#framboise

Is she a retired racer turned trainer maybe?

San is my trainer oc for the game! She/Her/They/Them pronouns

(Sketches below!)

I haven’t gotten much to the writing part because I started two days ago but I’m thinking they were in a high school running club/team with her friend Framboise but quit half way due to feeling like she was falling behind when Framboise started to gain recognition. Then both sorta drifted apart (on maybe good terms, they weren’t bad to each other or anything) and it doesn’t help that Framboise maybe got scouted/transferred schools too. San took more of a teaching path.

San (Socks and Sandals) really loved/loves Framboise and running which complicated their feelings during high school…. (yes I need the yuri) but they met again at Tracen as trainers. So far that’s what I have as a starting point. I need to figure out their personalities…. I’m not good at writing characters so things end up being trope-y (and I love shoujo so it doesn’t help 😹)

Framboise (played by Kaji Masaki) is probably my favorite side character of 2022. In a year of great older queer men in genre, from Mork’s uncles Cheep and Dej in My Ride to Uncle Man in 21 Days Theory, I’m so glad we got Framboise as well. In Framboise we see a self-actualized gay man that literally lights up the room with his energy. He is what I aspire to be in a gay elder.

When Framboise first appears, it is in a burst of sunlight and flowers as he enters the convention floor. He’s excited to see other creators, and thrilled to be near another queer creator who he’s clearly admired for a long time. Framboise is determined to get Nekoyashiki to join them at the after party for other queer artists. Though he’s constantly rebuffed (and expresses his frustration vocally), he doesn’t give up on or abandon Nekoyashiki.

Framboise, like any sort of manga/anime character, has a clear and specific style. What I love so much about him is that he is more indicative of what so many gay men actually look like. We have facial hair. Some of us are chubby. We like for our clothes to fit well. So much of what I love about Framboise’s style is how it fits with his physicality.

His joy when he moves around is about being in the space with everyone. He’s not flashing his clothes to impress others; those are the clothes that make him feel most like himself. It’s such a joy to see a heavy-set character happy and comfortable in his skin in a BL, especially one that’s older.

Like many of us, Framboise thrives on queer community so much that he takes any offerings of kindness from Mamoru for the big deals that they are. He was so surprised in the middle of the series that he was overwhelmed with love and fell down. Like many of us, we can all appreciate the attention of an attractive younger man, and yet it mostly stops at play.

In the finale, we get to see Mamoru finally relax himself enough to be open to Framboise, and can finally receive directly the unconditional love of another queer person who cares about you. It’s big and it’s joyous and it is offered in behind the back hug that takes you off your feet.

Framboise isn’t happy for Mamoru because of specific success (exemplified by Takkun), he’s happy that Mamoru finally drew something he was happy with. As a queer elder, it’s such a joy to see a baby gay figure themself out and finally appear comfortable in their skin; conversely, Framboise displays how genuine appreciation for being seen earnestly. Mamoru knows that he’s appreciated.

As we reflect on the future of BL, I will be writing about Cheep, Dej, Man, and Framboise again, because this was the first year that queer elders really contributed to my enjoyment of the genre. I hope Framboise is the beginning of us seeing older queers having joyous lives in our dramas.

Et meilleur encore sauvage