#bl commentary

Admittedly, I have been out of the loop with Fortpeat as of late, so my apologies if I'm not fully clued in on all the nuances. I assume most FP fans will have caught wind of this news. This was brought to my attention via MeMindY's recent public announcement, and Magic Cube have since also issued an apology.

To briefly recap: at FP's recent event 'Magic Snack Party' (8 March), hosted by Magic Cube, a few fans demanded an apology from FP due to alleged grievances and dissatisfaction from the event and others prior. Another group of fans were seeking an apology from the event staff, not FP. Fortpeat were present and apologised at the time.

For context, I am a Chinese speaker and have listened to the audio a few times. A fairly accurate translation is circulating on the internet but I would flag that we don't see which individuals made which comments. Individuals are heard to say 'they' a number of times and it's not absolutely clear in some cases if references are being made to FP, the event staff or both as 'they'.

The main issues I see being raised by the fandom are as follows:

The fans in question acted inappropriately by demanding a personal and private apology from FP.

FP should not have been put in such a position if the complaints or grievances were due to the fault of poor management via event organisers (Magic Cube) or MeMindY, and not misconduct from FP as individuals.

MeMindY have shown a concerning lack of support and protection in acting as FP's agent and facilitator. They have a poor track record in preventing such instances from happening.

I do fear the discourse will get very heated, and I'd like to emphasise that in the audio, there were also fans audibly protesting against this behaviour. Let's please focus on the fact that the instigators were a minority and refrain from any potentially xenophobic comments.

Ultimately, FP were in a really vulnerable position. As the incident mainly involved Chinese-speaking fans, they could only rely on their translator to gauge what was going on. Based on what is generally known of FP's characters as people, it doesn't surprise me that they felt compelled to apologise regardless of whether they were at fault or not. They take their fans very seriously.

A huge degree of responsibility lies with MMY. As their agent, this interaction should have never occurred. They should have acted as the mediator between all involved parties to prevent escalation. One, to protect their artists from any form of intimidation from fans, and two, to maintain a code of conduct amongst the fanbase with due process as to how to raise complaints in a suitable manner.

PARASOCIAL FANS: WHEN ADMIRATION VEERS INTO OWNERSHIP

Sadly, this is yet another example of the underlying risk and side-effect of the BL industry and unhealthy parasocial expectations. With the opportunity to get up close to these artists via a slew of events, promotions, fanmeets, and concerts - inevitably, the fan/artist dynamic can become blurry for some. More so for those who have the finance and means to pay for more exclusive interactions.

One could argue that the BL industry is transactional. The success of these artists rely on fans paying to support and see them. They do a job, they perform a service, fans pay for that entertainment which can eventually harbour a sense of entitlement. What becomes increasingly lost with this mentality is that artists are not being considered as human beings.

I worked in customer service for years and it's a similar story. Customers feel entitled to direct their frustration towards you simply because you represent the goods/services they pay for. The majority of the time the complaints aren't due to anything you've personally done. Yet you are the receiving end of that negativity and aggression.

Now I'd be cautious about making any definitive claims in regards to the fans involved in this particular altercation. For most of us, we weren't present and we are relying on secondhand accounts and just audio to ascertain what happened. As fans, what we can do is our darned best to advocate for better terms and values of respect both within the fandom and to our beloved artists.

AGENT RESPONSIBILITY & ACCOUNTABILITY

There have been rumblings for a long time now about MMY's treatment of FP. I don't know too much about the ins or outs in that respect, but I do believe it's in FP's benefit to consider other options. It's likely they feel indebted to MAME and how their first job with MMY skyrocketed them into such popularity. I imagine this makes it very difficult to consider moving on.

Many are requesting for these particular individuals to be blacklisted from attending events again. If this has been a repeated pattern of behaviour, MMY need to issue adequate consequences. It may even be sensible for agents/companies to have some form of legal code of conduct that fans have to sign before any 1-2-1 or face-to-face activities, so if any violation of these terms do occur, then due action can immediately be taken.

It's worth highlighting that event organisers do also have a duty of care and safety to fans attending (many of which could be travelling long distances or don't speak the local language). Therefore the responsibility is twofold - both to the artists and the fans - to manage that dynamic robustly. I don't want us to overlook any poor handling and mistreatment that the fans with genuine complaints may have been attempting to raise to the organisers.

After all, it's often the agents and event organisers who get the biggest cut of the profits, whereas it's either the artists themselves or the fans who get the brunt of the fallout. Many artists are bound and locked into complex contractual parameters with their companies and any other parties they collaborate with, and actually have very little say in terms of how these things operate.

I’ve been thinking about how some BL stories portray masculinity in ways that feels both authentic and refreshing.

This started after I saw an interview with British singer, Yungblud. He talked about wanting to make an album about masculinity—not to reject it, but to expand it. Masculinity that’s also about kindness. About wearing kilts and being tough. It wasn’t about replacing traditional masculinity, but making space for softness and self-expression alongside it.

And it reminded me of a lot of BL.

In shows like Love in the Air, you get characters who are into racing and cars and all those traditionally “manly” things—but they’re also emotionally open, affectionate, and deeply caring. They're not less masculine for it; they're just... fuller.

Some people who love BL are attracted to men, but feel disconnected from the way masculinity shows up in the mainstream—cold, repressed, homophobic, misogynistic. It can feel unsafe or unloving. But BL, at its best, offers another way. Masculinity that’s strong and soft. That shows affection, that cries, that listens.

Even darker stories like Jack & Joker or The Heart Killers feature characters who are violent or dangerous, sure—but they still have emotional depth, loyalty, and vulnerability. They're not cartoon villains. They're people.

And then you’ve got shows like Cutie Pie that flip it all on its head. The “softer” character—gentle voice, polite manners—is secretly into motorcycles and wants to be a rock star. The more “dominant” one is the one planning a home and future. It’s queer, it’s layered, it messes with what we expect from gender and roles.

Of course, not all BL is like this. Some stories do rely on toxic dynamics or flat characters. But a lot of it offers space for masculinity to be something positive—complex, kind, emotionally rich.

Masculinity that’s not about power over others, but power with others.

I always found it odd that we usually get a kiss in episode 6 or something and then they wait for another 2-3 episodes untill they finally get together. I mean it's so unrealistic. I can understand if it's a high school romance because age duh. But in adult couples this is usually the norm.

oh and i'm glad they didn't make ink out to be the "villain". it irritates me whenever dramas introduce a love rival especially when the pairing is gay and the love rival is a woman. the pushback and response from the audience is almost always muddled with misogyny