Do you like enemies to lovers because it’s hot or do you like enemies to lovers because you think of yourself as unlovable & unworthy of love and therefore like the idea of someone seeing all the worst in you right away and still falling in love with you anyways
the most optimal partner is someone who shares a lot of your interests and personal philosophies and lifestyle choices but HARD opposes you on things like favorite candy flavors. knowing i can just dump all my white chocolate on my bf to take care of and he dumps all his dark chocolate on me in turn for the same reason has fully convinced me that soulmates are real
I don’t think Young Royals gets enough credit for it’s portrayal of sexuality. Obviously we in the fandom appreciate it all the time, but I feel like outside the fandom I’ve barely even seen it mentioned, and it’s such a shame because I really do feel like season 1 was very quietly revolutionary in its very matter-of-fact portrayal of teenage sexuality and desire.
It’s so refreshing to have a character like Simon, who clearly figured out he was gay a long time ago and is completely unbothered by it. There’s no big reveal where the other characters find out he’s gay, he doesn’t announce it to the entire population of the school as if it’s their business. His family knows, his close friends know, and they tease him as anyone would their friend or family about his crush. He’s most likely not out at Hillerska but that’s not because he’s intentionally hiding it; he just doesn’t feel the need for anyone to know because ultimately it’s only important to him and those close to him. After he reminds his dad of his sexuality, it’s never mentioned again, and we able to visually see that he is interested in boys based on his chemistry with Wille, the way he looks at him and acts around him, and obviously their intimacy. When the video comes out, nobody is going around saying, “oh wow, the non-boarder is gay?” in surprise, because there’s no reason for them to be surprised.
With Wilhelm, I love that he’s never pressured by anyone to come out, and is not portrayed as weak or invalid for his desire to keep his sexuality to himself. Wilhelm’s story is not a coming out story but one of discovery for his entire identity; who is he, what does he want, does he want the life that was chosen for him that he has no say in? His attraction to Simon doesn’t symbolize him coming to terms with his sexuality, but realizing what it is that he wants in his life (freedom, something real and raw and honest in a world he perceives as fake). Wilhelm may have those few moments of panic where he claims he’s “not like that”, but I don’t think there was ever any doubt in his mind what his attraction to Simon was. To have a teenage queer main character whose journey within the story is not limited to discovering their sexuality and coming out is still quite rare, and I love that he isn’t even the slightest bit concerned about labelling himself; he’s just in love with a boy. That’s all he knows and that’s all he needs to know. Labels can be wonderful and comforting for some people (as we see in Simon who is very comfortable identifying as gay), but they don’t provide that same comfort for everyone, and I’m glad a character like Wilhelm can exist outside of a box. Whether he’s interested in just boys, just girls or boys and girls isn’t relevant; what’s relevant is that he’s in love with a boy and unfortunately that Carrie’s greater implications for his very specific path in life.
I love that Wille and Simon are not shy or ashamed of their desire to have sex with each other, and that their relationship is not portrayed as any less pure or wholesome because they want sex. I’m so used to queer relationships in shows where sex is such a huge topic and the characters are so anxious about and want their first time to be perfect and want to make sure they’re “ready”, and if often kind of turns into something a bit preachy and watered down, and while I’m not saying at ALL that it’s bad to talk about sex this way, I think it is just as important to portray characters that are notnervous about sex, and just embrace their desires and go for it. I’ve seen so many TV shows where entire episodes are based over characters working up to having sex for the first time, and it’s so dramatic (not just with queer couples) and full of doubt on whether or not they should or if it’s a good idea, and there’s this undercurrent of shame to it, and it was just so nice to see queer characters have total conviction in their sexual desire and just act on them without needing to discuss consequences. Although them having sex did have consequences, the show makes sure to tell the audience it wasn’t their fault and there was nothing wrong with them doing it. We see how euphoric, happy and connected they felt toward each other afterward, and it was portrayed as fucking beautiful and romantic.
The best way I can describe YR’s approach to sex and sexuality is matter-of-fact, and it’s so important and I wish it was discussed more outside of tiny fandom spaces, because I think it’s so important for queer storytelling going forward and should be held on equal standing with other popular queer teen series.
