Not that you'd expect any less from a slash writer, but...

[mollyringle]

I finally saw The Force Awakens (loved it!), and was reading news stories about the popularity of the Stormpilot pairing (which of course I could totally get behind). I should know better than to read the comments, though. Oy.

I don't want to give these articles extra traffic by linking to them. You can find them easily enough if you want. I'll just say that even on the more liberal news sites, and even in this modern enlightened age, the comments section is still filled with remarks like, “Who cares what their sexuality is; why shove our faces in it?” and, “Ugh, if they include that kind of politically-correct crap, I’m so done with this series.”

And when I read those comments it makes me even more determined to keep including LGBT characters in my writing. Because if LGBT people can be brave enough to go about their actual lives up against those attitudes every single day, I can surely be brave enough to write fiction about it.

Plus I think the more examples of non-straight relationships people see, the more they'll grasp that love and desire and vulnerability and all the other parts of relationships are simply human feelings, not straight ones or gay ones. And that you can be happy for someone else even if what they're into isn't your thing.

(I can't not include a photo from Maurice when discussing this topic. And here, Willow and Tara too, for the women's side.)

Comments

[sopdetly.livejournal.com]

I wish I was home where I have access to my appropriate gifs. BUT YEAH. ALL THIS.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Hee, yes, on Twitter I was looking for a rainbow heart emoji and couldn't figure one out, so, oh never mind, but - yeah! *rainbow confetti!* *hugs*

[camelittle.livejournal.com]

I am with you all the way. The comments are hateful, ignorant and absurd.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Yeah, when you spend lots of time on AO3 and tumblr, with all the happy diversity going on, you forget sometimes how hateful the "real world" can still be. Sigh.

[camelittle.livejournal.com]

I agree - unfortunately we still have a long way to go, but I'm happy to do my bit, plugging away, one slash fic at a time!

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

It brightens the lives of your fellow fans. :) And hey, the fact that a fan slash pairing was making it into mainstream news sources at all is probably a sign of change!

[serai1.livejournal.com]

And that you can be happy for someone else even if what they're into isn't your thing.

Ah, but you're talking about people who are fundamentally incapable of doing exactly that. Other people are morally obligated to behave only in ways they approve of, otherwise what's the point to any of it?

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

So it would seem. I keep trying to understand this inflexibility, and still don't get it. I mean, *I* don't have much interest in kissing other women; just not my thing; but I can still be happy for gay women, and even write characters who are gay women. What is this opposition to even *seeing* something happen that you don't like? I don't like shellfish either, but I'm not going to get all outraged if someone eats clams in a movie. :D Ah well.

[serai1.livejournal.com]

What's really amusing is that, most of the time, they don't even have to see it. Just the idea that it might exist at all is enough to get their panties in a bunch. Man, I don't much like Brussels sprouts - I'd happily fund a complete eradication effort if I had the bucks - but I don't resent the fact that other people eat them. Fucking weird.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Down with Brussels sprouts!! :D Oh, but another thing that angered me about these articles was that some brought up how a major film franchise like Star Wars might be reluctant to "lose millions of ticket sales" by introducing an out gay/bi/etc character, because in some countries (e.g. China) that would get the film blocked. All the more reason to do it, I say! Don't back down, cowards! Argh.

[serai1.livejournal.com]

More likely they'll ask JJ to make a bowdlerized version. Which he won't, of course. He may be a flake, but a kissass he ain't, thank the gods. This is his GODDAMN CHILDHOOD DREAM and fuck if he's gonna let any suits tell him what to do with it.

There's a lot to be said for being a white guy with clout. Every now and then you get to do something really fucking awesome, and nobody can stop you.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

I don't know a whole lot about JJ, but I like what I've seen of his work so far, and it sounds like this will be an exciting behind-the-scenes drama to watch play out. Thank goodness some of the powerful white guys do awesome things!

[serai1.livejournal.com]

JJ is enormously talented, enormously energetic, enormously charming, and unfortunately, enormously flaky. His pattern is to take a thing, get very, very into making it over in his image (which admittedly is a very entertaining image), and then kinda... get bored and wander off. He's done it time and again, and if he had people who were capable of taking his ball and running with it so you didn't feel the difference, it would be fine. But only JJ is JJ, seemingly, and once he gets distracted, his projects suffer. That first Star Trek film was so much fun and then Star Wars came calling and... *sigh *



Maybe he'll stay focused, seeing as this time it's the franchise he's been aiming for his whole life. I hope so. I really do like what he's done so far.

[archaeologist-d.livejournal.com]

I loved the Star Wars movie! Can't wait for the next one.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Heh! That fan art says it all. Poor Star Trek...the first film of that really was good. I haven't seen the second...maybe because I heard it wasn't as good.

[mollyringle.livejournal.com]

Yes! I'm much more into it than I expected to be. A good sign!