#and how these books aren't marketed to bait gay audiences

[star-reyes]

Queer baiting in comics is BACK, BABY

#dc comics #this is not a criticism it's a joke #yes i know it's more coding than baiting considering the writers and how some of these characters are queer #and how these books aren't marketed to bait gay audiences #but there's something about the implied gay best friends in comics that I love #it's a staple of American comics like undoing deaths or capes #bruce wayne #minkhoa khan #ghostbat #batman #ghost maker #cassandra cain #stephine brown #stephcass #batgirls #john constantine #siegfried #dc siegfried #steve trevor #batstantine #tuesday spoilers

[dont-leafmealone]

Every time I see someone use queerbait in place of queer coding it makes me wanna rip my hair out

Like as a specific example that's been bothering me, the patrochilles parallels with Clarisse and Selena in the percy Jackson books are not *queerbait*. It is, if anything, queer *coding*, not that I'm declaring any intent on Rick Riordan's part. There was no marketing surrounding the books promising queer characters, there was no big statement by the author that those two were for sure gonna get together or even teasing at it. THAT is the definition of queerbait. It's about the marketing, luring in a queer audience with false promises. That's not going on with Clarisse and Selena.

What there is, is subtext; that's not "bait", that's writing a story. Especially writing a middle-grade story for Disney in the 2000s before gay marriage was even legalized. While it sucks, that's just how it *was*. And, again, that's assuming it was intentional queer coding and not subtext that sure looks kinda gay in hindsight. Because that can also happen! Again, I'm not assuming intent to queercode, even if it isn't unlikely. Just pointing out that Rick isn't always as good about mythological accuracy as people like to think and he is a straight guy who very well could've missed or ignored any homoerotic overtones in the Iliad and interpreted it as a couple'a besties.

Fandom is insatiable and I can guarantee that if Clarisse and Selena DID become canon before Selena's death — awesome as it would be — the piss-on-the-poor website would be up in arms declaring it a case of dead lesbians/bury your gays, just like people are now calling it queerbait. Patrochilles aren't really a happy-ever-after love story.

Rick definitely has his faults, especially when it comes to wlw characters, but I think we can safely say this isn't one of those cases. There's plenty of actual flaws with his writing without bringing up unfulfilled headcanons to pad out the already extensive list.

#generally I would just ignore #but I've got a lot piling up I'm gonna indulge in a little bitch sesh to get this one outta my system #pjo #riordanverse #percy jackon and the olympians #fandom critical #fandom salt #rick riordan critical #clarisse la rue #selena beauregard