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outsideratheart · 1 year

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10 Mistletoe with olga carmona

A/N: Day eleven of the Christmas advent calendar. Sorry it’s late.

You may be a professional football player but first and foremost you were a fan. Whilst you couldn't watch the El Classico due to playing for Barcelona, you could watch the El Derbi. It's how you found yourself in the Spanish capital, in the stands watching two of your rivals and supporting your girlfriend, only the rest of the world didn't know about the latter.

Thankfully, the drop in temperature allowed your visit to Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano to remain under the radar. The first half comes and goes and you are yet to be spotted. It allows your plans to surprise Olga after the game that much easier.

When Athenea scores in the 85th minute, winning the game, she runs towards the bench to celebrate with the entire team. It is then when she sees you. The confusion on her face in obvious but it only lasts a few seconds as she is needed back in her position.

Not knowing your intentions, the goal scorer makes her way over to you at full time.

"What are you doing here? Come down onto the pitch" She shouts a security guard over so that they can give you access.

Deep down you know it isn’t m a good idea. A Barcelona player seen on the pitch after a El Derbi, the optics wouldn’t be good and it would only cause you problems.

"It's better if I don't I -"

"I hope there is a Olga shirt under that jacket?" your girlfriend jokes knowing full well that you would rather die than be seen in a Madrid shirt.

"Not a chance. I'm a culer born and bred, you know that"

"I know" Olga tells you.

It was a conversation you have had before. She had lost count the amount of times she tried and failed to get you in white and gold.

"Meet me by the changing rooms" She tells you.

This wasn't the first time you had come to Madrid to watch her play, nor was it the first time you’d be meeting her near the changing rooms but it would be the first time anybody would know about it.

"First you come to our game, now you are coming to our changing room. What, are dating one of my team mates?" Athenea asks.

You choke on air at the question having felt like you have been caught.

"A Barcelona player and Real Madrid player dating. It would be like football's Romeo and Juliet" Olga shoves her team mate towards the tunnel as a way to end the questioning.

"I'll meet you down there" Olga shouts as she leaves the field.

Spotting a familiar security guard, you ask her to let through the restricted access door.

"Have a lovely Christmas Y/N" the guard shouts to you whilst you make your way down the hallway.

"You too" you shout back.

When you get to the home team’s locker room you wait outside for Olga. You cannot help but look through social media to see if any fans spotted you at the game, luckily they didn't.

You look up just in time to see Olga walk out.

"Hello you" you pull her into your arms.

The hug lasts a little longer than it normal would in this setting but you hadn’t seen her in a few weeks and although you hated to admit it, distance does make the heart grow fonder.

"People could see us" Olga whispers into your shoulder.

"We are just hugging. Now if I were to do this" you cup her cheeks, quickly stealing a kiss "this could cause questions"

"Well then it's a good job we are just hugging" Olga pulls away.

As luck would have it several Madrid players choose this moment to leave their locker rooms.

You say hi to some of your national team mates who play for Atletico, congratulating them on a good game despite the scoreline.

"You're still here?" Athenea asks you.

"Of course she is, Olga is still here" Esther says as if it is the most obvious thing in the world.

Olga and yourself are joined by a few others as you leave the stadium.

As you walk, your hand finds its way to the small of Olga's back. With each step you hand gets lower and lower.

"Y/N" Olga subtly warns you.

You loved moments like this. The adrenaline that ran though your body at the thought of someone seeing you. There were several close calls at national camp but you never got caught. It almost became a game between the two of you. How far can you go without one of your team mates catching you.

"Tell me to stop and I will" you taunt your girlfriend.

Much to your surprise she stops in her tracks making you walk straight in the back of her. When she turns to face you, you very close.

Olga is about to say something but she is cut of by her team mates giggling and mumbling amongst themselves.

"Look up" Misa tells you.

When you do you you see a bunch of mistletoe hanging from the doorframe.

"Kiss" Athenea says rather giddily.

This could be the ultimate act. You could kiss your girlfriend with everyone watching. You knew what you wanted to do but you didn't know if Olga was thinking the same thing but then you see Olga cautiously nodding her head.

You lean down, your lips touch her in a still kiss. You are hungry for more but you know now isn't the time nor the place. Olga hands sit comfortably on your waist and she uses them to pull you close only you pull away slightly.

"What are you doing?"

"Having fun" it is now Olga who closes the gap and initiates the second kiss. This one is much more passionate than the first.

When you pull apart all eyes are on you and in a very rare occasion, you are at a loss for words.

“What was that?” Athenea asks knowing that kiss wasn’t one between friends now matter how Spanish you are.

“There is mistletoe” Olga nonchalantly says.

Questions get thrown at you from every direction and it feels line you are getting interrogated.

This isn’t how you planned on spending your night and clearly Olga is thinking the same thing because she grabs your hands and pulls you out of the door.

“Merry Christmas everyone” you sing as you all but run out of the stadium.

#Christmas ficlet #woso x reader #Olga Carmona x reader #Real Madrid femenino x reader #espwnt x reader

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romisora · 2 months

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Reflecting on Romeo and Alfredo's Relationship in Romeo's Blue Skies

This is going to be a very long post as I dig through years of interviews with the creators of the series and spend time reflecting on my own feelings since first seeing this show as a kid over ten years ago; I'm curious to see if there are any other queer fans who resonate with my experience. If you're just interested in reading the staff interview snippets, scroll towards the end.

TL;DR Romeo and Alfredo's feelings for each other were confirmed to be romantic in an interview with the director of the series in 2010.

For some background context, I first saw this series as a closeted queer kid. I had seen other media prior to this that were canonically queer on-screen, but had prevented myself from getting too invested in them. Deep down, it scared me that I was drawn to them and I was trying to convince myself that I wasn't like them. Also, I fall somewhere on the asexual and gray-romantic spectrum and as a result I never had much interest in romance-centered stories in the first place. However, something I didn't realize at the time there actually were types of romantic relationships that I desired, but there was an absence of me seeing them portrayed and allowing myself to be drawn to them.

When I first watched Romeo's Blue Skies, I was not prepared for how emotionally invested I became in the story, especially in the relationship between Romeo and Alfredo. I remember feeling confused why I was having feeling so many emotions while watching, and wondering why I was moved to tears over two fictional characters. At the time, I could tell it hit me on a deeper level than some people around me who I re-watched it with, and I was at a loss for what the reasons were. No piece of media had made me feel this deeply before, and few have come close since then. There's definitely a lot of other personal things about the story and characters that have grown with me over the years that contribute to how much I love this series as well, but Romeo and Alfredo were always at the heart of it. Back then, I tried to merely chalk up my feelings to the two characters having a beautiful friendship, one that I desired to have . . .

Years later, after I had figured out a lot more about my queer identity, I decided to revisit this show which had consistently been in my top 5 favorites even though I had not re-watched it in a very long time. Immediately, I started picking up on all the cues and realizing all the things about these two that had moved me and why it had been the case. The way they talked and supported each other, the way they thought each other, and the emotional intimacy between them. Regardless of anything that was stated on-screen, their connection felt incredibly romantic.

Something to keep in mind, I'm analyzing this series through the lens of the split-attraction model and am talking purely about romantic attraction here, not sexual attraction. If you are not familiar with the split-attraction model and different types of attraction, I recommend researching and reading about it. Being a kid on the asexual spectrum, I think it was precisely the innocence and pureness of Romeo and Alfredo's romantic attraction to one another that struck a chord with me. Additionally, being closeted, I believe on a subconscious level I resonated with the fact that these two were clearly in love with each other, but just like me, they did not understand it themselves either.

There were also a couple moments on my re-watch where my interest was piqued by dialogue nuances which were left out in the fansub translations.

From Episode 24, here Alfredo is saying "Romio ga inakucha dameda" (ロミオがいなくちゃだめだ。), which translates a bit closer to "I need you, Romeo," or "I can't do it without you, Romeo." However, depending on the context, this phrase can have a much stronger meaning, translating closer to "I can't live without you."

From Episode 26, although technically Alfredo is agreeing with Bianca here, his exact words are "Aa, subarashiiyo" (ああ、素晴らしいよ) which is "Yeah, he's wonderful."

Later in the same scene, Alfredo says to Bianca, "Omae mo itsuka kitto, Romio ga daisuki ni naru" (おまえもいつかきっと、ロミオが大好きになる。)

"Omae mo" which means "you too," what he's saying here is actually closer to "You too, will surely grow to like Romeo a lot someday." Potentially, there's a stronger undertone here which could be closer to "You too, will surely fall in love with Romeo someday."

"Daisuki ni naru" can mean either "fall in love with" or "grow to like a lot," and can be romantic or platonic depending on context. Bianca's reaction afterwards certainly feels rooted in the fact that his words fall in this gray area.

Ultimately, regardless if Romeo and Alfredo's relationship was not meant to be seen as romantic, it would not change the reasons why the series impacted me so much. However, on my recent re-watch, I couldn't help but wonder how much of it was intentional since so many creative choices in the show felt very deliberate. Alfredo's quickness to grab Romeo's hand, the gentle touches between them, the longing gazes, the promises, the daydreaming about each other when separated, how romantic the accompanying music tracks feel whenever they were together.

A side note here, two things about this situation can be true simultaneously. There can and should be more platonic male friendships with this level of emotional intimacy, and this should be more encouraged, accepted, and represented. At the same time though, there is no need to deny the queer-coding of these two characters. Both interpretations can exist alongside each other. After all, romantic or not, a huge part of their relationship is based on a strong foundation of friendship.

Somewhat related to this, I'd argue that a huge part of why the emotional chemistry between these two characters is so strong is because the story/script writer was a woman and they were both played by women. I joked to myself on my recent re-watch that Romeo and Alfredo have lesbian energy, and later realized that perhaps there were actual reasons why I was getting those vibes 😆

I have the 1996 Megu Extra artbook for the series I had picked up years ago. Since I had been recently been starting to study more Japanese, and Google Lens and DeepL have become pretty good at character recognition and translation, I started to casually read some of the staff interviews in the back of the book. My heart skipped a beat when I read this passage from the interview with the director, Kouzou Kusuba:

(scan of the page is edited to just show the relevant passage here)

Here's a translation I later got from a professional translator:

—It ended up becoming quite popular.

Kusuba: Contrary to my expectations… The fans are maniacs (laughs). Every work has its own fans, but for this one, it really did defy expectations. Well, I do understand the reason. I did depict Romeo and Alfredo in a homosexual-like way. Two men staring into each other’s eyes, or being quick to touch each other. Such depictions were not done previously in the Masterpiece series, and they were quite common here.

The vagueness here was what intrigued me, was he saying they were intentionally gay or just explaining why fans were interpreting them that way? He certainly did not seem to be outright denying the possibility.

I started digging deeper down the rabbit hole of interviews with the staff in various books over the years, burning with curiosity.

I found a couple more interesting vague allusions to the nature of Romeo and Alfredo's relationship in interviews with the script writer and voice actors in the 1996 Megu Extra art book and the 10th anniversary book.

From the 1996 Megu Extra interview with the script writer, Michiru Shimada. Translated with DeepL, edited for readability:

Interviewer: Please tell us about the process of adapting the original story into an anime.

Shimada: At first I thought the story would be a bit hard to follow. But as I worked on it, I think I was able to write something that I never thought I would be able to do. At first, I didn't think it would become this much of a friendship story between Romeo and Alfredo. Of course, I thought that would be the main theme and the climax of the story, but I feel that their friendship, or rather their relationship of trust, went further and further than I had expected.

From the 10th anniversary book interview with Michiru Shimada. Translated with DeepL, edited for readability:

Since I started using the Internet, I found out that "Romeo" had fans, and now that it has reached its 10th anniversary, it still has as many fans as ever. It's very surprising. I am deeply moved that 10 years have already passed, and at the same time, I am filled with gratitude that so many of you remember it. At the time of the broadcast, the ratings were low and I wondered if anyone was even watching the show. So I had no idea that there was a lot of talk among some fans about the relationship between Romeo and Alfredo being "suspicious" (laughs).

From the 10th anniversary book interview with Ai Orikasa and Toshiko Fujita, the voice actors of Romeo and Alfredo, respectively. Translated with DeepL, edited for readability:

Interviewer: So what "Romeo" depicts is the most important part, and in that sense, it is an eternal theme. Even when you grow up, you still think, "I want this kind of friendship," at the heart of it, don't you?

Orikasa: In some ways, it's ideal. I wish I had a friend like Alfredo…. Also, you are drawn to both the innocence of a boy like Romeo, whose hard work is beautiful, and the coolness and fragility of a brilliant but unfortunate boy like Alfredo.

Fujita: Even though they're just boys, there's a deep bond between them, like a romance, right? That's a big theme of Romeo and Alfredo's story.

Interviewer: What do you think is the secret behind Romeo and Alfredo's popularity?

Orikasa: Alfredo is unquestionably cool. Even being unfortunate has a kind of charisma…Romeo, on the other hand, is definitely a blank canvas. He's absorbing everything, but he's desperately trying to survive. He loves people desperately, he desperately wants to do something about it, and he can be clumsy or childish at times, but that's what makes him so charming. As for the relationship between the two, Romeo will never be able to live like Alfredo, and Alfredo will never have anything like Romeo, so they admire each other.

Fujita: I don't know which one of them is happier, but each of them has different qualities that they were born with or things that they acquired without realizing it. On the one hand, I feel like I have to protect them, but on the other hand, I also want to throw them away…That's why Romeo's blank canvas looks wonderful to Alfredo. Perhaps his canvas had been already painted over ever since he was born. They both have something wonderful from the start, but they're both attracted to what they don't have.

…It sounds like we're talking about a man and a woman (laughs).

Orikasa: That's really true. So, I'm sure the fans saw the two of them that way as well. But we were also laughing in the recording studio. There were long scenes where they stared at each other (laughs).

Fujita: That was hilarious. "Isn't it a little too long?" (laughs) We would say things like, "That look in his eyes is not normal."

By this point, I was still wondering if the romantic subtext was actually intentional, or if the creators were just joking around and acknowledging fan interpretations. However, at the very least, I felt I could be satisfied knowing that no one was arguing against the interpretation of them being more than friends. I began to assume that even if the romantic subtext was intentional, the creators would never officially confirm it and would continue to skirt around the topic forever.

Then, to my absolute shock, I found it. Fifteen years after the show aired, in the 2010 World Masterpiece Theater Europe Memorial Book, the director unabashedly confirming the feelings between Romeo and Alfredo were always intended to be romantic.

From the special interview with director Kouzou Kusuba. Professionally translated:

Romeo and Alfredo, the two had fallen in love . . .

With Romeo and Alfredo, that was love at first sight. Without even going into male friendships, the two are lovers. Before they start walking down the road of hardships, when they meet during the apple incident, it was love at first sight. They fell in love. That is the only explanation for having a bond that is that strong.

After Angeletta, Romeo’s heart moves towards Bianca. That is because he saw traces of her older brother, Alfredo, in her. So in the end, it was Alfredo for Romeo.

For comparison's sake, the DeepL translation with my own edits for better readability:

Romeo and Alfredo, they fell in love . . .

Romeo and Alfredo, it was love at first sight. Before you say anything about male friendships, these two are lovers. They fell in love at first sight when they met at the apple incident before they started down the road of hardship. They fell in love. If we didn’t think of it that way, they would not have had such a strong bond.

Romeo's heart moves on to Bianca after Angeletta. It is because he saw in Bianca the image of her brother Alfredo. After all, it really is still Alfredo for Romeo.

There's a crucial bit of info to note about the interview in the original Japanese that confirms it was romance without a shadow of a doubt. The director uses the word 恋 (koi) to describe their love, which is a term that is only used for romantic love in Japanese, as well as 恋人 (koibito - lovers/sweethearts/boyfriends). This leaves no ambiguity unlike the words すき (suki - like), and 愛 (ai - love), which, like their closest English counterparts, can be platonic or romantic depending on context.

Although I didn't need the romantic connection between them to be canon, actually having it confirmed simultaneously fills my heart with so much joy and ache even more. The story hits much harder when viewed through the lens of being an intentional, fleeting childhood romance between two boys who are oblivious to the fact that they are in love with each other. There's a sense of disconnect between them knowing that they feel strongly towards each other, but not realizing what their feelings mean and the people around them not understanding how deep it is either. I certainly had feelings as a kid that I wasn't able to identify as romantic until years later because of compulsory heterosexuality, and I'm sure many other queer people would relate to this as well.

It's beautiful, yet heartbreaking. If you consider it, the way their romance is presented contextually makes sense from both the standpoint of being realistic to the 1870s, time period it is set in, and the constraints of when it was created and aired on TV, in 1995. Especially with Romeo's Blue Skies being a children's show and a World Masterpiece Theater series, there probably would have been no scenario where the creators could have explicitly stated it on-screen. Instead, they poured it all into subtext, which shines brightly.

Romeo and Alfredo never needed to say, "I love you." A few words, a tender gaze and a gentle hand touch between them to me almost feels more romantic than a kiss ever could. It is so painfully evident in the way they look at each other and treat each other that they have a much deeper emotional and romantic bond between them than any other characters in the series.

I think that's what spoke to me all those years ago. The feeling of finding someone you're on the same wavelength with; those unspoken understandings between each other. I saw these two and was struck somewhere deep in my heart with the desire for a relationship like that. Even now, there's a part of me that feels: If I were to find my equivalent counterpart of Romeo and Alfredo, I would be set for life . . .

#romeo's blue skies #romeo no aoi sora #romeo and the black brothers #ロミオの青い空 #die schwarzen bruder #世界名作劇場 #world masterpiece theater #nippon animation #alfredo martini #romeo #ロミオ #アルフレド #romeo x alfredo #official artwork #canon ship

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tournament-of-the-twinks · 10 months

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Characters included in bracket

The Onceler from the Lorax (11)

Noise from Roleslaying with Roman (10)

Link from The Legend of Zelda (8)

Ambrosius Goldenloin from Nimona (4)

Enjolras from Les Miserables (4)

Chip from Just Roll With It (4)

Osamu Dazai from Bungo Stray Dogs (4)

Vash the Stampede from Trigun Stampede (3)

Hong Lu from Limbus Company (3)

Silver the Hedgehog from Sonic (3)

Julian Bashir from Star Trek Deep Space 9 (3)

Homestar Runner from Homestar Runner (3)

Keefe Sencen from Keeper of the Lost Cities (3)

Marvin the Magnificent from Jacksepticeye (3)

Ballister from Nimona (2)

Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle (2)

Yuki Sohma from Fruits Basket (2)

Hunter from The Owl House (2)

Nico di Angelo from PJO (2)

Prompto Argentum from Final Fantasy XV (2)

Tamaki Suoh from Ouran High School Host Club (2)

Mercutio from Romeo and Juliet (2)

Hamlet from Hamlet (2)

Daniel from Camp Camp (2)

Lear from Pokemon (2)

Asmodeus from Obey Me Shall We Date (2)

Nathan from Misfits (2)

Scout from Team Fortress 2 (2)

Nagito Komaeda from Danganronpa (2)

Alfredo Linguini from Ratatouille (2)

Tomoe from Kamisama Kiss (2)

Jermey Heere from Be More Chill (2)

Shin Tsukimi from Your Turn to Die (2)

Rui Kamishiro from Project Sekai (2)

Luke Skywalker from Star Wars (2)

Nei Huaisang from mdzs (2)

Lester Papadopoulos from The Trials of Apollo (2)

Vince Noir from The Mighty Boosh (2)

Rick Pratt from The Young Ones (2)

Haruka Sakurai from Milgram (2)

Lilia Vanrouge from Twisted Wonderland (2)

Riddle Rosehearts from Twisted Wonderland (2)

Kuzco from The Emperor’s New Groove (2)

Ennon from Good Omens (2)

Eric “Bitty” Bittle from Check‚ Please! (2)

Mars from Project Nought (1)

Twink from Q-Force (1)

Mike from Roleslaying with Roman (1)

Icarus from Greek Mythology (1)

Kajiyama Fuuta from MILGRAM (1)

Damien from Dream Daddy (1)

Mills from Be my Villian (1)

Kyo Sohma from Fruits Basket (1)

Tobias from Faroff (1)

Venti from Genshin Impact (1)

Kyoya Ootori from Ouran High School Host Club (1)

Bo from She-Ra (1)

Zazie from Trigun Stampede (1)

Leviathan from Obey Me Shall We Date (1)

Demon Eric from Good Omens (1)

Hypnos from Hades (1)

Jenson Endo from The Prince of Southland (1)

Yule from Wild Beast Forest House (1)

Lyney from Genshin Impact (1)

Kyle from She Ra (1)

Sampo from Honkai Star Rail (1)

Tartaglia from Genshin Impact (1)

Oscar from Tea for Two (1)

Ezra from Tea for Two (1)

Shut from Pretty Cure (1)

Merlin from Fate Grand Order (1)

Felix Escellun from Last Legacy (1)

Asra from The Arcana (1)

Julian from The Arcana (1)

Florian from Tea for Two (1)

Marlon from Tea for Two (1)

Errol from Tea for Two (1)

Billy Kaplan from Young Avengers/Marvel comics (1)

Chuuya from Bungou Stray Dogs (1)

Belphegor from Obey Me Shall We Date (1)

Haku from Spirited Away (1)

Anasui from Jojo's Bizzare Adventure: Stone Ocean (1)

Mizuki from Kamisama Kiss (1)

Kurama from Kamisama Kiss (1)

Sigma from Bungo Stray Dogs (1)

Gowther from Seven Deadly Sins (1)

Yukito from Cardcaptor Sakura (1)

Ren Ichimoku from Hell Girl (1)

Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke (1)

Shuntaro Chishiya from Alice In Borderland (1)

Bailin from Bailin and Li Yun (1)

Li Yun from Bailin and Li Yun (1)

Kappa from Castle Swimmer (1)

Siren from Castle Swimmer (1)

Jack from Check, Please! (1)

Al Leon from Appare-Ranman! (1)

Dr. Facilier from The Princess and the Frog (1)

Shang Qinghua from The Scum Villian’s Self Saving System (1)

Lio from Promare (1)

James from Pokemon (1)

N from Pokemon (1)

Bruno from Encanto (1)

Diego the Squire from Nimona (1)

Finnian from Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler (1)

Satan from Obey Me Shall We Date (1)

Ingo from Pokemon (1)

Akito Sohma from Fruits Basket (1)

Hatori Sohma from Fruits Basket (1)

The Man with the Yellow Hat from Curious George (1)

Laurent de Vere from The Captive Prince (1)

Miles Maitland from Bright Young Things (1)

Lance Mcclain from Voltron Legendary Defender (1)

Lelouch from Code Geass (1)

Edgar Valden from Identity V (1)

Hercules (pre training) from Disney’s Hercules (1)

Shinji Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion (1)

Connor from Dear Evan Hansen (1)

Orpheus from Hadestown (1)

Charlie Price from Kinky Boots (1)

Wallace from Pokemon (1)

Keith Kogane from Voltron (1)

Double Trouble from She Ra (1)

Shigure Sohma from Fruits Basket (1)

Ayame Sohma from Fruits Basket (1)

Langa from Sk8 the Infinity (1)

Jaskier from The Witcher (1)

Fay D. Fluorite from Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles (1)

Karube from Alice in Borderland (1)

#tournament of the twinks

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