sweetcreaturehabit - Tumblr blog

[sweetcreaturehabit]

Louis pointing at the Pride Flag during OTB

[sweetcreaturehabit]

Okay. So i wanna talk abt The Hug in young royals. You know, the one in the end that makes us all cry? Yeah, that one. Ive ranted in tags abt it before but i think it deserves a proper post.

First off, this is like, so big for wilhelm. He’s very calculated and thinks more than he acts but here he’s starting to make Decisions and Act On Shit. Hes no longer passively dealing with things that happen to him, he’s the one thats making things happen. The whole series is about him coming to terms with his feelings and how they fit into his life. And this moment is when he stops hiding and faces stuff head on by hugging simon in front of everyone. Its not much but its enough. Enough for everyone to see, everyone to know. Like the queen said, even being seen with simon starts rumors, and willie is well aware of that. When he and simon break up he is very aware of being seen even talking to simon. But that was before the queen betrayed his trust. When he learned that his own mother knew it was august and didnt do anything something shifts. Wilhelm realizes that his mom was never in his corner, she didnt care about him, only his status. So he no longer listens to the outside voices telling him to hide, hes listen to his own voice and what he wants. So this hug is very calculated, willie knows the risks and does it anyway. Not just in spite of them but almost because of them, as an active push against them. He isnt just willing to risk people knowing, hes actively defying his mothers wishes of people knowing and seeing. When we see willie talk about what he wants he says he doesnt want to say anything about the video, confirm or deny. He just wants to exist and not worry about what people think, and thats what he does here.

But as much as wilhelm does this for himself and what he genuinely wants, he also does it for simon. Hes showing simon that he cares and hes hugging simon to comfort him. He knows he hurt simon even though he tried his best not to, and hes trying to soothe simon’s pain. The “i love you” isnt coming from a drowning man. Its not thrown out as a last resort. Its coming from a man sitting at the bottom of the pool, letting it go and letting it float to the surface, like a gift, so that he can then push off the bottom and start to swim. Its not wilhelm trying to win simon over, its him letting simon know how he feels and being vulnerable so that he can let it go and get out of the mess of a situation hes in.

And then simon, oh my love. Simon broke up with willie, yes, but he still cant say no to willie. He still turns to talk to willie when he passes because of course he does. It doesn’t matter if talking to willie hurts right now, if itll just remind him of what he cant have, but he cant not turn to him, he cant deny their gravity to each other. Simon doesnt expect anything and hes just as aware the people who see them, because he knows how willie feels and hes still considerate of that (not to mention how aware simon is of being watched, because hes never experienced that in his life before). And willie compliments him and you can tell it makes him all fuzzy inside and how bittersweet it all is. But then! Willie hugs him! And for a second simon doesnt know what to do, hes suprised, he wasnt expecting this, he knows the weight it carries. Hes overwhelmed just a little bit but hes also so comforted, just soaking the hug in. And the ‘im sorry’ validates all of simons feelings, makes him feel so seen. Because one of the reasons it was so hard for simon to be a secret was because of how burried he felt, how overlooked he was in comparison to willie’s royal status and public life. But with apologizing willie is saying ‘i see you and im sorry that ive hurt you and ill figure this out so i can support you’. (Idk who said it first but its a promise!! Its a promise from wilhelm to simon that this is not the end.)

Then the ‘i love you’ hits simon like a truck and he looks a bit overwhelmed. Wilhelm pulls away before simon can say it back bc he wasnt saying it to hear it back. And you can see simon realize that even if he wanted to say it back (which i dont think he knows if he does or not, im not sure that hes really thought about if before, but whoo boy now he sure will), he couldn’t because everyone is watching. So… he just wishes him a nice christmas, a very soft ‘i care for you too’. And THEN that ‘thank you’ is about so much, saying ‘thank you for caring this whole time, for showing up and helping unselfishly and just being there when so many people weren’t’.

[sweetcreaturehabit]

some incredibly important things the director (rojda sekersöz) and head writer (lisa ambjörn) said during deep talk- netflix about the creation of young royals and their inspiration

“Representation isn’t about pressing things into places where they don’t exist. It’s about portraying reality as it actually is, because we don’t do that.”

“ when you do stories about the working class or the lower class, it’s very obvious. Then, you talk a lot about class. Journalists ask you those questions, those issues are debated. But when you do stories about the upper class, the class issue isn’t brought up in the conversation surrounding the piece.

“When we depict the working class through Simon and Sara, I don’t want it to be portrayed as the working class is usually portrayed. That it’s dirty, poor, problematic, with problematic family relationships.... it also shows how the working class can be.”

“that it’s still hard to be homosexual or bisexual or LGBTQ+ at these schools. You think that the rest of Sweden has come far, we’re at the forefront, we have democracy and equality and equality between the sexes. But there are people at these schools who might be together with their roommate, but that’s not talked about until a long time has passed”

“I think it was important that this LGBTQ+ theme that it isn’t a sign, that it just exists in the world.”

As filmmakers at some point you have to take a stand about reproducing certain stories around LGBTQ+ characters, and instead just let them be people and characters who “happen to” have a certain sexual orientation or a certain identity, but that’s not at the forefront, it’s there as part of their character.”

“Creating representation is just about saying: Let’s look at the whole world. Let’s look at all the stories that can be told and that aren’t told, and are actively disregarded”

“That’s what I like about making this into a youth series, we constantly show and we trust our audience. We don’t have to tell our audience how they should feel and think or what is right or wrong”

“ so important to have a wide search in casting, and not be stuck on a particular skin colour or a certain clothing size, or whatever”

“in film or tv, you look for the things you’re familiar with. It’s a vicious circle when you don’t see people like you portrayed. Then you don’t think you stand a chance, and you don’t apply for things.”

“And then somebody is watching this and seeing themselves in it. Maybe they cry maybe they laugh, it’s magic”

“That we talked about, was that we’d cast real young people. That they’d look like real young people, because a lot of the dramas I watched, I loved everything, everyone I saw... but I was never able to feel that “she looks like me”, we might think about the same things but that person is gorgeous. We have the most beautiful cast in the world.. but they look like real people.. it’s so damn important ” “and most importantly they’re not 30 year olds playing 16 year olds”

That’s something.. the pressure, that anxiety, that coverage that isn’t just like normal media, but anybody could film you... that’s something we worked hard on in this series because it’s something that is part of everybody’s not just young peoples lives.”

“Whereas now, you’re meant to have YouTube channels or you can look at the whole Megxit thing, and just posting or participating in the media where ordinary people are. This causes that last wall to fall, in front of the small private space you may have”

“You want to get famous. You want attention. You might think that you want attention, when you might need acknowledgement. But attention doesn’t have to be positive. It can be very damaging. Everybody needs that acknowledged. To feel that you’re capable and pretty or whatever it is. That you are enough.”

“Those who become known on social media... often have a particular socioeconomic background. You must be able to afford to buy things or be able to generate collaborations.. the class structure is perpetuated”

“At that age, you feel a lot of things very deeply. You think it’s your last chance. Or, “I will never” it’s rewarding to dramatise and work with..

In conclusion- the incredible people behind young royals- especially these talented and more than important women - ingrained so many important and essential things into this show that is v cool and necessary to acknowledge and appreciate.

[sweetcreaturehabit]

Okay but the way they illustrated Wilhelm coming to terms with his sexuality was an absolute masterpiece in subtlety.

The first thing that sticks out to me is the fact that Wilhelm's resistance was literally just comp-het. He didn't have internalized homophobia, or active prejudice, all he did was default on how he thought he was "supposed" to feel about boys. Simon kisses him, and he doesn't recoil, or cringe, or get disgusted, he's only unresponsive. The way someone who "totally isn't attracted to guys" would respond. He isn't offended, or upset, or grossed out. Compulsory heterosexuality is something I'd argue that women experience at exponentially higher rates than men, but it makes a lot of sense for Wille, a royal whose ability to procreate is vital to his familial role.

What sticks out to me following this is that all it took was a little bit of deliberation for Wilhelm to realize there's no reason to pretend. It isn't a grand discovery, or an earth-shaking realization. It's just the warm comfort of truth sliding into place. He isn't the Crown Prince, what does it matter? The scene where he looks at Simon's Instagram and then sees the hetero couple making out in the hallway was such a smooth way of showing that Wilhelm now very clearly knows what he wants, and there is no reason he should be deprived of it.

And that's it. Coming out over. The only thing that made it complicated was his royal status. Had he not been prince (and had Erik not died), this would have been the end of Wille's sexual conflict. We need more of that in media. Coming out is a huge deal, but that doesn't always mean that it's destructive, or that it causes major life changes. Sometimes it's as simple as recognizing what you want and realizing you deserve it.

Now if only August didn't fucking exist

[sweetcreaturehabit]

I think what makes Young Royals’ love scenes so incredible and deeply affecting is the way we see Simon and Wille always getting consent from each other before getting physical. It’s a nuance so rarely scene in shows like this.

In their first kiss, Simon approaches Wille very slowly and deliberately. He gets close enough to kiss him, but gives Wille enough space that if he didn’t want it, he could push Simon away. He holds his gaze for a few moments, giving Wille the opportunity to question what he’s doing. When Wille doesn’t do either of those things, he goes in for it. Although Wille doesn’t exactly kiss back the first time, he doesn’t push Simon away either, giving Simon the go-ahead to try again. When Wille starts panicking and Simon attempts to leave, Wille pulls him back, and this is when Simon allows him to take the lead, because it’s up to him now. Simon has indicated his interest and he’s not making any more moves until Wille fully reciprocates.

This is shown again the first time they have sex. This point in their relationship is very uncertain. Although Wille has expressed his feelings for Simon he next before, as far as Wille knows, Simon may not want to be with him anymore. Wille had already hurt him twice at this point. When they lie down to cuddle together and sleep, you can see sleeping is very much not on Wille’s mind, but at this point, he’s not sure what to do. He doesn’t start touching Simon besides the handholding, although you know he wants to. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was aroused already; he’s lying extremely close to the boy he’s been pining over. It isn’t until Simon tells Wille he likes him too that Wille makes the move. He slowly positions their bodies in an intimate way, giving Simon the opportunity to object if he doesn’t want it. He holds Simon’s gaze before going in for the kiss; Simon’s open body language and the way he’s stroking Wille’s face and hair indicates that this is something he wants as well and that’s when Wille kisses him. They begin taking their clothes off at the same time. As Simon pulls off his sweater, Wille pulls off his pants. No words are spoken, but the consent is so clear.

How many shows have you watched where a character will just throw themselves at someone and start kissing them/undressing them, and even when one character objects, the other keeps going? I know Edvin and Omar talked a lot about getting consent when they were practicing their love scenes and it absolutely shines through. The love scenes are not effective because of “fetishization”, as some people love to throw around; it’s because so much care was put in to make this intimacy feel right for the characters and earned. Obviously doesn’t hurt that the chemistry insane, but that’s just a bonus.

[sweetcreaturehabit]

Although Simon can be kind of a mysterious character sometimes, as he is not very verbal with his emotions and is much more of a take action guy, I think one of his most defining characteristics is his strong sense of self-worth, and I think that’s most obvious in his relationship with Wille.

Simon has obviously been out of the closet for a while and has probably had crushes on guys before, but he never really seems phased by the fact that the current object of his affections is the goddamn prince of Sweden. In fact, he barely seems to notice, and he doesn’t let it deter him from pursuing Wille. I think it’s safe to assume Simon’s attraction to Wille surfaced when they talked outside the party - Simon seems terribly endeared by Wille singing the song and he even flirtatiously asks him how he felt about his singing - and from that point onward, he actually pursues him. He catches the vibe that Wille is into him and he goes with it; we never see him put himself down or think, “oh, he couldn’t be into me, he’s the prince, he’s too good for me.” He never once displays that type of thinking. I believe his and Wille’s connection at this point entirely stems from the fact that they don’t talk about their respective backgrounds; Wille isn’t the rich guy and Simon’s not the poor guy. They’re just two guys who are attracted to each other; Wille doesn’t ask Simon what it’s like to be poor and Simon never asks Wille what it’s like to be rich. It’s pointedly never something they discuss; their difference in class isn’t even acknowledged between them until the situation with Alexander and the drugs. Simon asks Wille to come to his friend’s soccer game with him, he holds his hand while they’re riding motorcycles, he holds his hand while they’re watching a movie, and he kisses him while he’s sitting on a window sill. He pursues the shit out of him because he knows what he wants and he knows it’s mutual and he knows he deserves to have what he wants, regardless of his status. Imagine having the balls to kiss a goddamn prince when you haven’t even been told he’s into you. We should all be as brave as Simon is.

Simon’s self-worth is always very present throughout their relationship. He never puts Wille’s thoughts or feelings above his own. When Wille panics and tells him to forget about the kiss, Simon is visibly hurt and upset, and he stops talking to Wille because fuck him, he lead him on and that’s shitty. He likes Wille so much, but he’s not going to let himself get treated like that. When Wille talks about how Alexander ratting on him would affect him, Simon’s like, well, it affects me too and that’s no less important than how it affects you. Even when he’s fallen in love with Wille, and understands Wille isn’t ready to be public, he recognizes that’s not what he wants and what he wants is no less important than what Wille wants, regardless of Wille’s own personal stakes.

It’s just so fucking refreshing and I’ll never stop talking about what an amazing character Simon is and why he’s such a goddamn important queer character.

[sweetcreaturehabit]

Young Royals Fanfiction Recommendations - A Masterlist

So the Young Royals fandom is absolutely amazing, there have been almost 400 fics published on AO3 as of today! Here is a master-list of my favourite ones so far, they all deserve so much praise! I will keep adding to it as I find new ones I like :)

These are all Wilhelm/Simon. Remember to leave kudos and nice comments for the authors!! If you have criticism let it be constructive

Multi-chaptered

Let's Start a Revolution by darlingedvin - a look at what Season 2 could be, fluffy and sweet, WIP [2k, Chapters: 2/3].

She's not you, Simon, and you're the only one I want by mentally_unstable_kid - A four-part (so far) series about Wilhelm x Simon over the Christmas break, fluff galore plus some angst, but still overall sweet and wonderfully written. Definitely give the whole series a read! Implied sexual content and alcohol/drug use references [8k across the four parts published]. Read: Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

i ask nothing of you by wyoheartsmusic - author summary: Five months after the sex tape scandal, the Hillerska rowing team is going on an away trip for the Nationals. When they get to their hotel, it turns out there’s been a mix-up with the rooms and Simon didn’t get assigned a room. Despite things still being awkward between them, Wilhelm offers that Simon stay in his room with him. Multi-chaptered fic that is beautifully written, creative, fluffy, pretty much everything you want in a fic! It made me smile so much! Must-read. [34k, WIP, Chapters: 5/7]

A Snow Globe's Chance by im_having_a_crisis - I absolutely love how this author writes Wilhelm and Simon, very true to their characters. Another Christmas break/Season 2 fic, Wilhelm and Simon can’t fully stay away from each other. Lots of mutual pining, angst and Wilhelm’s anxiety. [9k, WIP, Chapters: 3/?]

Running with a crown on your head by vernice - another Christmas break fic, 2-part series. Wilhelm’s mum isn’t so bad in this one and his parents are pretty supportive. Lots of romance and sweetness, warning: sexual content included, don’t read if that’s not your thing. [4k, 2 parts] Read: Part 2

You Can't Always Get What You Want by GeekingOutDaily - pure fluff. It’s short but creative. Feels very true to the characters like it could’ve actually happened in the show. Includes mention of sexual tension but it's not explicit. [1k, Chapters: 2/2]

We could just kiss (like real people do) by Sofia_with_an_f - canon-compliant, multi-chaptered fic exploring the aftermath of the “sex tape” being leaked. Hurt/comfort, Wilhelm/Felice/Madison friendship, and Simon/Wilhelm’s relationship following the tape leak. [11k, WIP, Chapters: 10/?]

Alex, ¡ayúdame! by toffeelemon - part of the author’s Red, White and Royal Blue crossover series. Wilhelm and Simon go to Alex Claremont-Diaz for help with sexuality, coming out and sex advice. Wholesome and fluffy. Discussion of sex and sexual content included, it is done very nicely but don’t read if that’s not your thing. [14k, Chapters: 2/2]

One-shots

let's start a revolution by villiageidiot - so so beautifully written. Season 2 fic about Wilhelm being happy Simon didn’t leave Hillerska, and Wilhelm asks Simon if he can still see him sometimes. Lots of pining and sweetness. [1k, One-shot]

Hillerska Missteps by princewilhelm (ranpoandpoe) - the one where Wilhelm and Simon get their weekend together at Hillerska after all, basically AU where Erik didn’t die at the end of Episode 3. Fluff, sweetness and Slow dancing. [1k, one-shot]

After episode one, Wilhelms eyes closed and the music starts by embracedthevoid - short piece showing the “missing moment” after Wilhelm closed his eyes at the end of Episode 1. The tension is captured so well, seeing into Wilhelm’s mind in those moments. Absolutely loved it. It’s the first part of a “Missing Moments” series. [1k, one-shot (for now)]

Keep Me Company by cmere - another “what if Wilhelm and Simon got their weekend at Hillerska after all and Erik lived'' fic. Which I love so much. You get Wilhelm + Simon banter, awkwardness and Erik teasing. [2k, one-shot]

unlove's the heavenless hell and homeless home by Yubnubforhire - beautiful piece about Wilhelm being alone post 1x06 and Simon deciding to be there for him, and what happens when they get back to Hillerska. Very emotional and lovely dialogue written between Simon and Wilhelm. [5k, one-shot]

my thoughts are filled with you by lazybug16 - a lovely rewrite of 5 scenes where Wilhelm and Simon were interrupted by August, basically an AU where they weren’t interrupted and we get to have the full scenes. Very fluffy and lots of pining, guaranteed to make you smile. [3k, one-shot]

worst kept secret in history by toffeelemon - Wilhelm holds Simon’s hand in public the first day back from Christmas break. They slowly just let things happen, letting people think whatever they want. Exploration of Wilhelm’s anxiety. It’s funny and SO fluffy. [10k, one-shot]

Love Over Fear by Werewolves_are_friends_not_fiends - AU where Wilhelm comes out to the press in Episode 6 and Simon and his family comfort him. Hurt/Comfort but also fluffy. [1k, one-shot]

[sweetcreaturehabit]

Aside from them being two of the most character-defining moments in the series, I think Simon telling Wille he needs to figure out what he wants by himself and Wille telling Simon "I love you" are actually the two core jumping-off points for season 2.

For obvious reasons, Wille and Simon's love story in S1 was very much in its fledgling stage. That was the point, after all. Every touch was hesitant, every glance bashful, every shared feeling stumbled through with shyness. And of course one of the biggest themes of S1 was secrecy.

Simon setting the boundary with Wilhelm was the most transparent communication he's had with Wille thus far. It showed that depsite his feelings, he won't be dragged through the mud by Wille's conflicts any longer. He did not shut the door on him, but he very firmly rooted himself on one side of it and made Wilhelm realize it's him and only him that will decide to walk through it or not. While on the surface this might seem like Simon is rejecting the love growing between them, I actually see it as Simon affirming it.

Wilhelm's personal and familial situations are what caused his love for Simon to be so stifled in the first place. Every time he told Simon it was over between them, only to renege upon it later, was because of the position he has within his family and the role he's forced to take in his own life. It's a position that prevents actual choice. Simon understands this, and puts his foot down. Either change the position you're in, or don't. I will be here on the other side, whether you join me or not. Simon is the only character who gives Wilhelm a choice.

And, knowingly or not, Wilhelm made one. He told Simon he loved him. He did not abandon his responsibilities, hasn't yet escaped the mental prison he's locked in, but he whispered through the bars, and this is the most important thing of all. He chose to be transparent with Simon. And by doing this, it guarantees that inevitably he has to be transparent with himself. He has to realize he DOES have a choice. And he has to become truly okay with the destruction that choice will bring to the path cut out for him.

Where season one was about secrecy, season two will be about transparency. Wilhelm's own autonomy will become clearer and clearer to him, and he'll realize that taking the path of choice is the only thing that will make his love with Simon blossom.

This means Season 2 will indeed be, "even gayer". Because as the level of transparency rises, so too does the ability for Wille and Simon's love to mature.

[sweetcreaturehabit]

You know what’s interesting (and completely heartbreaking)? It’s not a sexuality thing that is forcing Wilhelm to stay in the closet or to hide his relationship with Simon. I mean it is, but it’s not for the usual reasons- as in, it isn’t because Wille doesn’t want people to know that he loves a boy. Instead, it has everything to do with the fact that he’s a royal. He is forced to behave a certain way because of his status. He wouldn’t care personally if people knew that he was not straight if it wasn’t for the fact that he’s a prince. Usually what we see with relationships that are secretive or closeted, it has to do with one or both of the people not being comfortable with coming out or fearful of it. But with this, Wille’s sexuality “crisis” as it were (and even THAT I think was about his status, not his feelings for Simon) lasted all of five minutes. His problem isn’t with being fluid and loving a boy. His problem is because of WHO HE IS and loving a boy. It’s not internal or external homophobia keeping him in the closet. It’s institutionalized and systemic homophobia in the monarchy that is keeping him there. And that is so fucking heartbreaking. Because it has taken the choice away from him to be who he is when given the choice himself, he would be out. 

[sweetcreaturehabit]

I’m so grateful that Simon exists. He is such an incredible character with so much depth, so many layers, and he just feels so complete in a way that most “love interests” don’t in stories like this. Although Wille is very much the protagonist and the series is called Young Royals, Simon feels very much like the deutoragonist in a way that love interests often don’t.

I love the way his Latinx heritage is so seemlessly incorporated into his character. A lot of the times when you see diversity in media, it can feel tacked on and like they’re trying to meet a diversity quota, but Simon’s Latinx identity is so beautifully an integral part of who he is without it being the only part of him. I adored the way he and his mother would alternate between speaking Spanish and Swedish to each other; it felt so seamless and natural. You rarely see so much care and nuance put into a minority character like this.

I also love how complex he is. He’s not just one thing all the time. He’s a loving son and brother, he cares about his family more than anything. We establish that he tends to put other people above himself, but we also see that in his actions; he goes out of his way to get the booze and go to Wille’s initiation party because he wants Sara to have some fun. He doesn’t drink and he doesn’t care to associate with the people at Hillerksa, but he does it for her. He engages with Wille and tries to push the shy prince to get out of his comfort zone, but at the same time he’s patient with him and often allows Wille to take the lead when things become overwhelming for him, such as in their first kiss when Simon makes the first move but senses that Wille is struggling with it so he gives him the time and space to navigate the situation. When Wille continues to be hot and cold with him, even though you can tell Simon is very infatuated with Wille and is hurt by his action, Simon gives him the time he needs to figure his shit out. He doesn’t force himself on Wille or force Wille to make up his mind; he lets Wille come to him when he’s ready and takes him back with open arms. I hate when the writers tell us that the character is a certain way and there actions say otherwise (so many shows are guilty of this), but the traits we are told Simon has are actually shown in his actions. This makes it even more powerful when at the end of the season, he finally puts his own feelings first and tells Wille he needs to figure out his shit on his own. Simon is a character with so much love yet so much integrity.

I also love that, although he is very much a no-bullshit, confident guy and is pretty sure of himself and who he is, he is still very much a teenager. He gets nervous, he gets flustered, he gets overwhelmed. He flirts with Wille pretty openly, like texting him “tag along if you dare,” but he’s still a little nervous around him, because he’s a cute boy who he likes, he’s 16, of course he’s a little bit nervous. There are just so many sides to him but he always feels like a cohesive character; it never feels like he’s only acting a certain way because the plot needs him to.

I’m just so fucking thankful that Simon exists and that Omar did such an incredible job infusing him with so much likability, charisma, and vulnerability.

[sweetcreaturehabit]

You know what’s really sad? In most fictional gay relationships, the internalised homophobia of one or both partners is the reason they don’t come out, or struggle with making the decision to. 

In Young Royals, Wilhelm has a sexuality crisis for all of five minutes, and Simon is already comfortable in his sexuality. Wilhelm, although not prepared to come out, was willing to confirm the rumours of him being in the video because he didn’t have a problem with being in a relationship with a boy. His problem was with being who he was (crown prince of Sweden) and being in love with a boy. 

It wasn’t internalised homophobia, or fear for the public response, that kept him in the closet, but the institutionalised and systemic homophobia of the monarchy. 

To make it clear- that’s heartbreaking because his position has taken his autonomy away from him. Because, given the choice, he would be out. 

[sweetcreaturehabit]

May I present to you: my absolute favorite gifs of all times

Happy to make your day <3

[sweetcreaturehabit]

I will never shut up about how incredible and important the “we didn’t do anything wrong” scene is. Because it really emphasizes that they’re not ashamed to be together and that it’s only the outside pressure of Wilhelm being royalty and in the public eye that makes it an issue. It shows that it is okay to be gay and have consensual sex and it’s not wrong. And that is so important, especially for young lgbtq who usually feel shame and guilt because they’re not shown that it is okay.

[sweetcreaturehabit]

Even the shift in power dynamics between Wilhelm and Simon is so well done that I can't help but talk about it.

At first Simon is the confident one. He is out and proud guy and knows who he is. So he is the one to ask Wilhelm to come to Rosh's soccer match and he is the one who initiates their first kiss. Whereas Wilhelm is shy and stammering and he literally trips over is own feet because he is busy watching Simon.

But after they have sex their relationship dynamics changes and Wilhelm becomes the more confident one because now he knows what he wants or rather who he wants (Simon). Now he is the one pulling Simon back in the woods to share a sneaky kiss. While Simon can't even name his fishes without stuttering.

The shift is masterfully done that it makes me want to scream in elation. I love that I can pull out any scene from Young Royals and find a deeper meaning.

[sweetcreaturehabit]

Subtext and Culture, Young Royals, Intro

Just like I did for SKAM, I’m planning a series of posts that explore and explain subtext and culture of the Young Royals show. But where SKAM was about a pretty universal high school experience that most people everywhere in the world could recognize, Young Royals takes place in a much more specific setting that needs more background knowledge.

To be able to explain how the modern Swedish royalty works, how European constitutional monarchies work, and how boarding schools like the fictional Hillerska works, you need to understand how the upper classes work. And to understand how the upper classes work, you need to understand how socioeconomic classes work in Europe, today.

Socioeconomic Class

A common misconception among Americans and others that don’t have a long history of a class society, is that classes don’t exist, and if they do, that they are purely a function of money. Many people conflate economic class with social class, which is wrong. Money is necessary to enter a higher social class, but money can’t buy you class itself, it can only buy the props that are needed to perform as a higher class. Being rich doesn’t mean you’re automatically upper class, and being poor doesn’t automatically kick you out of the upper class either, because social class is about values and norms and behaviour and speech and manners and worldview and upbringing and social networks.

For a much better description and explanation of the class system, do check out this (very long) post on Livejournal by Siderea: https://siderea.livejournal.com/1260265.html The biggest takeaway from that piece is the understanding that class is culture:

“Social classes function like ethnicities or nationalities. They have entitativity. They command loyalty. They have customs. They have territories. They have insiders and outsiders; they Other others. They have rivalries. They are performative.”

This means that everyone has to learn how to behave and how to perform as the class they belong to. This usually happens naturally and subconsciously, simply by adopting the values and norms and manners and speech and worldview of your parents, your family, and your peers. Most people aren’t even aware of this happening, and only when they encounter people of other distant social classes will they experience the culture shock this creates, much like meeting people of other nationalities creates culture shock the first few times you’re exposed.

“Because people gravitate to people of their own class, and their daily lives tend to bring them into social contact predominantly with people who are members of the social classes one degree above and below, most people are very ignorant of the norms and values of the social classes more than one degree above or below their own.”

Since the show is aimed at the general public it does spend a lot of time trying to explain these norms and values, but there are still a lot of things that the characters say and do that seem completely outlandish. They would make sense to you, dear viewer, if you belonged to the upper class or were upper class adjacent, but since you most likely aren’t, it’s like looking at people from a completely foreign culture.

For the upper class, the most valuable thing is status. Sure, money buys you a lot of things that increase your status, but it’s the things you can’t buy that give you the most: Heritage, history, nobility, or titles. Old money has always looked down on the nouveau riche, because that is exactly what they lack. If your country has royals, they have the highest ranking titles of the country, and therefore the most status, so a way for you to acquire status is to attach yourself to them, for example by becoming friends with or marrying into the royal family. When there’s news of the royal family expecting a child, it’s not uncommon for other upper class families to start trying themselves, in order to have a child that could be a future classmate, friend, and maybe a lover of that royal child.

In the show, it is mentioned that Felice and Wilhelm went to the same kindergarten. This is of course not a coincidence, it’s something Felice’s parents planned, and a lot of Felice’s actions are because her mother has taught her to seek out Wilhelm, to attach herself to him, to get together with him, in order to increase her own status and that of her parents. That Felice’s family is one of the richest in the country doesn’t matter, the money can’t bring them as much status as joining the royal family can, and therefore the entire family is working towards that goal.

Boarding Schools

So how do you keep your upper class family going through the ages? How do you ensure that the accumulated wealth and history and heritage and titles aren’t squandered by your heirs? Why, by sending them to an upper class school, of course, and this is why private boarding schools exist. These century-old institutions do everything they can to shut out the lower classes, in order to ensure that only upper-class students attend, so that families can be sure their kids will become acculturated into the upper class, that they learn the values, norms, speech, manners, worldview and shibboleths of the upper class, and that they form friendships and build a social network of their peers, to ensure that they perpetuate the culture of their class into the future, and that they stay loyal to their class.

An important feature of private boarding schools is the organization of students into houses. The fictional Hillerska only has two; one all-male, Skogsbacken - Forest Ridge, and one all-female, Herrgården - the Manor House. Real-life boarding schools usually have several, and although you might be tempted to think of the romanticized version of this as described in for example Harry Potter, the actual purpose is for the school staff to control the students by using a divide and conquer strategy. By pitting them against each other, by organizing friendly - and not-so-friendly - competitions between houses, the students are less likely to rebel against the authority of the staff, because they’re busy with inter-house rivalries. The system also allows the school to collectively punish an entire house if one of its members has broken the rules or caused trouble. This in turn means that house members will strongly enforce school rules among themselves in order to escape punishment, i.e. if a single student is repeatedly misbehaving, his housemates will beat the shit out of him to stop him from ever doing it again, all while the staff can conveniently look the other way. Minus five points for Gryffindor indeed.

Because of this, the house system breeds a strong sense of loyalty among its members, and this in turn is the cause for the very violent and unpleasant hazing and initiation of new members. To earn the loyalty of the other members, you have to endure the initiation, you have to be humiliated, you have to be abused, you have to pay the price of admission. And as an older student, you have to haze and humiliate the new students, you have to be complicit in the abuse, you have to demonstrate your dedication and loyalty to keeping the system running.

To the outside world, schools like this project a wholesome image, and the real-life Swedish boarding schools that Hillerska is modeled on talk warmly about Kamratfostran - Peer upbringing. But every decade or so some whistleblower reveals the grisly details of the penalism and abuse that students suffer, and society at large gasps in horror while the schools try to smooth things over and promise to investigate and put a stop to it. Make no mistake though, the upper class families who send their kids to schools like this want this for their kids. They know exactly what they’re doing, because they were brought up the same way themselves. They want the abuse to continue, because they think the intense loyalty and upper-class acculturation it results in is worth it.

Royalty

Sweden, along with a bunch of other mostly European countries are constitutional monarchies. This is a form of government that has evolved through successive democratization of the absolute monarchies that these countries started as in the middle ages, and the main feature is that every public office position is appointed by democratic elections, except the position of Head of State, which instead is held by the monarch, the current head of the royal family. When the monarch dies or abdicates or retires, the title is passed to the next in line heir.

The actual title of the monarch depends on the gender of the person who holds the title, and on the type of monarchy that the country is. Sweden is a kingdom, and the real-life monarch is King Carl XVI Gustaf, while in the show it’s Wilhelm’s mom, Queen Kristina. Note that this makes Wilhelm’s unnamed father the prince consort, he doesn’t hold the title of king, just like the late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh was the prince consort to Queen Elizabeth II of England, and not the king of England. Other titles are for example the monarch of Luxembourg; Grand Duke Henri, the monarch of the Holy See; Pope Francis, and the monarch of Japan; Emperor Naruhito.

Most European constitutional monarchies have stripped the monarch of all political power, and relegated the office to a purely ceremonial position. The monarch is responsible for receiving foreign ambassadors, hosting other heads of state, and formally opening sessions of parliament, but is otherwise expected or obligated to stay out of the actual running of the country. Being a constitutional monarchy also means that the laws of succession, i.e. deciding how and by whom the throne is inherited, is part of the country’s constitution, and therefore under control of the democratic legislature. Sweden was the first country to move from male-preference primogeniture to absolute primogeniture, which means that the eldest child of the monarch now inherits regardless of their gender, whereas before, a younger prince would come before his older sister in the order of succession. Most European monarchies have since moved to absolute primogeniture as well, all in the name of gender equality.

Being royal, being part of the royal family, obviously confers vast amounts of privilege, wealth, and fame. The flipside to that privilege is royal duty, the royal court is both a government institution, and a large taxpayer-funded family business where the family is the product of the business. Being born into the royal family means a future in this business, it means having duties, and it means public scrutiny, whether you like it or not.

Modern monarchies motivate their own fundamentally undemocratic existence by appealing to a sense of tradition, to stability, and to national unity. Every country needs a head of state, so why not keep the one that was already there? Why have a potentially messy political process to elect one that gets replaced every now and then, when the royal family can just groom each successive monarch to hold the office in a stable and traditional way?

This leads to the issues that the show explores; in order to project an image of stability, members of the royal family have to avoid scandals, they have to protect their image, they have to appear as positive role models, they can’t be seen as being above the law, they have to be apolitical, and most importantly they have to produce heirs that can inherit the throne and keep the tradition going. Wilhelm has been given less strict rules, he’s been allowed to have a more “normal” life than his older brother, Crown Prince Erik, because he’s not expected to inherit the throne. A minor royal being in a same-sex relationship would be unconventional and upset traditionalists, but when Wilhelm is made crown prince, him being in a relationship with Simon means he might not be able to produce legal heirs. This means he might not be able to fulfill his royal duty, he might trigger a constitutional crisis and throw the entire country into social unrest, possibly ending the royal line and extinguishing a thousand-year-old tradition, and forcing an entire country to switch its form of government.

That’s a lot of pressure for an awkward, anxious, 16-year-old boy who has just discovered that his love for another boy is anything but fake.

[sweetcreaturehabit]

Eleanor goes to public events with Louis to keep up appearances. This has been the case for a long time. 

Eleanor’s purpose as a beard is to be an answer to the question  “Who is Louis dating?” because if there’s a woman he is dating, it shuts down a lot of speculation about his sexuality. If Louis goes alone, then there is no answer to “who did he take as his plus one?” and that invites more speculation. 

Louis also cannot out himself to his friends’ extended families. That would create a great deal of drama. He cannot expect everyone in a wedding party to keep a secret and take no photos of himself with Harry. If Louis were dating a man who was a nobody, he might be able to get away with introducing him as a friend. If Louis were secretly dating Oli, he would already be getting away with it - Oli has gone to weddings with Louis and Eleanor. But Harry and Louis haven’t publicly been close friends for a long time and so the two of them together would attract a lot of attention and gossip, which isn’t really a polite thing to bring to someone else’s wedding.

So can Harry and Louis attend weddings together? Yes. If it’s a small wedding of people they know, trust, and are out to, then they could go as a couple. We would probably never know they were there because they wouldn’t want to risk the public seeing photos and asking questions. But they don’t need to. Busy  people go to weddings without their partner all the time. Closeted people go to weddings without their partner all the time. I know that as a fandom, many would like to see them doing cute, romantic, couple-y things together. But real life isn’t a fairy tale and the older you get, the less big events matter to a relationship. 

Now, why is Louis still doing this if he is “free”? First, let’s be clear: He isn’t fully free. He will never be free of the homophobia that put him in a closet in the first place. He will never be free of his beards because they will always be in his past. And those two things make navigating his future very complicated and very difficult, especially because he is so incredibly famous.

I’ll also add that as long as Louis is with Simon Jones PR, who are connected to 1D, I will have doubt that he is completely free of old contractual obligations regarding his public image. Contracts can and do control public image beyond the duration of someone’s actual work. They can’t control someone’s real life, but they can control what the public sees. (There’s good reason these contracts are heavily criticized. They’re fucking inhumane.) So we don’t know what Louis is actually allowed to do without getting sued into the ground right now. And SJPR isn’t a good sign.

Finally, I have probably said this a million times now, but if I were advising Louis, I would encourage him to use any intended changes in his public dating life strategically to support his career. In other words: stunts are for PR, so use them for PR. And that would mean continuing things as normal until it was time for those changes to happen. Suddenly changing your entire public image and stoking the flames of multiple public scandals, all while having nothing to promote, is a terrible idea for anyone with a career that requires public life. It may hurt, but the best choice in the long run is to make sure everything rolls out in a controlled manner. And we have no idea what issues he may be facing in doing that when it comes to relationships with the media, so it may also take time to keep secrets from people who would sell him out in a heartbeat while finding good people who are willing and able to handle his story.

At the end of the day, though, Harry and Louis have been doing this job for a decade. They grew up together in this bizarre situation. They’ve found ways to stay strong together. While we all want to see good things happen for them, we have to be patient. No one here suffers more from their situation than they do, and I think that’s important to remember. They’re navigating a lot. And for the time being, it’s up to us to see and support them. Our support can change a lot for them, we just have to have the patience to see it through.

Anyway, I was looking for a cute gif to end this with but instead these two came up separately so here, scream with me:

[sweetcreaturehabit]