#she doesn't even care what gender they are she just assumes marriage is an end goal for me lol

[thrassisfras]

One of the things that really drew me in when I first watched the animated X-Men show (around 2020-21) was the fact that none of th relationships they had, romantic or otherwise, looked like "traditional" relationships. The thing I really liked about Gambit and Rogue specifically was that they needed to find other ways to explore what intimacy meant for them.

Adding in Magneto to that dynamic adds in an interesting angle for Rogue. It's more possible for her to have that "normal"-looking relationship with Magneto - but at the end of the day, is that what she really wants?

idk I'm coming into the X-Men very late and I haven't read a lot of the comics. I've just seen the two big animated shows, a couple of the movies, and read the stuff with Exodus and Sinister so my grasp of these characters might not be as extensive as someone else's I just...I can relate to Rogue in that way. Because any relationship I have with someone isnt going to look or be "normal" and there is a part of me that wishes it could just because god would that make life so much simpler for me.

[popblank]

Catching up on posts for things I have seen—Company at the Pantages Theatre back in August:

I enjoyed the touring production quite a bit even though I am not certain if it worked for me story-wise. The fun thing about a purposefully gender-swapped production (much like 1776) is 1) figuring out what the production is trying to say and 2) figuring out how I am reacting to the changes and if those reactions are different because of my own expectations about gender. Unfortunately I didn't have a chance to really dig into either of those items; this is where a second viewing would have helped but I didn't have time.

The first version of Company I saw in any form was the filmed version of the 2006 revival, and Raúl Esparza's socially engaged but slightly detached Gen X-ish male Bobby established the character for me as someone who wants to share his life with another person, but can't bring himself to make an emotional commitment, with all the vulnerability it would entail.

I was less sold on this Millenial female Bobbie because I had trouble believing that she wanted to be in a committed relationship at all. Bobby being active in all of his friends' lives seemed like an outgrowth of what he wanted (he can babysit and buy gifts and provide emotional support, taking care of people but with minimal risk, i.e. "Marry Me A Little"). Was Bobbie getting a sliver of what she wanted from her friendships (did she feel taken care of in some way, which she laters implies is what she wants)? If so, it wasn't clear to me.

The part of the show that was 1) the most entertaining and 2) that made the most sense to me was during and after "Getting Married Today". The show took pains to portray Bobbie as heterosexual, and I don't recall any indication that Jamie is bisexual so I assumed he was gay. So when Bobbie impulsively proposes to Jamie, he is flabbergasted by the idea for multiple obvious reasons and it is all the more absurd that she somehow thinks it would make people quit bothering her about marriage (ha right). It highlights how she is clearly not ready to make a commitment of that nature when she is not thinking about what the other person in this deal might want and it makes no sense for anyone involved.

Her question after "Ladies Who Lunch" of "who will take care of me?" could make sense in that she takes care of others and wants someone to take care of her in return, which marriage might provide. Her difficulty committing to her various boyfriends could be interpreted as her wanting a relationship, but not with all the expectations and connotations that the word "marriage" brings with it (especially for women of a certain age), most clearly shown in "Tick Tock." But I just kept thinking "well, if you are having all these doubts, just don't get married! You don't have to!" But then "Being Alive" as the ending feels off-target, because her knowing what she wants emotionally out of a relationship as described in the song doesn't really address the other potential burdens of marriage that she seems to be worried about.

The production itself was very good, and the staging of the song "Company" made a lot more visual sense within the actual show than it did in the promotional performances on Good Morning America and at the Tony Awards. The cast was constantly navigating through various configurations of illuminated boxy rooms that slid on and off stage and visually worked with the idea of Bobbie feeling constrained in her milieu.

All that said, I consider it one of better shows I've seen this year - even if it didn't always work for me, thinking about it was interesting.

[rocketchip-comic]

Totally ok if this isn't the vibe of what you're exploring in rocket chip's world, but I'm personally really interested in how different fantasy/sci-fi societies view gender & how that relates to characters, so how does Rocket's planet view that & how does that affect Rocket's worldview, and how does Chip view it, being a robot and all? :D (I adore these two btw your art is so fun & it brightens my day to see them!!)

Ooh I like this question! It's something I've thought about a lot . (BIG DISCLAIMER: every time I mention societal stuff here I'm speaking from a VERY American lens. For our purposes we can assume Rocket is from the equivalent of America. I can't speak for anything else.)

Fun fact, if you go back far enough, my original concept for rocket and chip had them both be boys! I ended up rethinking that after going through some reevaluation of my own identity. I realized that I only made them male because that's what I mostly saw in other sci-fi stories, and I wanted to make the characters be closer to my own experiences. I'm a girl, and I like being a girl! But I don't want that to define me, y'know? I decided that the label can mean whatever I want it to mean, and whatever I'm comfortable with. So I decided it would be the same for these two!

You'll notice I refer to Rocky and Chip as girls, but I only use she/her pronouns for them outside of the actual comic. Within the story's text, I've been trying not to have them refer to each other by any gendered terms at all! And if it can't be avoided, they both use they/them. This is mostly because I want readers to come to their own conclusions, and not focus on it too much!

Rocket's planet is extremely similar to ours, just with an extremely exaggerated version of our class divide. The rich cats created a barrier around the planet to contain all of the pollution, living on top while the poor "undercrust" cats stayed underneath the shell. Their society is capitalistic to the ultimate extreme, and everyone is focused on working their way up to the top. (Very unlike the cats from earth actually!)

The cats are biologically the same as earth mammals. They're actually the least interesting aliens that appear in the comic haha they're basically just anthro cats.

But another detail that won't be explored until later, is that their society necessitates working so much that the concept of marriage and parenthood doesn't really exist. Things happen and kittens are born, but the majority of the kittens are sent off to live in schools and don't know their parents at all. This makes their view of gender kinda different. There isn't really an expectation for women to have children or be homemakers, likewise there's no expectation for men to be strong protective breadwinners. It's better in some ways, worse in others.

But generally, even though gender inequality still very much exists, gender isn't considered as big of a deal. It's also more socially acceptable to present as gender neutral. Not that they're super progressive or anything, it's just that they don't really care about it as much. Especially from Rocket's point of view. See, Rocket was always ignored a lot. She's short for her species and shies away from attention so she never really cared to express herself at all. She was never really expected to be anything but neutral though. It was less of her choice, and more a side effect of being easily overlooked and not really thinking much of herself.

The ONE thing you could consider "girly" about Rocket is that her favorite color is pink and she loves things decorated with hearts. She's a little embarrassed about that now, but over time she'll start showing it more! But it's the reason she always wears that jacket with the pink heart and trims. But even if she was a different gender she would always love pink hearts!

Now Chip's origins are still a total mystery for now! 🤫 But she genuinely did not consider gender AT ALL. I think she still hasn't. Not a thought in her head. When the alien at the recycle shop referred to her as an "it" she was not at all offended. Chip genuinely would never care what pronouns you'd use for her. For that matter, Chip's body is all doll anatomy. If she wasn't already wearing clothes when Rocket woke her up for the first time, she would prefer not to wear any. (The only reason she continues to wear clothes at all is because Rocket gets embarrassed when she doesn't. Chip thinks this is hilarious. Chip thinks the concept of sex at all is hilarious.)

Now considering all that, why does chip use she/they pronouns? Because Rocky does!!! And Rocky is so cool! It's as simple as that!

[a-milkbread-bun]

Manhwa~ The Emperor reverses time

Ok y'all need to get heads up about the FL of this manhwa. Because, She. Will. Frustrate. You.

This is basically a regression story, but opposite gender. Usually the FL is the one who regresses n mostly ends up leaving her lover or husband who mistreated her. Here however, the Emperor after the death of the Empress (ofcourse!) realises both the Empress's love for him and his own feelings for her. And the like the FLs who always get to go back in time as a blessing or apology from God, our ML has to pay a price for the time trip. But he doesn't mind. He vowed to make her the happiest in second chance he got. Mind you, he goes out of his way to do it.

Well, okay. You might say he mistreated her, he deserves it. Agreed. Even up till the 69th chapter, he is ashamed of his past self and is haunted by the then him. He seems to have mental disorders and borderline anxiety issues. He sleeps with a sword under his bed. Oh well.

Now our darling FL. Till the age of 7 or 8 Elizabeth was abused my her parents who tried to make her into a doll fit to become the Empress. She was whipped, forced to wear such tight corsets, that even adult women in the manhwa got horrified upon hearing. The ML, Leon gets her out of the hellhole along with the help of his loving parents. Who proceed to love the heck out of her. She was showered with love, in the palace of the Emperor than in the Duchy palace she lived. She deserved the happiness the Prince (ML), his mother, and his father gave her. At some point she started liking the prince and also felt a bit jealous of the fact that the little prince had what she could never have, namely parents and their vast love. She kind of avoids him until he fesses up.

Ok...

Fast forward to them in their teens, now her issue is that she loves him. She is okay with saying her feelings out for him, but afraid of getting rejected so kind of keeps it to herself. Typical red flag habit in manhwa characters. Ik it's for the plot, but I'm kinda done with this one trope. Anyway she confesses, and the ML is scared. Like obviously, duh. He literally reversed time just so she could be happy. What was the guarantee that he could keep her happy, of he couldn't in last timeline? Could he even keep her happy? Would he take away her beautiful smile? While the ML was confused about all this, with devastated expression on his face, the FL, Lizzie was quick to misunderstand him and also quick to think of cancelling their engagement. Leaving the ML, even more vexed if possible. Great move, honey. She mentally corners him, honestly, until again he confesses about his feelings. Twice. Not to mention he was taking care of an age old contract that appeared out of nowhere, which held a lot of sus stuff about ancient marriages that had been happening between the ML & FL's family. Power politics. Add an unknown brother of the FL with not so good intentions and his parents' life almost in danger to the mix, and voila! i say the ML has pretty much suffered whatever the FL had in her past life.

Does it end there?

Hell nah!

She wants to know everything he keeps a secret from her. Wanted to know about the contract, and although it was sort of a test that the Father Emperor gave to the prince to check whether he would be a good Emperor, the FL is the one who solves it, without even telling the ML. um... 😶

Another woman appears. This lady is also good friends with the Empress. But. But, her family is rebelling and to protect her best friend from a different but less popular family, she takes it upon herself to act like double agent for the prince and her father. Like Im still tryna figure out this woman. But that's not the issue.

Our wonderful FL, Lizzie, is jealous. But she won't admit it. Nope. Instead, she just assumes. And misunderstands. Who's surprised again? ik I'm not.

Like gahhhhhh!

She proceeds to think of cancelling the whole damn marriage this time. The vibes i got of her character were that, she herself is unsure whether she seriously loves Leon, but just assumes and refuses to change the beliefs and assumptions that she has about Leonhart.

Frustrating, i tell you.

And since he's taken an oath to make her happy, as you can guess, every time she threatens him with the relationship card and the happiness card, he will withdraw.

Y'all if this was villainess, we'd be calling her something entirely different, alright?! Like this woman really bottles up stuff, instead of talking it out. She will talk with the ML's mother but nop openly, maybe more.

With ML? yeah right.

The way I see it (I haven't completed it. i reached chapter 69, n just had to vent) he is quite close to being carted off to the psych ward.

My problem with the FL's character isn't even the wishy washy dainty girl attitude, it's the way she's manipulating the ML without even realising it. And she knows at this point, that all she needs to do for him to react is, give a fake smile (ML has trauma from her fake smile from the original life when he remembers it), look miserable, and then try to look like she's holding it together, and finally do the age old trick of squeezing out some tears.

Really. The FL of this one puts me off so much. She is such a sweet girl, when she wants to be.

[juno-valentine]

this is a quick run down for the info on the OC this blog is about, Juno valentine!

please be advise none of this is canon to the real DC timeline and this OC is pretty much a Mary Sue character !

Basic info

Full legal name: Juno Orchid Valentine Age: 37 Gender: female Pronouns: she/ her Sexuality: Pansexual Height: 5’7 MBTI: ISTJ-T

Backstory/origin

Okay so let's start at the very beginning, Junos mother, Annabella valentine had a "strange" encounter with a mysterious man in the woods one day, because who wouldn't want to get down and dirty with a 7'3 guy with horns when your in loveless marriage to a preacher? Anyway she ended up getting pregnant and 9 months later out pops a little baby girl, Juno orchid valentine (yeah her mom was SOOO creative with her name guys (I say as if I didn't name her) )). Around 4 years later, Annabella is "mysteriously" drowned in the lake near the community church! Leaving poor little 4 year old juno in the care of her father, Issac Jr valentine. And let's just say… Issac isn't exactly the best father… or a decent one at that. Juno was mainly neglected in her childhood or was beaten if Issac deemed her indeed of a punishment, even if she had done no wrong. And no one believed little Juno, her daddy, the kind hearted preacher of the Arlen Georgia church! She didn't have many friends in her school years either, the kids at her school assumed that she was tattle tail and was stuck up all because she was the preacher's kid, but she didn't mind. She preferred being alone, all she needs is a good book to keep her company (NERD). A little later on in life, around 12, juno met this weird skinny kid at church camp one summer, a tall scraggly boy named Jonathan kenny-crane. They ended up creating a bond with one another over their shared trauma and love for reading. They would start hanging out in secret after that summer, exploring abandoned buildings and going to the library together. ANOTHER TIME SKIP WOW WEE!! At 17 Juno ran away from her home and father, leaving for gotham city. For a while Juno simply worked as a bodyguard,finding she had a strange amount of natural strength. But body guarding didn't pay that well, now did it? Juno was offered a job at the age of 20, kill a rival mafia boss for someone and receive 2 thousands dollar in cold hard cash. This kicked off her career as an assassin for hire. Juno slowly built a name for herself over 8 years in the mercenary community, she was surprisingly good at what she did, at least for an amateur. She ended up catching the attention of Slade Wilson, who offered to train her. She trained under him for a few years before going back to working as an assassin. By that time she was 32.

Job

Juno works as a henchman or gun for hire in gotham when not doing mercenary work. She's worked for a few of the rogues (mostly penguin, the riddler, and joker that one time) and She's actually friends with alot of them. That doesn't mean she'll work for cheap or free for them but still.

Personality

Juno comes off as cold, atthortative, and sometimes robotic for her general lack of emotion sometimes. She's closed off to most but seems to have a small group of “allies” she's close with. To the people she's close with, Juno seems a bit nicer and a little bit more comfortable showing emotions off. Despite this she can still be a bit distrustful of the people around her, even if she's close to them. She's worried constantly that the people she chose to let her walls down around will betray her. Juno bases a lot of her decisions on fact over emotion, she can be a bit brutally honest at times without realizing it. She also has a surprisingly good memory

Random tidbits??

Juno is a meta human, she's half human and half demon. The demon part doesn't really appear physically but it does give her a good amount of abilities such as heightened agility and speed, super strength, superhuman healing factor, slowed/ stopped aging, extreme flexibility, and a little bit of heat manipulation (only to the level of using her thumb like a lighter or being able to boil water by holding it)

Junos has an extremely good shot, and has been trained well on how to hit a target. Her good aim isn't limited to only shooting either, she's an amazing ping pong player.

She bleaches her hair enough that if she wasn't a meta human she would have gone bald by now.

Cliche, I know but she has a soft spot for kids. She tries to go out of her way not to hurt kids when she's trying to get a job done, and has out right refused to take contracts that entailed killing a child.

[marlowe1-blog]

"The Five-Forty-Eight" (The Stories of John Cheever)

This one has a lot of critical discussion and adaptations. Critics hate Blake and see Miss Dent as a reclamation of feminism and power. Like Fatal Attraction and its ilk, there's a simple "Don't fuck crazy" theme that brings up a lot more about marriage and adultery and gender roles than it probably attended.

Blake is a mediocre man in a mediocre marriage and works at a mediocre office. He doesn't even get original in his affairs. He has sex with his secretary and then fires her through an intermediary. He doesn't even have the courage to fire her himself.

Before the term "ghosting" became popular, a common complaint about men (usually men) was the fact that they didn't break up with anyone. They just stop calling and hoped that their fuckbuddies got the hint. Also they hoped that their fuckbuddies actually know that they are fuckbuddies and not assuming that it's an actual relationship.

Only Miss Dent is actually crazy. Almost every Cheever story could be read as a guilty fantasy of the protagonist and this one certainly lends itself to the reading that Blake is imagining actual consequences of his actions.

Whether this is actually happening or happening in Blake's mind, the main point is that Miss Dent is crazy and has just come out of the mental hospital. She's stalking Blake. He sees her before he gets on the train. He tries to drink away his fears. She gets on the same train and while he's judging his neighbors, she comes up to him and puts a gun in his ribs and tells him her story.

So at this point, he's got to just go through it. He can't beat her. He can't run away. He's got to listen to her and by the end of the story, he's got to end up on the ground crying as she holds a gun to his head.

And then she says that she's satisfied and walks away. And then he walks away. The end.

See why I thought that it was a dream of the main character? Yet, many of Cheever characters feel like they are going through a haze and Blake is one of the haziest characters.

He's not hated so much because he's a bad husband and a coward. He's hated because he's so ordinary. He's got a bad marriage and a boring job and a cowardly way of dealing with extramarital sex. In another world, he could have tried to keep sleeping with Miss Dent. He could have transferred her to another department. He didn't have to ruin her life by firing her. He didn't know that he ruined her life because he didn't know her history.

But there you go. She was mentally ill and he used her for pleasure and threw her away. Only why is he so quick to throw her away? Is this a puritanical thing?

Think about it. This is a man who gets into a marriage that he hates, spends most of his time working, can't stand to see a man wearing sandals on the train and knows that other passengers disapprove of him. He even accepts the possible execution as his due. Cheever doesn't say what his inner life is like at this point, but it seems like his non-chalance in the wake of almost getting murdered by a one night stand is part of his colorless life.

So maybe critics hate Blake not because he's so awful but because he's so ordinary and he doesn't even believe that he needs happiness. He just accepts his hollow man status, head filled with straw, most exciting thing to ever happen was a woman caring enough to want to kill him, even though as a reader you have to wonder why. Even with the explanation that she's severely mentally ill, it still seems like she should not be so upset at this guy beyond the fact that he fired her.

[buttons-beads-lace]

For a minute I thought that I never actually wrote about why I hated the ending so much, but I found it. I didn't really properly explain, though, so let me add some more context. Here is the blurb:

Set in a near-future world where the British Empire was preserved, not by the cost of blood and theft but by effort of repatriation and promises kept, That Inevitable Victorian Thing is a novel of love, duty, and the small moments that can change people and the world.

Victoria-Margaret is the crown princess of the empire, a direct descendant of Victoria I, the queen who changed the course of history two centuries earlier. The imperial practice of genetically arranged matchmaking will soon guide Margaret into a politically advantageous marriage like her mother before her, but before she does her duty, she'll have one summer incognito in a far corner of empire. In Toronto, she meets Helena Marcus, daughter of one of the empire's greatest placement geneticists, and August Callaghan, the heir apparent to a powerful shipping firm currently besieged by American pirates. In a summer of high-society debutante balls, politically charged tea parties, and romantic country dances, Margaret, Helena, and August discover they share an unusual bond and maybe a one in a million chance to have what they want and to change the world in the process —just like the first Queen Victoria.

And here are spoilers:

So, fast facts about these characters:

Crown Princess Margaret has recently realized that she is a lesbian and the idea of having to court and marry a man is really not sitting well with her, even though she wants to continue her family's legacy and all that good stuff.

Helena has just found out that she is intersex. She is AFAB and has lived her life as a woman but she finds out she has XY chromosomes. When she gets her Official Government Dating App account, which is a thing that exists, on impulse she decides to set up her profile to say she's a man, which she can do because her genetic test says XY. Helena meets Margaret in person as herself, but they also chat online through this alias. They fall in love.

Helena and August are childhood friends, very close, and Helena has always sorta assumed they will get married. They care about each other deeply and would probably get along great, but it's not a passionate romantic crush like her feelings for Margaret.

August is a nice boy whose big secret is that an organized crime gang is extorting money from him by threatening to intercept his family business' ships and kill the crews. These are people that he knows and whose safety he feels responsible for. He pays up instead of going to the police because he's afraid for their lives, and we're meant to believe that this is a serious sin on his part, but anyway.

I have to admit that when I read that blurb, I was expecting a polyam relationship. That does not happen.

You might think instead Helena and Margaret will get married. Maybe rules will be rules-lawyered on account of Helena's Official Gender being kind of up in the air. Maybe Margaret will just flat-out say she's a lesbian and force people to accept it. This also does not happen.

The denouement of this kinda-sorta-love-triangle is that None of them get to be together! Margaret still has to marry a Suitable Man and have children; she's told that she maybe might be allowed to use IVF to conceive instead of having sex that disgusts her if they keep it secret from the public. Maybe.

Helena gets to be Margaret's lady in waiting or the modern equivalent, so it's not like they never see each other again, but my personal onion is that a secret shameful relationship you have to lie about constantly is maybe worse than just breaking up? Not what I would call a happily ever after. Maybe I'm biased.

August retires from society in disgrace over the being-a-victim-of-extortion which doesn't make a ton of sense to me but it's the least weird thing here so whatever.

I am absolutely at a loss as to what the person who wrote that blurb thought that bolded sentence was referring to. Unless the point is that it's a one in a million chance and those are bad odds and they fail. None of them get what they want and they do not change anything. The best outcome a lesbian princess can get in Alternate History 2050 is exactly the same as the best you could imagine happening in Real History 1850. I hate that so fucking much. How is the world being changed here? What is progressive that is happening? Nothing.

I read this book in *checks notes* 2019 and I'm still angry. I have to go to bed now or I would still be yelling about how fucking sick it makes me that anyone could even suggest "be her lady in waiting while she marries a man" is a positive outcome.

Someone I follow is liveblogging another Weird Royal Romance Novel & it's reminding me of how much I hated That Inevitable Victorian Thing. And unfortunately I am still mad about it. I have never been more bitterly lied to by a blurb.

[topoillogical]

I watched Encanto recently. Really good movie, in my opinion. Gorgeous animation, but that's nothing new for modern Disney. Still, it was good. The songs slapped. The story was emotional but fun, and I'm a sucker for a happy ending. I think the thing I liked most about it was..... how imbued with magic everything was. There was always something fantastical just casually going on onscreen. Super visually engaging and really cool.

BUT! And here comes the beloathed "but". I don't understand why so many people on here view Encanto as almost... sacred? There's some debate over whether it qualifies as Magical Realism, but either way it definitely is a story centered around a place (a home, and by extension, a town) in Colombia. It also has a huge focus on the family, and on the trauma. But it's a disney movie. It's meant to be fun! There are parts of it that are quite deep and emotional, and I do agree that it speaks to Colombian culture. But it was made by Disney, first of all, not by a Latine person from Colombia expressing their story. It's a good movie, but... let me be more concrete. Let's talk about LGBT+ headcanons.

I do not care what character and what headcanon, your LGBT+ headcanon for Encanto is fine. If you think Abuela is a lesbian, does that directly contradict the story? Sure! Can you headcanon it anyway? Of course! Because Encanto isn't sacred. It doesn't mean you are missing some grand point if you choose to interact with the movie in a different way. On the OTHER hand, there are headcanons that I've seen people get upset about, such as seeing Bruno as gay, or Isabela as a lesbian.

Before I watched the movie, I thought that maybe there was some merit to peoples arguments that saying Isabela is a lesbian was glossing over her story. You know, because marriages for the family and stuff is a serious topic and just because you don't want to marry one man doesn't mean you don't want to marry any man. Even still, it would be fine to headcanon her as lesbian, because it's... fine. Yet in the movie, I was surprised at how little Isabela's marriage actually WAS for the good of the family. She was marrying him because she wanted to continue being able to make her family proud, to have a beautiful husband, it just seemed like the thing that was expected of her. This storyline... this storyline is, genuinely, a very resonant storyline to what I've heard from the gay and lesbian communities. I don't think there is any loss to the importance of this story by seeing Isabela as a lesbian. There was no reason she had to marry this man in particular, she was doing it to maintain her perfection and continue living the life expected of her. Making her a lesbian, in my opinion, enhances this storyline, not detracts from it. At the very least, it's a neutral change.

In terms of Bruno - one argument I heard, from the pro LGBT+ headcanons side, is that Bruno can be seen as a metaphor for disowning a gay or trans relative. The counterargument to this that I saw was that, saying Abuela is homophobic and making the storyline about that, is racist. I partially disagree, and partially agree, with both of these. Of COURSE Bruno's story can be seen as disowning a family member for being gay or trans. Someone who feels alienated from there family for those reasons is extremely likely to see themselves in Bruno. On the other hand, I don't think that this is the intended metaphor - rather, that it's alluding to being the black sheep of the family in a general sense. Still, seeing yourself in Bruno is A-OK. On the other hand, assuming Abuela is homophobic for being an older Colombian woman, IS racist. But there is nothing wrong with reading her obsession with perfection in the family as something that could be related to homophobia, especially if that's how you're seeing Bruno. The story isn't sacred. It's okay to have negative headcanons about Abuela.

Incidentally, another common headcanon I saw was Camilo being gender fluid. I think this is cute, has little impact on the story, and is probably a great fantasy for lots of gender fluid people who would love that power! I think this headcanons is just good.

Anyway, I saw a lot of people saying that if you have LGBT+ headcanons for Encanto, you're missing the point. My main argument here is just: no, you're not missing the point, and even if you WERE (like with my hypothetical lesbian Abuela), it wouldn't matter. Because the movie isn't a sacred cornerstone of Columbian culture.

I ALSO saw someone saying something along the lines of "Encanto is a movie about intergenerational trauma in a latine family, it doesn't need LGBT+ characters". This is almost humorously false. Any story could use LGBT+ characters, because they exist everywhere. There are LGBT+ Columbians who are living through intergenerational trauma! And sometimes, their LGBT+ identity interacts with that trauma! Having queer characters would ADD to the movie, not detract from it.

Finally, to finish off, I'd like to tip my hat to one point from the anti-LGBT+ headcanons side that I do agree with. The fact that white people often have trouble relating to characters that they don't see themself in. This is a huge problem, and one of the reasons why representation is currently so bad (movies marketed to white people need to star white people as not to alienate the audience, even though the audience shouldn't be alienated by other races). In the white LGBT+ community, this trouble relating can be seen as plastering LGBT+ identities on everything. So it is something to be cognizant of. I think that non-Jewish white people getting really excited about Anne Frank being bisexual (an identity she never claimed, btw) is a good example of this phenomenon. Still, Encanto is VERY different from Diary of a Young Girl. One was written by a Jewish girl who lived during the holocaust. One is a Disney movie.

[pinkplantmakesstuff]

[Sat opposite me is none other then The Commander himself. We are in my office; surrounded by stacks of notebooks and stationary, this is no battlefield and it's clear The Commander is currently out of his depth.

I will admit I was shocked when he agreed to an interview; the Commander is infamously secretive about his private life and personal affairs, and there are terrible rumours about his foul temper and monstrous appearance. Sat opposite me however, is a young, world-weary man]

Exclusive interview continues under the Read More...

Let's start with some introductory questions, can you introduce yourself?

[There's a pause before he finally speaks, he's surprisingly soft spoken.] My name's Alec. [He looks at me, and I have to prompt him for more] Oh I see. Uh people refer to me as the Commander, but I'm, not really? I don't, well I don't belong to the Pact anymore? But apparently the title stuck. And I just, end up helpin' with stuff still. [He shifts uncomfortably, and I need to know what brought him to my office today, why he's changed his mind before I continue with the more personal questions.]

So, Commander, what's changed? Why an interview now? After refusing to talk to any journalists for so long, what caused this change of heart?

[There's a another long pause.] Well, I mean...a couple of people told me it might be...good for appearances, to you know talk to one of you people, instead of just... lettin' everyone make stuff up about me all the time. [I assume he means the rumours that make up most of his public perception - like the idea his mouth is full of flesh-tearing fangs- which I can now confirm to be false. He may have pointed fangs but they are small, and he seems more interested in gnawing at his own lip.] Oh, uh and you can just call me Alec I guess.

Well thank you for choosing to speak to me Comman-Alec, now lets move onto the more personal stuff; what is your gender identity, orientation and relationship status?

[This seems to catch him off guard.] That, that is kind of, personal. [He grimaces and draws his arm tightly across his chest. "You said you didn't want people to make stuff up about you anymore, why don't you tell people so they know the real you."] I, well, ok. [He gives a defeated sigh but it seems I've swayed him around for now at least] Uh I'm a guy and I like other men. And, uh, there, might be someone. He's...[Alec mulls over his words for a minute, the "fearsome" fangs nibbling at his own mouth again] well he's like, there's a connection? It's hard to explain. ["You've just disappointed many potential suitors I suspect!" At this he lets out a surprised laugh, as if he can't believe what I said. "Is this potential someone your fearsome companion you've been rumoured to be spotted with? With fangs and horns even greater then your own?" At this he frowns, folding his arm in again.] He's not fearsome he's just, well he's great. [I've clearly struck a nerve so I choose to move on.]

Where and when were you born?

[Another one-armed shrug.] Dunno. Some small place. Don't remember it, don't care. And uh, I'm like, well I think I'm twenty? Something like that I don't know my birthday. I think it's in Winter. [At this it was mine turn to let out an incredulous laugh - which I admit was unprofessional of me. "I knew you seemed young but, only twenty? That's, you've done a lot for someone so young." There's another, lengthier pause.] S'pose so. [He doesn't comment on this further.]

Here's something you should know plenty about! What is your weapon of choice and fighting style?

[He narrows his eyes at me, and then tilts his head thoughtfully. For a moment I thought he was going to demonstrate his magical capabilities I've heard so much about but then he simply shakes his head, a if deciding against it.] Magic. People don't like it. ["Yes I've heard the rumours of your powerful necromancy, as well as the tales of you being able to transform-" He cuts me off] I fight with magic. [Again I've struck another nerve, but I don't blame him. The rumour-mill has been particularly unkind to this young man, and it's no secret how many people view darker aspects of magic unfavourably.]

Lastly, for these introduction questions, are you happy?

[We sit there in silence for several minutes, and it seems he has no answer for me. I decide to move on quickly.]

Let's move onto the people in your life! What’s your family like? What is your relationship with them?

Uh, I don't. Well my family is, well she's a baker. We grew up together. And V-my... partner? [He catches himself, clearly trying to protect keep them anonymous.] I don't have any other family I guess. But, I'd do anythin' to keep them safe. [I don't push further but it's clear the Commander's family means as much to him as the next person. Something the rumours have lead people to believe is not the case.]

Have you ever ran away from home?

Yeah. When I was a kid. My friend - the baker. We left together. it was better after that. [Alec doesn't elaborate further to begin with, before realising he's only told me part of it.] From an orphanage I mean - it's the same ol' story about kids losin' family to the Risen then being taken into care when I was a baby. We hated it. We got old enough. We ran away.

You mentioned you have a partner, this mysterious V. Would you consider marriage or having children?

[Alec's demeanour almost doesn't change, but I've not spend years in journalism and not learnt how to read people. This question has clearly flustered the young commander.] Uhh, that's, kind of personal. I don't think about stuff like that? I, well it's just nice having someone around more now. [I was about to move on before he interrupts.] But, kids are good, if, I think I'd have liked too, if things had been different.

Let's talk about some juicy gossip! Do you secretly hate one of your friend?

What? [This clearly catches him off-guard, before letting out a bitter laugh.] No. I haven't got enough of those to secretly hate one of 'em. Plenty of people have made it clear how much they hate me though. I wouldn't be surprised if more of them secretly hated me too. [Another short pause, he shifts in his seat and I catch a peek at the small wings sticking out oh his back.] I'm too tired to hate any of them, especially secretly.

I see, so which friend knows everything about you?

[Almost subconsciously he touches his horns, they are short, stubby things.] I don't think, I have- maybe the two I mentioned earlier know the most. It's hard to talk about things. ["Hmm I'd picked up on that." At this he laughs, the minor tension that had started building up eased slightly.] Yeah I'm not great at words and stuff.

The next set of questions are asked my fans! Are you literate? Have you been to school?

Fans? [He shakes his head in disbelief before leaning back in his chair, hair obscuring his face slightly.] The orphanage wasn't much for teachin'. Next question. [I resist the urge to press further.]

The eeriest prediction you made that later came true?

[He seems to spend some time thinking this one over before shaking his head.] Dunno. I guess I just assume most of the people I meet won't stick around long enough to be friends and...well I guess in a way they don't get to stick around I've....I've lost a lot of people. I guess that counts right? [He laughs slightly at this, but it isn't a happy one. Even the commander, who is oft described as cold is clearly affected by the ongoing tragedies he seeks to help stop.]

What is something you were embarrassingly late to realize?

I don't think I realised Sylvari could glow for like, ages. [He puts his hand up to his face slightly but he smiles slightly as he speaks, and it's only now I've realised he's without his infamous blind-fold. I mention this but he shrugs it off.] I still 'ave it. I just, don't want to wear it right now.

Do you have mental health or physical issues?

[He waves the stump of his missing arm, bandages still visible. Everyone's already heard about the fight against the fearsome Jungle dragon that cost him his arm, as well as the Marshall of The Pact .] Does this count? [He makes no mention of his mental health so I try to press further.] I'm fine.

What is your current main goal?

[Alec shakes his head, before shrugging again.] I'm not gonna talk about stuff like that, in case it puts people at risk, it's, well it's stuff that needs doing to help people.

Let's move onto something easy! Some choices! Drink or food?

Food. I like cooking. ["Really? The famous Commander, known and feared on the battlefield, enjoys being in a kitchen?" He smiles slightly and nods.] It's just nice y'know. I like making things a lot.

Cats or dogs?

Cats. Their senses are easier to see through and they can fit in smaller places. [Before I can ask what he means he continues.] I would like a pet one too I think.

Early bird or night owl?

I prefer getting up early, it means I have longer in the day to get stuff done.

Optimist or pessimist?

[He frowns again.] Don't know. I don't think things are ever gonna go very well. [He merely shrugs when I point out that he sounds like a pessimist.]

Sassy or sarcastic?

I wouldn't say I'm either to be honest. ["There have been reports from Queen Jenna's courts that you have been known to make the occasional sarcastic, scathing remark."] Well there are also reports I've got a huge dragon tail but that don't make it true either. [I don't point out that dry remark he made.]

You'll be pleased Alec, we are finally finishing up! Finally it's time for some "Have you evers". Lets start with have you ever been caught sneaking out?

Nope. I used to be unnoticeable, though, that's changed a...little. [He gestures to himself in what I am assuming is reference to his small wings and horns] Like I said earlier though, magic.

Broke a bone?

Nope not that either. ["Really? With your work on the field and from the battles I've heard, you've truly never broken a bone?] I guess that's just the one thing I got goin' for me I guess.

Received flowers?

I don't think so? Wait yeah maybe but they are from people I don't really know as thanks which is nice I guess- I give 'em to...my baker friend coz she likes to display them in her shop.

Ghosted someone?

[There's another pause, it seemed he'd been slowly getting used to speaking to me but this one has him quiet again.] Not....intentionally. Keepin' in contact is hard when you're constantly travelling. And writing is... not one of my greatest talents.

Pretended to laugh at a joke you didn’t get?

Uhh to be honest I probably wouldn't realise it was a joke sometimes', and if I did and I don't get it then maybe they should have told a better joke. [He shrugs and I can't help but laugh at his honesty]

[There you have it readers, an EXCLUSIVE interview with the feared Commander himself. Nothing like the rumours who describe him as "The Beast", The Commander is just another war-weary fighter trying to do what's right.]

Thank you @the-mystic-dragon for tagging me this was so much fun to write! (Even if it took like, an hour, and I massively changed the format XD) This is written as if it's around mid to late lws3 and before PoF as well as in the au with Vasche! Vasche is @resonatingfern's wonderful character and Alec's "mysterious partner" in this. In terms of tagging, if ya wanna do one go ahead! Though I did change the format quite a bit oops XD

[a-bizzard-of-a-man]

Basics

Name: Randall Macklin

Nicknames: Randy, Blizzard

Age: 53

Face claim: Michael Sheen

Gender: Male

Preferred Pronouns: He/Him/His

Team/Group: None

Occupation: Employee at Stark Industries (formerly) , Criminal

Questionnaire

What was your character doing when the Thanos snap happened?

Randall had just returned home from a long day of 'work', had sat down to have a drink and watch TV when he felt something was off. Initially he thought that perhaps his niece or 'nephew' were in danger until he noticed that he was starting to dissapear into nothingness. He wasn't sure what was happening but for the first time in a long time he was in fear for his life. A string of curses escaped him before he faded from existence.

Who does your character fight for and why?

When he does fight it's usually for himself and it's because he wants to survive long enough to make a proper name for himself. Although he sometimes fights for his family, because he see the potential that his niece has and wants to make sure that she doesn't waist it or get herself killed before she can realize her potential.

What does your character think of the Supes?

Randall doesn't exactly like the Vought Supes but tries not to be as vocal about it as his occasionally employers are. Even though he's 'normal' he hates the fact that the Supes don't have to hide what they are while mutants have to hide what they are and thinks that it's rather unfair.

What is your characters biggest secret?

Oh boy... Randall's biggest secret. He tends to keep a lot of them but his biggest involves his ex (Ainslee Lancaster) and the young man everyone assumes is his nephew and that he's older than his actual niece. He never planned on being a father but when he heard that his girlfriend was pregnant he realized that it was time to try and get his life back on track. He got a job at a local bookstore that was run by a kind older gentleman who would always give him advice about how to care for a child. As time passed he actually started looking forwards to the whole being a father thing, until his soon to be brother-in-law committed a string of burglaries and pinned it on him. While he was in prison for the string of crimes he did not commit Ainslee nearly died giving birth to their son (Calum). When he finally was released from prison he'd missed some of their son's firsts but he honestly didn't care because he was certain that he'd be around for the other firsts in his life.

What is your characters best and worst memory?

His best memory is actually when he got hired by Stark Industries. He felt as if he was finally moving up in the world and he started to wonder what could have happened if he had gotten the job years prior. Perhaps he could have saved his failing marriage and given his son the life he deserved rather than the one he ended up with.

His worst memory is actually the day his niece came to stay with him, not because of her but because of what he learned. When his niece's father explained what had happened to cause the sudden drop off he lost his cool. There was a lot of profanity thrown around as well as a few punches but in his mind it was the right course of action. However after he finally cooled down he let the news that his sister had been killed sink in.