Hudson could have drawn one big heart over the whole picture for his HR family. He specifically only drew it over Connor.

Today at upfronts, he distinguished Connor as separate from his HR family, which again he did not have to do because Connor would be implicitly included in the HR reference.

Once again we see Connor is something very different to Hudson.

And make no mistake, Hudson felt Connor was with him regardless- even if it was only FaceTime before and after. You can see it in his face when he won - you can’t tell me he didn’t want Connor beside him in that moment.

Hudson talking about the CSAs: "That was really special to have my family there, to be able to kind of look back and see my parents... and my heated rivalry family, seeing Connor. It was really cute.”

————

————

Parents ✅

HR ✅

Connor ✅

Partner ❌

This is driving me fucking crazy.

The fact that some people rather believe that Hudson is an absolute jerk who treats his " girlfriend " like shit and therefore get angry at him than to be willing to change their minds about K and what role she plays in his life, tells me everything I need to know about the state of this fandom.

And before people come at me: I am not saying he is perfect or put him on a pedestal. And, since I know people like to say this or play the misogyny card, without even knowing what misogyny actually means 🙃,its also not criticizing K .

But the fact that so many people can see all the tension, his cold behaviour, her annoyance ,the way they both look uncomfortable all the time, but the only conclusion for these people is : Hudson is a jerk, he needs to make a decision, his behaviour gives them the ick, K deserves better.. and yes these are all the things I had to read in the last days.

I think I explained my POV a few times: I think that H and C are a couple and that K is helping them out as a cover up, buffer, beard or whatever you want to call it at this point.

But she only does it, because thanks to shitty DM and that sus tiktok account, they were both put into that situation, because that girlfriend thing blew up immediatly and they were stuck.

But I think both of their behaviour shows that they are absolutely tired of that situation and pretending and thats exactly why they act the way they act .

And also, the way Hudsons treats women in general, how respectful and supportive he always is. I refuse to believe that he would treat his girlfriend like this. There is simply no way.

So maybe, just maybe, Hudsons behaviour and also of course Ks behaviour is based on the fact that they are both stuck in a situation they both do not want to be in and not because Hudson is a shitty person who is just too much of a coward to make a decision ( yep thats exactly what someone said about him) .

And maybe just maybe it is time to change your POV and trust me, from my own experience and from what some mutuals have told me, a lot of things will begin to make a lot more sense, if you let go of the girlfriend perspective.

Because it gets to a point where its just very obvious what is going on.

See how easy it would be to get just one photo like this - unposed and unprompted? Instead we keep seeing distance, formality, and quite honestly avoiding interaction entirely. Even in posed couple photos, the lack of connection is evident.

Hudson says the “partner” keeps him stable, but I wonder if that’s more of a projection he puts on her and his other Vancouver friends as his connection to home and his former idea of normalcy. It’s one thing to be soothed by someone, but something else to have someone actively soothe you.

I say this because Sunday night, we saw him continue to look on every other direction for connection, Jacob, Sophie, etc. we’ve seen how much he and Connor stay glued together for support when they’re at events like the reports from the CAA Oscars party.

Yet with the “partner” it seems he doesn’t seek her out for that moment - just to catch each other’s eyes for reassurance.

When he won, he turned inward (in my head to connect with Connor in his mid’s eye) before getting up - even when she touched him, he didn’t acknowledge it. He turned around to look at the “daddies” before getting out of the aisle.

Now maybe these moments were captured that night and just haven’t surfaced, but honestly it doesn’t seem to exist from Sunday night or any night. Even the V-Day post was lukewarm energy.

Sora and Riku’s dynamic in DDD carries over to KH3, and arguably, it’s a little more in the Light than before. No big moments (that are acknowledged in-game, at least), but I would say it’s starting to leave the shadows with Sora being teased by Donald and Goofy for finding Riku attractive and always listening to Riku, the reminders that Riku is always at the back of Sora’s mind throughout the game, and Sora’s discomfort when Kairi offers him a paopu fruit (with Riku nearby on the beach… who Sora starts this scene looking at and thinking about). Those are moments that happen in the Light. But the big ones still happen in the Dark… or are forgotten.

Sora saves Riku in the Realm of Darkness. He uses the Power of Waking to do this, which is honestly a huge deal. That’s Sora’s entire goal for most of KH3 — to gain the PoW and regain the strength he lost in DDD. It complements Riku gaining the PoW by wanting to save Sora in DDD, and it parallels Hercules getting his strength back because he wants to save Meg. But the fact that Sora’s goal is achieved here is unacknowledged in the game, to the point where it seems to go over a lot of people’s heads. It even went over my head the first time I played KH3. (Side note: I wonder if it says something that the Combined Keyblade, which symbolizes Sora and Riku’s relationship, has only been summoned in the Realm of Sleep and the Realm of Darkness so far. We’ve never seen it in the Light.)

Riku’s True Love sacrifice for Sora in the Keyblade Graveyard is in the Realm of Light, but it’s ultimately forgotten. This sacrifice saves Sora. It’s the reason light prevails over the dark and our heroes win in the end. And it’s totally unacknowledged in the game. It’s implied Sora sees something in the tunnel of light when he reaches for Riku, but that also seems to be forgotten. Not only is that in the physical dark, but we are left in the dark as to what Sora sees. It’s out of frame, outside the bounds of the story presented to us. The shadows of the shadows. As the audience, we literally and figuratively do not have the full picture.

These parts of KH3 are practically erased, almost like they never happened. Almost like they cannot happen. (The KH3 graphic novel actually does erase Riku’s sacrifice from the story.) And I do think that’s very, very interesting in the context of KH taking place in the Disney fairytale universe. Even in the Realm of Darkness, even in the shadows within this reality, there’s only so far the boundary can be pushed. A queer relationship has to remain subtext (Darkness). It can’t exist on the surface (Light). It can’t significantly impact the story. The story can’t be about that. Not in this world.

I’m sure I’m not the only one that jokes about Sora and Riku getting together in Quadratum because it’s (from their pov) Unreality. But it’s not a joke either, right, because this is a different world, made up of things that don’t exist in Disney fairytale land with all its traditional cishetero relationships and happy endings… This is a world where a queer relationship could happen. Because it’s not “real.”

Let’s take this a step further.

Top 10* Heated Rivalry sexy moments

yes of course. this space is safe for hudson pregnant truthers (HUDSON IS THE ONE CARRYING THE BABY JUST TO CLARIFY)

Alright y'all. First things first, after all the bullshit the toxic part of this fandom has put Hudson through, I'm so proud and happy that he won tonight. It was deserved and I'm also proud of Heated Rivalry winning all of their categories. After I watched Heated Rivalry, I realized it was the first Queer Media I'd watched after being out as Queer (AroAce 🤗), and that made it even more special. Heated Rivalry winning big is a wonderful way to head into Pride Month.

Alright now on to the Mess 😁.

Red Carpet: It was a nice group photo wasn't it. However, remember I mentioned earlier smiling with your eyes vs. smiling with your teeth. That was a canned Shane Hollander smile from Hudson, and it is what it is. I loved that Hudson was in brown matching his mom. I thought it was really cool that his dad made it. But the interaction with K was minimal, and I've seen others compare it to a checklist. As soon as the pictures were done, he dropped that arm like he did after VF waiting for their car. Also, the gum. Moving on. Hudson lit up taking pictures with the cast, and he looked more like a couple with Sophie 🤷🏽‍♀️. And he got some good hugs in with Ksenia and Robbie, and I loved to see it.

And the Winner Is: I'm going to link the video here in case anyone missed it so you can have full context of what I'm going to break down.

I'm going to be honest; this was like waiting for Michael B. Jordan to win at the Oscars. You knew it was probably going to happen but these awards shows like to play in people's face too much to be certain. Hudson's reaction reminded me of Michael's just that surreal feeling of "It's really me." I love this for him.

The List: Hudson's little thank you list was so sweet. I hate public speaking and I love that the list helped him get all of his gratitude out because he strikes me as the type that would be so upset if he forgot to thank someone. The part where he thanked his parents was so sweet. I always love seeing Creatives thank their parents for supporting them. Careers like Musician, Artist, Actor aren't always viewed as stable jobs and some parents try and discourage pursuing careers in these fields, but kudos to his parents for giving him the encouragement to get to where he is today.

Miss K: I really don't hold any animosity against her. Honestly, I don't think anyone does, which is why the discourse around her gets weird sometimes. No one hates her. What we all are is little confused by what exactly is going on with her and Hudson. Because no matter what you think about their relationship, there are too many moments that make you go Hmmm.

No Hug No Kiss: The people worried about a kiss can breathe a sigh of relief. But damn, the person who is allegedly your long-term partner of years "with me when my Mazda squeaked and I had no job", has been with you on this acting journey, watches you get your first major award and nothing. No hug, no kiss, no acknowledgment really. A quick glance and then he was on his way up to that stage. Ouch. Because we all know who he would've gotten the bear hug of life from if he had been there with him.

Wherever You Are: Hudson, I love you like a play cousin, but what was that. You were sat next to her the whole night. You looked at her before you went up on stage. You should've been able to pick her out in the crowd easily. Beginning that way after no hug and no kiss as if to say, "Oh yeah where are you again." Dang. Also, he does say love you. Not I love you. Love you. Considering how much he says this to his friends and the number of times he's said it about Connor it doesn't quite land does it? He's actually said "I've fallen in love with him" about Connor in that promo video where they wrote messages on the pucks. But for your long-term gf a quick love you, thank you for keeping me stable. Also, isn't saying she keeps you stable reheating your nachos, when you said in the Andy Cohen podcast that Connor has been your stability throughout all of this. Then again stable in the past isn't the same as stable throughout a meteoric rise in fame. I view K's stability as more of a keeping him grounded, reminding him where's he's from stability. Connor's stability seems like the kind you rely on when you need support your when times get difficult. After all, only one of them has been referred to as Hudson's Emotional Support Person in Life.

From Girlfriend to Partner: We have heard Hudson say girlfriend in reference to K a total of 2 times, both in GRWM videos that were pre-recorded. Even if we assumed that's what she was to Hudson we were just getting used to Hudson saying it and he hits us with thanking her as his Partner. I already mentioned in another comment section that girlfriend when said by a man has a connotation to it that makes you assume that man is Straight even if he's not. Most of us within the Fandom believe Hudson is Queer and it looks like it was uncomfortable for him to say girlfriend. However, partner might feel more comfortable regardless of who he's referring to, as a Queer man, because it has no gender. Honestly when I think about Hudcon in a romantic context I think of them as partners and I've written it that way too, I don't think Hudson and Connor would say boyfriend 🤷🏽‍♀️. I don't know, it just seems like another Easter Egg Hudson has laid in regard to his sexuality. Also, I thought there was a rainbow patch on his pant leg, but it was just a reflection of the light through the window. Still, I think seeing a rainbow 🏳️‍🌈 on Hudson the day before Pride month is a good omen.

Big Sexy Russian: We knew Hudson was going to acknowledge Connor in his speech if he won. It was a given. Hudson is nothing if not consistent and saving Connor for last, after thanking K, follows a pattern we've become accustomed to. You could hear the emotion in Hudson's voice the whole time the spoke of Connor even if he started out being his usual jokey self, it was if he was bracing himself to get through it without being emotional and breaking down. Also, this was the only part of his speech that he went "off script" for, not looking at the paper.

“If I could cut this award down the middle I would because if these gay, yearning, little bottom eyes didn’t have a big sexy Russian to feast upon, my performance wouldn’t be as good. To the honorary Canadian Connor Storrie, I share this award with you."

-Hudson Williams

I find it interesting that he did that first person thing again that he does with Shane, where he said, "if these gay, yearning, little bottom eyes," instead of Shane, as if he was talking about himself.

Big Sexy Russian to Feast Upon. Huh. Just had to remind us how big and Sexy Connor is, and yes Connor because even though he said Russian, he could've said Ilya just like he could've said Shane. Also feast upon, is giving munch munch munch, yum yum yum vibes.

Mentioning that his performance wouldn't have been as good without Connor is to me shows Hudson acknowledging that Heated Rivalry's success was a two-person job and they relied on each other's stellar performances to elevate each other as actors and catapult Heated Rivalry into success.

Honorary Canadian. Before people got upset over that Buzzfeed article referring to Connor as Mrs. Hudson Williams, the article stated that the people they were highlighting were either Canadian, Canadian by marriage, or Honorary Canadians. Funny huh. I think saying this was mostly acknowledging Connor's place in this small Canadian show and being a part of their big Canadian family, they love him so much. "I share this award with you." They really are soulmates and there is no one else he'd rather share his first big award with than Connor. He truly would split that award in half if he could.

Alright to close. I was really happy when Heated Rivalry won for best Drama Series. We kind of knew it would. But if I can be crass for a minute, they picked the picture of Connor and Hudson in the bed in Episode 4 with titties out 🫣🤭. Like really all on the Jumbotron 🤣. Still, it was like Connor was there with them and I loved that.

Alright that's all I got. I'm sure as the dust settles over the week I'll have more commentary, and if we get any good after party material to analyze I'll be on it first thing in the morning. But for now, Good Night.