This is maybe an odd one to revisit during a “spring cleaning” period considering that the review is only a few months old, but I ended it on an extremely ironic note and that’s got me to thinking: am I too cynical?

So Cio and Allison do in fact kiss, a development that landed relatively shortly after I posted my original review where I dismissed the possibility. And despite my emotional guarding, I did feel something when I read the scene. Way back when I reviewed Spinnerette, I talked about “gay vindication”, the unique emotion you feel when the gay subtext you think you see in a story turns into gay text. But I also felt a bit… sad? Sad that I had closed myself off to the possibility of a real gay payoff, as a way of guarding against yet another disappointment.

It’s hard out there for a gay with their hopes up. That’s the primary reason I made this site in the first place – to help queer readers find the content they want without having to suffer and second-guess like I have. But if I let my bad experiences with queerbaiting and lazy subtext toughen me, I imagine that I become less relatable to those readers, my opinions less valuable. If I don’t have my hopes up, what am I even doing here?

Cynicism is a dead end. It protects you from pain only at the cost of joy and wonder. Cio and Allison did kiss. Lesson learned.

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