Why Bubbline & Korrasami Are Important to Me
Seeing two canon queer female couples helped me accept who I was.
If you've been online at all this past week you're probably aware that Princess Bubblegum and Marceline the Vampire Queen are officially a canon queer couple. During the series finale, the two bisexual girls share a kiss, something shippers have been waiting for for years.
I have been a fan of Adventure Time since high school, and from the very beginning I shipped Bubbline. At that time I was beginning to question my sexuality, though I never thought they would even become canon, as it was a kids show. But you can imagine my excitement when I saw these two ladies confirming something I have believed and supported all these years. It wasn't a moment that would be debated after airing, causing people to speculate whether they were really a couple or not. It wasn't holding hands that could be considered just friendship. No. It was an on screen kiss. A kiss between two female characters on a kids show.
This was the second time my heart burst from happiness after a queer female couple became canon.
Bubbline is just one of many queer female couples that I shipped, but it wasn't the first. That title belongs to Korrasami.
I shipped Korra, the hot headed and determined new Avatar, and Asami, the beautiful and intelligent engineer, way back in Book 1. Two parts of a messy love triangle, destined to be rivals, and yet they never fell into that trope. Even though they both dated the same guy, they never let that come between their friendship, and I admired that. Sure, I can admit that at one point I shipped Makorra, but that didn't last long as I knew their relationship was rushed and they weren't a good fit. And boy was I right about that.
As The Legend of Korra continued, I watched Korra and Asami's friendship grow. They worked so well together and each time they shared the screen my eyes were glued. What people brushed off as just two girls being friends, I saw two girls slowly fall in love. As their relationship grew, so did my belief that they would end up together. But this was a kids show, and I anticipated that it was only a dream, it would never happen. Same sex relationships were still taboo at that time, and because of that I never saw myself represented in the shows I watched, causing me to think that my sexuality and feelings were wrong and invalid. I wanted that to change, more than anything.
Before Book 4 aired its last episode, signifying the series' end, I made a promise to myself that seemed silly at the time but actually helped change my life for the better. I told myself that if Korrasami ever became canon, I would come out to my friends and family. That was how much Korra and Asami's relationship meant to me. I had never been so impacted by a fictional relationship before, and when I watched the two girls hold hands and look into each other's eyes as they faded into the portal, the happy feeling in my heart gave me all the answers. It wasn't the kiss that we had all hoped for but, it was enough.
Seeing myself represented in this amazing television show, my favorite of all time, was the moment I truly accepted myself for who I was. And at that moment I knew that I didn't want to hide part of myself away anymore, and shortly after the finale aired, I kept my promise.
I am forever grateful for Korrasami and Bubbline, as they help me realize that my feelings were valid, and gave me the courage to accept myself wholly. And I know I am not the only one these couples have impacted.
About the Creator
Jessie Gunther
Just a gal who loves to write.
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