A Pride Post

Hey, guys, Willow here.

As you probably (hopefully) know, it is currently the month of June-- Pride Month. I've decided to make a post (more than one, probably, stay tuned) in order to honor and celebrate that.

So, without further ado: Pride Post the First!

This post is a list of some of my personal favorite LGBTQ+ characters in fiction. Unfortunately, there aren't as many queer characters in mainstream fiction as there should be (representation is important, kiddos!); making this list was way easier than it should've been. There weren't too many to pick from.

Here we go, in no particular order:

• Katsuki Yuuri (and, by extension, his trophy husband Viktor Nikiforov) (Yuri!!! on ICE)

  

  THEY DESERVE THE WORLD

• Yuri!!! on ICE is one of the purest, most adorable things I've ever seen.
• No, seriously.
• Viktor and Yuuri are in love. I think I am in love with their love.
• One of my favorite things about YOI is that it was created to be a safe space; the story takes place in a world without homophobia. 
• So here's how this works:
• Katuski Yuuri is a Japanese figure skater with anxiety, almost no self-confidence to speak of, and a massive crush on a figure skating living legend. Reeling from recent tragedy and crushing failures, he goes back to his hometown of Hasetsu, only to be surprised by...
• ...Viktor Nikiforov, aforementioned living legend, a household name and heartthrob who's lost his inspiration and can't seem to find a family.
• I'll let you find out what happens next.
• Alex Danvers (Supergirl)
• Listen. Supergirl season 2 was a hot mess. Don't even try to deny it. 

  

  They make each other so h a p p y

• There were, like, two (2) good things about it. Three if you squint.
• One of those good things? Alex and Maggie.
• Alex Danvers is a lesbian. She was not aware of this until she met Maggie Sawyer.
• Awww.
• Team Sanvers, always.
• Seriously, though. Alex's coming-out arc was the best part of the season.
• It was heartfelt. Honest. Genuine. (Unlike, hmm, let's see, the entire rest of the season. Go die, Mon-El.)
• Alex lights up whenever she sees Maggie. Maggie makes her the happiest we've ever seen her.
• Historically, Alex has a tendency to put a lot of weight on her own shoulders-- taking care of Kara, being the responsible older sister, being the loyal DEO agent.
• Maggie... Maggie is Alex letting herself be selfish. Letting herself be happy.
• And while I'm always and forever salty at the Arrowverse in general for stealing Bat-characters all the time (Maggie Sawyer? One of Batwoman's ex-girlfriends.), Maggie has made a home for herself on Supergirl.
• Unfortunately, she's not going to be a season regular next season (whyyy), but as of the season finale, she and Alex are in a committed, beautiful relationship, and [spoiler ahead] Alex proposed.
• Loki Laufeyson (Marvel)
• Look, I'm going to be completely honest. Loki is one of my favorite Marvel characters

  

  look at my son/pride is not the word I'm looking for

  ever-- the trickster with a silver tongue and not-so-good intentions? Sign me up. 
• Like. He is my garbage son and I adore him.
• Also, he's pansexual and genderfluid.
• I mean. This isn't necessarily new or unusual-- Norse mythology, anybody?
• But considering Marvel's track record with diversity (hint: ugh), Loki is... good. 
• He's not quite like the other characters on this list. He's not an innocent child who deserves the world. He's a lying trashcan who probably shouldn't be trusted.
• <3333
• Well, actually, that previous bullet point isn't quite correct. Here's a brief rundown, as best I understand it:
• There was evil-Loki. Evil-Loki died.
• Loki was reborn as a child-- pure, innocent, not a villain.
• That child? Killed and possessed by evil-Loki.
• So now Loki is... somewhere in between. He feels guilty about what he's done. But he's also a liar, a trickster, by nature and by habit. The important thing: he's trying to do good.
• I love him so much.
• Loki is flippant about his gender and sexuality. Sometimes he is Loki, and sometimes she is Lady Loki. 
• There's no internal anguish, no fear of homophobia, no self-evaluation.
• Loki just... is Loki. And I love him for it.

These are just my top 3-- I noticed the post was getting pretty long, so. Yeah.

There's definitely going to be a sequel, though, so stay tuned for Pride Post the Second (probably featuring the likes of Alex Fierro, Keladry of Mindelan, Angela and Sera, and Sara Lance).

Happy Pride, everyone!

Willow

Bonus: the Babadook