I know tumblr is a neosmith haven first and foremost but trineo will always be so so special to me. Like, I haven’t seen a “straight” relationship in an action movie this good in probably forever. I haven’t seen a relationship in MOVIES this good in forever. The Matrix films do such an incredible job of making you FEEL how much they love eachother, and it’s subversion of usual tropes only adds to the believability of their romance.
Yap session ahead, be warned.
Neo, the “male” protagonist of an action movie, the badass chosen one who’s supposed to get the girl in the end, acts uncharacteristically soft and dependent on his female love interest for someone in such a role. He needs her just as much as he needs him, and not in the typical “oh I’m so tough and masculine and badass and I need her to ground me so I don’t go off the handle” kind of way but “I truly need this person in my life. She completes me in such a way that I cannot imagine existing without her. If push comes to shove I know she is the one who will save me who will find me, who will love me even when the world is against us.” And it makes their romance so much more sincere.
Seeing the traditionally masculine and dominant role of an action hero guy be occupied by someone who literally cannot be apart from his female love interest without becoming lost is insanely refreshing. The reciprocity of their affection makes the viewer understand their is one that’s deeper than any other relationship in the movie, which is good because it is literally the emotional through line of the entire trilogy!!!
This also applies to Trinity. Trinity, at first glance, seems to occupy the role of “kickass girlboss who is cold at first but eventually softens up for the male love interest and centers her entire world around him.” But this trope is, thankfully, completely subverted. Her cold and serious nature is clearly established to be both a key part of who she is and a key part of how she survives in a world that’s been incredibly cruel to her. When she falls for Neo she doesn’t STOP being a badass and dominant woman, but she allows herself to let her guard down around him because their bond is based in a huge amount of earned trust and a feeling of safety. Trust and safety that we see grow over the course of the original trilogy. Her attachment to him doesn’t feel unearned and her personality stays consistent while the viewer is also able to see another layer of her character, which grounds both Trinity and their relationship.
Trinity also takes on more traditionally “masculine” roles in the relationship. She gets visibly jealous and protective of Neo, she makes snarky but affectionate quips about how much Neo misses her, and she fights tooth and nail to save Neo when he gets in way over his head.
The flip and subversion of these tropes are especially endearing to me, a queer person. It’s undeniable that the Matrix is in some way a queer metaphor (though I’d like to argue the whole thing is a bigass queer metaphor) and the unconventional portrayal of gender roles in a “straight” relationship where one of the characters is meant to be a transgender allegory is undeniably going to connect with queer audiences. I find (more often than not) queer creators put a lot of care into their queer relationships, which (again, more often than not) leads to them having more substance and heart than couples meant to appeal to straight (and particularly straight male) audiences.
I also think the added theme of fate and the idea that they quite literally cannot exist without the other adds to much weight to their romance. When a relationship is a key element of your story (as in literally the most important emotional through line) it’s only natural you will put an immense amount of care into it. Something about the idea of two people finding each other in every universe is something a lot of people find appealing, it’s a tale as old as time for good reason and this particular portrayal of this trope is very special to me and a lot of other people. When two characters prove through both their actions and their words they would give up everything for one another, you simply cannot help but root for them.
Anyways point is THIS IS PEAK YURI and I need to see more of it!!!!
Everything chibi/humorous I've ever drawn over the course of three years for TM... felt like it would be nice if they could see the light of day over here in Tumblr
P2 triple baka parody
P5 celebration pic i did for my DA page
P8 im not christian lmaooo, but neo is basically hacker jesus so
