It is incredibly isolating to navigate through fandom as an aromantic person. Aro experiences are so varied, and there is no definite aro experience that encapsulates the alienation that fandom spaces cause for certain people.
Fandom is mostly built and structured on shipping. And if not, the blorbofication of characters, which tends to go down the shipping pipeline; where does that leave the romance repulsed aro person who genuinely does not want to see any form of shipping? Platonic dynamics, right?
Yeah, sure. But by platonic dynamics, it's only "best friends" or "family" right? Where does that leave the aro folks with undefined labels? No, qprs aren't a get-out-of-jail card.
And qprs- they have no rules or standards set upon them by society, not even having a clear definition for what it is, because not all qprs are the same. Yet, for some reason, it ended up becoming the "nonbinary" option to a lot of people- not romantic or "regular" platonic? Qpr it is, right?
But where does that leave the aro folk who don't want a qpr? Who don't wish to see characters depicted in pairs or trios or so forth- who embrace the lack of a partner?
And these concepts presented; when aro folk talk about them, do you care? And if you do, do you understand? Do you try to?
If you aren't aro, but wish to be supportive, are you a genuine ally? Do you raise the concerns of aro folk you share the space with?
Or do you take a look at these concepts- and decide you understand them "well" enough? Do you decide to speak for aro folks instead?
Do you depict relationships outside of romance because you believe in the importance of platonic relationships? Will you accept the fact that not all platonic interactions will be familial or "best friends"?
Can you accept depictions of qprs outside of "more than friends, less than lovers"? Are you willing to accept it is not just "best friends" or "romance lite"? Will you accept that nothing is inherently romantic- and characters in a qpr may fall under your standards of lovers?
Can you resist the urge to put every character in a pair or trio or group? Are you comfortable with the notion of characters finding more joy in being by themselves, outside of all those lenses you see them in?
It's good if you can.
And if you can't, at the very least, do you understand why some aro folk in your space are upset? Embittered by your favorite ships? Starving for representation?
Did you depict these characters with these concepts with the knowledge that aromanticism is fluid?
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What it feels like trying to get help for disabilities (in my experience)
Please note: This is based on my own personal experience with my physical disabilities, and with my car, lol. This is not meant to cover everyone's experience
tl;dr My experience trying to get help for my physical disabilities has been like trying to get your brakes fixed for your car, but somehow, nobody believes they're broken until it's too late.
Imagine you drive a car every day. One day you notice your brakes are not working as they should, basically you need to hit the brakes multiple times before they work - also known as pumping the brakes. Maybe this is a new experience, maybe you drove someone else's car and noticed they didn't need to do this. But for whatever reason you notice that your brakes are not working as they should.
You take your car to the mechanic and you tell them the situation. Instead of taking your car into the shop and checking it out, instead they ask some very weird questions that aren't related at all to the brakes: "What type of oil do you use?" "Do you buy the expensive gas or the cheap gas?" "What type of windshield washer fluid do you use?" "How full are your tires?"
You answer them anyways because, you aren't a mechanic so maybe those questions are related in some way you don't know. But after answering they basically tell you that you're doing all those things wrong, and don't even look at your car.
You are majorly frustrated but you try those things anyways. They don't help, as expected. You return to the mechanic and explain that changing those things did not help the brakes. You expect they will finally look this time. But they don't. Instead they say: "Well how did you drive here if your brakes don't work"?
You're angry at this point, they're clearly being unreasonable. You demand they look at your car because that's the entire reason you're here. They look at the car for a few seconds, and tell you there's nothing wrong and you should stop worrying.
You're extremely mad at this point, and your brakes are getting less trustworthy. You go to a different mechanic. They do the same thing. You finally find a mechanic who will look at the car, but they also say they don't see anything wrong with the brakes.
You've spent hundreds to thousands of dollars on mechanics at this point. You're absolutely sick of this. You start using your hand brake as it's the only reliable brake in your car, but you also know this is dangerous.
Eventually you get into a situation where the brakes fail completely, and you can't reach the handbrake fast enough. You swerve off the road into a ditch. Nobody is hurt but the car is totaled. The insurance asks why you didn't get the brakes fixed. And you scream at them.
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Between Us - episode one
an intrepid reporter watches, without having seen UWMA
Going in, I know next to nothing about this show. I have the tag filtered, and I haven't read the summary or seen the trailer. I did see part of the first episode of Until We Meet Again, but as far as I remember these characters weren't in it. The only information that has made it through the cone of silence is that either the characters or the actors are named Win and Team, one of them is blond, and they did a bunch of product placement in UWMA, possibly with Lay's chips. And I'm not very positive about any of that being true.
summary after watching: For me, this show is holding up on its own. It turns out I did remember more about the beginning of UWMA than I thought, but I feel like Between Us would work even if I didn't know UWMA's basic premise. Yes, Pharm's flashbacks would be confusing, but they're also confusing for him so I don't think that would make the episode too confusing overall. There are a lot of things I still don't know, but it feels like normal episode one information still to uncover, not plot holes because the show is assuming I already know the story. And, up to a point, I would rather have less information than too much, so I appreciate the mystery.
I was surprised by how prominent Dean & Pharm's story has been so far. I expected it to be more background. I wonder if its going to stay this prominent, or if it's more to set the stage.
Overall the show feels very professional and... not expensive, but adequately funded. The production values all feel pretty high - lighting, sets, editing, soundtrack, cinematography - and the acting is very good. It all makes me trust these storytellers know what they're doing. So yes, I am hooked. I can see why y'all have been so excited about this show. I will definitely keep watching.
Below are my notes as I watched. I took a lot so they're beneath the cut.
So. Diving in.*
*pun unintentional at the time, but appreciated now post-viewing
- I like this parallel morning opening. Blondie with the tattoos is hot, pushing back his hair to the rock soundtrack. Actually they're both cute. I like the alarm clock cliche, although Mamoru from Kabe Koji wins with his 20 plus clocks, and Wah from Why You... Y Me? still beats this guy with his paltry single alarm clock.
- The cool kid and the chaos boy? That's my first impression.
- Hmm. Swimming pools may be important? based on the opening credits.
- Aw. A crash-into-you with an adorable het couple. Including whats-her-name (Sammy?) from those other shows I can't recall. Were they in UWMA too? (Don't answer that.) Interesting that they get to meet each other first, before our main couple.
- ooh... A one sided pining situation? or love crush at first sight? I can't tell yet.
- And here comes That Fucking House 2.0. I guess I knew four things about this show- I'd heard she was in it too. (Do you think there is stock footage of the exterior that all these shows are using, or do they each shoot their own?)
- Wait, is that Santa?! He looks so different, I mostly recognized him by voice. I'm still not sure, I haven't gotten a good view of his face yet.
- Ah. Team at least is a swimmer. That makes sense with the pool footage. And now I've figured out their names.
- I like Team's dorky new friend group! I don't always like the comic relief characters but so far A, Bee and Sea seem fun. (Also love the names joke.)
- I feel like I just saw this pool in something but I can't remember what show.
- I think I like Win's friend group dynamic as well. Whew, that's a relief. I also like Win's slight mysterious brooding air. And the way he looks at Team, with the heavenly music on the soundtrack. (so I guess it is crush at first sight? rather than long term pining?)
- so far I've gathered Team is a first year and Win seems to be a sophomore or a junior, but my instinct is junior. (I don't know if the U.S. terms apply in Thailand.)
- Team seems like a sweetheart so far. Is Win making this announcement about scholarship students not being guaranteed a spot in a "I like you. Get out of my school" kind of way, or is it just a coincidence? Either way, its stressful. Athletic scholarships are a fucked up system in general.
- Oh Pharm! He's the main guy from UWMA! I recognize him. I (obviously) have no idea where we are in his story.
- My guess is that Pharm and Manow were his friends in UWMA, but A, Bee and Sea are new for this series.
- Win looks so cool, even his sauntering walk. I totally would have had a crush on him in college.
- Oh! I was about to get excited about their first real interaction but they were just teasing us.
- Is Win basically raising his brothers? He acts like it.
- It is Santa. He seems so different here somehow.
- Tul looks vaguely familiar, but I'm not sure from what.
- Hmm, what is going on with Team? Why is he being mopey?
- I continue to really like the way Win looks at Team, and how they show Team as totally oblivious.
- oh. That's why this whole thing with Manow is familiar? I think I did watch this part of UWMA where they watch the swim tryouts. So I guess Pharm's love interest is one of the other guys on the swim team? I honestly can't remember what he looks like, or how they met. Ah, I guess this must be him staring love struck. It's slowly coming back to me. (Are these scenes reshot? or are they using footage from UWMA?) Ah Dean, that's right. I did know his name at some point. So far I'm finding him more intriguing here than I did in the little bit of UWMA that I watched.
- oh yes, I remember that Pharm was in the cooking club too. It's slowly coming back. Maybe I did watch a little more then I thought.
- These hints of Dean and Pharm's story are working for me. Perhaps they're just there as a treat for UWMA fans, but I'm enjoying them as well. But I do know the basic premise of UWMA, I suspect I would be more confused if I didn't know the whole second life thing.
- Also, I was not expecting this much of their story. It really feels like a side couple, rather than a couple whose story is over and done with. Which perhaps makes me expect that the makers intend this story to stand on its own - that Between US and UWMA are supposed to be parallel pieces, rather than a main show and its companion.
- There is a lot more attention to Pharm & Dean's story than I was expecting though. Which isn't a problem, I was just expecting them to be more background characters. And this is making me want to watch UWMA more than seeing the beginning of that show did.
- Aw, what a good friend Team is. And Win thinks so too. Yet again, I like the way Win looks at him.
- So far I have No Idea what Win & Team's story is going to be - what their conflict or obstacles will be. But I don't mind, I'm still intrigued.
- Is Tul played by the same actor who played the horny roommate in Love By Chance? If so, he's certainly been typecast, poor guy. I did like him in LBC though.
- They finally interact! I love how Win is always tracking Team with his eyes, while Team remains basically oblivious to existence. Ignoring him, not in a mean way, just in a only aware of him as a generic swim team leader way.
- Ouch. The make up artists here are good.
- Win. What is your deal? You obviously have a crush, why are you so mean to Team to his face? I am Intrigued.
- Dean comes across as such a weirdo, omg.
- Interesting that it feels like In learning more about the setup of Dean and Pharm's relationship than about Team & Win's. I admit that I'm getting a bit impatient with it. Part of the reason I dropped UWMA is that I didn't find Dean's actor that compelling and I still don't (so far, that could change).
- Ah, some insight into Team: "You never let anything be important to you!" I do like his and Dean's friendship.
- Um, WHAT is Team's friend (I can't remember if he's A, Bee or Sea) wearing as a pendent? It looks like a piece of fried chicken.
- oof this porn watching scene is so awkward. Poor Team. It does all feel realistically adolescent though.
- Ok, wow, I was not expecting THAT. I like it though.
- on shit, and Team's following him!
- oh I really like this sex scene. See BL, consent is sexy. The way that Win, keeping tight rein on his very obvious desire and arousal, makes sure that Team wants this, that he knows what he's doing. It is Very Hot. And their chemistry is fire. I also like how cool kid Win has his post-shower fluffy unstyled hair, making him feel much more vulnerable.
- I don't know if it's intentional, but I like the contrast between Pharm and Dean's literally destined love, and this thing between Team and Win, which feels like it could be any college hook up. Yes, Win has had his eye on Team for a while, but as far as I can tell, Team took little notice of Win until his porn induced horniness drove him into Win's arms. And Team I really don't think was planning this, he just got aroused by win's arousal and gave in to temptation. I just like the arbitrary feeling of it against the backdrop of the heaviness of fate.
- I still don't know what their story is going to be. And honestly, if I wasn't being an intrepid reporter I probably wouldn't even try to figure it out, I'm just intrigued by them and their dynamic and content to see where it goes. But since I am doing these reports, my first guess is that they're going to continue to hook up in secret, outside the bedroom Win is going to pretend Team doesn't matter to him, and Team will slowly fall in love and get hurt by this. I'm not very attached to this theory, but it's the best I've got so far.
- Thinking about it, so far I actually know very little about Win and Team as characters. But the actors have made them both compelling enough that I'm intrigued, and want to know them. I feel like my initial impression of Win as "cool kid" is probably correct, but I'm not so sure about Team as "chaos boy." He seems a little more organized than that, a bit innocent but not too naive, kind but not saccharine. He seems a bit of an average everyman in fact, but not in a boring way.
Ok! That's it for now. I probably should go to bed, but I want to watch episode two instead. The nice thing about starting a few weeks behind is I don't have to wait.
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