multi fandom

i think some people are misconstruing the criticism of how the show approaches consent and intimacy to wanting these characters to be misogynists like no i don’t want to watch these male romantic heros be horrible people but a lot of the conversations sounded like they were reading off of a pamphlet and not how actual human beings speak especially 20 something straight men like sex and intimacy is vulnerable and messy and you wont always say or do the right thing even if you mean well and supporting a partner who has gone through sexual assault can also be a learning curve it’s okay to portray that messiness instead of unnatural “oh my god he’s a man written by a woman😍” after school special esque dialogue

i think engaging with fandom spaces of your work and acknowledging the pro shippy type interpretations from the inherent and overt eroticism in the narrative does not mean that gadd didn’t channel his own experiences with grooming and sexual assault into ruben and niall’s dynamic and i think niall turning to self destructive hypersexual behaviors is very much conveying a trauma response to the audience and his desire to take on the dominant role ruben always slipped into easily (same with the monologue of him saying he wishes he could walk a day in his shoes) overall richard gadd’s ability to write very nuanced abuse stories and portray that victims are not always the “perfect victim” and can easily perpetuate the cycle of abuse themselves and also unhealthy codependency and attachment that can arise is very compelling and that’s all i have to say on that because i’m being irritated by 90% of this fan base

feel free to disagree idgaf but my personal interpretation is that ruben and niall’s dynamic is homoerotic but I don’t think ruben is sexually attracted to niall but their relationship is homoerotic in the sense of how ruben needs to facilitate all of niall’s sexual development and his desire to be the only person who can enact violence onto niall and on behalf of niall but the relationship will always be physically and sexually abusive and it’s clear ruben also experienced sexual violence at some point and is now enacting that onto niall someone he sees as easy to dominate and control

really sad seeing niall engage in all these hypersexual behaviors as a result of his trauma and sexual development as a teenager being completely enmeshed with ruben

half man turning into a heartbreaking amazing show has a stupid fanbase because genuinely why is 80% of twitter talking about this like it’s a bdsm dom/sub fantasy alpha omega ao3 slay and not like its a story of the cycle of abuse, repressed sexuality, and sexual violence

it’s really just horrifying seeing how this show depicts the cycle of abuse it’s very clear ruben has been a victim of sexual violence and now he’s inflicting that onto others it’s very telling one of the first things we see in the show is ruben groping niall

sources tell me bella playing another sapphic character is not stable but i will be there for sunny dancer to support my beloved niecephew