YOUNG ROYALS (2024) Episode #01 - 3x1 dir. Julia Lindström.

wille’s birthdays will be happy from now on 😌💜

Season 3 has so many pretty shots, I had a hard time choosing one to paint!

everybody moved on but i'm still here (young royals s3 trailer song)

part 3 [pt.1 * pt.2 * pt.4]

Happy Birthday, Wille.

Gifs are beautiful. I want to live in this 3 second moment forever

"I miss your hair."

"What?"

Wilhelm opens his eyes and looks at Simon across the pillow they're sharing. His eyes are wide and unfocused, staring vaguely at the top of Wilhelm's head. Simon lifts a hand and brushes his fingers carefully over the fringe that barely brushes Wilhelm's eyebrow. 

"I miss your hair," Simon repeats, his voice soft. He drops his hand between them on the pillow and finds Wilhelm's gaze. "Your long hair."

Wilhelm scrunches his eyebrows together. He didn't know Simon had any opinion on his hair, to be honest, much less that he missed Wilhelm's old haircut. 

"Before I cut it?" Wilhelm asks, even though he knows. Even though he understands what Simon's trying to say. 

"Yeah," Simon murmurs. He breathes deeply and closes his eyes, burrowing back into the hazy doze they'd been suspended in. 

Wilhelm, however, keeps his eyes open. He blinks at Simon several times. He supposes he finally has his answer on what Simon thought of his haircut, all those months ago.

when the kitty is dreaming and unconsciously moves his lil paws

YR FICS – Literature

I compiled recs by @margotdanslebois, @grounded-parasocial, @sadhappylady @gulliblelemon and @sillylittleflower from this post for #willemonth2024 @youngroyals-events and added two more :)

∙ say a prayer for me in the dark by witchjeons (E, 66k) Wille write amazing poetry (it's litterature, right ?), it's totally worth the read. And the story is amazing.

∙ the language of roses by despassurlaneige (E, 377k) Wille is a writer and they met in a librairy (with Simon, of course !). Very explicit and very compeling.

∙ Aquired Taste by museraphoria (M, 33k, WIP) Vampire!Wille and vampire hunter!Simon at Hillerska. English classic books references and also used for the plot.

∙ True Colors by DemiLune13 (M, 97k) Simon writes a novel which is significant to the story - I love this AU but mind the tags

∙ Follow the Sparks by emerybemery (M, 63k WIP) Wille is a librarian who is a lover and collector of books

∙ Freedom, drafted by @putnamcapital Where the whole plot takes place around a written story with the potential of breaking them apart or healing what's broken.

∙ perhaps more by @willesworld Simon and Wille are on a summer writing program.

∙ heavy is the head by oforamuse (G, 97k WIP) because of the whole gay Shakespeare of it all and because the writing is just THAT good

∙ The Greatest Story Never Written by @nerdyfangirl76 writer! simon and reader wille who doesn’t know that the cute guy two doors down from him is his favorite writer bc simon uses a pen name

∙ Slippin’ into Christmas by @the-amber-fox During a snowstorm, Simon accidentally ends up in Wille and Felice's bookstore.

It seems a lot of people find the way Wille constantly asks "how can [Simon] be over me" when they are broken up to be endearing, adorable, or just Wille being a silly teen. While it may have been that in S2, I (unsurprisingly) had an issue with it in S3 as being both manipulative and deeply sad.

In S2 it's understandable that Drama Queen Wille assumes that Simon has gotten over him and moved on given that time has passed and there is (seemingly) a new man in Simon's life.

source: @royaledvin

You see someone kissing someone else, it is reasonable to assume they're done with you. But Simon makes it clear that him being "over" Wille is not the reason he broke up with him or wasn't with him in S2.

gif by @wilmon

I had thought it was a lesson Wille actually learned. Which is why I find Wille's use of that same line in S3 so frustrating! There's no "other man" involved, no time has passed (it's been a few days? Maybe a week at most?) to raise the possibility that Simon has moved on. Most importantly, Simon explicitly told Wille what the problem was with their relationship, and Wille should damn well recognize his own past behavior and how his actions were a MAJOR if not THE contributing factor for the breakup.

Instead of acknowledging any of that, Wille is telling Simon that the sole issue and reason for them not being together is Simon not loving him anymore:

It's a "It's not me, it's you!" Wille's statement immediately puts the full burden on Simon to explain/justify the state of their relationship. Simon is the problem, the reason they're not working as a couple. Simon is the bad guy, the one who "just got over" Wille, while Wille is the innocent victim. He has absolved himself of responsibility. And that is why I think it's manipulative and I hate it.

BUT

This being Wille's constant refrain also indicates that be believes love given to him is conditional. That he will lose that love if he messes up and it's really not that difficult for others to set him aside. So every disagreement is strife, every argument is apocalyptic because in his experience, it means the other person will, without any difficulty or hesitation, withdraw their affection as a result. He doesn't want to believe that Simon could easily move on but at the same time *knows* that Simon definitely could and probably already has. And given the seemingly transactional nature of his relationship with his mother in S1 and S2, where she provides affection in payment for his good behavior, I can see why he would be insecure about another's affection. He seems to doubt that he can be loved. And that's why I think it's deeply sad.

missing these two a lot 💜

one of the things i love about young royals is that the s1 tagline being “love or duty” leads you to believe this is going to be like all of the other cliche royal/commoner modern romances where the journey ends with wilhelm realizing he can have both

but then the show is actually an interrogation of how the protagonist cannot maintain his role within the monarchy and have a healthy relationship because no one can be a fully realized individual within a hierarchical colonial institution AND coming into queerness is a stepping stone to the self realization that ultimately frees him AND it is actually the antagonist who gets trapped within the monarchy (while also losing love) proving that upholding the power of the ruling class is a narrative punishment instead of a reward… perfect show

Simon💕

s1 / s2 / s3