Wait is Bleak Creek gay? I've been putting off reading it because I honestly didn't think it would be any good.
Bleak Creek is for me honestly one of their best creations. It's not Dostoevsky obviously but it is a decent book that can be read quickly and easily and for me it was honestly fun. Now, Bleak Creek is much like other R&L works in the sense that a red herring is thrown in - in this case it's the character of Alicia Boykins for whom both their characters Rex and Leif have feelings - and then there is a gazillion of their usual allegories and symbolisms and insinuations.
What I found so compelling in TLCOBC is that through the medium of a text, a book written by them, you get a better chance to draw an accurate picture of their thoughts and emotions. A lot of what I actually use in my opinions and theories is informed by what I read in TLCOBC. I think it allows a deeper insight. It's also super interesting to explore the themes and how dark these themes seem to be inside their hearts and the allegories they come up with. For example, I am pretty hugely convinced that the villain of the whole story, which is like teen horror, is downright inspired by Rhett's father. Like, not even a single doubt. And all those things say a lot, you know?
Then, even though the book was mostly written by Rhett with the assistance of a professional writer, there is huge input of Link in it. Either Link also wrote a lot or he told Rhett exactly what he felt and how he wanted his character to be approached and explored and Rhett adhered to this 100%. What I am trying to say is that even though this is an easy quick young adult / teen read, there is still introspection and very intriguing symbolism / allegory in it. It is a autobiographical work turned into teen fantasy horror.
And because you asked specifically how gay, Rhett once in a promo interview said that Alicia did not symbolise a real person but it symbolised who "they truly wanted to be". This does stand on its own if you read the book but I think what Rhett also meant is that Alicia was also given the traits they both see and love in each other that they can not reveal in their platonic context. There are too many to mention but a very appropriate example right now would be... did you - Anon and anyone else reading this - see that answer I posted a couple of days ago about the " I am dead" move in which when they used to fight as kids and young adults, Rhett had a habit of falling on top of Link and staying there until Link calmed down?
Well, in TLCOBC Leif reflects on his pretty serious crush for Alicia thoroughly and one of the things said is that because Alicia is a tomboy (of COURSE) they would often physically fight for fun (much like real Link would wrestle with Rhett) . Alicia was always able to pull the "Full Nelson" move on Leif, like Rhett always pulled the dead move on Link...... And then Leif reflects on how he had to keep his crush a secret at any cost (because Alicia was a best friend to him and he thought he would destroy their friendship if he revealed his feelings as he was sure she did not return them... like honestly what else do you need, here Alicia serves as a red herring for Rhett) and he allowed himself only to savour the moments when she would pull the full nelson on him and he could feel her hair on his neck when she had him like that... And here's the full nelson:
So Alicia was on his back or on top of him, like Rhett was when he did the Dead move....
he’d convinced himself that he could carry his hidden crush around with him while still enjoying her presence, savoring the moments when she playfully put him in a full nelson, her hair brushing up against the back of his neck
Like... what else does this man have to say...
So, you get a lot of insight through the book, even in the form of parallels, that you do not get in their videos as easily. That is if you read the book as a symbolism and not at face value, in which case it's just a pleasant teen horror. But it's really hard to overlook the symbolism and I believe if you read it, a lot of the things I write here would fall into place better or make more sense.
I actually started a series of metas once, intending to analyse all TLCOBC chapters through a Rhink lens but then I realised that very few of the currently active fans have read the book so I stopped. Here's the only two posts I have made anyway:
Heavy Rhink implications in TLCOBC #1
https://asherlockstudy.tumblr.com/post/614244392916697088/warning-the-lost-causes-of-bleak-creek-spoiler
I also have these links in my One Story Masterlist because TLCOBC is one of the most fundamental points of reference for the One Story.
Long story short, this is one Rhett and Link product I fully recommend.
