#and on a more meta level with the almost kisses

[kindaorangey]

[absolutebl]

TOP 10 BL Trends of 2023

This is just me with my analysis hat on. 

1. 2023 = the year EVERYONE went outside their lanes

Everything went topsy-turvy this year in BL. 

For example, Korea gave us agonized yearning and outright queerness (The 8th Sense, The New Employee) while Japan served up soft office workers and tender family (Our Dining Table). 

The BL world went askew for a while, especially in the spring of 2023. 

Not that we still didn’t still get Korea’s soft angsty bubbles or Japan’s “what are you doing and why does it hurt?” kink-fests. But there were quite a few BLs that made us chronic watchers sit up in confusion and wonder if Korea was dabbling in Taiwan’s territory or Japan in Thailand’s. Then they fudged the kisses and we were like... okay, back in familiar territory. 

In contrast, Thailand stayed course-correcting for the damage they’ve done in the past with tropes (2022) and self referential meta criticism (2021), but also almost aggressively returned to their BL roots after last year’s series of shockers. Certainly, they are reexamining those roots, transplanting some, aerating others. But they really went back to classic Thai university and high school BL and pulps in a big way in 2023. 

Taiwan is always difficult to gage because they produce so few but they seem to have stuck with what they do best with no deviation while producing more this year than they have in ages. I’m happy for that, why change a good thing? But there is a tiny part of me that really wants them to hit it out of the part with a quality piece soon. For me, We Best Love still reigns supreme, but I would really like the HIStory franchise to give us that level but longer - like a happy version of Your Name Engraved Herein. I think Taiwan has the chops to give us something as good as The 8th Sense or Old Fashion Cupcake but in their style, and I would like to see them exercise their talent for good rather than just profit. 

I know, what a very odd thing for me to say. But if any BL is going to break into the mainstream American market, I genuinely think it’s most likely come from Taiwan. 

Vietnam and the Philippines are falling behind, in general. They just didn’t bring out very many shows in 2023, and what the brought out tended to fub the endings. This is forgivable in Japan (because of their style and quality) but not what watchers want in the lower production value propositions. In other words, if you do a pulp, you can’t mess up the ending (by romance standards). that doesn’t look to be changing anytime soon. 

2. The Office Romance Dominated

After years of Thailand serving us an endless (and slightly bland) buffet of university (and a few high school) BLs, this year Korea was basically like...

Ofiice. We like the Office. It’s cheap to film we can use grown up actors, acting (mostly) their actual age. 

And yeah... it totally worked. 

To be fair, Japan has always given us office live action yaoi from the beginning (they had the source material) but this year everyone else, including Thailand, seriously started playing in this setting. 

3. Boys Danced with Boys

The darling @heretherebedork​ was a big fan of this one, and I rather like it myself. Prior to this boys dancing together was very very rare in BL, but this year we got way more than our fair share. It was lovely. 

Never Let me Go

My School President 

Bed Friend 

The Day I Loved You 

Step by Step

Be Mine Superstar

Tie the Not 

Dangerous Romance

I think there were a few more. These are the ones I remembered to write down. 

4. Getting (even more) Meta With Tropes 

BL has been getting more and more meta over the past few years but this year they really focused in on tropes specifically. Calling out their own biggest and most favorite tropes in a massive way, especially Thailand and especially GMMTV. 

Like they tunneled in on damaging tropes with Bad Buddy and the like over the past 2 years, and now they are just having fun with us. 

I mean they just started the dancing trope and already they are calling it out? That’s like rapid-fire regurgitated meta there, GMMTV. 

5. Cameos are the norm now 

Taiwan has always loved cameos but in the past the other countries have been show and steady with only one or two a year. (Unless Japan does a parody.) 

This year Korea got in on the game.

Korea rarely starts trends but they do adopt smaller and lesser known existing ones and make them super popular. 

This year they did that with cameo couple appearances, even borrowing a few of Thailand’s pairs (TutorYim and MaxNat traveled north). They did it so much I stopped tracking. Love Class 2, Why R U?, and Jun & Jun were the heaviest hitters. 

Taiwan, of course, came back swinging. Kiseki was the gum-ball machine of pair cameos. (In Taiwan mafia = gay.) 

6. We are entering the cross pollination age

The number of remakes picked up or started this year was startling, not just countries revisiting their own content (Thailand, Japan) but countries revisiting OTHER countries stuff.

Lemme explain...

Korea has started remaking Thai content (Why R U?) alongside cameo'ing Thai pairs.

Thailand is doing Korean IP (My Dear Gagster Oppa) and has 2 Chinese ones slated for next year. 

GMMTV acquired a lot of Japanese IP (Cherry Magic, Ossen, and My Love Mix Up) - and then had problems distributing it. 

This is probably the most surprising trend for me. Especially the Japanese stuff. I would have thought these properties well outside of Thailand's price range (even GMMTV's) not to mention Japan’s legendary IP issues (I swear I typed this pout before the pulled TayNew’s excellent Cherry Magic). 

Also why not option some of the older popular manga instead? Bet that's much cheeper. (I did see a NEW Thai translation of Finder into Thai, which is 90s yaoi, so I have my fingers crossed on that front.)

I shouldn't be too surprised. 

Thailand is running out of y-novel content. Their publication industry is just not robust enough (I was just talking to a friend about this at length recently). But I didn't think they had the funds to option, especially from Japan. 

Perhaps the option deals are for peanuts?

7. Korea got cheeky

I’m not sure quite how else to put this. 

After finally figuring out boys can kiss, Korea started to do not just higher heat but playful higher heat, with more aggressive word play and linguistic innuendo, like they are entering their racy rom-com teenage years (Why R U? Love Class 2 and Jun & Jun in particular.) 

I guess: Welcome to your BL teens, Korea? 

It’s cute of them. I am very much enjoying it. 

And now that comedy is warming them up, we get to see them play with actual queer burgeoning physicality in shows like The 8th Sense. 

It’s nice. I like seeing Korea stretch its wings. They still stick to their bubble, but that bubble seems to be expanding. 

8. The Amnesia Trope is back

And I, for one, would prefer to forget about it. 

9. BL got trendy 

I’m not quite sure how to articulate this category but basically we started seeing a lot of “modern” romance trends out of the west (like a/b/o) show up in our BL. Not a ton and sometimes quite small, but there has a been a steady rise of things like: no seme/uke, femme gay, out gay, condom use, messy gay. 

We also got an increasing range of sub genre frameworks (like mafia, office setting) that’s moved BL pretty firmly (even in Thailand) out of school and into the workplace, whether actual working is involved or not. 

It’s not to the point where it feels like we get more non-school BL than school BL (if I include all countries in this assessment).

Japan, in classic Japanese fashion, quietly started moving in the opposite direction. It’s what they do. 

10. The Vampires are coming 

This is an announcement trend, which I don’t usually report on but it’s so CLEAR. 

So last year we had a spate of announcements of possible Omegaverse (2 from China, 1 from Japan, 1 from Thailand - the only one that’s happened). 

This year we got 5 Vampire (or vampire-esk) Thai BLs announced including one from GMMTV. 

Whether all 5 will actually get made is unlikely, but having had (basically) none prior to this (Kissable Lips), I’m pretty confident that we will get at least 2 of them. And I wouldn’t be surprised if at least one other country made one as well. (Side eyes Taiwan with interest.) 

Final thoughts

It feels like we are also seeing a decline in BL (both by quantity and quality) from Vietnam and the Philippines. As you all know, I don’t track or really watch either of these two very closely. But it feels like, now, no one else is either. 

I think we have likely seen the BL heyday already in both places and their industries are now on the decline. 

We might be witnessing a thinning in the players in the BL field. 

FYI we had approximately 

136 BLs in 2023

Previous Years

2022: 117

2021: 95

2020: 62

2019: 40

2018: 30 

2017: 44 (China’s last gasp)

2016: 27

2015: 17 (50% micro)

2014: 17 (50% micro)

And that’s it! Let me know in the comments if you’ve spotted any additional trends you want to call out.

Last year, 2022′s trend report

2021′s Trend report

Last Year’s Stats & Predictions

(source) 

[emmabirb8]

I've been an Invader Zim fan since 2011.

I was 15-16 at that time, and though I did thoroughly enjoy the show, I was not mature enough to really get it. Sure, it was funny, but I didn't pick up on the subtleties and style of humor beyond the surface level. I liked the wackiness and the characters, but I SURELY wasn't at a point of being able to deconstruct themes or analyze character motivations and narratives (like I very much enjoy doing now). I remember discovering an artist on DeviantArt who drew cute ZaGr stuff, so that was the pairing I liked too. I didn't think too deeply about much, and honestly, I don't think the majority of fans (if they were my age or younger, that is) did either. Everything was taken as dumb and silly for the most part, and that IS truthfully a major component of the show itself.

Getting back into Invader Zim within this past year though, I'm looking at it through a WILDLY different lens. I like Invader Zim for what it is and how it's intended to be perceived. I like that the show is meant to be dark, satirical, and tragic at the same time that it's silly, chaotic, and nonsensical. Almost everything that happens onscreen is written in to be funny above all else. (I've mentioned before that I've been watching Jhonen's Twitch streams for a while now, and I have a MUCH better understanding of his sense of humor bc of that. IZ makes way more sense if you can sorta see things from JV's perspective, lol.)

But at the same time, I also like Invader Zim for what it offers in terms of interpretation and what it can imply (intentionally or not). There is genuinely SO MUCH DEPTH to this dorky lil cartoon that a casual viewer wouldn't immediately pick up on. And a lot of that depth, I think, was not woven in purposely. The show itself was never meant to be taken so seriously. Nevertheless, I'm constantly fascinated by what IZ implies about good and evil, the nature of general society, and especially how it goes about demonstrating the devastating effects of social isolation and bullying. Meta for this series is always pretty damn *chef's kiss.* And what's even more interesting is how viewers manipulate canon to expand upon this world and these characters.

Given that I've come to understand Invader Zim better, I've also grown very fond of ZaDr. Now, while I wouldn't want to see this pairing happen in canon material, I love the potential it possesses in transformative contexts.

In reality, I get that these characters were intended to have a deep hatred for one another and a never-ending rivalry for the sake of comedy and not much else. It's an extraterrestrial perpetually throwing hands with a 12 year old because he's incompetent and his plans often fail. And that's funny. That's the point. But beyond that, canonically, these are two characters who are mirrors of each other; they're both treated like garbage by their respective peers, and they both crave acknowledgment, validation, and a sense of purpose. Throughout their story, they find they're only able to obtain these things from each other, so as a consequence of their similar personalities, they become utterly, unhingedly obsessed with each other (to a sometimes unhealthy degree). They are undeniably forever intertwined by design of how the show is set up.

And because of that, shipping of these characters was, frankly, inevitable in fandom spaces. I myself fell victim to their appeal too. (Sorry, Jhonen. 😅)

I'm not gonna go into any discourse surrounding this pairing because there's already PLENTY of that to go around online. Everyone has their own opinion on the subject, and that's fine. I respect that. Point is, even though I understand and appreciate what Zim and Dib are supposed to be in the context of the show, I also enjoy the idea of them as friends and romantic partners outside of and beyond the confines of canon.

And that's something that I think many fans who are biased toward ZaDr would also agree with! Actually, I'd say the majority of people who ship characters in ANY media would concur. We like the idea of seeing how specific relationships could develop over time and/or within different settings and circumstances. It's NOT always about wanting to see a relationship unfold on screen or in fan works strictly adhering to canon. It's about stretching canon, or in some cases, scratching canon entirely however you see fit! Who cares! It's fiction!

For me personally, I enjoy ZaDr because its attributes fall into so many trope categories that I've come to adore over the years (ones that I either wasn't aware of when I was younger, or that I didn't enjoy in the same intensity as I do now). Zim and Dib are, or could be, depending on context:

Codependent toxic soulmates

Human/non-human

Shared history

Classic enemies to lovers (or, as I often prefer it, enemies to friends to lovers)

Bicker couple

Battle couple, when put in the right setting for it

Violence as a love language

Smol and tol

The wild card paired with the rational one, the best part about this being that sometimes the more rational one is Dib, and sometimes it's Zim bc they're both a special flavor of insane

Make each other worse/stupider when together, tho oddly, they also kinda bring out the best in each other too

And, my personal favorites, the potential for hurt/comfort and angst with a happy ending, with the comfort and happiness aspects ultimately coming from each other

I like what these characters could be, to and for each other, apart from their roles in the show.

I would never want to explore a dynamic between Zim and Dib that goes beyond "frenemies" territory in canon (because that doesn't fit what the show is, and I do appreciate the integrity of Jhonen's vision). The subtle foundation for them is there, it's just that it can't really work unless a few key details are changed or manipulated, and, well...

I sure as hell like exploring every bit of that expanded potential in fan works because it's fun to imagine the various directions things could go if they were different!

This isn't me, like... trying to defend my (or anyone else's) enjoyment of this particular ship or trying to convince people to like it. Or the show for that matter! To each their own, truly. And I'm obv aware of the controversy ZaDr often incites and why. Everyone has valid reasons for liking OR not liking it, and I accept differing viewpoints on it. It's a touchy, nuanced subject to be sure. But this isn't about that.

I don't really know what this is, actually, aside from a very long very weird essay, lol. I just wanted to process why and how all of this works for me with my changed perspective from when I was first introduced to Invader Zim in my teens up until now.

It's strange, looking back. I didn't get ZaDr years ago. But I do now, and so much of it, at least from my perspective, has to do with taking the crumbs present in canon (that are undeniably there, whether you choose to acknowledge them or not, and whether they're intentional or not) and absolutely running with them to the ends of your own wild imagination.

[sunflowerdigs]

Marvel should give Jonathan Majors the boot at this point and just make Ravonna a Kang variant. The set up for it is so perfect, in fact, that I almost wonder whether it was done intentionally in s2.

In order to learn to love other people, Loki had to first learn to love himself, and he did that through loving Sylvie, who he sees as a variant of himself. Now, if he had actually fallen in love with Sylvie, that would have been a problem (and I think that's why, on a meta level, their almost kiss created a nexus event) because it would have been tantamount to falling in love with himself and placing himself and his needs above others. He came close because he was learning how to be close for the first time, so he mistook his feelings for Sylvie for something else. But he course corrected in S2. And it was only when he stopped obsessing over Sylvie and started focusing on the issues impacting the people at the TVA, that he really started forming and refining those friendships he holds so dear (Victor, OB, Casey, B-15, and, of course, Mobius). That's why we see him choosing Mobius and the TVA over Sylvie time and time again in s2. And it's why Sylvie remains...perfectly fine when Loki doesn't focus on her (translation: Loki himself remains perfectly fine when he's not obsessing over his own inadequacies). Sylvie thrives, even, in a position where she has a clear function that benefits others around her (translation: Loki is at his best when he has a clear function that benefits a community around him).

(And lets not even go into what it means that Sylvie, Loki's sense of self, is in food service and Mobius is always the one eating. Let's not talk about that, because I'll start screaming).

Anyway, Loki and HWR's are similar characters, but where Loki learns to care about others more than himself, HWR never does. And what better way to illustrate that important difference between Loki and HWR than making HWR's one partner a variant of himself? Ravonna being a female variant of HWR gels with the narrative so well. Much like Loki and Sylvie, one can read HWR's internal motivations and feelings through Ravonna (she wants order but she also very much wants power - she feels like only one person can have choices and she wants that person to be her). Together, Ravonna and HWR achieve greatness, but it's at the expense of fitting in anywhere except with each other (and then, inevitably, not even there). Ravonna being a HWR variant solves the Majors issue in a way that makes sense and is compelling, I think.

[ontologicalsynaesthesia]

Queer Metaphor and Queer Literality

People have been comparing Our Flag Means Death and Good Omens a lot, but the similarity that stands out most to me is on the meta level of how they do their storytelling. I think they both feel like a similar flavor of meaningful queer story because they depict queerness at both a literal and a metaphorical level, where the positive elements occur at the literal level and the negative elements are depicted through metaphor.

On a literal level, both series are full of explicitly, textually queer characters who have actual romances with kissing and everything. Characters can be trans and express their gender in non-normative ways without reprecussions (mostly). There's almost no depiction of overt homophobia onscreen. I'm not sure whether Neil Gaiman or anyone else involved in GO has talked about this choice, but I know David Jenkins has said that he wanted to avoid making the characters in OFMD constantly deal with homophobia and queer trauma. It's not that they take place in queernorm worlds, exactly; it's more that the bad stuff largely happens offscreen. (I've addressed this in an OFMD meta about season 1.)

But the thing is, neither show actually shies away from depicting homophobia and queer trauma - it's just that they happen at the metaphorical level.

In GO2, both Crowley and Aziraphale's relationship to heaven and hell is, metaphorically, that of queer people to a stiflingly heteronormative society that will never truly let them belong and be themselves at the same time. They find community in each other - they are the only people in the world who have experienced the things they've experienced (and isn't that a relatable queer feeling!), and they also find community in queer humans, in a way. But to their home societies that originally gave them belonging and purpose, they're outcasts, and that's very lonely for both of them. They both deal with this very differently; Crowley abandons heaven and hell entirely and embraces his outcast-hood and independence (even though it's still lonely), while Aziraphale still longs for that sense of belonging and eventually decides to try to assimilate again (even though he can't really be himself there).

There's a lot more you can say about metaphorical queerness in GO (like in this recent Tor.com article). But basically, Crowley and Aziraphale's differing reactions to the ostracism of their native society mirror two different ways a lot of real life queer people respond the ostracism of their native societies, even though Crowley and Aziraphale themselves don't really face explicit homophobia for their queer romance onscreen.

OFMD intertwines the metaphor with the literal in a different way. In a way, piracy is a metaphor for queer community; we've all heard Izzy's "piracy is about belonging to something" line in the trailer (even though we don't know the context yet.) But pirates also commit acts of violence, and most people consider them horrible monsters. Stede and Ed both struggle with feelings of monstrousness that are about their piracy-related actions on the surface; but those feelings are instantly and horribly recognizable to a lot of queer people. Chauncey Badminton's "you defile beautiful things" speech is burned into my brain in part because that's exactly what my internal monologue sounds like sometimes (and I think you can pretty easily interpret that speech as being about Stede being literally queer as much as it's about Stede killing his brother; Badminton comes just short of outright saying it.)

When Stede leaves Ed, Ed dives headfirst into being the monster everyone believes him to be. He hates himself; he thinks he's unlovable; he commits as many atrocities as he can in the hope that someone will put him down, and he'll deserve it. I think he feels that Stede left him because Stede, too, saw him as an irredeemable monster, and he tries to make it true to justify his own self-hatred. Ed's self-destructive rampage is an over-the-top expression, in the context of a pirate story, of some deeply recognizable and relatable queer emotions. It's easy for society to make us feel monstrous; Stede dealt with that by trying to remove his influence from the world and return to the (heterosexual) status quo, and Ed dealt with it by trying to live up to the monstrousness he felt inside himself until it destroyed him.

I think one reason these two shows have been so effective - and been effective in similar ways, to more or less the same group of fans - is that this combination of literal queer joy and metaphorical queer suffering feels like a very deep, authentic, relatable portrayal of queer experience. It's fun and wish-fulfillment-y, and avoids getting too close to the reality of the negative experiences a lot of fans have probably had. But at the same time, it filters those negative, complicated, and familiar experiences through the lens of the fantastical, which gives them a certain clarity and emotional grandeur that they couldn't have in a work more true to life.

I'm pretty skeptical about equating "representation" to quality (I've read a lot of deeply mediocre queer books), and I don't think it's quite accurate that these shows have been so successful simply because they depict queer protagonists in queer romances; I think that take misses something, because in this day and age, there are a lot of queer romances out there and easily accessible. But I think the way queerness is embedded into multiple levels of storytelling in both these shows gives them a lot more depth of meaning and emotion, and I think that's a big part of what fans have latched onto.

[williamrikers]

The Undeniable Queerness of Enchanté the Series

(thank you @ranchthoughts for letting me ramble about this in your inbox before turning my thoughts into a post)

there are bls and then there are bls. right? there are dead fish kisses and there are characters who kiss each other like their lives depend on it.

and enchanté firmly belongs in the second category. 1,500-word essay under the cut.

there is such a consistent and tangible queer undercurrent to everything that's happening on this show and i'm not just talking about the fact that several scenes look like they could be the opening scene of a gay porno. or the surprise bondage. or force in drag. or proposing marriage in front of the eiffel tower. no, there's this aching, desperate desire underlying everything. theo has--in addition to his main love interest--four very hot gay suitors who all very obviously desire him carnally... this is some sort of gay manic pixie dream boy wish fulfilment fantasy and i am absolutely eating it up.

there is a vibe to the show that @ranchthoughts called "fanfic-like", and i would argue that that's because enchanté is actually fanfiction of the little prince. (i'm planning on making a separate post soon about how the book was referenced on and used as inspiration for the show.)

enchanté is fully aware of its own fictionality. it is on-the-nose fictional. but that's what makes it so much fun--it's not trying to be something it isn't.

take the reading memories segments in episode 4 [3/4] for example: these scenes were incredibly cringe, like, full-on bad-green-screen terrible-costumes-and-wigs hilarious-acting cringe, but fully aware of their own cringe-ness. (also, gawin was both in drag and naked in the same scene as two different characters, like. get on enchanté's level.) (incidentally, can anyone tell me what character aou/phupha was supposed to be? i got detective conan, monkey d. luffy and momotarō for the others, but i'm stumped on phupha's character.)

and that self-awareness makes it camp! there is such a level of camp to the whole show which feels extremely intentional (especially in the first two thirds), almost like a meta-commentary: "this is the genre. we know it's stupid but we love it here", and i adore that. they know the tropes, they know the bl landscape, and they're just having fun with all of it.

and the whole set-up in itself is a queer allegory, isn't it? theo and akk are "from different worlds", so to speak, hindered in their love not just by their complete inability to communicate but also by their forced separation as children. when they meet again, theo doesn't really belong anywhere, he's an outsider both in france and in thailand, he is unable to act the way thai society expects him to act (e.g. failing to show the proper respect to the seniors), unable to get his parents to understand him while being actively lied to by them (the whole ocean of miscommunication in that family deserves its own post), harboring feelings for his childhood friend his whole life but unable to voice them in a normal sort of way, instead falling back on concocting the most convoluted, immediately backfiring plan to try to make akk jealous and get him to confess his feelings first.

theo is fundamentally isolated because he grew up between two cultures, and neither one quite fits him: when he's in france, he is comforted by thai food and the only people he's close with (his grandmother and sun) are from thailand like himself; but when he's in thailand, he can't quite get used to the social conventions and makes social blunders, he is very slow at writing in thai.

it's such a poignant queer allegory in my opinion. they didn't end up making as much a point of it on the show as they could have, but it very much informed my whole reading of the show and the characters. there is a sort of inability to articulate his experience surrounding theo that makes him even more isolated and screams "baby gay in need of a community" to me. having akk share his experience at the end is something that i'm not a big fan of for other, unrelated reasons (might make a separate post about enchanté's ending and why it fell flat for me), but when looking at it through this lens, it is the only way for akk to really get theo, to really understand his struggle on a fundamental level.

which brings me back to that desire i mentioned earlier: theo desires akk, very much so, there are a whole handful of scenes where akk gets close to him and theo closes his eyes, expecting to finally be kissed by him, but more than that, he desires understanding. he often brushes off his own difficulties and has a tendency to be emotionally clueless (for example about his parents' divorce), but what i see most in his character is the desire to be understood, to be seen by akk, for akk to see him for who he is and to love him for who he is. (akk, of course, has been doing both of those things all along. he's constantly taking pictures of theo, he's watching him through his window--with theo's full knowledge--he is always looking at him, he's always loving him.)

it's not inherently queer to want to be loved as we truly are, i believe heterosexual people experience this, too, but in the context of queerness itself, being perceived as queer by other queer people is indeed a fundamental aspect to experiencing queer love (maybe not in gay for you bls, but i haven't heard of much gay for you happening in real life). not to be unscientific about this, but the vibes of the perception aspect of enchanté are just very queer to me, you know?

oh, and speaking of desire: enchanté in general is very physical. there is a level of intimacy between the actors and the camera that seems incredibly intentional: there are several shower scenes, scenes of theo and akk shirtless, TWO (2) nude gawin scenes (though one of those is sadly a fake-out and he is actually wearing shorts), many, many scenes that include bare feet, which is not something i see super often in bl, at least not to the point that i notice the frequency of it.

enchanté is very rooted in the physical reality of desirable bodies: theo is allowed to openly, physically flirt with saifa, even though that's not even his endgame love interest, phupha uses physical touch in his pursuit of theo, natee shows his obsession with theo by drawing his face/body about a hundred times, and akk and theo are wholly unable to keep their hands off each other. i've joked about the intricate rituals, but seriously, they are constructing so many intricate rituals. there are two separate scenes in which they make up excuses to kiss each other's elbows/arms/backs. they keep touching each other in a thousand ways, in every possible way they can that is still plausibly deniable as physical desire--until they kiss while watching that movie and then it's just a game of chicken of who will confess first. because their physical attraction to each other is undeniable. it's obvious. this was really refreshing to see in a genre that so often plays with the blushing maiden trope, and one character is so often made to pursue the other: on enchanté, akk and theo are equally horny for each other. it's not their lack of physical attraction that keeps them apart for so long.

(sadly, the show then shies away from actually getting very sexually physical: after their desperate, stunning, amazing balcony-kiss, they aren't allowed to be horny for each other in the last two episodes, when they're actually in a relationship. this is just one of the many aspects that i didn't like about the conclusion of the story, because you simply cannot tell me that these two as we got to know them in episodes 1 to 8 would really be as chaste with each other as they're shown in episodes 9 and 10.)

leaving that aside for the moment, let's talk about that kiss. as mentioned right at the beginning, when these two kiss each other on the balcony, it's desperation in its rawest form. these two--and especially theo--crave each other. theo kisses akk like he will die without him. theo kisses akk like he can finally breathe. theo kisses akk like he never wants to do anything else ever again.

i'm a bit obsessed with book's acting here, because of all the kissing scenes i've seen him in, i think this is THE most desperate one. force plays it a bit more subtle, but book's expression is full-on anguish. theo waited his whole life to be kissed by akk, and book portrays that so beautifully, with such depth. it's one of my favorite bl kisses for sure, it's played with so much heart, so much feeling, that it's hard to even think of kisses that compare, apart from the bad buddy episode 5 rooftop kiss.

anyway, all of this to say that enchanté to me is deeply, lovingly queer, and it's a shame that so many people are sleeping on it. (and that includes myself, i was wary about watching this show for a long time because i'd heard so many negative things about it.)

but i'm here to tell you: watch enchanté. it's wonderful, it's hilariously funny, it's endearing, it has book and force in it, and it is extremely queer.

[itsclydebitches]

I find it striking that the show gave us two shots of Trent stopping a door right before it closes, in back-to-back episodes, with the first instance inevitably informing our reading of the second. Meaning, once that particular, distinctive shot is associated with Trent following Colin to come out to him/reassure him about being queer, seeing that shot again - especially so soon - automatically makes us go, "Okay, so what does this have to do with the themes of queer sexuality and coming out? Is this another case of Trent, on a literal level, running after a queer man?"

In a very general sense, this scene did have Trent 'come out' again: as a "dork," as autistic (based on many fans' reading of his enthusiasm and body language), as a total convert to the "Lasso Way," as a genuinely happy person after nearly three whole seasons of playing the cool, collected, despairingly cynical journalist. However, the takeaway is not just that Trent is finally comfortable enough to fully express himself, it's that he overtly acknowledges that Ted is the one who brought this about. Remember, "sport" is the metaphor and here everything Trent discusses about Total Football is really just a figurative expression of his love of Ted.

He's not even subtle about it, what with his language entirely focused on Ted's individual influence, rather than emphasizing the work the team has put in, or their own significant influences. (It's a biased focus that Trent indulges in despite Jamie straight up saving the day an hour before with Trent right there, watching him do it). He starts the scene by screaming Ted's name, says the strategy will work because of the Lasso Way, you haven't switched tactics, you've done this over three seasons. Trent might think that the fourth point doesn't matter, but really he's already discovered it. The last piece of the puzzle is Ted (or more broadly, the love that Ted helps flourish). A team can have conditioning, versatility, and awareness, but if they haven't formed the kind of bond we see when the boys are putting that water bottle into Will's basket, all of those others skills will come to naught when pit against the fluid, trust-based tactics of Total Football. That's the final condition that Ted has brought about and Trent's celebration of it is, by default, a celebration of Ted himself. Coupled with our opening door-stop that invites a, 'What gay quest is Trent heading out on now?' question, it's no wonder I've seen so many, "I thought Trent was going to kiss him" comments the last 24 hours. YEAH because that's how this scene is framed! Trent is newly out to the audience. He's paralleling his previous queer-focused plot-line. He's the most himself we've ever seen him while enthusiastically celebrating the existence of the man in front of him. What isn't romantic about that?

I also can't help but think about the door itself as a metaphor; of a possibility almost closing... only to be halted at the last possible second. We have the expression "When God closes a door he opens a window," yet in this episode we're explicitly told that God is not a part of this dynamic, so instead it's Trent - the supposed "observer" - who stops the door before it can close in the first place. He kept alive the possibility that Colin could find peace with someone about his sexuality and now he's keeping alive Ted's faith in his own coaching style... as well as the possibility for their romantic involvement (canon-based or fanon-based).

I know the "straight" comment disappointed a lot of fans, but the way I see it we have an episode where Ted's sexuality is framed in the past tense, while we get a shot of Trent giving him a I Know What You Are look similar to what Colin received, right after Ted gushes over loving a great head of hair + a clean-shaven look (Trent's vibe), alongside the meta (Lance's interviews) and canonical ("No, Sir / Yes, Ma'am") queering of Trent's gender, during a stint where a whole group of men are tied together by red strings of fate, right before one of those out men literally runs rom-com style after another to gush over how much he adores him while they're connected by their own strip of red.

[gnashing, wailing, etc. etc.] I BELIEVE

[idealuk]

I'm back on my wardrobe-colour-meta shit again.

(This is long and probably psychotic)

They're both wearing navy suits (read: on the same page/guarded against the world together) the first time that they decide to make love, and Alex is wearing a nice black t-shirt (read: completely unaware of the consequences) under his suit jacket, whereas Henry is wearing one of the lightest blue dress shirts that he wears throughout the movie with white buttons and a dually-blue striped tie under his (read: guarded whilst being the slightest bit carefree/daring).

They're both wearing gray suits with white shirts and different coloured ties (which they quickly remove as soon as they're alone to be naked together - read: a new level of being on the same page while being mostly carefree/daring whilst still being united in being slightly guarded as both ties have blue in them) when Henry meets up with Alex in NYC.

They're both wearing nothing but white (read: completely carefree/daring together) when Henry was answering Alex's personal questions.

Alex is wearing a navy shirt with notes of white (and green - read: united with Henry on being guarded whilst also being carefree/daring) on it and pink swim trunks with white drawstrings (read: carefree/daring and having reached a new level of longing) whereas Henry is wearing nothing but blue (read: just guarded) when they're in the hammock together.

Henry is wearing a blue and gray plaid shirt with blue jeans and white sneakers (read: very guarded on being united with Alex on that new level while still managing to be carefree/daring which is quintessentially Henry) as he does karaoke which is why it makes perfect sense to me that Alex, during that scene, is wearing a black shirt with a maroon/pink kisses font on it and blue jeans (read: completely unaware of the consequences, united with Henry on being guarded, and longing for more).

Alex is wearing a black t-shirt (read: completely unaware of the extent of the consequences of wanting Henry for ever) the morning after he realizes he's in for-ever-love with Henry and confirming this by then even telling his dad about them.

Alex is wearing pink swim trunks with white drawstrings (read: longing for more, carefree/daring, and not on Henry's level of being guarded) during the almost-love-confession whereas Henry is wearing blue swim trunks with, among other colours, pink turtles on them (read: guarded and longing for more).

Henry is wearing a gray t-shirt and blue shorts (read: conflicted with wanting to be with Alex and being guarded) while alone on Alex's lake house bed with out him.

Henry is wearing a pink dress shirt and navy dress pants (read: longing for more and guarded) as he talks to Bea after leaving Alex whereas she's wearing a blue dress with a white print (read: both guarded and carefree/daring) as she asks him, poignantly, "What about your heart?".

They're both wearing navy suits with accents of blue, and white (read: both guarded and carefree/daring) when they face the king together and confirm their relationship to the public.

They're both wearing gray suits and white dress shirts with no pink or black (other than on accessories which don't count) to be seen (read: back on that heightened level of being of being together, carefree/daring on the relationship front as they are together/no longer longing for more, and completely aware on what their relationship means) on election night, and Alex is wearing a navy tie (read: guarded), because he didn't want others knowing that he was nervous about the election which made Henry getting Alex to focus on his tie all the more palpable to me as he's literally trying to reassure Alex.

On that note, I will point out yellowish hues represented confidence in the wardrobe throughout the movie, which tracks as Henry never, with the exception of the dots in the design on his copper tie that he wears to the NYE party, wears any until then, and I could break down the wardrobe department's colour choices in literally every scene of the movie with every single character and it would still all track. I'm either crazy or the movie had the exact right wardrobe department.

Friendly Reminder #1: What is Alex wearing when he tells Nora about their first kiss? A blue sweatshirt (read: guarded) with a purple t-shirt underneath (read: adding a longing-for-more emphasis) and dark grayish navy denim joggers (read: putting the emphasis back on being guarded whilst also being subconsciously all-in with Henry on wanting for ever together with out Henry knowing it) and what is Nora wearing when she's trying to convince Alex that they've been obvious the whole time? A pink blouse and greenish tan checkered dress pants and navy heels (read: both longing for more, confident whilst being sympathetic to Alex being guarded).

Friendly Reminder #2: Alex is wearing a white Henley, tan button down over it, and blue jeans (read: carefree/daring, confident, and guarded against the world with Henry) when actually confessing his love for Henry and all Henry is wearing is a navy robe that features a maroon paisley pattern on it and navy pajama pants with blue stripes (read: torn between being guarded and longing for more with Alex).

Friendly Reminder #3: Henry is wearing a navy suit with black lapels and a light blue vest, white dress shirt, and a pink tie (read: every thing that he associates with Alex with out being with Alex, which is why his facial expression goes from talking with his chummy sister to that of some one being called out by some one whom knows his true self/his public persona, which is also why I swear what she said there was "I'm going to get you a man at this event") in his very first scene only to then wear a literal "Blank Space" dress (which is blue with detailing of pink and white/silver, depending on the lighting, because the man in question was already subconsciously on a mission) as she notes how attractive Alex is in her opinion which he does not deny in his second scene. "The whole bloody time".

[stellahaze135]

WHAT IF WHEN SOMEONE IS INFECTED WITH OUROBOROS, THEY’RE NOT ONLY INFECTED WITH THE VIRUS BUT MAYBE THE VIRUS ITSELF CARRIES WESKER’S CONSCIOUSNESS AS WELL!! SO HE LITERALLY INFECTS THE MINDS OF THE POEPLE WHO ARE COMPATIBLE WITH OUROBOROS?!

We know he had a hand in Eveline’s creation, he knew about the mold and psychological effects it has. It could be possible that he took those aspects of the mold and had them instilled in Ouroboros.

When he injected Excella, he injected Shade at the same time. The ‘drinking of the kool-aid’ if you will. But where it rejected Excella, it accepted Shade. Mostly because of her stronger meta-human genes.

So after the shit hits the fan at the volcano, even if his physical body is gone, what if he’s actually sharing space with Shade in her mind and body via Ouroboros. So Shade has inadvertently in a way developed DID and Schizophrenia as a result. At first, he was just a voice in her head, then she could start see him in mirrors. Then he was right there in the room with her. Sometimes when Albert became a strong enough presence he could and would be present personality. Especially if he feels that their system is in danger.

Kind of mirroring his sister Alex in a way.

But in a weird twist, because they both end up discovering total access to each other’s minds, they end up with an actual understanding of each other and develop a meaningful relationship, they discover a true kinship and not just the ‘evil boss/henchman with a side of lover’ roles they had filled for years before. Shade becomes one of the only people Albert has ever implicitly trusted and remotely cared for. They go from a Joker/Harley dynamic to an Ivy/Harley dynamic.

And it doesn’t happen overnight by any means. It takes a lot of work and pushing on both their parts. They’re very VERY broken people but they learn to find solace in each other.

And once Ouroboros evolves enough, and Albert is able to generate a new body using the virus, they exist much more as ‘healthy’ couple.

I can see Albert being his usual stoic self in public, but my gods as soon as the doors are closed or they’re in front of those they feel comfortable with, he goes from stoned faced to slightly below Gomez Addams level of devotion. Kissing her hand, her neck, hand almost always on the small of her back, etc.

[andi-o-geyser]

HEY! HEY YOU! YOU UPDATED YOUR PAGE TWENTY-SIX MINUTES AGO! TUMBLR TOLD ME SO! GIVE ME YOUR PERCAHLIA BRAINROT!

Haha, gladly! Buckle in, because the brainrot has been going for weeks now and will not stop. Currently, I’m stuck on their journey to the Water Ashari, where Vex and Percy have the most heartfelt conversation about what they heard during their respective resurrection rituals. Percy basically says that in space of limbo he was stuck in while Orthax was feasting on his soul he could only hear pure noise and feel pain and he’s tried so hard to not put the experience into words but now he is putting it into words, for Vex, because she deserves the full truth of the offerings that called him back during his ritual. He tells her that he had: “great motivation to live a long life”, which just makes me want to go fucking feral because on a meta level Vex rolled true love’s natural 20 and Tal specifically said that he told Matt to text him because if they didn’t say what Percy wanted to hear, he just fully wouldn’t come back, good resurrection rolls be damned, but despite Pike’s plea for the gods to save him (which was something he explicitly wouldn’t have wanted), Vex told him she loved him and she needed him back, and Percy was called back anyways for her. 

He was ready to let everything go: his sister, his home, his found family and all the friends he’d made, because he was done and he was tired and he felt like he’d completed his journey and earned his tragic end, and he even preemptively wrote what essentially functioned as a suicide note for the occasion. But he didn’t die, he came back anyways, and, almost 20 full episodes after the resurrection ritual and exactly 15 episodes after he and Vex first kissed in the snow, he admits to her in this quiet moment on the ship that he heard her. And it was the only thing he heard. 

This contrasts directly with the ritual itself, where after being brought back he thanked Keyleth, saying: “I saw what you did, it was the only thing I saw”, referring to how Kiki severed him from Orthax, but he also explicitly states that he couldn’t hear her, he just saw her hand reach out. And when she hears it you can just see Laura play it brilliantly, because Vex looks so dejected as he says it in that scene post resurrection. She’s so full of this sudden grief at something she’s barely had but already lost, which was her confession of love to him because he just said he only saw Keyleth, and that means he doesn’t remember Vex’s plea for his life. But he did remember, and it was the only thing he remembered and the only thing that mattered. But he didn’t tell her not because of any time he needed to consider if he felt the same way, because he was already head over heels just like she was; he didn’t say anything because she just bore her heart in front of all their friends, all their family, and he didn’t want to put her on the spot like that. 

“I never would have hoped... you’re far too wonderful for an idiot. I treasure every minute”. Percy knows and Vex knows that he was very well almost gone for good, and Vex saved his life by calling out to him the way she did. He never would have hoped she felt the same way, he never would have hoped the heart she was referring to when confronting Saundor was his, but he treasures every minute they have together because they both know what they could have lost, and after the Thordak, Raishan, and second Raishan fight, this is even more potent because they both either went to death saves or outright died and had to be revivified. And she treasures every moment right back. They’re so deeply in love, and they have such an immense respect for each other that as soon as Vex asks at the top of the scene what he heard during his resurrection Percy instantly catches on that she’s both probably curious about Scanlan’s ritual, but also still feeling insecure about him not mentioning her contribution, and the entire subsequent scene is basically him both working through the remnants of trauma from the experience but also laying it out in an considerate way for her, and apologizing for any pain he caused. 

And then they get drunk and imply they’re going to have sex in a closing line. It’s peak Perc’ahlia and it makes me go insane 

[horrorsummerromance]

hi!! i saw your meta about vegas and when he started wanting pete, and i was curious about your thoughts on when pete started wanting vegas?

hiiii anon!!!!!

aaaaaaah. yeah. pete starting to want vegas!!!!!

i think with pete, for me personally, it's a lot more easier to understand and say.

pete hasn't shown any kind of want towards vegas at all until episode 12.

the only two times he has been sucked into the vacuum and black hole of vegas' lure and darkness is in episode 7, the torture scene, and episode 9, the temple scene.

but i wouldnt even call that want. it's purely "being sucked into". there isn't any sense of control within his pull towards vegas' darkness in those 2 scenes. he just looks dazed, completely hypnotized, almost zoned out and out of it, that's mixed in with a heavy dose of intrigue.

but its not what i'd call want. see vegas is big and bright and beautiful and shines. everyone wants him whilst not wanting him. he's irresistible whilst being unpalatable. he's literally the forbidden apple. the temptation to want vegas is so strong, the urge to sin for vegas is so strong.

but for pete, it's even moreso. because pete is the head bodyguard of the main family. he represents them. he leads by example. so vegas becomes even more of forbidden apple to him in particular ("i know exactly what i want. how about you pete? how do you like it?" "i know you're suffering inside".)

and i looooove that push and pull and can't and shouldn't but i need a taste of him of it all, so badly.

and it rears its head in episode 11. even at this point, pete doesn't want him. i'll talk about the wanting part in a bit. but i feel like i need to talk about episode 10 and 11 first.

so i mentioned, and talked a lot in my meta for vegas, about pete's defiance, and how that was the only trait that made him human, in vegas' eyes. now. pete uses defiance as his sole tool to survive. his uses disobedience as his sole tool to survive. the smiling back at vegas whilst vegas tortures him? is his defiance and disobedience. its his "what's the worst that you've got?". and pete's smile has always been unsettling. its probably something vegas has found as being the most annoying thing about him from since their 1st interaction up until episode 11, because vegas knows how fake that smile is. what a mask it is.

so. episode 11. the start of it is really intriguing. bc vegas is feeling pete up, hands roaming everywhere, and its the 1st time vegas has Touched Pete. yes, its intimidation. but its that One Moment, you know, The One, where pete is talking to his grandma on the phone, and vegas does That Thing to pete's neck and pete just, for a second, shuts his eyes and leans his head back and .... feels it. feels that stir in his stomach from it, and vegas smirks because he knows he's having the exact desired effect on pete.

and part of me thinks that when pete screams at vegas "are you happy now?", its also him taking that anger out of Letting Himself Feel That Stir In His Stomach from vegas doing whatever he did to his neck, onto vegas. its him taking that shame out, that "i shouldnt have felt that but i did, and i hate that i did, and you're such a fucking dick for it."

so yeah. another point to note from that scene is how pete catches on right away that vegas' dad is an abuser. he sniffed it out straight away. and its the 1st time vegas is humiliated like that, on that level, in front of pete. and pete sees the effect that has on vegas: he rages, he slams the table and knocks the stuff off from it. so pete picks up on the pattern: vegas' dad abuses vegas and that leads to vegas taking his anger out on something. until he points the gun at him and pete thinks, this is it, i can finally die now.

and vegas doesnt kill him. and pete doesnt get it. doesnt get what he means by vegas calling him a pet.

and then we don't see anything for a bit in episode 11 except for pete's defiance and disobedience to vegas. until vegas nurses him and treats his wound and kisses the medication into his mouth.

and THAT. that knocks pete out mentally. bc what the Fuck was that? the sniffing the neck is One Thing, but his was vegas' mouth on his mouth, and "you only kiss those who you like" right?. but vegas Doesnt Like pete, so what the fuck is this meant to mean?

and then, they talk about their fathers. and i think, for pete, that conversation really just clarified everything to him about who vegas is a person. what his motivations are. why he feels so much rage and anger. why he is so envious of kinn. and pete is someone who is extremely empathetic, who understands people's emotions, so its not hard to get why he starts to develop an understanding for vegas.

and then, when vegas goes and makes him a fresh bowl of hot noodles, pete is once again surprised, i guess, by vegas' show of humanity. that, oh, he can be this human too. he can show kindness and consideration too.

and pete begins to latch onto that. yes he does. even if its unconsciously, but he begins to latch onto these moments of humanity from vegas. and that includes the way vegas dresses in his most casual and comfortable and worn in clothes - his pyjamas, his white tshirt and grey joggers. it all plays a part. its all a sign of vegas' humanity. of a side that no one else has seen of him in a way pete has.

and in the vegas meta ask i talked about the episode 12 blood type scene, and how that scene was All Human. and pete reciprocates that same interest vegas had in wanting to know more about him. and pete's enjoying it just as much as vegas is. until "sensitive" and "you need love" comes up. and pete isn't scared of vegas' reaction of him kicking the book out of his hand, its more so that he's .... lost in thought over what was so wrong in what he said about how sensitivity =/= weakness, and the mention of the word love.

and pete gets his answer when the hedgehog dies. and i honestly feel like pete, at first, did not know what to do with vegas crying and mourning like that. the only thing he could not do, was to leave him. because pete is too kind, and pete is too empathetic, and pete falls for vegas' humanity, and this is as human as he gotten, and pete is the type of guy to help and revel in the role of being a protector, a guardian angel, because that's what his role is as a bodyguard. he service lies in being a protector. so it makes more than enough sense to understand why he stayed. because he couldnt leave an emotionally vulnerable vegas like that. that goes against everything in Pete, The Bodyguard's DNA as well as Just Pete's DNA.

and i think its also worth noting that even up until this point, pete has never once felt like vegas could ever want him sexually and intimately. like. yeah he may have kissed him in ep 11 when feeding him his medicine, but everything's a mindfuck with vegas, and i think pete just doesnt even see himself as someone vegas could ever be remotely interested in (and now that i compare this to my vegas meta, where i talk about how pete has already caught vegas' eye from so so so early on, its just ..... DELICIOUS).

and i think it isnt until vegas says "i know you're suffering inside", that something shifts in pete. thats a loaded line in relation to pete. thats a line that has pete realise that vegas has seen him in a way no one has, that he's managed to be able to dig so deeply into pete, read him so well, under all of these masks he puts on, that he could take them all apart one by one, then cut him open, put his hand inside, and pull out this hidden suffering.

and when vegas says "let it out", i think that's the final piece. thats what does pete in. bc finally, finally, someone is letting him be, in whatever capacity pete wants to be in. someone wants him enough, that much, in such a way, that they're telling him to not hold back in being who he is to his full potential. no suppression, no censoring, no judgement at all. vegas just wants to see pete for who pete really is.

and thats made even more glaringly clear to pete when vegas pulls away and tells him, that he needs to give in to him, give into him completely, not as a saviour or a protector, but as a human that has desires and needs and urges and a darkness to them.

so yeah, sexually and physically its then, that pete wants vegas. and what follows is just ... all pete. pete wrapping the chains around his hands and wrists when vegas eats him out, pete giving vegas the ropes and his entire trust of his body to vegas. pete enjoying the sex, pete finding himself in it, pete finding vegas' humanity in it. pete giving vegas one of his most truest, darkest and honest smiles to vegas yet, that has vegas' own smile falter.

and its important to distinguish when pete wants vegas sexually and physically vs when pete wants him emotionally, bc a huge part of pete's character development is based on what he gets from and takes from vegas physically and how that fulfills him. bc even here, i dont think pete wants vegas emotionally just yet.

the sex was enthralling, gripping, mind-numbingly good. but it does nothing when he realises that he's gone from being treated as humanly as ever, to becoming a pet again.

and that leaves pete hollow. so, so hollow.

so when does pete want vegas emotionally? its when vegas walks away from him at the end of ep 13, at the back of the club. i would have said that no, it was the scene where pete's about to escape and he touches vegas' face one last time before knocking him out. but i think that's more pete just ... feeling sorry about the entire situation. sorry that he cant stay, sorry that they're both in a mess like this, sorry that he could see the potential in vegas but he needs to leave, sorry that vegas wants to try but its not in the way that it has to be in, sorry that they're doomed. even when pete is crying into his food, that's him missing vegas' touch, that's him craving vegas physically. because he shouldnt be missing that, and yet, he's sobbing his heart out whilst doing so. so i'd say it's the club scene. bc thats where pete can't kill him, when he could put an end to it all. thats where he realises vegas has come to see him despite that fact that he shouldnt even be out on the streets. that vegas this time is just apologising, with no other intention but to apologise, not to make pete stay or make pete make a promise to him. none of that. and then pete touches his face.

and oh. god. that moment. its then. bc this is the vegas pete wants. this is the vegas he's become fond of. this humanity vegas displays. that he's humble enough to hold pete as he cries into his shirt and then sit on the ground with him, press their foreheads together, hold his hand with a gun between their bodies, and just apologise, as he lets pete cry. that moment, when he touches vegas' face there, is him acknowledging vegas, him seeing vegas, him wanting THIS vegas. and how cruel is it, that he couldnt have this vegas for long enough, yet at the same time, how human is it, that vegas this time chose to put everything aside to come to see pete, including his own safety.

because im certain that by episode 14, pete knows what he wants. he just acts on it when he sees vegas mourning his dead father, bc of the implications that carries ("everything that i love left me"), and how pete knows that if he doesnt make it to vegas in time, there will be nothing left. and yet, pete needs vegas to know that he is still there. that there is still something worth living for. that they, together, could be something worth living for ("you're the most important person in my life."). and something worth killing for. and something worth trying again for ("come here, don't be shy".)

[sapphire-weapon]

since you're currently discussing the obvious romantic/fairytale nature of RE4R (there's no way all of these are accidental), in your opinion, why do you think capcom decided to keep it more as subtext? does it have anything to do with not upsetting the fandom (*cough* aeon shippers and dudebros who hate on ashley), or is it a way for them to create romantic dynamics without compromising the future of the characters so they're still mostly free to do whatever they want with them?

The second one, mostly.

I think that Capcom got it in their heads to make RE4make read/feel like a fairy tale in order to pay homage to how OG RE4 was so pivotal to so many people's childhoods. Like, that more than anything else was the goal.

The thing about fairy tales, though, is that -- not only are they romances -- but they usually end with "... and they lived happily ever after."

And we know that that can't be true for Leon. No matter what direction the Remake series goes in, his story can't end at RE4.

So, they had to try to balance what they wanted to do (create a fairy tale) with what they didn't want to have happen (lock Leon's character in place with an actual Happily Ever After).

As a result, they couldn't have a big, sweeping, dramatic kiss scene or something like that. To actually give Leon and Ashley an HEA, that would mean then taking it away from them in the future in order to continue to use Leon's character, and that creates a massive amount of headaches that just simply aren't worth it.

But also on a more meta level -- yes, this is to pay homage to people's childhoods, but RE4make also acknowledges that the kids who grew up playing OG RE4 are grown up now, and they know that fairy tales aren't real. As much as we might want our own HEAs and ones for the characters that we love, too, that's just not how life goes.

What's really interesting is that RE4make quietly tosses in Don Quixote on top of the fairy tale metaphor and has Luis follow that storyline all the way through. Spoilers for a 400 year old story, but Don Quixote acknowledges his wrongdoing and dies in the end.

But Leon and Ashley don't follow their fairy tale storyline all the way through. They both come back to reality in the ending, whether they like it or not.

It's almost like RE4make uses Luis to challenge the player: Are you really sure that you want this story to follow its metaphor all the way through to the end?

We might be rooting for Leon and Ashley, but what we're rooting for isn't real. Life doesn't turn out like it does in the stories -- or, if it does, not in the ways that you would hope. Eventually, we all grow up and look back on those stories from our childhood and realize that there is no such thing as a happily ever after; life continues on, and stories don't just end.

So, RE4make asks the question of whether an HEA is actually what you want. Are you really, truly, honestly sure that you want Leon's story to end here?

Well?

Are you?

[variousqueerthings]

(what’s this? more aro-mash posting? it’s more likely than you think)

while i do hc some aro and ace Hawkeye for the funsies, i know the aceness isn’t technically supported by the text (and of course if that were to stop me i would have nary an ace character anywhere) but the aromantic read is surprisingly present, for him and for Margaret and for Charles especially -- 

and Mulcahy, although his is a little different in that he’s never really positioned in a romantic tryst that he needs to figure out for himself and then move on from. He simply doesn’t have a narrative related to romance (he does have a character get a crush on him, but it’s firmly unrequited). There is, within the plot, a reason to not give Mulcahy romantic narratives (although they could’ve if they’d wanted to get Spicy I suppose), while the other three do have a few apiec + don’t have “an excuse” to fall back on (to an extent, see Charles). This not to say I can’t/don’t hc him as aromantic, but that there’s perhaps less to explore within the text as meta, because he’s sorted, he’s got God, the end. there’s no tension of aromanticism that I can think of off the top of my head (do let me know if there’s lines or scenes or storylines that do have something suggestive to them)

the very simple idea that their stories do not hinge on an overarching romantic conclusion, and especially especially for Hawkeye and Margaret, who have quite a few conversations notably (most?) often with each other about romance and their lack of success at it, only to gravitate towards one another’s orbits over and over, and then for the story to say, “it’s not romantic -- it is a deep, understanding friendship, and it’s very, very important for the both of them (and is possibly their least drama free relationship once comrades in arms happened?)”

there’s nothing stopping the story, really, from making it romantic, although I wouldn’t have been a fan of it, precisely because they’re far more powerful a dynamic as friends (and I think perhaps they instinctively got that in the writing room, even if safe to say they presumably were not saying, “let’s queer this notion of romantic-ends are the only proper ends” -- Alan Alda at the very least seemed to be interested in Hawkeye’s lack off romantic commitment, which is funny coming from famous-for-loving-his-wife Mr Alda and I continuously wonder if he knows about aromanticism as a concept, on some level wish someone had been around to ask him some more about that facet of Hawkeye at the time) 

Hawkeye and Margaret get the main thrust of their relationship development from seasons 1-7, and for the most part after that are just on a level of understanding and (almost) total lack of conflict with each other -- when they kiss in GFA it’s satisfyingly non-romantic, and also contains that specific hard-to-describe spark that makes their dynamic work

I’m still going through my several at-the-same-time rewatches, so I’ve only seen the Charles romance episodes once, but my first instinct (which also includes the odd “lets see if Margaret and Charles have some kind of chemistry” episodes in s6) is simply that he’s lonely, very aware of his Duties As Eldest Son Of Posh Family, wants some kind of connection, but under his constraints cannot form one, never mind articulate what it would look like ideally

so you get these episodes like the one with the French woman, where he’ll be so excited about all the things they have in common and the moment she starts talking about a romantic relationship, he suddenly goes hard on the “my family wouldn’t approve,” line, which on that first watch wasn’t quite so solid for me as a reasoning... but we’ll see on watch the second. It did feel like a handy excuse that came from being afraid (but afraid of what, good sir!)

Also it makes sense he wouldn’t share his (a)romantic woes with anyone else, not sharing things is one of his main character traits, but I’ll keep an eye out for how this lack-of-romance interacts (if it does) with the others. He does of course have One (1) sharing moment with Hawkeye, in relation to fathers/dads

[yellowlaboratory]

Gimme all your thoughts on the last season of hsmtmts when you compose yourself! I’m still crying it was so perfect! Us Rinas won so hard!!! They are the most perfectly executed slowburn soulmates ever and the payoff was so sweet!

ricky bowen basically sums up the entirety of my feelings towards the hsmtmts finale. i have absolutely not composed myself and there's so much to say but I'm not sure I have the words. Seeing as I just finished watching it through for a second time and my tears are still drying .... I'm gonna ramble cause this show means a stupid amount to me

First of all, this was my favorite season. I always say 3rd seasons are the best but... damn. hsmtmts is breaking my streak.

I think it brought back a lot of what made season 1 so so so special to me but it also allowed the show to grow. it was funny and outlandish and ridiculous and surprisingly heartfelt and it made me sob, all like season 1. the meta was metaing, the character development was charater developmenting (4x06??? insanity on every level). almost every single character made me cry at some point - both characters I have loved so dearly from the beginning and some characters I have truly hated at one point or another. genuinely, i think I ended this season more fond of the original main cast than I ever have been - which is saying something!!! i have loved them a lot from the start. I also think the humor and the pacing and the self-awareness were otherworldly.

this show just has a stupid ability to make me feel the full spectrum of human emotions in a 5 minute timespan - I go from laughing my ass off to crying my eyes out to falling in love to hating something so viscerally and it's just akdhsflkjasdhlfkj. it's hard to explain to people who haven't watched it because like ??? what do you mean the stupid littel alphabet show made you feel all that???? and i can't really explain it like you just gotta experience it. I'm a full ass adult and I audibly sobbed at Gina's speech - and i'm pretty sure I'll never be able to watch that scene without crying.

speaking of gina... I've known for a long time that she was one of my girls, but this season has absolutely forever cemented her as one of my favorite characters of all time. she is my girl my queen the love of my life an angel all the good things in the world (i sound like ricky bowen). but very seriously, there's a very short list of my favorite characters of all time and she will always, always, always be there.

I want to speak more about rina but i just.... i'm literally not sure i can find the words. the season was amazing, I loved seeing them grow out of situations that mirrored obstacles they had in the past, I loved the clear lines that showed how perfect Gina and Ricky are for each other as opposed to their previous partners, I think the rain kiss genuinely took my breath away and I'm so so so so happy that they are happy. I leapt out of my seat at the callbacks and the reveals and lost my mind at how invisible string and mastermind coded their entire relationship is. they are literally soulmates like gina took one look at "skater boy" and she was like "wow i guess this is the love of my life". like?????? that's so genuinely insane???? unhinged television.

i'm also heartbroken that i don't get more of them. i know we just saw a whole season of them kissing but like - I want more. I want to see them graduate. i want to see them take on more challenges. i want to see them fall even further in love. i'm sure i'll have more eloquent, well-rounded thoughts once my brain is working, but right now, i'm just so happy with what we got and also a little bit mourning the things we'll never see.

all in all, that's kind of how i feel about the show in general. i don't know that it feels finished. like - it was an ending. it had so much closure. this wasn't cancelled or cut off, it was brought to a close. but i still have so much i want to see from these characters. I want to see more of ricky and gina always. I want Kourtney taking on college and a Jetney duet (I'm gonna sue someone over the fact that i didn't get one). I want to see so so so much more of maddox and ashlyn!!! i literally just got them. and miss jenn and mazarra????? they literally just. dropped that in my lap and ran!!!!

i think the problem isn't actually the ending, though. I think it's just me, lol. I'm not sure I'd ever be ready to say goodbye to these characters. and i know it's good to go out on a high note but damn can't we ride this high for just a little bit longer?

also - terri porter is gunning for one of my least favorite tv parents ever and like. if you know me you know that's saying something.

also also - they swore more in this season of hsmtmts than in s3 of the boat show so. do with that what you will.

[shinidamachu]

Hi! I love following your meta and detailed analyses and I swear you had one somewhere about the actual chapters/instances that had InuKik in the manga as compared to the anime but I can't find it :( Did I imagine it? (Why I'm asking is I'm writing one of my fics IWFA and I had someone ask me why I write InuKik the way I do and I was about to say cuz in the manga they give off the impression of being distant like that. Then I second guessed myself and wanted to reread the parts... anyway I blab.

Hi! Thank you so much! This means a lot because I do love writing meta. Unfortunatelly, I don't think I made the post you're looking for.

I'm still in the process of reading the manga and even though I use a panel here and there to make my points across, I refrain from going into deep, side by side comparisons because I feel like smarter people than me have already done it to exhaustion. And with a level of coherence I can only dream to achieve.

One of these people is definitely @inukag so maybe you'll have more luck asking her? If Cynthia didn't wrote it, she's still your best shot at figuring out who did.

And for whatever is worth, I think your interpretation of manga Inukik is actually pretty spot on. In fact, I'd go even further and say that anime Inukik was almost just as distant. The difference is that at least Sunrise tried to give them some substance, which in my opinion didn't work at all, since it butchered their characterization (Inuyasha's especially) by omitting very important scenes and adding meaningless fillers that in my opinion only made more obvious how superficial their relationship really was.

To me, love is something you build and trust is the foundation in which you're building on. To trust — and consequently to truly love — takes time. On top of that, a strong relationship requires efffort, honesty and fully acceptance from both parts, none of which I believe Takahashi or Sunrise showed us.

Boat dates under the sunset and passionate kisses are just bells and whistles. Yes, it looks great on screen, but it doesn't necessarily equal to real love. Infatuation, sure. But love? It's easy to make you characters go on boat dates under the sunset. It's easy to make them kiss passionately. It's even easier for the writers, for the audience and for characters themselves to confuse it for love.

What's hard is to actually take the time to create, develop, test and expand a romantic connection. To show how deep it runs instead of just telling. To make it unfold and progress and grow stronger before our eyes. To make it dynamic rather than stagnant. Inuyasha and Kikyo didn't have that at all, be it in the manga, be it in the anime.

Their relationship was based on mutual loneliness, on seeing each other through rose colered glasses and of the fundamentally wrong idealization of the life they thought they'd have together.

That being said, here's my unsolicited advice: if you're anything like me, I can totally understand why you'd feel the need to try and defend your point of view, especially if the person asked you to explain it in good faith.

However, even if your interpretation of the Inukik relationship was way off — which, again, I don't believe it is — remember that you don't owe anyone an explanation for your writing choices, but you do owe it to yourself to write what feels right. It's your story to tell and you can tell it any way you see fit.

I know our takes on this matter aren't particularly popular within the fandom, but they are just as valid. I lost count of how many Inukag fanfics I've read where Inukik was written to be a much bigger thing than I personally believe it originally was, but even though I disagree with that interpretation, I'm also not entitled to an explanation other than... that's the author's vision. And that's okay.

The important thing was that people had fun and were proud of what they wrote. As they should, because it takes courage to post your stories online. And if I'm bothered by an specific story to the point of not being able to enjoy it, that's my problem and I should probably search for something closer to my own interests to read.

Anyway... I can't wait to read If We Fall Anyway. It has been on my to read list for a while now and I'm sure I'll love it.

[thedragonchilde]

G Gundam meta notes part... The last one! Episodes 45-49

"Rain's Crisis: Return Of The Devil Gundam"

-not to downplay your stakes, George, but you learned that you didn't have to hang everything on that sense of duty you fought for, so of course you're the most likely to feel fulfilled even though you lost

-I heard that passive-aggression, Argo

-dammit I have to rip off my headphones every time Domon sobs

-okay, what was that? Shuffle Alliance empathy?

-I still maintain that Chibodee's crack about "if you can't decide, then I'll get Rain and make her mine" was specifically to get under Domon's skin and get the guy to do something - I mean, am I the only one who hears the sheer level of "ughhhh you idiot" in his voice?

-Sai is so upset over this!! I would almost make a joke about his ship sinking, but for real, this seems to hit a nerve with him!

-I know that the dub is swear-free, but I really would've loved that "Jesus" in this voice

-I'm pretty sure I have that A/N scene memorized at this point, and I have meta about it already so I don't want to repeat myself

-okay so under what circumstances do people get sentenced to stasis?

-"YOU FREAK"

-"RING THE BELL, DOMON KASSHU"

"Devil Colony Activated: Attack Of The Shuffle Alliance" / "Earth's S.O.S.: Rescue Gundam Federation" / "God Gundam's Great Triumph: A Hopeful Future; Ready, Go!"

-I think there's room to say something about the contrast of a destructive rivalry (Drs Kasshu vs Mikamura) to all the constructive ones we see

-Chibodee going Leeroy Jenkins once again - and bruh didn't you just say "don't be careless" a few minutes ago?

-OH GOOD, TIME TO SCREAM ABOUT THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP

-"I heard that Major Ulube was shredded, that Major Ulube had an eight-pack"

-awkwardly long laughter to fill in where nobody wants to say "we care about you, you idiot"

-I have at least half a feeling about, in a group setting, Chibodee being the one to pull out Domon's words in a tight spot, and most of it is in the delivery

-LEEROY GODDAMN JENKINS

-Shirley looks like she's about to vomit at the sight of DG!Ulube

-I am eating up these vocal performances!!

-Domon has had so fucking much asked of him, of course he's gonna stick his neck out for what little he has left of his crumbling life

-god fucking damnit I wish this ship had been built up… better? More evenly? Not been stomped on so hard by Domon's fuckery before coming back to it? (Because honestly I could almost buy it by the end of Guyana, and then…) Honest to God I want to like this more, and I like the potential that lives in the fucked-up circumstances that brought them together, but godfuckingdammit

-I find it amusing that, for Argo and Nastasha, even a cheek kiss is apparently too private to be shown onscreen