Happy Twink(ie) Day!: a Discussion of BL Twinks by Two Passionate Twink Enthusiasts

Did you know that April 6th is National Twinkie Day? Well, now you do!! Perhaps only Americans will understand the nostalgic, sickly-sweet sensation that is a Hostess Twinkie (everyone else we tried to explain the iconic junkfood to seemed baffled yet fascinated at the concept).

While many would argue that aside from the hit of dopamine thanks to the intense sugar content of the phallic snack, it has little to offer, I’d disagree — it is rumored to have been partly responsible for the slang term “twink” that is well-known in LGBTQ+ circles, and even mainstream pop culture today. (Why Twinkies, you ask? Well, uhm, you might have to do some of your own research to get to the bottom of that one ドラム)

Because of that association, we decided to use this opportunity to show our love for the twinks that are so prevalent in — and do so much for — Boys Love.

In celebration of twinks, BLog authors and pretty boi connoisseurs Ames and Sou sat down for a nice, long chat (via DM) about twinks in BL. What is a twink? What kinds of twinks are we most drawn to personally? And, what is the appeal of twinks in the broader BL culture?? Read on for our extremely big-brained, candid, and (mostly) unfiltered fujin thoughts.

Conversation timestamps have been kept intact so that you can see for yourself just how much (or how little) time we spent poring over our thoughtful discussion of this dazzling aspect of BLスパーク

Continue reading Happy Twink(ie) Day!: a Discussion of BL Twinks by Two Passionate Twink Enthusiasts

VTubers and BL Trends

As someone who spends a lot of time in Japanese 女性向け (joseimuke, or female-oriented) spaces and also consumes a lot of BL, one thing I really enjoy is how BL manga very frequently reflects what’s going on in those circles—what themes are popular, what fashions are getting big, social concerns women are dealing with (have you ever wondered why JP Omegaverse is significantly more about social issues than hot breeding kink sex…?), etc. But it’s not just these themes and styles, but overarching trends in popular culture that suddenly start showing up as well. And in this case, the one I want to talk about is:

Shikinagi Akira and Hayase Sou discuss their fav BL tropes

Vtubers.

I’m not super open about it, but I’m a Vtuber fan. I’m not as big into them as I used to be—back during the pandemic it was my (and many other people’s, I believe) main fandom. My cat is named after Saegusa Akina. I cried so hard and for so long on the day Mayuzumi Kai graduated that I wished I could call into work the next day but instead went in looking like I’d been punched in the face. I attended the Nijirock concert back in 2021 as well as Fantasia in 2022. Unfortunately, I’m not super acquainted with the newer gens, and I have much less time to watch them now that we no longer work from home, but Vtubers and streamers still hold a special place in my heart for making living alone during the pandemic significantly more bearable.

And the fun thing for me is that many BL mangaka seem to feel the same. When they aren’t drawing Vtuber fanart on their side accounts, BL manga about streamers (and Vtubers to a lesser degree) has exploded in the last couple years, so I wanted to write about the collision of these two things I love.

Continue reading VTubers and BL Trends