This is infinitely more interesting to me than any "couple" story in advance of real character work. #Days

...organic foundation with each other should they find their way back to each other like you said.

Plus... it's a soap opera. If everything was roses we wouldn't have a show and drama's more fun to play anyway lol.

Thank you for this.

Shawn and Belle *were* kind of pre-packaged in '99 when they first SORAS-ed pre-K Belle with the specific intent to put her with Shawn who was already a teenager and had been active in story for years.

This character work NEEDS to be done then maybe they can find a more...

I think the only reason people like Shawn and Belle in retrospect is the benefit of rosy hindsight and out-of-context clips graded on the curve of current writing and production.

Also, people be lemmings lol.

I legitimately didn't like Belle at all until Martha Madison and I've always wanted Shawn freed of her though I appreciate the dividends they could pay plot-wise in exploring the root to her habitual infidelity and his second fiddle man panic.

Shawn and Belle didn't come together organically at all she was SORAS-ed rapidly with the specific intent to put her with the other already grown and story-active supercouple offspring it was forced as hell.

The ratings bared out how existing fans felt about the teen invasion too - they tanked.

Otherwise? Shawn and Belle were way too pre-packaged and on the nose as originally conceived post-Belle's SORAS.

I like Shawn's emotional vulnerability, personally. It's different from the blank stoicism we typically see in soap men and would probably expect from Bo's son in a wash-rinse-repeat kind of way.

Belle's fidelity issues would be dynamite to explore in tandem with Carrie, I think. Roots to '93?

I absolutely abhorred "Saved by the Belle." #Days took a decidedly pedestrian adolescent turn in '00 and I resented the hell out of it.

That said, I did like their 'Rhythm Divine' dance at the Last Blast. Gold top I think? And I think there was a lagoon kiss I really liked.

I guess I'm thinking about the people who rake Kristen fans personally ("rapist lover," "you probably root for real life rapists too," etc.) and then ride hard for Sami -- not you.

A little consistency is all I ask lol.

That's fine lol. Speaking from a factual vs. fan perspective she's still a rapist though - Marlena's daughter or not. Same as Kristen. Rape isn't rape only when it happens to characters from certain bloodlines.

Valid.

It's just interesting to me how many people ride for Sami who rake Kristen for the same stuff unaware of Sami's whole first decade as a SORAS-ed character.

Also... I loved Nurse Lynn.

She's the one who kept Laura drugged (for Kristen) after she found out Peter faked his death and Kristen was faking her pregnancy after her miscarriage in '96. She also played heavily in the Sami/Austin/Carrie/Lucas quad.

I wonder what MAR is up to now? #Days

Every Halloween I think of her and Brandon on that rooftop dancing to Joe lol.

Nah... it sounds super engaging.

That was *extremely* well done.