99% of the gifs aren't mine! An escape from the real world into the lives and ships of fictional characters. This is a blog run by a Black girl and that will also talk about antiblackness and racism in the shows discussed. READ THE PINNED MASTERLISTS. Honestly, minors shouldn't be interacting in the asks.
The ultimate will-they/won’t-they couple. I just marathoned all six seasons of A Different World and re-experienced the agony and frustration that was the Whitley/Dwayne relationship. They were the best.
What's your favourite romantic type build up between Enemies to lovers Or friends to lovers and why And can you give examples of God favourite ships from either trope
Oh this is a fun question. Jackie and Hyde from That ‘70s show is one of my favourite enemies/frenemies to lovers ships:
What I like about Jackie and Hyde was that it wasn’t a relationship with clear build-up, like I never got the impression that five seasons were leading up to them getting together but the groundwork is all there, like the above gifs are from season 3 and the episode is titled “Jackie bags Hyde” but it only lasts an episode because they kiss and Jackie isn’t really feeling any sort of connection to him. But in season 1 Hyde takes Jackie to the prom because Kelso takes Pam Macey:
And in season 2 Hyde actually goes to jail for Jackie because a cop catches her with pot. And what was really interesting about these moments is that Hyde actually has a disdain for Jackie because she represents everything that he hates — she’s xenophobic and spoiled and rich and popular but when it comes down to it, particularly when she cries, he does whatever he can to make her feel better, like taking her to prom:
or helping her get over Kelso:
he continuously put himself out of his comfort zone to make her feel better and that’s when he legitimately can’t stand her.
And then when they’re together in season 5, I think the reason why I like them so much and the reason why they’re arguably the fandom favourite is because they were a dynamic in which they pushed the other to grow (when the show didn’t undercut the growth they went through) because Hyde learns to be vulnerable:
And Jackie learns that she can’t boss and bully people into doing things she wants:
And the way they show how much they care about each other is unique to their personalities and their dynamic; like Hyde doesn’t know how to verbally comfort Jackie when her dad is sent to prison, which causes friction in the relationship but then he shaves his beard for her, which is something she’s been nagging him to do for a while, which shows how much he cares. And when Jackie wants Hyde to meet his father, she discusses how when she loves someone/something she smothers it/the or nags it/them and that’s when he acquiesces to meeting him.
And they’re just adorable:
Dwayne and Whitley from a Different World were infuriating because there was this constant will-they-won’t-they and a lot of drama and they’re actually kind of toxic but I enjoyed their frenemy to romance status a lot, it was one of the first onscreen black couples I saw. There aren’t many gifs of them that can tell their story so I’ll just put some key moments below:
Um, I really don’t like How I Met Your Mother. I think it’s misogynistic and racist and plainly unfunny but Robin and Barney’s relationship was the one I really enjoyed because they really did complement each other and understood one another.
Because the issue with Ted and Robin was that Ted built this fantasy life that he wanted and inserted Robin as the woman he wanted to spend it with because they’re incompatible as romantic partners. As friends, Ted’s idealism was neurotically charming and Robin’s facetious cynicism complemented that but as romantic partners, it just made them ill-fitting and what really sold me and how much they didn’t work was when Robin realized that men are intimidated by her independence and she asks Ted if that was an issue in their relationship and he admitted that it was and he felt emasculated by her then essentially rolls his eyes when she decides to pay for the cheque but when she talks to Barney about it, her independence is something he loves and he says, “No one will say ‘who’s your daddy’” to her because he understood her. I think they were soul friends. But Barney and Robin …
Barney always thought he wanted to stay the same but repeatedly discovered that he wanted to grow for himself and for Robin:
which is why he does things like eventually burned his “playbook”, which is why he promised to be honest and told her that Ted found the locket, which is why he faked a meltdown and did that rehearsal dinner for Robin, she made him take steps toward being more mature.
While Robin continuously realized that she fell in love with Barney for a reason and that means accepting him:
which is why she didn’t end up selling his apartment because she understood that his gimmicks were actually really brilliant and she could see the intelligence behind his designs; which is why she understood why he was obsessed with seeing yoga girl’s body.
They naturally met in the middle and understood each other in a way that no one else could and could appreciate each other’s crazy because they were each just that crazy but in each other they found maturity. And the show completely undercut that after the wedding to make Robin and Ted fit because they always had a vision of them ending up together but that doesn’t mean that they should’ve. Ted was supportive and caring but I never felt like he understood Robin and I never felt like Ted was always on Robin’s mind after they broke up whereas with Barney, she couldn’t stand hearing him talk about his conquests and he would always check up on her. I don’t know, Ted and Robin were just two people who didn’t actually fit but the show shoved them together anyway.
I have an entire post about Ron and Hermione and why I ship them as a redemptive friends to lovers relationship:
And this. This is why I loved them even throughout their stressful, ridiculous and maddening we-love-each-other-but-we-won’t-tell-each-other-but-we’ll-flirt-but-we-won’t-be-together-but-we-want-each-other-but-we’re-idiots-so-let’s-see-other-people-and-pine-for-each-other phase.
how would you describe dwayne and whitley's chemistry?
Versatile.
Because they riff off each other really well, they have great comedic chemistry
and then as @initiumseries and I like to say with certain ships, they get close to each other and it’s like a switch to this intense, like lusty vibe,
which is why it makes sense that after they had that fight and then makeup sex Dwayne was singing and cooking in her robe and she wobbled her way out of the bedroom LMAO
and then they can be very warm and very sweet and fun
What are the best movies/series with main black characters in your opinion?
Some of these are movies that I think are brilliant movies and some of them are just fun and they’re, like, 99% African American so it’s a goal of mine to look at different movies/shows from different countries.
Moonlight
If Beale Street Could Talk
Fences
Do The Right Thing
Love & Basketball
Black Panther
Boyz N The Hood (there is problematic treatment of black women)
Rafiki
Carmen Jones
Malcolm X
Selma
The Color Purple
Lean On Me (a lot of respectability politics in this)
Maybe this is asked before but who are your fav female characters on media?
It has.
Maxine Shaw
Cristina Yang
Whitley Gilbert
Annalise Keating
Michaela Pratt
Book!Hermione Granger
“Are you planning to follow a career in Magical Law, Miss Granger?” asked Scrimgeour. “No, I’m not,” retorted Hermione. “I’m hoping to do some good in the world!”
*
“Hermione drew herself to her full height; her eyes were narrowed and her hair seemed to crackle with electricity. “No,” she said, her voice quivering with anger, “but I will write to your mother.”
*
“Hermione slid out of her bunk and moved like a sleepwalker towards Ron, her eyes upon his pale face. She stopped right in front of him, her lips slightly parted, her eyes wide. Ron gave a weak, hopeful smile and half-raised his arms. Hermione launched herself forwards and started punching every inch of him that she could reach. ‘Ouch — ow — gerroff! What the — ? Hermione — OW!’ “You — complete — arse — Ronald — Weasley!” She punctuated every word with a blow: Ron backed away, shielding his head as Hermione advanced. “You — crawl — back — here — after — weeks — and — weeks — oh, where’s my wand?” She looked as though ready to wrestle it out of Harry’s hands and he reacted instinctively. “Protego!”
Piper Halliwell
Sansa Stark
Sula
In a way, her strangeness, her naiveté, her craving for the other half of her equation was the consequence of an idle imagination. Had she paints, or clay, or knew the discipline of the dance, or strings, had she anything to engage her tremendous curiosity and her gift for metaphor, she might have exchanged the restlessness and preoccupation with whim for an activity that provided her with all she yearned for. And like an artist with no art form, she became dangerous.
*
“Lonely, ain’t it?” “Yes, but my lonely is mine. Now your lonely is somebody else’s. Made by somebody else and handed to you. Ain’t that something? A secondhand lonely.”
Choi Ae Ra
Meg
OG Princess Jasmine
Nala
Honourable Mentions – and they’re honourable mentions because the writing gets in the way a lot of the time
Tara Thornton & Bonnie Bennett
Young Black Couples I Grew Up With And/Or Admired
*not my gifs*
note: I realize this is a heteronormative gifset, I have unfortunately not come across any young queer/gay/lesbian black couples on TV/film who actually get to have a relationship/story.
This is interesting because my favourite TV shows aren’t necessarily the ones I watch most often but, I’ll list them (they’re in no particular order):
1. Buffy The Vampire Slayer
It’s iconic for a reason. I have never seen a live-action teen show be able to balance character dynamics and supernatural plot like BTVS did. Joss Whedon and his team had an uncanny ability to make his teenagers actually sound and act like teenagers while also making intriguing plot lines; the stakes get higher with every season, the dialogue is smart, it’s just really well done.
2. Sons of Anarchy
It’s absolutely an imperfect show and the flaws are noticeable and it can actually be quite triggering to a number of people, but it’s one of my favourites because the characters are intriguing and the relationships they have with each other are complicated and messy and the show revels in all of the things I love to watch, dysfunctional family dynamics, intense romantic relationships, inner-turmoil, it starts off kind of slow and vaguely boring but once it finds its footing, it’s really quite interesting.
3. Avatar, The Last Airbender
It took me a really, really long time to actually watch this because I usually don’t watch animation but it’s an excellent show; I have yet to watch a show where I feel like the creators flawlessly created their own world with their own cultures and the characters were fully-realized and Aang’s development is done so well and Zuko, you know what, the next time I talk about Damon, I will talk about Zuko because his development is done extremely, extremely well too.
4. Underground
Granted, it’s a new show with only one season so far and the second season could potentially screw it all up but I have never ever seen a show or a movie about enslavement that is as empowering as it is gut-wrenchingly painful and angering to watch. The show manages to portray various forms of agency and rebellion within enslavement while also showing how because of this barbaric anti-black system, these people’s lives aren’t their own and as a friend said, there’s a very Prison Break feel to it, the plot is simple but it’s intriguing. The character dynamics between all of the black characters are great to watch, the acting is on point, and it’s a show that gets you hype but also makes you want to break down or set shit on fire especially within the context of what the black community goes through today.
5. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
I mean … it’s The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. I can’t even explain why it’s one of my favourites except to say, I MEAN IT’S THE FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR. I STILL sit around idly some days and just go “Now this is a story all about how my life got flip-turned upside down, and I’d like to take a minute just sit right there, I’ll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel-Air. In West Philadelphia, born and raised…” LIKE IT’S ICONIC.
6. Friday Night Lights
This was a show that snuck up on me but I have yet to see such an excellent pilot where you instantly know everything about the setting, the characters, the plot and the themes and then get to see them unfold. It’s a very sentimental show and it’s the only show I’ve actually watched where the main cast of characters change and the show manages to adapt to that change very well and I loved those new characters just as much and frankly, it was just a lot less white with those new characters, which was refreshing.
7. A Different World
It was a show that made excited to go to university and it was a show that introduced me to my first will-they-won’t-they couple (Whitley and Dwayne) and it’s a show that’s just about young adults being young adults and dealing with all the shit young adults deal with but it’s also a show that screams black pride and it was before my time but I grew up with the reruns and I was very fortunate for that.
8. Archer
Another animation show! It’s just fucking hilarious. It’s inappropriate and it’s crude and it’s shocking sometimes in just how far they push the envelope with some of the things that happen and some of the things that are said but the dialogue is so smart, it’s witty and the timing is fantastic and I just, I remember when I watched it for the first time and how I would NOT stop laughing and that had never happened before. It’s just excellent television.
9. Dawson’s Creek
It’s a very big part of my childhood. I wasn’t a teen when it was on, I wasn’t even a pre-teen for a good chunk of it but me and my teen cousin would sit down and watch it together every night, lmfao. Admittedly when I watch it now I need breaks from the neurosis and the hyperbole sometimes but my God, is it an exercise in teen angst, you live and die with these relationships, it’s good in getting you to invest, like it’s the definition of drama, it’s the quintessential teen drama. I mean Beverly Hill 90210 was a thing before DC of course but like The OC, One Tree Hill, even Gossip Girl, they would not exist if not for DC especially since DC was kind of the first teen show for the characters to speak so openly and frequently about sex.
10. Grey’s Anatomy
I don’t watch GA now and I haven’t for a long time but I guess it was my first sort of “adult” show that I ever watched and it was basically Dawson’s Creek for a mature audience but I think it was the first time I came across a show that I could aptly describe as compelling. It was the show that EVERYONE in my high school class would come to school talking about on Monday morning (because at this time, GA came on on Sundays after Desperate Housewives — yes I’m aging myself — and not on Thursdays in the Shondaland time slot) and teachers would legit not start class until we all had a good ten minutes talking about what happened.
