and also I'm pretty sure I'm several years late on answering this ask, so I hope this is at least somewhat interesting! thank you for the question!

[grizzs-garden]

Seeing as I totally failed, and asked you for someone you had already done... :)) I'd love to see you answer for both Clark and Gwen?

Of course! Get ready for a long post!

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Why I like them:

Clark -- liking Clark is of course complicated, cause he was kind of this problematic goofy footballer white boy in the beginning, which is admirable in the sense of comedic relief. But then he goes off the deep end (like most white boys in the show jfjskdkd). I just like his interactions with the guard from the beginning of the season for the most part.

Gwen -- to be completely honest I don't like Gwen too much. I think she's strong-willed, which is admirable, and she knows how to cheat the system to get what she wants (pretending to still date Clark in order to have her own room). She's got some smarts in how to get her way, which can be both a good and bad thing.

Why I don't like them:

Clark -- The first time I thought "huh maybe this dude is serious bad news" was when he beat Dewey in the wine cellar. I don't like how violent and power hungry he can be. The once blissful, likable idiot turned into an ignorant, violent asshole pretty quick.

Gwen -- I never really liked the whole "boy-crazy" thing, especially the FMK with someone else's boyfriend?? Anyway I think she's just got a lot of girl drama that I don't care for at all.

Favorite episode:

Clark -- Episode 5 "Putting on the Clothes" is my favorite for him not only because it has the famous raid scene but because it has the scene where he beats Dewey. As much as I hate him for it, that scene reveals a lot about Clark's character and foreshadows his power hungry, defy-the-rules-to-get-what-I-want attitude.

Gwen -- Episode 10 "How it Happens" because it has the scene where she talks with Grizz in his tent during the expedition. Although her motivations were not ideal, they actually both shared some much needed vulnerability with each other. She's not in the series much so it's hard to pick out a favorite episode for her, but I think that's the one.

Favorite season: last time I interpreted this as favorite scene because we only have one season, so I'll pick a scene they're both in! I've always really liked the scene where Clark and Gwen are walking Elle home from movie night and Clark tries to quote Princess Bride (and fails miserably). I've just always liked Clark's goofy "My name... is Undigo Montoya...." and Gwen's laughter with "that's not how it goes!" (even if Campbell has to ruin it be being possessive over Elle).

Favorite line:

Clark -- ok to be honest I don't remember much of what he's said but there's a scene that's giffed somewhere on here where he and Jason are arguing with Grizz about being in charge. He says something like, "We got ideas." To which Jason says, "We do?" And Clark corrects, "We could have ideas." And I've just thought that's one of his many stupid/funny quotes. I never remember anything serious he's said cause tbh its probably mostly problematic.

Gwen -- this is hard cause she doesn't really say much. I think I'm going to go with the line she says at the end of her scene with Grizz in his tent. It's something like, "Well, I'm still cold and lonely. Can I stay?" I think it just speaks volumes about acceptance and shows that Gwen is really just lonely and needs someone to count on and make her feel safe.

Favorite outfit:

Clark -- I dont know why but I think he especially looks like such a dork in that letterman's jacket. I mean yeah they all look kinda funny in them but he especially makes it look dorky. There's also a photo out there from the prom episode where he's got a blue clown wig on and it's quite the fashion statement.

Gwen -- I really like her prom outfit! It's a good color on her and the skirt has a nice floral print. I don't often like florals but she looks cute in it.

OTP: I don't really have an otp for either of them?? Generally because they were dating each other and kept their break up a secret.

Brotp:

Clark -- well obviously Jason. They're like tweedledee and tweedledum. They share half a brain cell. They are the ultimate brotp.

Gwen -- probably Grizz. She's the only person he's confided in with his sexuality (besides Sam). On the same level, he's the only person she's the least bit vulnerable with in the whole show, so I think they could be good friends.

Headcanon:

Clark -- His best classes in high school were science classes! He might've needed some help with the math portions, but he rocked the hell out of labs (even if he refused to wear safety goggles properly).

Gwen -- She's actually really nice and sweet if you make an effort to get to know her. She puts up and icey front to protect aspects of herself she's self-conscious about, but if you make an effort to be her true friend, she'll opens up with time. It's just that she's afraid of sincerity, but once you've gotten past that, she's really a good friend.

Unpopular opinion: I'm sorry but they're both exactly the type of people I would hate if they went to my school. If I saw Clark and Gwen in person, I would despise them on a surface level. It's just that they both hold morals that are not even close to those that I agree with. Seeing them on screen is different because I appreciate them as characters and can dissect them through analysis, but if I saw them in person I'd probably steer clear in the nicest way possible.

A wish:

Clark -- for Clark I wish a major redemption arc. I know he's been kind of a jerk from the beginning but I want him to realize that he doesn't have to be in power to get treated like someone with a brain. Because we joke about these guys being idiots but I think, given the opportunity, they could come up with good ideas an solutions to problems.

Gwen -- for Gwen I wish she would realize that she doesn't need a boyfriend or a hookup to feel good about herself. I think a lot of her personality is stored within being with a man and I just want her to find out that life isn't all about having a romantic/sexual partner.

Oh God please dont.... let Clark go too off the deep end I want my nice goofy guard back goddammit.

Oh God please dont.... make Gwen a villain of any kind?? She doesn't deserve that.

5 words to describe them:

Clark -- Goofy but dangerously power hungry.

Gwen -- hides behind romance, very lonely.

Nickname:

Clark -- I just call him by his name most times. I do like his last name (Beecher) though. Also my dog's brother's name is Clark so there's that.

Gwen -- again I just call her by her name. It makes me think of Queen Guinevere though, so her name sounds very royal to me.