polarcell:I know I am not the first one to talk about this by any means, but every time I think...

polarcell:

I know I am not the first one to talk about this by any means, but every time I think about it, I need to take a moment to really stop and feel and remind myself that it is real. Joe and Nicky being a couple in canon is not only everything I as an individual (with a very particular taste for old flirty devoted warrior husbands) have ever wanted, but they are also genuinely truly revolutionary from a representational standpoint.  

They are gay, openly and shamelessly, without pretence or irony. They are not a joke to each other nor are they framed as one in the movie.  Their gayness is presented as something that is normalised within their family, their love a subject of envy to the other characters. Of the four older immortals, they narratively represent the happy side of immortality, love, energy, a life that is not soured by loss and bitterness because they are able to be there for each other, unlike Booker and Andy. In that way they could be read as a representation of the power of romantic love in general, yet their gayness is not incidental to the narrative either. The great big love confession happens in a van full of men so deeply fragile in their masculinity that to them, suggesting a romantic attachment between the two of them is a hilarious joke. In that moment, with Joe’s speech, the movie does not make just the “love is love” case for how beautiful romantic love is in general, but specifically how beautiful their romantic love is, and how important. Their gayness, the fact that they are two men is not an accident or an afterthought, it is not incidental or unimportant to the movie or the narrative. Their specific love story, where and how they started, what makes it so epic and fairytale-like could only really happen between two men who love other men. That is… well it is something I cannot think of any mainstream blockbuster movie ever having done before, and as a queer woman, it makes me incredibly happy to see unashamed gayness represented as something that beautiful

If that was not enough, they are also such well written characters individually. I have joked with some people that this is a fandom where easily the canon is actually more interesting than the fanon! They’re both powerful, incredibly capable warriors who are extremely intimidating in action, who joke, who brandish scary weapons with ease, who snap necks without blinking. This is pretty standard for action movie men. However, what is NOT standard is that at the same time they’re both in touch with their emotions, open with their love and affection, openly vulnerable and soft, completely unselfconscious and secure in themselves and their love. Both protective of each other and their family, both dedicated to helping people. And on top of that, they’re both distinct individuals with their own quirks and habits and personalities. Joe with his easy affection, interest in art, passionate personality, open joy and humour. Nicky with his steady dedicated kindness, matter of fact practicality, quiet confidence and strong sense of purpose. They’re both fantastic examples of non-toxic masculinity that is again, very rare to see on the big screen. This is not even going into how truly revolutionary they are as a couple because of their ethnic and religious backgrounds as well, which is a huge part of this equation too! The layers to what make them exceptional go deep! 

And all of this is canon! Hell most of this is stuff someone vocalises in the film itself. I did not have to create meanings where there were none, this is all the intended reading! Never before have I been a fan of characters from a movie like this, where what makes them the most interesting is genuinely explored and expanded IN the movie, and even stuff that is not fully explored (like their meeting) is not something vague that the fandom has to invent a meaning or implications for, but an important part of who they are and what they mean as characters. It just STILL floors me when i think about it.