shit, stuff, and things

hello yes. this is the blog in which i feel free to express my gayness.

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The Library - ethiobird ( @hedarey)

(Words: 55,190) (Chapters: 5/5)

You certainly come across intriguing personalities every so often when you tend bar. None quite so intriguing as the lone girl with cascading chestnut hair sitting at the end of the bar, drinking a whiskey neat and reading a book, however.

Except, wait, that's your new co-worker.

or

The College Bar AU in which Clarke is the Mom Friend bartender, Lexa is the new hire, and everyone is really just a hot damn mess. Shot of Jameson, anyone?

[mtv]

Vote now for Ship of the Year by liking and reblogging your OTP here on Tumblr! Remember, notes = votes, so  be sure to show your favorite ship some love and tune into the 2016 @mtvfandom Awards on July 24th at 8/7c to see who wins!

Art by @sheep-in-clouds

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clarke + lexa // welcome home (reprise)

I could beat a dead horse all day about how much I disagree with the writers’ decision to kill Lexa and knowingly playing into the whole ‘bury your gays’ trope business. Instead I’m gonna talk about Lexa herself for a second and why this character meant so much to me, and why I’ve never had a reaction to a character death the way I reacted to Lexa’s death.

I grew up in just about the most conservative Christian environment humanly possible, so the whole ‘agonizing over my bisexuality and being terrified what people will think if/when they find out’ is no strange concept of my past and in some ways, my present. Because of that, fiction was a really big crutch and stepping stone for me in terms of accepting who I was. Characters like Santana from Glee resonated with me deeply back when I was trying to come to terms with my sexuality and then later when I was ready to ask my family and close friends to accept me as well.

The problem is, in terms of LGBT representation in media, it stops there. Our stories are almost exclusively centered around how hard it is to be gay/bi/trans/etc., and the subsequent triumph (and sadly sometimes just plain tragedy a la Brokeback) of finally being able to overcome fear and accept ourselves. But the bottom line is in real life? After that, we’re also just people, with the same struggles as any other person trying to make their way in the world. We just happen to, you know, not be straight. And yet the vast majority of the stories about people like us focus on time periods that frankly only make up a small part of most of our lives. The coming-out phase. Honestly, I’m over it, and I’ve been over it for a while. I think of those characters and stories I connected with years ago very fondly, but I’m ready to move on to new stories. I don’t have any desire to relive the story of that struggle over and over and over again because it's just not, like, fun. You know? But there just hasn’t been anything else out there in media.

Until Commander Lexa. Like, wow. The 100 has never shied away from placing complex female characters with agency in powerful and influential positions within the narrative and the world itself, and not even making a deal of it. That’s a whole other thing I (still) love about the show and its storytelling choices. The decision to make the Commander, this ruler of what in The 100's world is literally every known group of people that exist on a post-apocalypse Earth, not only a young woman, but a woman who just happens to be gay? And not only that, but have her be, like, a really great leader, and a badass warrior? I had never seen anything like it in fiction. Ever.

And to take it two steps beyond that, have this character be really interesting, multi-faceted, and give her an incredibly compelling and complex same-sex relationship dynamic - both romantic and political - with the lead character of the entire show, Clarke Griffin? AND have that dynamic almost always be well-written, well-developed, and well-acted? AND not have ANY kind of narrative focus on the “struggle” of being gay as part of their/her storyline and struggle with their feelings for one another? This was groundbreaking. And Lexa was nothing short of a damn superhero to us. And that’s why it was frankly kind of devastating for me and I know many others to have been given this beautifully realized character and relationship that resonated so deeply and was so inspiring, only to have it ripped away violently literally minutes later…for shock value. Like, I’m worried I’ll never see a character/relationship like this on TV again, or at least for a while, and that sucks.

(not to mention her and clarke reminded me like hella of my girlfriend and i so i kinda wanted them to get a happy ending, damn it.)

tl;dr, im v salty about lexa’s death and probs will be for a while

also fun trivia kids: the title of the project while i was editing it was "haha i love suffering :))))"

oh also be gentle i havent edited anything in like a year

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me, years from now, healed but still jaded: *shipping a new f/f relationship on a new show*

future show: episode 3x07!

me: *remembers glee*

me: *remembers the 100*

me: *has war flashbacks*

me: NOT FUCKING TODAY SATAN IM OUT PEACE BITCHES

[filmeditors-deactivated20230605]

Bitanic (2016) dir. James Cameron

[luthorlenass-deactivated2017041]

the clexa fandom waiting for the sex scene like:

the thirst is real

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Predictions for the next three episodes:

3x06/07:

Based on the fact that Clarke gets her forehead wound in tomorrow’s episode, and the fact that she still somewhat has it during the leaked morning after sex scene, and the fact that 3x07 has an SV rating, Clexa is gonna do the dirty next week (GET HYPED). It’s also possible that tomorrow’s episode ends with an implied sex scene (not enough to earn the S rating), and the morning after scene will open their interactions in 3x07. (tbh I’m anticipating at least a kiss tomorrow)

I really want to say that the only footage from the S3 trailer we’ve seen is from episodes prior to the two week hiatus. I find it hard to believe they had footage ready beyond 3x08 for the extended trailer that came out in December. That means Ontari soaked in nightblood blood is happening within the next three episodes.

We’re also pretty sure Alycia’s not going to be in episodes 3x08-3x10 (although I don’t know how sure we are. is this just an educated guess based on reports of ADC not being in the entire season and the fact that Kim is writing 3x11? anyone have sources?), which means something has to happen to justify her not being there, seeing as she’s the grounder commander and all. Some have speculated that it’s because she dies by Ontari’s hand and we see her in the City of Light later in the season since there is no death there. I call bullshit, because:

That means they’d be killing Lexa in the same episode she romantically reconciles/has sex with Clarke. Seems a little gratuitous and a waste of all the build-up to their relationship, right? Not to mention obvious, given Lexa’s own direct reference to Ontari’s appearance only happening after her own death. Even the brutal-as-shit writers of The 100 know that would be a major narrative misstep, but moreso a waste of a character and actress that’s not just beloved by fans, but by those involved with the show. Smart showrunners keep characters that have been instrumental in bringing in new viewers around, especially when it’s a show that hasn’t already been guaranteed multiple season renewals. There is NO good reason to just go and kill Lexa. Plain and simple.

My prediction, as well as many others’, is that Ontari is going to Anakin Skywalker all of the nightbloods, except Lexa. This is pretty much a certainty, honestly. HOWEVER, Lexa can’t retaliate and kill Ontari, just as Ontari can’t kill Lexa, because of the nightblood thing and however it ties into the CoL.

The narrative demands that Ontari become commander somehow, in order to justify Lexa’s absence, and the ongoing tension between Skaikru and grounders. Plus, you know, there’s that clip of her sitting in the Commander’s throne, so we know it’s gonna happen. I think it’ll come about in one of two ways:

Ontari is going to use Lexa’s “weakness,” aka not retaliating against Skaikru for the massacre, to justify taking command, and her people will turn against her and force her into exile (can’t kill her because of the nightblood thing). Somehow Clarke gets away and is able to return to Arkadia.

However, I prefer, because ANGST: Somehow Ontari is going to get a hold of Clarke, tell Lexa she will kill Clarke if she doesn’t relinquish her title, and Clarke’s here thinking either well fuck, I know Lexa loves me but she’s always gonna put her people first, or Lexa, you have to let her, she can’t take command, and then surprise! Lexa agrees. Plus there’s the fact that if Ontari kills Clarke, she gets her “power,” and Lexa still won’t be able to kill Ontari, and the grounders may follow whoever has the power of Wanheda regardless. 

Narratively, either of these makes Lexa’s love for Clarke/compassion/desire for peace become her “weakness” and downfall as a leader, but sets up the rest of the season to prove that these traits are actually strengths.

I think we’re going to get a lot of crazy emotional material from ADC and Lexa in this situation either way and it’s gonna break us. So Ontari lets Clarke go as per her deal with Lexa (I think whatever episode Eliza isn’t in isn’t going to be 3x08) since Lexa stepped down. Lexa obv can’t go to Arkadia with Clarke, so she has to go into hiding, maybe with Luna? Which will explain her absence for however many episodes. Might get a sweet, emotional moment between Clexa before they have to separate.

3x08:

Now that Ontari is commander (which explains Jason’s comments about how if Skaikru hadn’t attacked the army, they would be fucked), Clarke returns to Arkadia to warn them of what might be coming. Cue Skaikru reunions - Jasper and Clarke scene probably - alongside whatever main conflict is going on with CoL and Pike being a total fuck. 

I definitely think something is going to happen to Lincoln in this episode and he’s going to die (based on Ricky Whittle throwing shade lately and landing a starring role in another series. I don’t know much about the industry but I’m pretty sure that, contractually, networks don’t allow actors to be cast in a starring role while being a series regular on another show. Guest star, a la Alycia, maybe, but not starring). Pike will be responsible. This explains Octavia beating the shit out of Bellamy. I think this will be the episode that Bell finally realizes how fucked up Pike’s actions/motivations are, and he’ll snap out of it, but it’ll be too late, and he’s gonna have to work his ass off for dat redemption arc for the rest of the season/probably even beyond.

Cue Bellarke hug, extremely apologetic Bellamy, Clarke being a forgiving angel and trying to be there for him in the wake of Lincoln’s death, Octavia disowning him, and him feeling responsible/like a monster. He looks like he’s taken a pretty good beating in their hug scene. The Bellarke arc and dynamic is definitely central, and I think we’ll end the mid-season finale with them back on the same page/team. Yay!

As for what happens beyond that? No clue. Ontari staying in command leaves room for future conflict in future seasons between Grounders/Arkers. And we know Lexa plays a part in the finale - maybe not in a way we expect. The City of Light is obviously the endgame conflict for this season, but we don’t really know anything about that, so. I think there’s some level of misdirection going on because why would Jason encourage people to watch them shoot what would seem like a pretty important scene? I’m excited to find out. Either way, I absolutely don’t think they’re going to kill Lexa this season.

It’s definitely a lot to cram into only three episodes, and this doesn’t even include everything with the CoL and whatever garbage Pike is gonna be up to with sending farm station people out for water samples (???), but when has The 100 ever moved at a leisurely pace?

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Blarkers accusing Jason and co. of writing Clexa as canon in response to fans

Is maybe the most absurd argument I’ve heard. Number one, they wrote that Clexa kiss before ANY of us had really started shipping them seriously. Number two, they’ve had Season 3 and therefore Clexa’s storyline mapped out since probably late spring or early summer of last year. Did I think when this mysterious, powerful woman appeared on screen in 2x06 that she would later be Clarke’s love interest? Of course fucking not. That, by f/f shipper standards, would be absolutely delusional.

What I WOULDN’T be surprised by, however, is if in light of these stupid fucking shipper wars that have surfaced recently, one of two things happens:

They give up on writing major romantic pairings altogether in the future. They have said repeatedly that they’re not here to appeal to shippers. The 100 is about how there are no ‘good’ guys, war, forgiveness, survival, leadership, sacrifices, a whole slew of things (all things, I might add, that are central to Clarke and Lexa’s dynamic and arc). If Lexa dies, I’m about 900% sure that from here on out, the only romantic entanglements Clarke will be participating in will be purely physical, and not emotional. I think they got bored with Finn only serving a romantic purpose, and a boring one at that, and that’s why they decided to write him out. I also think they found something they genuinely find compelling in Clexa, and that’s why they’re pursuing them. Not because of ‘fanservice.’ I call major bullshit on that.

Y’all, I really think you’ve shot yourselves in the foot. I understand that there are some perfectly nice, reasonable Bellarkers out there, but those Blarkers.....if you look at twitter at Jason’s and Kim’s accounts (I haven’t even dared to look at Alycia’s or Eliza’s. I’m scared about what I’d see), you’ll see that, yeah, the overwhelming number of responses are from Clexa shippers. But they’re being thankful and kind and supportive. The only rude or negative things I’ve seen on either account has come from Blarkers, all saying rude-ass things about how the show has gone downhill, the ratings are going to go down, “good luck with getting Season 4,″ “why don’t you treat each ship equally???” Uh, because one of them is actually canon, and the other isn’t? Honestly, Jason may be a better person than me, but if I was being attacked the way they are by Blarkers for telling the story he wants to tell? I’d make a point to not ever make them canon, just because I’d be pissed by how entitled and petulant their responses to this whole situation have been. Y’all putting nails in your own coffin, honestly.

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“I don’t like Clarke with Lexa because Lexa is manipulative!!!”

“I can’t support a manipulative relationship, I don’t care that it’s same-sex!!”

“Clexa is toxic and manipulative!! It’s unhealthy!!”

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A message for blarkers and c|exa shippers but also shoutout to y’all Bellarkers and Clexa shippers.

Because there’s a pretty notable difference between the two. Especially in light of, uh, you know, recent spoilers.

blarkers: You are actual, literal whining babies (you’ve even called yourselves as such). My problem with you isn’t that you don’t like my preferred ship, it’s that you have this astounding sense of entitlement. You are not entitled to seeing your ship come to fruition for any reason, ever. It’s a shame that there’s this TV trope of the Main Guy and Main Girl always getting together in the end, because y’all have learned to expect, rather than be grateful for what has been gifted to you time and time again in television. The writers don’t owe you shit; they don’t owe you an explanation, consolation, anything to ‘justify’ the narrative choices they make on their show. Sit down, take a deep breath, and take notes from other shippers on tumblr that ship non-canon pairings (especially those that ship non-canon queer ships, because this happens to them marginally more often). Your ship is not canon, and it’s possible they won’t ever be. In this situation, you have a few choices:

Be a whining child that throws tantrums. This is what you’re doing. You’re not getting what you want, and as a response you attack a show you love for “fanservice” or “bad storytelling” or any number of negative things that are founded solely on your ship not being canon.

OR if you truly can’t come to terms with what’s happening within the narrative without being the above, you could, well. Stop watching. Be an adult and make the mature decision to distance yourself if you recognize when you’re not able to put your energy into anything but negative emotions. It just seems like you’re simmering in hate and anger and are you, like, sure you’re happy? Like really?

OR, and this is my preferred option since we all love the same show and I think it’d be silly to lose fellow fans over a fucking ship war, you could accept that your pairing isn’t canon and compensate by being creative geniuses and making your own content/fanfiction, while still enjoying other aspects of the show from week to week, and generally be a fucking agreeable human being. I’ve done this. It’s hard sometimes, and there are times when watching the show will hurt, sure, but I think it beats the above two options.

c|exa shippers: Y’all aren’t off the hook. Yes, it feels good to be vindicated by having your queer ship be canon over the het ship. It feels awesome, because this shit never happens to us. Which is why I’m shocked that a lot of you are being total smug dickbags about it. We of all people should understand how shitty it feels to have people tell us that what we see between two characters isn’t there, and that we’re delusional (and on that note, I think those involved with The 100 are doing a pretty good job of not being assholes about it. blarkes, consider yourselves lucky you don’t have to deal with Ryan Murphy’s crew). How many years have we spent shipping non-canon ships? Faberry, Swan Queen, Rizzles, the list goes on.

Have a little empathy, don’t actively seek out conflict, and for god’s sake you don’t need to engage with the angry blarkers. The-critic-who-shall-not-be-named likes to stir drama, and argue, and get hate, because then that makes her justified in speaking negatively of Clexa shippers as a whole. She thrives off it, because she’s intelligent and well-spoken and really goddamn good at arguing/debating. You don’t need to feed her. Also, note the difference between someone hating on Clexa due to homophobia (a la facebook. that place is a disaster), and someone hating on Clexa just because it actively prevents them from getting what they want. There IS a difference, and we shouldn’t use ‘homophobe’ as an umbrella term for people that simply see something different in the characters than what we see.

Bellarkers: Now that we’ve gotten the assholes out of the way. I just want to take a moment to appreciate you, because honestly? Bellarke is great. I have no qualms with the ship itself other than if it happens, my ship doesn’t. Before Lexa came along, I liked the idea of Bellarke. If there was no Lexa, I probably would have chosen Bellarke as my main ship (actually that’s not totally true. I’d choose Princess Mechanic, but I would never have had hope of it being canon. But apparently anything is possible on The 100, so). I love the mutual respect and love these two characters have grown into, the fact that they elevate one another as leaders, and I love each character as an individual. I don’t think there’s anything unhealthy about them together, unlike countless Main Het ships on other TV shows. Would I be upset if Lexa died and as the show progressed the writers eventually paired Bellamy and Clarke romantically? Sure. But not because of the ship itself. Your ship is valid, and what you see in them is valid. How amazing is it that we love a show that offers us such rich, layered, compelling relationships between complex, nuanced characters? It’s pretty amazing.

Clexa shippers: Oh man, where to even begin with y’all. I have never had so much fun being in a fandom, from decalexas to “I did it for my people” to this fucking video (I shed literal tears every fucking time) to Clarke the Husband and Confused Lexa. I fucking love you guys. I’m so happy that I get to watch this incredible relationship between two amazing characters unfold every week with all of you. Never in a million years would I have dreamed that the strong and imposing female leader figure we first met in 2x06 and Main Character Clarke Griffin would eventually be given Main Ship Storyline material (and sex scene!!! what a time to be alive holy shit), even if I had shipped them from the moment we first saw them make eye contact. And I get to ship them with some of the most creative, hilarious, but also well-spoken and thoughtful people I’ve come across on tumblr. So thanks, y’all. ANYWAY, TO SUMMARIZE:

Don’t be an asshole. Love is great. The 100 is great. You are great.

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me after seeing those clexa spoilers

[lenarise-deactivated20191107]

do me a favor and reblog this & put your worst clexa hell song in the tags

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Everyone is worried Lexa is going to die. I'm not, know why?

Because if there's anything the writers of The 100 love, it's subverting tropes and defying expectations.

Us: Oh ok so this Kane dude is the villain, cool this is easy I got this.

Writers: nope

Us: Psh, all those innocent people on the ark won't die. Classic high pressure scenario. The kids will get those flares up for them to see the ground is habitable just in time to save everyone.

Writers: nah

Us: Oh, bummer. Ah, well here we have a traditional love triangle. Time for dumb drama between Clarke and Raven where they hate each other. Can u say catfight? Haha

Writers: boring. we

Us: Oh, neato. Oh no! Raven might be paralyzed! Lol jk Abby'll get her fixed right up and she'll be on her feet by next episode.

Writers: nope she gon suffer forever

Us: Ouch. Well cool, disability representation is rad. Well hey I know Finn did a bad thing but he's one of the mains, Clarke will find a way to save him right?

Writers: lol u thought

Us: .... ok y'all don't mess around. Man, Clarke and Lexa have some pretty interesting chemistry. But psh, they would never-

Writers: SO CAN WE GAY IT UP IN HERE OR

Us: FUCK ok shit oh ok ok Jasper's going to kill Cage before Clarke has to pull that lever, they wouldn't have her kill a bunch of innocent people and kids right like she's the main character she's supposed to be the good guy that'd be super brutal-

Writers: we do not fuck around

Us:

Us:

Us:

Us:

Us: Oh shit they're going to kill Lexa aren't they the lesbians always die, something always happens and it's always tragic

Writers: [look into the camera like they're in The Office]

[lenaiuthor]

Hi guys! @r-grimes​ and I are still freaking out about the 100 last episode. So we decided to create a whatsapp group. This group is dedicated to those two badass/cute girls that basically got married and now are responsible for or lack of sanity.

what we’re looking for: people that love clexa.

If you’re interested in being a part of clexa support group, please, bow before us, reblog this.

ps: you must be willing to give your phone number.

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I was thinking

about The 100 and Clexa and I started comparing my experience as a Clexa shipper to my past experiences as a Brittana, Faberry, Bechloe, Bubbline, Korrasami shipper, etc. What I realized is that with Clexa I have pretty consistently found myself disappointed with fandom aspects like fanfiction, and that the collective creative contributions of the Clexa fandom just seemed kind of subpar compared to the fanworks of those other fandoms.

Except I realized that’s totally not what it is.

I realized today that the reason I find myself disappointed isn’t because the work is subpar in comparison to other ships, it’s that the actual, real, canon material is just that good and the fan-made material actually...mostly pales in comparison.

Because if you think about it, all those previous ships, while we love(d) them dearly, have some kind of problem that prevents them from reaching their full potential as a compelling and engaging pairing within canon. Like, they were never canon to begin with, so of course the best material you’ll find is fan-made (Faberry and Bechloe anyone?). Or they were sidelined, written sloppily, and plagued with constant inconsistencies in characterization (hello Brittana). Or, their relationship is implied only subtly within canon, only definitively confirmed through people that work on the show, with important events in the relationship happening outside the narrative we’re given (Korrasami and Bubbline here).

The 100 doesn’t mess with any of that. Clarke is the main character, full stop. Lexa is absolutely and unquestionably her primary love interest and the source of Clarke’s main character arc and conflict right now and probably for the rest of the season. There is no shying away from the complexity of their relationship within the narrative, there is no letting the fans fill in the blanks because we don’t get to see an important development on screen, and there’s not even any sloppy, mishandled writing. And not only that, but their dynamic is actually integral to the main storyline, what with coalitions and clans and who should kill who and whatnot. This isn’t your typical Gay Side Plot For Diversity That Has Minimal Effect On Other Characters Or StorylinesTM. Attention is going to be called to this relationship within the show, not because it’s two girls, but because it’s two important, powerful characters that will risk everything by choosing each other. This is gonna be some star-crossed, Romeo & Juliet, Titanic, Pocahontas, love-conquers-all level shit.

And, you guys, it’s canon. Like, think about why we write fanfiction. It’s so we can make stories and plotlines about our favorite characters and ships that are central to the narrative in a way that maybe it’s not within canon. Most fanfiction isn’t redundant. We write it because we want more than what we are given; we want to expand. And then think about the fact that arguably the best fanfic the Clexa fandom has produced - which you should read if you haven’t - ended up hitting some of the same narrative beats and utilized some of the same plot devices that are being used within the show’s storyline right now.

What does that say to me? It says we are getting carefully written, main couple, compelling storyline treatment here, guys.

[leepacey]

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