#western macdennis
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orionsangel86 · 1 year ago
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I love this post because this is a topic ive been grappling with since I wrote my Dreamling Meta (sorry for the shameless self plug). Because I kept asking myself, why in 2022 would you lay on the queer coding and romantic subtext that thick unless you were going somewhere with it?
I feel pretty confident claiming that queerbaiting has been left in the 2010s where it belongs. Modern shows arent doing it like Supernatural or Sherlock nowadays, not with Good Omens, not with OFMD, not with canonically queer shows proving just how popular they can be.
The few modern western shows left still toying with a queer "will they wont they" that I can think of probably will end up in the "they will" category as well. I'm thinking MacDennis from IASIP (albeit in their own fucked up twisted way) and Nandermo from WWDITS specifically, but feel free to point out others that I may be forgetting (im not including any Disney media here because thats a different beast entirely and at least a decade behind other networks on LGBTQ rep as it is (and FinnPoe was MEANT to be canon dammit!)).
A lot of non canon ships I see from modern media are clearly shipped for fun, and not intentionally coded in a queer romantic way in their source material and therefore fans arent interested in discussing their canon potential, because as OP says, whether a ship has canon potential or not is irrelevant really. Shipping is just about exploring dynamics and having fun with it. You can ship 2 characters who have never met if you like, or from entirely different source medias! Its all fair game!
But when the source material clearly shows intent there, in this modern era, it does give me pause.
What is the end goal here? Because adding queer coding in a modern show is surely a dangerous game to play if you have no intention of doing anything else with it? In 2023? I have been contemplating making a post about this for a while even though it is certainly a controversial thing to say... but only because those damn comics end in such a way that it would be so damn easy to do...
Okay so Dreamling. This is like 20-25 minutes worth of television in total. In a show that introduces a huge cast of fantastical characters and certainly a whole bunch of whom can easily be shipped with Dream (our melancholic protagonist). So why is that 25 min sequence so damn compelling?
There is a reason fans went crazy for Dreamling above all other ships. To summarize my 8 part extensive meta series on the topic, it ticks all the boxes, includes all the right tropes, and has put the two characters in ample position to be the best possible solution to each others biggest problems. That all of this was confirmed as intentional by one of the writers, and the very fact that this is a show lead by Neil Gaiman who certainly doesnt shy away from including queer rep as much as possible and only recently finally made Good Omens Ineffable Husbands explicitly, undeniably even by the most dense of heteronormatives, canonically romantic, adds to the support for this ships canonicity.
Then there is the topic of the comics that the show is based on.
Because Sandman is an adaptation, the show will be expected to hit certain story beats even if it does deviate in theme, in tone, and even in characters at times. So anything possibly putting the final nail in the coffin for potentially canon dreamling should be in the comics, but the thing is, there is no nail in the comics.
Ah yes I'm sure you are all itching to point out the very obvious glaring neon sign of a nail that is Dream's death. Except this isnt a nail at all. Because even the comics indicate potential ambiguity in what actually happens to Morpheus once Daniel becomes the new Dream. With the shows lighter, more hopeful tone, the chances are still pretty good that Morpheus' ending may not be so tragic in the series, even if it does hit the same story beats to allow Worlds End and The Wake to take place.
Because who is the last character to see Morpheus in the comic? The last person to converse with him after his supposed death? Hob Gadling. Whilst it is left ambiguous again whether the Morpheus Hob dreams of is actually him or not, the point is that there IS ambiguity there. The point is that if we assume that it IS Morpheus, then the last thing he did before moving on to wherever it is he disappeared to, was visit Hob in his dreams, on a beach, at sunset. They walked together and Hob specifically states the dream had a "happily ever after" feel to it. We don't know exactly how the dream ended before Hob woke up.
Whatever happens next is anyones guess. Hob woke up yes, and Hob is with Gwen at this point in the story (but I do think that will be changed in the show due to the extremely problematic reasons Hob was given a black girlfriend). All I'm suggesting here is that the comics provide no real blocker for Dreamling to be built upon and in fact kinda support a dreamling romantic reading if viewed from the right angle. It would take only a few tweaks to get there.
So with that in mind, I look at the heavy subtext and queer coding in just a mere 25 minutes of television, and I wonder what could possibly be done with more story to tell, and we know there is still plenty more story to tell.
Look I'm not gonna claim that there should be a love declaration and kiss and whatnot, but I think there is a very high possibility that in the show Morpheus survives in some way, and chooses to remain with Hob, however you want to view it. Perhaps he will retire to Earth/the Waking World the way many Dreamling fics like to imagine, or perhaps he will stay in Hobs own dreamscape as a dream entity. Or perhaps in this version of the story, Morpheus will offer Hob the chance to go with him, off to the stars or somewhere beyond the realms of living men, and maybe this time, since its technically not a death, Hob will take it. We can only speculate and imagine, but the potential is there, and that is the entire point.
I'm in no way saying that the shows queer subtext means that they SHOULD make it canon or else they are queer baiting, but I do think that what we have been given provides an interesting foundation to build upon if they choose to, and therefore its a valid topic for discussion and speculation purposes.
Also sure yes, this is me locking in early, placing my bets for bragging rights alongside OP that if in so many years time when Sandman reaches its final season, Dreamling becomes a canon Thing, I was there in the beginning and I was Right. Lmao!
I'm not too invested in ships Becoming Canon typically, but i am gonna stake my claim here - Dreamling isn't bait. Cynically it doesn't make sense to queerbait in such a basic 101 way anymore, the writers and actors all agree that The Vibe was intentional, and narratively the show seems to be setting up a happier ending - Dreams happy ending is explicitly With Hob. Ineffable husbands Happened, dreamling will as well, and in like 4 years when the final season comes out this post will exist to prove that I was Right
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suburbiamac · 6 years ago
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cowboy macdennis au
Mac lives on a ranch with with his cattle dog Poppins. He never wears a shirt when working outside and always ends up sunburnt because he’s an idiot. He has tan lines and his legs are significantly more pale than the rest of his body.
Mac is pretty well known for his rodeo skills down at Cowtown Rodeo in Philly, and he’s won countless competitions over the years.
Dennis owns a saloon that was originally Frank's but when Frank 'mysteriously' died Dennis got ownership because he cheated Dee out of a share in the family business, as always.
Dennis has seen Mac around at a few events and on TV, but they’ve never officially met (Mac probably doesn’t know he even exists at this point). 
There's a mechanical bull in Dennis' saloon and every month he holds a contest that regulars frequently enter. One time Mac showed up as a guest appearance and won, obviously, so Dennis gave him drinks on the house for the rest of the night (which he was going to do regardless, because wow, that hot famous cowboy is in my saloon?)
Mac thought he was charismatic so he becomes a regular there. Dennis probably uses the pick up line 'save a horse, ride a cowboy' at one point, because he’s just like that I guess.
Dennis is an avid gun collector. He just has a wall lined with guns that he names after celebrities (Dolly Parton, for example, is one of them).
Mac almost shoots himself while looking at them one time and all Dennis says is ‘my bad. Safety isn’t on!’ while Mac goes off at him about gun safety (but half the things he says are wrong and Den is just laughing).
DENNIS WEARS ASSLESS CHAPS. They’re hot pink and he bedazzles them himself with a cowboy hat to match.
Dennis only wears them in secret and one day Mac walks in on him in hot pink assless chaps and a bedazzled crop top that says ' cow' on it. Mac laughs (but he’s also kind of turned on) to which Dennis just pulls out a pistol and he’s like ‘say anything to anyone else and I’ll shoot'.
They have just as much dirt on each other and there are never ending threats and blackmail between them. Dennis is infinitely worse than mac about it though because he's a wicked little bitch.
Mac tries to threaten Dennis with Poppins sometimes but it never works. He’ll be like ‘SICK ‘EM BOY!!’ and Poppins slowly trots over and just licks Dennis’ hand or something before laying down.
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oysters-aint-for-me · 3 years ago
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ive been in the sunny fandom here for like three years now and—please know i am not being sarcastic here—i genuinely love seeing each new generation of macdennis clowns (affectionate) realize on their own that “mac and dennis” rhymes with “jack and ennis” which are of course the names of the gay couple in brokeback mountain. it’s almost a milestone moment in every macdennis clown’s life because like…..what are we supposed to do with that information
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hackoftheyear · 5 years ago
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I wish I could write while driving. Because I think the world needs a macdennis western au based on the song heart aches by the number
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winters-blue-children · 7 years ago
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I don't know why but the song " You told the drunks I know Karate" reminds me of MacDennis
It’s like a… silhouette of MacDennis.
I do the dumbest most badass things for to impress you.Why do I do the dumbest most badass things for to impress you?I almost broke definitely didn’t break my collar bone.I didn’t care am so badass, but you were the most exciting thing I’d ever known.
We both went out to the party.Down a long, great western road dirty, crowded Philly street.You told the drunks I knew karate.That was a lie, that was a lie, that was a lie. That was true, that was true, that was true. 
I fixed it. Now it’s definitely Mac singing to Dennis!
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