Originally Posted by
godisawesome
The big messaging advantage Tim has over Jon and Jay and Jackson is that he’s simply been established for so much longer than they have - thus he makes a bigger statement than they do in the sense of “it matters,” especially since it *can,* rightly or wrongly, feel like Jackson only had his post-Brightest Day hiatus ended because he could be a message character, and it can feel like Jon got “adulted” up for the same reason.
There is a good reason to push for inclusivity, and specific inclusivity at that.
It’s just that, in general, when largely straight authors try and do that as their main goal with a character, it starts to feel like an exclusively marketing move, a la Dan Didio’s usual reason for pushing inclusivity in some areas but never having the foresight to really use what he already had. Bernard seems to be carrying that specific aspect right now in his relationship with Tim, which can make him feel like a bit of a dubious character to push if his message could ostensibly be pushed without him - though we also can all see that a bisexual character can have that forgotten about once they’re back with a opposite sex interest (Catwoman.)
I mean, yes, as much as the Tim and Kon relationship is also a product of a more yaoi-happy internet community than it is a specifically backed up reading of the comics they shared (which is its own thing to talk about, given pop cultures issues with male relationships period), it would also have made a larger statement with two characters who’ve been established for decades and are both larger than the message… while both also have popular enough opposite sex romantic interests to make pushing either as bisexual require dedication and repetition, the very thing that is leading Bernard to seem more like an “insert character” from fanfiction than a true supporting cast member.
Seriously, one of the most annoying things about internet ‘shipping is how much those fans want “insert characters” without distinct personalities - it’s part of the reason the Reylo fans for Star Wars are shitty Rey fans, since they don’t want her to have a perspective or personality outside of her function in letting them focus on Kylo/Ben Solo. Bernard needs a distinct personality to last, because otherwise, like Rey, he’ll just become background chatter for ‘shippers who donkt really care about him, or he needs a better replacement as a message tool.