#His queer partner is me and goals tbh

[tampire]

The Minister of State for Energy with his queer lover in Good Omens S01E03 - Hard Times

[maeofthenoldor]

I am god and now am giving out sexualities to lotr charachters because no one can stop me. And I have insomnia and sleep deprived.

Frodo: A gay trans man and on the ace spectrum

Samwise: Bisexual and there's a reason I nickname him transwise gamgee. (samfro is t4t)

Pippin: Just a feral nonbinary guy (They/he) and is pansexual. he falls in love easily. Probalbly had a crush on everyone they met throughout the journey. (he even had a crush on tom bombadil because he liked his little gay songs)

Merry: Token straight out of the hobbits and is in love with eowyn, which is now his sexuality.... (I mean i dont blame him)

Boromir: Definitely not straight. I mean have you seen him? gay, absolutely gay

Aragorn: Straight but has questioned his gender many times.

Gandalf: The most aro/ace icon out there. Uses all pronouns. Will trans your gender and turn homophobes, transphobes and general bigots into toads. Move out of her way or you will be crushed by her heels.

Legolas: pretty fluid when it comes to gender, mostly uses he/they pronouns however he really doesn't mind anything else. He identifies as queer.

Gimli: he's a bear bisexual and will kill anyone who purposely misgenders another. He is dating his partner Legolas and has a lot of fun with them when they hunt down bigots.

Eowyn: She is bisexual and also loved merry (except they are both too scared to make the first move)

Faramir: Gandalf helped him transition when he was a child. All he wants is to be accepted by his father. Boromir loves that he has a brother. He is also unlabled.

Denethor: Repressed bisexual.

Arwen: I cant tell if shes straight or bi, but I’m leaning towards the latter

Elrond: The best dad in the world, but otherwise he is also straight.

Bilbo: The gay traumatized fun uncle. Obviously had a dwarf husband, but sadly is widowed. Now he sings his gay little songs and everyone adores him. mood tbh

Eomer: Straight but is extremely supportive of Gimli and Legolas that he cries whenever they do something sweet to one another. It gets worse when he's drunk.

Theodred: Hes not even really in the book but I need to spread my Boromir/Theodred rare pair ship. Hes bisexual obviously. 

Galadriel: Intersex, nonbinary (they/she) and has a hot trophy husband.

Celeborn: the trophy husband, a trans man and is queer. 

Saruman: He is the definition of the queer-coded villain. I mean his name is saurman of all colours and he literally transforms into a gay pride flag.

Tom Bombadil & Goldberry: They deserve to be grouped as one because they are the best representation of a queer platonic couple out there. Goals.

Rosie Cotton: Bi but doe sent really know it, but if she ever met Goldberry, she might then have her awakening.

last and not least we have Sauron himself, and anyone whose read the Silmarillion know exactly what his sexuality is. so go read it.

Anyway tell me your hcs if you have any, I would love to hear them.

[starbuckaroo]

Probably just coz it’s the middle of the night and I didn’t sleep last night either but I un-why-lamped myself on accident and I feel I must remove my clown nose, hang up the rainbow wig, so to speak. I no longer see a viable path forward for irl canon buddie 😔 the caveat of course is that I would love to be proven wrong, and I’m not about to be shoving these opinions on other people, but I gotta get them outta my head.

tbh I was brought into this show by ppl who fully believe(d) in canon buddie so I was eventually convinced to hop into the clown car w them. Idk if they’re still in there or not but it doesn’t much matter. I can be genuinely rooting for the honk honk crew and also acknowledge when I feel like the probability is no longer on our side.

I just I think I got so sleep deprived it made me a little high/delirious to the point where I accidentally tripped and fell into a General Audiences view of buck and Eddie and suddenly everything seemed like there was a totally obvious no homo rationale behind it. Granted, up until 6.18 I think the potential was still there, truly, but the way they ended s6 was a little too firm for me to believe they would still be able to lead a GA member down the path to canon buddie. The fact is that they needed to plant some explicit (by which I mean literally said with words or implied so strongly that there is no possible way a generic viewer would be able to take it another way) evidence that either one of them has ever in the past had attraction to other men or is currently reconsidering their approach. As simplistic and reductive as it feels for me, a certified Advanced Internet Queer, I do also think it is necessary to lead GA by the hand with something like that. And I think they’ve pretty much missed their chance.

I have yet to mention at all any thoughts about why this may have happened or what intentionality may currently or previously be present at any level of production of the show. That’s a whole other bag of worms and I have plenty of speculative thoughts but I’ll touch on that at the end if I get to it.

Like I just. I just suddenly saw a vision of a GA watching it and going: ah yes Buck has wanted to be a dad since s1e1 so he made friends with Eddie who already was a dad but didn’t have a partner so he had a slot open for a bff, so he taught Buck a little more about being a dad the same way Abby taught Buck about being a partner. The will scene was just Eddie making it explicit that he recognizes how buck has evolved into a dad-worthy character so he can be a back up dad. Eddie’s panic attacks? Not leading to something interesting about comphet, no it was legit just about Shannon, who is now his high school gf he knocked up at 18. The couch thing? Not that deep, just a fun visual to remind ppl that buck needs a good couch that he picks for himself/with his next partner (not rushed into it or picked for him by a well meaning but out of touch family member). And it shows up at Eddie’s house bc he heard about it from buck and is also feeling the need for a partner in his house. Even “you two have an adorable son” was given exclusively to Buck to cue his brain to think about how he does actually enjoy being seen as a dad and would like to have a son someday maybe, like it’s just for him to actualize that as a concrete goal for the future. The poker game? It’s Eddie showing off how confident and connected he is, proving he CAN be suave and have a night out if he does it to have fun (and not be a performance).

Plus the thing w Natalia they seem to be setting up to be pretty serious, given that they tried to run her off with his most offensive exes, and then made her be present for an emergency helps her see a little more of the reality of his job, and particularly with it being for the birth of a baby, AND her recognizing the way he looked at the baby and THEN saying “hey I like you let’s smooch” like…they legit set her up to actually see his major drama and his life/partner goals BEFORE they start aiming towards anything serious. So like yeah it never seemed like Taylor was gonna want kids but if Natalia didn’t want kids she wouldn’t have led him on AFTER watching him deliver a baby. Idk I just feel like they actually set Natalia up pretty well to be a decent match for Buck if that’s where they wanted to go. And same w Marisol to a much lesser degree obvs.

Idk I’m hella sleep deprived and can’t think of anymore of my “gotcha” buddie moments but like. EYE don’t see/interpret things this way, *but* I suddenly was able to understand how someone could pay close attention and still legit fail to spot the buddie of it all without being malicious.

And that plus the changing political climate and the writers strike make me think that it’s just not worth the risk like it may once have been, idk. Idk it sucks lol I don’t enjoy this, and I do feel like there are some episodes where the queer subtext is very strong so like maybe that WAS the goal at some point or some writers/directors managed to get more subtext in, like supernatural stylez lol idfk there’s no way of ever knowing that unless they say so, so idk

[extasiswings]

If AK sticks around and is added to the cast unless the show does something in the finale that assures that Buck and Lucy will always be just friends then it is probably at least to the fandom meaning that she is potentially bucks next serious love interest/endgame. I hope that is not the case and she's just there to be part of the team and a firefighter but the general consensus probably around the fandom and especially Twitter if she is added as a main is that she is Buck's endgame and Buddie have lost. Unless in the finale Buck or Lucy friendzone each other. Also Lucy doesn't stick me as the type that wants any of the things Buck wants in a partner and relationship. Like she doesn't want children or family. Who knows if she even wants relationships considering she is Buck's counterpart only he's probably gonna be 4.0 and she's 1.0

I think unfortunately that is the one fear when it comes to Lucy being added to main cast from a fandom perspective.

I understand what you’re saying and I don’t necessarily disagree (although to be clear I don’t think she would be bumped up all the way to main cast if she sticks around) but my perspective is more: people in this fandom and especially in the Twitter fandom are so heteronormativity poisoned and insistent on their own brain rot that the cast and writers and showrunners could literally hang a neon sign, hire a sky writer, and build a fifty-foot billboard saying “Buck and Lucy are just friends and will never be more than that” and the people who insist on freaking out and screeching about queerbaiting whenever a woman so much as breathes in Buck or Eddie’s direction would still never be happy. I have no strong feelings about Lucy either way—I’m not invested in her sticking around but I could see some potential narrative value in it, it’s too soon to tell.

I am fairly confident at this point that by the end of the season we will have some confirmation of queer Eddie who has feelings for Buck. And as far as I’m concerned, as soon as that happens, Buddie is canon, it’s going to happen, and whether or not Lucy sticks around will have absolutely no bearing on that (or may even be a positive thing as an objective outside voice of friendship). I also know that there are people in the fandom and especially in the Twitter fandom who will twist literally anything and everything to fit their weird, warped view that actually the writers and showrunners are evil homophobes and that they won’t be happy with anything short of Buck and Eddie loudly proclaiming their love and kissing with tongue regardless of other narrative considerations (like, say, Buck’s character arc and whether or not it would make narrative sense for him to start an explicitly romantic relationship with Eddie right now, immediately after breaking up with his long-term girlfriend), and tbh I doubt they would be happy even then! [Sidenote: if I’m wrong about the timeline those same people will be insufferable throughout the next hiatus but being wrong about the timeline wouldn’t mean I’m wrong about the end goal].

All that to say, I think the writers can and should do what’s best for the narrative and pay the clowns on Twitter (who have regularly demonstrated they wouldn’t understand longform storytelling if it slapped them across the face with a brick) absolutely zero attention. And I think the rest of us should do the same. And I also think those same clowns on Twitter should a) stop watching if they’re just going to complain; b) log off the internet and go outside and touch some grass; and c) learn when to shut the fuck up. Because it’s really fucking annoying.

[crime-in-the-hov-lane]

Did someone say polycule relationship conspiracy board chart? :D

OKAY! It took me long enough to get around to this, but here is my

~LUPIN III POLYCULE CONSPIRACY BOARD MASTER DOCUMENT~

here are my very extensive personal feelings about how the relationships in the Lupin polygang. Something I really love about reading Lupin as a poly show is that it’s a great representation of a polyamorous relationship that isn’t just everyone dating everyone else in a big cuddle pile (tho that's great too), but it's actually a really complex network and everyone’s relationship with everyone else has all this complicated specificity to it and I love that. So here's some thoughts on that specificity.

Note: this is not necessarily my idealized version of all these relationships, but this the interpretation of canon I find most compelling. I have more aspirational ideas about how the romantic relationships between Lupin III characters could be, and I sometimes write the relationships more like that in my fic. But I actually kinda like the idea of the characters in Lupin as messy people who aren’t perfect at communication, and also do have some 1970s ideas and baggage about polyamory and queerness even as they’re being poly and queer. They’re figuring it out, and that’s what I love them for!

In my mind, the lupgang polycule is basically a square like:

Lupin ----- Jigen

|                    |

|                    |

Fujiko ---- Goemon

And here’s some more deets on my specific ideas about each relationship:

Lupin/Jigen

These guys are just...super solid. Just best friends who are in love with each other. I like to read fic where these two get together, but in my mind, they got together way before the start of canon and have just been basically married forever. They sometimes have kinda married-couple bickering and, tbh, they are both not the best at communication, but they care so much about each other and this point their relationship is just rock solid. I don’t really see them being big on labels other than “partner” but like, “partner” means everything to them. The intro segment of Castle of Cagliostro is the bit of canon which comes closest to how I ship them. (Side note, god bless Miyazaki for taking the entire 5 minute credit scroll of that movie to just establish that Lupin and Jigen love each other. I love that those scenes do absolutely zero to advance the plot except for to establish that these guys love each other’s company and I am so happy that he recognizes how important to the series that is).

I think for a long time, Jigen was kinda in awe of Lupin who had just totally swept him off his feet, not only with his heist skills, but is humor and his good-naturedness and his confidence that crime could actually be something artful and gleeful, and not like the selfish, violent, untrusting mafia world Jigen was used to. But over time, they’ve gotten very comfy with each other, and Jigen is now the single person most capable of seeing through Lupin’s bullshit and calling him on it. The two of them are huge on physical touch. Lupin’s huge on verbal affection, and Jigen isn’t as much, and comes off as more gruff, especially in public, but he’s actually very traditional and sentimental sometimes (like the kinda guy who takes saying “I love you” very seriously) The two of them are just huge goobers together. Idk I have less to say about this one than the other ones, but just like….#goals.

Fujiko/Lupin

This is a tough ship for me ‘cause I do really love a possible interpretation of it, but so much of Lupin’s behavior towards Fujiko in canon is so...euuuuughhhh that shipping this involves a lot of ignoring the worst of that for me. A lotta people have also pointed out that Fujiko is written in this kinda unrealiztic male-fantasy way that most women don’t really act where she’s always being a tease – but I actually kinda find it compelling to try and figure out a realistic motivation for her to act like that, so here’s my take:

Fujiko and Lupin are basically exes who still have a lotta mutal attraction and sexual tension (I’m largely going off of what Fujiko says about their relationship in The Castle of Cagliostro since I think it’s one of the only times in canon that you see her characterize that relationship). They sometimes get back together briefly, but it’s always complicated, but they're always still flirting. At some point in the past, pre-canon, they were actually seriously an item, probably because they started as rivals who were trying to seduce each other because of ulterior motives, but then they actually ended up falling for each other (I consider the account in Episode Zero of what that relationship was like to be pretty canon) I think from Lupin’s side, that basically happened because he’s a total simp, and from Fujiko’s side, Lupin was a kinda unexpected break from the totally shitty guys she seduces, and she was caught off guard to realize that she was actually getting romantically attracted to this guy– which scared her a lot, since she’s usually used to seducing underworld bosses and millionaires that she just has zero respect for and has zero qualms about betraying, but Lupin was actually fun to be around and seemed to have morals and principles and she didn’t know what do with that, especially since he is still kind of sleazy. I think Fujiko isn’t really sure if she’s actually sexually attracted to Lupin or not – she really likes that he’s into her, and it’s important to her to have the romantic affection of someone she thinks is genuinely a decent person (I think Fujiko does have an insecurity sometimes that only totally sleezebag men like her and that she won't ever be able to settle down with someone nice), but she’s maybe not actually that sexually attracted to him, or, at least, it’s complicated. (I think that also, the two of them were also really not sexually compatible - I like the read that Fujiko is either ace or has a lotta trauma about sex, and despite really enjoying seducing guys and wielding her sexuality as a weapon, she very rarely actually wants to have sex, and that's something Fujiko couldn’t really openly communicate about especially in the context of their kinda messy trying-to-seduce-each-other kinda situation, so that was always a bit tense between them). So ultimately, Fujiko ended up dumping him (read: betraying him, probably) to get a little distance. Their current arrangement (they flirt, Lupin simps for her, she betrays him, they very occasionally get together, but more frequently, try to play each other) actually is more comfortable for both of them. For Fujiko, it lets her flirt and enjoy Lupin’s company while keeping the distance that she needs (and she does tend to run a bit hot and cold about the relationship, sometimes feeling like she can get a bit more intimate and sometimes feeling like “I need to get out” and using betraying Lupin just to prove she can as a kinda pressure valve for that). Despite all the backstabbing, she does genuinely care about Lupin’s wellbeing, and doesn’t throw stuff at him that she thinks he can’t take. And I think Lupin is actually just fine with this – he recognizes that this is what Fujiko needs to feel comfortable with intimacy, and that’s alright with him. Also, he’s a weirdo and enjoys the challenge and the unpredictability – the two of them were too good as rivals to really be able to settled down and date like normal people anyways. But at this point, they’re actually very comfortable with each other and know each other very well, and, though you’d never guess it from the way they act towards each other, they do care deeply about each other – as friends, and as something more than that.

Goemon/Fujiko

I wrote about this a bit before, but basically, I think these two both have a totally different side from what we see in most of canon and are very tender around each other. If you asked him, Goemon might call Fujiko his girlfriend, but only if you asked him a lot of times, and he’d still blush a lot. (Fujiko would probably just give you a mysterious wink). I think the two of them like that their relationship is simple and that they can relax around each other – maybe at the beginning, they played a tiny bit of intrigue song and dance, where Goemon leaned into his white knight stuff and Fujiko leaned into her femme fatale stuff, but mostly at this point they like that they don’t have to put on masks around each other. Fujiko sees through Goemon’s tough guy posturing so he can let some of that down around her, and Goemon’s like the one morally non-complicated, genuine nice guy that Fujiko’s ever dated. (I think it also helps that she’s totally certain is attracted to her even when she’s not performing her whole femme-fatale thing – she loves Lupin, but she knows that he is totally into that high-heels and catsuits shit and it means she feels a certain amount of pressure to perform it, wheras Goemon really is a relax-in-sweatpants-around-him guy) I actually don’t think their relationship is that sexual, since both of them have a lotta hangups about sex (or at least, sex with folks of the opposite gender) – but Fujiko still does really enjoy making Goemon blush, especially when they’re around the rest of the gang. I think the bit where they sort of get together in the 3rd episode of The Woman Called Fujiko Mine is pretty canon on this relationship.

Jigen/Goemon

They’re boyfriends – I imagine their relationship as a lot more quiet and stoic though, without a lot of labels. They do a lotta dumb Masculine Bonding Stuff. These guys definitely fuck, in a no-nonsense kinda way. They’re probably both more in love with each other than they’ll often admit to each other. Their relationship is built on a lot of mutual admiration for each other – it’s cool to have someone else who understands their level of serious dedication to their craft. (They’re of course also a little competitive with each other, in a flirty way) They both take refuge in the other one being a sort of Responsible Adult in the gang, and having someone they can just enjoy peace and quiet and escape from Heterosexual Bullshit with. For Jigen, I think Goemon has like, a lot of the traits that he was attracted to in a lot of his hitman exes, except Goemon is actually good for him, unlike those dudes – but a lot of things about the relationship feel more easy and familiar for him, whereas Lupin can be kinda an enigma sometimes. I think Goemon is fascinated by how Jigen has a lot of the same seriousness and discipline that he does, but also is so off the rails in completely different ways from him. They both take each other’s word very seriously. They’ve also both got this very particular sense of humor which no one else in the gang gets, and they crack each other up. But they’re also both completely ridiculous and very prideful people, so when they fight they feud way more and get huffier with each other than everyone else. I think Tokyo Crisis is the most canon example of how I imagine these two interacting.

Crossways relationships:

Jigen&Fujiko

They fight a lot, but they’re friends. Early on, when Jigen didn’t really get Fujiko and Lupin’s whole thing, and when he was newer to the being poly thing, I think he was actually often grouchy at Fujiko because he was jealous, and because he was worried that she’s hurt Lupin. But as they’ve gotten to know each other and he’s come to realize that Lupin and Fujiko are just Like This and that Lupin actually likes it this way, they’ve warmed up to each other, and they still argue but they are much less serious about it - it's just kinda how they do.

Lupin&Goemon

Lupin really wants it to happen. It’s never going to happen (Lupin is, in general, wants this to be a “we all have threesomes with each other all the time” polycyle, and...only very occasionally succeeds) But they are good buddies and are genuinely quite impressed with and fascinated by each other.

Not included here: any of the Lupin Gang/Zenigata relationships ‘cause we don’t have time to unpack that right now. Maybe send me another ask that I’ll take two months to respond to, haha. My general read tho is that both Lupin and Zenigata are in love with each other, and literally everyone except for Lupin knows this, because that is the scenario I find funniest.

[bunnyblooms]

OKAY FUCKER ALL THE QUESTIONS FROM THAT ASK MEME THE LGBT ONE

1. Identity and pronouns.

I'm agenderfluid and they/them pronouns. My sexuality is aroflux and asexual.

2. How did you discover your sexuality?

Pretty much at 14 was like "idk i don't relate to everyone else i don't find celebrities hot or sex remotely something i want. If i could reproduce without sex i would. Oh. I'll just call myself asexual, like a sponge!" (Which asexual is incidentally what the creators of Spongebob were going for, fun facts. Spongebob is ace rights.)

3. Have you experienced being misgendered? How do you overcome it?

Mmmm I am constantly misgendered bc I'm nonbinary and live in a binary society and the way I compartmentalize it is basically just dressing how I want and not making an attempt to pass as anything tbh. The only time I feel misgendered is when someone knows my pronouns and doesn't use them anymore tbh. So basically. Letting go of how I want to be perceived helped. I will say tho, I refuse to come out to my dad bc he won't respect it and it'll be more painful hearing him misgender me knowing how I identify, but. That's certainly a privilege I have since I'm not transitioning. (ATM at least.)

4. Who was the first person you told? How did they react?

I technically didn't come out as ace. My ex-best friend knew bc I talked about it, but neither of us knew it was an identity. So the transition upon finding the label was virtually nonexistent and all of my friends were LGBTQ as well so it wasn't stressful or shocking. It helps that around the time I discovered the label I'd met two friends who were ace and felt the same way I did. My experience with my asexuality is definitely the model that should be the norm with the community and what we as a society should aim for.

As for my gender I'd made comments in the past that I wished I could just be genderless and it really kind of sat with me when my ex-best friend came out as trans bc I was like "Oh? You don't have to be the gender you are at birth?" Belial from Angel Sanctuary was a character that resonated with me at the time, and this was right around the time I made my ace friends. It wasn't until a year later that I discovered the nb community and one friend who was genderfluid that I decided to start trying different pronouns. And basically I came out as questioning and transitioned to nb without a formal declaration, which I also feel should be the goal for society.

I was at a con with my best friend at the time who was trans and he'd come out with my now ex-best friend while they were dating. And I was really anxious bc I felt like ppl would assume I was a transtrender and shit, and my friend said something about gender and I kind of awkwadly implied I might not identify as female and he was really great about it! He was like "If you wanna talk about it or try different pronouns you can." :D

5. Describe what it was like coming out.

I pretty much did this im question 4 hehehe.

6. If you're out, how did ppl react?

I'm not out to family, that I know of. They found my facebook which has my identity listed in my about, so I'm in limbo with them where none of us talk about it so idk if they register it as an LGBTQ thing or not.

My friends were all supportive! It helps that I have like no cishet friends lmao.

I also came out to my class on TDOV two years ago for a project where we step outside our comfort zone. I'm luckily in the social work program which has social justive built into the tenants of the profession so it was pretty positive! People still misgendered me after and were more concerned with "but i'm scared of ppl getting angry at me what should i do to talk about this with them" which. 9__9 Not surprising. But there was a mom whose kid and her kid's partner are both genderfluid and bigender so it was a good experience and I had an ally which made me comfortable in sharing it in the first place.

7. What is one question you hate ppl asking about your sexuality?

Inevitably when I say I'm ace, non-aces assume I have no interest in dating which. Way to conflate being aroace with ace and ignore that there are aros and aces who want relationships. That's my biggest pet peeve.

8. Describe the style of clothing you often wear.

I wear flannels and ripped jeans or shorts mainly. I basically dress like a butch lesbian. I'll wear dresses and stuff but I do not like dressing femme and prefer to offset softer things with hard things. Like. When I wear dresses I have to wear clunky combat boots with them or have short hair or something.

9. Who are your favorite LGBTQ+ ships?

Hmmm. Depends if you mean canon or not. Canon, it's probably FigAyda from D20 and Catradora from She-ra. Shion/Nezumi from No.6 is also one of my faves. There's also Chie and Ai from Virgin's Empire. Blupjeans from The Adventure Zone and JonMartin from The Magnus Archives.

As for Not Confirmed ships, I like Flick/CJ from Animal Crossing, Tsuna/Enma from Katekyo Hitman Reborn, uhhh. Reigisa from Free!, Kanji/Naoto from Persona and Chihiro/whatever the fuck his name is Mondo? Or the other guy I forget, from Danganronpa. Also RenLaw, RenStrade, and VinceLaw+VinceFarz from BTD.

(I am including straight relationships involving trans ppl obv.)

10. What does makeup mean to you? Do you wear any?

I hate how I look with make up it makes me dysphoric. But to me makeup is a good expressive outlet and bomb as hell, so when I do wanna wear makeup, I prefer wearing eyeliner and lipstick (esp in black or blue or green or purple) and glitter.

11. Do you experience dysphoria? How does it affect you?

I experience what I refer to as Silhouette Dysphoria a lot. I experience chest dysphoria but a lot of times it's less about me having them at all and me not liking how I look with them. The same goes for my hips and overall shape. Hence silhouette. I also experience genital dysphoria to a lesser degree, and when I do it's less hating my genitals bc they should be different but more just having any at all. Luckily I was born with internal genitalia so I don't have to think about it as much. Social dysphoria I also experience, but I've talked about that already.

How I deal with it is binding and stuff.

12. What is the stupidest thing you've heard said about the LGBTQ+ community?

Hmm. The ppl who genuinely argue that accepting the community means you'll be forced to accept pedophilia or beastiality. Like. Lmao no?

13. Favorite thing about the community?

I just love how great it feels to be in it tbh. It can be so positive and loving and just genuinely make you feel good about yourself.

14. Least favorite thing about the community?

Exclusionists.

15. Have you ever been to your city's pride event?

No, but I went to Pride in Des Moines!!! IT WAS GREAT!

16. Favorite LGBTQ+ celebrity?

I don't really follow celebrities, but probably Ian McEllen and Tim Gunn.

17. Have you been in a relationship and how did you meet?

I was in a relationship for a while with a friend of mine and it was wonderful tbh. We met in a server and started talkng more, and started out as qpps then became partners and like we broke up, but I still enjoyed the experience and wouldn't go back in time and stop it from happening. My other qpp tho. That's something I would do lmao.

I also have a bf but that's a secret~

18. Favorite LGBTQ+ book.

I haven't read a lot of books, so I guess I have to say The Raven Cycle bc that's the only one I remember reading.

19. Have you ever faced discrimination?

Mmmm the only time I have experienced direct discrimination I was giving a friend valentines chocolate in high school and some kid called me a d*ke when i walked past him.

The other stuff is like. My therapist telling me to check for a hormone imbalance when I said I was asexual.

20. Favorite LGBTQ+ movie/show?

She-ra, "To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything", The Runaways (the movie not the show), No. 6.

21. Favorite LGBTQ+ bloggers?

I don't have any lmao.

22. Which slur do you want to reclaim?

Queer, bc it's already been reclaimed and it fits me.

23. Have you ever gone to a gay bar or drag show? How was it?

Nope. Never, but it'd be fun!!

24. How do you idrntify your gender?

Already answered this lol.

25. Interested in having kids?

Nope. I'd be too scared of screwing them up.

26. What identity service would you give your younger self?

I wish I'd known there was an ace community before I was older tbh. So that, probably.

27. What do you think of gender roles in relationships?

I personally like playing a feminine role, but I also think gender roles are unecessary, so like. As long as I'm an equal I don't care what role I play lmao. If you wanna treat me like the handmaiden, as long as you're not doing it bc you see me as a woman I don't care.

28. Anything else you wanna share about your gender?

Nah. Just. I don't bother trying to pin it down anymore bc the more I analyze it the less I understand it.

29. Something you wish ppl knew about being LGBTQ+?

Hmmmm not really. It's fun outside of the systemic oppression?

30. Why are you proud to be LGBTQ+?

For me it's less about pride in being LGBTQ+ and more being proud to express myself authentically. 🤷

[theclaravoyant]

Enjoying all your trans appreciation fan works and reblogs so much! I'm not sure if you'll know this but maybe some of your followers might? I have a character in an og work that's trans, but I identify as cis. Do you know of any writing blogs or spaces that could give me advice both on writing a trans character well and also on what plot lines I should or shouldn't give them?

Hi! I am so glad you are enjoying the works! Thanks for the ask, I will do my best to answer below the cut.

The first thing to think about is that everyone has different perspectives on what should be expected when writing experiences that aren’t necessarily your own, and what counts as ‘your own’ experiences. The number one piece of advice everyone gives is “do your research, listen to trans people” which is super important but I promise you, it will get confusing and possibly nervewracking trying to do it ‘right’ the more perspectives you hear. Yay. Just do your best and somebody somewhere will appreciate it; as with any writing and representation, remember that you will never be able to please everybody and as hard as that is, it’s just reality. You’re also not pleasing anybody by not writing trans characters at all, so you already can’t win. I will start off to say, as a nonbinary (trans) person, thank you for trying and for reaching out, and I hope others appreciate that effort too.

For me personally, I try to strike a balance which an author described once along the lines of “I can include [x people] in my stories, but I can’t write about being [x].” There are certain inner lives and experiences of people eg. from different cultures, different religions, different gender experiences etc than ourselves that we may never be able to fully capture, so we may be limited in the depths to which we can authentically explore their inner lives, BUT we can and should still include such characters. They may not necessarily be able to be our most main characters, due to these limitations in depth and authenticity, but we can still populate our world with them. I think this is where you should consider aiming if you aren’t already.

Finding this balance feeds into the sort of ‘stories you shouldn’t tell’ idea. The main three to avoid are all somewhat intertwined and they are:

- depression- voyeurism- guilt

Similarly to with a lot of same sex attracted characters, trans people tend to be most tired of our stories being about the Struggle, depression/suicide, abuse etc. It’s a valid consideration since it’s such a reality for many trans people, but it’s pretty much all the stories we have. (There’s also plenty of struggle for the parents coming to terms with things etc......... bit over that focus too tbh). This article calls it ‘the cis gaze’ and it dominates the current media landscape when it comes to trans stories; we’re getting more of them, but they’re all the same. Think of just about any mainstream trans story and then... try something else)

Also, a lot of trans stories still end up being kind of... voyeuristic? There’s a lot about transition, surgery, and especially body parts and sex, and it’s kinda objectifying and gross. There’s also the concept of deadname reveals - a deadname being usually the name assigned at birth, which falls out of use and can even be triggering when a person realises they are trans and/or transitions. I personally don’t mind the occasional deadname reveal and similar in stories, especially when the “trans people are inherently deceptive” trope is subverted, but seriously it is in SO MANY trans stories, usually as a Shocking Twist that doesn’t let trans people have a right to privacy of their backstories. Of course, there’s lots in any character’s backstory that is vulnerable to become a shocking twist, but with trans people it comes with added baggage of being outed against our will and being treated as inherently deceptive for trying to live our lives. There’s extra weight to shocking twists of a trans nature (whereas if the trans character’s shocking twist was, they were born in a different country or they’re actually an expert marksman or something, that’s got less baggage - you can still do twists! just be mindful of ones where transness of the character is the ‘punchline’ if you will). If you can avoid deadnaming altogether, I would recommend that, or at least or subvert it (eg, someone finds out deadname, doesn’t feel need to reveal this to the universe and/or helps keep it quiet) or discourage it (eg. only this character’s abusive parents deadname them).

The main thing with this is, don’t make the trans character feel guilty about being trans, or seem shady/deceptive or incomplete for being trans. Don’t frame it like it’s some terrible secret, or that they Must reveal that they are trans or else they’re lying to their friends/partner/etc. This is one of the reasons why deadname reveals are so problematic, whether they are done by another character (outing someone against their will... don’t make good guys do this) or by the character themselves out of a sense of obligation, fear, or shame.

DON’T, DO NOT HAVE TRANS VILLAINS PLEASE. I just don’t think we’re at a place yet where there’s enough balance for this to be equal. It tends to get at the whole “men disguise themselves as women to rape women” thing which is a big ew especially because real transphobes really exist and really think this.

Also, avoid “she used to be a dude” jokes or similar, especially when met with unimaginable horror/being a dealbreaker (sitcoms i’m looking at you)

Don’t worry though, there are a lot of things you CAN do to make good trans rep. A few things that I think are good are:

- if your character has physically or medically transitioned in some way, reference that; it doesn’t require mentions of genitals. maybe someone has to shave their face more often, take injections, wear or not wear a binder

- treat transition as an ongoing processes rather than a single cathartic moment

- maybe the character has an odd or unusual name, or goes by many names in different contexts

- maybe the character has a dark past that may include some of the above, but now they are living healthily and happily; this is more important than never having gone through the above

- the character is likely to be sensitive to misgendering (eg. if they are a man, being mistaken for a woman or described in feminine terms)

- give the character dreams and goals outside of transitioning

- explore and respect the diversity of trans experiences; it is not as straightforward as being ‘a man/woman trapped in a woman/man’s body’ (and while we’re at it, not every trans person aggressively hates or is traumatised by their body - if you want more on dysphoria I can definitely talk about that but this is getting a bit long so I’ll press on for now)

- involve the characters in loving romantic relationships; trans people, and especially trans women, tend to be really hypersexualised (even when seen as simultaneously repulsive), not as complete beings with love lives (and/or regular, healthy sex lives that aren’t inherently perverted pornographic messes). mixing this up is refreshing

- don’t only have one trans character. not saying that you have to think up a whole gaggle of trans folk in detail, make trans mainstream in your mythical society, or have 3/9 squad members be trans or something, but for example, maybe the trans character lives out of home with other trans characters, or maybe if they are feeling isolated from other trans people over the course of the story, they seek out an environment where other trans people are and all they need to mention is “I went down to [known queer hangout] the other day” or “this is my new friend, [new trans person]”. maybe a character finds out this character is trans and goes “oh yeah, like aunt such and such.” I know the struggle as a writer that comes with trying to do everything in depth and well and all, so something like this is a good way to signal that trans people aren’t alone in your world - which is something that many of us feel irl

- and above all, give them ‘normal’ character storylines that don’t revolve around them being trans, and then weave the transness through, rather than treating transness as their entire plot/point of being.

There are some more articles here and here, I have heard this is good, and there is more and more coming out lately (eg this tag) which may help you from here. I am happy to give further advice or detail if you like, but I hope this is a good starting point for you!

[carmencarmyberzatto]

i know you said you don’t like talking about characters you like but i (as one of your mutuals) would love to hear some of your favorites and why. this is very important to my future characterization of you. also i think i ran across your insta, is it ok if i follow you?

omg this is so sweet of you to ask lol im not too open on here about my favorite characters so i’d be happy to list some haha thank you so much for asking

also of course you can follow my insta or on any other platform i don’t mind :-)

so to list off some of my favorite characters i’ll include a lil description on why i like them teehee

charlie kelly - my autistic king, literally everything to me. he’s such an interesting character especially after s15′s revelations and his mini-arc that we got.

satoru tsukada - like nandor, super cool insight into what it means to be human and need human connection, and the horror of being someone’s idealized partner more than being a human in your own way who deserves human connection.

teruki hanazawa - he’s sooo bpd coded. his entier character arc is becoming a normal kid who has to deal w his powers and help his friends. he’s my little queer coded best friend character, he’s just like me

nandor - he’s just a big guy. i had him on my graduation cap. i have a lot of love for every character in wwdits, but nandor gives such a deep, yet lighthearted, introspection of the crossroads between humanity and what it means to be human and want connection.

atsushi tanzawa - he has such an interesting way with words and with how to use his power and ruling with an iron fist, but softly. his main goal is to protect his team and follow what jousuke’s plan was originally, which is to create a world or a path for delinquents (his friends) to continue their lives successfully because he knows they’re like sheep to the slaughter without him or without a way to continue their devious actions, especially after acknowledging that it’s all they know. he’s a great character foil to tsurumanki because he fights for his friends, where tsurumaki fights for his friends, which are his closest friends, not his team. that is, until you realize, he’s going the same lengths as tsurumaki and his group to come out superior.

nyen - he’s just a fucking cat dude honestly. like what else do i really have to say he’s just a dude to me and i really like him. he’s hot

keisuke baji - i dont really remember tbh. he’s just a loyal guy and i genuinely enjoy his entire character.

kazutora hanemiya - bpd coded he just like me.

izana kurokawa - bpd coded he just like me, again.

[pumpkins-s]

12 and 20 for each McClain sister (including Mavis and Slaos Lance cuz I'm thirsty)

OC Ask Meme: Describe Your OC

You are thirsty damn.

I got into some weird speculative-canon territory with some of these so just bear with me tbh.

Marcie:

12:  their romantic life

Marcie is probably the only sister who had an extensive/well-rounded love life at any point in her history, to be honest. She’s a romantic at heart, and very people-oriented, so on some level she definitely values at least the concept of a partner (though in reality she’s probably not prioritized the finding of one extensively, she’s a very passive “if it happens it happens” person).

Especially when she was figuring out her sexuality, Marcie probs had several girlfriends during/after high school. Nothing too serious or long term. Eventually, as she got older and felt she had more responsibilities in life both to her work and her family, she dated less. It’s definitely still a fantasy for her, but Marcie would need someone who’s capable of respecting the duties she sees herself having to her family, and someone who can ingratiate themself too and integrate well with her siblings/cousins. Otherwise it’s a no go.

20:  their reaction to a mystery love letter

Oh she’d be over the moon. Marcie is the exact kind of romantic who’d see this as the height of affection, especially if it was lengthy in prose and done on fancy paper or something. Handwritten would appeal to her over a typed letter.

Marcie was definitely an (accidental) heart breaker in high school, so she probably got a few to be honest. Karen probably helped her suss out which ones were men so that they could go in the trash so that she could offer them a polite refusal (while Karen made a murder face at them over her shoulder). 

Karen: 

12:  their romantic life

If I remember correctly, Karen is the only McClain sister I didn’t expressly label as queer on some level or another (mostly because I never put significant thought into her sexuality tbh), but in truth...? She’s such a goal-focused person she doesn’t really have the time to date. Her first love is her sport of choice and doing things. She’s such an active and energetic person that unless she found someone willing to balance their schedule with hers in that regard, it probably wouldn’t work out. 

She probably went on a few dates here and there in high school and college before eventually just...forgetting dating was a thing she was “supposed” to do. She’d rather be bettering herself than wasting time making small talk at coffee shops.

20:  their reaction to a mystery love letter

She’d be somewhat touched, but if she found it too florid/poetic it’d probably make her uncomfortable, and if the letter-writer never approached her she’d probably throw it away. She believes if you want something you need to go and get it, and that extends to people. She wouldn’t have much admiration for someone who pines at a distance. 

Igraine:

12:  their romantic life

I actually straight up had an outline for Igraine to have a love interest in SLAOS -- a translator she met in the military -- and ended up pulling it for time due to a whole host of other shit I needed to cover in Lance’s early teenage years. So there you go I guess.

20:  their reaction to a mystery love letter

Extreme disbelief, a period of conviction that this must be for one of her sisters and got left for her by mistake, followed by an extensive manhunt for the letter-writer with a reluctant Lucas roped in to assist. 

If she couldn’t find the letter-writer, she’d probably be disappointed to be honest. What good is an admirer if you can’t chase after them?

Evie:

12:  their romantic life

You mean Evie? The aro/ace queen lol? I don’t think she’s ever had much of one. She probably went on one date to a school dance or something, recognized how distinctly uncomfortable it made her, did some research, and came to her “ah. am aro” conclusion pretty quickly. 

I doubt she experienced much disappointment in that conclusion, honestly. Their mother hardly put pressure on them to find romantic partners, and between the fact that (most of) her sisters didn’t date much, and she mostly hung around Mavis in her early high school years, who considered sexuality and relationships one part a joke and one part a manipulation tactic, she was hardly in a situation where she was the Odd One Out.

20:  their reaction to a mystery love letter

She’d be flattered, even if she clearly didn’t/couldn’t reciprocate. She’d probably seek the person out or write them a note in return expressing her appreciation of their compliments, but that she wasn’t interested in a romantic partner, period.

Loraine:

12:  their romantic life

Loraine has elements of Marcie’s romantic personality, but given she’s demiromantic and mostly hung around Lance & Hunk, Mavis, or her sisters, she didn’t really have extensive opportunities to meet anyone she might develop an attraction to. I don’t think she ever sought the opportunity out, either. She appreciated the idea but she ultimately was significantly career/goal focused, as well as family-oriented. Romantic partners just weren’t a priority.

20:  their reaction to a mystery love letter

A weird mix of flattery and discomfort. Someone saying nice things about her is always Good, but she’d feel awkward and bad about turning them down, while also more uncomfortable about the idea of trying to reciprocate. She’d have probably panicked in the face of one until Mavis contacted the person in question and told them to fuck off.

Lance:

12:  their romantic life

Uhhh I can straight up answer this in terms of canon, tbh -- 1. a fleeting affection that couldn’t work out. 2. a relationship with the capability to be incredibly healthy but complicated by the situation surrounding it (namely...Lance’s dealing w/a lot of external shit). And 3. the thing I’ve committed to endgame the story with, for better or for worse. 

20:  their reaction to a mystery love letter

Much like Loraine, he’d probably be both flattered and slightly uncomfortable, most especially because of his weird situation. As “a boy” he’d probably feel much more obligated to return the sentiment, even if he didn’t necessarily feel the same way and just told himself he should. Lance likes people, he likes the idea of a relationship, and he wouldn’t want to hurt someone else’s feelings if he can help it. Which can make something...awkward, for him.

Mavis:

12:  their romantic life

Fucking terrible. Mavis’s natural reaction to romantic interest in her is suspicion/an expectation someone has ulterior motives, which makes things harder for her. It doesn’t help she also doesn’t have a good understanding of what’s healthy for her, or comfortably asserting her boundaries if she feels she owes/needs someone. Hence: Jeff.

20:  their reaction to a mystery love letter

Laughter, and then unceremoniously throwing it away. She’d feel a little bit bad about it afterward, but she’d never admit to it.

[shitfics]

Hi;; I just saw ur reply about asexuality, and I'm not in any way implying that I'm forcing you to write ace characters, but I hope you know that some ace people are/can be in gay/queer romantic relationships with sex involved. And there's also the spectrum of asexuality so they might only be sexually attracted to a couple ppl or the attraction could fluctuate. It just kinda hurts that we're always invalidated :/ hope you understand;;

I mean…you're welcome to think what you like about my characters, so since ace people can have romantic relationships and sex, then you can imagine the one's I've already written as identifying that way. But I am not ace and don't feel comfortable trying to represent that identity or experience -- other people could do it much better. Exploring ace identity in fic is clearly something I would be inadequate at. (Identities in general aren’t something I care to explore tbh except thru relationships, and even then it’s only a part of the character...I hate writing introspection and think it makes for really boring reading. This is also why my fave aus tend to be fantasy.)

Frankly, I'm only ever going to write sex between people who are 100% attracted to each other and 100% into sex in general. The idea of sex where one partner is not fully attracted to the other person or is only doing it for the sake of their relationship is repulsive to me, and is exactly the kind of unhealthy sex I want to avoid writing. And if this isn't what you mean by "ace people having romantic relationships with sex," then I don't understand what difference exists between what you're describing and what I've already written in my stories.

I don't really care for discourse on my blog, and I've made it clear that my goal with writing is to write about gay romance and sex, so this is probably the last message I'll take on the topic.

[autism-asks]

New Mod Intro - Rage

Hi! I’m Rage which is short for Ragen. I’m 32, white, I live in the Pacific Northwest in the US, I’ve got two kids (one allistic teenager and one Autistic preschooler), I’m queer as fuck in all the ways, I’m an angry commie, I’m incredibly dedicated to intersectional social justice, I have multiple physical disabilities (EDS, POTS, endometriosis, chronic migraines), I’m polyamorous, I have a partner with fibro, an Autistic partner, and a partner who’s allistic and physically abled (it’s a little weird tbh, I have so many friends and loved ones who are disabled in some way that I almost forget that non-disabled people even exist ;) 

I’m community and self-diagnosed as Autistic (learned about it for the first time when I was about 30) and I’m currently working on the official diagnosis so I can get accomodations in school. I’m also ADHD and dyslexic and clinically depressed. I’m in school for psych, I’ve decided to turn “nothing about us without us” into a career. I believe that the only way for things to improve for us (in the immediate) is to get Actually Autistic people into positions of institutional power and I want to spend whatever’s left of my life on getting research and resources focused on Autistic Adults. When I discovered that I’m Autistic Autism became a special interest and that’s part of what lead me down this path and now that I’m on it I’m further specializing in neuropsychology. I’ve thrown myself head-first into neurological Autism stuff so I’m great for answering those kinds of questions but I’m also pretty solid for other Autism stuff as well.

I’ve worked for the past two years on two support groups for Adult Autistic people and one support group for the parents and caregivers of Autistic kids where there are a bunch of Actually Autistic Adults in the group who have chosen to work as resources for those parents and caregivers, the goal is to tell them the kinds of things we wish we’d had or known when we were kids. I’m excited to work over here as well, I want my whole damn life to be nothing but helping Autistic people in any way I can, I wanna be the resource I always needed but never had when I was growing up. I also run a depression and anxiety support group and I’m active in various parenting groups (I used to be a preschool teacher and I have tons of info on kids and parenting too).

i tend to prefer to write in a more stream of consciousness style in online forums, basically if i’m writing as though i were talking in a face to face setting then it’ll look something like this with non-normative punctuation and capitalization and such, it’s what comes most naturally to me and it’s easier for my brain to process, if i have to focus on grammar and such it can be easy for me to get distracted and lose my train of thought which sucks and i’m sharing that here and now so you can all be aware that that’s a thing.

in what little spare time i have i’m a giant nerd who loves gaming (all the kinds - video, board, pen and paper, etc), fiber arts, writing by hand with fountain pens, reading all things sci-fi, fantasy, and historical fiction, watching the hell out of Star Trek for the millionth time, musicals, snuggling all my pets (two doggos and a kitter), and communicating via memes while i endlessly scroll the internet :)

[queer-rantz]

Yo this looks fun! Hi fellow aros!!

1) I always knew that dating didn't interest me. For a long time I thought it was just because I was "too young", but when I heard that being aro was like.. A Thing I immediately recognized it as me. I've know since sophomore year of high school, so about 3 and a half years now.

2) Yes! I'm out to most of my friends, my sisters, and my mom (as aro, I'm out as different things to different people, which is Weird). I came out to most of my friends via puns, so that was nice. The only story worthy bit I can think of was when I came out to the only friend I thought was straight, which was the most terrifying (especially since he's catholic), but he immediately accepted me and started learning more about queer things for me, which was!! So sweet and touching I love him (also hes gay now lol I Turned One)

3) Its important to me because it feels like it comes up the most often, and it feels the most alienating. I feel like I have bigger communities for my other identities, and I have friends with those identities, but I don't really know any aros, and I feel like I have to be doubly obnoxious about it to fight back amatonormativity. Also it is a massive part of my life goals and the future I envision, as I don't want a partner.

4) The weird moral judgement people have? Like you need to be romantically interested in someone to respect someone or have empathy for them??? Its so bizarre and also terrifying like do you not care about your friends??

5) I like avoiding that Romantic Shit because from what I've seen its just another source of stress tbh. I dislike having to explain myself to people almost every time I come out becuase no one knows we exist.

This is such a cool idea! Thanks for doing this! (Ps plz be my friends fellow aros i crave the fronshipz)

Pride Week One: Aro Identity

Questions for Week One (June 3-9):

1. How did you realize you were aro/arospec? How long have you known?

2. Have you come out to anyone? Share a coming out story (coming out to yourself also counts)!

3. How/Why is your aromanticism important to you/your identity?

4. What are some misconceptions about aromanticism that bother you?

5. What’s something you like about being aro/arospec? Something you dislike?

Remember to tag your responses with #aromantic-official and #aro pride month  and/or @ us directly! You can also submit anonymously via our FAQ page.

[robininthelabyrinth]

Something that always interests me in LoT S1 is how Mick pretty much instantly blames Rip for Len's shifting priorities. Not Sara, who Len clearly is trying to earn the respect of; Mick basically says outright that he thinks Rip brainwashed Len. Why do you think he does that? Just because Rip is demonstrably an asshole? Or do you think he's seen Len fall into the trap of obeying selfish, angry men too often before because it's a pattern he's used to?

ETA: So this got longer than expected. And more meta, too. 

TL;DR: I don’t think Len is trying to impress Sara, I think Mick is correct in blaming Rip; and the rest of this is an explanation of how I personally explain Len’s characterization in season 1 (what his motivation is in participating, why he talks to Sara the way he does in the gulag rescue sequence, what he meant by the “you and me” line in Destiny) and how I would write Captain Canary if I ever did.

—

So, at least for me, I think I disagree with your premise that Len was clearly trying to earn Sara’s respect. The impression I got from season 1 - especially the first few episodes - is that Len found himself stuck on a ship with Mick and a bunch of heroes and he was, well, not necessarily uncomfortable with that, but he didn’t understand them, either. Except for Mick, who was already his best friend, Sara was the closest he had to what he knew - someone in the grey areas, who knows about morality issues ,etc. - and he was willing to hang out with her as a result. Mick didn’t have any objection to Len occasionally playing cards with someone else because it wasn’t a motivation for him, it was downtime. All of the actual behavioral changes are Rip’s fault: Rip, who brought them on the trip; Rip, who told everyone they were heroes; Rip, who was so incompetent Len got overly invested in trying to make the job go right; Rip, who was so obviously using them like chess pieces without the slightest care for their well-being.

Rip, who through staggering incompetence and ruthlessness unaccompanied by cunning, constantly interferes in Len and Mick’s relationship by deliberately separating them and trying to place himself in the middle (he treats Len as a mastermind and Mick as a thug, and he honestly seems to think they would be more effective tools for his plan if they are kept apart - look at how he assigns jobs! It’s only when they volunteer for something that they get a chance to do it together).  

Basically, I devoutly subscribe to the fact that the only way to explain the inconsistency in Len’s priorities (other than bad writing) is that Len is the sort of guy who joins a group project only to get so upset that other people are fucking it up that he jumps in headfirst to try to fix it regardless of how much he cares about said group project in advance. (I am this type of person. It is not fun, because you can’t explain why you’re spending hours and hours on a stupid project that no one else cares about, you know the other students are lazily coasting on your hard work, the teacher’s not going to give you any special benefit for having hand-held everyone else through their sections, but you can’t seem to stop doing it because if you’re going to do something it ought to be done right.) Len defers to Rip because he believes Rip has expertise in the relevant field (time travel), but beyond that he's accidentally falling into the role of the second-in-command that runs everything else.

So Mick correctly identifies it as being all about Rip, not about Sara at all.

This isn’t even from a shipping perspective, tbh. I tend not to ship Captain Canary in my fics because I tend to see them as having clicked as best bros (literally, my reaction after the pilot of LOT was “I think I want them to discover that they’re the only people on board with gaydar, find a queer person in every era to flirt with, and fist-bump afterwards while smirking like morons because they would”) or as a part of Rogue Canary (and I usually headcanon Mick and Sara getting together first because Len is a spikey ice hedgehog who doesn’t trust easy even if he’s attracted to someone, but trusts Mick enough to trust Mick’s judgment that this person is okay to let in), but it’s not like I couldn’t write them - but if I did, it wouldn’t be that Len in season 1 is desperately seeking Sara’s attention and approval. Len’s just not that kind of guy!

Len’s, well, Len’s kind of an asshole. He’s fonder of Sara than he is of anyone else on the ship (excluding Mick, of course), and forced close proximity gets them a lot closer in a lot shorter of a time than he might have expected, but by the end of season 1, I still view them as having gotten not-all-the-way-there, you know? Not even to friendship. From his POV, she’s crew - she gives him loyalty, he returns it, he tries to have her back and support her goals, but if she fucks up, he’s still going to shoot her in the head. When he tries (in Destiny), he stops because he knows she’s right, and because he figures out that he might actually like her in the sense that he likes another human being as a human being and he’s surprised by that. He thought she was just another crew member, albeit a more pleasant one, and it turns out he might even have made a friend. And then of course he dies which BOO, and let’s just not talk about how upset Len would be at Sara’s behavior towards Mick in season 2 okay? There’s a reason I’ve written less and less Rogue Canary stuff despite liking it :(

For example, my reading of the sequence in the gulag where Len encourages Sara not to shoot Stein? Len has accepted his place on this team, on this crew, and for him, being on a crew is bound up in a type of loyalty-among-thieves that he very strongly adheres to. The only way to demand loyalty is to give it - Rip forces him to abandon his partner for the mission, which he hates, but Sara leads the charge to get them back, and Sara gets kudos for that. So when Sara starts being led (by Rip) to abandon her own personal set of ethics and, for that matter, her overarching goal (fixing her bloodlust and accepting herself as a person again), Len does his best to help her using language she understands, i.e. the language of heroism, despite not necessarily subscribing to those ideas about murder himself. He’s got her back, even against her own instincts - just the way he helps Mick against the fire, acting in the way Mick needs him to despite not necessarily understanding what it is that’s driving Mick. Len is, above all else, a very good team player. Thus the impulse to create the Rogues, even if the show never explored it.

If I were to write something of a Captain Canary bent (who knows, might happen one day, though it’s never going to be my OTP like Coldwave is), it would be a continuation of that - Len realizing, very slowly, that Sara is more than crew, that maybe she’s an actual friend, and by friend he means someone he trusts to actually have his own best interests at heart even when she disagrees with him, the way he trusts Mick to throw himself into the line of fire for Len and tell Len to save himself even when Len wants desperately to stay beside him. Once that realization hits him upside the head (which I think it does to a certain degree in Destiny), he would promptly try to fit it into his own narrative - and Len is not a domestic sort of person. I always read the “thinking for the future - for me, for you, for you and me” to be less of an explicitly romantic proposal (which would be creepily early in the relationship, and as someone who got proposed to on the fourth date by my first boyfriend, that is NOT OKAY) but as a classically Len-trying-to-be-smooth-and-somewhat-failing attempt to say, “Uh, you know, you’re pretty cool, would you like to rob banks together with me sometime? I think we’d be pretty cool, doing that, together. Would be fun.”

Because - and I cannot emphasize this enough - my headcanon of Len is as a dumb dork when it comes to actual emotions outside of conning people. See: all of my fics.

The #1 thing that always bothers me about Captain Canary fics is how many of them tend to ditch Mick, which is why I often write Rogue Canary instead - at least if they’re sleeping together, people will understand that you don’t just ditch a friend of 30+ years running for a romantic interest you’ve known less than six months. But I often regularly headcanon Mick and Len as purely platonic because what’s important is their friendship, not whether or not they’re also making out, so it’s possible to have a good Captain Canary ship - just as long as it’s acknowledged that Mick, and Len’s friendship with Mick, continues to have emotional priority for a good bit of time, and the friendship will continue to have at least parity with the romantic relationship indefinitely. And if the romantic relationship is good, and I think that season 1 versions of Len and Sara could have been good again let’s not talk about the butchery season 2 has made of Sara’s character, Sara would acknowledge it and support it, have their backs the way that they have each others, and it’s that impulse that would make her part of their team and capable of a successful relationship with Len.  (The thing that is the worst: she’d have made such a good Rogue!)

Oh, season 1. You had such potential.