#he makes the decision to admit the video was him and simon

[catradoraism]

when edvin said wille was selfish this season and he couldn’t defend his actions i was expecting wille to do a lot worse??? there’s literally nothing he did this season that i wouldn’t call unjustifiable or selfish

[skamenglishsubs]

The evolution of Wilhelm's decisions across the seasons

While preparing to do my season 3 Subtext and Culture posts that are very single-episode focused, I was struck by another thought which is the recurring pattern with which Wilhelm breaks free in stages:

In season 1, Wilhelm is being moved to Hillerska as punishment, and at the start he's pretty much set on resigning himself to his fate. Except he meets Simon, which starts him on his his journey to freedom, as they hesitantly start something.

Erik dying is a huge setback, he tries to revert to being a straight role model, fails miserably, admits to himself he's really in love with another boy, and they start having a relationship in secret. That fails miserably, because of the leaked video, and ultimately because Simon rejects being in a secret relationship.

But he decides that he wants to try having an actual relationship with another boy, despite the royal expectations. He chooses Simon, discarding the idea that a crown prince can't be queer.

In season 2, Wilhelm is tentatively exploring other relationships with other members of the upper class, who presumably wouldn't have a problem with a hidden relationship.

Meanwhile, Simon is apparently in a public relationship with Marcus, this causes Wilhelm to be consumed by jealousy, and all his other relationship attempts fail miserably. He doesn't want someone else, he wants Simon. And eventually Simon comes around to accepting being in a hidden relationship with Wilhelm, if that's the only way it could work.

But he decides that he wants to try being open about having a relationship with another boy, despite the royal expectations. He chooses Simon, discarding the idea that the monarchy can dictate his public image.

In season 3, both Wilhelm and Simon are trying to make their public relationship work, and they overcome the awkwardness of being seen together at school at least.

They try to combine Wilhelm's role as crown prince with their relationship. He tries doing the job, the charity foundation, the formal birthday dinner while including Simon, and it fails miserably because of the intense pressure that's being put on him due to his role, and due to him and his family's inability to deal with their grief after Erik.

So the show slowly moves to this inevitable depressing conclusion where Wilhelm resigns himself to his fate. He says goodbye to Simon, makes up with his family, and appears to accept his duty.

But he decides fuck all that shit, despite the royal expectations. He chooses Simon, discarding the entire monarchy, finally breaking free all the way.

The show is filled with points in the story where Wilhelm could have made a different choice, veering off his path. He slips up a bunch of times, he chooses to break up after Erik dies, he chooses to make out with Felice, he chooses his duty to spite August. But he gets there in the end, he makes enough good decisions, and each one brings him closer and closer to freedom.

[randomsmilingpotatoes]

i think season 2 did such a great job at showing an alternative life for all the characters. and i want to talk about what that means for wilhelm and simon.

Simon, of course, is most obvious. The thing with Marcus is, I believe he was written to have manipulative traits so that we would continue to root for Wilhelm. It meant that we didn't care when Simon cheated, because we knew he was better anyway. It also explained why Simon even stayed with him in the first place, since he realised quite early on that he wasn't ready for anything serious and that he was still harbouring feelings for Wille.

But I want to put Marcus' toxicity aside for a moment. He otherwise represents a perfect man for Simon, technically. He's a local, he didn't grow up on money, his dates are chilling eating pizza with the speakers blaring, singing karaoke, and hanging out in his place. He made it clear he was interested in Simon from the start, and didn't have a problem being out, because being out wasn't something that affected his life. Both Simon's friends and his mum support the relationship, and you can tell this is because he fits their ideal of who Simon should be with and who fits better into their lives.

Simon sees this life, he sees the ease of living he could have. But he still knows deep down that his heart lies with Wille, and this is what leads him to pursue Wille back after he begins to lose him. He chose a life with Wilhelm.

Wilhelm actually got a glimpse of multiple alternative lifestyles. Now I don't believe that Wille made a move on Felice because he viewed her as an easier life, however, she has always represented this. Ever since the beginning of the show, Felice existed as a potential love interest, in the eyes of everyone else. But in season one, we relatively ignore this, because we know Wille's feelings lie elsewhere.

But in season 2, the prospect of Wilhelm and Felice being a couple appears more tangible. While we, the viewers, are focused on Wille's relationship with Simon, the other students have all but forgotten about it. While Wilhelm himself is focused on Simon as well, this leads to him spending a lot of alone time with Felice that the other students begin to question.

I'm not sure at what point during that scene in his room that Wilhelm decided to try to replicate his time with Simon, or if it was a conscious decision at the time or if it just happened. But it's interesting that he does do this. Now, this ultimately leads to him realising that he cannot replicate the feelings or connection he has with Simon, and Felice admitting that she partially only liked him because he was a prince. So between the two of them, they know where they stand.

But the Forest Ridge boys' reaction is something else. The way they chanted and celebrated for Wille and Felice was something he never received with Simon. Of course, his relationship was private, but we know that it would not have had the same reaction anyway. Especially since they pushed this whole show about the hookup with Felice, with Simon sitting right there.

Wille is unlabelled, and remains that way. We don't know, if he didn't know Simon, whether he has the potential to have feelings for girls or not. So in a realistic sense, this storyline is irrelevant. But it represents a life that he could choose to lead, if he wanted. And he would have the public support of everyone around him.

Nils played such an important role this season in showing a life Wille could also lead. He shows Wille that there are many queer people in their societal class, who are simply keeping it quiet. He shows that Wille can choose to date guys, that there are other queer guys out there who would be willing to stay publicly closeted with him. Guys that would understand why he denied the video, because they themselves would do the exact same thing. Nils even makes this life attainable, by inviting Wille to come on holiday with him and meet people there. And I think, if Simon had not accepted Wille back, this is probably the way he would have gone. But it's not what he wanted.

Wille never wanted to deny the video. He wanted to not say anything, but then when he did have to speak publicly about it, he wanted to say it was him, because he wanted to be with Simon. But he was manipulated, and also not quite ready to come out.

The Queen also presented a different option for Wilhelm. He could come out, he could even be with Simon, if he wanted. But he had to wait til he was eighteen to be public. This is fairly realistic, and probably could have even been a viable option in Wilhelm's and even Simon's eyes, if the video never happened. If he had gotten to control his story all the way through, instead of being outed and having to deny his sexuality in the process. But he shouldn't have to wait to control his own narrative, when someone else already took that away from him.

The speech at the end of season one is Wille's opportunity for a redo. He can reclaim his own power, and tell the world it was him. He is in love with a boy. And in doing that, he chose a life with Simon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wilhelm and Simon both had the opportunity to lead an easier life. They could still be in queer relationships, but with people that fit into their supposed societal class, people that their friends and family approved of. Throughout this time apart, they were both shown that they could both attain this life.

But they chose not to.

They chose each other. Because they realised that no matter what hurdles they have to go through, that they are worth it for each other. They are a couple worth fighting for.

[acesofspadess]

The Lead Up

summary: the band grows closer together during their first few months at the X-factor

Worth The Risk Masterlist

Living with the boys was truly the best. They didn’t treat you any differently because you were a girl, it seemed like they tried a little harder to rough you up because you were a girl, and you always met their match.

There was around a month from boot camp- where the band was formed- from the first episode of the season, and another month after that where the episode that showed you forming would air.

During those months Simon had become a quick father to the group. He had a soft spot for you and everyone could tell. Through the time you were there you had some ups and downs. Your performance at Simon’s house was rough as Louis had arrived only 5 minutes prior and all of you were nervous that he wouldn't make it, or scared, as he was in hospital. You were both. Louis and you had become very close in the short time, it wasn’t like siblings, you didn’t know what it was, but you and Louis liked it so it didn’t matter.  You and all the boys had really grown together. You, Harry, and Niall seemed to gravitate towards each other simply because you had all met prior to formation. 

“My head is saying it's a risk,” Simon paused looking at you all. “But my heart is saying you deserve a shot, and that’s why it’s been difficult. So I’ve made a decision.” You all stood there arms wrapped around each other, waiting anxiously. “I’ve gone with my heart, you’re through.” It hit you all immediately as you jumped up and hugged each other before sprinting to Simon who was laughing softly. The boys followed you as you turned it into a group hug. No one could see through their tears of pure joy. You held Harry as he cried into his arm knowing exactly how he felt.

A day after the bootcamp episode aired you Louis and Harry decided to do a twitcam video. You had to admit Harry looked awfully cute with his beanie on. You sat on the opposite end of the bed of Louis before he was squishing your cheeks making you come over to him. The stream was filled with prank calls, Louis yelling and singing, and lots of laughing. 

A few weeks later you had moved into the X-factor house. You had Beverly come and help move your stuff from the house into the new one- her college courses wouldn’t start for another month-. One thing you loved was that the boys wanted you to bunk with them, and you gladly agreed. There were three sets of bunk beds for you to sleep on. You opted for a bottom bunk and Beverly bought you a ‘privacy’ cover that would block out the view into your bunk, and you actually appreciated that.

Bentley was back at college so you didn’t see a lot of him, but you made sure to talk all the time. Nan and Pap ended up opening the bakery they always wanted and you were beyond estactic to see the photo - among with many others of you guys- in the letter they sent you.

Bentley did keep his promise and got your tag number tattooed across his left collar bone. He mailed some polaroids of you and him and you and Beverly to put up wherever you could. Of course there was insistent teasing from Liam and Louis about you and Bentley’s relationship, but it was truly platonic. He was your best friend.

It was crazy how much time had passed between the start of the show and now you guys were headed into the live shows. You had all decided to do some Video Diaries to let the fans in on how you guys were doing on show.

“Hi, we're One Direction.” Louis started the video sitting next to you. “This is our video diary.” you said after him. “You can come back here every week to find out what we’ve been up to, how we're feeling and everything that's going on.” Somehow during Harry's speech Niall and Louis started messing with his hair and you couldn't help but join. You were all essing sound until Liam got back on track.

“Alright what's happening this week? We've moved into the x-factor house which is really exciting and I’ve been waiting a long time for this." Everyone smiled at Liam as he had been through this before. “We've got a decent room in the house. It's not the biggest-” it seemed with that that everyone voiced their opinion on how bad the room was. “It's okay because we're all enjoying ourselves and all having a laugh.” You looked up to Zayn as he spoke, resting your head on his knees. “Sharing a room with 5 of your best friends.” Harry jokingly sapped and the rest of you joined in on mockery. 

“We’ve been practising hard, uh, it's a good song. You lot like it?” they all voiced their opinions to you and you continued. “Yeah it's a good song, we really like the song.”

“I think we’ve had a lot of preparation now, the times ticking by and we just can't wait to get on the stage. Show everyone what we can do as a group.” you watched louis as he spoke with a small smile. “If you’ve got any questions to ask us just leave them down below and we'll get back to yah.” Liam closed out with all you pointing to the imaginary border below you. “See you guys.” Harry waved and you all waved shouting goodbyes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Worth The Risk Masterlist

tags:

@youcan-nolonger-run @ravenclawdirectioner

@luxiorchive @maeflowers653  @purple9950 @forkmeniall @nathalielovesonedirection @hopsydaisy @shortie-niya 

[loren91]

Young Royals and the three act structure, Part two

Here we go again! Last time we spoke about how season one is constructed within the three-act structure. If you haven’t read the previous post I’d recommend you do so, because I’m not gonna explain each plot point again. Now we shall look at how this applies to the rest of the show, and based on that make a small prediction about season three.

So now that we’re all up to speed, let’s get to it!

I wanna take a moment first to consider Wille’s Want vs Need in regard to season two. The Want hasn’t really changed - He still wants to be with Simon. Although we are now aware of his Need, because of how the previous season ended, his struggle now is more about how to get there. Essentially, coming to terms with taking accountability and committing to his values. Consider where he’s at the start of the season, compared to the end. In episode one he calls his mother and literally blames her and the court for everything. Missing the point that it was his own lack of communication that drove Simon away from him in the first place. He’s not ready to take accountability yet. That’s why he can’t have what he wants. In the end though, in episode six, that’s exactly what he does. He admits he was in the video with Simon, to correct what he did wrong. The emotional journey he’s been through this season pushes him to actively make decisions based on his own beliefs, not letting the crown manipulate him anymore. Wille has become fully aware of what he Needs.

We continue our structure analysis with season two. And I gotta be honest for a second, I struggled a bit identifying some of these beats. They’re not as grand as they were in the previous season, making the structure a bit less obvious. The way I see it, the second act this time around is veeery long. But once again, if you disagree with me, let’s chat!

Act 1

Act tension - Can Wille and Simon resume their relationship?

Sequence 1

Set up/Hook - Since this is season two, we already know most of the characters and there’s no need to go deep about what is plaguing Wilhelm, we know what happened last season. But when we catch up with him, it’s clear he’s had a terrible Christmas. He’s sad and alone in the castle, doesn’t speak to his mother, and is very angry at August. Then he returns to Hillerska.

Sequence tension - What’s gonna happen when Wille and Simon reunite?

Point of attack - Wille is eager to be around Simon again, but Simon is trying to avoid him and even asks for space.

Inciting incident - Wille finds out about Simon’s date with Marcus.

Sequence 2

Sequence tension - What is Wille gonna do with this new information?

Things are moving rather quickly here because again, this is the sequel, there’s no need to linger on the set up. So we are immediately faced with the first major plot point, the Lock-in - Wille calls the royal court and blames them for everything that’s gone wrong so far. He also makes the decision to actively fight them, by threatening to renounce the crown. This also establishes the royal court as the main antagonist for this season. August is still an antagonist, but no longer the main one. The main tension is also established.

Act 2

Act tension -  How will he win Simon back?

Sequence 3

The protagonist starts this sequence having learned something new - Simon is making attempts to move on. Wille responds with petty anger. Then we get a pinch point - Jan-Olof shows up to remove Wille from Hillerska. Demonstrating the royal court's power. 

Sequence tension - Can Wille stand up for himself against the crown?

Sequence 4

The build-up towards the midpoint - Felice advises Wille to be around Simon as much as possible, to keep trying, and that he does. Like bargaining with Simon about having a secret relationship, helping Simon get a spot on the rowing team, and confronting him about his relationship with Marcus.

Sequence tension - Is Simon actually moving on?

And here comes the dreaded midpoint once again - Wille sees Simon and Marcus kiss. He now believes he’s lost Simon forever. What we could call “A false defeat”. This changes his aim from winning Simon back, to attempting to move on himself. 

Sequence 5

Wille is trying to adjust to this new reality where he can no longer hope for Simon to come back to him. We could identify two pinch points here. One is the locker room fight, where Simon admits he can’t accept Wille's title. And the other is when Simon shows up at the ball with Marcus. Both of these remind Wille of the fact that he can’t be with Simon. 

Sequence tension - Can Wille let Simon go?

Again, some subplots advance here - Sara and August’s relationship intensifies.

Sequence 6

Starting with a plot point, a moment of reflection for our protagonist - Despite Wille’s attempts to let go, Simon runs after him at the ball. They end up kissing.

Sequence tension - They still love each other!

Wille is overjoyed by this turn of events, and for a moment believes that they can be together again.

Sequence 7

Just like last time, Young Royals drags out the drama by adding an extra sequence here. A pinch point - Another reminder of the royal court's power. Kristina telling Wilhelm that August is next in line to the throne after him. Their argument in the music room could also be accounted for here.

Sequence tension - Wille is starting to realise how much his title affects Simon.

Wille’s offer to give up the crown could be more considered as a character-building moment, rather than a plot point. And Simon’s decision after this is more of a plot point in his own storyline.

The crisis that serves as build-up to act three - August threatens to report Simon for the drugs, if he reports August for the video. Wille reacts very strongly and takes it as a personal attack. 

The end of act two, where the protagonist faces their biggest challenge yet - The aftermath of the field scene. Wille is alone again, Simon isn’t talking to him, and his title has badly hurt Simon once again. On top of all this, he has to do the speech. 

Act 3

Act tension - Can Wille do the speech?

Sequence 8

Here the protagonist will make a big decision - Though perhaps is more Simon making the decision, to have a secret relationship.

Then we have the last major plot point, the twist - Despite the fact that Wille absolutely does not want to do the speech, he does it anyway, because he can’t let August be rewarded. 

Sequence 9

Sequence tension - What is he gonna say in this speech?

The climax - Wille stops, considering the contents of the speech, and disagrees with it. He decides to admit it was him in the video. 

Resolution - The smile they share I guess? But it’s still an open ending since this monumental decision leaves us with many question marks. Preparation for season 3.

The show obviously consists of so much more than just these beats, like subplots and character-building moments. The purpose of these things should be to strengthen the characters, as well as add more depth to the main plot. Take our beloved fish scene as an example, it doesn’t really do much to advance the plot. But it’s a very good moment for solidifying Wille and Simon’s relationship! Which is important to keep us, the audience, invested in their story. 

Subplots are quite interesting and tricky to get right. They tend to follow the same structure as the main plot. It’s also common for subplots to cross paths with the main plot as well, and sometimes even fundamentally affect it. However, since the main plot should always focus on developing the protagonist, you shouldn’t let any of the other character’s arcs hijack it. But you also generally don’t wanna keep the two narratives completely separate, because then the subplot might end up feeling forced and meaningless. A great example from Young Royals is the drug plotline between Simon and August. Let’s break it down real quick.

Act 1 - the deal

Set up/Hook - August approaches Simon. Clearly, they are not friends. Inciting incident - August asks Simon to get booze for him. Lock in - Even though Simon initially declined the offer, he eventually agrees to help August.

Act 2 - the money issues

Pinch point - August returns and now asks for drugs, despite being late with the payment. Midpoint - Simon learns August can’t pay him back because August is broke. Pinch point - Simon gives August more drugs to sell, so he may pay him back. Crisis - August threatens to frame Simon for the drugs after the party. (The plot lines cross and affect each other)

Act 3 - the threat 

Climax - Wille manages to convince the others to frame Alexander instead. Resolution - Simon is safe (for now)

The reason why I don’t account for Simon going to see his father here is because I’d argue that them reconnecting is its own subplot, more related to Simons relationship with Sara, than it is to the August situation. It’s also an unresolved plot line still. Micke showing up at Lucia I suspect to only be their crisis point, or maybe even midpoint? Depending on how the rest of it plays out in season three of course.

Another neat trick writers may use with their subplots, is to parallel the main plot, either to highlight the themes of the story, or to explore alternative outcomes. For example, the Sara and August plotline at times resembles Wille and Simon’s plot, for very good reasons. Like how August and Wille are from similar backgrounds, yet they’re very different people. Especially at the end of season two. By that point the emotional journey August has been on, falling in love with Sara and reflecting on his wrongdoings, you’d assume he would have learned something or displayed some kind of character growth. But nope. Instead, he doubles down and causes further intentional harm to the people he’s already hurt. While Wille, in the same episode actively works to redeem himself to Simon. This is meant to strengthen Wille’s position as the protagonist we should root for, by comparing him to August, who remains to be an awful person. So even though it may feel like season two is giving more screen time to the secondary characters, that still has a purpose for the overall narrative.

Young Royals in general like to use their secondary characters to highlight the overall theme of the show. As @darktwistedgenderplural pointed out to me, widening the view of Wille’s Want vs Need to the want of being loved for who you are, and the need to be your most authentic self, we find that the same principle can be applied to all the five main characters. Despite all their journeys being unique, their wants and needs remain universal. They are all there to strengthen the theme of the show.

So what was the point of all this rambling? I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the story consists of exactly three seasons. The way I see it, since the three-act structure can be found in every element of this show, each season is also meant to represent one of the acts. Season one is the set up, season two is the confrontation, and season three will be the resolution. If we try to map out the entire show that we have so far in the structure format, you can quite quickly find the pattern.

Season 1

Set up - Wille is sent to Hillerska where he meets Simon and falls in love. Inciting incident - The video is released. Lock-in - Wille does the statement and Simon breaks up with him.

Season 2

Pinch point - The royal court proves to be a major obstacle to Wille getting what he wants. Midpoint - Wille and Simon kiss at the Valentine’s ball, proving they still have feelings for each other. Pinch point - The royal court is still trying to manipulate him, making him do the speech. Moment of reflection - Wille considers how much his title affects Simon and chooses to come out.

My theory is that at the start of season three, we’ll get to the Crisis point of the over-arcing plot. Where our protagonist will face their biggest challenge yet and be at their lowest point before the climax. And hopefully, we’ll get a proper resolution this time around! (Something more than a cliffhanger at least, please and thank you)

So even though it’s sad that our lovely little show is coming to an end, I think it’s worth looking at the bigger picture here. The writers clearly intended for it to have three seasons so that we would have a satisfying story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. There are so many examples of shows that self-sabotaged by running for way too long and not being able to keep consistent quality. But the Young Royals team got to stay loyal to their story and tell it in their way, and I think that’s beautiful.

Young Royals is a love letter to storytelling, and you can’t convince me otherwise ❤

[delta-orionis]

i wanna hear about the simon aroace beam pls

(Tumblr is apparently trying to silence me because this is the second time I'm writing out this answer. Anyway.)

I already made a post about my aroace Simon headcanons several years ago, but I'm more than happy to talk about it again. (Also I'm not sure if you specifically ever beat SOMA, so you're probably unfamiliar with some of the points I made in the aforementioned post. I'll do my best to explain.)

(Continued under the cut)

Simon is an interesting character because he's an everyman. I often joke about how he's Just Some Guy who's having the worst day ever. He's had a pretty average life (aside from the recent loss of his friend and traumatic brain injury), and it doesn't come up often in the text of the game. He brings it up sometimes, but it isn't the focus of his dialogue. He was thrust from an unremarkable life in 2015 into Undersea Robot Hell and is forced to make some serious decisions about the fate of the human race, so he has other priorities.

His characterization as an everyman combined with the fact that we don't actually know a lot about his life before the events of SOMA make Simon a very easy character to project your own experiences onto. This makes him a good fit for a video game protagonist because it makes it easy for the player to relate to him. It also means that it's easy to fill in the blanks of his characterization with your own ideas. I've personally seen lots of different interpretations of his gender and sexuality; I've seen people headcanon him as straight, gay, bisexual, etc etc. His gender is also an entire can of worms; I've seen people make compelling arguments that he's a trans man, a trans woman, and even nonbinary and agender.

Anyway... this was all preface for my thesis that Simon is aroace. The easy explanation is that I, an aroace person, find it easy to project my own experiences on to him in a way that makes sense to me. I've talked to a few other aroace SOMA fans about this, and they've agreed. (This is what I mean by the aroace beam. I simply enjoy headcanoning characters I like as aroace, because I, too, am aroace. I'm hitting them with my beam attack. Metaphorically. I've now rendered the joke unfunny by explaining it.)

(Side note- there's a running joke in the SOMA server I run that many SOMA fans are asexual. There certainly are a number of them in that specific server, however this also might be confirmation bias, because I haven't done a fandom-wide survey or anything like that. It also might be because I promote the server heavily on my blog, and as an openly aroace person, I probably have a statistically significant amount of aspec followers who are then compelled to join the server I help run. More research is required, I guess.)

The longer explanation for this headcanon is that, within the text of the game, Simon doesnt' appear to be very concerned with sex or romance.

In the dream sequence at the beginning of the game, Simon tells Ashley he wants to tell her something, and she responds with "please don't make this weird". A lot of people tend to interpret this as Simon working up the courage to tell Ashley he has a crush on her. The scene ends abruptly before this can be confirmed. However, there are a few unused voice lines in the game files that extend the scene a bit. Simon was originally supposed to say "I'm sorry" to Ashley before the dream ended. This implies that he wanted to apologize to her for involving her in the car accident that ended her life, not confess a crush.

There is another dream sequence later in the game, the context being that Simon is under the influence of the WAU and is being shown an idealized version of his life. He sees Ashley, alive and standing in his apartment, where she declares that the two of them are in love. Simon seems confused about this and wakes up shortly after.

I will admit that this scene implies he has romantic feelings for her. However, in the post I made a few years ago, I talked about how a common experience for a lot of aroace people is not being able to distinguish between different types of attraction and how this can lead to aces convincing themselves that they have a crush on someone when what they really desire is a platonic relationship:

I think what sells it the most for me is that, during the dream sequence with Ashley, when Ashley tells him that they’re a couple, he sounds confused. You could interpret this as general confusion (he doesn’t know how Ashley is suddenly alive again or why they’re suddenly in a relationship), but I like to think that he’s conflicted about his feelings for her. He knows he wants to be close to her, but he’s not sure if being a romantic couple is exactly what he wants. If the dream sequence is supposed to be an idealized scenario, then why is he conflicted about the thing he supposedly wants?

Simon strikes me as the type of guy who isn’t super informed about LGBT stuff. He probably knows a little bit about general LGBT stuff, but maybe hasn’t learned about asexuality, or he doubts that it could apply to him. He might think that, because he wants to be close with Ashley, that the next logical step would be a romantic relationship, even if his feelings are actually just platonic. (I know from personal experience growing up asexual that I would sometimes invent crushes on people, when in reality my feelings were just platonic and I actually just wanted to be their friend. From what I’ve heard, this is a common experience for a lot of aro and ace people from before they learned about asexuality/aromanticism.)

I recognize that this interpretation might be bending canon a bit. Occam's razor would imply that he simply has a romantic crush on Ashley, but that's no fun.

SOMA is a game that is, overall, pretty uninterested in exploring romantic or sexual relationships. It also features two main characters of different genders (Simon and Catherine) who develop a strong platonic relationship over the course of the game. I, personally, find it a breath of fresh air, especially when a lot of science fiction and cyberpunk stories have a heavy emphasis on sex. (I'm definitely not bitter about all the weird sexism present in cyberpunk novels like Neuromancer, for example...)

I suppose it makes sense, then, that the game would have a sizeable amount of aroace fans. I personally think there is something inherently queer about the game- although not explicit in the text, transhumanist stories like SOMA can be read as metaphors for queer experiences. Questioning one's identity and humanity is something that a lot of LGBT people do on a regular basis, so it makes perfect sense that they would relate to a character from a game exploring those topics, albeit through a science fiction lens.

Anyway. Very, very long story short, I hit Simon with my aroace beam attack because I think it's fun. He means a lot to me and I like thinking about him.

(Don't get me started on what I think about his gender. He's got so much going on in that department and absolutely no time to come to terms with it all. That's a post for another day.)

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk, I hope you enjoyed reading, etc etc. I'm going to go back to rotating Simon in my brain now.

[shortpplfedup]

If you came to Young Royals for a ship, I suggest perhaps you walk on by. But if you came here for a story bayBEE are you in the right place. My favourite misfits, loners and outcasts are back with a vengeance in season 2 and wreaking the kind of havoc you can only get from people whose frontal lobes haven't finished developing. There's poor decision making! Ill-advised sexual escapades! Crushing anxiety! Threats and intimidation! Offers of procurement! Snitching! On-the-nose literature assignments! Unexpected coming out! Literal horse-trading! 18th century fashion! Romantic lesbian poetry! FIRE! At one point somebody pulls a gun! It's a rollercoaster ride of a season and I for one had a fabulous time riding it. My favourite bits:

Felice

Having decided to be a bad bitch for a living, Felice spends the entire season just doing that. Not one single solitary fuck was given by our girl in 6 entire episodes, as she snatched wigs and came for people's entire careers left and right. She started the season by telling her mother to kick rocks whilst getting a sickening sew-in, admitted to both sluttery and petty theft in the midst of selling a priceless racehorse, called both of her besties on their shitty behaviour towards her, and was the best looking, vibesiest person at that unbaked costume party (and for that matter in every scene she was in). She remains my absolute favourite character in this entire show.

Nils

Nils spent the entire season trying desperately and unsuccessfully to interest Wille in his high -mileage-but-at-least-it's-rich peen, to the point of offering to procure sexual partners on his behalf for what I assume would be some kind of Eyes-Wide-Shut action at a ski chalet somewhere? Idk, he got real weird real fast this season.

Marcus

A perfect cinnamon roll who did everything right including telling Simon to get over his victim complex.

Sara

Listen, say what you will but I HOWLED with laughter when she humped August's leg and then went 'yeah ok, I get it now, let's bone'. Poor fucked-up Sara, striving for a social status she hasn't a chance of achieving, or in the infinitesimal chance that she achieves it, maintaining. On the one hand I felt bad for her that it all collapsed around her, but on the other hand the moment she literally got into bed with August there was only one way this was going to go. Speaking of...

August

What a sweaty, cringey, desperate, pathetic mess of a human being. I enjoyed Wille taking away everything that mattered to him brick by brick while he cowered in fear that the men in grey suits were coming to put him down like Old Yeller at any moment. I REALLY enjoyed Wille menacing him with a loaded shotgun while Simon just watched in silence. August falling immediately for the first person who was nice to him, August getting an attitude the second Kristina put him in the line of succession, August convincing Alexander to take the fall for the video, August, August, August...what would this show be without the most pathetic villain alive?

Simon and Wille

Man this was Edvin Ryding's season, he put on a fucking CLINIC. 'I got a haircut' you awkward GOD. Wille was wound so tight this season I wondered when he would finally snap and of course he held it for when it would really count. Omar sold me on Simon's abject misery and righteous anger, but Edvin...Edvin was something otherworldly this season. I almost couldn't breathe watching him go THROUGH it.

All in all, Young Royals absolutely delivered on Season 2 and they had better announce Season 3 ASAP!

[sarcasticslothy]

The following will be a young royals post season two ramble.

It contains ALL of the spoilers. I have put it under tags AND under a cut.

I repeat do not read this if you are going to watch season two of young royals and don't want to be spoiled.

First of all, I loved the season. It was oh so different to season one for many reasons but it's really a kick on the gut kinda season. There's a LOT of pain - by so many characters but particularly Wilhelm who seems to have a shadow of hell following him. The acting was brilliant by all - and I really loved that we got to see some characters that we only got minor parts from in the first season.

For Wilmon fans it'll feel a lot more light on in the more romantic/cute scenes but I the absolute symbolism behind Wille closing the curtains and then us getting to see nothing else after it was actually kind of perfect? Their love was just for them now.

Yes, they both try the moving on thing. Simon with Marcus and Wille with... Felice (I screamed when it happened!) I never felt myself hating Marcus as a characters even though he was in the middle of my favourite couple. He was a 'perfect' kinda guy for Simon but there was just no way he could compete with the history they have.

Just quietly, when Simon told him the fish don't have names? That line actually made me gasp. Bravo.

Now to August who is SUCH a confusing character to me. He switches from someone trying their hardest to be good to absolute dickhead so quickly it gives me whiplash but the way that he can gloss over the feelings of other people can't be ignored. Obviously, number one enemy in regards to doing the video and in the first two episodes we see him kind of accept himself as being Wille's punching bag. And then there are moments where he gets his little smirk on and you know evil is coming and you backtrack every thought you had about him trying to be good. The scene when he gets Alexander to cover for him is just SO widely true to that bad side of him that Sara said it best "you really are clueless"

Sara, Sara, Sara what are you doing giiiiirl?! The whole time she was falling for him, you could see it was the clouded eyes of first love guiding her every decision. I just couldn't believe that it was allowing her to glaze over the fact this guy released a SEX tape of your BROTHER! I hope she gets her revenge and is able to help Simon make something right - next season 🙏

Feline was SUCH a good friend to Wille and the whole female group as a whole were very entertaining and good for a laugh although I feel like she kinda of got forgotten about as a character? We had her quitting riding and the whole storyline of her selling the horse but there was no explanation further, no talking about what she wanted to do and no real solution to why she was quitting riding besides she didn't like it? Was that even it?!

But really, it all comes together in episode 6. SO much happens so quickly. That scene at the gun range?! Wille!! That boy can really fly off the handle. I sometimes struggled to understand Wille's very emotional reactions. His outburst in an early episode (1 or 2?!) Over the phone was definitely something! But I kind of felt him rise to the moment that allowed him to pick up that gun.

But the pièce de résistance of this season and indeed the ending moment is Wille's speech. How satisfying to see him finally choose his OWN way forward. Not Simon's. Not the royal family. Not his mother's. Not August's. You couod say his decision may not totally solve his problems but the absolute satisfaction on his face as he admits it was him and turns to Simon. Aaahhhhhhh. The dual smiles. I just felt so happy for them. So relieved.

Other thoughts:

- Malin, how could you?! How dare you break the snow globe by physically pulling Wille? You just disappeared off every fanfic in the future as the tough, but lovable security guard 😅

- Sara being so damn upfront with August in his room after just kissing him. That's definitely a whole other level of confident

- the whole little grouping of scenes with Wille looking at Simon on his phone, going to the fence with the sunset and water behind him was beautiful.

- I thought I'd find myself hating the queen more for putting her son in this obviously horrible position but I think I found there was a part of her that was clearly upset that she had no way to fix things for her son. No way to give him what he wanted without breaking away from tradition and a royal history that she is clearly responsible for keeping going

- Simon/Ayub/Rosh friendship ruling the damn show. The way they supported Simon and were a sounding board for him at every turn was so lovely! That little scene at the end with Ayub on the phone and them saying goodnight was so freaking sweet.

- "Did he just say he'd renounce the throne for you?!' That whole scene was SCREAM worthy

- The Hug! The I love you! The way that it bookended last season's final scene when Wille said it and reversed it. Yes yes yes! Gos they do closeness so well. The quiet moment of hands touching and skimming their faces against each other. And just breathing like they finally felt at home. Ahhh perfection

- oh Rousseau, I felt devastated when they took you away. Especially with that dickhead dad. Though now, you are owned by August so I don't know which is worse?!

- the school project! Talking to the teacher with the book in mind but the way they spoke about their situation to each other. The way they explained so much of their decisions, the way they felt. Ahhhh. Sara's 'she committed suicide' after was a little bit oh! Well. Right.

- this school is a little bit nuts to me. Don't get me wrong, obviously we are talking crazy money here but my god the events they have and the way they do meals and classes sometimes has me cracking up. Every time they stood when a teacher entered I just thought back to my school days when we barely looked in their direction 😅🤣

- every single fighting Wilmon scene broke my heart. The one in the locker room where Simon admits he might not be able to handle Wille and his position? Euuurrgghh hit me good, angst.

- August on the phone with jan-Olof (lemme hear you say old annoying guy!) When he asks August if he did anything thst wouod cause issue and August did nearly every single one 🤣🤣

Okay, this post is already ridiculous but I needed to express my feelings. I will abuse that repeat button on so many episodes. I really adored 6 - it was so drama full. But 4 was also a really great episode. Please, please give us season 3! Wilmon endgame is coming. I think there is still a crazy good story still there to unroll. I mean Wille's speech and Sara's decision alone require some resolution! Gimme gimme!

[daylightaftertherain]

alright sea bestie, i figured it out. i have a new taylor song to discuss with you... this ask is dedicated to...

AFTERGLOW (i'm in a lover mood recently, don't mind me)

let's get into it

I blew things out of proportion, now you're blue Put you in jail for something you didn't do I pinned your hands behind your back, oh Thought I had reason to attack, but no

(i feel like this goes for BOTH music room fight scenes, especially from s1. like wille immediately going on the offensive and then simon not staying to hear wille out when wille was obviously trying to figure things out. ALSO i JUST thought of it, their locker room fight in ep 4 when simon reveals that he can't necessarily accept wille for who he is) Fighting with a true love is boxing with no gloves Chemistry 'til it blows up, 'til there's no us

(how they can both kind of hit each other where it hurts. also how, going back to the locker room fight, that seems to be the moment when wille has to accept that he has to let simon go... even if simon doesn't realize this, nor actually wants it)

Hey It's all me in my head I'm the one who burned us down But it's not what I meant Sorry that I hurt you

(wille deciding to lie in his original statement and then coming back to simon to apologize about it and then AGAIN when he chooses not to tell simon about august)

I don't wanna do, I don't wanna do this to you I don't wanna lose, I don't wanna lose this with you I need to say, hey It's all me, just don't go Meet me in the afterglow

(despite how feeling it was the only option at the time, wille didn't want to lose simon because of his decision. he hopes that they can come back from it all, also gives s2 ep5 confession vibes at simon's house where he admits everything and apologizes and is like "i could be free to be with you")

It's so excruciating to see you low Just wanna lift you up and not let you go This ultraviolet morning light below Tells me this love is worth the fight, oh

(the fact that for a lot of s2 they can both see the other in pain but they also can't go to each other the way they want to. however in the end they both put their own feelings aside because they believe what they have is worth fighting for)

I lived like an island, punished you with silence Went off like sirens, just crying Why'd I have to break what I love so much? It's on your face, don't walk away, I need to say

(THIS is making me think of simon's arc in s2 of just realizing, again especially in the locker room and then again at the ball when wille walks away, that he's pushing wille away to the point of breaking and how this isn't what he wants even though it's what he thought he did. and how he can see what he's saying and doing is hurting wille)

Tell me that you're still mine Tell me that we'll be just fine Even when I lose my mind I need to say

(this part of the bridge gives me simon vibes and how he wants reassurance that after everything, wille still wants him and is still his, even if he's been with marcus)

Tell me that it's not my fault Tell me that I'm all you want Even when I break your heart

(whereas THIS part is wille and how he needs reassurance that wille is who simon wants and how, even if he broke simon's heart, simon still wants/needs/loves him)

anyways they make me insane, this song makes me insane, and i hope you enjoy the return of "miels rants about taylor swift songs and how they were written specifically for wilmon (or to hurt her)"

-miels 💜✨

MIELS I was just talking about the afterglow bridge with avie so this ask is perfect :’)

and YES I LOVE THISS AFTERGLOW IS SO WILMON CODED

and some more thoughts bc I’m insane over this song

“I blew things out of proportion, now you’re blue” blue is wille’s primary color and the symbol of greif and sadness, which he kind of pushes simon into after the denial, because even though simon was the one to break it off, the video and the denial both affected him mentally and emotionally, and now he’s “blue”

“put you in jail for something you didn’t do” ALSO reminds me of the locker room fight in s2ep4, because simon can’t accept wille’s title, but it’s something he never asked for in the first place, but wille also tries to blame the fact that simon has a “secret boyfriend” even though simon never agreed to it

alsooo this verse

It's so excruciating to see you low

Just wanna lift you up and not let you go

This ultraviolet morning light below

Tells me this love is worth the fight, oh

is so wille coded, like the “ultraviolet morning light” and all the good memories of mornings with simon that he holds onto in s2, and realizing that he needs to change and recognize what simon wants, and finally fighting for them in the jubilee speech?? poetic

and the “went off like sirens, just crying” and sirens being a warning sign before something bad happens, like the gun scene in ep6, and then “it’s on your face, don’t walk away” being wille hugging simon trying not to let him go, and simon pushing him away because he hasn’t let anyone see him cry or break down ;-;

anyway I’m always open to lover songs and wilmon, ty for the ask bestie <33

[blogger360ncislarules]

Talk about a 21st-century miracle. The faith-based series has converted a mass of impassioned viewers to rival any Yellowstone or The Walking Dead fanbase — without marquee stars or aggressive marketing. We’re of course talking about The Chosen, the first multi-season series to depict the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth (played by Jonathan Roumie) and his most fervent followers. The show’s first three seasons have been available for free via theChosen app and the Angel Studios website, as well as on streamers like Netflix and Prime Video, but you can now watch the series’ broadcast debut on The CW as it airs 24 divine weekly episodes from Sunday, July 16, through Christmas Eve.

“Over 100 million people have seen at least one episode,” creator Dallas Jenkins tells us after a busy day shooting a Season 4 episode in Goshen, Utah. (The series also films outside Dallas.) But he’s grateful for the boost of being on network television, noting that it helps the show “cross the chasm into audiences that have heard about it but haven’t known where to watch it.”

Elizabeth Tabish in The Chosen

The tale of how The Chosen came into existence is nearly as compelling as the greatest story ever told. “It was born out of failure,” Jenkins says with a laugh. After a feature film he directed didn’t do well, he dusted off a short film script about Christ’s birth from the perspective of the shepherds. The video went viral and, though Jenkins didn’t love the idea of crowdfunding to make a series, he had nothing to lose. At the end of the video, he gave viewers the opportunity to invest (not donate, he specifies), “and over 16,000 people around the world invested over $10 million for [what became] Season 1.” From there, he adds, “the word of mouth went crazy.”

The Chosen begins in 1st century Galilee with adult Jesus and introduces familiar Bible figures like the compassionate Mary Magdalene (Elizabeth Tabish), unsure tax collector Matthew (Paras Patel) and bold fishermen brothers Simon Peter (Shahar Isaac) and Andrew (Noah James), depicting how they become the Son of God’s loyal followers. In the first episode, for example, a distraught Mary Magdelene, using the name Lilith, fights personal demons and contemplates ending her life until she meets Jesus, who somehow knows her real name. “I was one way and now I am completely different,” she calmly tells curious religious leader Nicodemus (Erick Avari) in the second episode (July 23). “And the thing that happened in between was Him.”

In adapting stories like that, Jenkins knew merely retelling Scripture wouldn’t give it the “uniquely timely” perspective he was hoping to achieve so that it “doesn’t feel like a stiff melodrama. It feels like actual humanity.” He found inspiration not in other religious productions, but in long-running contemporary dramas that created an intimacy between characters and viewers over many episodes. (Seven seasons are planned for The Chosen.) “I’m not only a lover of the Bible, but I’m also a lover of television,” Jenkins notes. “I’m watching Succession at the same time that I’m writing the show. I’m watching Friday Night Lights, This Is Us. You look at these shows and you realize the time they take to build these characterizations, that’s their secret sauce. They don’t rush it.”

Filling the pivotal role of Jesus was thankfully not a problem — Roumie had worked with Jenkins before in shorts done for his church. But strapping on the sandals is a big responsibility. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around playing Jesus,” the actor admits. “There’s so much depth and layers and mystery to him.” But Jenkins has faith, noting that “casting Jonathan was the easiest decision in the world.”

[wasitroyal]

Anon regarding nils again 😅

I feel like this reasoning that maybe having nils on board might not be the best thing is our adult perspective though..(and I agree with you there!)

I just think that for a very overwhelmed 16 year old boy it can be comforting to hear that. Wille is very aware of the mistake he made which you also said (and I absolutely agree with that also!) and Nils saying that to admit it was him in the video is a lot to ask doesn’t change that, and I don’t think Wille thinks that either. I just think that it might be nice for him to hear that someone else understands why he made that mistake and that his decision doesn’t make him an awful human being..

And I’m actually not sure if simon would have been content with wille not making a statement at all no matter if wille told him in advance or not (again that doesn’t erase the fact that he didn’t was a shitty thing to do to simon…). I feel like deep down he wanted him to admit it.. but that’s a whole other topic 🙈😅

I totally get it. Wille must feel really alone and abandonded. It's nice he has people like Felice and Nils to talk to. Especially getting another queer perspective.

[willesworld]

on today's episode of young royals obsession:

i'm thinking about the post going around about how wille and simon are teenagers, and therefore make stupid decisions.

as someone who is still a teenager, i would like to add that teenagers will do anything (and i mean ANYTHING) to avoid taking responsibility for their actions. they will do whatever it takes to avoid consequences.

teenagers are not yet adults who can realise that by taking responsibility and apologising for something they've done, they can often solve a problem quickly and with less carnage. and they're old enough to recognise that dealing with consequences could lead to them losing something.

for example. in the argument scene about the drugs in the piano room, neither simon nor wille take responsibility for their actions. simon, because he is doing his best to avoid the consequences of dealing his dad's medications at school. wille, because he is doing his best to avoid the consequences of taking said drugs at school. but they both want something that they're not willing to lose. for wille, it's simon. for simon, it's his position at hillerska.

if both of them had owned up to each other in this scene and apologised for the role they had to play in The Drug Debacle, they could have easily worked the problem out together and *maybe* found a better solution. but both are trying to avoid blame, and thus they argue. wille ends up resorting to drastic measures to keep simon at hillerska (getting alex kicked out of school and shaming august in front of the society), and simon gives wille the silent treatment until the problem is solved.

we see this also at the end of season one when wille denies being in the video. we all know wille did, in fact, have sex with simon in his boarding school dorm room. but he denies it because he's trying to avoid consequences. he thinks that if he admits to it, the press won't leave him alone, he'll lose the approval of his mother, he'll fail to make erik proud/keep up his legacy. he also thinks that he won't lose simon if he denies it (because historically, simon has accepted him back even after he said he 'wasn't like that' or he 'couldn't do this anymore'). past experiences tell wille he can keep simon even if he denies the video.

so he makes the choice that he believes will have the least amount of consequences for him.

... but obviously that doesn't work out quite how wille planned.

[martynrandles]

“I ignored VAR call to help fellow ref Anthony Taylor” ⚽ Mike Dean | Up Front

TRIGGER WARNING: Footie Ref / VAR admits he's made shocking decisions / gambling / subliminal gambling advertising

Mike Dean is arguably the most recognisable Premier League referee there has ever been. The first to brandish 100 red cards, he is known for his eccentric approach, no look yellow cards, exaggerated step overs and banter with the players, there’s simply never been another match official like him. Mike joins the show to gives his most honest and open interview to date, discussing his 23-year-long refereeing career, his struggles with VAR, relationships with Premier League managers and much more. Expect brutal honesty, frank admissions and insight into why the new directives have been introduced at the start of the new season.

n.b. NB "nota bene" N.B. nb: I asked @talkSPORT for the name & / or the link to this show in the live chat on Jim White & Simon Jordan's YouTube live stream. The Mods/Admin have vanished, I'm told by an ex-mod that he'll tell me about "Mod-gate" asap. Long story short, someone in the chat decided to be really kind & helpful & replied to me: " Google search bar is a thing", to which I replied something along the lines of 'I'm an old fart & disabled, sometimes it's easier to ask for the link or name, please & thank you'. You know, to make it easier for me to find the podcast, there's one or two videos on that old YouTube website thingy-ma-bob. I searched, got nowhere, then went sailing / fishing for 4 days. Came home, switched the very old iMac on, cranked up YouTube & the podcast was top of my feed. Thank you AI for helping me when humans lacked the humanity to help or even be kind... or was that bellend AI, Bot or troll ?... Oh how I miss the old days when humans spoke face to face & were kind to random strangers.

(edit: my dislexia kicked in again, I noticed my interesting spelling of random (reandom) & changed it, no idea how many other words I messed up again. But as an Englishman who mostly reads American English I give up on attempting to learn to spell. At nearly 50 years old this old dog can't be taught this new trick ;)

[atpaftmoom-bily]

Thoughts about Erik, why Wilhelm wasn't allowed to come out, and more.

Be warned, this is long, confusing, and I'm not even sure if I made any valid points. But I had thoughts on Young Royals, with no one to talk to, so here you go.

I've seen various different takes on Erik and what people thought his reaction would have been if Willie had come out to him, most of them being positive, and some as well saying how sad it was that Willie never got to come out to his brother. I have a different take, but bear with me it's gonna take a second to get there.

Something that I found interesting in the first place was that when August found out it was Simon and not a girl, he just seemed shocked, but not in a homophobic way that I had kind of been expecting.

Additionally, let's take a look at the comments on the video, I've split them up into three different groups. General comments (disbelief, surprise, pity, etc.), comments sexualizing them, and negative comments. (I've translated these as well as I could as they were not all captioned, but if I've made a mistake feel free to let me know!)

General Comments "OMG Have you seen this?? The Prince is gay!!!!" "Who's the other guy?" "I'm dead" "Finally some news to put Sweden on the map!" "Poor boys, I feel sorry for them" "So clumsy to get caught on film" "I know where he lives!" "I think the video is fake" "Love for the boys"

Sexualizing Comments "Royal porn" "Sexy" "Love" "Sexiest video ever"

Negative Comments "How will the monarchy survive this?" "The end of the royal family, time for Sweden to become a republic!" "Never been ashamed about being Swedish until now" "Class traitor! Your mother cries for your sins"

Now, there are quite a few things I want to point out about Sweden that I feel should be taken into account here. Of course, we don't know the exact dates that the show took place, but we do know it is modern-day, and though it is a work of fiction, I am going to assume that anything that is currently true in Sweden at the moment, give or take a few years, would also be true in the Young Royals universe.

The first point I would like to make is that Sweden is one of the most LGBT-friendly countries, even being named the most friendly country in 2019. Looking back in history, 1944 was when Sweden decriminalized sexual relationships between consenting adults of the same sex, though it was still thought to be an illness. However, in 1979 it was no longer considered an illness. Fun unrelated fact, but Sweden was the first country to legalize gender change in 1979. (If you'd like to read more on LGBT rights in Sweden here are some resources. One. Two.) If Sweden is that progressive and is that LGBT-friendly, then I wondered what the problem was with Willie coming out, so I dug some more.

I'm American, so my understanding of many parts of the world is unfortunately skewed or incomplete, but I'm working on changing that. However, because of this, one thing that surprised me in my research was that the monarchy in Sweden is more of a unifying symbol than anything else. They have no political affinity or formal powers, but rather "the King’s duties are mainly of a ceremonial and representative nature." Of course in the case of Young Royals, the Queen inherited the throne, and Wilhelm would after her.

Something else I found interesting about the monarchy in Sweden is that the current Queen, Queen Silvia, did not come from a line of nobility, so when Queen Silvia and King Carl Gustaf married in 1976, it was highly unusual. (See more on the Swedish monarchy here.)

There is one last thing I want to point out about the current King and Queen. "In summer 2000, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden made history when they ate under the rainbow flag at Djurgårdsterrassen, a Stockholm restaurant owned by gay owner Arto Winter. At that time, the decision was seen as controversial, and played a valuable role in moving conversations forward – while making the royals’ position abundantly clear." (Source)

Now, of course, I understand the difference between a fictional work and real-life situations, but at least in my opinion, these same ideals should carry through to the show that we see. If the King and Queen in real life have been openly supportive of the LGBT community since at least 2000, then although specifics might not be the same, some of those ideals should carry through to Young Royals, so what is the problem, right?

I'm not trying to erase the reality of homophobia altogether, because of course, that exists. We even see in the show through comments that there are some people who are worried about the state of the monarchy, are disgusted, or downright still think that not being straight is a sin, but we also see other comments as well. If Wilhelm were to come out, what would happen? Would there be some backlash? 100%. Would there be people who would support him? Also 100%. Would it make his life harder? Probably, but would he be happier? In my opinion, yes, but I guess that's a question that Wilhelm would have to gauge on his own.

Now I want to look deeper at the conversation that Wille has with his mother, the Queen, in the car on the way home so he can give a statement to the media. Below is an excerpt from their dialogue.

---

Wilhelm: Why can't I just have a relationship with him? And not say anything. Just live a normal life.

Queen: You're the crown prince. And that's a privilege, not a punishment.

Wilhelm: Yes, but I didn't ask for this!

Queen: Well, nobody has ever, ever asked for this! You are the only one who can take over the throne after Erik. Don't you understand that? You are so young. When you're young, love feels like the most important thing in the whole world. When I was your age, I too had an unfortunate romance. That was before I met your father. What I mean is, is it worth it? If you feel that the attention you've been getting so far is unacceptable, it's nothing compared to what you will endure for the rest of your life. We have a chance to cover this up, I urge you to take that chance. You may not get another."

---

Something I find interesting is how much Willie just wants to live a normal life, which I get. He is under so much pressure, from being a role model, his brother's death that he hasn't even had time to process, preparing to be king someday, and (kind of) being outed to the entire world, but at least his school. It's enough to make anyone want to live normally. I think the biggest thing we have to think about here is the Queen's question as well. Is it worth it? She is right of course, the attention he will get will always be there, but I do think that Willie would be able to find a way to be happy along with being King. It shouldn't have to be a case of either-or, and ultimately I don't think it is.

Now I'm going to move back to Erik, and really, this ties everything back to the start where I mentioned I had a different take on Erik's reaction to Willie being not straight. I think that Erik already knew. It would make sense for a variety of reasons. In the show, it is obvious that the two of them have a good relationship. We also hear Erik tell Willie, "you can trust him, he's like a brother," in episode one when speaking about August, showing that trust is something strong between them as brothers. I'm not exactly sure how old Wilhelm is meant to be in the show, but I estimate somewhere around sixteen. I would like to assume that sometime before attending Hillerska, he may have had a crush or felt some attraction to a guy. We also can see from their phone call in episode three, that they're not afraid to joke around with each other about such things, meaning that Erik would most likely be the first person that Willie would go to about such things.

Another thing that makes me believe Erik already knew has to do with people assuming that Simon is the first guy that Willie has liked. Now, I know things are not the same for everyone, but if we consider what happens when the video is posted, and Willie had to deny it is him, we can conclude that being anything other than straight in their family is not okay, simply because they are royals, and the media attention will be too much. Imagine you've known your whole life, you can't be something, the first instance you encounter that, you're probably not going to give in right away. I'm talking at least some minor internalized homophobia here or something.

So put that into the context of Simon and Willie's first kiss in episode two. Simon kisses Willie twice before Willie says "Well, I'm not... I'm not... Stop! Wait, wait, wait!" and immediately pulls Simon back towards him. Let's reflect back to episode one where Willie says "I’m not… I’m not allowed to speak about political issues." I'm not allowed. Of course, there are TONS of restrictions on what he can and can not do, kissing guys, probably being one of them. But if he was going to say I'm not gay or I'm not like that, why would he instantly pull him back in, contrasting what he was just going to say. In episode three, Willie does say, "I'm not like that," which makes sense. He's had time to think and isn't in the heat of the moment. What other explanation can he give? Sure, he could say he's not allowed to be like that but saying that would admit that he is. It's a circle, a very messy circle, but it is a... loop.

Going back to what I'm supposed to be talking about here, Erik. This isn't Willie's first rodeo, but Erik was there for the first. One last thing I want to talk about is the phone call that Erik and Willie have in episode three. Below is an excerpt from their dialogue.

---

Erik: You've met someone.

Wilhelm: I, uh... Yes, okay, but I... I don't think we're a couple or anything. I don't know what it is but can we just...

Erik: I get it. I get it. You don't have to tell me any... I don't wanna hear any details. Hey. Willie, enjoy yourself. Soon enough people will start having opinions and-

Wilhelm: They don't care about me. 'Cause you're the Crown Prince that they have opinions.

Erik: I don't get it. Why are you sitting in your room sulking when you have a crush to hang out with?

---

Firstly, Erik refers to Willie's crush as completely gender-neutral. "You've met someone" could very easily be "you've met a girl". The same goes for "you have a crush to hang out with". Very well could have been "you have a girl to hang out with". Sure, it could be completely coincidental, but we live in such a heteronormative society that it would just make sense for Erik to use female-gendered words. Unless, of course, he knew.

Secondly, "Hey. Willie, enjoy yourself. Soon enough people will start having opinions". This sounds very much to me like, enjoy your time while you can be yourself without backlash because soon you won't have that privacy. While I feel that, yes, the same may happen with anyone Willie was to date, him having a same-sex partner multiplies that, by a lot.

In conclusion, Erik knew Willie was not straight, Willie should come out, but when he is ready, and August is a really deep character that people don't give enough credit to. Gosh, I hope I covered everything, I probably forgot so much, but it's fine. Please let me know your thoughts if you've made it this far into the post.

One last thing. I hope you'll notice how in this post, I never referred specifically to Wilhelm's sexuality, and I did that for a reason. I often see gay used to label him, and though I am unsure if that's being used as an umbrella term or specifically as in he only likes men, I think it's really important to realize that they're specifically making him unlabeled. In this youtube video Edvin Ryding, the actor who plays Wilhelm, says "What we're trying to do... We're not labeling Wilhelm's sexuality. I think that's good because it's like, it portrays that it's okay that way too. You don't have to. You shouldn't have to come out. It should be allowed to be a bit fluid, a bit out there." I just think that it is important as it's another type of representation that is not seen often.

[mikeshanlon]

i really enjoy the way young royals explores the theme of legacy and how detrimental it can be to have to live up to a legacy or be obsessed with reputation. (analysis and thoughts under the cut)

i think wilhelm resents the fact that he has to live up to the role of being in the royal family and yet is very afraid of ruining that legacy bc of all the pressure. before he was sent off to hillerska he went to a normal school and wanted normal people around him and was content with erik having to take on the responsibilities of crown prince. and when he does have to assume that role he says he can never be erik, that he’s always had to be compared to him and obviously doesn’t like that. but even before erik passed and he had to take on those duties he was afraid of fucking up the legacy of the crown, when he sees that sign in the hallway that says you are in charge of your own legacy after he holds hands with simon, his anxiety worsens. you can tell it’s been instilled in him for a long time that what is most important is the crown’s reputation rather than his own wants. in the scene where him and simon fight about alexander being caught, he obviously wants simon to stay, but he focuses on how him doing drugs will fuck up his family’s reputation if it gets leaked. as much as he cares for simon, his legacy and his duties are like this oppressive cloud hanging over him. 

i do think that wille cares for his family of course but to me it’s different that the sort of loyal unconditional care with simon and his sister/mom. erik and wille had unconditional love, erik understood how difficult being a prince in the public eye was, and wille obviously cared for him deeply and felt like he could to talk to him about issues. his relationship with the queen is much more strained, she wants a tailored, doctored representation of him in the media, he cannot be anxious and bite his nails, she makes all the decisions for him. family is important to wille partially because it has to be bc of how special his family is. he helps his family, he helps august pay his tuition, and then makes a point of disowning august after his betrayal as his new “brother”. but again, because of the royal status and expectations upon the family, that supersedes and colors all of their relationships with each other. it seems to be more a sense of “duty” than unconditional love. especially after erik’s death, wille always has to consider how the crown’s image will be impacted, even though he never wanted to have this responsibility, or even the responsibility of being the “regular” prince under erik. being a family unit that is under constant public scrutiny is going to strain relationships. the queen knows that the anxiety of fucking up his legacy will get to him, and she uses that to get wilhelm to back out of admitting it was him in the video and coming out. wilhelm has to choose between his own happiness and their reputation, is forced to think that denying it’s him in the video is the only way. he loves simon and wanted to live freely, but that pressure of legacy won out.

i don’t know if i think wille necessarily values the crown over his own personal happiness and relationships, like in the way maybe the queen does--i don’t think it comes from a place of “i’m lucky to be prince and owe my duty to the crown, so i do what i have to do to stay that way” (like how the queen said the crown is a privilege not a punishment), but from fear of destroying the legacy and his family. afterall, he still wanted to pursue a secret relationship with simon, i think if he fully valued the crown and uplifting legacy and fulfilling his duties he wouldn’t have tried that. he wouldn’t have made a point to tell simon he loves him. hopefully we get another season because i think with the iconic ending revolution rendition and him looking in the camera, which also parallels the shot of him being forced to apologize/go to hillerska, he is realizing that focusing on legacy is taking away what’s important to him, and he’s going to shake shit up.

august is definitely the most obsessed with legacy, wanting to carry on his father’s business, being persistent on befriending wilhelm and trying to social climb, wanting power and perfection with being prefect, rowing captain etcetera. he is so obsessed with perfection and reputation he gets addicted to drugs, he fucks with simon and makes him get stuff for parties he can’t afford because good parties will make him look better, he manipulates sara multiple times, he mostly wanted felice because of her nobility, he fucking films wilhelm and simon and OUTS him, his own cousin. he hates that wille has everything he wants but isn’t as interested in preserving and more importantly improving the legacy he’s inheriting. meanwhile august’s familial legacy is dwindling, and he holds on to the last bit of assets and names that he can.... v much sick and a weirdo that shows how harmful being obsessed with legacy is

the queen is of course v focused on legacy and it really breaks my heart and makes me angry that she doesn’t care about wilhelm’s happiness more than their reputation, and moreso doesn’t get august in trouble for literally leaking child p*rn of her kid for the sake of appearances?!?!?! like how is he even remotely trustworthy she is wrong for that! like i said earlier the obsession with legacy puts a strain on their mother/son relationship. she doesn’t even really say anything about wille’s sexuality or his relationship, and barely comforts him, mostly goes in with a plan she’s already concocted without him to fix everything. 

erik seemed to understand and accept his role as crown prince but obviously had issues with it as well, like when he makes the plan for him and wilhelm to run from the press, or when he tells wilhelm to enjoy himself while there aren’t so many eyes on him that care. erik shows someone who has more unconditional love and empathy but still has to focus on legacy and is much more inclined to continue his legacy, but we do see those glimpses over how even the most “ideal” attitude of preserving legacy causes issues.

felice is expected to live up to her mother’s legacy, of being an equestrian, of being the lucia, but she doesn’t want either of those things. her mother wants her to be thinner and straighten her hair, and find someone of nobility to be with. obviously she does find wilhelm attractive lol but i think the main reason she pursued him and definitely why she pursued august was because she was expected to social climb and have royal kids. felice feels the need to portray a false narrative of herself on social media to uphold a certain image of herself. it’s very fucked up that her mom wants those values instilled in her but i love that felice was putting up boundaries and pushing back against her mother and the narrative she’s supposed to live up to. her giving sara the role of lucia and focusing on supporting her friends more in the latter half of the season shows growth and i’m excited to see where her story goes. 

sara is interesting because she seems to want to reject the legacy of her family and being working class and to fit in with the elite of hillerska. sara hates micke, hates that simon contacted him because it’s bringing in this “shameful” and painful part of their past (which i mean is def fair). other than sara’s betrayal in 1.06, i think the scene where she tells her family that she wants to reside at hillerska really exemplifies where she’s at in her relation to legacy/class. after dining at hillerska and living amongst the elite she gets annoyed at eating around the TV, she blames her mother for not leaving micke sooner, she gets angry with simon for caring for her. she wants to lead her own life, be popular and wanted because people want her, not for pity (even though i think simon of course truly cares abt his sister she feels annoyed with his protection and care). felice says early on that she thinks sara doesn’t care what other’s think or having friends, and sara says she still wants friends though. i think sara’s biggest thing is she wants to belong, her and simon moved schools after she was bullied for being autistic so i think that definitely affected her even though she tries to act nonchalant about hillerska at first. we see sara’s longing to fit in in smaller ways at first, like her asking her mom for a better piece of her uniform because hers are “cheap” and already worn out. she gets annoyed at simon for chewing loudly, or her mother sitting casually at the table. as she gets closer to felice and madison and all the other students, the allure of the upper class and their lifestyle draws her in more. so much to the point where she gets very anxious and upset at the idea of her and simon leaving hillerska because he’s having his own crisis and doesn’t consider his pov. so much so that she effectively betrays simon and felice, the people she’s closest to, to make a deal (and make out lol) with august to room there and “be just like him”. personally i think sara’s attraction to august is mostly that allure of the elite and that he seemed to “desire” her when he kissed her because he was being a manipulative dickhead--again that want to fit in and be wanted. and  i think there is a really interesting angle of jealousy and competition in female friendships, even if it is really subtle or not intentionally insidious or anything, sara does slowly start to trying to assume all the roles/fashions/mannerisms of felice to live that life she wants. i do think felice and sara’s care for each other is genuine and one of my fave parts of the show, but i think a lot of people who experienced being a teen girl know how we are always pitted against each other even in our subconscious because of how society treats and values women.

simon seems to be the character that is least interested in upholding legacy and tradition or giving a fuck what anyone thinks (as omar said here lmao) and that makes him a really interesting foil to wilhelm. there could be something said about micke fearing that simon is following in his footsteps, but to me that plot more so reveals how the upper class (august) continually exploit the working class for their benefit, and the trappings of generational oppression. the other thing that can be said is simon signing up for private tutoring and rowing, but again i think that serves to further show that he is forced to “play” by the game of the elites because the school/society is corrupt, and also, that simon has further ambitions outside of where he’s at. he wants to get good grades because he wants to explore new places and avenues. to me simon’s biggest motivations are his passions, the things and people he loves--music, his family, wilhelm. he isn’t loyal to others just because he’s expected to be, or uphold a certain image but because he really cares. he doesn’t watch out for sara because that’s his expected role as her brother to do so, but because he cares. he wasn’t interested in knowing wilhelm because he’s a prince like everyone else, he makes it clear he thinks the royal family are privileged and exploitative, but he is interested because he saw the real wilhelm. he’s out and proud even though his elite classmates are more conservative, he doesn’t care about voicing his unpopular opinions, he has no problem walking away from august’s dickhead behavior or calling him out on his shit. simon doesn’t care if people don’t think of him in the best light. (the only exceptions ig are the drugs conflict and the video, though literally anyone would have a problem with that because it’s much deeper that public opinion and has ramifications and is deeply traumatic--but just adding that before someone is like “well actually!”) i also think it’s interesting that most of the songs simon sings has themes of pushing back against the societal norms, and being remembered in history, plus of course the revolution song motif, and how much those songs affect wilhelm, he seems to connect deeply, like he wishes he could do those things but simon is the one who gets to sing them and actually live them.

[prince-simon]

Hi! So I don’t know if someone has asked this already, but we’re there any plot points or things you were possibly considering when planning out the Prince Simon au that you decided not to add or go with? Maybe any last minute additions or changes?

hiii!! good question! almost impossible for me to answer tbh bc this fic is SO FUCKING LONG! but there's a couple things i could think of anyway!

so in this ask i answered what i wrote that i wasn't expecting so i'm going off of that a bit bc i also mentioned that it was planned differently

(sidenote: this was supposed to be a one shot so things were going to be a lot less detailed lmao)

their first date was supposed to happen much earlier, and it was also supposed to be their public coming out. idk how we would've got there (which is why i made the decision to change it) but i have a clear picture of simon leaning against a car or wall of a building and wille brackets him in against it, telling him, "i'm gonna kiss you now" - a ghost of this will still be there for their actual coming out though bc that's just too good a line to completely scratch

and then for the Sandwich Declaration and how it was initially planned. i gotta admit, i don't remember hahah definitely not at the fundraiser though

but i'll add this as a "everything that i ended up adding instead of making it short":

and actually this lead me to something else that i haven't written, or rather, which i haven't used. a screenshot from one of their video chats where simon is wearing wille's hoodie so here you go:

and last but not least, of course there was more of simon hoeing around. i wanted him to have a couple flings while already being friends with wille. but then he went and fell utterly in love with wille (and revealed that he'd been crushing for A LONG ASS TIME) so that he couldn't even imagine being with anyone else

there's also a couple scenes that i switched around a little bit - one in particular that should be coming up in the next chapter - but i don't wanna spoil so i'll try to remember and add to this when the chapter is out lol (this goes for any other scenes i can think of as well)

thanks for the question! y'all can hit me with more questions if you like ✨