Unpopular Opinion Time (you get a cookie if you guess about what show, except not really)

[weyrdchic]

So it's become pretty in vogue, among fans, to write/interpret Blaine as kind of an idiot. Like, beyond the inappropriate song choices. (And I maintain that he's had exactly one choice that was SUPPOSED to be inappropriate to date, and when you put it down to him trying to woo an older dude and make himself seem mature and confident, I can see

Comments

[starryeyedmagic]

I think a lot of the fandom love of fail!Blaine is just because it's kind of hilarious. I would hope that most people don't literally think he's loser in a serious way. I know I've made a lot of jokey comments about him, but I don't seriously think he's an incapable person. He's very intelligent, and he's an overly caring person...he just tries a little too hard sometimes.

I don't think he's more failtastic than any of the other kids on the show (lol hardly), but when you put on the persona of someone who knows what they're talking about...you have a lot farther to fall.

His obliviousness also makes a lot of sense to me. I mean, look at something like Emma/Clueless. That was the story of teenager who tried to act like she knew more about the world than she really did, and she even tried mentoring (to somewhat disastrous consequences). And in the end she also came to the shocking realization that she had been in love with one of her best friends the whole time.

[weyrdchic]

Yeah, and this isn't so much about us being lulzy, which I'm completely fond of too, as...like, there are these joke comics on Tumblr, where Blaine is literally a memetic idiot, and I laugh my ass off at those and reblog them, I think they're adorable. (Tee hee.) But it's clear they're as much of an exaggeration as Dapper!Blaine became memetically in the first place.

And then I see people who hate him reblogging them, or read fic that is repeatedly like "lol how did I ever think you were so smooth when you're this goddamn mess" and it's like well, kind of he is, but not HUGELY, I mean damn. A front doesn't come from NOWHERE. Give the boy a little freaking dignity, especially as it's important to him. (And because I liked Dapper!Blaine with his self-aware "look at me" thumbs and his idealism and his regrets, and apparently enough of us did that he got written into the show, so

[starryeyedmagic]

heh, those tumblr comics are my new favorite thing in the world. They're too adorable

[carefulsubtlety]

Oh, thank you for addressing these issues here, this:

"it's established in the canon now that the Blaine we originally met was adapting a very conscious persona, probably a combination of The Perfect Dalton Boy and one too many movies with Cary Grant in them [...] But the thing is, that persona is a conscious choice."

is something that has been bothering me to no end when it's used to turn Blaine into this two-dimensional "Sorry, I can't hear you over the massive amount of shiny!dapper!Blaine I put on this morning, so excuse me if I act like a jerk"-persona, instead of highlighting the fact that, hey, if somebody is that thorough when it comes to creating a certain image of himself? He's probably extremely conscious of himself and those around him, not the opposite.

"You understand what you're trying to convey on at least one level, because you realize there's something to hide in the first place."THIS. If you experienced any kind of harassment or bullying, it doesn't matter how self-assured you are: It will get to you, in one way

[carefulsubtlety]

OMG, I'm sorry for meta-ing all over your journal here, this kind of ran away from me D8

I get overly excited about fictional characters and also feel the irrational need to protect Blaine's honor because he's awesomesauce and I'm really in love with all of his issues and I'm going to shut up now

[weyrdchic]

In my personal canon, I think Blaine is a little hesistant to give up his shiny facade because he isn't actually sure that there is something beneath it that people could actually want.

Exactly this. Kurt knows and loves him for him, is able to call him out and still adore him, it's obvious Blaine takes strength from that even if you're just going by how much he feels angry and hurt in BIOTA when he can't. If anything, I'd say the one thing the show hasn't done yet is illustrate the ways and reasons Kurt loves Blaine even when he isn't Dapper!Blaine - we only see that incredible sense of support and giving he has after they've gotten together. There's the thing with Burt, of course, but Kurt doesn't know about that - and there was enough (IMO unintentional) ambiguity about the situation that some people thought he needed to be strung up for that, even though it was clearly a really, really protective gesture.

Kurt who never changes anything about himself to blend in, who gets even louder and more dramatic when people call him on

[carefulsubtlety]

There's the thing with Burt, of course, but Kurt doesn't know about that - and there was enough (IMO unintentional) ambiguity about the situation that some people thought he needed to be strung up for that, even though it was clearly a really, really protective gesture.

For me, this was one of the most touching moments of the entire show - especially the way Blaine talks about his own father working on cars with him hoping it would 'make him straight'... Jeez, I can't even. Though the show really makes a point out of showing the awesomeness that is Burt Hummel, Kurt isn't always aware of how, well, privileged he is to have a father who accepts him no matter what and doesn't try to change him. In fact, this is probably where a lot of that inner strength derives from, and I think Blaine really envies him when it comes to that particular relationship. I just don't get how people can find fault with what he did there, because it seems like such a brave thing to do for a 17 YO, especially since he certainly doesn't want to mess things up