You know, there's a funny inbetween sort of liminality when it comes to being a Rogue/Gambit shipper - a fanatical one, I mean (common. We're talking OTP, maybe a bit obsessive - the type of person who laughs and cries along with the characters and then swears at the writers when they commit any of the canonical comic book sins numbered one through seventy four.)

As I see it, the Gambit fans who dislike Rogue will complain about what kind of atrocious treatment Remy recieves because he was a character designed as a love interest, who just happened to gain fan appeal, and was added to the regular hero roster. The complaint from the Gambit!lovers is that he doesn't get enough believable motivation-action-reaction without Rogue on panel with him.

The Rogue lovers who don't like Remy, I've learned, tend not to complain as loudly. They write Gambit off and ship Rogue with whoever strikes their fancy. (Remember Hermione Granger? The bicycle of Gryffindor? Well, imho, Rogue's the Bicycle of the Xavier Institute whn it comes to fanfiction. Logan? Colossus? Magneto? Mystique? *pauses to savour that last one* Mystiiiique!)

The Rogue/Gambit shippers know that, despite everything, they tend to dominate the fandom, so vocalized complaints coming from either side are usually met with an enigmatic smile and an attitude that says, "The more you complain, the bigger, badder, and more we're going to write this pairing just because we like it."

Granted, I draw the line at trying to "fix" the relationship. That's the ugly mess on the couch cushion of fandom that I have a tendency to turn over so I don't have to look at it. You know it's there, but whether you choose to acknowledge it is something else entirely. (You can't blot the Pit of Voles with baking soda, sadly.)

Anyway, why all the blather? I did have a point, I swear...

#204 previews are up.

The Gambit lovers are complaining about the maybe-there-but-not-quite tears brimming over Remy's eyes, the Rogue lovers haven't said all that much about the state of things (a sign of confidence that she'll survive it, I suppose?) and the ROMY shippers... where are you folks? If you're not on the Guild, I hope to god you're screaming as loudly and as incoherently as I am at this wonderful slice of comic book art. *licks Remy's jawline* Fangirl hoy.

P.S. In a totally unrelated Rogue/Gambit thingamabob,nokomis305 has two hundred and sixteen words you need to read. Srsly.