#bellarke as soulmates no doubt

[neyantkomskaikru]

“Bellarke was endgame, did you see how they looked at each other in that one episode?” This was how Clarke looked at Lexa after 131 years. 131. Just because Lexa died doesn’t mean Clexa wasn’t endgame. You don’t just “move on” from your soulmate, and Clarke loved her every second of every minute of every day for those 131 years, and most likely until the day she died. And I don’t doubt for a second that if the roles were reversed that Lexa would’ve been any different. They were made for each other.

The show should’ve ended differently. Douchenberg should’ve gotten over himself and sent us off on a good note. I 100% believe Alycia would’ve been willing to do that. Instead we have another file for the “bury your gays” portfolio. Lexa had so much potential. Such a shame…

[she-who-the-river-could-not-hold]

20 questions For Fic Writers

tagged by @queen-of-the-wallflowers15 – thank you so much darling!!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 76 on my main account, 3 on my secondary

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 889,141

3. What fandoms do you write for? The 100, Stranger Things, and Six of Crows are my main three. On my semi-secret 🌶️ AO3 account, I did one Until Dawn AU and I could see that account exploring a few more fandoms. As for my main, I'm not sure if it'll change up any time soon!

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

"Stardust, In You and In Me" [Bellarke] | wc: 32.7k | rated: T | tags: soulmate/soulmark au, college au, slow burn "I Heard You" [Mike x Eleven] | wc: 24.6k | rated: G | tags: college au, fluff, dating "Traces of You" [Bellarke] | wc: 23k | rated: T | tags: royalty au, arranged marriage au, slow burn "In the Gravity of You" [Bellarke] | wc: 7.6k | rated: T | tags: sci-fi setting, fake dating, fluff "Prisoner's Dilemma" [Bellarke] | wc: 2.3k | rated: G | tags: canonverse, season 5 au, hostage taker and his GIRLFRIEND

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I try to! I've recently fallen a bit behind, but I'd love to wrap them up before the end of the year. It's rare enough (at least for me) to get any comments so I do try to make sure I follow up even it's just a quick thanks!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? For one of @troped-fanfic-challenge 's old Chopped Challenges, there was an angst round and I absolutely wrote the most angsty thing I've ever written.

"and the road gets tough" [Harper x Monty] | wc: 4.5k | rated: M | tags: roadtrip au, season 4!Harper, warnings for implied character death

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? A lot of my old Stranger Things fics are pretty fluffy, but I'd say that my Bellarke/Gilmore Girls AU is definitely a pretty specific happy ending. Especially in terms of how happy I am I guess with capturing the feel I wanted for it!

"dance away your fear of love" [Bellarke] | rated: T | wc: 6.1k | tags: Gilmore Girls AU, exes to friends to lovers, pining, co-parenting

8. Do you get hate on fics? I never really have, I feel thankful! I get the occasional odd comment but nothing has ever come across as actual "hate" in my opinion.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I do! Sort of. I'm a bit of a fade to black writer on my main account. I'm someone that's very comfortable with sex being in stories, whether simply for pleasure or for plot/character devices, but I actually rarely write it myself. It doesn't always feel authentic for my own stories or necessarily for it to be explicit. Except of course for the fore-mentioned 🌶️ account, that naturally is extremely explicit lol. And for that smut, it's more the themes that I try to push than the actual smut itself.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? If I'm remembering correctly, in middle school I tried writing a Harry Potter x Young Dracula AU. But I'm not very interested in crossovers in general!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not to my knowledge! Hopefully not!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? I haven't, or at least no one has ever reached out if they have. It's such a cool concept though! Fanfic is such a cool community overall!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? So approximately 15+ years ago, an old friend and I co-wrote a "book" together (it was absolutely just OC-based fanfic for Peter and the Starcatchers and definitely not actually as original as we thought). And I'd get feedback from my friends for our old OC-insert Harry Potter stories, but I did write those on my own. But all of that was in middle school so it's been a long time!

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship? I'm pretty equally feral for Bellarke (The 100) and Scully/Mulder (The X-Files), even though I don't write anything for the latter!

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Let's pretend in good faith I'll finish all of the ones I've started. Though this might be awarded to my Bellarke, dark magic fantasy AU one. I have a lot of cool ideas for it but I have a hunch it'll be one that's always out of reach of being completed. Also seemingly no one checked it out compared to my usual fics so I don't think anyone is curious, which shouldn't ever really be a deciding factor but never helps!

16. What are your writing strengths? I'd definitely say world building! I'm a designer/artist/occasional photographer outside of ~fandom~ so I'm actually much more of a visual person than I am anything else. And writing gives me a chance to create the visions I have in my head! World building and atmosphere is my favorite part and I like to think it's my biggest strength! Also I like to make things feel canon, which I think I'm pretty good at.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I routinely say dialogue, though I think scalable levels of plot that feel both interesting but still fun. I'm much better at themes and main concepts than I am at smaller plot points to get there.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Probably a great idea! I've just never really had a need to, but I think if it fits then it's a fun detail to add. I'd just try to really make sure I did it correctly (or as close as possible).

19. First fandom you wrote for? I'm about 98% sure it was Harry Potter. Peter Pan holds a potential close second option.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? This is a tricky one, probably comes down to two for different reasons. One because it was incredibly self-indulgent and an AU of one of my favorite movies. The other because it was my longest fic and I actually think I maintained the quality the whole way through, while also finishing it at a normal pace!

"Most Sacred" [Bellarke] | wc: 48.8k | rated: E | tags: Midsommar AU, character death, slow burn, season 7 inspired "Somewhere in These Eyes (I'm on Your Side)" [Eddie x Chrissy] | wc: 78.9k | rated: M | tags: falling in love, no upside down, strangers to lovers

Tagging: @kinetic-elaboration, @carrieeve, @thelittlefanpire, @lucascsinclairs, and uhhh anyone else who wants to do this and tag me!

[yiangchen]

I read a post s2 Blarke fic once where Clarke went from grounder village to grounder village, learning things from them and healing. It had several parts to it. I think maybe eight?? One of the parts was Clarke returning to camp and reuniting with Bellamy. The character work done on it was just so good and I wanna read it again, BUT I CAN’T FIND IT ANYWHERE.

[eyessharpweaponshot]

hi there!! are there any fics you’re reading right now that you would recommend? i need something good after the season we’ve been given so far 😣

hello there!

I agree, this season has been disappointing - especially considering it’s the last one. but thankfully, our fandom is full of amazing writers that serve us goods regularly. I have so much to recommend, it’s a joke. so prepare for a long fic rec. In no particular order, let’s begin:

1. Chasin’ You - @burninghoneyatdusk

okay. you’re gonna see a bit of a theme with me in these fic recs because the authors I mention are some of my favourites in the world - sam being one of the TOP TIER ones. this fic is a modern au, written about clarke and bellamy as exes (a favourite trope of mine) that have went their separate ways. clarke has moved away and hasn’t kept tabs on bellamy but he's soared to the top as a country star, his hit single being about her and what they had. if there’s any fic from this list you need to start reading, it’s this one.

2. Voices in the Water - @burninghoneyatdusk

It’s the canon version we all wanted. set on earth, clarke’s aunt (nia) forces her into an arranged marriage with king bellamy to unite the clans. but under it all, nia has tasked her to kill him. obviously, as clarke falls in love with bellamy, it’s the one task wanheda probably can’t complete. I'm in love with the imagery and descriptions in this fic. there are honestly some lines that sam writes that I want to frame and put up in my house. absolute brilliance.

3. All Because of You - @burninghoneyatdusk

*sheepishly raises hand* - hi, it’s me again, fangirling over another one of sam’s fics. if you have followed me for a while, either here or on twitter, you’ll have seen me screaming about this fic. I've pulled over while driving to read an update that came through to my email. no lie. I don’t say this lightly but it is definitely in my top 3 favourite bellarke fics of all time. sam DELIVERS with this one. bellamy knocks up his sister’s best friend when they’re both young and they grow together in raising their daughter. this fic flashes between present and future in the most seamless way and we see how in love they were back then but too scared to admit it, combined with how in love they are now that they are mature and older - but yet can’t seem to take the leap. I can’t tell you enough how good this fic is. I'm in love and it’s one of those fics that I would happily have as a book on my bookshelf, the pages worn and falling out from the amount of times that I re-read it.

*I just want to note that sam is doing a fantastic job at running @bellarkefic-for-blm. This is an opportunity for the bellarke community to directly support the Black Lives Matter cause through reading and writing fanfiction. For every fanfiction prompt a participating writer receives, they ask that you donate to an organization that supports the BLM cause. This initiative includes non-bellarke the 100 ships and requests for other content (e.g. gif sets, icons, moodboards, fanart). please check them out and request a prompt (this also includes updates for the above mentioned fics)*

4. Count Your Teeth - @icantloseyou-too

let me tell you, you guys will be well fed after reading this fic. It’s one of the most original idea’s and we get so much bellarke and the blake siblings in this one. bellamy is a treasure hunter and married to clarke, after leaving his thieving days behind him. that is until his past comes knocking and drags him back into that world again - and clarke along with him. absolute chefs kiss!

5. Cups and Sorcerers - @icantloseyou-too

again, such a unique plot with just the right amount of fluff. clarke is a witch who owns a coffee shop and she ends up meeting someone just as unique as her. I’m invested in this to an embarrassing degree and it always puts me in a good mood when this fic is updated. such a light and heart filling read and ciara does a fantastic job of world building in this fic.

6. Paint me in Trust - @pawprinterfanfic

I'm sure this fic needs no introduction. everyone and their mother has heard of it and if you haven’t read it yet, believe me, you’re missing out. a harry potter au that runs alongside the last few movies without being involved with the main characters. essie manages to make an already existing world so different, thrilling and gripping. it emotionally upends you and takes you along for the ride without any intention of letting you off. I'm just in love with it and rightly so!

7. When the Wolves Come Home - @pawprinterfanfic

I don’t know how people aren’t RAVING about this fic more because I certainly am. it’s massive for me to even say this because I love all of essie’s work but it’s my favourite fic that she’s written. I can’t describe the feeling I get when I read how she’s written bellarke in this. it’s a percy jackson au but you don’t need to have knowledge of that world to enjoy this. I actually started reading the books because of this fic. essie writes it so well and incorporates a lot of fantastic elements from greek mythology while also keeping me on the edge of my seat with bellarke’s journey. HERE FOR IT ALL THE WAY.

8. I’ll Find You in the Morning Sun - @cominguproses13x

I’ve never seen a fic talked about as much as this one. with 60 chapters, it’s bound to satisfy any hunger you have for bellarke. it’s set in a post apocalyptic world and it is beyond a shadow of a doubt, my favourite setting to read bellarke in. I've actually stopped reading this fic on chapter 5 because im currently writing my own post apocalyptic au as it was a trope on my bingo card and I don’t want any subconscious spill over, but I fully intend on reading the rest of the fic in one go once my fic is published and done. it deserves all the praise and hype.

9. For Blue Skies - @kombellarke

kayla’s fics make me actually weep. her writing style is just unbelievable and she sucks me into stories so fast. this one is no different. I live and breathe for bellarke as exes and this fic is one of my favourites. it’s a modern au with clarke as a mother and she cascades back into bellamy’s life without warning. perfect angst and anticipation. in love.

10. Love Like Fools - @talistheintrovert

the way I love talis with my whole heart. I'm always obsessed with her fics and the way this one was written was just magnificent. enemies to friends to lovers, roommates, angst, emotional comforting? SIGN ME UP. the perfect mix of all of those and I felt so good after reading this. always a fan.

11. It Had To Be You - @useyourtelescope

I had the honour of pre-reading some of this fic before it was published and I felt so privileged. a regency au with a prank war sprinkled in? perfection. hana honestly writes this so beautifully and I can’t recommend this enough. it’s so unique and we are all so incredibly lucky that there’s something in the bellarke fic world for everyone.

12. Veni, Vidi, Vinci - @carrieeve

Again, proof of the pudding that there’s something in fic for everyone. I’ve never read one like this before and it THRILLED me. murphy and bellamy working together to steal a Vinci? it was the fic I never knew I needed. the bellarke interaction in this was beautifully written and I am just completely obsessed. we really struck gold with the bellarke big bang works this year.

13. A Twist of Fate - @queenemori

let’s be honest, soulmate au’s are always wanted and needed in this fandom and kara does an excellent job of serving us this one. we got some team cockroach in here along with some top tier quality bellarke. what more could you ask for? if you haven’t read this fic yet, you need to. so thankful for kara being the absolute gifted babe that she is.

14. Power Over Me - @sparklyfairymira

okay, if you recently watched the witcher on netflix like I did, believe me, you NEED to read this fic. if you haven’t watched the witcher, this fic will make you want to watch it. the smut in this, the plot, the WRITING. absolutely phenomenal. have I mentioned how lucky we are to have such fantastic writers in this fandom?

15. There’s a Serpent Lying Deep Down in These Still Waters - @shaeheda

post apocalyptic au? SIGN ME UP. bellarke thrown together in unkind circumstances? SIGN ME UP. this magnificent human writing a fic? SIGN ME THE FUCK UP. I'm so in love with this fic already and I haven’t even finished it yet. as I've said, I've stopped reading fics in this genre until my own is completed but I’ve read enough to tell you that this needs to be on your next to read list. forever in awe of the talent here and this fic makes me feel so lucky to be part of something so great.

I hope this satisfies you for a while and that you enjoy all the bellarkey goodness that comes from these fics. I'm gonna drop some of mine below because why not? just in case you’re in need of something more.

1. I Found Peace in Your Violence

clarke griffin has it all. she’s popular, an artistic prodigy and has a wealthy family to boot. so when her perfect world comes crashing down around her, it’s time to sink or swim. she tests positive for the Homicidal Tendency Syndrome gene, also known as the kill gene. clarke is plucked from her comfortable life and placed into a school with people just like her - carriers, delinquents. when she meets bellamy blake there, he looks like everything they say HTS carriers are. a monster, a criminal. yet, he’s the one who protects her.

2. I Am Lost This Time

a void!bellamy fic that we all deserved to have happen in canon. an au where bellamy hears clarke’s radio calls from earth, sees her memories in m-cap and where she really is the key: the one that unlocks his memories and brings him back to her.

3. Purple, Blue, Orange, Red

bellarke are childhood friends and teenage lovers, reuniting in the midst of the same grief that tore them apart.

4. Devil Side

post apocalyptic setting and my favourite fic to have ever written. both of them coming together to survive and protect those in their family, including two small children. bellarke started out as strangers, who would have thought that they’d end up co-parenting in the middle of a world that is too dangerous to survive out in the open?

5. Waste It on Me

a soulmate/reincarnation au that I wrote based off my own breakup and feelings. probably my most popular fic and should keep you going in terms of bellarke feels.

[useyourtelescope]

when you’re alone with me

Bellarke Fanfiction | Explicit Regency AU | Arranged Marriage | Soulmates | Dream Sex

Six years had passed since Miss Clarke Griffin's debut into society without her finding a match, so she was irritated but not surprised when her mother suggested an arranged marriage. She was still doubtful before meeting Mr. Bellamy Blake, but he soon surpassed Clarke's expectations and she realised she could easily picture herself as his wife. There was just one problem—and it was not annoyance that her mother had found her a better match than Clarke had been able to find for herself. She had started having her soulmate dreams.

moodboard by @carrieeve

written for @theatre-steph who donated to the Tides Foundation Black Lives Matter Support Fund as part of @t100fic-for-blm

[link in reblog]

[sometimesrosy]

Some clexa shippers were happy just to see Lexa again, even if it wasn't really Lexa. Just the same way a Bellamy fan would have been excited if he appeared for Raven, even though it wouldn't actually be Bellamy.

Others of us are upset in part because of the queerbaiting JR has done throughout the entire show regarding Lexa and clexa but also because watching t100 and seeing clexa again brought up too many bad memories from 307. It's a unique pain to see a gay girl be killed by her overly controlling, religious father figure directly after sleeping with another girl, directly after realizing that love isn't weakness (the narrative decision to give that mindset to lexa specifically was also a concerning one).

And for some of us we already knew that they were soulmates, and for others this was a confirmation of that. There's a lot of mixed feelings around it.

Also to add onto my ask about the reaction of clexa shippers, most of us haven't watched since 307 and even fewer have watched past S3

+++

CL shippers feelings about CL and Lxa are all valid.

They deserve to feel like JR did them dirty because he did. 

And I’m sorry but putting her in at the last minute does NOT make up for it and it also does not give them endgame. 

I don’t think of them as soulmates because, well, I think of Bellarke as soulmates. Unless I consider soulmates to be a thing that can happen with multiple people, not just “the one and only true love” which actually is what I do believe. So in that case they are. Even if not endgame. 

There should never be any doubt that they loved. 

And we should also consider the way they strung the CL community along for years afterwards. They killed Lxa and the flame about a half a dozen times. 

The CL crowing about L as endgame or true love or whatever, doesn’t seem to be about Lxa or CL to me. It’s about telling Bellarkers to go fuck themselves. It’s about declaring CL as winning the shipwars and Bellarke as nothing, which if y’all DID watch the rest of the show, you’d know is false, and JR screwed Bellarkers over just as much as he screwed CL’s over. L at least got a good death where there was resonance and emotion and she, like, got to be grieved and had a funeral and she got to come back, in reality, to save the day and even later, we got to see her and people talked about how important she was and how much she was beloved.

And Bellamy, the male lead just....

STOPPED.

His death scene lasted like 30 seconds. No one grieved. He got no extended mortality although Sheidheda was just as mortally wounded and survived. They brought people who died (emori) back to life, but created rules about why Bellamy couldn’t. It was reinforced for FOUR YEARS that Clarke loved lexa, but never once said at all outloud with Bellamy, even though the narrative reinforced again and again that she loved him, needed him, he kept her sane, etc.

JR callously and thoughtlessly killed of Lxa for drama.

JR maliciously and vindictively killed of Bellamy and then erased him, with no drama. No deathbed confession, no ceremony, no funeral, no statement of “oh but I loved him,” although that would not have changed his story, instead he reinforced again and again that he was “just” her bestfriend, after YEARS of calling him her soulmate. That was a DIRECT choice to strike at the Bellarke fandom.

He felt sorry for what he did to you guys. He gave you an edited love confession in the COL, and then a whole scene in s4 where she told her mom she loved her. And pictures and memories and references. AND HE ERASED BELLAMY COMPLETELY. 

And if people are upset about social injustice of the Dead Lesbian trope, for righteous reasons, shouldn’t they also be upset about the discarding of a MOC lead as if he wasn’t even important enough to give a decent send off? 

Your CL fandom shouldn’t be having a party about endgame CL or whatever. Y’all should be just as mad at the manipulation and baiting of this end as we are.

You got a sparkly purple Lxa. Or rather, you got a sparkly purple magic god alien dressed up in a Lxa skin. JR had Gabriel SHOOT the flame, or he could have brought back ALL the commanders on that beach, since emori was brought back from the minddrive. He COULD have given CL a real endgame, but he didn’t. 

But CLs see sparkly purple Fake Lxa and they feel like they won.

NONE of us won. He screwed us all over.

Except for Memori fans. That was shipperific. They got a good ending. They even stuck Hope and Jordan and Octavia and Levitt together totally unearned.  Oh look, love WAS okay, for THEM. 

But not for Clarke. Not for Bellamy. And NOT for lxa. 

[otp-armada]

"Bellarke doesn't make sense," they say. They say because Clarke hasn't done anything that resembles romantic gestures toward Bellamy. 

Conceding to march to her possible death in exchange for Roan sparing Bellamy's life. Obstinately fighting against Bellamy's stubborn wishes to remain outside the Ark while Praimfaya burns to the world to ashes. Shattering her soul by choosing 100 people to live and writing his name on the list, because he must survive. She can't have it any other way. Relinquishing 50 of those spots to Azgeda when Bellamy is captured and threatened, and Roan calls her bluff. Desperation driving her to the extreme to ensure the survival of the human race, yet unable to kill Bellamy to keep the bunker closed and the grounders from possibly killing Skaikru. Leaving the guaranteed safety of the fort to stay by Bellamy's side on the brink of global cataclysm. The bittersweet yet soft head and heart exchange she prompted. The hesitation in her last remark before imploring him to hurry. 

4x13 ends six years and seven days post-Praimfaya with Clarke radioing Bellamy on the Ring. An activity she performs daily for six years. In any six years of my adult life, my only daily consistencies have been limited to breathing, eating, and sleeping. This girl is devoted enough to send her equivalent of love letters into the emptiness of space for 2,199 days. Season 5 opens with her trying to survive by herself in an apocalyptic wasteland. She spends her journey narrating to him her unvarnished struggles during the most traumatic experience of her young life to date. Her despondency. Her loneliness. Her agony. Her desperation. Her small victories. Her discovered treasures. Her determination. Her doubt. Her guilt. Her defeat. Her morbid self-reflection. Her relief and contentment. Her happiness. Her admission of missing him. She shares all of it with only him. Only he is permitted to know her to this depth. Not any of her other people on the Ring. Not any of her people in the bunker, a group including her mother. Not a spiritual communion to the great, big love of her life Lxa, situated on her throne in the high heavens and waiting for her trophy wife, for Clarke to stay connected to her dearly departed. Isn't that the sort of behavior that might occur by a bereft widow? 

After finding an oasis to rest and call home, even after discovering a companion to build a life with, she continues with her radio calls. It doesn't matter that he never received her communications. The importance of the gesture- the intimacy of sharing her life and thoughts with him while he was gone- remains the same. The magnitude of her devotion to him made clearer through the absence of a single responding utterance. 

She lovingly tells Madi stories of Bellamy as her hero. Gazing warmly, hopefully up at the stars as if she longs for her vision to cut through an endless pitch-black sky and find dark curls and freckled constellations from thousands of miles away.

"Bellarke doesn't make sense," they say. They say because post-Praimfaya ended with an established B/E.

As Clarke looks up at the stars, questioning if she'll see Bellamy again, we transition to our first glimpse of Bellamy after six years, forlornly looking down on Earth to the very spot of green where he is unaware of who is yearning for him to return to her. Contrary to Clarke, who is covered in warm firelight when thinking of him, he is colored in cold, muted greys and blue, no speck of warm hue. (The rhyming scheme was unintentional, but hey, I'm going with it.) Behind him, his family is sparring, but he's distant from them. He's trapped within this tin can, his arms folded, his body taut, not facing the view on the other side of the glass, but still enraptured by the sight of his home below.  

We see what changes to the characters and their dynamics have taken place until, at long last, we uproariously cheer as Bellamy & Co. find a way to return to Earth, the sole event we've been anticipating for eleven months, to the point we could feel it at our fingertips, jittery and tingly. Bellarke reunion!! He's going to know she's alive! Yes! Finally!! Break out the champagne! We're celebrating, dammit! It's going to be so damn emotional! Authors start crafting mental fanfics. People are bouncing off the walls like bright, errant fireworks, unable to sit still. I can't believe it's finally happening...what do you think it's going to be like? Will he run to her? Will he be stunned and speechless? Will they sob uncontrollably?!? They'll be clutching the life out of each other! Another Bellarke hug!! The very best hug!!! They're never going to let the other out of their sight again! He's going to meet Madi! Mom, dad, and adopted preteen make three!!! There's no way they're not getting together after this!! He just got her back after six years of thinking she was dead!! The reunion's not going to happen this episode, but maybe next week, when do you think? You mean we have to wait seven days before----

B e c h o.

We stood on the precipice of what we agonized and crawled through for eleven excruciating months, only for an anvil to drop, and our heads to be clubbed. Our bodies fell through the floor, descending lower and lower with immense haste, to take up residence in the seventh circle of hell. 

Do you think the framing of these events wasn't intentional?

Do you think the powers that be behind the creation of that calamitous bombshell for our protagonist, intended for us to root for B/E? 

By us, I'm not restricting the effect of the blow to Bellarke shippers. The entire audience, casual and fandom alike, shippers and non-shippers, was meant to await this reunion. We were all meant to feel devastated by this revelation. 

If they didn't want to invoke in us feelings of support for B/E at their inception, how in the name of all things holy is a purported B/E endgame your conclusion? 

"B/E doesn't make any sense," they say, "when last we saw them, she was his enemy. Nothing more, nothing less."

Do I think their pre-Praimfaya status as antagonists rendered it impossible for B/E to have a convincing love story or sexual relationship?

I think, if Jason were so inclined, we could have gotten flashback Ring rendezvous of secret trysts between Bellamy and a googly-eyed, blonde-wig-wearing broomstick designated Clarke 2.0. So no, I don't consider B/E a deviation inherently outside the realm of romantic possibility. Jason is an artist, and this show is his canvas. He can give life to almost any whim he'd like in his work of fiction. Not only that, but B/E is also hardly the first pairing in this series modeled by the enemies-to-lovers trope.

"Bellarke doesn't make sense, they'd say, "absent any concrete evidence alluding to a romantic relationship." "Seven years running, and not a trace of romantic love," they'd conclude. 

Remind me, what was B/E's sublime prologue into coupling up again?

Furiously choking the life out of an enemy in a fit of rage two episodes before revealing her as his new girlfriend evidently can be considered by some an adequate precursor to a sensational romantic relationship. But endangering Earthkru's lives by risking the wrath of two societies in refusing to let Clarke die, pumping her heart for her to stay alive while begging her to fight so she can come back to him, cannot be. 

Either this show is quite the oddity, or it’s fandom's periodic knee-jerk, ass-backwards, charming zeal at play. 

The lack of rising development is all the more reason why B/E's grand unveiling demanded perfection. Instead, our first insight into their union is overshadowed by Clarke and the impending Bellarke reunion. B/E isn't central enough to the narrative to warrant focus that would put to rest any discord of illegitimacy. But you know which pair of the two is concentrated on for seven seasons now? Three guesses... 

But don't despair. Fandom has decreed, by its own appraisal, the shorthand of kissing and sex has rectified the discrepancy of a complete absence of pertinent on-screen development.

"It's not ideal storytelling," they say, "to exclude B/E's development. But The 100 has historically been a plot-driven, fast-paced, contained drama. It has always evaded expanding on character dynamics to fans' satisfaction.”

The writers have done more to present Josephine and Gabriel as soulmates with less airtime than B/E ever had in total. They don't lack the skill or time to fortify B/E in anyone's mind as the central romance. Jason made a conscious choice not to. Why would he? Does he think the endgame love story of the show's deuteragonist doesn't merit attention to detail by the writing? Or does it seem more likely, it was never his intention for B/E to cross the finish line?

And, for a plot-driven, fast-paced, contained drama, they sure have an awful knack for finding the time to showcase Clarke's kicked puppy reactions to an embracing B/E. We've had three thus far. One for science, one for emphasis, and one to say, "Do you people get it now?"

"Bellarke doesn't make any sense," they say, "if they wanted each other, they'd have gotten together by now." 

A long time ago, someone stated, "Lovers are supposed to do that you know and if they don’t do that it means their relationship isn’t romantic if sexual intercourse isn’t added." 

And to that, I posed the question, "Where exactly is it written that "if a pairing is not made canon by season [insert arbitrarily chosen number here], it will never be made canon, period?" Was I just absent from fandom class that day and skipped to the lesson on slow-burn ships?" We are going into the final season, and I stand by this question today as I did then. Bellarke could refrain from physical expressions of love and candid confessions to season 17, and their journey could continue to exemplify a love story. Because the absence of either one doesn't preclude two people from falling in love. Nor does the inclusion of either one necessitate two people falling in love. 

"Bellarke doesn't make any sense," they say. They say because Bellamy is her dearly beloved, but platonic, best friend.

Well, you've got me there. I'm stumped. How can it be possible for friendship and romantic love to behave as anything but mutually exclusive concepts? It's not as if friendship can be contorted to serve as a foundation for love.

 The cornerstones of strong friendships include trust, care, support, devotion, and many other features of a similar nature. Love- deep and genuine love, that is- involves frequent kissing and passionate, vigorous sex. The wilder the display, the stronger the pairing. The dozens of couples, love interests, and sexual liaisons before B/E who have kissed and had sex before dying must not have first consulted the manual for proper protocol.

And the inverse? Once two people fall in love, they cannot fall back to say, a familial connection. No, no, no. Such a regression would be the work of a tragic, reprehensible flaw in the cogs of the universe. Speak nothing of it.

"It doesn't make sense for B/E to break up," they say, "when B/E has stayed together for two seasons sans any indication Bellamy loves Clarke more than Echo, enough to want to leave his loving girlfriend."

How many times has Bellamy tried and failed to honor his commitment to Echo? How many weak attempts are met with a corresponding scene of Bellamy shifting his attention to the girl he tells himself to get over?

Echo leaves for Shallow Valley, his focus immediately turns onto persuading Clarke not to leave his side. He symbolically chooses Echo in the fireside scene by touching her sword. Yet, he looks at his girlfriend for the first time since their separation with the most aloof expression unsuitable for the occasion. No hope to be found anywhere. They share a brief reunion hug, no time for intimacy. He is reunited with Clarke and casts a nervous glance at Echo when bombarded with Clarke's appreciative gaze. Still no time for intimacy between B/E before a decade-long nap, but time can be carved out for a warm, flirty Bellarke reconciliation, complete with intensive heart eyes. No inspired, emotionally wrought, double sunlit embraces for B/E. If Bellamy is going to look out of a window at his future home, he'll either be by himself or snuggling Clarke into his side. There's no place for Echo in the lock of his arms anymore, only room for flanking him in the way loyal lieutenants tend to do. His girlfriend glances over at him as their exploratory team roughly plummets to new territory, and he does the same at Clarke. B/E reconnects lakeside, him asking for a swim with her and leaning into her arms at a campfire. He sits by her side on a swing set, amidst talk of moving their people into an abandoned village. And it's all well and good for B/E, right? They're presenting the front of a happy, unified couple. 

Until...Clarke walks away behind his sight, and he leaves Echo's side to seek Clarke's missing presence where the flirting and warm gazes and near confessions are kicked into overdrive. He calls Echo to hear his latest discovery, then proceeds to ignore the hell out of her, communicating exclusively to his co-leader. He stares wistfully at Clarke dancing with her new flavor of the night, cannot stop doing so even while excoriating Echo for her stoicism, expressing his frustration at her inability to fulfill his emotional needs. 

He recommits to Echo, as Clarke is kidnapped and her body is stolen, with nary a transition, suggesting we are meant to link the two incidents together. For all his resolve to face the future with Echo, he spends the whole of the next episode with a wary eye on Clarke, to the point that he is the first to realize Clarke is not herself. In the ensuing arc ranging from 6x05 to 6x11, approximately half of the season, what was B/E, again? Was that a thing concurrently happening with Bellamy's Operation: Save My Clarke? Because I seem to be able to recall only Bellarke goodness. Oh, my mistake, there was the consoling hug which, oddly enough, did nothing to soothe him. As evidenced by his choice to grieve alone. No girlfriend he wanted close by for comfort, knowing clear as day she couldn't provide it if she tried. Not with who he just lost. 

B/E gets another brief reunion hug, the majority of which is spent with him peering at Clarke. The show saw that hug and raised us an Austenesque-quality counterpart that would do Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy proud. 

"B/E endgame is the only sensible outcome," they say, "they love each other so much."

I don't contend they don't love each other. But we are shown two people determined but incapable of snuffing their deep-rooted feelings out of noble propriety, and most importantly, out of needless fear of unrequited love. And another two people who sought- and failed- to keep grasping the wisps of a gentle relationship slipping out of their hands since they left their comfortable space bubble. For anyone in this conundrum to be happy, the only natural course of action is for the latter to call it quits. The writing has been on the wall for too long.

Maybe a single Bellarke scene plucked out of the lineup can be interpreted on its own as platonic buddies being platonic buddies. But when all those individual moments are woven together, what forms is an ornate tapestry with a pattern so vivid, any inane rhetoric involving a hint of the word "platonic" is little more than ludicrous anti drivel transparently cooked up by those wishing a different endgame.

I hope you've enjoyed my second long-winded rant, @sometimesrosy, @jeanie205, @travllingbunny. One born of a teaching moment in which I learn for the umpteenth time it's best to steer clear of Twitter.

[incorrectlythe100]

Because no one asked, here are my thoughts on the final episode. 

I first want to preface this with, I am not in anyway hating on Clexa, the ship or those who ship it. I am actually happy that someone got something out of this final season and someone got their endgame.... to an extent (but more on that later). But this feels like a tactic by JRoth just to regain some favor from those he’s pissed off over the years. By handling Lexa badly in the past, he treated that moment in the finale as some sort of redemption for himself and his shitty show running. 

However, I feel like this isn’t a romantic endgame, it was a nod to their relationship on another level. I personally never felt the whole ‘true love’/’soulmate’ thing between Clarke and Lexa. I felt like they understood one another, had chemistry and built a relationship on that but not a love story to continue baiting for another four seasons. Lexa was a building block in who Clarke is but I never felt like it was because they were romantically involved. Like the judge mentioned I believe, Clarke would see her greatest teacher (not greatest love) and I feel like that could actually be seen as Lexa in some respects. Lexa taught Clarke to shut down parts of herself in order to lead, to survive and to purely put her people first, but also understand that everyone else is also going to do that. Peace is important but betrayal is always there. So it makes sense that Lexa might be the person Clarke sees. Lexa did teach Clarke a lot. 

HOWEVER, I feel like this is down to the complete arrogance and self- superiority of the show runner that many characters were completely disregarded this season, not just JRoth choosing to not have Bellamy there (Madi is a whole new argument, like where tf was she??) in the final moments. Clexa/Bellarke ship wars aside, I doubt there’s many that can argue that Bellamy didn’t have some influence on Clarke in one form or another. Bellamy and Clarke were the head and heart of the show and that was completely disregarded this season. Bob taking time off aside, there were still plenty of ways this season could have gone differently that didn’t involve the shit show that actually aired. 

And please don’t take this as me being salty that Bellarke didn’t happen or whatever. I would have actually been fine if we didn’t get our endgame if we had proper closure on that relationship and those characters. And I haven’t felt that kind of closure since season 5, season 6 at best. Raven, Murphy, Octavia, Miller, my OG babies feel unfinished tbh. 

Please tell me I’m not alone in this feeling and feeling quite disappointed with the ending. 

[historyofshipping]

What do you mean by its a love story and not a romance story????

Romance = like courting/dating, that high feeling you get when you love someone. It’s often the more physical aspects of a relationship or the small things we do for one another. Like giving flowers, first kiss, that kind of thing. 

Love story - and in particular, their EPIC love story - is a much, much deeper level of love. It’s more like finding and needing your soulmate. It’s the huge things they’ve done for each other. They have literally brought each other back to life, gone through wormholes, called them every day for 2,199 days, Where just the memory of someone kept you sane. 

Like epic love is a tale worthy of being passed down. Worthy of dedicating poems and literature to. Romance... can be fleeting and is often just superficial. 

Bellarke’s love transcends romance. So just because we don’t see the “dates” and the small romantic gestures, there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that they love each other. 

Though yes, I’d love it if they got each other a damn flower or something lol. 

[theatresteph]

Came up with some spec about Bellarke, Octavia and the list after this photo was released recently. I’m sure plenty of people thought about this a long time ago, but here I am.

(Octavia stans, you might want to look away, because I’m going to be judging her as fairly as everyone else)

‪Notice how Octavia’s 5th on the list? That’s interesting!

Abby, Jackson, Jaha and Raven are clearly the first 4 because they were all part of the inner circle of leadership AND they have essential skills that would be needed to run and maintain the ship during the time jump. We ‪know that simply being in the inner circle and having these skills wasn’t enough to qualify, cause you also had to be one of the best at what you do, which is why Monty didn’t make the list (he was a good engineer and her friend, but he was only an apprentice 😞), and you also ‪have to be healthy and not appear to be at risk of future health problems, which is why Harper didn’t make the list, even though she was a good guard and a then healthy young woman, and the list was supposed to be weighted towards young women who could have children.

We should also note that Kane isn’t on it, which could be a ‪production oversight because he seems like someone who should be there at first glance, but if we’re assuming within canon that every person was deliberately chosen, then I imagine that he didn’t make the cut because, while he was Abby’s partner, and a father figure to Clarke ‪and Bellamy, AND was the Chancellor and one of the best leaders and diplomats from Skaikru at the time, he was most definitely not a healthy young woman with essential skills like medicine or engineering, and they already had Jaha to fill the leadership role, who was also an ‪engineer, therefore pragmatically the better option even though Kane was definitely closer to and more well-liked by the inner circle, not to mention, at least from my perspective, more liked by fans cause of his character.

So looking at the list in the sad but pragmatic way ‪the show definitely wanted us and the characters to view it, there isn’t a lot of fair logic in Octavia being on the list AT ALL, let alone 5TH! This is purely from a ‪logical standpoint. This was season 4, Octavia wasn’t even living in Arcadia anymore, and she was going through the dark time of being Skairipa, openly having few loyalties, and Skaikru definitely wasn’t one of them. She was Kane’s bodyguard briefly and knew about Praimfaya ‪but, from my perspective, didn’t seem to care about protecting herself or the human race from it, at least in comparison to everyone in Arkadia, who were searching and working high and low for a solution ‬EVERY DAY!!! This was Octavia at one of her loneliest and darkest times, and she definitely wasn’t on good terms with Clarke and Bellamy. Even if she had been, logically, she was a poor choice because she did not have any essential skills that would be necessary inside the bunker, so pragmatically, placing her on the list was wrong and unfair when someone else with essential skills would have been a far better choice based on the criteria we’ve gathered.

So why did she make it on the list and why was she so high up?

We can guess why. It was a no-brainer for Bellamy, and while we don’t know whether Clarke would have debated with him about it, we DO know that she was insisting earlier that HE would be one of the people inside. They clearly decided on whom in their inner circle would be inside first, so I can imagine Clarke trying to be fair and pragmatic by gently telling him all the reasons I pointed out above why it isn’t fair to put her on the list, as I’m sure they had that conversation when they had to decide that Monty didn’t qualify. But I can also imagine her not giving it a second thought, writing Octavia’s name down immediately because she knows that there’s no way in Hell he’ll let her put him on the list if his sister isn’t also. Either way, we can be pretty damn certain that Octavia was only on the list because Clarke loves Bellamy and would do whatever it took to make sure he lives, even though it comes at the price of another, likely more qualified life. She definitely didn’t write her name because she’s her friend, because I don’t think you can exactly call them friends when they haven’t seen each other since they left Polis, and their relationship was more like that of cordial or old allies rather than friends at this point. Clarke was far closer to Monty at this point than everyone else outside of Bellamy, and yet she was able to decide not to write his name, so we know the strength of her resolve. It’s only where Bellamy’s concerned that she falters, her cold yet necessary pragmatism being weak against her love for him.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen it and it definitely isn’t the last. Hell, we see this exact scenario heightened to the max when she can’t pull the trigger in 4x11! It’s basically the same! In a moment where the fate of the human race hangs in the balance, Bellamy is risking it all to make sure Octavia survives, and as much as Clarke believes she must, she can’t bring herself to lose him for the sake of their people. She couldn’t choose to save two more qualified members of Skaikru against making sure Bellamy lives, and can’t save all of Skaikru from potentially being slaughtered - essentially killing the entire human race since none of the Grounders knew how to run the bunker - at the cost of Bellamy’s life, of taking his life herself.

So... WOW!!!!! That’s love, people! And Octavia is damn lucky that Clarke loves her brother more than anyone else, more than the value of the human race, because it seems almost certain that she would not have made it inside if Clarke didn’t love him enough to risk what was believed to be the last of the human race to let him save his sister. It’s the same reason Clarke didn’t kill or attack Octavia when she was a danger to Madi in season 5. Clarke had good reason for thinking it was the only way to stop the war and protect her daughter, and I have no doubt she would have gone through with it. Except that Bellamy said no, and even though she tried to rationally convince him that it was necessary (in the same way I expect she did if she’d have first tried to convince him that she can’t go on the list if that scene had happened), she let go of that plan and didn’t push, later apologising for even suggesting it. He easily accepts, saying that he probably would have done the same thing if she were anyone else, which leads into another sweet moment about the heart and the head and mumma bears 🥰.

And then later, we see the ultimate table-turn of Octavia’s position in Bellarke’s love; while Octavia is definitely still alive at this point in season 5 because Clarke loves Bellamy, she’s then poisoned because Bellamy loves Clarke! This was the most shocking moment of truth for their relationships at the time, both Bellarke’s and the Blake siblings’. While anyone could probably tell long before this moment that Bellamy loves Clarke more than Octavia, it had never been so explicitly clear until this moment, when Bellamy’s not only choosing her over his sister, whom he basically raised and has always loved the most until Clarke came along, but is actually risking her life for her! This decision is monumental! No one, absolutely NO ONE, had ever come before Octavia for Bellamy, and definitely not his girlfriend, because while he did challenge her, he didn’t and clearly wouldn’t have risked her life for Echo. But he did for Clarke! Clarke was and is more important to him than everyone and everything else! It’s so significant that the infamous “traitor who you love” line happened right before this, IN THE SAME SCENE! He couldn’t deny it or confirm it with his words, but his actions said it all! He loves Clarke, he knew it before he came in that room even if he couldn’t admit it to himself, that’s why he was clutching that algae bar. He wouldn’t hurt her or risk her life for anyone or anything before this, but for Clarke, he made a choice and he made it knowingly. It does suck that Clarke may never fully know that loving her is why he did it, but season 6 more than cleared up any doubt about their feelings for each other, and it firmly established where Octavia falls now.

She’s his sister, still someone he loves more than almost anything, but also a separate person from him, someone he won’t prioritise when she isn’t treating him with respect, and undeniably less important to him than his soulmate, which I believe is the way it should be.

I’m so excited for season 7! I can’t wait to see Bellarke finally sort things out and be together like they’ve wanted to be for so fucking long! And I can’t wait to see Octavia okay, reunited with her brother and her sister-in-law (basically), and finally finding happiness. They all deserve it.

[travllingbunny]

Hello. I saw you talking about why some Bellarkes love S1-S4 more than they love S5 and on. I think it's because they feel like different characters now and the longer the conclusion to their relationship is drawn out the angrier and louder people get. I'm not saying it's right but it is justified in my opinion. They were as close to the romantic conclusion back in S4 as they are now. It is sometimes tiring to watch the same thing happen over and over again.

OK. That’s one way to look at it.

But the same thing can be said of the second half of season 2. We already had “He would do everything for her, to protect her” and “I was being weak/Love is weakness” in 2x09. Doesn’t mean it would feel right to have them get together right after Clarke had to kill Finn. Or they could have ended up together in the season 2 finale or off-screen between season 2 and 3, if the storyline was different and Clarke didn’t get traumatized and left. Would anyone have liked it if they got together off-screen? Or they could have made Bellamy and Clarke hook up in the second half of season 1. They could have even had them kiss in 1x08. It would have been just the same as every other romance in season 1 - they were all rushed, so Bellarke wouldn’t have been different.

Could they had gotten together in 4x13? Yes. But how would that be? The show was going to have a 5 or 6 year time jump either way. They were definitely going to do Octavia - Blodreina storyline, and they needed a time jump for that. They also really needed to bring the characters closer to the real ages of the actors. So Clarke goes to the Ring and she and Bellamy become a couple? Would the fandom have liked their actual romantic relationship to be developed off-screen? And I can imagine antis saying “They are only together because they had so few other options” (which is actually true of Becho in the story we did get).

And then if they had returned as a strong, established couple, that would have changed the storyline a lot. It wouldn’t have been possible to cause that kind of conflict and drama between them. They would have been a strong, stable couple, who had had 5 or 6 years together in peace, and their romance wouldn’t have been central to the story, because it would have been resolved. Expect Bellarke to take the backseat, in terms of romance, in that scenario, to Memori’s breakups and getting back together, Raven’s new romance, and - insert any other romance, as long as the plot revolves around, say, Blodreina and Wonkru vs prisoners. Now, season 6 could still have either Clarke or Bellamy bodysnatched and the other fighting to save them. But then Bellamy (or Clarke) being ready to risk everything for the other would just look like a given. Of course you’d do that for your spouse/long-time romantic partner. And I can’t imagine there would be any drama about Clarke fighting her demons and finding the will to live. In that scenario, she would have been a happy Clarke in a long-term stable relationship with her soulmate, with a loving Spacekru “family”, with no recent sins or betrayals to torment her, with the stability of having lived for years of peace and happiness.

The 100 is a show that doesn’t keep relationships or people happy for any longer period of time, unless they are in the background (Mackson) or end up  dead (Marper). If they decided to change their MO and actually make Clarke and Bellamy a happy couple of the last 3 seasons of the show, well, I think the show would start focusing on Octavia and her personal drama much more than on Clarke and Bellamy. Maybe Raven and her romantic drama, Murphy and his issues etc. Clarke and Bellamy would just feel too “boring” to JRoth.

Maybe the characters were ready for a romantic confession in 4x13, but the story was not. And the show certainly wasn’t ready to end in season 4, since Praimfaya would have definitely not been anything like a satisfactory ending for the overall story.

I get that people are impatient, but I don’t really see why getting that confession 3 years earlier is so important to sacrifice 3 seasons of epic romance. And the Bellarke romance of the last two seasons, especially of season 6, has, IMO, been a lot more epic and more central to the main story than in any of the first 4 seasons. If it gets a satisfactory resolution in season 7, I’m sure it will go down as one of the TV’s greatest romances.

(Now, I know that some fans argue that there should’ve been a confession and/or kiss in 4x13 and then the rest happen the same. But I don’t see how that would’ve changed anything, except that in that scenario, it seem that Bellamy is actively choosing Echo, since he would know about Clarke’s feelings for him and that he left her all alone on Earth. It’s not like she would have any chance to move on to someone else, is it?) 

Is it really for narrative reasons that fans are angry there hadn’t been a confession or kiss etc. in 4x13? I don’t see the narrative would be better that way. 

Or is it really just because many fans are more concerned with proving the antis wrong, than enjoying the actual story?

In which case - no one should let antis or the fandom in general have that kind of influence over their enjoyment of a TV show, and secondly, antis are never going to “come around” anyway. They’ll just switch gears and go from “Blorks are delusional” to “Bellarke is fanservice” or some other nonsense like that. They’ve already been saying that it will be “fanservice” in preparation for season 7, and some were saying the same in preparation for season 6. I have no doubt that they would have said the same if it happened in 4x13.

[faithhopedreamslove]

The 100 7x10 thoughts

Phew, what an episode! Normally, I write my reviews after a few days of the episode airing, but my brain is going a mile a minute with this one! The theme of this episode was about the soul of humanity - what makes us human, whether love is a weakness or a strength, when the ends justify the means and when they don’t.  This played out through multiple scenes in this episode. I can see JRoth and the writers starting to weave the final threads of this show together as they said they would, coming back to the larger themes that the show intended to explore.

- “Get the flock out of here.” This line was hilarious and deserves its own bullet point.

- I love seeing strategic Clarke back in the saddle. She was in her element negotiating with Cadogan and leading the group huddle with her people. 

- Echo not really being brainwashed by Cadogan’s clan wasn’t a surprise. Her wanting vengeance also wasn’t a surprise (more on that later...)

- Murphy taking care of Madi was the scene I didn’t know I needed. Murphy’s kindness with children, his wanting to protect the weaker faithful Sanctumites - honestly, he’s probably the character who has shown the most growth in the entire show. For that reason, I’m so afraid the writers are going to kill him off - the cockroach who always fought for his own survival finally sacrificing himself for others - the irony practically writes itself. But I really hope they surprise me and let him live happily ever after with Emori and have lots of kids of his own that he can be protective of.

- Speaking of irony, Cadogan preaches to his flock that they must abandon all emotional attachments and sacrifice their identities for the greater whole. Yet, he hasn’t given up his love for Callie or his desire to connect with her again. 

- I loved Clarke and Octavia’s reunion. It was so true to character for both of them. They didn’t need many words to express the pain that they both felt. They connected - friend to friend, woman to woman, leader to leader, and two people who loved Bellamy dearly and knew it. 

- The moment between Octavia and Miller was well done also. It felt like they were finally putting Bloodreina to rest, once and for all.

- The conversation between Diyoza and Hope was extremely powerful and ties to the theme that I mentioned earlier. Diyoza is trying to save Hope’s soul. Diyoza was considered a terrorist on Earth - she killed people for the causes she believed in, likely innocent people among them. And then you have Hope telling her that there are no innocent people here (an echo of what Maya said about Mount Weather), and the horror on Diyoza’s face says it all. She sees her daughter walking down the same path she did, and she doesn’t want that for her.

- Cadogan and Gabriel’s conversation continued this theme. Cadogan believes that humans need to give up their humanity to win the final war and transcend; Gabriel believes there can be no transcendence once you’ve sacrificed your humanity. They also touched on the theme introduced to us by Lexa - love is weakness. Another instance of the writers tying threads together. Cadogan points out that love is to be betrayed, to be hurt. I loved Gabriel’s response: You can’t fight a war for the soul of the human race with an inhuman army.

- Clarke leading everyone out of the room to let Octavia decide what to do with Levitt on her own was a beautiful moment of connection between these two. Again, leader to leader, woman to woman, these two respect and understand each other. It was a nod to their shared history.

- I love that they gave Jordan and Niylah some screen time, and had Jordan make an important discovery based on his cultural background. It confirmed what I’ve suspected all along - that the supposed “war to end all wars” is a metaphor of some kind. Human beings have always been their own worst enemies. I believe that to transcend means to win the war against oneself, against one’s baser nature and to rise above for the greater good. So it makes sense that it would be a test. Now the question is, who will take this test - Bellamy or Clarke? Because let’s face it - it’s going to be one of our leads. Or will they find a way to take it together, and that’s how the show ends?

- Now getting to the fight between Indra and Shidheida. Normally, I hate the flashing scenes between Sanctum and Bardo. But this time, Sanctum truly tied with the theme of the episode. The fight between Shidheida and Indra isn’t just a conclave, it’s also a fight for the soul of humanity. Shidheida represents the absolute worst of human nature - he’s a murderous, power-hungry leader who will trample over anyone to rise to the top. Indra represents the soul - she was willing to die herself, but she could not allow a child, who represents human innocence, to die at Shidheida’s hands. It’s telling that one of Shidheida’s loyal followers questioned him later as to whether he also means to kill the children too - I think this foreshadows Wonkru eventually overthrowing Shidheida and killing him because they also desire to do better, to be better.

- And hats off to Madi jumping in like the badass Clarke raised her to be. She knew she didn’t have a chance of winning, but she refused to kneel to this murderer. And she wanted to give Indra a chance to win, sacrificing herself. I love this child.

- Now we get to the *big* scene - Echo nearly killing off an entire civilization. There was SO much that happened in this one scene. It was the culmination of what this episode has been building up to - saving the soul of humanity and doing better. It’s no coincidence that they’ve been paralleling this episode to Mount Weather. Echo is about to do what Clarke did - kill an entire bunker full of people. But as she rightly pointed out, Clarke did it because she was trying to save the people she loved. Echo is doing it purely for vengeance. This is a key distinction because over the years, Bellamy and Clarke have judged themselves the most harshly for everything they’ve done, even though they’ve always tried to keep their people’s (and sometimes the human race’s) best interests at heart. But they came to Sanctum vowing to do better, i.e. transcend. Echo has not been able to transcend. Yes, her character grew on the Ring - Raven referenced that. But since she left the Ring, and especially since she came to Bardo, she has reverted to her old self. She is killing people without remorse, and she’s willing to kill an entire bunker full of unsuspecting people to take revenge. The writers have set her up as a direct contrast to Bellamy and Clarke, who are trying to do better, and Echo, who isn’t.

- And now for the dialogue that has the Becho and Bellarke fans in a tizzy. Clarke makes an attempt to stop Echo, using her own experience to warn Echo that there’s no coming back from something like this (she may have forgotten that Echo had a hand in killing her people at Mount Weather, but that’s beside the point.)  And then Clarke pulls out her final card, the one that she thinks will finally sway Echo - “This is not what Bellamy would have wanted.” To which Echo responds, “You have no idea what Bellamy wanted.” Echo claimed that Bellamy would be seeking revenge just as she was, if she, Clarke, or Octavia had been killed. But here’s the rub - we as viewers know that Bellamy wouldn’t do that, because he didn’t do it when he thought Russell had killed Clarke in the last season. He wanted to take revenge with every fiber of his being, but he wanted to honor what Clarke would have wanted. He transcended his base desire for vengeance. And Clarke knows this, because she saw it all through Josephine’s memories.

- Raven’s speech to Echo had so many layers to it. It makes me wish that we as viewers got to see some of their time on the Ring, because I feel like we’re being told to swallow the fact that they’re like sisters when we haven’t seen any foundation for that relationship. Just as we were told to swallow Bellamy and Echo’s relationship. Unknowingly, Raven is making the distinction between the heart and the head Bellamy Blake. Heart!Bellamy killed 300 Grounders, because he was hurting over Gina’s death and Clarke’s disappearance. Head!Bellamy is who they spent 6 years on the Ring with, and who came back down to Earth for a brief amount of time. That’s who Echo fell in love with. But unbeknownst to her and everyone else, Heart!Bellamy came back at the end of season 6, when he nearly sacrificed everyone and everything just to save Clarke. After not taking vengeance and trying to secure safety for his people, because that’s what Clarke would have wanted - him using his head - he threw all that to the wind and went back to leading with his heart when he realized he had a chance to save her life. So I have a feeling that the Bellamy that Echo loves will not be the one who returns to them, but it will be Clarke’s Bellamy.

- Echo’s breakdown at the end made me sad, both for her and for Clarke. Echo clearly does love Bellamy and is deeply grieving for him. Yes, she has spent more time with him than Clarke has, and they were in a relationship. She’s going to grieve him, no doubt. But Clarke hasn’t had a chance to break down yet. She just lost her mother, and now Bellamy, who was her partner, her family, her soulmate. But she has to keep it together to keep leading her people and make sure they get back safely. I’m so tired of this poor woman not getting a chance to deal with her emotions in anything resembling a healthy manner.

- Oh, Diyoza. There’s so much to say about this one brief scene. She made the ultimate sacrifice to save Hope’s soul. She knew there would be no coming back from this for her daughter if she killed all those people. Her final words to her daughter: “Don’t waste this, little one. Be better than me,” were so damn heartbreaking. This was the crescendo in the point that the writers have been making this whole episode - that humanity has a chance to finally do better, if only we’re willing to take it.

- And the preview for next week’s episode deserves a bullet point, because BELLAMY! Oh, the parallels I’m hoping we’ll see with Bellamy being all alone on an entire planet, for who knows how long. I just hope and pray we also get a Bellarke reunion next week by the end of the episode, because it’s about damn time.

Overall, I was prepared to hate this episode if it didn’t have Bellamy in it, and I surprisingly found myself really liking it. The story is finally moving forward (no more flashbacks!), and the writers are pulling together the threads of the story that they’ve been telling for the past 7 seasons. My one hesitation is that I’m not sure that the writers will make Bellarke canon, and honestly that will hugely impact how I feel about the show when it’s over. Not just because I’m a hopeless romantic, but because I will truly consider it bad storytelling if those two don’t end up together after all of this build-up. I guess we have 6 more episodes left to find out!

[girlobsessed21]

Is Bellarke misinterpreted or not?

I know this post is long overdue, so sorry for that. I’ve started writing for a publication and it takes a lot of my time. But as promised before, here’s a list of reasons suggesting Bellarke romance and why...

It follows the romantic arc of a lot of romance movies and series. I even created a thread on Twitter comparing some of their lines to the most romantic lines in movies yet the viewers seem to misinterpret. Well, I call bullshit, simply because it is. Now, I can’t give you false hope that they will be paired romantically but I will say this. If they’re not, the writers and producers are less than subpar in their depiction of a platonic couple. Aka they have no idea what they’re doing.

In a show that’s ultimately about survival, it’s difficult to incorporate romance without shifting the emphasis and genre but they seem to do it perfectly with Murphy and Emori, Kane and Abby, Gabriel and Josephine and even Lincoln and Octavia back in the day. What’s sobering about this, is that Bellarke’s scenes are written, filmed and produced more intense, overpowering and chemistry-induced than any of the above-mentioned couples.

This tells me they know exactly what they’re doing and where they’re going with it. Can it be fan service and bait? Sure. But that would make bad television, resulting in audiences looking back on The 100 with dread instead of excitedly recommending it to friends to binge. After Lexa’s death, a lot of fans left the show because of such a sudden horrific end to a fan favorite. I think they might be trying to avoid such a subduing concept again. 

Jason explained in his article that viewers slightly misinterpreted Bellamy’s arc and believe it or not, I somewhat agree with him. Bellamy had no other choice than to save all his people by using Josephine’s mind drive as a bargaining chip BUT of course he wanted to save Clarke too. She’s his person, he’d do anything for her. If he was given a choice between saving his people and Clarke, what would he have done? It just so happens that saving her, meant saving everyone.

From season one to six there are highly robust moments which suggest Bellamy and Clarke love each other a lot more than friends should. I’m not including season one scenes in this list because I don’t think they had quite crossed the verge of friendship there, although the “I need you, Bellamy” and “You look like you could use a drink” scenes were emotional and flirty, laying the premise for the most beautiful romance I’ve ever witnessed.

1. Love is weakness

Listen to the background music of that scene, the intensity and relief on their faces, yeah, that shit’s not platonic. If you wanted to show me they’re besties, they should’ve done a similar hug to Raven or Octavia’s.

When Clarke wakes up in Mount Weather, she asks about both Finn and Bellamy. And the same when she makes it to Camp Jaha. Once Bellamy returns, she runs and throws herself in his arms, which she hasn’t done with any other character except for Madi, her daughter. When Bellamy suggests he infiltrates Mount Weather, Clarke claims she can’t lose him too yet when Lexa tells her love is weakness, she agrees Bellamy should do it by saying she was being weak. Uhm, love is weakness.

2. We can’t lose Clarke

Bellamy crosses an entire grounder army by himself to go after Clarke. Then, limping on a stabbed leg, he’s still hellbent on saving her. All this while his girlfriend is back home, worrying about him. The desperation is in this scene is palpable, bringing us to the realization there’s nothing Bellamy wouldn’t do for Clarke because he clearly loves her.

3. You left me

Clarke refuses Bellamy’s offer to go home with him and stays behind in Polis with Lexa. Of course, he’s hurt and furious. When Clake tells him she needs him, he responds with, “You left me.” If you translate that, it would mean, you abandoned me when I needed you most, you chose Lexa over me and now you expect me to help you?

But apart from the dialogue, look at the way the scene is filmed, Bellamy’s in a proposal stance with soft affectionate hand-holding. The way they look at each other, hurt lingering in Bellamy’s eyes. Clarke crushed his heart and yet he still loves her. That scene tramples the edge of romanticism.

4. Start with Bellamy Blake

ALIE is an AI, more intelligent than any of our average human minds. She had the knowledge of all Clarke’s friends and family combined. When they had to choose someone to break Clarke’s steadfastness, ALIE suggested Bellamy. Granted, I doubt Clarke was in love with Bellamy at this point since she had just lost Lexa, and still, the AI concludes she cares about him more than anyone else.

All the same, a person can love two people at once. Clarke was willing to co-operate with Roan to save Bellamy’s life. The tears that fell while he yelled at her in Hakeldama, suggests she felt something. While their passionate hug and consoling conversation on the beach could be seen as friendly, they’re not that intimate with anyone else.

5. The list

This was probably one of The 100′s most romantic scenes, until 4x13 and 6x10. “If I’m on that list, you’re on that list.” is a simple way of telling someone you can’t live without them. If I live, you live too. I’m not doing this without you. I need you and ultimately, I love you enough to die with you if necessary.

It’s a sobering thought and I think Clarke may have realized the depth of Bellamy’s feelings for her at that moment.

6. If I don’t see you again

Boy, was this scene a bust. Ruined by Roan, who I’ve since dubbed Ruin Roan (I love the Azgeda king). Raise your hand if you know why he didn’t finish the sentence. Here’s a thought, it breeds mystery, but better yet we never got to hear him confess his feelings though we know he would’ve. Giving the writers a scapegoat.

Clarke probably wouldn’t have reciprocated, making the story awkward but Mr. Bellamy Blake was 100% going to tell Clarke Griffin he loved her. Otherwise, he would’ve continued. Now, does he still love her? Absolutely. When you lose someone you love, does your love for said person die with them? Not at all. You find ways to cope and move on but it lurks, showing up when you’re alone or reminded of them. I’m speaking from experience.

7. The oxymoron 

When you look at the cold sweat scene, any regular viewer might miss the intimacy but the soft subtle touches do somehow exceed the boundaries of friendship. Bellamy’s face though when he realizes Clarke might be right, he might lose her, shows a lot of fear. Most importantly, this is the first time we’re introduced to the head and heart concept, showcasing their soulmate dynamic. The metaphor compares them to the two lead features of the human body, neither of which can survive without the other.

But, that’s nothing compared to Bellamy’s devastation when he realizes he left the woman he loves behind to die. That hurt in his eyes and voice was heartbreaking.

8. The radio calls

In essence, there’s nothing wrong with calling your best friend every day for six years but when you use him as a way to keep you sane, you might wanna re-evaluate your relationship. Six people left for space, yet Clarke called Bellamy. This is also the first time we clearly see Clarke’s feelings for him. I’m sure they were there for a while, bubbling below the surface but with years of time and peace, one tends to come to terms with who you are.

And in 5x01, when Madi gushes over Octavia, Clarke longingly stares into space, hoping her heart will return. The pining is further emphasized by her expression when she sees Bellamy and Echo kissing. Yeah, camera work doesn’t lie, it was focused on her and Octavia’s faces for a reason.

Then, that hug in 5x03 was so profound, a hundred different emotions rolled into one. Clarke asks, “And now you’re home?” What is home, earth or herself?

9. Pleading for the life of a traitor who you love

There are two sides to this story. One, Octavia explicitly compared Bellamy’s feelings for Clarke to those of his girlfriend. That line was written into the script on purpose. If someone knows him, it’s his sister, she’s witnessed their entire relationship first hand and uses it to draw a reaction from him. Why? Because she knows he’s torn up about it.

Secondly, in 5x12, Lexa contrasts herself leaving Clarke outside Mount Weather to Clarke leaving Bellamy in Polis (and the gorge). She calls it her biggest regret and tells her former lover not to make the same mistake she did. 

Both times these characters feelings for each other were paralleled to their love for canonical partners. Coincidence? I highly doubt it. 

10. The head and the heart

The emotion in this scene, wow! Throughout season six there are subtle hints of Bellamy’s love for Clarke. He mourns her, Josephine says he cares more about Clarke than anyone else, he tells her the radio calls weren’t crazy but refusing to accept she’s dead and bringing her back to life in Fairytale fashion is nothing short of a beautiful romance.

If the writers had changed their minds about the status of Bellarke’s relationship somewhere along the line, this scene was completely uncalled for. Once again, all I see is I can’t let you go again, I refuse to live without you, I need you in my life because I love you. 

11. I tried to do better

Show this to anyone who doesn’t know the show and they’ll tell you this couple’s in love. Clarke goes to Bellamy, no-one else, for comfort when she’s falling apart. Although short, they share another one of their signature hugs where the passion and emotion are louder than nightclub music. With the rising sun as backdrop, this is as far from platonic as you can get. 

A few last things

The writers of this show aren’t stupid, they carefully build their plots around the foundation like using the neural mesh in ALIE’s chip to save Clarke. They know exactly what they’ve written, filmed and produced. Bellarke was always meant to end up romantically. Unfortunately, in a fast-paced show with one problem after the other, there’s almost no time to reflect.

If they wanted audiences to become invested in Bellamy and Echo’s relationship, they would’ve shown it to us. In 6x12 the cameras focus on Bellamy and Clarke’s faces when he reunites with his girlfriend. His whole arc (misinterpreted or not) revolved around her. That’s the message they convey and 90% of the audience cannot be wrong. When you watch reaction videos or podcasts, most of them agree.

And, they cautiously circumvent the word love in relation to Bellarke. Best friends love each other, Bellarke love each other. The question is in what capacity. My opinion is this, if I dated Bellamy, I certainly would have at least questioned his devotion to Clarke, yet Echo says nothing. Highly unrealistic.

Lastly, go and rewatch all of the above scenes without shipper goggles. Do you still see the depth and intimacy? I do. I specifically chose these because of the romanticism they entail. All the hugs are great, but best friends hug, these scenes have deeper meanings and though we could’ve misinterpreted Bellamy’s arc in season six, all of their scenes can’t lie. Not bringing them together canonically will do a great injustice to a magnificent show.

Yes, The 100 does not fall into the romance genre but the story revolves around Clarke, Bellamy, and Octavia. For six season they’ve shown us how much the two leads love each other and failing to conclude that book is bad storytelling, to say the least. I believe it should at least be addressed if they decide not to trot down the romantic road.

Happy Hiatus everyone. I might post a few more things while we wait for season 7. I’ve written an article about the anomaly as well. But for now, I’ll focus more on other shows, I’m still writing fanfiction though. Let me know if there’s something specific you’d like me to write about or your opinion on the list.

[bobnorley]

your betty/archie gifs make me giddy!! and they also help me notice most of the parallels for them are in s1 and s4. even all of the flashbacks used are mostly from s1. it's almost like... this should've been the plan from the beginning.... but the writers had to *thinking emoji* SETTLE for other ships... (conspiracy theory aside, i wanted to let you know i've been a follower of yours for forever and i love your gifs. barchie, serenate, frary, bellarke, romanogers?? we're like soulmates)

first of all OMG YOU’RE THE SWEETEST!! this message made me so happy, come off anon and let’s be bffs!!! and about the writers planning it from the beggining. I STRONGLY BELIEVE THEY DID, i mean, the show IS based off of the archie comics after all so there’s no doubt in my mind that they planned to have them together at least for a little while, HOWEVER, after watching the last two eps i’m not convinced they’re only going to be together for a while, their scenes were so good and so thoughtful and so romantic, AND THE FLASHBACKS??? they gotta be endgame!! the writers are really trying to make the audience like them

[chimchxmni]

6x10 thoughts (finally)

So, it’s taken me watching that scene dozens of times and analyzing every single second of it and just processing for two days before I could come on here and attempt to write out my thoughts, but here we are and I’m going to try. (Excuse typing errors, I’ll go back and fix them later.)

That scene was anything but platonic. Seriously. Everything about it made you think that they were gonna kiss after she woke up (and I KNOW I’m not the only one who thinks that.) Almost every single YouTube review I’ve watched has had the reviewer say “that’s not platonic” immediately after watching it. Like it was everyone’s first thought. It was mine too. But let’s dive in a little deeper.

Bellamy Blake has never been this heart-on-his-sleeve to Clarke before, ever. This is the first time we hear him say he NEEDS her. Clarke has said it to and about him on multiple occasions but we now have Bellamy saying it back while also adding that Madi their her daughter needs her too. The pain in his face and his voice was perfectly justified because we’ve seen how Bellamy handled Clarke being dead and there is no way in hell that he was gonna let that happen again. He can’t lose her again. He isn’t letting her go (right after Gabriel told Josephine that he had to let her go.) I mean, how much more romantic can you get?

Adding on the fact that Octavia is watching this knowing how much Clarke means to him (aka “pleading for the life of a traitor who you love” and him poisoning her so that she wouldn’t execute Clarke) and that she also understands his pain because she lost the love of her life. And her joy watching them reunite with the obvious parallel to 2x05 AND the pervious conversation between Josephine and Gabriel and how they have loved each other for centuries. Like I’m NOT supposed to take THAT as a parallel?

Oh I’m sorry, you though the head and the heart trope was over? THINK AGAIN. Gabriel saying “once the head stops telling the heart to beat, it’s over” and Bellamy’s IMMEDIATE connection to that is not him being a brother or a best friend. HA. no. The fact that this was brought back in one of the most powerful ways EVER, as in Bellamy literally using his head AND heart to get her heart beating again AND the fact that she heard him through her MINDspace, is soooooo foreshadowing.

And CLARKE. The first and only thing she focuses on when she wakes up is Bellamy. She doesn’t look to Gabriel or Octavia and that’s because she doesn’t need to. She saw Bellamy and instantly knew she was safe and so she wrapped her arms around him. Her home. Her platonic soulmate. And “the head and the heart.”

This scene has single-handedly solidified the possibility of canon Bellarke for me, and maybe even by the end of the season (don’t shoot me for having hope.) and it’s not because “omg his mouth touched hers and he’s giving her cpr!” No. It’s that this scene showed what each of them now feel towards the other, specifically Bellamy and that they refuse to live without each other. In 6x06, we saw Bellamy grieve in a way we didn’t get to experience at the end of season4 because of the time jump. That in and of itself was telling. Then, in 6x07, Clarke gives up thinking that Bellamy gave up on her so what’s the point? Now, we have Clarke hearing Bellamy in her mind telling her to fight back because he needs her and he can’t lose her again and because he isn’t letting her go and because she isn’t gone.

For those of y’all tryna say that Bellarke are getting separated in the season 6 finale... I mean, did you and I watch the same scene last Tuesday? Bellamy is never letting Clarke Griffin go again. Like, ever. The iconic Bellarke phrase together is gonna have an entirely new and better meaning after this. I’m excited. Be excited. We have an entire episode dedicated to characters sitting around and talking about their feelings and having sex next week. My hopes are higher than they have ever been and I’m not in the least bit doubtful anymore of bellarkes future.

Anyways, those are my thoughts. Let me know yours!

[sometimesrosy]

(1/4) (Turns out the unlimited ask doesn't work for me. Huh. How do people do that?) I'm not an active Bellarke shipper, but even to me it was always evident that they're basically canon. Like you, I always defended Jason, because CLEARLY Bellarke are endgame, WHY can't fandom see that. Even when B died, I was willing to give Jason the benefit of the doubt, because there's no way in hell he'd just kill B. Obviously it was just for shock; even his goodbye tweet to Bob – OF COURSE (...)

(2/4) it was just a red herring, so it would be an even bigger surprise when B does get miraculously saved and ends up with Clarke – AS THEY SHOULD HAVE. I must admit, the Blarkes and their negativity and calling people delusional for actually trusting Jason and trusting the story for the first six seasons pissed me off to the point where I kind of hoped he WOULDN'T make BC canon. But I didn't actually expect it, because it wasn't what the story was showing, and I certainly didn't expect...THIS.

(3/4) I know, I could be happy – my faves Murphy and Emori got the best ending they could possibly get, and the annoying Blarkes didn't get their endgame. But I'm pissed. I'm pissed on your behalf and all the other civil Bellarke fans. I've been soo looking forward to saying „SEE! We were right! We're not delusional! We saw the story, we understood the story, and Jason isn't the asshole you guys always made him out to be.“

(4/4) I still don't think I was delusional, because despite this last season, up until then Bellarke were canon. Period. Yes, the Blarkes bullied and abused Jason, yes, they kind of didn't deserve to get what they wanted – but he could have been their king if he just went with the story he's been telling for six years, and it makes absolutely no sense to give up on that. But now I'm the idiot who didn't see that Jason is indeed an asshole... What a stupid dick.

+++

I thought I wanted vindication more than I wanted Bellarke. But it turns out that’s not quite so.

I wanted a good story the most. And I actually trusted him to give us that. I told everybody that if we didnt’ get bellarke I’d have to see what happened before I made a judgment because there are ways to take an ending I don’t like and make it something I’m satisfied with.

But THIS???

This death of humanity? This alien god thing? This Clarke as the real villain all along? Erasing Clarke’s character? Dropping all the narrative threads and leaving them gaping holes? THIS WAS UNACCEPTABLE. And that’s not even including what they did to Bellamy, just erasing him like that and pretending he WASN’T the leading man and trying to retcon that he wasn’t important or he was easy to write off. To not even give him a decent death scene? I was excpecting him and Clarke to die, that wasn’t the problem. The problem was THE WAY he died. And THEN to pretend that Bellarke wasn’t the center of the narrative all along. Dropping Bellarke as the main heroes started the season with a feeling of deep unease. Something felt off from the beginning, like we had to hold our breath waiting for the story to start, and then it never did. Or no. There was one episode where it felt right, when Bellamy came back and they were fighting, and it should have reconnected from there but it didn’t. 

I LIKED the other stories they told, but they never tied together. The season didn’t connect even when the episodes were good. We wanted to hear about the other characters. But we NEEDED Clarke and Bellamy. 

AND THEN. We had JR telling us off screen that the story we’d been watching was not the story we were watching and it was something else? Clarke was really the bad guy in Mount Weather and we had to be in their shoes?? WTF? THEY HELD PEOPLE IN CAGES AND BLED THEM. THEY TURNED PEOPLE INTO A ZOMBIE ARMY. THEY EXPERIMENTED ON THEIR OWN PEOPLE. THEY REFUSED VOLUNTEERS FOR MARROW DONORS AND INSTEAD DECIDED TO TORTURE THEM TO DEATH FOR NO REASON. They were not innocent. Clarke was RIGHT. If she hadn’t done that they would have spread over the earth with their advanced technology and enslaved everybody on the ground because they thought it was their birthright. 

HOW DARE you tell us we were wrong and we have to sympathize with the evil villains or we’re the villains.

ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? 

Listen Rothenberg. You don’t get to tell me the story I saw was something different. No gaslighting here. I’ve got reams of meta with evidence from the text, from YOUR TEXT saying MW are the nazis. Don’t tell me to sympathize with them. I HAVE EVIDENCE that Bellarke was the backbone of the narrative. That Clarke and Bellamy were soulmates. That Bellamy was the heart of the story, of the delinquents, and to Clarke’s head.

They were the true loves. They were soulmates. And that’s the story you wrote. You want to pretend Bellamy wasn’t there that’s not going to work. Because it’s all on screen. Evidence. We saw it and it’s not going away.

We also saw your sloppy mop up of the end and your complete failure, because there were SO MANY different ways you could have taken it where it would have made sense and you chose this.