I'm too queer for this homophobic country vro 🥀🥀 Nonbinary Aromantic Asexual Do not come near me if you're a hetero, I will use breeder as a slur for all the bullshit you created
So, after slaving away and having no life for the past week or so, I’ve FINALLY finished my epic analysis of queerness in Code Geass (complete with links to clips from the series to back up my claims, which is fun).
Premise: Using queerness as a lens, I analyze Suzaku and Lelouch as Othered queer rebels and how the homoerotics of their relationship is at the center of a series that inverts our gendered, political, moral and ideological expectations
Disclaimers: I’m not going to try to prove Suzaku and Lelouch aren’t straight by citing every homoerotic scene between them. I’m using queerness as a tool to analyze the series because, as it turns out, queerness explains A LOT. I back up all of my claims, but instead of assuming everyone is straight until proven otherwise, I get a lot more done with the opposite assumption.
The essay is VERY LONG. I broke it up into sections so you don’t have to read it all at once. It’s also written on a college level, so while it’s super gay, it’s also super academic. After this, my tone get very serious/formal (even about pimping Suzaku’s ass, which is, you know, the beauty of the thing).
Obligatory spoiler warning! (for anyone whose life is still incomplete)
zero requiem as a medieval marriage ceremony: never let anyone tell you an english degree with a concentration in medieval/renaissance studies is impractical
I made a joke to my roommate this morning that the Zero Requiem scene is basically a consummation of marriage. Then I compared that scene to all the medieval theology about marriage I've been reading lately and realized I can totally argue it is. While there are some clear (hetero)sexist elements of medieval marriage traditions, for my purposes, I'm going to interpret them in a slightly broader and more egalitarian sense.
In the 11th century, a monk named Gratian decided to synthesize all of existing church law into one text known as the Decretum. He takes it upon himself to settle the debate about what constitutes a marriage: whether it's just an exchange of vows or both an exchange of vows and a consummation. Gratian argues marriage requires both an exchange of vows and a consummation. According to him, marriage is both a spiritual and physical union and these elements are equally important. I would argue that these are both key elements of the Zero Requiem. Aside from the plan Suzaku and Lelouch make before the Zero Requiem scene, the words they exchange in the scene itself function as vows. After Lelouch instructs Suzaku to live on as Zero, Suzaku "solemnly accepts" Lelouch's words, literally vowing to commit his life to Lelouch's plan (2:56-3:22). As for the consummation of it all, Suzaku's stabbing of Lelouch both represents the consummation of their plan and the traditional marital consummation symbolized by penetration (2:40, sorry).
Another key aspect of medieval marriage is both spouses being subsumed into the same legal identity. They cease to be separate individuals, and at least in the eyes of the state, become one flesh. As of this scene, both Lelouch and Suzaku have been Zero. In taking on Lelouch's former identity and discarding his former identity as Kururugi Suzaku, Suzaku makes himself and Lelouch inseparable from one another. They are united in having both been Zero.
Finally, the primary purpose of marriage in medieval times was considered to be the creation of new life - which technically refers to procreation, but we can interpret it in a more metaphorical sense. As Lelouch dies, he tells Nunnally that the ultimate goal of the ZR plan was to destroy the world in order to create it anew (4:17-4:25, my apologies yet again). When we learn from Kallen that Lelouch's plan has succeeded, we learn that Lelouch and Suzaku have achieved the goals of their marriage ceremony.
(I also primarily study Renaissance, not medieval, literature, so if you want me to talk more about suicide/death as marital consummation in Elizabethan drama and how that relates to ZR, I literally will.)
lelouch was written terribly in resurrection. but you know who wasnt? suzaku
you start of with him being zero which. unsurprising. he gets captured, tortured, revealing nothing and realistically probably feeling like he deserves it in some way
but things get interesting when he sees lelouch again
half out of his mind, he doesnt think lelouch is real. it feels like hes seen apartitions of him before. and when he does touch lelouch, he doesnt react with immediate anger but instead wonder. maybe a stab of betrayal that is common with lelouch. but hes different from what suzaku remembers. detatched. lelouch gives suzaku "permission" and the floodgates burst. he beats the shit out of lelouch despite being in terrible shape (which lelouch more than deserved) with a breaking voice and heart, finally airing out some of the grievances hes held for who knows how long. he passes out shortly after, going limp after the heat of his emotions die out
after that hes on autopilot. the word soldier is etched into his veins. he goes into battle and then comes out of it. same old same old. it feels recycled, until lelouch pleads with cornelia for her help. suzaku witnesses this, witnesses that lelouch is in fact, different than he remembers. but maybe it isnt a bad thing after all. maybe things could be different. (despite everything, i think suzaku always held on to his more "naive" beliefs. such is the fate of foils)
then theres that lovely balcony scene, star crossed lovers under an open sky. lelouch has never been much an idealist though so hes quick to tell suzaku he is impermanent which serves as a damper to whatever suzaku wanted to say. but they witness ohgi and villettas wedding together, an easy parallel to their own relationship, and suzaku tells lelouch that hes glad hes alive. he missed him. the world is lonely without him. lelouch is quick to deflect but suzaku wouldnt have it any other way. hes always been the more honest of the two.
war never changes and suzaku falls perfectly into place under lelouchs command. theyre always strongest together. but as soon as it starts, its over and the crackling of a selfish word fades behind suzakus eyes when the world stills once more.
shooting stars cover the sky but suzaku knows better than to make a wish. he sees lelouch with nunnally, hears how she asks him to stay--the same words that he probably swallowed before--and he smiles. like empress, like knight. all of his charges have rubbed off on him.
but lelouch doesnt stay. while it isnt the first time he chooses himself over nunnally, it stings nonetheless. but suzaku has learned nothing if not to bury his feelings deep inside them like a pressurized time capsule. living in a shadow, and behind his other half's mask, makes it all the easier.
actually i would argue that lelouch was written not groundbreakingly but still well and in line with his character progression.
lelouch had died. he was trapped in the world of c for a year, a fate he barely managed to escape. during that year, he watches the new world, the harvests watered by his blood. this world is not for him--he does not belong there. he did once, but not anymore. nothing can nor will change that.
in that isolation, lelouch matured. time waits for no one. he lets suzaku scream, sob, and shine his life long grief onto him; every punch a broken promise. he comes back and he orders to kill, but he also orders for the help of strangers until the end of an operation. he knows what it is like to be trapped, mindless. he asks cornelia for help. he pleads. when his plans fall apart, so does he--he has matured but he is still oh so young. but c.c. grounds him, a gun to his head bringing an eventual smile to his face. leave it to such unorthodox ways of getting someone to pull themselves together to get the job done. he wouldnt have it any other way.
then the battle is over, and his objective has been met. there are many reasons to stay, but more importantly he cannot stay. this world is no longer for him. he cannot go back to who he was, for the person he was was buried after being assassinated by his one and only friend. lelouch vi britannia died for this to happen. he could not, would not, be brought back.
and so he leaves towards the new life before him. he had always looked to the future. im sure nunnally and suzaku knew he wouldn't stay too, even though they wished he would--don't go where i can't follow. but the line has been drawn in the sand, between pierced spine and rib.
realistically the progression makes sense, but it just really fucking sucks. i think lelouch wanted to stay. but hes learned that he doesnt belong here now, this being highlighted by the water tower scene (suzaku does not belong in the world either, but he still fulfills his role). its not about what he wants. he cannot be so selfish to throw away the peace his death had brought the future that no longer includes him. he must watch from beyond the horizon.
this is a more fitting punishment to lelouch than death. while i hate that he just essentially fucks off with c.c. and suzaku has to continue being zero, there is something cruel in forcing someone who would always look out to tomorrow to spend their eternity in today. everyone he knows will live lives without him and die. he will not be able to reach them, his body cursed with immortality. endless time is just accumulated experience; i would argue that there will be a moment where it will cease to be life, just as it was for c.c.
he resurrects, but by the end of it, he's just out of reach. his life continues on the other side of the window. orpheus does not glance back.
The hardest part sometimes it being haunted by what a show didn't do and I am forever going to be haunted by the fact that Ramil and Paytai's final scene was them weeping on a beach together, abandoned by the world but still beholden to it, never truly free but at least together again. A bittersweet ending of so many issues that the show barely managed to handle made masterful by the actors who understood their roles... Ramil, abused in front of his peers but forced to be the villain in the end because no one could see past who he had to become to survive and Paytai, tied to him in childhood but choosing him in the end forever tied to him as the only person who could understand their lives and the only person who saw him and was seen by him.
Forever trapped in a final, painful moment of coming back together, never dancing, not kissing, never free, weeping tears back into the ocean for the life they will never leave.
disappointed but not surprised. They needed more screen time than EVER. What the hell was that finale. I'm glad they didn't immediately get back together but openly stated they can have and STILL have each other, though they know that it won't be the same as before.
Finally got to watch the entire episode. Welp, was it even worse than the gif sets suggested.
And boy, do I have a lot to say about it.
Are people seriously justifying what Ramil did as "the same as always, how was it different, why is Paytai reacting so strongly/overreacting"? Have we watched the same series?
Yes, Paytai has endured years of abuse on Ramil's behalf. But every time until now he suffered FOR Ramil. It was pain and suffering caused BY a monster, but he had Ramil in the room with him.
Now? He suffered BY Ramil. Yet there was no Ramil in the room with him. There were just two monsters.
"Butbutbut Ramil is also a victim!" - spare me. Yes, he is. Him being a victim was CAUSED TO him. He has no fault in this. But to become the monster? He CHOSE. He COMPLIED. It's on him. That was a decision, and he made it. Some of the worst abusers were victims before that. Does that excuse who they allowed to become?
"Butbutbut he had no other move!" - don't. He did. He could have said no. And bear whatever punishment his pos dad decides to perform. On him, on Paytai, on both.
"Butbutbut he didn't want to make it worse for Paytai!" - bite me. What could be worse than this? Paytai knew what he was into. He knew it when he, the servant who always got punished, stood up to Rachata. FOR RAMIL. And he knew when he was on the floor, under Rachata's boot.
And he was ready to pay for his boldness. He had done it before, he was gonna do it again. That was the type and level of abuse he knew, was used to, and could handle. Because he had something more important. Something he had put above his human dignity and pride. Something he sacrificed both for, each and every time.
He believed he had Ramil.
But when he felt RAMIL'S boot on his face, he knew he had lost him. And Paytai was left absolutely, utterly alone. On the floor, with his shattered pride and dignity. And the one thing that had made all this - the pain, the suffering, the constant put down and humiliation - worth it for him, disappeared.
And that was personality and character suicide from Ramil's part, too. That was a betrayal - and self-betrayal - of fundamental magnitude.
And don't tell me "butbutbut he doesn't realize all the levels, nuances and implications". Oh, he SO DOES. You know how I know? Remember his speech, on domestic violence? That was a speech from someone who gave A LOT of long, hard thinking on the topic. And is aware of the effects - on every level, and in every nuance. He knows. He had lived them his entire life.
And if there's one thing every victim of (domestic) violence and their adjacent people know, with painful, crystal certainty? Is that violence always, ALWAYS escalates. And that was just another step on the ladder Rachata was forcing Ramil to climb.
And Ramil knows this. He had seen this violence towards Paytai escalate since their childhood - from slaps, to hits, to lashes, TO FUCKING BOOTS ON THE FACE AND BODY. When, do you recon, would be his time to say NO, then? Rachata's cruelty was so habitual, it lead Ramil to agreeing to STEP ON PAYTAI'S FACE.
And in the ONE moment when he had to show spine, and bravery, and pay the price for it? He failed. But he DID choose. He chose to act like the monster. Does it really matter that he suffered while doing it? Not in the slightest. Because his pain was not visible from UNDER HIS FUCKING BOOT. But the pathetic cowardice of a monster-in-the-making? Oh, it was shining, bright and blinding.
Every pathology, when tolerated, becomes the new normal. That's valid throughout history, in every time, for every atrocity. It' been clinically proven with behavioral experiments.
And people were ready to excuse it? Humor me, what should Ramil do, to make you admit he absolutely lost himself, and went inexcusably far? What do you think remains of a person after they fall lower than certain level of humanity?
There are two is one more episodes, and since the series was filmed until very recently, the writers were fully aware how beloved RamilPaytai is, and had time to properly adjust the plot. So my guess is they will somehow fix it.
(ETA: the platform I am watching at misinformed me there are 15 episodes; there only are, however, 14; and in just one episode? good luck for anything I was hoping below for to happen properly. it was hardly ever going to happen in two, but in just one? no way.)
And since Paytai is the best soft boy, and loves the pathetic wet meow-meow, he will forgive him, and will take him back even after a pathetic, lukewarm, half-assed barely-there-apology, which to me would be the absolute worst case scenario, even worse than them remaining separate.
But I do hope the loss finally triggers the appearance of some fucking spine in Ramil. And pushes him to self actualization and character growth. Though for me, without proper penance and utter humility, any positive resolution to the Ramil and Paytai's relationship will ring hollow, shallow, and fake.
And I'm saying this as someone who is watching the entire series just because of them. That's why I started the series AT ALL. I adore them, and want nothing more but for them to be happy together (and poison the abusive son of a bitch).
And, contrary to how it might seem from this rant, I'm not mad at the writers for making Ramil do this. First of all, that makes for a great TV, and second, that's BALLSY. Because that was something truly, undeniably bad. It's a complex, hard-on-all-fronts situation, involving a complete innocent, and someone who's both a victim AND the perpetrator of the monstrosity.
Shows, and BL especially, rarely allow REAL conflicts to unfold. Oftentimes they're so made up, it's embarrassing, and the characters overreact to give it some credibility, making them look absolutely neurotic and histrionic.
And just as rarely the (BL) shows allow the characters who are not supposed to be the token "bad guy" to do REALLY fucked up, BAD shit, and be(come) nuanced, 3-D, FLESHED OUT characters. This one did, and I'm truly impressed.
My only fear is there won't be enough time to properly resolve this situation, and if hurried? It will completely ruin the boldness of the first part, because they won't have anything to back it up with on the other end.
Better break them up, and don't fix them, unless you're gonna fix them PROPERLY. Because if done properly, it could be amazing, and will remain what viewers will remember the most from the entire series, long after it's done.
Don't fail me, show. Do it right, or don't even attempt. A good bad ending is better than a dumb, underwhelming, cringey, fake, bad happy ending.
For all my complaints abt the series, I commend tnp on how they chose to show ramilpaytai's abuse as someone who grew up in an abusive household (I have complaints about them too but the positives outway the few negatives)
For a while I thought I was doing too much for thinking that Paytai had some resentment slowly festering inside him the longer he stays by Ramil's side (this does not mean that I think he loves Ramil less!! I just projected on Paytai as I feel the same way towards my mom sometimes even fully knowing she's also a victim to my dad and grandparents) so watching ep 13 and witnessing the betrayal and hurt on Paytai's face before he calls Ramil pathetic in such a distinct tone that (if I remember correctly) we've never heard him use towards Ramil before was so heartbreaking but made me feel so validated and calmed me down from shaking when Rachata was in the room with them.
Paytai pushing himself up quickly while still shaking before Ramil could reach him. Pushing Ramil away when he leaned down to kiss him. Not raising his head to meet Ramil's eyes when he held his cheek (I think Ramil was going to try to kiss him again if Paytai did let him but not sure). Verbally denying Ramil (and himself too) the comfort they usually give each other. And finally leaving Ramil truly alone as he can't take the dehumanisation coming from Ramil especially, which will happen more often and will probably all they will ever be if he stays longer so he chooses to leave despite how painful it is for both of them, reminds me too much of how it hurt to leave my mom as she couldn't protect me from my grandmother.
Now for Ramil, and by God, I have never felt so represented by a character. Ramil's fear of his father, his fear of punishment, his pain, his isolation, his bitterness, his jealousy, his anger, his dependency on the only person who understands him and stands by him. It's a half joke thing that the only way they can escape his father's abuse is Rachata dying but it truly was the way for me to escape my grandfather's and gave some quiet to my grandmother's, I won't say much on what happened to my father in case non-novel readers see this.
I wish I could talk more about Ramil but my heart hurts too much and tears come too quick for me to ever put into words just how grateful I am for his character and how much I love this character and how I would defend him and Paytai until my last breath.
Regardless of how this series decides on what to do with RamilPaytai in the end, I will give their characters and JimmyOhm a standing ovation. They truly have my whole heart and made me look forward to the end of every week.
JimmyOhm deserve all the praise and love they get for their performance in this series because of how emotionally driven their scenes are all the time, which I know is NOT easy and they deserve to be praised in general.
this was the moment paytai looked at ramil and saw that nothing would ever change, this was the moment he realized
paytai suffered because he thought they were together in it, but this was the moment he understood ramil would always be a step up the ladder, suffering on his own, but never as much as paytai
