hi guys this is going to my last post on here so if you’re interested at all in still following me check out my aesthetic blogs @belladonics and @berry-s !! thank you for all the memories and love <3
As we’re at the end of the year and I was recently very kindly tagged in bestmistake’s content creator shoutout, I wanted to do one of my own just for our little fandom that continues to chug grandly on.
I am focussing purely on fan artists and gif/graphic makers in this one. So how this will work is I will tag the artist and link a piece of work I particularly enjoyed but be sure to also check out their masterposts and edit tags. Please do mention anyone I may have missed in the reblogs and replies if you want to, so this can be an overall positivity post for our creators.
Thank you to everyone that continues to create, share and inspire. And thank you to those that like, reblog and gush in the tags. Let’s keep it all going into the new year!
Again the topic of the nature of Blaine’s friendships has got me thinking, and I was considering certain things about those friendships. I meant to write something about these two for a long time, but thought I’d use my days off to do it, rather than any real life stuff. As you all know, I am a bit Blaine obsessed, and think about his character and interaction with his friends. Plus Tina is just adorably gorgeous, and often the least written about of the originals. This is going to be a lengthy post - sorry.
So I thought I’d look primarily at Tina and Blaine, and how their stories are so similar, so entwined for a season and a half, and then let go by the writers.
Background
One initial observation about the two of them is that we don’t factually get any solid details or information about their relationships with their parents. There is a reference in PUC, that Tina, is of Korean heritage like Jenna, but she’s only ever referred to in one of Sue’s insulting name calling as Asian number one. We are told that Tina is adopted by Jewish parents. It’s unknown if she has siblings, or the nature of her relationship with her parents. Of the original 13 - not including Matt - Tina is the only character whose mum or dad are not on the show AT ALL. There’s very little information given to us about her family life, which makes it impossible to judge why she has particular personality traits or why she behaves in certain ways, and whether it stems from her upbringing. For example, why does she look for attention or is so sensitive, and cry so easily. Fandom, as usual, can only make it up for themselves.
As for Blaine, there are slight references to his Asian heritage, and fandom has accepted his half Filipino roots just like Darren's. We meet only Blaine’s mom in A Wedding, when he has barely any interaction with her, and she’s not Filipino; she appears happy for him but they don’t hold any conversation together. There are stories about Blaine having a difficult relationship with his dad and his brother growing up. When Blaine talks about his dad in Sexy, or past experiences like in NBK, it’s clear that he has some issue with his dad, most likely about his sexuality. This is to become a fundamental aspect of Blaine’s character, developed mainly by fandom, and certainly head canoned by Darren: that his parents are not around much, somewhat neglectful and even just uncaring as he spends a lot of time alone, which causes a deep rooted dislike of being alone or left behind unloved. Plus the bad relationship with Cooper has led to the lack of self-esteem, self-love and actual confidence.
The lack of clear plot regarding both Tina and Blaine’s backgrounds has enabled fandom to flesh them out more.
Season one and two I see your true colors shining through
So let's talk about season one, Tina. Within the New Directions group, formed in episode one, she is the shy girl, compared to Rachel's loudness and brashness and Mercedes' sass and outward confidence. Even when the next three girls join, Tina is sold as less pretty, talented or popular because she's not on the Cheerios, or have all the guys of the school after her. Therefore, Tina adopts a fake stutter to hide her shyness, and avoid contact. Only when she starts dating Artie does she attempt to drop it - much to his horror. Will attempts to give her solo, only for her to be told she's not as good as Rachel. This of course impacts on Tina - her long term pleas for solos, attention and acceptance.
Jumping to season two, when Blaine first meets Kurt, his demeanour is the opposite to Tina's shyness - he seems confident, dapper, put together, and a strong mentor for Kurt. It's only as his character develops through season two and three, that we actually see that he has underlying vulnerabilities and he's actually covering up a lot of issues from previous experiences: such as the assault at a former school for being gay.
Both of them put on a front initially to be accepted and liked and fit in with the people surrounding them. One thing they make quite an impact and statement with is with their outward appearance and by what they wear. They value on clothes to hide their true feelings or build up their confidence.
Tina, in season one, sports a punk rocker style of dress and hair. Mostly in black, with black hats or hair bands, chains, and outfits with only a splash of colour. Her look is tough, inwardly she's very different. In Hairography, her choice of song, True Colors, which encourages someone not be afraid to show their true colours, or personality, to shine as they are beautiful, is a definite pointer to Tina's own qualities. She's added a blue t shirt to her customary black when she performs it. In Theatricality, when Figgins won't let her dress in black anymore, as he believes in vampires, she dresses in effervescent brightly coloured bubbles, to let her personality shine, even though she's "painfully shy". In season two her look becomes more of a goth, still initially black, but then gradually moving to more gregarious colours and outfits, as she spends more time with Mike.
As for Blaine, and how he presents himself, in season two, he's mostly in uniform, or certainly giving off the dapper, impeccably dressed young man, with immaculate gelled hair and good looks. When he's not in his uniform, he's in toned down darker clothes, mainly black, or brown and with no bow tie. Most certainly this is to fit in with the rest of Dalton, and not bring attention to himself, as he explains to Kurt in Special Education - we wear a uniform to fit in. Only in "New York" do we see him in a red cardigan, declaring his love. When he joins McKinley in season three, we see his wardrobe become much more flamboyant, though not as much as flamboyant as Kurt. He doesn't attempt to hide the fact he's gay, and reflects his personality in his clothes. He's no longer hiding behind darker clothes, he's wearing clothes that Kurt likes, including bow ties. This is the start of Blaine becoming more willing to show his true self, but still coping with his emotions, and past trauma of assault and insults for being gay. We see his sensitivities arise in Big Brother and Dance with Somebody.
So, in one and two, they hide behind their clothing choices - in three they start to develop their style which is more suited to their personalities.
Season three Take your passion, and make it happen
Throughout season three, both Tina and Blaine are in serious committed relationships, for 16/17 year olds, they have quite intense relationships with Mike and Kurt respectively. Both have moved on to the sexual side of expressing their love. Both are supportive partners: in Asian F, Tina confronts Mike's dad about letting him be what he wants to be; and Blaine is seen providing support to Kurt at the school election and during NYADA auditions. What is apparent though is the lack of real friendship with others apart from their SO. Tina is mostly seen with Mike, and though she is often with the girls, she doesn't have a particularly deep friendship or even rivalry with any of them. She does bond well with Mercedes, but we don't see a lot of them together. She shares secrets with the girls, such as how she lost her virginity to Mike, but her first choice of friend is always Mike. In Props, she initially rebels against Rachel always getting the solos, but in the end she helps Rachel with the trip to Carmen Tibideaux, and the reassurance from Rachel that she should be the soloist next year, when Rachel is gone. Likewise, Blaine spends the majority of his time with Kurt, and though he mingles with the boys, such as Mike mainly, the overwhelming thing about this season is his lack of solid friendships apart from that with Kurt. This becomes apparent as the season moves on, when Dance with Somebody shows Blaine's fears of Kurt moving to New York and him being left by himself.
This season Blaine was used very much as the human juke box and there were many great performances. Tina should have been given more moments to shine, because when she did, it was amazing to watch.
It is no coincidence that Blaine and Tina were sitting beside each other at the graduation ceremony in Goodbye, which is probably the first time, we really see them interact, not just dance together. It's a small reminder that they're going to be staying behind next year, without their true loves, and maybe there will be a budding friendship between them.
Season four Some nights…I could use some friends for a change
Season 4 and it’s all change at McKinley . The obvious plot concerning Tina and Blaine, in the first five episodes is the Klaine split, because of Blaine’s cheating as he believed Kurt had moved on with his life and no longer wanted him. Also, mentioned in passing, is Tina’s split from Mike as he went to dance college in Chicago. What the show didn’t do a great job of was actually dealing with the common issue behind these splits - the loneliness of being left behind, the huge life change for both of them, now their loved one has graduated and moved on. They are both isolated from each other at this point, as well as everyone else. Blaine's reaction to being alone is to self-destruct, and cheat. Tina's reaction is to throw herself into the Glee Club -trying to become lead vocalist, trying to encourage Brittany, with whom she never seems to have a good relationship; making costumes, and eventually auditioning for a role in the musical.
Initially, Tina has little sympathy with Blaine's dilemma, because she is not aware of his self-loathing at this point, and because she thinks she's got similar to deal with, and makes a snarky comment when Finn says Blaine is going back to Dalton Academy. In Dynamic Duets, we see Sam reach out to provide the support Blaine needs, plus the call with Kurt in Thanksgiving and in The Role You Were Born To Play, Tina makes peace with Mike. It now gives them the opportunity to move on, and we see them getting closer in Thanksgiving and Swansong. This becomes the turning point in their relationship, as they join the Cheerios together, and they arrive together in Don't Dream It's Over, as if they have been spending time together. They take comfort in each other's company.
Because of their closeness, the crush that Tina develops is not unrealistic. Blaine too can pass as a straight guy; plus also, he is charming, lovable and caring. She is sensitive and wants to be helpful, appreciated and loved. All personality traits that they both share, and both can see in each other. Tina devises the Sadie Hawkins proposal idea so that she can ask him out, in true Blaine style, by serenading him in public - unfortunately this leads to humiliation. They agree and Blaine lets her into a deeper secret about his crush on Sam. They make up, and go to the dance together, where they almost kiss. By this stage, Tina's need for someone to love her and believes Blaine is the one for her, and it leads her to act impulsively and inappropriately, and when alone in his room, and he has passed out on his bed, she "vapo rapes" him. It's at this point in the season that we see the loneliness affect Tina, that she doesn't have someone there to love her or love in return, and latches on to her best friend with a hope that she might stand a chance with him. Loneliness and lack of self love had caused Blaine to cheat at the beginning of the season; now it causes Tina to act inappropriately.
This is very uncomfortable to watch, particularly as he told her a few moments before that he was definitely not into girls, and would never have given consent to her touching him. However, when he finds out about it, he is somewhat amused by it, and embarrassed, but does not let it affect his friendship with her. Likewise, if we consider Blaine's parallel crush on Sam, the performance of Against All odds can be somewhat uncomfortable but ultimately Sam is understanding about Blaine's crush. Crushes happen, and thankfully it did not affect their friendship.
In I do, below, I always think how they look when they walk down the corridor with Kurt. Blaine has locked his arm into Tina's - it's comfortable, they are used to walking arm in arm or hand in hand, they're close together: they have a special friendship. Tina's other arm and hand are rather formally linked through Kurt's arm, and she's not leaning into him - she doesn't have the same level of trust or friendship with Kurt, and Kurt was pretty pissed off with her for touching and making a move on Blaine.
Rest of season four and season five. Don’t be afraid, take a sad song and make it better.
I think overall, Blaine and Tina got their most personality development in season 4 , which the writers chose to ignore in 5b, when Tina was hardly in the show at all. Plus let's face it, Tina only got scraps in a show that she could have got many more performances in.
For the rest of season 4 and 5, we see how much Blaine and Tina cared for each other and looked after each other. Their relationship in these episodes felt like big brother/little sister. Mostly loving and supportive, but sometimes snarky. Here are some examples:
Shooting Star. Blaine is most concerned that Tina's not in the room with them, and about her safety. Tina is so upset that's she's not there and know they are safe. Their chat in the corridor the next day is adorable, Tina tells him,l that he, and everyone else is like family to her, and he responds poignantly that she was in the choir room with them, because she was in his thoughts. This is such a big brother/little sister moment. The two of them crying together, so relieved, they've come through it. And whilst everyone else sits in couples around, they sit together, comforting each other.
Love love love - initially she doesn't seem to keen to be encouraging him to propose to Kurt, which must be an inconsistency, because she went with him to chose the ring in All or Nothing, showing her support for his intentions. He's there to round up the guys to sing her a song to build her up and get her out of her bitterness. She's there to hug Kurt as he entered Dalton - second behind Sam, Blaine's "best man".
Tina in the Sky with Diamonds - Tina's big moment to be prom queen, almost ruined by Bree's evil plan. But it's Blaine that's the leader of the New Directions in rushing to her aid, cleaning her up, and encouraging her to go back out and get crowned. Probably from watching how Kurt stood up to the bullies, in season two. Blaine gives Tina the confidence she needs to go back out, and he was right beside her, singing for her and encouraging her.
Frenemies and Trio. Affirmation again that they really care about each other. When Blaine gets valedictorian ahead of Tina and Artie, he asks them to join him to sing rather than hear him give a speech. Trio is a great summary of their relationship - how she adores him and does as he says, how much fun Blamtina actually have together, how they hope to be always friends (if only...), how much Blaine really doesn't like to see straight couples make out, especially his besties.
In New Directions, we get a wonderful version of Loser Like Me, as the four seniors sing a final song together before graduation, and they encourage Tina to join them in New York. Here we see Tina's insecurities and struggles as she believes she isn't good enough to get into big universities, (despite her great grades and talents - oh writers, ffs). Plus her dream of being in New York with all her friends, even if it means walking in on Klaine making out. Luckily, Blaine, Sam and Artie are there to encourage her to dream big, go for Brown, which she gets into.
One more song to recall - More than a feeling - their only duet. And they dance it perfectly together.
Season six I wish I could witness all your joy, and all your pain.
I've said many times that one of my pet hates about season six is how they just neglect the friendships of Blamtina - how if Sam and Tina had been around for Blaine more when he split from Kurt, maybe things would have been different for him. As it is, he went to beneficial therapy and it will proceed to help him with his marriage.
The one thing that the writers got right was that Blaine dropped everything to come to her, when she wanted to tell her "best boys" that she intended to propose to Mike. It's an odd scene, I suppose written to give Puck some more to do, but it would have made more sense if it had been Sam, with Artie and Blaine. At least, the show is acknowledging the Blatina friendship existed: the only time it did in season six. For the rest of the season, we don't see any more interaction between Blaine and Tina, though they are both there when Rachel wins her Emmy, and Tina says that she's heard about the forthcoming baby from Kurt and Blaine. It doesn't seem like they are in touch a great deal - which is such a shame, but not unrealistic as many school friendships do not last into adulthood, as the couples go their separate ways and have separate busy lives. It would be nice to think that they do meet up, even once a year, or at reunions. I was never fully happy Tina ended up with Artie - I loved the idea of her going to Browns, meeting many new guys, and becoming a successful business woman, if she did not stay in the arts. I was always drawn to her coming back as the Anderson-Hummels' personal assistant, but that's a head canon of mine only.
One more final thing: and I try to keep it short. Was it a comparison to Kurtcedes or Hummelberry? If anything, it is a nod to the Hummelberry relationship, where Kurt was continually supportive of Rachel; just as Blaine was to Tina, even if it could get a little demanding and irritating. And here's where I'm sticking my neck out, because I love it, if Blaine had been written as bi-sexual, then Blaine and Tina would have been a midgame relationship, and probably quite a serious one. There would have been a lot of mutual support and that could only have been positive, given their insecurities. Looking in detail at their friendship, I find it interesting that they are actually very similar: in background/family information; in the way they initially disguise mental fragility by how they behave and dress; the all consuming relationship with Kurt/Mike in three, detrimental as they move forward; their loneliness and insecurities causes them to act inappropriately; they are supportive and caring towards each other, with them supporting each other in four, and Blaine being super supportive in five; until we eventually don't see much of them together in season six. The show didn't write so much about the friendship, when one or both was in a relationship with someone else.
Let's end on a positive note - it was refreshing that Blaine and Tina were written as such great friends in 4/5, great to see them interacting, and performing and singing together. What assets Darren and Jenna both were to the cast.
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