I Don't Want To See Any Of You Hanging Out With That Dryer.
One too many threads on fandomsecrets has caused me to snap and write a lengthy, rambling entry on Why It's Okay To Like Blaine Of Glee (But It's Totally Cool If You Don't), it appears. Whoops!
A common criticism of Blaine is that he has no personality, which I don't think is strictly true. He hasn't had a great deal of character development, but, then again, he hasn't had a great deal of screentime, and there's certainly enough in what little we've seen of him to work with. He has oodles of charisma and confidence (which is probably why so many people have fallen for the character so quickly). He has a strong playful streak. He's friendly and supportive but can be condescending. He's relaxed and open about his sexuality. He's much better than Kurt at modifying his behaviour where being too forward and enthusiastic would be inappropriate, not that it's difficult to beat Kurt at that. He's a gentleman in words and actions, but in body language he's a bit of a flirt. From what we've seen of him, it also seems that he could potentially be slightly repressed and inclined to scheme.
My point is that Blaine's character might not necessarily interest everyone, but it's there. 'A personality that bores me' and 'no personality' aren't quite the same thing. The former is fine, because it's a subjective judgement; the latter makes me bristle because it implies objectivity and therefore that people who like Blaine are shallow and tasteless.
(Regarding the question of shallowness: I won't deny that I find Blaine very attractive, but the reason I find him attractive is based more in his behaviour than in his appearance (although his looks don't hurt), so I like to think my reasons for liking the character aren't solely 'well, he's hot', at least. I dare say some people do like Blaine or Kurt/Blaine for shallow reasons, and that's okay! But that's not the only reason people like him, really.
I - I can't really defend myself against accusations of a lack of taste, given some of the fandoms I've been involved in.)
Another common criticism of Blaine is that he is a bit of a Gary Stu, which is, er, totally valid. I imagine we'll be seeing more of his flaws if he hangs around for a little longer. I like him in spite of any Gary Stu-ish tendencies he may have; others won't be able to stomach them, and that's totally fine. I'm not saying everyone has to like Blaine; I'm just a little tired of feeling judged because I happen to like him.
As for Kurt/Blaine as a pairing, which has also been getting a bit of stick, I suppose I 'ship it mainly because Blaine makes Kurt so adorably happy. I was half in love with the concept from the moment I saw the 'Teenage Dream' video, so I'm not going to pretend my initial interest in Kurt/Blaine was born of any deep analysis of the way the characters interacted. Blaine was obviously charming, and both Kurt and I were obviously charmed.
However, the Kurt/Blaine pairing has managed to not only awaken but keep and indeed stoke my interest, which, as I am tremendously fickle, is no insignificant feat. Probably a good portion of that, aside from the natural chemistry between the characters (some don't think they have chemistry; I personally do), comes from the fact that the writers are taking the time to give their relationship a slow buildup. This is assuming that they're going to end up in a romantic relationship, which hasn't actually been confirmed, but still: there's a slow buildup in what could obviously potentially be a romantic direction. Do you know how rare that is in Glee? Half the romantic relationships start and end within a single episode, with little or no indication in previous episodes of any relationship between the characters at all, and I cannot bring myself to care about those. Will/Emma was a rare exception, and I 'shipped that; Kurt/Blaine is another. Perhaps, in a way, my 'shippery is fired by the contrast with other pairings within the show; Glee's usual pattern led me to expect them to have kissed by the end of 'Never Been Kissed', and because that expectation was subverted I'm hungering for them to get together.
UST is such a big thing for me. It's why I felt cheated by the canonical Jack/Ianto pairing in Torchwood: we didn't see them getting together; we saw very little previous interaction or indications of attraction between them; Torchwood just went 'oh by the way these two are having sex, we heard you fannish types like that sort of thing,' which I found frustrating and dull (although others enjoyed it, and that's fine!). When I say I want Kurt/Blaine to happen in canon, I don't just mean that I want to see them kissing; more than fanservice, I want the gradual, emotionally satisfying development of a relationship, and that's what Glee has been giving us so far. (Not that I'll say no to a bit of fanservice. I love how much Glee is teasing us, because the more 'asdfghdadfdgdfgh they both want to kiss why aren't they kissing' frustrated I am the more inspired I am to write.)
Also, they are really, really, really, really cute.
That said, it's okay not to 'ship it! I know I have at least one Sam/Kurt 'shipper on my flist, and I'm sure we can coexist peacefully. (I'd like Sam/Kurt a lot more if its fandom didn't insist on referring to the pairing as 'Kum' rather than the far superior 'Skurt'.)
In conclusion: I like Blaine, and I like Kurt/Blaine, and it is totally, totally fine for other people to dislike either or both of these things, but it is also fine for me to like them. I JUST WANT TO WRITE STUPID CROSSOVERS AND NOT FEEL JUDGED, GUYS.
All that said, a member of my flist has said that Blaine might as well just be an echoey voice in Kurt's head and I a) could see her point and b) immediately wanted fanfiction in which Blaine is a figment of Kurt's sex-starved imagination, causing his friends to worry about him quite a lot when he makes out with 'Blaine' in the hallways, so.
basically this entire entry was a thinly-veiled excuse to post the last sentence. someone write it.
A common criticism of Blaine is that he has no personality, which I don't think is strictly true. He hasn't had a great deal of character development, but, then again, he hasn't had a great deal of screentime, and there's certainly enough in what little we've seen of him to work with. He has oodles of charisma and confidence (which is probably why so many people have fallen for the character so quickly). He has a strong playful streak. He's friendly and supportive but can be condescending. He's relaxed and open about his sexuality. He's much better than Kurt at modifying his behaviour where being too forward and enthusiastic would be inappropriate, not that it's difficult to beat Kurt at that. He's a gentleman in words and actions, but in body language he's a bit of a flirt. From what we've seen of him, it also seems that he could potentially be slightly repressed and inclined to scheme.
My point is that Blaine's character might not necessarily interest everyone, but it's there. 'A personality that bores me' and 'no personality' aren't quite the same thing. The former is fine, because it's a subjective judgement; the latter makes me bristle because it implies objectivity and therefore that people who like Blaine are shallow and tasteless.
(Regarding the question of shallowness: I won't deny that I find Blaine very attractive, but the reason I find him attractive is based more in his behaviour than in his appearance (although his looks don't hurt), so I like to think my reasons for liking the character aren't solely 'well, he's hot', at least. I dare say some people do like Blaine or Kurt/Blaine for shallow reasons, and that's okay! But that's not the only reason people like him, really.
I - I can't really defend myself against accusations of a lack of taste, given some of the fandoms I've been involved in.)
Another common criticism of Blaine is that he is a bit of a Gary Stu, which is, er, totally valid. I imagine we'll be seeing more of his flaws if he hangs around for a little longer. I like him in spite of any Gary Stu-ish tendencies he may have; others won't be able to stomach them, and that's totally fine. I'm not saying everyone has to like Blaine; I'm just a little tired of feeling judged because I happen to like him.
As for Kurt/Blaine as a pairing, which has also been getting a bit of stick, I suppose I 'ship it mainly because Blaine makes Kurt so adorably happy. I was half in love with the concept from the moment I saw the 'Teenage Dream' video, so I'm not going to pretend my initial interest in Kurt/Blaine was born of any deep analysis of the way the characters interacted. Blaine was obviously charming, and both Kurt and I were obviously charmed.
However, the Kurt/Blaine pairing has managed to not only awaken but keep and indeed stoke my interest, which, as I am tremendously fickle, is no insignificant feat. Probably a good portion of that, aside from the natural chemistry between the characters (some don't think they have chemistry; I personally do), comes from the fact that the writers are taking the time to give their relationship a slow buildup. This is assuming that they're going to end up in a romantic relationship, which hasn't actually been confirmed, but still: there's a slow buildup in what could obviously potentially be a romantic direction. Do you know how rare that is in Glee? Half the romantic relationships start and end within a single episode, with little or no indication in previous episodes of any relationship between the characters at all, and I cannot bring myself to care about those. Will/Emma was a rare exception, and I 'shipped that; Kurt/Blaine is another. Perhaps, in a way, my 'shippery is fired by the contrast with other pairings within the show; Glee's usual pattern led me to expect them to have kissed by the end of 'Never Been Kissed', and because that expectation was subverted I'm hungering for them to get together.
UST is such a big thing for me. It's why I felt cheated by the canonical Jack/Ianto pairing in Torchwood: we didn't see them getting together; we saw very little previous interaction or indications of attraction between them; Torchwood just went 'oh by the way these two are having sex, we heard you fannish types like that sort of thing,' which I found frustrating and dull (although others enjoyed it, and that's fine!). When I say I want Kurt/Blaine to happen in canon, I don't just mean that I want to see them kissing; more than fanservice, I want the gradual, emotionally satisfying development of a relationship, and that's what Glee has been giving us so far. (Not that I'll say no to a bit of fanservice. I love how much Glee is teasing us, because the more 'asdfghdadfdgdfgh they both want to kiss why aren't they kissing' frustrated I am the more inspired I am to write.)
Also, they are really, really, really, really cute.
That said, it's okay not to 'ship it! I know I have at least one Sam/Kurt 'shipper on my flist, and I'm sure we can coexist peacefully. (I'd like Sam/Kurt a lot more if its fandom didn't insist on referring to the pairing as 'Kum' rather than the far superior 'Skurt'.)
In conclusion: I like Blaine, and I like Kurt/Blaine, and it is totally, totally fine for other people to dislike either or both of these things, but it is also fine for me to like them. I JUST WANT TO WRITE STUPID CROSSOVERS AND NOT FEEL JUDGED, GUYS.
All that said, a member of my flist has said that Blaine might as well just be an echoey voice in Kurt's head and I a) could see her point and b) immediately wanted fanfiction in which Blaine is a figment of Kurt's sex-starved imagination, causing his friends to worry about him quite a lot when he makes out with 'Blaine' in the hallways, so.
basically this entire entry was a thinly-veiled excuse to post the last sentence. someone write it.