Hello! I'm sorry, I wanted this account to be friendly and fun, but the thing is, Darryl Yap's Sakristan is ultimately an abomination that should not be supported by the art community. I'll try to prove why to the best of my abilities.

This'll be a thread. https://twitter.com/RaeWritesThings/status/1264551279478497282

People may want to defend him by saying that two sacristans falling in love is a valid narrative to present. Tbh, I agree! Somewhere out there, two Sakristans might be falling for each other, and want their stories told. But let's look at the context, meaning +

Let's look at who is making this series, why he wants to make this, and when and where the series takes place.
First, the who. Darryl Yap is known for wanting to ruffle up feathers just coz he wants to. It's not that he doesn't know better. To him it's just...fun. +

+ So get this. He makes the Vincentiments videos, short films which are often problematic & controversial just for the heck of it. If the Vincentiments videos are tactless and rude, we can't expect any better from this series unless he really changes things up. +

+ Secondly, let's look at the why. His intentions. Darryl isn't very vocal about LGBT support. He's not a real ally. If he were, he'd obviously make it known, and he'd obviously be actively campaigning for affirmative action even when he's not making his films +

+ Apart from that, he says other things. He uses "more daring" and "sexy" to describe his series. The reason why that's so problematic is that it's obviously just a ploy to sexualize the gay experience. He just wants a series which will turn heads, and not in a good way. +

+ He doesn't want the narrative forwarded in a way that people will digest regardless of their initial perceptions of the LGBT community. He wants it unnecessarily controversial. He won't dive into discussing its validity. Remember, he thrives and profits off of scandal. +

+ As much as the prospect of a Sacristan love story IS controversial to some people, that's exactly the point of why he should depict it in a way that's wholesome and tasteful. We have to shatter that perception of sacristan relationships, or any gay relationship, as scandalous +

+ because we want people to realize their validity. Besides, even if he WILL do it tastefully, he still shouldn't call it a BL. BLs aren't for these kinds of controversial narratives where the conflict is against a societal institution (in this case, the Church). +

+ BLs may provide tension and conflict, but the conflict usually comes from within the relationship between the characters, not outside forces threatening the relationship. BLs are usually lighthearted and fun, and at their heaviest, they're not as heavy as Darryl's series. +

+ And now, we look at the where and when. Seriously? He wants a BL of two sacristans set in the Philippines? A country where the Catholic Church holds so much traction? A country where the LGBT community is restricted of rights and is collectively despised? +

+ If he truly were an ally, he'd be more sensitive with the content he puts out. This series will lead to nothing but heightened tensions between the Church and the LGBT community, backtracking our efforts to even reconcile with the institution. This is just a reckless move. +

+ If he doesn't want the tensions to erupt, he'd come clean. He'd actively tell us that what he plans to depict is a relationship based purely on mutual respect, love, and genuine affection between two sacristans, not one based off heightened sexual longing. +

+ In the end, I support BLs, and I would've supported an idea like this had it not been made by Darryl Yap. As someone who is a devout Catholic homosexual, I simply don't approve of my experience being trivialized by someone as tactless and reckless as Darryl Yap.

END.