April7739

Thanks for prefacing that the tone of that write-up is anti-Clexa. I tend to stay away from those. I tend to stay away from anti-anything these days. It just helps me.

Don't take this the wrong way, Ana, but I'm not going to read that text, because I don't view either Bellamy or Lexa's actions in season 3 as abusive at all, and I personally think "abusive" is a word that gets thrown around far too lightly these days. Now I realize that this is just my opinion, and other opinions can be formed based on something serious (like a past experience) or by something trivial (like a ship war, unfortunately). But it's just not really something I'm going to discuss here, because I don't share the same views that that author of that text does.

Now, with that being said, I like Rosy's posts and analysis most of the time, and I respect the fact that she's been open about the fact that her interpretation of his matter is shaped by personal experiences/past relationships in her life. I agree with her analysis more often than I do not, but this is one area where I don't see things the same way, so . . . no point in reading that for me.

Since it's sensitive subject matter for a lot of people, I personally think PM's would be a better way to discuss it, but . . . well that's just my opinion again.



ETA: Lisa, I agree with what you wrote and love that you mentioned Bellamy's cool hat.

Damocles

I think it's ok as long as it stays respectful. And yeah, I don't really agree with that post either. I agree with alot of her stuff, but not that one.

April7739

Yeah, I know it's okay and everything but . . . Idk, I might just skim past the posts about it. It's just not my fave topic.

Rosy does have some very well thought-out posts, though, and I like that she ALWAYS grounds her analysis with the text. You can tell she's studied English. I think that may have been her major.

AnaMack

This comes out of a tumblr post. No link, as the entirety of the post isn't really about what I'm going to address. Guys, for Clarke and Bellamy to start season 4 together it's really a bless for Bellamy. Octavia just left. Who else he's got? Clarke. Who's the only one who can help him through this? Clarke. Whilst keeping the hopes low, I can't help but aknowledge we must get at least a few huge Bellarke scenes for this. I mean, seriously, for them not to have Clarke be the one to help him through this would be just flat out inconsistent to their development and a clear fear of the ship, which doesn't seem to be the case. At least it didn't, who knows what Jason's newly found guilt complex will bring us. But, initially, we should expect a good amount of Clarke/Bellamy bonding scenes similar to Day Trip and 3x11.

Well, April, the post isn't focused on hating on the ship, it just happens to deal with what the posters feel uncomfortable with around Clarke's vulnerability in Polis. I completely understand why you'd prefer to skip on it, though. The first poster actually decides on using "toxic" rather than "abusive" and the only other moment "abusive" is used is in relation to a situation. I don't necessarily agree on all of the views, rather than take a few snippets of it that actually make sense to me. In fact, I have a view on its toxicity that goes another way, but it does resemble some snippets of it. So, yeah, don't worry, there's no being extra nor hate from Rosy's part she's still being same old Rosy on this one, just so you know.

And I agree, not one of them two is abusive (I have read a rant on how Clarke might be just about now, but the person was reaching for most of it). I have a problem with the dynamics of Lexa's influence on Clarke, which shall not be discussed here, but they're about the dynamics, not the character herself. I do not agree with the idea of Lexa being consciently abusive or toxic (nor do the posters, by the way). Nor of Bellamy, nor of Clarke. Clarke, I believe, is an innate manipulator, but she does believe she does it for what is right when she is manipulating people.

to be considered.

Great article, Sarah! I don't agree with all the bits either. And I believe yes, Clarke's actions did influence Bellamy's s3 choices, but more for how she wasn't there to positively influence on his choices, rather than how he could have done anything out of feeling betrayed by her somehow. Bellamy made his own choices, but I do believe Clarke could have influenced him out of those, had she been there.

Saying Bellamy took his own choices, however, sounds like holding him 100% accountable on what he's done and, well, I couldn't see him as being that rational when making those choices as to hold him that responsible. I feel like the wording of "Bellamy made his own choices" doesn't considerates all he was dealing with at that moment for what he had done or suffered on the previous seasons. I can't say it was 100% his doing, when he was clearly vulnerable. It was Pike's speech that mislead Bellamy's anger and fear. Pike took advantage of what he was going through.

Same. And I hope you've had a blast in Amsterdam

I do love those, too. Don't listen to me on my love for tragedy, The 100 writing crew! And please don't go number 2 on Bellarke either lol

What the heck was up with FF and DPing those days? Geezus...

LOL I didn't watch the show, and I'd probably just ship the fake-incest, basically, and possibly Jack/Kate, but this emoji is so appropriate My worst shipping experiences have been brazilian for the most part, because home treats me this bad on shipping. That's ok, home, you've given me some of my best, too Well, to be fair, there was this non-brazilian time in which the pairing didn't fall out of love, but rather the half ended up with the absolute worst option out there, the only option I hated, and it hurt. A lot. It enraged me as **** lol So, yeah, that can happen too and it's also worst than what's happened to The 100 shippers so far, for me. Not that I condone the cast & crew's bullying of bellarke shippers, of course. The show treats us very kindly to compensate for that. No, but seriously, if I make a list of the 5 times I was treated the worst as a shipper, three would be from brazilian shows. You guys are lucky not to watch our soaps There have been at least three cases of shutting down US ships by inconsistently forced writing, however. The times my ship halves died I was quite ok with it in retrospect Again, writers, don't take me that seriously on this not caring lol

How did the interview go, Kate? I hope it went alright

I've made this vow to myself quite a few times by now, but it just hasn't worked out yet... Well, maybe Shameless. HTGAWM to some extent(did not stop watching after otp was killed off). OTH I doubt I'll be able to keep thinking straight about it as the show progresses. Supergirl might be on its way to making me care about a ship more than others...

I'm also back at watching Gilmore Girls after having left it out of ships. But it might just be because she doesn't really end up with anyone after all, that half of my ship. And yes, it took me 11 years to get back to it I'm so immature...

Oh, this one.... It's funny, because I actually liked Dan/Blair as a pairing since 1x04, then proceeded to multishipping when Blair/Chuck started and then Dair actually happened years later.... My otp, however, was serenate and, yes, I did abandon this show too.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWN THAT CUTE CHRISTMALLARKE DRAWING THO

No problem, Lisa Yes, the word is thrown around a lot... As for Clarke, I disagree on her being able to leave at any given time, but for the same reasons I don't hold Bellamy 100% responsible on siding with Pike. Clarke was too vulnerable to be rational about her choices. She was fleeing, feeling guilty and scared. I don't think she could just leave there. I do agree with you on Lexa not taking advantage of it, though. It was the situation, not the person, imo.

I agree with you on the cuffing. Was it called for? Yes, from Bellamy's perspective. Absolutely not from Clarkes. Would I be able to feel comfortable around someone who I knew could do that all of a sudden? No, I'd have a hard time trusting the person again. From a pairing's perspective, however, it was a one time thing in desperate situations that, on the show, has only happened once.

The cool hat, though

Leelith

destroyer of worlds

Hello, quick fly by since I have to get ready to go to a wedding soon. Will respond to everything later.



X

Steph26

That first gif, Sarah, totally looks like they are checking each other out.


This made me giggle

united we stand divided we cry

destroyer of worlds

Steph! It's been so quiet here lately. Hope everyone comes back soon.

And yes, I didn't notice it but they do look like they're checking out each other there. And that GIFset cracked me up ... #Iseewhatyoudidhere.

Finally doing my Sarah Method post again ... so you guys unfortunately have to deal with me replying to posts from more than 10 days ago. First part first, at least ...

They are each other's homes for sure. Wherever the other person is. I just love the look of serenity/peace/relief they evidently feel when they're around each other.

And yes, minimising the chance of losing them both is preferable.

Ahh, how could I forget to add that in? Murphy knows best. And he's privy to some (though not many) Bellarke interactions but even he can see how much they mean to each other.

Yes, definitely. I felt bad for Gina because she seemed like a sweet person but I always thought Bellamy's heart was not 100% into it either and Clarke's absence definitely still weighed heavily on him even when he was with Gina. And yup, I'd prefer if Bellamy kisses Clarke first but honestly, I'm not picky. It just needs to happen already.

And yes for #teamAngst.

Yas, glad you like it. I think it was April who first called it that.

I really liked Maya, sad that she didn't get to join the Arkers and how she died was horrible.

Agreed with the bolded parts in the spoilery post you wrote. They have this unspoken bond/way of communicating with each other which they don't share with anyone else.

ITA, I think he liked her and felt terrible guilt over what happened, and probably blamed himself for not staying and being there with her ... but his heart was not really in that relationship, even if he tried.

Paulina has since joined us. And we used to do it in the specific episode threads but are now doing it on the general episode discussion threads on Bob's board. Margaux and everyone else, feel free to join us if you wish and I'll let you know the specific timing (which should work for Europeans/Americans) since all four of us are also in different time zones.

kenni727

So I initially wasn’t planning on reading the write up on Clexa. Mostly because I don’t see that relationship as abusive or Clarke as a victim and didn’t feel like reading someone else’s ramblings on that. But then I got to thinking that perhaps this person would have a valid point and provide a different perspective for me. Nope. I’m still lost as to what the argument is that the Clexa relationship was abusive. I would say it was unhealthy for sure but not abusive. And I don’t know that I will ever see Clarke as a victim. And this from someone who has been and continues to be a victim of emotional and psychological abuse. I’m not saying that means I never take part in victim blaming. I’m not perfect. But I also feel that there are many people out there who like to play the victim.

I don’t bring this up to say that I am by any means an expert on abuse and so if I say it wasn’t abusive then that means it wasn’t. But I agree with Lisa and April in that I believe the term abuse gets thrown around a little too lightly these days. I also believe that TV/movies will often depict an abusive relationship but not acknowledge that. Too often I have seen abuse treated as a joke and made to be funny. So I also recognize there are some who view the Clexa relationship as abusive because some aspect of that relationship resonates with them as they identify with those abusive aspects. But I haven’t yet seen a convincing argument regarding the abuse.

AnaMack

It totally does

This ending was shipping goals I miss Wicken

I believe Clarke is a victim of the circumstances, more than of people. She is expected to do so much at such a young age without having been trained for it and she ends up doing way too much for herself to handle and it leaves her vulnerable.

Yes, that's what happens to Rose, she identifies with that situation and it reminds her of a personal one, and she's uncomfortable by seeing Clarke's numbness towards it. It's sad that people throw the world around so much you never know who actually means it or is just using flat arguments to prove someone's ship wronger. I mostly agree with the part that says Clarke wasn't rationalising properly because of what had happened previously and that she was, indeed, prisoner for a good while, which is definitely not healthy, but that's why I say it's the situation more than the person.

April7739

Sounds like we have the same view on this, Kenni.

Ana, I agree that Pike was definitely manipulating Bellamy, taking advantage of his emotional state at the time. (People can say what they want about Pike, but the dude was smart.) But I still hold Bellamy 100% accountable for his actions. Even if he's vulnerable, even if he's in a dark place in his life where it's easier for someone like Pike to swoop in . . . Bellamy still did what he did. Bellamy still made a choice, the wrong choice. I can totally explain his actions, but I'll never excuse them. (Not saying that's what you're doing, btw.) But because he is a character with so much depth and substance, I still root for him, regardless of what awful things he's done.

AnaMack

Yeah, surprisingly I go with the Law on this one. That when someone's under the influence of a traumatic event or is under a mentally vulnerable state they can't be held accountable the same way someone on their full faculties should. The law student in me lol also because I have a bit of anxiety where at times I don't fully think straight and if I can't maintain my grip, let alone someone like Bellamy or Jasper or even Clarke. The reason I don't blame Clarke for TonDC as much as I do Lexa is because Lexa was more used to that kind of situation and knew exactly what she was doing, whereas Clarke was under a stressful situation to which she didn't know how to react.

The same way, they can't be held accountable the same way. Like, let's say I'd blame them 60% instead of 100%. I don't think Octavia beating him up was uncalled for. Although she did exaggerate a tiny bit on the execution of it.

destroyer of worlds

I may have other/differing comments once I fully read the article but I also don't agree with the sentiment that either relationships are abusive. The word is thrown around blatantly these days for sure. I have serious issues with how the CL relationship is portrayed (which are not appropriate to be mentioned here) and I also think that Bellamy's decision to handcuff Clarke was a terrible one but "abuse" is a whole other ballpark and shouldn't be used lightly.

I wouldn't call Clarke a victim either, she knew what she was doing and she's a smart cookie so "victim of circumstances" is probably the more apt term for it for sure.

April7739

I guess I can understand that viewpoint, even if I don't share the same one.

This is something that is very confusing to me, and I articulated that confusion a lot in the episode discussion thread for Fallen. Because, while I feel that this beat down was wrong of Octavia, I also . . . don't blame her for it? But I know I would be appalled if the genders of the characters were reversed, so . . . Idk, that whole scene has made me confront some of my own problematic views related to gender. But . . Well, that whole episode is just a ton of serious stuff, and there are a lot of different (and strong) interpretations.

Damocles

I think people in fandom tend to call things "abuse" when it's like, a character being an ass or doing something uncool. It's usually from opposing sides of ships, when they're trying to undermind the other ship.

There's a fine line though, because you don't want to ignore ACTUAL abuse either and brush it off because ~*it's a TV show*~, but that doesn't mean the term should be thrown around and applied to every relationship you don't like. I think that's my problem when I go on Tumblr alot of the time - I see these long, dramatic posts about how toxic Bellarke and/or Clexa are and then I'm like...really fam?

Yes I just said fam