Okay, confession time: one reason why I haven't watched The Eagle yet is that I gathered via fannish osmosis that there is no Cottia in it. And damn it, I like Cottia. The Eagle of the Ninth isn't a sacred text to me, and yes, of course the main event is the Marcus and Esca relationship, but does that prevent me from liking other aspects about it, including Marcus' wife-to-be? It doesn't. My favourite Eagle of the Ninth fanfic at Yuletide was Aedificare, in which all three - Marcus, Esca and Cottia, that is - build a life together. So the news that there was no Cottia saddened me and kept me away from the film, as did reactions from people who'd seen the film first, then read the book and promptly objected to Cottia's presence in it as interfering with the slash. And I'm a sad puppy all over again, wailing "Why can't I like Alice/Charles as much as Bob/Charles, or maybe Alice/Bob if they have a relationship of their own, and best of all Alice/Bob/Charles?"

Granted, this does not work in every constellation. If Alice and Bob loathe each other canonically - bearing in mind that contrary to fanfic and Hollywood, not every hostility is a cover for sexual tension - then yes, it's not very likely the three of them will all live together peacefully any time soon. (But even then, I reserve my right to like Alice as much as either Bob or Charles.) Also, it's entirely possible Alice, Bob and Charles all like each other very much indeed but are not cool with polygamous relationships. This is not a crime, nor does it make them small-minded. (BTW, this is why West Wing's Jed/Leo works for me emotionally but not in terms of an actual sexual relationship during show canon time. Jed wouldn't cheat on Abbey. Leo, especially bearing in mind the way he needs Jed to be the best president ever, would not go there, either. Abbey likes and respects Leo, but I just don't buy Abbey taking the "whatever makes you happy, dear" road; I think she defines marriage as a monogamous union, too.) So no, I'm not prescribing sexual threesomes as the solution to being into slash couple Bob/Charles while there is canonical Alice around involved with Bob or Charles. I'm aware there are characters for whom this simply wouldn't work. And actually I prefer it in fanfic if Alice is written out (in a respectful manner that doesn't have Bob or Charles suddenly realise they never loved her at all) - than to see her badly characterized or bashed as a presence in a Bob/Charles story.

And yet it bothers me that the film version of The Eagle did just this. I tell myself: but this way, she won't be mischaracterized on screen and getting horrible treatment in fanfic afterwards. Doesn't help. Perhaps because a film adaption is different from fanfic; it's a canon of its own, which just declared this (female) character I like is not worth keeping. And immediately connects in my mind with the fandom treatment for female love interests of one half of popular slash couples in many a fandom, only, again, this isn't fanfic.

Now I'm seen some female fannish responses in various fandoms (not The Eagle, but then I haven't looked there, what with still not having seen the film) going to the opposite extreme of declaring Alice the only worth while character in her canon and loathing Bob and Charles instead, and that makes me feel sitting between the chairs all over again, because again, quite often I like not only Alice & Bob & Charles but also Bob/Charles in addition to Alice/Charles or Alice/Bob. I don't want to read Bob and Charles condemned as boring idiots not fit to wipe Alice's feet anymore than I want to read Alice Who? stories. And I'm so happy if canon, however flawed it may be in other regards, gives me, as for example Merlin did with Gwen, Arthur and Merlin, a constellation where the relationships Alice has with both Bob and Charles are developed, she's important to them both and we have a three way interplay that's crucial to the film/book/show in question. Never mind whether or not there is potential for a threesome in the sexual sense, if there are emotional ties to more than one person, this to me is something to be celebrated, not abhorred.

Perhaps it's a question of age. The older I get, the more off-putting I find it if a pairing - het or slash, this doesn't matter - is presented in a way that all other relationships of the people involved have to be sacrificed, disregarded or ignored (doesn't matter whether these relationships are platonic or romantic in nature), and the more I value stories that allow me to root for more than one relationship in them. Doesn't mean I'm always rooting for all relationships with the same strength, but - I'm just happy if they're there, you know?

In conclusion: cases of the vanishing other characters and relationships make selenak a sad panda.