Don't like this conjecture. Back when Rogue was a villain (which was a short run) she was also very young, a teenager, and under the influence of Mystique and the others, she was a pawn. She didn’t just have a change of heart. She sought Xavier and the X-Men for help because she was desperate. After attacking Carol Denvers she was even more out of control than before and being tormented by Denvers. She was being punished and may have realized the gravity of her actions, and feeling guilty. With the X-Men she might've realized that their way was the right way.
I know it’s not exactly a strong argument but the whole Rogueneto fiasco can be explained through awful writing and pathetic self-inserting. The “you were experienced” line in their solo isn’t exactly convincing but better than “she didn’t really like him on her own”.
Saying Rogue wasn’t really in love with Gambit turns their romance into an irrelevant fraud, and this goes against evidence. Despite all the crappy writing we endure Gambit and Rogue have been shown to be compatible before, and when Rogue had her mind clean, such as during X-Men X-treme and around the time of the wedding.
I honestly hate rationalizing bad writing, because it comes down to our doing our utmost to explain what's on paper, cause that's only what matters, while knowing the external reasons for some pretty ridiculous decisions.
Also, Gambit is everyone’s type.
Not really "conjecture". It's not something I believe or push to head canon, like at all. Just thought it'd be an interesting story to explore that would subsequently explain the... Magneto-thing. Personally, I hate plot holes via bad writing and instead of acting like it didn't happen I appreciate when someone explores a concept that to make it work logically.
There's always going to be stories and runs we don't like - but that doesn't mean we can hand wave it... Well, yes we CAN. But that makes us no better than the hacks that choose to ignore a character's lore and history so they can behave in the way they believe they should for a specific treatment. It's exactly how Gambit went from the Rain Cajun to Racky.
Some creators got it stuck in their heads that Gambit from TAS and Gambit from the comics were the same and because they didn't like him in the series they pushed all these horrible tropes that may have worked in the semi-campy show but don't fit in the books which are a lot more ernest and dramatic.
I read the same books as you of course. There's no evidence of my pitch being true - but that Magneto thing is just as or more ridiculous to swallow. I think my idea makes more sense than how Rogue behaved towards Gambit throughout Carey's whole run!
