#simply just being a gay woman working on star wars

[lovegrowsart]

calling a lesbian showrunner predatory because she put some sexual implications into her star wars show is out of line queerphobic btw like genuinely think about what you're implying/invoking if you're gonna criticise her or her creative decisions....

[leeloooonfire]

based on this post about Steve's internalized bi-phobia:

Steve has known for years.

And how could he not when Tommy's freckles come back tenfold each spring like a flower peaking it's head through the last layer of snow? Or when Matthew Carver's hair have a reddish brown tone that turns blond after they spent the last days before summer break practising outside and remind Steve of liquid gold? Or when he watches Star Wars and Harrison Ford, rugged and witty, comes into view and twists his stomach in knots? How could he not know?!

Steve knows he finds guys as attractive as girls, known for many, many years. But.

But he can't. Not when Tommy sneers at that boy in their literature class who likes flamboyant clothes and wants to be an actor on Broadway. Not when the people they meet in Indi who are like Robin and Eddie 'fully queer' and talk about people like Steve as if they're traitors and scams. Not when he reads the newspaper and is assaulted by Reagan and his folk preaching about the 'fag pandemic' or how his father nods in approval and mutters 'another sinner gone for good' when the news play on TV and they occasionally mention the crisis that kills people like Robin and Eddie and him.

Like him....

It doesn't matter how much he loves sleeping with his nose pressed against Eddie's collarbone or that he thinks he'd like to kiss Eddie and hold his hands and wake up beside him until they're old and wrinkly and complain about bad knees.

He is, but he cannot be a queer, half a fairy '50% like me, 50% like Eddie' as Robin jokes.

He will not be a bisexual, he can keep it inside, keep it hidden, buried deep inside him no matter how much it pains him. He can be the straight friend who goes to pride and bakes rainbow cakes and marries a woman even though his heart screams in an ear ringing cacophony, 'Eddie, Eddie Eddie Eddie!'

This is how his 20s go: loud and hurting and yearning and hiding and more noticeably being disgusted and ashamed of himself for simply being able to love men the way he can love women.

He's 29 when his wife, Becky, leaves him. It's not just Eddie and this shameful secret that weights heavy on their relationship, but the scars and all the other secrets he is unable to explain to her that drive Becky finally away - back to Boston. She leaves him alone in that tiny house they bought three years ago with their Saint Bernard puppy they lovingly named Bernadette.

He's 30 when he goes to a coffee meeting of the bisexual group meeting in Chicago, nearly turning the car multiple times, hands and knees sweaty with fear that they won't want him there. They do want him there, welcome him with open arms, and talk about things Steve knows all too well: 'When I fell in love with the first girl, I ran. I like men just fine, so I hid my crush. It's just easier, when your parents hate gays, when the world is shaming our community, when we're dying.' He finds a second home there, and learns - learns about queerness and bisexuality, about trans and gender non conforming people and physical attraction versus emotional attraction. He learns about his past and present and about his future, about their history and where they want to go, how they want to mold their world to fit people like them into it without the pain and the hiding.

Steve is 33 when he finally comes out to everyone dear to him. To the kids who aren't kids anymore and to Joyce and Hopper, and then his parents. this does not go well, but Steve doesn't want, doesn't need their validation anymore. He has his family, his friends, his support system who love him not regardless of his sexuality but because of it, love him because it's part of him. He comes out to Becky, too and that goes much better. they want to be friends, in the future. She's also met Gary who works the the NY Times and wants her to follow him into the big city. So Steve is looking forward how that goes, their tentative friendship.

He is 34 when Eddie comes back from his latest world tour and wants to take a break to rekindle with his uncle, to write new songs, to take a breather. It's only natural that Eddie moves into Steve's guest room and takes over his space on the couch where he cuddles Bernadette while Steve is in the kitchen and makes them grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner.

Its even more natural when their feet meet while watching a movie and they lean into each other in the kitchen, dawn barely there, while they wait for the coffee maker to finish.

Steve's 35 when Eddie finally kisses him and he kisses back. No hurt, no shame, no guilt gnawing on him, Steve finally allows himself to be with the person he truly wants - regardless of their gender.

[duckprintspress]

Fandom Lexicon G

There’s juuuuust enough entries for G and H that I decided not to combine them into one post, but we’ll definitely have multi-letter updates coming soon…

Check out the full lexicon posted thus far here.

Spot a mistake? Think of a term we missed? Drop us an ask or comment!

Lexicon Terms Beginning with G: (read more)

Gary Stu: The ideal man/boy. Attractive, talented, and intelligent, with flaws that serve to highlight his perfection rather than being actual flaws. Often used as a term to refer to a male self-insert, as in, a male character who is seen as an avatar/insertion-into-the-story by a male author. See also: Mary Sue (pending).

Gaslight: A type of emotional/psychological manipulation. Read more about gaslighting.

Gatekeeping: Controlling/limiting access to [thing], where [thing] is a fandom, an individual, a definition or concept, or anything else that one party wants to prevent another party from accessing. For example, “you can’t be a fan of (thing) unless you believe (something about the fandom),” or “you’re not queer if you don’t have (x) experience.” Read more about gatekeeping.

Gaybies: Young gay people, often those who have just discovered they are gay and are exploring their new community. Not usually used self-referentially.

Gen: Short for “general” or “genuine.” 1. A fanwork that specifically does not involve shipping. 2. Any work that is rated as “general audiences,” as in suitable for any adult to read (or, sometimes, anyone of any age to read). See also: fic rating. 3. One of the most commonly used tone indicators; when used as a tone indicator, it means “genuine” and is always preceded with a slash, as in, “are you serious? /gen” would indicate that the preceding question is meant genuinely (as opposed to sarcastically, jokingly, etc.). See also: tone indicators (pending).

Genderbend: 1. When a character or individual performs gender in a way that does not align with the gender they identify with. 2. Sometimes, a synonym for cisswap or genderswap.

Genderswap: When a character’s gender is changed to something other than their canon gender in a fanwork. Synonym of cisswap, sometimes used as a synonym for genderbend. See also: Rule 63 (pending).

Geocities: A former free website host that housed many early fandom communities and websites. Read more about Geocities.

GF: Abbreviation for “girlfriend.”

GIF (file format): Abbreviation for “graphics interchange format.” A moving image file. Subject to a long-running debate on if it should be pronounced with a “g” pronunciation of the leading g or a “j” pronunciation of the leading g.

Giffer: Someone who makes gif sets.

Gif Set: A curated collection of GIFs. They might be sequential segments of a scene, match a theme of some sort, or simply be images the creator enjoys. Sometimes, they are unedited or lightly edited extracts from the source material; other times, they involve extensive graphic design and modification efforts by the giffer.

Girlboss: A term that fandom co-opted from hustle culture, meaning a young woman who leads or owns her own business venture. In fandom usage, this term is gender neutral (applied to characters regardless of their gender) and is often used ironically, and/or as part of the phrase “gaslight, girlboss, gatekeep” meaning one or more characters who lie, control, and manipulate to get their way. Read more about the term “girlboss.”

Glomp: A big, squishy, overpowering tackle-hug. Only fun when consensual! Read more about glomping.

Glup Shitto: A fake name mocking Star Wars naming conventions. In fandom, this “name” is often used alongside “blorbo” to denote different characters/character archetypes. Read more about the origins of Glup Shitto.

GM: Abbreviation for “game master” or “general manager.” See also: dungeon master.

Gong: In Chinese fandoms, the gong is the character who tops during sex.

Grapefruit: See Citrus Scale.

Griefer/Griefing: A griefer is someone who plays a multiplayer video game in bad faith, especially by behaving rudely, harassing or trolling other players, stealing, destroying things other players make, or otherwise being a nuisance. Griefing is the behavior engaged in by a griefer. Read more about griefing and griefers.

Grok: A verb that means “to understand easily,” coined by Robert A. Heinlein in his novel Stranger in a Strange Land. Read more about the term “grok.”

Grue: Grues are fictional monsters that originated in a series by Jack Vance, but they came to public awareness through inclusion in the game Zork (and again in Return to Zork), which was one of the first text-based computer games ever released. Grues live in total darkness, are terrified of light, and move too quickly to be seen. If you are in a pitch-black spot, you are likely to be eaten by a grue – unless you can produce a light source, of course.

Guro: A Japanese word modified from the English term “grotesque,” used to refer to especially gory stories and, especially, art. The term “ero guro,” short for “erotica grotesque,” is also used. Read more about the term “guro.”

[lexa-griffins]

Seven husband of Evelyn Hugo Clexa 👀

Tell us more.

I'm very interested 🤔

It's not a TSHOEH au per se, although it is very very inspired by it with some elements of Carol/The Price of Salt. This is just the base plot and not all of it because if i ever do post it, I want some mystery there still.

The story is narrated by a 80 something year old Clarke who finally gets to share with the world, in a book written by Josephine, that Lexa Woods, the star of the golden age of hollywood, known for her glamour and her presence on screen, was, in fact, a lesbian and married to her.

We start when Clarke had just been hired to work on the set of Trikru Studios newest release "Polis is Burning Down", starring their new hit girl, Lexa Woods.

Lexa's engaged to Hollywood's newest heartthrob and her co-star, and Clarke doesn't really care for her - a woman who seems arrogant and cold, her glamorous life not something Clarke finds appealing at all. That is, until Clarke is there to watch the filming of emotional crescendo of the climax of the movie, where she sees Lexa bring everyone on set to tears with her performance, a young mother begging her lover not to follow others into a burning world of war.

Clarke decides to go and tell Lexa how much that scene made her feel. She did not expect Lexa to be so gracious at the compliment, not did she expect to suddenly become the target of attention for the young actress - invites to lunch, small presents like wine and chocolates, being on the receiving end of the rare smile the girl shows behind the cameras. They are sleeping together by the time Lexa is married, a marriage Clarke knows is out of pressure from the studio, the movie having just released. Clarke is okay with that, she knew what getting involved with Lexa meant.

They are together for nearly 10 years. Clarke is there when Lexa's husband turns from a man she simply shares a house with to someone who feels cheated by a wife who does not sleep with him nor will give him a child and starts beating her and blaming her for every movie that does not go right. She is there when Lexa loses her first pregnancy, after a beating got too out of hand and she found Lexa bleeding in the bathtub. After that, they start making plans to run away together, buy a small farm back in Kentucky where Clarke is from, run away from the lights and the cameras, even if Lexa has given up her entire life to be a star, even if Lexa owes her life and her fame to the studio and her fans. And when Lexa finds herself pregnant again, Clarke promises they will raise the baby together and away from the cruel, vicious city and from their roles.

To Clarke that baby is her baby too. She cares for it much more then his own father does.

And then one day Lexa tells her she cannot go. Her husband found out about the pregnancy, found out about Clarke and as told her that if she leaves with her, he will make sure he finds her and takes the baby away from her, telling everyone what she is. Perhaps is for the best they go their separate ways. Clarke as come to hate Hollywood but to Lexa this is her home and her duty is with her fans and the studio.

So Lexa stays. And Clarke leaves. They see each other last in 1964 and to not lay eyes on each other again until 1985.

There's a whole lot more that happens in between but this is a quick run down of the first bigger half of the plot. Lexa is very much the star, even if its narrated by Clarke. Lexa never got to tell the world who she was, cancer took that chance away from her, but Clarke wants to be able to share it now that she too is reaching the end of her life. Lexa is already a "gay icon" for many, her glamorous lifestyle, how she seemed to care so much and yet so little about what others thought of her, her last few movies in the 70's were rather camp so without people knowing she was a lesbian, she was already an icon of sorts.

I'm not sure if that killed or hyped your interest, but yeah, that's more or less what Violet Hollywood is about :D I do have a tag for it (au: violet hollywood) for about almost two years now so thanks for asking about it 'cause i never had the chance to talk about it on my blog :D

[niobiumao3]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you so much to @eclec-tech for the tag! Quite the trip down memory lane.

How many works do you have on AO3?

86

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

529k

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Star Wars, Star Trek, MCU, various others here and there

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

All MCUs with one LotR piece--not super surprising, though, the MCU is such a MONSTER huge fandom.

Jane Foster's High School Reunion The Sky Cannot Ignore Us Maria Hill’s Bi-Annual Performance Review Nothing's Wrong When Nothing's True The Health Benefits of Knitting

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I try to repond to all of them with at a minimum a thank you. I've got a bit of social anxiety so it's hard for me to do it, but I try to make sure to get them all as a way to work past that.

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

So I don't typically do much with angst of my own; I use the angst of the setting, largely. I guess 'Stormchild' is the best option here given everything that comes after it in canon.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Probably The Obloquy of Newness, since it ends with Jane getting a Nobel Prize.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I never have that I can think of. Maybe I come across as a little too 'fuck around and find out'? Not sure why not.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do on rare occasions but I post very little of it. If 'what kind' is referring to kinks, I'm kink light in what I write.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I don't know if I've written a proper crossover. I like the idea of them but have never actually come up with an idea I liked enough to fic. I've done a Daemon AU piece, but that's not properly a crossover.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I did have a number of my fics reposted on one of those reposting sites and have to DMCA them, which was a hilariously weird thing for anyone to do and I still boggle at it.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have not! That would be super cool.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not that I've posted; a friend and I have cowritten several things which will remain private.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

This is kind of a tough one. I love them all for so many different reasons, so I don't think anyone is an all-time fave over the rest. Nicky/Joe (gay immortal hubbies) from The Old Guard continue to be something I read so much of despite not writing for them; Jane/Thor (nerd socially inept woman and godlike warrior, whats not to love) are an old standby from the MCU alongside Sam/Bucky (bickering to lovers) and Sarah/Bucky (cute overload); I still have a soft spot for Dick/Babs from the DCU, my new faves are Tech/Phee and Miles/Gwen…

15. What's the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Unshriven. I have a solid idea for it, I just can't get the energy to write for the MCU anymore. A shame, I liked my idea.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I would say dialogue and world-building.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Repetitiveness, being willing to cut out unneeded things or convert them from exposition to action scenes.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I always write it in English and indicate the language if the POV character would know; otherwise, I indicate they don't know what's being said and suggest or state the language. This is simply because I don't know another language to write in; if I were multilingual I would no doubt approach this differently.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

TSR's Dragonlance. It will never see the light of day.

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

Hm. At the moment I still like how Obliquity turned out despite it being wholly unplanned from the word go. So that's probably my favorite just now; prior to that I'd have said Jane Foster's High School Reunion due to how nicely it all gelled together.

NPTs: anyone who sees these! Let us know~

[zorilleerrant]

Fansplaining's latest episode is saying how there's a generational difference in woobification, and while I would agree, I don't think it's in the generation of the fan, it's in the generation of the media. because it happens to older people, even who don't usually do this, getting into very new media that isn't part of an established world, but you don't see it as much in very young fans who are getting into decades old fandoms for the first time.

I've had a theory about this for a while, and I think it's that there's a lot of woobification going on in the original texts for newer texts - including franchise texts, it's just easier to backfill stuff from earlier installments so it's not always as obvious - where all the characters are built like that or built to be looked at like that.

main characters tend to be a lot more flat and engage in a lot more black and white thinking, and then endings of novels and movies tend to be very unambiguous that either the good guy won and all is right with the world, or the bad guy won and everything is just as bad as it ever was. like even in Star Wars there was a huge fight to manage to include one line that indicated that the massively militarized government of The Rebel Empire was also engaged in trafficking and atrocities, despite the fact that like. they're America. the Rebels have always been America. but they have to be unquestionably perfect to be The Heroes.

then there's this weird trend with lady villains. like you see it with other marginalized people sometimes, the whole, oh he wasn't evil all along he was just black so he had no choice but to be aggressive, or the, oh, it's just a poor repressed gay guy and now he isn't violent anymore now that he came out. (people say this about people in real life and it's super creepy, but that's another conversation.) I can't tell whether this is just people blatantly having prejudices and not bothering to question them, or people attempting to be less prejudiced, not by making the characters heroes, but by saying their marginalization pushed them into villainy. (which is the same reason so many fans get attached to and excuse villains, except like... without bothering to think it through I guess.)

but the Lady Villain thing is that so many things seem to just go, oh she's a woman, she's not in charge of her own actions, she's not agentive in that way. a man forced her into it. she was traumatized from her body being assaulted. she just wanted to be a wife. she just wanted to be a mother. she can't hurt men really so it's okay if she hurts them. and it's not like this is a new phenomenon, but I feel like I see it more and more under the guise of feminism, in the original work and not just in fandom.

the big example I keep coming back to is Poison Ivy, where the current run - don't get me wrong, I love it, it's so well written - is entirely preoccupied by how she would never be what she is if she hadn't been assaulted by her professor, and her powers weren't her choice, and her ideas about what was ethical were just his brainwashed thoughts, and everything she is is actually his victory, not her own. and I get why that's a theme an author might want to explore, but at the same time, this is a character who in so many incarnations has absolutely nothing to do with a man. she invented her own magic powers, or they were an accident from her own research, and she had her ideas herself without anyone telling them to her, and she decided to be evil for fun. she weaponized their sexualization of her against them and used it to advance her evil plots. and now it's all put back in the frame of 'she's just a man's evil experiment there was nothing else she could've done'.

this combined with the weird woobification of Harley Quinn as someone who was simply kidnapped, tortured, and abused by the Joker with absolutely no choices of her own, and he taught her how to fight, and he forced her to be a villain, etc. ignoring the part where she was already a trained acrobat and a practicing doctor who engaged in inappropriate conduct with her patient. (which, of course, they declare the Joker only wanted Harley for her body, despite the fact that she was always pushing sex on him when he didn't want it, as far as they could get away with in a kids' show.) and then Harley and Ivy bond over asshole men deserving all the credit for everything cool about them???

and for people who have engaged with a lot more media this is clearly just a current trend in stories and it'll die down after a while, and you can make things more or less that in fanworks. but for people who are just getting into media through these extremely popular properties, it's shaping the way they think media should be - and since these are not only the most popular but also the most homogenized properties, they're trying to make other stories fit what they think the Regular Mold is. which probably means this tendency will become less both as the people doing it engage with more texts and as this black and white morality trend goes away again, but it'll still be a formative thing they think of as a Normal Story and that idea probably won't become less internalized.

[lindsaywesker]

Good morning! I hope you slept well and feel rested? Currently sitting at my desk, in my study, attired only in my blue towelling robe, enjoying my first cuppa of the day. Welcome to Too Much Information Tuesday.

Stephen King's son is called Joe King.

Stressed men prefer big butts. (Stress-free men too!)

Only 28% of people know when they're being flirted with.

Men who vape are more likely to suffer from erectile dysfunction.

The Merchant of Venice is the only Shakespeare play to mention Mexico.

In 2019 there were still 17 US States where it was legal to fire someone for being gay.

The revolving door was invented by a man who hated holding doors open for women.

Cutting people from your life does not mean you hate them, it simply means, you respect yourself.

Not only do mosquitoes bite you and suck your blood, but they also urinate on you before flying off.

The scrotum water frog of Lake Titicaca is on the verge of extinction due to its use as an aphrodisiac.

In March 2014, an Australian Python swallowed a chihuahua and found itself chained to a kennel.

‘Mr. Brightside’ by The Killers was the first 2000s song by a group to surpass one billion streams on Spotify.

According to astronomy, when you wish upon a star, you're actually a few million years late. That star is dead. Just like your dreams.

In 2021, an invisible sculpture was sold for $18,030. Artist Salvatore Garau says his work should, “activate the power of the imagination.”

Charles Darwin thought the menstrual cycle was evidence that early humans lived by the sea and synchronised their lives with the tides.

After King Charles II's wife is said to have caught him picking flowers to give to another woman, there have been no formal flower beds in Green Park since 1660.

In 2017, a Boston man got revenge on his high school bully by sleeping with his mum after he saw her profile on Tinder and hooked up with her for a one night stand.

As we get older, we often feel music used to be so much better because of the 'reminiscence bump', a preference for songs that were popular during our formative years.

Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia, and James Earl Jones, who provided the voice for Darth Vader in Star Wars in 1977, met for the first time on a 2014 episode of The Big Bang Theory.

In 1995, a man named Sonny Graham received the transplanted heart of a suicide victim. He then married the donor's wife and later killed himself, in the exact same manner as the donor did.

In 2004, Gary Webb, the California reporter who first broke the story of CIA involvement in the cocaine trade, was found dead with two gunshot wounds to the head. His death was ruled as “suicide”.

Joe Metheny, the infamous serial killer from Baltimore, not only cooked his victims to eat himself, but he also made burgers with their remains and sold them to unsuspecting customers from a roadside food stand.

The marine biologist Joel Hedgpeth was the founder and sole member of the Society for the Prevention of Progress. He rejected all membership applications because “growth in members would represent progress.”

In 1969, Salvador Dalí, the Surrealist painter, gave a derelict castle to his Russian-born wife, Gala, as a present. She welcomed his generosity but also set rules for her new home in Púbol, a village in Catalonia. He could only visit if she sent him written permission.

In 2013, the town of Brunete, Spain instituted a new program to make dog owners pick up after their pooches. They recruited volunteers to watch for anyone leaving poop on the streets, and then mailed it back to the dog's owners.

Eric Idle rang George Harrison when they couldn’t find the money to get ‘The Life Of Brian’ made. George said “Well, when The Beatles were breaking up, Python kept me sane really, so I owe you one.” As a thank you, George was given a cameo as Mr Papadopoulos.

A new drug similar to Viagra can now be sold in pharmacies in the UK without prescription. Cialis, an erectile dysfunction drug will now be sold over the counter in UK pharmacies like Boots, after it was deemed to be safe to take without consulting a doctor or getting a prescription. The pills can last up to 36 hours!!

England is seeing record high levels of gonorrhoea and syphilis sexually transmitted infections, new figures reveal. People are being urged to practice safe sex to protect themselves and get tested if they may be at risk. There were 82,592 cases of gonorrhoea in 2022 - up 50% on the 54,661 recorded the year before, the UK Health Security Agency says. Syphilis cases increased by 15% from 7,543 to 8,692.

Okay, that’s enough information for one day. Have a tremendous and tumultuous Tuesday! I love you all.

[writer-monster]

11 reasons why cap 4 should reintroduce Bucky Barnes as the love interest, an essay

to start this off, i am not writing this essay from a shipping place nor do i believe that this would have any influence at all over the upcoming movie. i expect nothing. this is simply something that i would personally like to see. (of course no hate to anybody who thinks differently)

here are 11 reasons why i think making Bucky into Sam Wilson's love interest in Cap 4 would be a good move for Disney.

-

1. on the Chinese film market - and why it's an irrelevant argument against the inclusion of homosexual themes in Cap 4

the Chinese film market is something that has been blamed for a lack of diversity in Hollywood films a lot lately. many people claim that this market with a lot of buying power has been responsible for the lack of gay and black representation in particular within Hollywood films.

and we have certainly seen Hollywood treating it as such, going so far as to cut gay scenes from movies for their Chinese releases, and vastly minimising John Boyega's (a black actor's) presence in the Chinese poster of Star Wars The Force Awakens.

[image ID: on the left is an image of the American poster for Star Wars The Force Awakens, featuring John Boyega prominently on the right-hand side. And on the right is the Chinese poster for the same movie, in which John Boyega is barely visible.]

so we know at the very least that Disney believes this through their own actions and efforts to self-censor for the different markets.

but Captain America 4 is a black-led movie, don't you forget. and Disney can't minimise Sam Wilson/Anthony Mackie in the movie or the poster because it's his movie and his poster. and no amount of creativity in the editing room can change that (thank God!).

so if by their own argument the film is already going to be either banned, panned or slammed in China... then what do they have to fear from making it a gay movie too?

-

2. oh, the queerbaiting

queerbaiting is an unusual cultural idea. and sometimes i find myself thinking that the term is far too easily used, but then all of a sudden i will stumble upon a movie or show that is so quintessentially cruel and overt in it's... well... queerbaiting that i will start to wonder what the hell kind of a bizarre relationship all these straight people seem to have with their friends. take Troy and Abed from Community or John and Sherlock from Sherlock as the perfect examples of this. (in which my reaction to the show's creators saying the show wasn't gay was to ask so then why did you make it so gay?!)

i felt that Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes in tfatws were getting quite close to this level of queerbaiting.

there was the field scene, the couple's counselling scene, the boat scene, the couple's counselling scene, Bucky going with Sam to face Karli when she told Sam to come alone, the couple's counselling scene, ALL the staring scenes, Sam checking out Bucky's ass here as they said goodbye, the "i would move in with him but" hidden scene, "Uncle Bucky" showing up at the cookout scene, the romantic walking off together into the sunset together ending scene, and the couple's counselling scene. did i forget anything? but i mean seriously, the couple's counselling scene!!! that thing they did with their legs and their crotches while staring deep into each other's eyes, would any straight guy willingly do that? do straight guys crotch-snuggle now?

[image ID: an image of Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes during the therapy scene with the quote, "Isn't anybody going to drag me into impromptu couple's therapy and slot my legs firmly between theirs before staring deeply into my eyes?"]

(yeah i stole this image from a buzzfeed article on the fan reactions to the couple's therapy scene. but given that they stole 80% of the content of that article from fandom tumblr, i think it's pretty even-steven.)

there's also the fact that people started talking about bisexual Bucky Barnes a lot after the tiger pictures line, and the lead writer Malcom Spellman responded to the talk of Bucky's bisexuality with "just keep watching". well we watched, Malcolm. but it's beginning to feel like you were just jerking us around.

-

3. the writing

seriously though, what else is Bucky Barnes doing right now in the MCU? his only remaining connection to anything going on right now is through Sam. there is literally nothing else established that's left for him to do that doesn't involve Sam. he moved to Louisiana to be closer to Sam (canonically), he hangs out with Sam's family (canonically), and Steve is presumably gone and is definitely not coming back for more adventures.

he has no villains or loose ends left. he has no other superheroes that he appears to be in contact with. he has no girlfriend or potential love interest, or even other friends or family. he is living in a tent that he has secretly set up in Sam's backyard and is mysteriously appearing from the bushes when it's time for dinner like a stray cat.

in my opinion there is no other meaningful and pre-established progression for Bucky's character that wouldn't just feel cheap.

plus, i don't think the general audience would be all that surprised if they kissed. i think a LOT of people picked up on all that tension. i think a lot of straight people picked up on all that tension too.

-

4. the chemistry between the actors & the chemistry between the characters

the original pitch for tfatws was essentially just this, it was the chemistry between Sebastian Stan and Anthony Mackie and their respective MCU characters of Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson.

now obviously Anthony and Sebastian are simply friends, and i wouldn't mean to imply anything more. but they are also not their characters.

Sam and Bucky's scenes together before tfatws were both limited and short, and yet audiences still fell in love with the dynamic between the two characters.

in interviews, these two actors are constantly slipping into character and flirting with each other and frankly it's adorable. plus it's really entertaining. i'd love to see that dynamic, unfiltered, in a movie.

because believe it or not the flirting is actually even more open in their interviews than it was in tfatws. and i'm leaving some links as proof.

this here is known as the "married" compilation

and here's a "lucky dip" selection of interviews - 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,

and here's Anthony trying to get Seb to take his jacket off.

i'm just saying, why not let their chemistry shine? these two are so talented and so entertaining, especially when you put them in a room together. and can you imagine how absolutely hilarious and brilliant it would be to watch them navigate being a couple?

(and for those who bring up the "friends would be uncomfortable pretending to be dating" argument, i'm not here asking for a sex scene or anything. i don't think anyone would expect them to show any more intimacy (physical or emotional) while playing a couple than what they've already shown together in say... tfatws or in their own interviews. not that i actually expect anything regardless.)

-

5. if they were a man and a woman they would've gotten together in tfatws

i have no more to add here. just that... yeah, they would've.

-

6. and i'm not talking about the comics here, i'm talking about the MCU.

i understand fully that none of what i'm saying here falls in line with these characters from the comics. but the mcu itself doesn't fall much in line with the comics either, and these two characters especially are very different from their comics counterparts.

i'm not asking for these two to get together in the comics. tbh i don't think that it would work.

but the mcu Sam and Bucky are different and closer than their comics counterparts. they've got different histories, different backstories, and a very different dynamic. please rest assured that i am only talking about them in the mcu.

-

7. Bucky Barnes is believably bisexual. and Sam Wilson has never been proven to be straight in the mcu, nor has he had a love interest.

(now please continue to keep in mind that these points only stand for the mcu versions of Bucky Barnes and Sam Wilson, and not at all for their comics counterparts.)

Sam Wilson has never had a love interest, which is crazy because have you seen that man! he has had two blink and you'll miss it moments of verbal expression of attraction to women, both in TWS. and that's the extent of it, through his entire history in the mcu.

Bucky Barnes has had a number of surface-level female love interests, but none of them even came close to the level of connection and chemistry that Bucky shares with Sam.

and i'm sorry SarahBucky fans, but i just don't think there's very much to their relationship either. i love Sarah, i really do. but it's Sam who shares all the meaningful moments and history and chemistry with Bucky. and i don't see what making her into a love interest would do for Sarah's character either, what would that add to her story?

[Picture ID: Bucky at the cookout with Sam, Sarah, Cass and AJ. Bucky and Sam are looking at each other and smiling.]

and also there is the whole tiger pictures thing... again. which does strongly suggest that Bucky is bisexual whether this was intentional on behalf of the writers or not.

-

8. it's representation... AND it feels natural

marvel hasn't had a lot of queer representation that's been noticeably present in the MCU at the time of writing this.

there have been a lot of failures so far, from the bisexual erasure of Valkyrie in Thor Ragnarok to the wlw erasure in Black Panther.

there was queerbaiting almost identical to the bisexual Bucky baiting for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. when asked if he had considered featuring a gay hero in gotg2, director James Gunn stated that "We might have already done that. I say, watch the movie." after the movie's release audiences were understandably confused about the lack of queer representation. To which the director followed up his comments with, "But we don't really know who's gay and who's not. It could be any of them."

there is also Loki, considered by most fans after the airing of his six episode series on Disney+ to be both a poor attempt at both genderfluid representation and bisexual representation. with both attempts being summed up fairly well by the term "blink-and-you'll-miss-it". (also it's just terribly written and Loki doesn't wear any interesting clothes! fanficcers are a Goddamn blessing in this hard time!)

and let us not forget that Andrew Garfield was apparently FIRED for pushing for a bisexual spiderman. a bisexual spiderman within an interracial mlm relationship no less.

so for all these failures, marvel, why not allow us queer fans this? two brilliant and heroic men in a loving interracial relationship. two heroes that we can look up to.

now, one of the biggest detractions from the argument for representation is the idea of "forced diversity". and some poorly written characters certainly do end up feeling forced into the narrative. take Iceman in the comics for example, with Jean Grey just straight up suddenly telling him he's gay. like, marvel, sweetie, that's not how this works! and i don't know a lot of queer people who thought much of that "representation".

but the crux of the "forced diversity" argument is almost always that it feels unnatural within the story, right? and i don't think that anyone could say that about MCU Sam and Bucky ending up together, given these characters' existing chemistry and their history. they've both played characters in gay relationships before so we know that it's not outside of either actor's wheelhouse. and y'all know that Anthony and Seb can act, people. if it's in the script i believe that they'll make it seem like the most natural thing on earth.

-

9. it'd be a nice change

there's been an ongoing meme lately about "Disney's first gay character", the joke being that they continually announce gay characters without really ever including gay characters in their films.

this is to the point where Disney has formed a reputation amongst queer audiences of being homophobic.

if Sam and Bucky were to become a couple, then Disney could have its first actual gay character within a gay relationship. AND have him be in the lead of his own movie, no less.

it's also worth keeping in mind that there's likely an overlap between the people who were outraged by a Sam Wilson Captain America, and the people who'd be outraged by a gay Captain America. and if they were already not seeing the film, then i don't think much is gonna change that.

queer audiences would definitely love it, and the media attention would be guaranteed to be huge. i mean, simply look at the amount of media attention mere rumours of a character's queerness gets you and multiply that by a canon confirmation of said rumours.

but i'm pretty sure that Disney already knows this.

-

10. and yet, in truth, it's not about the representation

in truth i've never felt that i had any trouble relating to characters of any sexual orientation, race, gender, sex, body type, etc. (although that is not to throw any shade at all on people who do wish to see themselves represented) but for me, i think it's more about the story than the packaging.

and yet, a love story is still just a story. straight or queer, monoethnic or interracial. when two characters have chemistry and history and have sacrificed for each other time and time again, and they also can't keep their hands or their eyes off each other, then i'm pretty sure that that's a love story.

straight or queer, monoethnic or interracial, it shouldn't be about these simple labels. it should be about how well written the relationship is. it should be about chemistry, and history, and sacrifice.

because i'm fucking sick of all the hollow, forced romances in media no matter the genders of the participants. i'm sick of lazily written, shallow relationships where any two people sharing the same space for any extended period of time will simply fall in love. it's boring, it's repetitive, and as a writer myself it drives me up the wall!

romance stories suck! and everyone knows that romance stories suck. between twilight, and most of the entire YA genre, and love triangles (so boring), and romance used as poorly-written throwaway subplots in Hollywood movies, the world is in agreement that the romance in western media is simply dreadful. and yet we still want love stories. it's an entire genre that sits at the heart of the human experience (<3), and yet one which so few of today's best known writers seem truly able to capture.

i don't think that i'm the only one who feels this way, either. i suspect it's actually a large part of why fandom is so romance-centred in the first place, that we're all just starving for a good love story.

(btw i think fandom has a reputation for being something that as a whole that it is not. it has this reputation for straight up demanding things and harassing people until they get their way. while unfortunately there are a few people who do this, they're fucking annoying and i swear that they're far from the majority.

in my experience fandom is mostly about writing a five thousand word story at three am while drunk off your ass because it might make someone whom you've never met smile, editing it in the cold light of day, and then posting it. expecting nothing. sometimes getting nothing. and sometimes getting someone send you kudos or a comment so heartbreakingly wonderful that it makes you smile in return.)

-

11. so once again, it is all about the writing.

i want to see Sam and Bucky get together in the mcu, not because they would be a gay couple but because i genuinely believe that their story has potential to be an amazing love story.

and i know the mcu isn't about the romance. it's why in my personal opinion we haven't gotten a lot of good canon romances besides Peter Quill and Gamora. and i don't think that the mcu should be all about the romance either. i fucking love the action and the fighting scenes. i love the comedy. Captain America: The Winter Soldier had no romance and it was a fucking treasure, it was an amazing spy-action-thriller and it made my little gay heart dance. Thor Ragnarok had no romance, and it was an utterly brilliant comedic spectacle action film. not every movie needs romance.

but mcu Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes were doing couple's therapy and fixing a boat and walking off into the sunset together in tfatws. they were inseparable on the battlefield. they've got a dynamic. it's beautiful, it's romantic, and it's gold.

a budding relationship between them in the next movie would be a good way to explore both characters more without the narrative feeling too stilted and separate. at the end of tfatws, both Sam and Bucky fans found that their respective fave felt somewhat underutilised and that their characters were underexplored.

now, that problem would be even more difficult to remedy in a movie, because the plotline of a movie needs to be really tight to work (giggity). and we know that the central conflict of the movie is gonna be action-based (which is good), but we still need each character's personal journey and growth to tie into the main conflict. (which is another issue that some fans found with tfatws, that these characters didn't really feel connected to the action-based plot on a more personal level.)

if Sam and Bucky are already in a relationship, however, this whole dynamic changes. first, their relationship has already been set up for nicely since TWS and through tfatws and they would officially be the best-fleshed-out couple in the mcu. but most importantly, a relationship gives them a perfect vehicle to explore both of their pasts comparatively and connect them personally to the action-based plot.

do you want to establish that Sam is a little too trusting and naïve? then establish this through his relationship with Bucky, and through showing his placing his trust in Bucky. (rather than through having him sympathise with a villain who threatened to murder his sister and his nephews).

perhaps you want to show Bucky recovering from his trauma? show us how comfortable he is with Sam. they get along, they're enjoying each other's presence, we see more of Sam's life and of his family, and then let Bucky tell Sam something that's raw and dark and honest about his life as The Winter Soldier. something about a memory, one that he only just recalled. he's opening up. and maybe what he tells Sam is even something that sets up the future action-based conflict, to ground that in something real.

you want to explore that Sam has trauma too? do this through Bucky. he tells Bucky a story about his time in the military. in the form of a flashback, he shares his own story of loss to evoke before the audience the shared theme of feeling at fault even when you're simply a helpless bystander to an act of pure destruction.

then, action sequence! and it's directly connected to Bucky's time as the Winter Soldier. explore the grief of someone whose life the Winter Soldier tore apart manifesting into a villain perpetuating the cycle of pain. establish your villain.

Later, Sam is dragged into battle against this villain for protecting Bucky. But Bucky doesn't want Sam to protect him. He feels guilt for what he can't control and he doesn't want Sam getting hurt because of him. Bucky reminds Sam that he has a family, one who needs him and who loves him. He tells him to go home.

Sam reminds Bucky that he's a part of that family. And that sure Sam's a hero and his job is to protect anyone and everyone, but that he's doing it because he wants to. It's not simply to prove that he can, or to prove that he's not a bystander (this connects to Sam's trauma here), but that he's doing it to help people.

and this gets Bucky thinking about who he is and what he's doing here. is he a hero who stands by Sam's side? or is he an ordinary man who stands aside? or perhaps, does he stand alone? what does he stand for? Maybe Sam knows. But does Bucky?

Sam and Bucky fight off the villain again, and for the first time Bucky meets this adversary face to face. And Bucky recognises this villain, and has a flashback to the genuine pain that he inflicted upon them in the form of the Winter Soldier. Bucky freezes mid-fight, he almost dies, and Sam has to save him.

Sam chews Bucky out for almost getting killed because he was afraid for him. but Bucky takes this the wrong way and goes off to fight the villain alone, or perhaps to die alone, he's not quite sure.

He puts up a half-hearted fight. He apologises for what the Winter Soldier has done, and he waits for the killing blow, when Sam swoops down and he saves him. He asks Sam why he saved him and Sam calls him a moron. And then, Sam asks him what sacrificing himself would solve. He tells him that you can't choose your past but you can choose your future (connecting to his own experience of loss and guilt and grief). And that no matter what Bucky Barnes still has a future, whether that's as the Winter Soldier or the White Wolf or just some dork with a day job. And that he has a future as a part of Sam's family too.

Sam fights the villain, and it's toe to toe. He delivers a few good blows, but receives a fair few himself. And then the villain tears off his wings, first one and then the other, in a manner reminiscent of what the Winter Soldier did to him in TWS. Through Bucky's eyes there's a flashback to highlight the parallels. Sam gets back on his feet and he fights his best fight, but is now losing.

And then the heavily injured Bucky steps up and fights by Sam's side, and only together do they take down the villain.

"So... I inspired you, huh?" Sam teases with a smile, utterly exhausted. "With my heroism and-"

"You inspired me." Bucky said, equally exhausted. "Let's leave it at that."

Together, Sam and Bucky go back to the safety and warmth of their family. Sam fixes his wings. Sam goes back to being Captain America. And Bucky... he's around, but it's unclear what he's doing.

That is, until the very end. When Sam is in a fight, and suddenly Bucky shows up and helps him out.

"What are you doing here?" Sam asks.

"I've made up my mind." Bucky says. "I'm the Winter Soldier. But now I'll save lives, Sam. Now, like you, I'll be a hero."

Sam smirks. "So does this make you my sidekick, then?"

Bucky smiles. "C'mon, at least make me a partner." He says.

"How about co-workers." Sam says (in flashback, he remembers back to the death of his last on-the-job partner).

"How about friends." Bucky says, with a wry look.

"Bucky... I don't want to see you put your dumbass self in danger." Sam says.

"Oh, and it's ok for you to go running off into danger on your own all the time?" Bucky asks.

"Yes." Sam says stubbornly. "Absolutely it is."

"Why?"

"Because I'm not a dumbass?!"

"Sam, if you think I'm not gonna be watching your back for the rest of time... then you're the biggest dumbass I know. And I don't care if you need me or not, I will be there for you."

"Because Sam, you're more than Captain America. You're more than a good soldier. You're a good man. And I think sometimes, the world forgets what the difference is."

-

...or something like that.

(i only spent like 15 minutes on that. you know if i were actually writing this movie i would come up with something much better. and if anyone from marvel is seeing this, yes i can come work for you. i will make the time, let's do this thing right!)

-

finale

at the end of the day, whether or not the mcu chooses to make Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes a couple, it's their decision. and they don't owe me anything.

i'm just some random person on the internet. who thinks that Captain America 4 should #givecaptainamericaaboyfriend

[earnestly-endlessly]

hello! do you have any fics where erik and charles are childhood best friends now in a relationship?

Hi anon, thanks for the ask. There are a fair few fics where Charles and Erik are childhood best friends and are now in a relationship but there are actually more where they are childhood best friends and end up in a relationship in the fic. So, I decided to include those in this list since it kind of matches what you're looking for.

Childhood best friends now in a relationship

Work/Life Balance - pocky_slash

Summary: As teens, Charles was the star of a super popular tween/teen television show and Erik was his best friend. As adults, they're a frighteningly domestic married couple and Alex, Darwin, and Sean are Erik's nosy co-workers.

Some Forgotten Corner of the Universe - Black_Betty

Summary: Erik remembers the boy he met on Osiris.

Charles is no longer that boy, but that doesn't mean Erik loves him any less…

A Winter in New York - nextraordinaire

Summary: Charles and Erik have been childhood friends for as long as they can remember – Erik, living with his mother in Queens, and Charles in the big mansion in Westchester. For all, expect themselves, it was just natural progression that they'd end up together.

A series of ficlets from the same universe – can be read as separate and are out of chronological order.

A Very Cherik Sleepover – Penguina

Summary: When Erik invites Charles for one of their traditional sleepovers he doesn't expect it'll turn out that way. Instead of taking the upper bunk bed as usual, Charles decides to curl up in Erik's bed with Erik to keep them warm... However, it gets a little too hot.

Something in the way you move – BrightDream

Summary: Erik and Charles have been best friends for years now, but four months ago their relationship secretly became something more.

This means that when Erik's mom leaves them alone in the house, it's their chance to figure it out just what they can do to make each other feel good, even though there are some deep insecurities that might get in the way...-

Quiet Like a Fire - kianspo

Summary: Charles has been in love with his best friend for years without realizing it. When he finally figures it out, Erik is married to a wonderful woman and has an adorable daughter, who thinks the world of Charles. Erik has the perfect life that Charles helped him build, so there is only one thing for it - get over his feelings. So what if his methods are unhealthy or if Erik has an opinion on the matter? Charles is determined to do the right thing.

Love Story - Sophia_Bee

Summary: Charles and Erik are best friends, until they're not. A love story in three parts.

Curve Fitting - kianspo

Summary: The weird thing is, Charles always introduces Raven as his sister, but he never calls Erik his brother. Erik would be bothered, except he prefers not to think of Charles as his brother, either. He can’t figure it out for four years, and then suddenly he can.

Or. A non-powered AU in which Sharon Xavier never remarries, and Charles 'adopts' not only Raven, but Erik too.

Bad things happen when you mix siblings with spite - inazumaghostking

Summary: Erik is determined to fuck Charles.

Raven is determined to stop them.

a.k.a. a sibling fight ft. two gay boys, a concerned sister, and a closet

Did You See This, Erik! - Iggysassou

Summary: "What if Charles and Erik grew up together, Charles absolutely convinced that he was the one protecting Erik and being super proud of himself for it when in reality, Erik has always secretly protected him with his powers because Charles is simply the most adorable person on Earth."

Hot Cocoa Magic – nextraordinaire

Summary: Charles takes Erik out to the skating rink. Erik has never stood on a pair of skates in his life, but it'll be easy-peasy, right?

For Us Two – aliceecrivain

Summary: Erik is five years old the first time he meets Charles in the forest outside his new home and quickly discovers the other boy is more than he appears. Despite being accidental, the event defines the course of his life in ways he never could have expected.

The two boys grow up together, mutually braving the ups and downs of adolescence, and, over time, become inextricably attached. Initially intimidated by the limits the attachment puts on him, Erik yearns to break free in spite of his own feelings, but learns with time that the connection between them is not something he can live without.

Practical Cartography - pearl_o, pocky_slash

Summary: When Charles discovers how frustrated and self-conscious his best friend Erik is about his ignorance about sex, he's eager to volunteer to help teach him and practice. Charles might not have any more direct experience than Erik, but he does have a telepath's mind full of accidentally picked-up fantasies and memories, as well as knowledge of a few dirty books - and more importantly, he's been madly in love with Erik for years. This seems like a brilliant, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that he can't pass up.

Now he just needs to manage to keep his feelings in check, and not ruin their friendship forever.

A Kiss is Just a Kiss – Penguina

Summary: Charles Xavier has always been in Erik's life. However something always gets in the way of Erik actually realizing he has feelings for this adorable dork who was so obviously crushing on him since high school. Until one day, years after their first kiss, Erik finally understands what that feeling he always had for Charles really was! But is he too late? Did he miss his chance to tell Charles 'I love you'? It's been years and did Erik really think Charles would wait for him his entire life?

You and Me Against the World – madmalina

Summary: One important thing to remember: this is a love story.

Twenty years and two lifetimes later. Just two boys learning to mutant, grow up, and love each other.

Wicked Game - obstinatrix, seutedeern

Summary: Erik's reputation as a defender of the weak in elementary school isn't undeserved. He wouldn't have expected a Xavier to fall into that category, but it seems that other people don't see Charles the way Erik does, as a warm, lovely person who should be protected. As the years draw on, Charles and Erik become best friends, inseparable. Everything is perfect, platonically ideal, until it isn't.

Believe (One More Time) – luninosity

Summary: For the prompt, Charles and Erik dated during college and had a bitter break-up right before graduation. It's five years later and they both meet again at their class's reunion for a weekend. Someone was even stupid enough to have them room with each other for the weekend…

If We Met Differently – swoopswoop

Summary: Erik wasn't the only mutant 'taken in' by Shaw, Erik learns this the hard way when a new mutant is dropped into his cell. They manage to escape together, but things aren't all roses after that. Erik has a score to settle and needs to make sure Charles is safe.

With pulses that beat double – aesc, pearl_o

Summary: It has been thirteen years since Charles watched his beloved childhood companion walk out of his life. Now, in fin-de-siècle Paris, a chance overheard remark may lead them to each other's sides once more.

Change is Constant – Black_Betty

Summary: Erik and Charles knew each other in high school, might have even called themselves friends. At their ten year high school reunion, Erik realizes how much has changed.

There is No Future Without You – EnchantedPhoenix

Summary: Charles and Erik were friends when they were children - Until certain circumstances tore them apart. Many years later, when Erik moves to England so that he can study at Oxford University, he certainly doesn't expect to run into his childhood friend again. In fact, he doesn't expect any of the events that follow.

The Cost of a Good Man – archipelago (arcanewriter)

Summary: Erik and his mother flee Europe before the advent of the war to live on the Xavier estate. Charles never questions their good fortune, or his own.

[olderthannetfic]

I think I am slowly being able to go “everyone deserves the kind of story they want to see BUT no one is obligated to write that story for them.” Of course the bigger the IP I think the more I question if that’s still a valid stance (because of the underrepresented groups). But just talking about indie/fannish/smaller works? Just close the window if it’s too cringe for you, imo.

--

It helps me to see it in economic terms: When they whitewash some major movie franchise role, they're directly denying not only money but a serious career advancement opportunity to an actor of color. It's the same behind the camera. We don't have tons of prominent female directors with the resume they supposedly want for their next blockbuster because we didn't hire those women for lower level positions ten years ago.

Unfair labor practices are a problem. More power behind the camera leads to more control over what's in front of it, whether that's literal representation of more groups or simply some gaze other than the straight white male one.

Hollywood deserves scrutiny for its labor decisions, partly because these are big projects with a ton of reach and partly because these kinds of media empires intentionally create near monopolies and force their content on everyone. People aren't choosing the Star Wars with x kind of representation over the Star Wars with y kind: they're going to see the one blockbuster that's in their local theater right now.

This is very different from bugging individual creatives about the form their creativity takes. Novelist A and novelist B should write the novels that move them, and I'll vote with my wallet.

In addition to economic terms, I think of it in terms of gatekeeping: Is novelist A a selfpub m/m novelist? I 100000% do not care if they're a cishet woman because if some gay man wants to publish his own m/m in the same space, he can easily do so.

Is novelist B published by a major publishing imprint that will debut only one new author this year? Maybe I do care if they're a minority or if their content is diverse. I still don't think you should bug novelist B about the subject matter they find interesting, but you can scrutinize the publisher and ask why they chose this author and not the dozens of other high quality submissions they no doubt received.

This is why I roll my eyes at complaints about fanfic on AO3: any fool can put their email in the queue and get an account. The search isn't even popularity-based by default like Wattpad is. Yeah, a combo of shitty representation in big media and reader behavior makes certain fic inherently more popular and thus possibly more attractive to write, but if you have a passion for something else, you can stick it up there and let it find its audience. Nobody's stopping you from increasing whatever representation you care about.

Small time creators and people putting their own art out by themselves aren't stealing a slot from anyone. Maybe I'll pay them my $3.99 and not some other novelist/comics artist/whomever, but that's a minor tradeoff, not like the selection of a studio or network head or the hiring of a Star Wars director or the signing of a major book contract.

[mycinecollection]

The Misfits (1961) - Flawed but emblematic

In 2022, Olivia Wilde's "Don't Worry Darling" has been making more headlines about the immense behind the scene drama than its filmmaking achievements. It may be the most recent case of "backstage issues overshadowing the movie itself" but it certainly ain't the first, more less the most intriguing. In 1961, John Huston's "The Misfits" was released and became way more remembered for being full of production issues and the very last movie of mythic Hollywood stars Marilyn Monroe and Clark Cable than for its tale of four lost souls wandering in Nevada.

So what is this movie all about after all?

"The Misfits" is a drama/western about a recently divorced woman named Roslyn (Monroe) who meets war-veteran widow Guido (Eli Wallach) and aging cowboy Gay (Cable) and, having not a single idea of what to do with her own life, goes on a series of little adventures with them, picking up another lost cowboy (Perce, played by Montgomery Clift) on their way. With such a star-crowded cast and legendary director John Huston behind the camera, I had high expectations for this one but unfortunately I do not think it belongs to the "best works" list of any of those Hollywood icons.

It's not that this is a bad movie. It does have great cinematography and some very interesting scenes, dialogues and reflections. Each character has a sad, frustrating backstory and is somewhat trying to go on without knowing much what to do. In this sense, the movie is relatable and did not age at all. The dilemmas some of these people face are realistic and allow the viewer to connect with them even in current times.

However, it is too flawed to be regarded as a masterpiece. First, Monroe's character seems poorly written. Not only that, she is clearly written by a man. It's just so unauthentic how she makes some very valid points against some of the male characters actions (especially Gay's) just to run back to them a minute later, pretty much accepting whatever they give her. To me she's exactly how the average man of the 60s saw a women: she's caring, sensitive and sensual (but not vulgar), but also depicted as hysteric and resigned. What makes it even worse is that the scriptwriter was Monroe's own husband (!), although their marriage failed during the production. One thing seems to have affected the other, as Monroe was apparently disappointed too on how her character was written, while Miller seems to have incorporated some of his own disappointments about his then-wife in parts of the script.

Another thing I disliked about the movie was its uneven pacing. The first half has many scenes but feel too slow. I just kept asking myself "ok but how long I'll have to wait for something actually interesting to happen?".

I must say that the second half does deliver good performances, hard-to-watch scenes and actual drama between the characters. All that in a stunning landscape with beautiful shots from cinematographer Russell Metty. That second half does make up for the almost boring beginning of the movie. It does show melancholic performances from stars who were all in one way or another feeling as lost and in pain as their own characters.

I did find the ending lacklustre though, again because of how Roslyn actions just did not make sense to me! After that great climax scene with all the characters facing up to their personal values, trying to understand to what they stand for, to just end it like it was a story about a couple going through a marriage crisis seemed simply so...silly.

Ok so the movie has its moments and it's worth-watching for the sake of it, now what about the drama?

The fact that this movie was completed is already a great achievement given all the problems it went through in the production stage.

Starting with director John Huston, who apparently spent a good amount of his time during filming gambling in Nevada casinos, often showing up on set not in his best shape after his nights out.

Then, we had Marilyn Monroe. She was already notorious for forgetting lines, showing up late (or not showing up at all) and being addicted to pills and alcohol when "The Misfits" was shoot but this time seemed to be even worse. Her marriage with scriptwriter Arthur Miller fell apart in the middle of the filming and the pair stayed in separate rooms and wouldn't even talk to each other in the later stages of the production. Shooting was even shut down for two weeks while Marilyn went to the hospital to detox. Given all the problems Monroe was going through during the make of this movie, it should not be surprising that this was her last completed film.

Monroe was not the only star in this movie to be in pain. Montgomery Clift was dealing with severe alcohol and pills addiction too, his mental state never fully recovering from the shocking car accident he suffered in 1956. Marilyn even famously described him as the only person she knew who was in worse shape than herself. Although Clift lived for another 6 years after "The Misfits" , cowboy Perce was his last relevant role.

Lastly, we have Golden Age icon Clark Gable, who complained about Marilyn's dysfunctional behaviour on set and was also annoyed with director John Huston money-losing habits. Gable was approaching his 60s during filming , with a deteriorating health after decades of heavy drinking and smoking. The actor died of a heart attack just days after shooting wrapped, but lived enough to see rough cuts of the movie and be happy with what would be his last performance.

MyCineCollection Score (MCCS) : 7

"The Misfits" (1961)

Dir. John Huston

IMDB: 7.2

Letterboxd: 3.68

Metascore: 77

Rotten Tomatoes (A): 78%

Rotten Tomatoes (C): 97%

MCCS: 7

Average: 7.8/10

[bamfdaddio]

X-Men Unabridged: 109 (1978)

The X-Men, those plant-loving mutants that have sworn to protect a world that hates and fears them, are a cultural juggernaut with a long, tangled history. We’ve been untangling that history for a while, but sometimes, you really want a more in-depth look. Interested? Then read the (un)Abridged X-Men!

(X-Men 109) - by Chris Claremont and John Byrne

Ororo not noticing Moira casually drowning Banshee or Wolverine being punted around by some poutine-roided idiot because she’s too busy eating the Piotr-shaped eye candy is such a mood.

I wonder what my ethnic curse would be. Perhaps: ‘By Mata Hari’s bedazled bikini!’

Plot-wise, issue 109 is not that dense. Half the issue deals with the X-Men coming home from their space-adventures, the other half has Wolverine dealing with the Canadian government coming to claim their lost asset. I mean, Claremont uses three pages to tie up some loose Shi’ar ends through flashback because the last issue couldn’t fit it all in. It’s by its very definition a breather issue.

Doesn’t mean it’s not awesome.

WHERE TO START?! Why not with plant mommy Ororo?

Storm’s secondary mutation has to be that her hair always looks like a fabulous follicular cascade, even during an indoor spring shower.

Look, if I had weather powers, I’d probably be using it for mundane shit like watering my plants and ensuring nice weather at my friend’s weddings too. (Okay, maybe sometimes I’d zap dudes who tell random girls in bars to smile more.)

While Storm talks to plants and takes all her clothes off, Kurt does the other thing I do after a rough day at the office: he calls someone for some nookie.

I love that Amanda is so extra that she gives out signed photos of herself.

Kurt just looks so fucking cute here. Look at those little fangs! Yeah, Amanda, get it.

Like a lot of people to whom communication comes as easily as breathing, Piotr is defeated when faced with a blank letter. Look at that trash can: he’s tried this waaaaay too many times.

Anyway, I think “Sorry I haven’t been writing, was busy saving the universe. Weather’s lovely” has a nice ring to it.

Star Wars had been out for around half a year when this comic was published, and it’s safe to say Claremont was a huge fan. You can tell by the direction these comics are taken: the whole Shi’Ar space opera is obliquely inspired by Star Wars and Star Trek and their aesthetics. I mean, Corsair asks to be beamed up and there’s even references to a captain “Spo’ock”.

It was the end of the 70s. Everybody wanted to be a Skywalker: space was big, y’all. Nightcrawler loving the movies is not a coincidence - I wonder if Claremont was also a fan of Errol Flynn.

Anyway, we follow Kurt one more floor down, where he spooks Scott, brooding at the window. The result is an unintentionally hilarious interaction, where Scott and Kurt discuss Real Issues Like Men while Jean comes out to her parents outside.

“Mom and dad, I’m… the Phoenix.”

“Honey, we figured you might be when you introduced us to Misty Kn… Wait, what?”

To be fair, being possessed by a cosmic force for rebirth is almost the same as being gay: it imbues you with fabulous new insights, you start experimenting with your wardrobe and ever so often, you want to burn down the galaxy because some bitches in a gay club have slighted you.

But all that will come later.

Anyway, Jean’s kinda silly coming out leads to a pretty honest heart-to-heart between Nightcrawler and Cyclops. Scott tries to give Kurt grief because of his happy-go-lucky attitude, and Kurt gives him a deserved put-down.

Life can be unkind, Scotty, so embrace the kindness provided to you by a wise little devil.

Scott prefers to brood and Kurt is hanging with Amanda, so it’s a foursome - maybe even a double date? Moira and Sean, Piotr and Ororo. Logan asks for a ride - not because he wants to eat cheese and crackers among ants, no, he wants to blow off steam.

The X-Men’s chicken or egg: did Logan’s sideburns decide the shape of his headpiece, or did the headpiece shape his haircut?

I started reading the X-Men just when the Marvel Universe was starting to reach the height of Wolverine saturation: he was simply everywhere. Like, at some point, he was in X-Force and the Avengers while also being a Headmaster of the Jean Grey school. Add to that him being the face of the Fox X-Men universe… Listen, it was easy to get sick of him. I kind of did.

But this? Original flavor Wolverine, who’s still kinda short, kinda ugly and kinda stuck being a loner? He works as a character. Chris Claremont is beginning to explore his duality: the wild animal who has been experimented on vs. the honorable man who would do anything for his found family. He gives me major Granny Weatherwax vibes: he’s the kind of person who doesn’t need people, but he does need people to know that he doesn’t need people.

So yeah, he's still cool.

Also, his healing factor hasn’t been kicked to superhuman levels yet - you know, being able to regenerate from a single cell or whatever - so he actually feels kind of anxious when he’s about to toss himself off cliffs etc.

Not happy about that red belt, though.

Anyway, Wolverine is out doing the noble hunting-without-killing-thing, and then this motherfucker wrapped in a flag shows up. Look, I know I have something against dudes who brandish their nationality as their superhero identity, but this fool is just… ugh.

James MacDonald = the worst. Trust me on this.

Major MacMapleleaf then punts Wolverine across the forest, right into the other X-Men’s picnic, and now we’re all caught up.

Out of all the X-Men in this issue, Sean gets the least amount of screen time but, hey, at least I can steal a joke from him.

Don’t worry, despite the martyr/pièta pose, Moira will turn out just fine!

You weren’t worried?

Anyone?

Look, is there anyone who genuinely likes Moira as a character?

James Hudson, being the worst, doesn’t give a fuck that he just cross-fired an innocent woman - er, innocent as far as he knows, at least - and just nopes out of there, too outnumbered to fight the X-Men.

Yeah, you better run.

He vows to return with Alpha Flight, which… Eh, he’ll at least bring some more interesting characters with him. (Snowbird!) Now that he has sown enough seeds for a future plot to pick up on, Claremont calls it a day. I will also call it a day, after a little fashion watch. Out of all of these character, who has chosen the worst outfit?

Scott. It’s Scott. Look, I get that those ruby quartz glasses make the world a different color for you, but you’re wearing a mustard suit and a bespeckled yellow shirt underneath. Even when considering Moira’s attitude, it’s still the most stank thing in the doorway.

Sean, just what do you see in her?

[jackiearbs]

things that rwrb characters have said that i will never forget, a thread:

alex claremont-diaz, giving off dumbass™ energy (he has the most on this thread, for obvious reasons) 

- "put them in my room, put them in my room, put them in my room-" 

-  “Jesus Christ, it’s like they can see into your soul. cornbread knows my sins, Henry. cornbread knows what I have done, and he is here to make me atone.”   

- "do it for the 'gram"

- "leading member of korean pop band bts kim nam-june" 

- "whatever, fine. henry is annoyingly attractive. that’s always been a thing, objectively. it’s fine.”

- "see attached bibliography"

- "i said, you look great, baby!”

- "yo there’s a bond marathon on and did you know your dad was a total babe"

- "awesome, fuckin' love doing things out of spite.”

-”Huge Raging Headache Prince Henry of Who Cares”

-”it is amazing you can sit down to write emails with that gigantic royal stick up your ass.” 

- “who names a dog David? He sounds like a tax attorney.”

-” “Do I go on your side of the cubicle and turn off your Dropkick Murphys Spotify station, no matter how much I want to?” Alex demands. “No, Hunter, I don’t.”

- “for fuck's sake, man, you just had my dick in your mouth, you can kiss me good-night.”

- “Bake Off makes Chopped look like the fucking Manson tapes.”

- “THEY KNOW. THEY KNOW I HAVE ROBBED THEM OF FIVE-STAR ACCOMMODATIONS TO SIT IN A CAGE IN MY ROOM, AND THE MINUTE I TURN MY BACK THEY ARE GOING TO FEAST ON MY FLESH.”

- “You’re from Boston, Hunter. You really want to talk about all the places bigotry comes from?” (he really hates hunter goddamn) 

-”so, what? you want me to quit politics and go become a princess? that’s not very feminist of you.” 

hrh prince dickhead😎  - "the moment you first called me a prick, my fate was sealed. O, fathers of my bloodline! O, ye kings of olde! Take this crown from me, bury me in my ancestral soil. If only you had known the mighty work of thine loins would be undone by a gay heir who likes it when American boys with chin dimples are mean to him.”

-"“I’ve been gay as a maypole since the day I came out of Mum, Philip.”

-”i will turn this car around.”

- “yes, the cocaine, alex.” 

-”i am a delight!”

-”have i mentioned lately that you’re a demon?” 

- “are you psychoanalyzing me? i don't think royal guests are allowed to do that.”

- "i can't believe even mortal peril will not prevent you from being the way you are.”

-“the phrase ‘see attached bibliography’ is the single sexiest thing you have ever written to me.”

-"i just mean to say, you know, Philip is the heir and I'm the spare, and if that nervy bastard has a heart attack at thirty five and I've got malaria, whither the spare?”

- “they wanted something less fruity than the truth, but truly, what is gayer than a woman who languishes away in a crumbling mansion wearing her wedding gown every day of her life, for the drama?”

- “You are a delinquent and a plague. Please come?”

- “fat and sexually conquered, snuffed out in the spring of my youth. Here lies Prince Henry of Wales. He died as he lived: avoiding plans and sucking cock.”

june:  “- that is a clear quartz crystal for good vibes do not @ me.” 

- “He’s just so frail, it’d only take one good push-”

- “ugh! men! no emotional vocabulary. i can’t believe our ancestors survived centuries of wars and plagues and genocide just to wind up with your sorry ass.” 

nora: 

-”sorry, are we not? did i skip ahead again? my bad. hello, would you like to come out to me? im listening. hi.” 

“prince henry is a biscuit. let him sop you up.”  

- “you’ve been, like, Draco Malfoy–level obsessed with Henry for years.”

- “i don’t know, man. I was in my junior year of high school, and I touched a boob. It wasn’t very profound. Nobody’s gonna write an Off-Broadway play about it.”

dahra: 

- “You need to get back to fucking England now, and if anyone sees you leave, I will personally end you. Ask me if I’m afraid of the crown.”

- “both sides need to come out of this looking like your little slap-fight at the wedding was some homoerotic frat bro mishap, okay? So, you can hate the heir to the throne all you want, write mean poems about him in your diary, but the minute you see a camera, you act like the sun shines out of his dick, and you make it convincing.”

-”come on, you backyard-shooting-range motherfuckers,”

ellen (should i say PRESIDENT claremont) 

- “Diaz, you insane, hopeless romantic little shit"

-  “I had Planned Parenthood send over all these pamphlets, take one! They sent a bike messenger and everything!”

- ”where? Are you hiding a turkey habitat up your ass, son? Where, in our historically protected house, am I going to put a couple of turkeys until I pardon them tomorrow?”

-“As your mother, I can appreciate that maybe this isn’t your fault, but as the president, all I want is to have the CIA fake your death and ride the dead-kid sympathy into a second term.”

PEZ !!!

- “frolic naked in the hills, frighten the sheep, return to the house for the usual: tea, biscuits, casting ourselves onto the Thighmaster of love to moan about the Claremont-Diaz siblings, which has become tragically one-sided since Henry took it up with you. It used to be all bottles of cognac and shared malaise and ‘When will they notice us’-” 

-”-and now i just ask henry, ‘what is your secret?’ and he says, ‘i insult alex all the time, and that seems to work.’” 

**extra: nicer quotes from alex and henry 

alex heartthrob diaz  - "never tell me the odds"

-"we were not afforded that liberty."

-“I hate this so much. I know. But we’re gonna do it together. And we’re gonna make it work. You and me and history, remember? We’re just gonna fucking fight. Because you’re it, okay? I’m never gonna love anybody in the world like I love you. So, I promise you, one day we’ll be able to just be, and fuck everyone else.”

- “On purpose. I love him on purpose.”

- “history, huh? Bet we could make some.”

- “But the truth is, also, simply this: love is indomitable.”

-“Take anything you want and know you deserve to have it.”

- “Someone else’s choice doesn’t change who you are.”

- “I am the First Son of the United States, and I'm bisexual. History will remember us.”

- “America: He is my choice.”

- “Give yourself away sometimes, sweetheart, There's so much of you.”

- the entire list of the things he loves about henry. i would die 

henry: 

-”i’ll be damned but i miss you.” 

- “when you rang me at truly shocking hours of the night, I loved you. When you kissed me in disgusting public toilets and pouted in hotel bars and made me happy in ways in which it had never even occurred to me that a mangled-up, locked-up person like me could be happy, I loved you. and then, inexplicably, you had the absolute audacity to love me back. Can you believe it?”

- “it sounds like you did your best.”

- “I’ve bloody well had it. I’ve sat about long enough letting you and Gran and the weight of the damned world keep me pinned, and I’m finished. I don’t care. You can take your legacy and your decorum and you can shove it up your fucking arse, Philip. I’m done.”

- “Should I tell you that when we’re apart, your body comes back to me in dreams? That when I sleep, I see you, the dip of your waist, the freckle above your hip, and when I wake up in the morning, it feels like I’ve just been with you, the phantom touch of your hand on the back of my neck fresh and not imagined? That I can feel your skin against mine, and it makes every bone in my body ache? That, for a few moments, I can hold my breath and be back there with you, in a dream, in a thousand rooms, nowhere at all?”

[inky-duchess]

21 History Ancedotes for my 21st Birthday

So today I celebrate my 21st birthday and I have decided to gift you all with 21 of my favourite historical Ancedotes. Some are funny, some are sad and some are plain bizarre but I hope the make your day 💜

Mary Maloney, an Irish-born suffragette in England followed Winston Churchill around while he was campaigning for a seat in Parliament, drowning out everything he said with a very large bell and calls for him to apologise for his comments on women's rights and suffrage movements.

Clodius Pulcher was a well born Roman noble during the last day's of the Republic. He gave up his Patrician status to become Tribune of the Plebs (an office in which one had to be a Pleb) by being adopted by a much younger Plebian man who became his "father". Clodius was a bit of a riot, sneaking into religious festivals dressed like a woman to sleep with Caesar's wife, building a shrine to Liberty in the ruins of the Conservative Cicero, vetoed the last speech of one of the Consuls (who basically did nothing all year and was apparently going to roast Caesar) and burned down the Senate House with his funeral pyre (the Plebs who loved him literally tearing up the furniture to build his pyre). He was honestly the best fun.

When laying on her deathbed, Queen Caroline of Ansbach turned to her husband George II of England and told him he should marry again. George refused to ever wed again... But added he would have mistresses. Caroline said , likely with a roll of her eyes, "oh my god that doesn't matter."

Florence was a pretty cool city in the Renaissance until Savanorola came to town. He disliked the loose living artists that crowded the city, with their naked pagan gods and rampant homosexuality. He expelled them all with help of the French hoping to make Florence Holy Again. When the Borgia Pope excommunicated him and sentenced him to death, one man in the crowd was reported to have said. "thank God, niw we can return to sodomy." One Floretine man in the 1490s said Gay Rights.

So this list couldn't be complete without an entry of the only American politician I love, Alexander Hamilton who was just a walking entity of sass. I could go on about his sharp sarcasm or his disaster bi vibes with John Lauren's but my all time favourite Alexander Hamilton ancedote has to be this exchange with Thomas Jefferson "There are approximately 1010300 words in the English language, but I could never string enough words together to properly explain how much I want to hit you with a chair."

Caterina Sforza was an Italian noble woman during the Renaissance. She was apart of the powerful Sforza family, which drew many enemies to her. One fateful day at Forli, Caterina's children were snatched as hostages. The besiegers threatened to kill her children if she did not cede the castle. Caterina refused, lifting her skirts and shouted to the besiegers that she had the means to make more children.

Hannibal Lecter's creator Thomas Harris was happy to end his great character's story with the original trilogy. However his publishers forced him to write an unneeded prequel explaining why Hannibal became Hannibal. Thomas Harris agreed lest he lose the rights to his character so he wrote Hannibal Rising, where Hannibal as a young man hunts down the Nazis who ate his sister with a katana.

Nell Gwyn is my favourite mistress of Charles II, mainly because of her sass. Once while trapped in the middle of a riot where Londoners swamped her carriage thinking she was Charles's Catholic mistress. She popped her head out the carriage and told the people "Pray good people be civil. I am the Protestant whore." She also dosed her rival Moll Davis with laxatives in order to free up some of Charles's time and she once flashed her underwear at the French ambassador after asking him why the Franch King did not pay her to spy on Charles because she was with him every night. A true Queen.

Emperor Ai of the Han Dynasty of China once rose from his bed to go do some ruling when he realised his lover, Dong Xian was sleeping on his sleeve. Rather than disturb his lover, the Emperor cut his sleeve off at the wrist to leave Dong Xian nap. Nothing has ever been more romantic than that. Y'all could never.

Princess Margaret the sister of current Queen Elizabeth II was a socialable Princess and often tasked to visit the up and coming music stars of the day on behalf of the Crown. When meeting the Beatles one evening, she noticed George Harrison was acting a little odd. When she asked what was the matter, he replied "We arent allowed eat until you go." Princess Margaret laughed and promptly left so the Beatles could get some dinner.

During the Siege of Jadotsville, Irish soldiers under the flag of the UN were attacked and besieged by local insurgents allied with the Katanga Regime. The insurgents numbered thousands while the Irish only had 158 soldiers, all who were lightly armed. They radioed to their allies assuring them that "we will hold out until our last bullet is spent. Could use some whiskey though".

Napoleon was famous for writing raunchy letters to his wife, the Empress Josephine while he was away. She used to reply with really mundane letters or not at all. She really just could not be bothered with him.

Josip Broz Tito was so fed up with Joseph Stalin sending assassins to kill him, he wrote to Stalin personally to say "If you don't stop sending assassins to kill me. I will send one to Moscow and I won't have to send another." It didn't work but Big Dick Energy.

Successful Roman soldiers returning from war often got to march along in parades known as Triumphs. During this, it was customary for them to sing bawdy songs about their commander. One surviving one about Caesar goes like this "Romans, lock up your wives. Here comes the bald adulterous whore. We pissed away your gold in Gaul and come to borrow more."

Matilda, Lady of the English was a woman so badass that history cannot handle her. She was the daughter of Henry I who left his throne to her after the death of her brother. She was away in France when her father died and her throne was snatched by her cousin Stephen. They battled back and forth for years with neither side ceding any ground. Matilda was once besieged in a castle during a snow storm, with Stephen's men all around her. Instead of fighting her way out. She simply donned a white cloak and walked out of the castle. Just walked out without any of Stephen's men seeing her.

Pedro of Portugal once fell in love with a beautiful lady in waiting called Inez de Castro. For years, they lived as man and mistress, popping out a few kinds. Pedro's dad really did not like Inez and wanted Pedro to find a legitimate wife so he had her killed. Pedro returned home to find the mother of his children dead. Pedro went a little crazy. He had all his father's assassins killed, ripping out their hearts as they had done to him. When Pedro ascended the throne, he demanded the Pope legitimize his children by Inez. The Pope not wanting to upset the King, said he couldn't because Inez was never crowned Queen. Pedro dug Inez up and crowned her as Queen, having all the nobility swear loyalty to her corpse. The Pope had no choice but to agree to his request.

A famously clever general once saved an entire city with an ingenious stragety to sit outside the city waiting for the attacking army to come. The attack had come to fast for the city to ready themselves for a Siege so, the general had to move quickly. He evacuated the city and took his place waiting for the army to come. The enemy forces stopped and took one look at him and bolted, thinking he meant to lure them in one of his famous traps.

Michaelangelo was really badly treated by the Vatican when he was painting the Sistine Chapel. He constantly fought with the Popes over the design and his work, which he was paid peanuts for. Michaelangelo got his revenge in his work, painting the gates of Hell behind the Papal Throne and an angel flipping the ol' fig (the Renaissance version of the bird) toward the Pope's chair.

Peter the Great was not a perfect guy. He kept serfdom as a practise in his kingdom, he had his son tortured to death and he could be an unpleasant guy. But Peter was a dreamer. He wanted nothing more to build a fleet for Russia and bring Russia beyond its borders. Peter took a gap year from ruling Russia to wander around Europe. When he stopped in England, he was granted Leicester House to chill in while he did his shipwright studies. It was here that Peter found a new passion. The wheelbarrow. Cue Peter and his new found English buddies drinking in Leicester House, punching the artwork and rolling each other around in barrels across the house's Great gardens.

Diogenes is hands down a walking shit post. He was a great thinker in Greece during the reign of Alexander but a rather dry, sarcastic wit. He lived in a pithos/a jar because he shunned all vanities and values of society. He trolled other philosophers, attending their debates to heckle them and eat loud foods through them. When Alexander the Great came to fan boy over him, saying that if he were not Alexander he would like to be Diogenes to which Diogenes just said "yeah me too, now get out of my sunlight."

Cosimo de Medici was the son of a Floretine banker with a great knowledge and love of art. Cosimo wished for Florence to release its potentially and join the Renaissance. He hired Filippo Brunelleschi to finsh the Great Dome of Santa Maria del Fiore which had láin unfinished for over a century, a symbol of a failure of ambition. The builders had lost the knowledge of creating a dome so large so it remained unfinished. Despite much opposition from the other nobility and denouncers of the Renaissance, Cosimo's dream of the completion of the dome was completed, making it the largest brick dome in creation at that time. There is nothing like achieving your dreams and certainly nothing like leaving a lasting reminder that screams 'I was right and you were wrong' to stand for centuries.

[blackgirlsuperherorants]

With more articulation, I'm ready to talk about why the push for Lokius simply bothers me, and this can be said for other m/m or w/w ships that fans push to be canon so hard just because they ship it.

It's the framing. The framing that if Marvel doesn't do it (or whatever the brand is), it's because homophobia, and if other fans don't like it/ship it, it's because homophobia (even if they ship other queer ships and are queer themselves.) And the biggest problem with that is that it overshadows the REAL issue of lack of queer representation on screen in mainstream nerd media, especially from big things under the Disney umbrella (Marvel and Lucasfilm/Star Wars, especially.)

It makes it bad that your ship isn't canon instead of bad that there haven't been any queer romances on screen in the MCU.

And like, as a writer myself, I find myself dissecting the stories of other media all the time. I can watch an MCU movie or series and pretty much assess what direction the story is going in by the narrative points they're hitting. I knew Sylki was basically gonna happen (even if just a kiss) because narratively, that's what the show was doing as soon as they had that "what is love" conversation on Lamentis-1. It didn't mean I liked it. But I knew it was happening.

Similarly, there's no romantic undertones to Loki and Mobius. None. For Marvel to make them a couple, it would mean they'd be doing it simply because the two present as men and it would make stans happy. And while there's something to be said for fan service, it would be annoying to watch them cram two guys together who aren't romantic in the slightest. I'd much rather see Loki meet some guy and have the same type of undertones they were giving to Sylvie and form a real bond to where the kiss feels earned and warranted. Not just put him with the nearest man because "he gay lol."

And how you guys are claiming it's being queer that makes you want this is beyond me. It's not being queer that makes you want this. I don't want queer characters that fuck everyone of whatever gender(s) they're attracted to even when it doesn't make sense for them to. I want real love stories. I mean, yeah, sometimes we can have a slut character, because that's fun, too, but that's not even what y'all think Lokius is. You seem to want them to be in love. But why? Because he's the first friend Loki made that isn't through Thor?

I hate that, too, because I hate this idea that queer people cannot have friends of their same gender without wanting to fuck them. IDK how y'all are, maybe y'all are like that, but I almost never have wanted to fuck any of my friends. The only few exceptions have been when I tried to befriend someone I had a crush on (in which case, usually the friendship can't work, really, because I have a crush on them.) I also think it's okay if you can have casual sex with friends, or if you have a friendship that develops into romance, but Jesus, do you people not have friends that you don't want to fuck? I am bi, maybe more pan (gender kind of doesn't matter to me, I guess) and I'm friends with people of all kinds of gender identities and like... I love them as people, which is why they're my friends, but I DO NOT want to fuck them. Especially my closest friend. I talked about her, before, here, but she's like my sister. The thought of fucking her is gross, to me. Not because she's gross, but because it feels incestuous.

Loki shouldn't want to fuck Mobius just because they developed a friendship. And that's very much how it's written on the series. They almost dislike each other (or Mobius is at least indifferent to Loki) and then they become friends.

That's not to mention the power dynamic that exists, there. And I know some of y'all are subs, but yeah, it's a bit gross to imply a sexual relationship with Loki's captor.

But on to Sylki. It sucks that I feel like most of y'all hate Sylki because Sylvie is a girl, and not just because it's bad in other ways. Like, the reasons Sylki is bad have less to do with "it should have been Mobius" and more to do with it being a lazy 1980s action movie plot that should have never happened. I'm not as creeped out by the selfcest (as many of you wouldn't have been if she was a he, I'm almost positive), but what's bad about it is that they couldn't have a strong female lead character without her being the love interest of the main guy. She didn't need to be, especially because she was a Loki variant, anyway. There was no need for it to have romantic undertones, and there was no need for them to kiss. It was sexist more than it was homophobic (and I can't help feeling like y'all are kind of being biphobic in this case. Maybe I'll talk about that, later, but yeah.) It was sexist bullshit. And there's valid criticism that Sylvie is underdeveloped. She's just angry and something for Loki to project affection onto.

I was also hoping they'd do a "found family" type of thing with Sylvie and Loki and let her be like the sister he never knew he needed, but no, they had to go trope and make her the love interest. It was lazy and bad and basically went "If Loki girl, main Loki want bone!"

Basically, having the main character fall for a character just because of their proximity and gender is bad and I hate it (and it would have been bad with Mobius, too, but yeah.)

Both the Mobius and the Sylvie thing also feel kind of racist, to me, because the show has prominent Black women who aren't even presented as desirable to Loki. And y'all, of course, ship him with anyone but the Women of Color. Y'all can pull true love with Mobius out of your ass, but he couldn't possibly fall for the Black women. lol.

Anyway. Not every show needs ships, and this show shouldn't have had any. I hate it. It's bad.

I guess on the biphobia front, I have heard some takes that it's not biphobic because Loki being queer in the MCU which hasn't shown any queer relationships, and Loki being the first openly queer character means they shouldn't have shown him with a woman presenting character. Which, I guess I get where you're coming from... but I have also been in fandoms for a long time and I see mostly girls saying this shit, which is what leads me to feel like it's simply jealousy. It happens all the time when a long-beloved single male character/celebrity suddenly starts dating a woman. Everyone hates it. And like, we haven't seen Loki be with ANYONE in the MCU, because mostly he's been doing villainy and his dating life hasn't been relevant. If the demigod says he's bi, he can kiss a woman. Especially a woman version of himself. Like I said, I hate it for other reasons, but pretending it's because he should have kissed Mobius is utterly delusional. He probably shouldn't have kissed anyone. Not in this series. There was no reason for any canon romance, especially because the show has a season 2 and we'll have time to see Loki develop earned, deserved romance with someone.

I'd much rather see them create a character just to be his boyfriend than have y'all push Marvel into making Lokius canon, which is a nonsense ship that only happened because Mobius is the only prominent male-presenting character before we meet the other Lokis.

My sincere wish is for people to remember that their ships are just ships and to enjoy them without getting all self-righteous about it. I TOLD y'all that Lokius wasn't gonna be canon like 4 episodes back, and here y'all are acting shocked and like Marvel took something from you. NOBODY expected y'all to ship Lokius. It's not even queerbait.

You can make clear arguments as to why Sambucky was queerbait. It's there in undertones in the actual series.

You cannot watch Loki and tell me you thought it was queerbait, unless you think men can't have conversations or hug goodbye without being romantically involved. Which means, in my opinion, that you need to learn about healthy masculinity.

Again, this is not a defense of Marvel. They DO need to let characters be queer, for real, and not just by saying " A bit of both". Like, let Loki be queer. Let Deadpool be queer. Let these queer characters be queer on screen. Yes.

But please stop making it about your ship. I'd rather see a flashback of Loki dating a guy and see him kiss someone he loved back on Asgard than watch y'all force Lokius. Because my queer rep is not about your crackship. It really isn't. And the fact that y'all keep calling us homophobic for not liking your ship REALLY needs to be addressed.

Like, when will y'all stop? I got on Stucky shippers about this shit in the past. All of us gay as hell, too, we just don't like YOUR ship. A lot of us like other queer ships. A lot of us like queer ships in other fandoms, too, and even have queer OCs. YOUR ship just ain't it. Stop forcing it. Literally, most of the ship wars between MCU fans have been queer ship vs queer ship, not really queer ship vs straight ship. Like, the number one Stucky rival ship was Stony. Not Steggy. People are not homophobic for not wanting your ship.

Sometimes it's because they ship something else.

And sometimes, like me, it's because they want something to make sense narratively and not happen for the sake of it happening. It's always better writing to have a character meetcute a new love interest than to magically turn a platonic friendship into a romantic relationship. Like, even when the characters are straight. Like, when Moesha dated Hakeem. It was just weird, even if he was kind of a great boyfriend. He was just supposed to be her friend, and people didn't really like it because it didn't fit narratively.

And that's why ships for the most part should be left to fanfiction, with the exception of a few where fans are right to call out the writers for not making it canon because it's clearly bait (like what happened to Destiel shippers. To see Lokius shippers compare themselves to THAT was so ridiculous. Destiel shippers had a decade of evidence only to be let down by a criminally unfair ending. Lokius shippers saw two men have a deep conversation once and lost their minds.)

Anyway, I'm not saying don't ship Lokius. I don't even hate it, really. I just think it obviously shouldn't be canon, and fans pretending like they were robbed of it is ridiculous. Literally, Ao3 exists for this reason. I will never see Steve fuck Sam Wilson, so I wrote it into my fanfic. I am not mad that they didn't actually date in the main MCU storyline.