Sometimes, a character is so coded that you forget they’re supposed to be cis or straight. But some of the media’s intentions have never stopped queer people from creating their own alternate realities, and the latest gay internet trend proves it.
On X, a viral post asked users to “name a character whose weirdness is so obvious to you that you actually forget [it’s] not canon,” and queer people were happy to oblige.
name a character whose weirdness is so obvious to you that you actually forget he’s non-canon
People’s responses spread across all forms of media. In the world of animation, one film stands out for the rest for its implicit gay representation: Luca. The strangeness of its two main characters, sea monsters Luca and Alberto, has been debated since the film was first released in 2021, with the most recent updates earlier this year bringing their relationship closer to canon than never before. Indeed, those fish were going to be gay, whether Pixar confirmed it or not.
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Another Disney character that gives off a lot of gay energy is Frozenis Elsa, who has not had a romantic interest in any of the films in the franchise (although her newfound friendship with Frozen 2Honeymaren has fans hoping for a sapphic spark in the future Frozen 3).
And staying with the realm of children’s media, we all assume Sesame StreetBertie and Ernie are life partners, right?
As for TV, the newest season of Netflix Bridgerton finally introduced LGBTQ+ characters to the period drama, but there is still a fan of the Bridgerton siblings I know is part of the queer community: Eloise, who “hates men” and thinks “heterosexual marriage sounds like a prison” as one user noted.
she hates men, heterosexual marriage seems like a prison to her, the only guy she ever liked her best friend basically told her and she had a real meltdown when she said her best friend got married since only her canonical queer brother noticed pic.twitter.com/9e4RZ3G6ZL https://t.co/rfwfcXyx1i
Even historical figures entered the conversation, such as the ancient Greek hero Achilles – although his queerness may be too canonical for this category of almost queer people.
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