#Michaela x Francesca

[jazzyjazzin]

the level of disappointment on her face as she learns Francesca’s name stays with me when I sleep

[sunny-rants]

yes I am devastated about the death of Creloise, but I’m actually weirdly happy that Francesca is the first canon sapphic Bridgerton? Benedict being queer has made me so happy, but having the promiscuous second son and the man hating forward thinking woman be the two queer characters felt kinda on the nose stereotype wise. making Francesca queer is so much more interesting to me, because this season she has already become not only a fully fleshed out character, but one that does not fit neatly into any token queer archetypes.

[existential-queeer]

You mean to tell me that Evan Buckley AND Benedict Bridgerton came out as bisexual....all in the same year??

AND Francesca's awakening/gay panic?!

HAPPY PRIDE MONTH MY BEAUTIFUL GAYS

[insane-hag]

a lesbian in straight-dominated fields (the bridgerton fandom)

[chenfordsbee]

“It gives me great pleasure to introduce…Michaela Stirling.”

[survivinglifesstruggles]

Michaela Stirling being Francesca’s anchor in the storm of her grief, and the two of them raising baby John Jr (FIGHT ME) together because of COURSE Michaela would help raise her beloved cousins child with her beloved and just being that small little family together.

[darklinaforever]

It kills me how many people think that the gender of a fictional character doesn't matter.

We are in fiction, where the characters have arcs, or they embody themes. Obviously for some characters gender matters.

Michael is literally named the new heir and freaks out about becoming a new John /basically taking everything he had.

Michaela can't really have this arc... Unless we strangely learn that the laws in Scotland are extremely different from England located in the Bridgerton universe (and I speak for the universe of the series, where we have no idea if they will stick to reality where women in Scotland could inherit), and I doubt it for the moment.

So no, Michaela couldn't necessarily have the same arc as Michael.

I'm not even sure she could be a Merry Rake. Can a woman be called Rake in show Bridgerton universe ?

The fact is that Michaela will necessarily differ at certain times from Michael.

Already there are always drastic differences between the show and the book, this time I think it will be even more emphasized. (I even doubt that we will have as many nods to the book as season 3 dedicated to Polin's story did)

In any case, the very basis of Francesca's story is that despite the loss of true love you can always have a second chance, which is a clear originality compared to the other romances in this series of books ; well, is already changed with the way the end of season 3 happened.

It seems that the marriage to John was a mistake, that the physical aspect of their relationship will not prove pleasant in view of the Fran's reaction to their kiss, and worse, that Fran doesn't feel true love for John.

True love in Bridgerton often results in great passion and similarities to the story of Edmund and Violet, and Francesca literally matches Violet's reaction when she first met Edmund, but this time when she meets Michaela.

Whereas Fran is never supposed to have this kind of reaction around Michael / Michaela as long as John is alive. Because she normaly truly loves him.

So how could the story be the same after such a change to the very heart of the story ?

It's not just the gender change from Michael to Michaela that makes the adaptation of When he was Wicked complicated and uncertain for some viewers, including me too, it is above all a whole.

But for some obscure reason people refuse to accept it.

Beyond that, I repeat, Michael Stirling is a fictional male character who has been around for years.

That people are disappointed, including me, not to see this character, as he is basically on paper, be adapted to the screen is not necessarily homophobic, assumed or internalized.

Yes, some are, but not everyone. Some of us are part of the LGBTQ+ community and no, we do not all suffer from internalized homophobia so as not to 100% validate such a change !

We're talking about an attachment to an image that we have formed in our mind about a FICTITIOUS character for fucking years !

Besides, I didn't even say that I was fundamentally against it, because I have already explained several times that a part of me was happy to see a main romance between two women on screen in the television universe for Bridgerton (and the actresses are magnificent and on top of that, I'm sure, will have very good chemistry). Once again, representation is always cool, but, is this really the right place to do it ? I'm not so sure.

And contrary to what some say, I'm not saying that LGBTQ+ relationships should systematically be secondary in fiction. No way. I'm simply saying that transforming one of the main canon ships of the books without which the Netflix adaptation would not exist is perhaps not the right thing to do, since there is already a community attached behind these characters...

And seriously, if the creators really wanted a main LGBTQ+ romance dealing with the Bridgerton universe, they could easily make a spin off dealing specifically with this part of society and how they live.

I'm sure many, including me, will watch such a spin-off ! And damn I would love for something like that to happen !

You see, the opportunity to have an LGBTQ+ romance at the forefront without changing the kind of characters mostly beloved by an audience that already exists. Not very complicated though.

Do you realize how inappropriate it is to insult someone homophobic for that things ?! I don't know what kind of fucking bubble these people live in...

And it's scary to say that you can be insulted by a community of which you are a part, simply for not conforming to everything that is judged 100% morally correct for them.

If you have the misfortune of delay, sometimes there are those who unleash themselves on you to insult you for things that you don't have, simply for a fictional character...

"You don't 100% validate that a fictional male character who has existed for years and whom you have loved for years, with a fairly precise image in mind as a result, becomes a woman in his adaptation ? Well obviously, it's is that you are, at worst, a homophobe, or at least worse an internalized homophobe, and in any case that is not tolerable and you are not a true ally and you are problematic who deserves to be hated."

I don't know if you realize how STUNNING this is ! There really are people on this app who need to get fucking treatment...

And anyway why am I racking my brains ?

There will always be stupid people to come and tell me that what I say is always homophobic because if I have a problem with the change of gender of a fictional character through an adaptation well I'm the real problem.

As they say, you can't change idiots.

So stay stupid if you want, but at least leave me alone.

[crescentcampbell]

OH FRANCESCA GOT HIT WITH CUPIDS ARROW WHEN MICHAELA STIRLING WALKED IN!!!!

[winnie-the-monster]

Her simple gentle love

Her slightly complicated passionate love

[renegadesstuff]

MICHAELA STIRLING ❤️

[jazzyjazzin]

Michaela is gonna call her “princess” all the time and every time it will turn her into a stuttering blushing mess

[sunny-rants]

they are so sun and moon coded!!

[mjbythebay]

"It'S nOt bOoK aCcUrATe"

Maybe cause it's a fucking adaptation ever think of that.

If you want to book read the book

[insane-hag]

BRIDGERTON TEXT POSTS PT3

[paperglader]

will i (lesbian) actually end up reading a very straight romance novel just cause i desperately want to know what michaela and francesca's dynamic will be like, and i don't want to wait 2 whole years to see them back on my screen? more likely than you'd think

[lavenderknivess]

ok now that we know about fran x michaela, petition for francescas season to have an instrumental of red wine supernova