That Guy With The Glasses/Ho Yay

"Critic: Oh Linkara, are you saying that Iï¿½m so physically attractive that Iï¿½m turning you gay right now?
 * The Nostalgia Critic's feud with The Angry Video Game Nerd got a bit of attention from the Ho Yay fans. Seeing as how the phrase "Nerd-On-Critic action" got used a lot, the retrospective video used Nightwish's "Ghost Love Score" and they acted like an old married couple when they did their review together, this might have been the intention. Even Chester lampshaded it with "Otherwise there'll be Nerd-On-Bum action! ...wait, does that mean what I think it means?"
 * You just know that Spoony patting the Critic on the shoulder and calling him "honey" will cause the Yaoi Fangirls to Squee.
 * In a deleted scene, when he's backtracking over insulting people with glasses, he ends up saying that the Critic's glasses make his eyes look nice, that he's a handsome man and he'd hit it if he swung that way.
 * Really, the whole Behind the Scenes video for that review qualifies. Best summed up by quoting Benzaie's comment on that video: "come on guys make out already ! :woohoo:". See for yourself.
 * This troper would ike to know what time
 * From his ever-changing header space on his site: "Come to think of it, I've done things to the Nostalgia Critic that I'm not proud of, either." Oh my God...
 * As of Spooning With Spoony II, Spoony/Critic is canon. It's also been the only one referenced since then. First time was in the "Captain America" review when Spoony blackmailed Critic with pictures of when he was roofied and dressed up like a dirty ballerina. Second time was in the Spoony/Lord Kat crossover when Critic admitted that, yes, making Spoony complete the Pumpkinhead game was punishment for raping him. And Doug has been implying for Black Comedy lately Critic may have actually enjoyed it despite him breaking down in trauma at the time.
 * From the first five minutes of their Superman IV review, you could be forgiven for thinking that Linkara has a crush on the Critic.
 * In his Silent Hill month, he has hallucinations of the people he cares about being creepy. Iron Liz and Harvey are there, of course, but why is Critic there instead of Spoony?
 * From the Next Top 11 F*ckups:

Linkara: Yes, yes I am."

"Walken: Love you.
 * We have Linkara and the Critic cosplaying as each other.
 * Now that's just blatant encouragement...
 * In the same con, Linkara (played by Doug) said that he helped Spoony get the Critic for spooning. Oh, the implications...
 * Going back to as early as the Brawl, Linkara is the only one (as well as the Chick but she doesn't count here) to come in to save the Critic.
 * When Spoony makes the Critic's computer say "I like to wear women's clothing" (which in itself is Hilarious in Hindsight for SWS2), Linkara looks very interested.
 * Comes up again in Star Trek: Insurrection, with a pissed off Linkara ordering Critic around and Critic being submissive in spite of finding him annoying.
 * In The Legend of the Titanic, The Other Guy tells Critic that he controls him. About two weeks later in Little Nemo, the Critic gets punched when he doesn't want to do a review. Cue delighted "abused wife" reactions.
 * Spoony seems to like the incest as much as we do. When he spooned them both, as well as many others, he tells The Other Guy that "he makes noises just like his brother".
 * When Critic is drunk in the Phelous/Snob "Troll 4" crossover, he moves his arm from Rob's shoulder to his waist.
 * He apparently finds Will Smith in Independence Day charming to the point that starts to oogle a little over him, but then slaps himself and cries, "Boobs! You like boobs!" That doesn't help, though, as the whole review is basically fangirl adoration.
 * In his Top 11 Villain Song Countdown, when listing Dr. Facilier's "Friends On The Other Side", he stated that he would go gay for Keith David's voice.
 * Critic/Christopher Walken, anyone?

Critic: Love you too. *hangs up* ...what just happened?"

"Ivan Drago: I must break you.
 * As well as almost certainly getting date-raped on his prom night by a man ("It's like prom night all over again" at the end of SWS2), note that he never specified what gender was the person he broke up three times in high school and so stalked him.
 * In the "Previously On..." for the Atop the Fourth Wall review for Countdown, it looks suspiciously like Chester is only destroying the world to get Critic's attention.
 * He also likes Ernie Hudson so much that he calls him a "black Clark Gable".
 * He had a crush on Lucas from The Wizard, which is a slightly Funny Aneurysm Moment if you know what the actor who played Lucas went on to do...
 * While he got a bit of flack for his falling back on gay jokes in the He Man and The Masters of The Universe review (which even Doug and Rob regretted), he was still nice enough to give us this:

Critic: Trust me, I'd rather have you break me than sit through this ass-fest."

- - "Phelous: I love you, Benzaie. Do you love me too?"
 * In the Critic's Christmas Special, after the reveal of The Cinema Snob as a porn star, the Critic wants to stay and watch.
 * The Game Heroes were rather... handsy with the Critic when he was playing the Distressed Dude, weren't they?
 * He'd much rather see Tyler Durden's penis than sit through another minute of the Pound Puppies Movie.
 * While proving Even the Guys Want Him is very true when it comes to Hugh Jackman, he's basically jacking off a stick of butter.
 * When he's singing about how awesome sluttiness is, he looks particularly pleased when he sings Chippendale Bars give you much nicer action than Spartan Warriors from 300.
 * His fantasy crossover with Nash is cosplaying with him in a pink bedroom filled with Hello Kitty items. Nash unsurprisingly thinks this is rather weird.
 * In the Moulin Rouge review, Brentalfloss calls Critic "baby" and gets into his personal space just as much as the Chick does.
 * There's something inherently slashy at the start of the Star Trek Insurrection review where the Nostalgia Critic is practically molesting Sci Fi Guy.
 * Critic's hand is resting on Sci-Fi Guy's hair even after their Evil Laughter didn't get interrupted and it descends into awkward lying together in the same bed.
 * In the Ponyo end credits where he's getting beaten, you can see men as well as women biting, groping, holding him down and choking him with his tie. (All pretend of course.)
 * In Thomas And The Magic Railroad, he quickly becomes close friends with a guy that was just hanging around his house through "sparkle! sparkle! sparkle!". The end even has them walking offscreen being quite touchy-feely.
 * It couldn't have been a coincidence that the opening for the Critic/Phelous review of Child's Play II had the Kickassia scene of Phelous slamming Critic against the fridge play twice.
 * Ask That Guy With The Glasses is a Depraved Bisexual who'll "go down on anything and anyone". ...except Sage.
 * He has a pretty... complicated relationship with his narrator. In an alternate ending for the second DVD (that a caption says was too depressing) he crazily shoots him and then puts a gun in his own mouth.
 * Bennett The Sage/Ask That Guy is a particularly terrifying ship, especially when Bennett strokes Ask That Guy's face and tells him he's been good, while the previously reigning champion of Jerkass cowers in fear.
 * As well as watersports and a facial, we also have canon stab-wound fucking. And people say the fangirls go extreme.
 * As of ATGWTG Ep. 54, Ask That Guy and Linkara are now canon.
 * There's also been a Shout-Out to Critic/Ask That Guy (fanonically Twincest) with Ask That Guy saying het twincest isn't nearly kinky enough for his tastes.
 * Benzaie is also an example: his feud with That Dude in the Suede ended with a love confession.
 * And he has something with Spoony. He was the only other guy in the first Spooning episode.
 * There is another example in his Wiz n' Liz video, where Benzaie wakes up next to Spoony in his red robe, who proclaims "Hello my crazy French space lumberjack..."
 * They're this trope all way, from the constant half-naked cameos (like when Spoony wore that robe and gave weird advice, or when Benzaie stripped at the end of the Phantasmagoria LP), to the passionate embraces and long kisses whenever they meet in real life.
 * And from his VLog on Chicago, we have him kissing Rollo-T and being dipped and kissed by Bennett The Sage. Glad to see everyone's getting some french loving.
 * Benzaie and Phelous in their Humains review.
 * He does it again, while shirtless he strokes 8-Bit Mickey and chews on his tie. And after Mickey defeats Lord Kat and gets him spooned, Benzaie walks out with his arm around Mickey and shakes his ass.
 * Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you The Gay Benzaie Rap, (I just want to touch a couple guys)!

- - "Spoony "You can tell these two girls are so not sexually attracted to one another, because they both act exactly like two straight people who have been ordered to kiss on a dare.""
 * According to that, he also has a thing for Angry Joe, LordKat, Spoony, Linkara and Critic.
 * WAIT I read this entire page... I am the only one who saw Angry Joe and Benzaie holding hands in the brawl? Sure is a blink and you miss, but you would think that Yaoi Fangirls know to never blink...
 * From the TGWTG Does Benzaie video, we get a hilarious Benzaie/Doug anecdote. Both of them had decided to go to the hotel hot tub. Doug specifically told Benzaie not to wear a speedo, which Benzaie agreed to. He showed up in a g-string instead.
 * How about Linkara and Spoony, watch the Warrior review, and the commentary.
 * Also, Linkara and Insano, which doubles as Foe Yay.
 * Linkara/Spoony and Linkara/Insano is so thick, they've acknowledged it in the second Warrior review, with Linkara complaining that Insano was giving the slashers material. And then you have the whole "Linkara is so distressed by Spoony's death that he spends a lengthy period of time trying to bring him back to life" thing not unreminiscent of Wonder Girl's reaction to Superboy's death...
 * Also this
 * Spoony said he'd happily sleep with both the Critic and Linkara in Alone in the Dark commentary
 * Spoony seems to be making it his mission to spoon every guy on the site, and we love him for it.
 * "Mmm, bacon cigarette..." That is all.
 * Though referring to fake lesbianism, this line is a little suspicious.

"After Brad and Spoony had their epic say, Channel Awesome's other power couple talk about the one summer movie that no one is talking about: Transformers Dark of the Moon."
 * ...This troper would like a link.
 * The menu's description of Todd and Lindsay's Transformers 3 vlog is almost subtle about it:

- - - - - - "Film Brain: You need to wake up!
 * There's also The Nostalgia Chick and BFF Nella. One video even shows them in bed together as part of an Armageddon parody.
 * Another video establishes that The Chick has cameras hidden in Nella's bedroom.
 * And as of the Grease review, in her bathroom.
 * Still another features Nella saying that the movie Showgirls taught her that she "likes nice tits".
 * And the Chick telling the Makeover Fairy to give Nella a makeover has more than a hint of "ultra-controlling girlfriend" about it.
 * In the "Pride" video, Lindsay moves in to kiss Nella, who tells her "We are not playing 'gay chicken'! I always lose."
 * In the "Characters of Suburban Knights", Lindsay is pretty much lying on top of a seated Nella.
 * Dr. Tease (played by Elisa) comes off as decidedly flirty when they review X Men the Animated Series.
 * Dr. Tease seems to flirt with all the women she meets, including Dark Nella and Marz Gurl (while interviewing her in "Sexual Awakening of the Human Nerd, Part 2") and flat out propositions Obscurus Lupa in Part 3.
 * The Chick to Dr. Tease: "Yes, I like sexy men. Do you want to mend that? You look like you want to mend that."
 * In the Chick's review of Les Misérables, we have Elisa/Obscurus Lupa Les Yay. And it was intentional too.
 * Chick/Lupa in Lupa's Honor & Glory review. First, we have Lupa being Stalker With a Crush-esque and hiding out in the Chick's bed. Secondly and more amazingly, Lupa does something that not even Critic or Chick's friends could do... make the Chick loosen up and have fun. (That's not fighting or anything to do with getting hurt anyway.)
 * In the commentary, Lupa notes how nobody saw that she was staring at the Chick's ass when she was under the pillow.
 * And "Linking Up with Linkara" brings us.
 * And even Doug and Mike Ellis have got in on the act in the last five minutes of Bad Movie Beatdown. "Sweetheart" and kissing on the head, how adorable.
 * Doug/EgoRaptor was shamelessly teased at Shado Con, with a picture of Doug kneeling in front of him and acting like a kitten and their appearance on anirage. That game also has Doug proposing to a (cute Sage-lookalike) dude in a labcoat, Rob's Running Gag of being given AIDS by him, another guy nearly kissing him for a Klondike bar and apparently Doug/Waldo is canon. Man gets around.
 * At Aninite last year, he did the impossible and out-flirted Benzaie by sitting on his lap. There also was a hug with the announcer that lasted until the guy's hands went too low.
 * It's getting to be that nobody will be surprised if Doug wasn't 100% straight. Just look at the Anime Milwaukee Q&A, he's clearly happy to flirt with anyone.
 * Correction, it's getting to the point where people are more likely to be surprised if he is completely straight.
 * Again in Anime Milwaukee, at the farewell session, he lies down on stage while the other two guests are talking and lets people take pictures of his crotch. This includes guys.
 * Right after, the other male guest jokingly calls him out for prostituting himself and Doug corrects him, saying he's just a manwhore.
 * Not to mention that he entered by giving that other guest a nice hug and kissing him on the head.
 * In an interview, he orgasm-voices over how watching Transformers 2 made him feel like the movie was fucking him so hard that oil came out of his mouth instead of semen. That's... something.
 * Does all that suckage of phallic objects count? Because I say this as a gay troper, he looks like he knows what he's doing.
 * And in yet another interview, he put his arm around the interviewer and got so very close to grabbing his balls before pulling away laughing.
 * In his review of Breaking Dawn, he off-handedly mentions that Jacob makes him hard.
 * According to an amusing post on facebook, Doug was proposed to by a guy at a con and the reason he gave for declining was that the man didn't have a diamond ring.
 * In the advertisement for the third DVD, Doug is shirtless, has apparently gone psychotic and kidnapped a guy who he thinks is pretty.
 * If you have the DVD, Doug/Rob. Especially when Doug does a mock-striptease out of his wet ghostbusters costume on camera, talking dirty for laughs (and saying on the commentary that they do this often) while Rob hums stripper music and tells him to save it for their honeymoon.
 * Also on the DVD, the end of the commentary for "Turkish Rambo". In the review, Critic stuck out his tongue after making fun of the movie's poor lipsyncing. Rob's comment was "Your girlfriend must be very lucky." Doug's reply? "He is." End of commentary.
 * Their 2009 Christmas Special had jokes about rophynol-laced gingerbread men and gay incest, with "You're a kickass brother and I love you." in the middle. But of course.
 * In the second DVD menu, Rob waits until Doug is in the shower to harass him about how the menu works. When his brother is freaked out and tells him to piss off, he goes away for about one second and then zooms back in for the menu to start over again.
 * Although most of the time, when Doug gets into his jokey flirting with the audience or anyone else, you can see Rob looking uncomfortable.
 * Jealous, perhaps?
 * In an interview, Doug and Rob said that they know all about the fanfic (Rob even wants more) and they're doing just fine on the Ship Tease front.
 * In the Titanic commentary, Doug calls Rob in Palpatine make-up a total hottie.
 * This video. Doug acting like a pony and Rob sitting behind him all manly-like already sounds pretty kinky, but like they always do, they push it even further.
 * In the Suburban Knights behind the scenes feature, both Rob and Bhargo agree that Doug needs to take his pants off more often.
 * In the Donation Drive Just Dance video, Rob pans the camera over with an obvious view of Doug's ass and tells him he needs to wear tighter jeans.
 * Seeing as how the Donation Drive was in a whole 'nother league of its own, detailing all the Ho Yay moments would result in a Wall of Text, so we'll keep it to the top five: Everyone groping Spoony, Angry Joe calling Doug sexy, Doug and Ed Glaser leaning in for a kiss, Angry Joe and Spoony wearing the Critic's tie and the hints that there's going to be a Spooning With Spoony; Boy's Edition. The slash fans were pleased.
 * We also had Bennett offering blowjobs to anyone who donated, Doug miming giving blowjobs twice and jokes about him kneeling in front of Ed, Joe licking Doug's ear and Doug kissing Bennett's hand. It's like Doug wants to be a Launcher of a Thousand Ships.
 * And now we've had another Donation Drive with enough slash to fill a small library. For cryin' out loud, it began with SWS3!
 * There was also Lewis hugging Doug from behind and promising that they'll all hold him down and give him a pink belly. Not to mention that person who called in and asked for Lewis to give Doug a hard backhanded slap. (They would have probably done it if the guy had donated.)
 * And there was Doug (in a wig and acting weepy) hugging Sage and not being able to get out of it because Sage wouldn't let him go.
 * Doug gave us a good one again when he was so happy about a guy donating that he told him to stay right where he was because he was going to get a make-out session.
 * Chester A. Bum's Youmacon video has a tease of an interesting variation on Screw Yourself. A convention goer cosplaying as Chester warns the real guy about yaoi anime, since "it's two boys together." A confused Chester replies "We're two boys together."
 * We also have Chester and Lester making out.
 * In episode 5 of Masterpiece Fanfic Theater, Sage obsessively tracks down Linkara's meta-anime crossover fanfic (written when he was 13), and then ties him up and forces him to listen to his review of it.... while calling himself "the Hunter." Just a trace of Stalker With a Crush there, Bennett, just a trace.
 * "Watching a guy jerk-off would scar him for life? By that measure, I should be dead."
 * Sage carries on the creepy with Critic in the Starchaser review, visibly getting off on scaring him and making him have a crying, screaming meltdown.
 * Shameful Sequels: Son Of The Mask brings us creepy one-sided MikeJ/Film Brain.
 * Apparently, Film Brain tends to not be wearing clothes when he appears in Mike J's dreams. And then the dream Film Brain starts stripping...
 * And then in part 2 of that review.

Mike J: How?

Film Brain: Kiss me."

- "Brad: I am not fucking your bellybutton.
 * I'd tongue you like you've never been tongued before. I'm more man than you can handle.
 * There's a controversy about the kiss between me and @TheOnlyMikeJ? The only controversy should be over how freaking hot that scene is.
 * From Phelous and Film Brain's review and Lockjaw, Film Brain suggests doing the review on the bed, but Phelous refuses. Poor Film Brain pouts and gives the bed a sad caress. He looked so dissapointed!
 * In the Suburban Knights trailer, Film Brain threatens Luke Mochrie with "Mr. Critic is mine, understand?" Wow.
 * How about a meta example? Remember the Slashy Extravaganza? Benzaie drew Insano/Linkara and Nerd/Critic fanart, along with his girlfriend.
 * Brad and Jerrid Watch The Room

Jerrid: Come on, dude, we've gotta reenact this one.

Brad: I am not fucking your bellybutton.

Jerrid: Dude, I got the tub of butter right here; it'll go in real easy."


 * How has nobody mentioned Lord Kat and strawberries? ...shudder...
 * If we count Twitter interactions, Scarlett is a goldmine for Les Yay with Nella and Iron Liz. The woman's brain is constantly on Double Entendre-mode.
 * In Todd in The Shadows Top Ten Pop Songs of 2010, he tries calling and confessing his love to Obscurus Lupa at the end of the video. However he winds up calling Lord Kat, who thinks he's calling someone else. But THEN pulls out a bag of condoms telling him he'd be open if Todd was crushing on him.
 * The Rap Critic and Todd in The Shadows have gotten into a playful Twitter feud recently, where they insult each other by saying "Dude," and then linking YouTube clips; these end up serving as disses. (For example, this) However, Rap Critic at one point came back with a tweet that sounded oddly...romantic. He claims he posted the wrong video...
 * In 'Brad and Phelan Try Grass Jelly', they try to find something to review. After trying to review the painting on the hotel wall, an iron, and a mirror, they are shown lying in bed side-by-side, with Brad remarking on the awkwardness and Phelan grinning.
 * He does look rather pleased with himself, doesn't he?
 * Chaos D1/Sad Panda/Phelous - Canon?
 * "Rejected Spooning With Spoony Ideas" gives us Jew Wario/Panda, Spoony screaming after waking up to a creepily-smiling Sage, Luke/Paw and Holly snuggling with Nella.