grendelsmilf:

readingontheroof:

Ok the whole as you wish arc would be a million times better with a gay romance like buttercup’s Realization moment abt what it means..would kill me

humperdinck representing not only toxic masculinity but also toxic heterosexuality; wlwestley still referring to herself as “dread pirate roberts” as a necessary mode of elusivity, “nobody would fear ‘dread pirate westley’” being given a whole new layer; valerie forcing miracle max to take westley as seriously as he would his male patients, and the playing of micro-and-macro-level sexism in regards to max referring to her as a witch (“im not a witch im your wife! but after what you just said, i don’t even know if i wanna be that anymore!”); buttercup being undermined by everyone in her life because she needs to “give men a chance” and it can’t be “true love” because it’s not a heterosexual union; the gender dynamics at play between female westley and male inigo, fezzik, and vizzini, in terms of doubting her skill, strength, and intelligence respectively; the theme of true love as a healing force of good, of hope and even immortality, being that much more potent when between two women, especially in a society that treats its women with blatant sexism– objectifies buttercup and vilifies valerie (for being old)– and is shown to be difficult yet not impossible to transcend that barrier because they both have agency and pluck; westley’s bitter & sardonic witticisms not solely being a product of her poverty and climb, but of experience navigating gender roles and putting up with shitty men; buttercup’s guilt over abandoning westley being even more heightened by the fact that she is being forced to marry a man (who represents heteropatriarchy, no less); westley still being allowed to have a huge gash on her head after fighting the rous and escaping the fire swamp, and still being knocked out by count rugen (“we are people of action. lies do not becomes us”), as often female characters, even gritty action heroes, must always remain pretty & polished through a male-gaze-lens; inigo respecting the sanctity of wlwestley and buttercup’s bond of true love, and never undermining it the way humperdinck so clearly does, because he is a noble, moral man; buttercup’s heightened emotions when it comes to westley because their love is not diluted by heteropatriarchal systems, (also explains why they fell for each other so quickly but the build up to their romance was so subtle and curious/flirty); also just like… girls with swords mmm