#✦ ╱ text. — ❛ not interested in being polite or heterosexual.

[genericpuff]

Hello, I am a huge fan of your work and I’ve been following you for a while! I am a gay Greek student at the History & Mythology department from Aristotle University. I had to do a lot of research and homework regarding certain subjects and one of them was Κρόκος (Krokos/Crocus). Crocus was in fact in love with a nymph named Smilax, but was never, in any valid story, involved with Hermes romantically. Contrary to popular belief, homosexuality was something that was condemned in the majority of most city-states of ancient Greece, especially Athens. In fact, they even had the derogatory term for gay people “kinaidos” (κίναιδος) and they were banned from participating in politics, banned from the Olympics, banned from participating in the war, banned from being priests and in worse cases, they were sentenced to death. :( “Αν τις Αθηναίος εταιρήση, με έξεστω αυτω των εννέα αρχόντων γενέσθαι, μηδέ ιερωσύνην ιερώσασθαι, μηδέ συνδικήσαι τω δήμω, μηδέ αρχήν αρχέτω μηδεμιάν, μήτε ενδημον, μήτε υπερόριον, μήτε κληρωτήν, μήτε χειροτονητήν, μηδέ επικυρήκειαν αποστελλέσθω, μηδέ γνώμην λεγέτω, μηδέ εις τα δημοτελή ιερά εισίτω, μηδέ εν ταις κοιναίς σταφονοφορίες σταφανούσθω, μηδέ εντός των της αγοράς περιρραντηριων πορευέσθω.

Εάν δε ταύτα τις ποιή,καταγνωσθέντως αυτού εταιρείν, θανάτω ζημιούσθω.” Translation: “If an Athenean performs this, he will not be allowed to become member of the 9 lords, he will not be able to become a priest, he will not be able to become an advocate of the people, he will have no authority inside or outside of Athens, he cannot become a war preacher, he will not be able to express his opinion, he will not be allowed to enter the sacred public temples, he will not be able to take walks happening in Agora. If he ignores any of these laws he will be sentenced to death.” - Solon Laws in book 5, chapter 5

Also, the term “Pederastry” actually meant “Mentoship” and it had nothing to do with sexual relationship between a male teacher and a male student. Many of the homosexual depictions regarding historical and mythological figures are created in modern times without any evidence to back it up. For instance, Achilles and Patroclus are often assumed to be lovers in modern media when in all actuality they were just cousins. Patroclus’ father Μενοίτιος (Menoetius) and Achilles’ father Πηλέας (Peleus) were brothers.

Alexander the Great was never in a relationship with his best friend Hephaestion as there’s no evidence to back it up besides him telling him his secrets and mourning his death.

The only historical figure that could be a legit bisexual was Sappho from the island Lesbos (which is why Greece now calls the island “Mytelene” to avoid any association with lesbians, despite it being the name of one of the cities there). She was accused of being a promiscuous woman who was sleeping with many men and that she was a woman-lover due to her poems, but this is still up to debate to this day.

The worst of all is that most pictures involving homosexual activity used as evidence to prove queerness have been modern remakes of an ancient artifacts depicting heterosexuality (or even the rape of women). Eros Kalos is responsible for many of these “queer copies”.

This deeply saddens me as I am a homosexual myself, but I don’t think Ancient Greece deserves credit for being “open-minded” on the subject knowing that they would treat me badly if I was born in my country in that era. I don’t feel comfortable with people trying to prove that it was gay when that’s not true at all. Anyway, I am very happy that artists like you exist and make their own fictional versions of the characters in ways that feel comfortable for us to look at. Stay amazing. <3

Wow, this was a super interesting read !!! Thanks for all the helpful info :3 It's sometimes difficult to discern what "love" between gods and mortals means in the translated texts, as sometimes it can mean romantic/sexual love, and other times it just means godly love, i.e. mortals who were "chosen" by gods to be their patrons (so just having a very strong spiritual connection in the same way the Christian God "loves his children") and I feel like sometimes those two things become conflated a lot in discussion around those stories, but that's why it's always important to listen to other interpretations and translations to try and get the most accurate recounting possible.

Mind you, I am not Greek so take ALL of my opinions on this topic with OLYMPUS-SIZED-MOUNTAINS OF SALT LOL

I actually had no idea about the Alexander the Great x Hephaestion thing, and upon searching it up, it brought up articles about a Netflix production? Would I be wrong in assuming that's what motivated you to clarify on that ? 😆 (or is it just a common sentiment these days? genuinely asking haha I'm not so sharp on my Alexander the Great lore these days 😔🤡)

I absolutely agree that Greece itself isn't exactly a pillar of LGBTQ+ representation or rights (it is, after all, predominantly Orthodox Christian and they just legalized gay marriage in this, the year of our suffering 2024) and it's important not to put on blinders or use our connection to the gods and myths to erase what's going on historically. It's certainly not a magical imperfect wonderland - no culture or country is - and the more people are aware of that, the more they can become aware of ongoing issues and fight for things like equal rights (as they should!) so they can move towards positive change.

I think there's definitely lots to be said about the fandomification of Greek myth as well, where a lot of people take fun in the cute / funny / easy-to-headcanon parts of the myths without recognizing where they come from, why they were written, and who they were written for. It's easy to be a non-Greek person consuming and engaging with all the fun parts of the myths, because we get the privilege of being outsiders looking in who can interpret the myths in our own way free of consequences or the reality of the culture these myths are from. And I say that as someone who's not Greek and absolutely falls into that camp! Some of us use that privilege responsibly, others... not so much. And again, that's something that can happen with any culture (though I can definitely name a handful that have become notorious for how fandomified they've become through pop culture cough Japan cough Korea cough Canada, yes I fucking said Canada-)

That said, as with any culture that becomes more popularized with people outside of it, as much as that can lead to harm and misrepresentation in many ways, it can also lead to a lot of joy and appreciation. I'm glad that so many people have found themselves in the myths and find their hope through them and reclaim their power through them even if they've had a messy history. I see this sort of reclamation thriving in Christian mythology as well, through those who want to reclaim the beauty of many of its stories and messages and express the joy and love and compassion in them, rather than using them for hate and discrimination as they're so commonly and systematically used. In that way I think you can easily have adaptions that aren't historically accurate, but are more reflective of the culture and hopes and dreams of the people who are retelling them in the modern day. I think it's important to keep both in mind.

IMO it's one of those "if we don't find joy in it and use it to spread love to others, that means the bigots get to use it for harm" type things, if that makes sense :'0 But that doesn't mean we should pretend like history never happened, because in doing so, we're doomed to repeat it. We should always do our best to respect where these stories came from, and do more to learn about them when we get the opportunity to do so, because not doing so is how we end up with adaptions and "retellings" that are so far removed from the source material - but still ingrain themselves so seriously without a shred of transparency - that they almost become erasure in and of themselves. As I say a lot here, balance is key, and we should always be making efforts to learn ( ´ ∀ `)ノ～ ♡

[buttercuparry]

I am mass tagging this because I think our criticism never reaches a larger part of the fandom. People can't comprehend why certain kinds of fan art styles are criticized. I acknowledge that in our enthusiasm to do so, we sometimes hurt fanartists ( in fact a few months ago a fan artist had deactivated and really that shouldn't have happened). So in this post I am trying to address the issue in the best way I know of. This post is about the way asoiaf artists tend to draw the Stark family. And because I am most interested in Arya I have talked about her in this meta. I have put the meta under cut so that if people aren't really interested in this, they can skip it.

I don't understand the genetics of a mixed race family of starks where only Jon/arya is dark skinned ( because Ned is imagined to be dark skinned) but Sansa/bran/Robb/rickon is pale or paler. Often, 80% of fanarts of every single fanartist follows this trend and when someone comments on it, and questions the fan artist on how and why this same style has become universal interpretation via implementing "death of the author" ( as one very recent defense puts it), the fan artist replies in a dismissive and defensive manner. The deflection of this very apparent problem ( and the implications of following the trend), is done by "uno reversing" the accusation of racism. This is absurd because when it is pointed out that something seems off with drawing the "plainer"Starks in a particular way, the intention isn't to single out and point fingers at one particular fan artist. One particular artist isn't doing this thing. The finger is being pointed at the trend of the style that dominates asoiaf fan art. Does this not strike anyone as odd that in 80% of these text interpreted fanart produced by most of the fan artists, the brown haired starks are darker than the red heads? The red heads who are said to be the prettier ones?

I am an Arya fan so i am going to talk about Arya here. Throughout the fandom at large whenever Arya Stark is talked of, it isn't done to analyze her motifs or themes or political importance. No speculation is made of a future that may position her in an office of considerable political power. No, fandom at large talks of Arya as if she were a brute, who kills people needlessly ( see raceforironthrone's meta on how the harrenhal guard didn't need to be killed), and is in need for constant supervision because she is volatile and therefore politically incompetent. There is also this running criticism of Arya Stans using too pretty face casts for her or yassifying her in fanarts, because to the larger fandom Arya is the ugly one. Now here's the thing, the slogan of let little girls be ugly isn't preached for Lyanna Stark. No one is saying let this dead teen be ugly even when Grrm in explicit terms has said Arya looks like Lyanna. No for some reason even when numerous characters talk of Arya looking like and behaving like Lyanna, the fandom at large only acknowledges that she has a spirit and sense of justice similar to Lyanna's. But they would bend over backwards to negate anything that says Arya looks like Lyanna. Why is that?

Then anything relating to Arya being married or having an heterosexual relationship and children born out of the relationship is mocked. I remember a poll where someone very cheekily gave an option specifying that Arya having non bastard kids with Gendry. I don't know if I had read it wrong but the way it was worded- using the term non bastard children...to me it personally seemed like a jab at what arya Stans speculate about Arya possibly marrying and having a family of her own.

I don't think there is anything woke or anything traditionally disruptive in trying to dismiss any and all possibilities of a GNC woman marrying a man and having kids. Sure on the surface, lumping on Arya various sexual identities other than heterosexuality and theorizing that she wouldn't want to have the whole husband/kids routine is very diversifying but if one is to go beyond the surface, then what is to be said about the hesitance of even considering that a GNC woman might enter a heterosexual relationship? What aesthetics prevent people from considering a GNC woman having a regular shmegular life? A GNC woman's sexuality perhaps isn't affecting her gender noncorfomity. ( this isn't to say that a fan can't see or project onto arya their own reality/identities that make them resonate with her, I wasn't talking about that. I was talking about the fandom blatantly ignoring Arya checking Gendry out and how much throughout the text family plays a significant role in her storyline. Her one "no that's sansa" cannot dismiss the possibility of her wanting to have a family in her twenties, especially as someone in whose story family plays a core theme.) ( there is also another sensuous scene in the bathhouse with jaqen but uhh...yeah I am not really sure how to talk about it).

So all in all a girl considered ugly by the fandom is often treated as being sexless,and is considered a volatile hotheaded brute and this girl when drawn with her sister is drawn considerably darker. Does this not strike anyone as alarming? Also where there is a discourse on if Arya is ugly or pretty, there is no doubt that Sansa is the prettiest of all the Starks, even Catelyn. Why is it that in the interpretation or via death of the author', Sansa is never drawn darker than Arya? In a mixed family why is Sansa never shown with a darker skin than the rest of brown haired/ red haired starks, not once? Individual interpretation and yet it seems like these individual interpretations have been same all through these years. Now yeah, Lyanna is drawn with darker skin sure but then again her looking like Arya is dismissed and it seems like there is a tendency to connect her with Sansa. Any criticism in this exercise is once again mocked or dismissed.

[heliza24]

Reading your analysis on the nature of Marcus and Simon relationship made me think of the kiss scene at the rowing competition and Marcus’ text to Simon in episode 5.

I think Marcus kissed Simon in front of everyone but especially Wilhelm on purpose. At first, I thought he was being clueless but now I’m not too sure. He knew Simon was still hurting over Wilhelm, saw them interact during the competition and probably thought he should send the message that Simon is “taken”. And Marcus’ actions here are the opposite of taking things slow. There was no consent when he pulled Simon to kiss him. And the way he said that we’ll get them next year like he’s decided that they’ll be in a long term relationship was so off putting. Do you think Marcus intentionally kissed Simon in front of Wille?

Also, near the beginning of episode 5, Marcus texted Simon if he could stay over at his place since he couldn’t the night before. I was confused on why Marcus would still push for this since in the previous episode at the ball, he saw Simon and Wilhelm come out of hiding. He must’ve known that something happened between those two because he looked sad in the next scene. It couldn’t be more obvious to Marcus that Simon is not interested. So why keep pushing for him to stay over? Desperation? And hypothetically, if Simon did agree to sleep over, was Marcus not gonna bring up his suspicions about him and Wilhelm at all? Why act like nothing happened? He seems to be the type that pretends everything is fine and only bring up the issue when they are having a disagreement. Which is what basically happened during their final conversation. What did you think Marcus’ motive was when he texted Simon?

Hi anon! I do agree with you that there is a degree of willful ignorance and possession in Marcus kissing Simon like that and still inviting him to spend the night after seeing him with Wilhelm at the ball. I also think you're right that he has a pattern of pushing down frustration that results in him snapping at Simon when they finally do break up.

I don't necessarily think that Marcus was consciously sitting at home scheming about how to best ambush Simon or get back at Wilhelm; as @bluedalahorse said to me on the phone last night (to my great delight) "he is simply not that deep". But it all seems like part of a kind of unconscious pattern for him.

This is inspired by @bluedalahorse's excellent post on heterosexuality as a political label in Young Royals, but the way that Marcus approaches relationships feels... very heteronormative? Ok, hang with me here. I know he's dating another man. But the way he approaches the steps of a relationship feels very in line with heterotemporality and the relationship escalator. Marcus is very insistent that if he and Simon sleep together right away, it means the relationship isn't as real. This is different than saying "I'm personally not comfortable having sex right away"; he's framing it in a moral way. This reminds me of old straight dating maxims, like waiting to have sex until the third date, because otherwise the woman is a slut and the man is just using her for sex. All the other steps that Marcus rolls out in the relationship (kissing Simon in public, going on a date with Simon in public at the ball, asking Simon to spend the night finally) feel like they are on a pre-ordained timeline, with each step indicating a growing commitment to being Serious Boyfriends. It doesn't matter that Simon hasn't signed up for this timeline. Marcus isn't going to deviate from it.

Contrast that with Wilhelm and Simon, whose relationship is full of ebbs and flows. They never do things the traditional order, partially because they can't because of the royal family, but also partially because they don't need to. Their physical connection holds its own unspeakable magic, and it doesn't have anything to do with proving the state of their relationship.

(I think it will be interesting to see if Simon's official introduction into the royal family in season 3 puts some of this to the test. I wouldn't be surprised if the royal family pushes Wilhelm and Simon to make their relationship conform to a heteronormative timeline now that they are public. I can see that being very frustrating for both of them. But that's another meta for another time!)

I do have one last Marcus thought, which is not necessarily directly connected to your thoughts, anon, but I wanted to include here in case I don't end up writing about him again. In my last post about Marcus I talked about the subtle classism that Marcus exhibits in his breakup with Simon, but I should also probably have been talking about the impact that race has in that scene. I don't think we can discount that Marcus is white and Simon is the Latino son of immigrants when we look for explanations for the sudden venom in Marcus's voice. If there is a subtle class power imbalance in their relationship then there is also probably a subtle racial power imbalance at work as well. And I think that informs Marcus's words in that scene.

Ok, those are my thoughts for now! As always I appreciate the ask. I love talking character analysis with you all.

[squaletta]

♦ What was a mildly annoying thing that has happened to you rp wise?

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐘 𝐀𝐅 𝐌𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐄

Heterophobia: It's a very sensitive topic, but I'll say it like I feel it. Don't get me wrong, let everyone roleplay what they want and how they want, I have nothing against any sexual orientation, but I noticed that heterosexual muses are becoming a minority, or if you roleplay a muse as a heterosexual, they are less interesting, boring, and many times homosexual muses are not interested in interacting with such a muse. Why? It's not all about ships. My muse can also have friends, acquaintances and so on.

Not respecting the backstory of my muse: This happened to me specifically during the roleplay of the muse fem!Tsuna. Simply, my roleplay partner did not accept in their replies that Tsuna is a full-fledged mafia boss capable of leading her family because I rp Tsuna as 26 years old and post-canon. In their answers, they perceived her as incompetent. If we had agreed that way, fine, but it wasn't like that. I texted them about it, but they still continued in this way – in their eyes, my 26 years old Tsuna, who is more like TYL Tsuna, was a 14 years old girl who knew shit about the mafia, despite the fact she was there for over 10 years. So I wrote them a message saying that I can't continue our roleplay because it's not going anywhere.

Genderbents are pure evil: Genderbents are for smut only. Genderbent are transphobic. I heard many bad things about female versions of male canon characters. It is like stigma. Honestly, I don't like it when someone hates any roleplay minority. Why do we need to bring politics and social issues into roleplay? For me, roleplay is a fun and creative activity. No, people who roleplay genderbents are not necessarily evil or transphobic, either. They may have other reasons. Honestly, I've never been satisfied with genderbent portrayals in fanfics, fanarts and etc., that's why I want to bring people a slightly different view of genderbent, that even female versions can be good and have good development like their original versions. They are not just for smut or shipping. They may be just as good as their original versions, but they will be different because being born female and being born male are two different things.

[hymn-of-muse]

Can i have a honkai star rail matchup plz

male matchup plz

Gender: cis female

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: heterosexual ally

Zodiac: Capricorn

Appearance: 5’2 African American hourglass body (although I’m more top heavy if you know what i mean) black curly wavy hair blackish brown eyes chubby cheeks wears glasses sometimes (im far sighted so it’s usually when driving in class or at the theater)

Mbti: infj

Enneagram: 2w1

Personality: kind smart funny motherly responsible empathetic anxious emotional moody perfectionist helpful people pleaser caring compassionate nerdy curious protective polite respectful indecisive fearful nervous introvert shy awkward clumsy low self esteem low confidence (more pertaining to my talents or personality then my looks) sassy sarcastic (I’m mainly these things with people i feel comfortable with like friends or family) soft spoken cute (my friends think im cute because i can be pretty innocent plus I’m small physically)

Likes: animals books reading writing fantasy magic sci fi anime music video games friends alone time learning personality quizzes sweets and bread helping being a part of something bigger than myself

Dislikes: spiders loud sounds people who harm others people who don’t take others into consideration (like make insensitive jokes or don’t consider the comfort of others or are mean just cause they can) people i care about not caring for themselves (im a hypocrite on this i take care of everyone else but not me) not being listened to weird holes and patterns math and tests

Love language:

Giving: acts of service gift giving and physical affection (if they’re ok with it)

Receiving: words of affirmation and physical affection (although i can be shy about it)

Extra: i pace a lot i sing when im alone i talk to myself im a picky eater (mainly with textures) i have a cat

man you guys like giving a lot of info /nm

i dont know anything about the personality type stuff that means nothing to me, and i've stated previously that things like zodiac signs are not what im looking for in these forms, i just need some basic information like looks, traits and preferences but im glad you added your likes and dislikes cuz that helps me come up with stuff /lh

Arlan comes to mind. you're both a bit short and your love languages seem to match. he's a pretty animal friendly person considering he looks after asta's puppy, so i can imagine him looking after a cat if one came around.

he'd be a tad more of the confident one in the relationship, he doesnt mind telling you how much he cares about you and doing things for you but he gets a little shy around pda.

he'd probably set up a mutual habit with you of checkin in on each other throughout the day which probably became more frequent after the legion attacked the station.

if he overhears you singing hes going to wait by the doorway until youre done to say anything so he can listen, he'd rather not interrupt you if he can help it.

he'd take note of your favourite foods, textures you like and so on and get you something when he has a break to visit you if he can just so he can check in on you in person and make sure you eat something rather than asking you over text.

if you ever want to share what you write with him he'd be more than happy to read it. he'd get curious and try not to pick it up without your permission but his interest might get the best of him and he could end up taking a peak anyway.

if you did something for him, gave him a personalized or hand made gift or even just gave him a kiss on the cheek in front of people he would melt so fast. bright red and stumbling over his words. he'd probably give up on trying to say anything and just hold your hand in the end.

[enochscribbles]

Can I have a honkai star rail matchup please

Gender: cis female

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: heterosexual ally

Zodiac: Capricorn

Appearance: 5’2 African American hourglass body (although I’m more top heavy if you know what i mean) black curly wavy hair blackish brown eyes chubby cheeks wears glasses sometimes (im far sighted so it’s usually when driving in class or at the theater)

Mbti: infj

Enneagram: 2w1

Personality: kind smart funny motherly responsible empathetic anxious emotional moody perfectionist helpful people pleaser caring compassionate nerdy curious protective polite respectful indecisive fearful nervous introvert shy awkward clumsy low self esteem low confidence (more pertaining to my talents or personality then my looks) sassy sarcastic (I’m mainly these things with people i feel comfortable with like friends or family) soft spoken cute (my friends think im cute because i can be pretty innocent plus I’m small physically)

Likes: animals books reading writing fantasy magic sci fi anime music video games friends alone time learning personality quizzes sweets and bread helping being a part of something bigger than myself

Dislikes: spiders loud sounds people who harm others people who don’t take others into consideration (like make insensitive jokes or don’t consider the comfort of others or are mean just cause they can) people i care about not caring for themselves (im a hypocrite on this i take care of everyone else but not me) not being listened to weird holes and patterns math and tests (I’m being tested for a math disability and i have test anxiety)

Love language:

Giving: acts of service gift giving and physical affection (if they’re ok with it)

Receiving: words of affirmation and physical affection (although i can be shy about it)

Extra: i pace a lot i sing when im alone i talk to myself im a picky eater (mainly with textures) i have a cat i have minor ehlers danalos (a hyper mobility disorder) but it doesn’t hurt me like it does my sisters i get abdominal migraines which is basically like a migraine but instead of headaches it’s nausea

Thank you

Hello! Thank you for the request. first matchup so I hope this is ok. I’ll assume this is a romantic matchup but it can be read either way (I’m really sorry if it’s not perfect as I’m not as up-to-date with HSR, but I’ve done my best ;w;)

I pretty much listed everything that came to mind for this one, so matchups following this one may not be as long, apologies

I’d match you with Gepard Landau!

Okay, so, first, Gepard is very stubborn, as a deeply loyal person

Protecting others is his top priority, his path is Preservation, so there’s no question of whether he takes other people into consideration or not

And he’s a very kind-hearted person, so I think you’d get along

Despite how it may seem, he’s quite empathetic himself and would definitely appreciate how compassionate you are, having a lot of respect for how you care about and help others

So you'd share how you see a lot of things

Gepard’s also used to a sassy and sarcastic personality from his sister, Serval (who’s also a good platonic match, I think), so conversation with him would be fun and lively especially if Serval joined it

It’s amazing to him how you’re able to create worlds out of text, and your liking books, music and such might spark an interest for him in those things, too (he'd be nice to talk to about whatever media you're into because he pays so much attention and tries to learn about it in his downtime so he can talk about it with you)

He also absolutely understands the feeling of being a part of something bigger than yourself with his role in the Silvermane Guards and the protection of the entire city

And he’d find you really nice to be around, being soft-spoken

You might have a bit of trouble with him putting the safety of others over his own and coming back injured (or getting wounded if you join him in the fray), but really, he’s very reasonable and would make sure everyone, including himself, was safe and healthy

And he would do the same thing right back to you, fussing over whether you’re looking after yourself, of course.

He also finds himself singing or humming Serval’s songs to himself (though he’s a little out of tune) and would find your singing lovely if you wanted to share it with him

As a final note, he’d be really supportive of you and reassure you if you were anxious in any way, not only is he good at boosting morale as a guard but for his friends and partner, he’d be able to genuinely tell you everything that’s amazing about you, and say you’re stronger than you think

(also the Landau siblings’ names are all big cat themed, which leads me to believe,, surprisingly has an affinity with ur cat lol. that’s all)

being a tank is all about love a gepard textpost i feel is relevant

[hellceo]

“I’m not interested in being polite or heterosexual.” — tumblr text posts ( accepting ) / @sgarrigh

" PLEASE. ANYONE INTERESTING RARELY IS EITHER OF THOSE THINGS. " The King of Hell smiles, those eyes gleaming. " Be as impolite and gay as you like, my dear, it makes the world far more fascinating. "

[hello-jumping-in-puddles]

mid-year book freak out tag

tagged by @bloody-wonder, thank you!

1. Best Book You’ve Read So Far in 2023? 

Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente. i dont even know what to say. i want to sit raptly while someone smarter than me explains all the history and symbolism in this book that i missed. haunting.

2. Best Sequel You’ve Read So Far in 2023? 

partially just because i've read few sequels this year, The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik wins. I maintain that Orion is boring as hell after book 1 and I don't care about him but the rest of the book? Delicious. El is so snarky and dark. Ooooh im an evil witch princess im so scary my friends have to hold me back from committing evil (devotes her life to protecting other people) (refuses to live in an enclave because it feels like cheating) (shows up whenever people ask for help even if they suck). also the reveal with the mawmouths was just. such fucking 10/10 writing. the punch of understanding. the way the text gives the reader space to figure it out themself and just go HOLY SHIT.

3. New Release You Haven’t Read Yet, But Want To?

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle. I have it downloaded. I am ready.

4. Most Anticipated Release For Second Half of 2023? 

I have no idea. I just find books when I find them, y'know?

5. Biggest Disappointment?

ironically, the sequel to question 6, The Return of Fitzroy Angursell by Victoria Goddard. after a book which is about a guy whose whole thing is "really good civil servant" this book was just...not what i wanted. it was about a classic singing robin hood style hero who is charming and cool and magical and does adventures and maybe otherwise i would have enjoyed it but how can i read a book set in the world of my favourite bureaucrat Kip and not read about bureaucracy??? only book so far this year i just straight up didnt finish. also, you can only tell the same vague story about how kip made a joke that one time without actually telling the joke before it stops being "backstory" and starts being "the author never actually figured out what the joke was".

6. Biggest Surprise?

The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard. absolutely bizarre book. there is no real plot other than the emperor preparing for retirement. the first three hundred pages the emperor just. goes on vacation?? i was expecting political intrigue but the political intrigue is 90% just "the rich guys dont like it but our guy, Kip the bureaucrat, is the emperors specialist guy and also extremely stubborn so everyone has to go alone with UBI". the biggest conflict is literally just interpersonal miscommunication but good. i was so hooked it was ridiculous. where did the heterosexuality come from i am perplexed

7. Favorite New Author?

i was about to say catherynne m valente but i actually cant claim that because now i looked her up and ive read other work by her! she did The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making and sequels which were extremely delightful also. so this one goes to Victoria Goddard on the basis of i have apparently read a lot of authors i already know this year

8. Newest Favorite Character?

Cliopher (Kip) Mdang my beloved

9. Newest Fictional Crush?

¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

💕Best Ship💕

¯\_ (ツ)_/¯

okay i guess maybe kip + the emperor? or maybe el + liesel because i was surprisingly a big fan of liesel by the end. though maybe thats just me wanted el to be with someone more interesting than orion.

10. Book That Made You Cry?

i can't actually remember if i cried but Driftwood by Marie Brennan was quite haunting and beautiful and bittersweet

11. Book That Made You Happy? 

Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson. now, all brandon sandersons are at least 30% power of friendship by weight but i really do appreciate that this one was like "yeah no we're saying that part out loud. people are heros because they love their friends anything else is just set dressing"

12. Favorite Book Adaptation You Saw This Year?

i...dont think ive watched any book adaptations this year

13. Favorite Review You’ve Written This Year?

don't write 'em, so n/a

14. Most Beautiful Cover?

im going to say Deathless tho i think i am biased because the book hypnotised me

15. What Books Do You Need To Read By The End of The Year?

so many. Ancillary Justice. I also really should read Nona the Ninth but book 2 was so...eugh. i ravenously devoured a bunch of Pratchett's last month and i am waiting on several more from the library. apparently theres a new murderbot out soon? i should check that out.

tagging @a-fish-bee, @foxsoulcourt if you want to do this one :)

[storiedhistories]

Tumblr Text Posts Prompts // Accepting

@stygicniron asked: “I’m not interested in being polite or heterosexual.” to Will

"That makes two of us," Will responded without looking up from what he was doing. He was stitching up the last few injuries from training (some of them had needed more attention than others) when his boyfriend had come in and dropped the bombshell. "But I don't think that's news," he added, glancing over at Nico with a grin.

He turned back to his patient, a camper in their second year, child of Demeter, he was pretty sure. "Keep this wrapped up, and come back the day after tomorrow. I'll see how it's healing and change out the dressing, all right?"

Once the camper had left, Will turned his full attention to Nico, leaning against the exam table. "Obviously, the whole heterosexual ship has sailed," he grinned again, "but who are we not being polite to?" Because obviously, he wanted to do what he could to support Nico, but he also liked to know what was happening.

[dementedspeedster]

“I’m not interested in being polite or heterosexual.”

Accepting || Tumblr Text Post Prompts @immvbilis

"Well, look at that. Something we actually have in common. Who would have thought that you could actually be interesting. Even if only a little bit."

[darkenforcer]

“I’m not interested in being polite or heterosexual.”

TUMBLR TEXT POSTS PROMPTS LIST || no longer accepting !

"so we're entering leo's delinquent era?" the same leo who refused to rough up the person stealing from him? compared to yuri, he's a saint. "try a nap first, buddy."

"don't worry 'bout coming off straight, though. you're good on that front."

[amoralcrackpot]

In an infinite universe full of untold wonders not often limited to a strict binary or singular, static state of being, what compels some individuals to restrict their experience of endless possibilities to a lifetime of vanilla, unseasoned cabbage water, or a single sexual partner with a specific combination of genitals and wardrobe?

Now a widely adopted lifestyle, what many now refer to as "heterosexuality" started on the forums of Something Awful. On March 15th of 2001, user ToastedLabia created a thread detailing a traumatic brain injury that left them only attracted to members of the opposite sex. In a display of solidarity, other users vowed to limit their own interests and behaviors for 30 days. In March of 2002, the second annual "Heterosexual Awareness Challenge" not only saw more participants, but over $150,000 in donations to the It Can't Get Much Worse Project, a nonprofit created in memory of ToastedLabia, who passed away the previous winter after a bread truck fell on them.

But then MySpace arrived in the fall of 2003, and "heterosexuality" soon spread like wildfire.

By March 2004, thousands of people identified as heterosexual. By the end of the 2010s, it was millions.

Now, most heterosexuals aren't even aware their choice was once a rare affliction resulting from severe brain damage. Worse, many go so far as to claim their lifestyle is not a choice, but rather some natural state of being that has always existed. They game political systems and entire governments to limit the rights and private lives of regular, healthy people. They indoctrinate school children into believing a fabricated history. And they even go so far as to rewrite ancient religious texts to uphold their delusions.

But to what end?

Some studies claim the modern heterosexual is a passing fad, the result of shifting cultural norms, population demographics, and political and economic unrest. Others hint at artificially inflated numbers promoted by the alt-right and other openly fascist movements. But their goal remains the same: in the grand buffet of life, everyone must be fine with the bologna with mayo on stale white bread they have at home.

[jacksonianmusings]

So I am super late with this week's blog after a harrowing experience with university finance, but this also means I have had some time to continue my thinking on Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler and an essay by Hoda Zaki called, "Utopia, Dystopia, and Ideology in the Science Fiction of Octavia Butler"

I will be starting with some annotations of Zaki's article

Intro

Despite Butler's own denial, she is a part of "the post-1970 feminist and utopian SF trend" (Zaki 239).

Butler's writings point to the short coming of similar works by white women.

Utopia.

Feminist philosophy

-Essentialist: The female anatomy is the most important factor in determining the difference.

-Materialist: focuses on the social and historic manifestations of gender to explain misogyny

Butler believes that violence, the need to 'other' groups, and the inability to change are flaws inherent to human biology in her novel Rites. (Men are particularly prone to violence)

Butler's novels portray the world of human politics either as practically nonexistent or as an unbalanced relationship of the dominated and the dominator

-She explores the concept of a more collectivist political system with the Oankali, who come together as one to make their decisions. This collectivity is a common trait of feminist utopian SF.

Butler's conception of this utopian ideal of the Oankanli is conservative because the aliens are monogamous and do not interact with human genitals for sexual pleasure.

2.Dystopia

Dystopias and Utopias are not opposites

-Utopian Pessimism: "dystopian elements in a text are depicted as occuring in, or caused by, specific historical forces." (244) Progressive

-Dystopia Pessimism: "dystopia is inevitable because its origins are... metaphysical" (244). Anti-utopian, conservative

Dystopias offer utopian hope by attempting to convince readers to change their society's way.

Butler is pessimistic and conservative because her dystopia is unavoidable. This stance is possibly due to the "increasing conservatism of the contemporary social and political order" (245) which is an attitude that has found its place especially in the African American community.

3.Ideology

Feminist utopias usually have:

"Cooperative society which emphasizes the organic nature of its times and the overriding importance of the common good" (245)

"Ascriptive and non-democratic" leadership

"disparate human natures resulting from biological differences" (246) Men more violent and women more nurturing. This concept stems from the historic exclusion of women from politics due to their inherent differences. Butler particularly leans on this concept in her works.

Butler then pushes back against the confines of the feminist utopia which claims to speak for all women, but doesn't push to imagine these non white women in their narratives.

I found Zaki's article to be really interesting as they put forth a lot of ideas that I am not sure I would have formulated as my own. One idea that immediately sticks out is the framing of Butler as conservative. In PotS the main character, Lauren Olamina cross-dresses as a man to better her survival on the road, but notes that she doesn't like being referred to as a man (Please forgive that I can't find the quote rn). Could this be read as Butler's "conservative" leanings? Maybe. The relationships in this novel are heterosexual, but does that speak to conservatism or simply the limit of Butler's natural scope? In Parable of the Talents, there is a queer relationship that is found out about after Earthseed's small community was overrun by the Crusader's; one woman of the couple was tortured to death. I need to refresh my thoughts on that novel as well because my head wants to combine the ideas to have a more holistic discussion on Butler's ideology.

By Zaki standard's PotS also exhibits its conservative nature in being a dystopia that is inevitable. Instead of engaging solely with the bettering of Earth, Lauren reaches for the stars for an answer to their salvation. By the end of her story, the group has entered a space of uncertainty and scorched earth, the same that Lauren (and many others) left miles behind.

Something that my mind has continually drifted to while reading Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower is the concept of chaos.

I have always rationalized a lot of religious urges as a need to understand and categorize the world around oneself; particularly, throughout history, religion has often explained much a natural phenomenon that would later be understood by science. In this novel, there is much to the world that must be understood and Lauren's community continues to hold on to previous religious ideals that no longer serve them. Lauren sees this and creates her own god out of the concept of change, or rather she appoints change as a lifestyle, mantra, belief system as a way to rationalize the ever-changing world. In a world of chaos, Lauren decides to anchor herself to the chaos itself. Something so cool about that. Even though the whole book is spent preparing you to be disappointed by the harsh truths of reality, I still found myself so sad that the group didn't make it to Bankole's mystical farm.

[iiroiiros]

“I’m not interested in being polite or heterosexual.” ( for Yuliya! )

tumbly texts

"Oh, really? Me too, heck yeah!" And the mage holds out her hand for a high-five.

[wordsandrobots]

I see somebody already mentioned Setsuna (00) and Suletta herself (GWitch) with regards to your tags about Loran and protagonists of colour in Gundam generally. Daryl Lorenz, duotagonist of Gundam Thunderbolt should probably also count (I don't think he has a precise origin given beyond 'space colony but he's designed with a prominent afro). Which feels a bit like quibbling for the sake of it, but hey, the variety is actually kind of cool.*

To quibble with more intent, I do think it's genuinely unfair to call -- as it sounds like the person you were talking to did -- the representation in GWitch 'forced'. I'm tepid on the show at best but I think it does a decent job of centring a fairly sweet lesbian romance. Sure, Suletta being given the initial 'only hicks think women can't marry women' speech is clunky and clearly aimed at the audience. But past that, the emotional drama is the thing the show is about and I think the story would feel very different if one (or both) of the leads was male. Miroine's whole deal is heavy on the gendering with how her father belittles her and the ways in which she's presented as a non-combatant, while Suletta's initial mousiness in the face of belligerent male rivals might also be read the same way. There is enough there that it never seemed to me the casting choices (so to speak) were handled without thought.

Perhaps that's not what you mean. I admit I struggle with the concept of 'good' representation as a metric because it's such a wildly subjective measuring stick. I should further admit to finding the concept of 'forced representation' to be therefore useless and honestly a bit of a red flag (the other reblog I mentioned made this point well). This being said, I do find it very striking to make the comparison to Turn A, because that's the one I've always found quite fascinating to look at through the lens of 'representation'.

Because, yes, it has the earliest explicitly homosexual character in the Gundam series. He is also someone who imposes his desire on the main protagonist in a high-handed, non-consensual manner. Which the show presents as wrong, having him ultimately called out for filtering his feelings through the mores of his society and trying to feminise Loran as a result. And while that is an interesting plot tied in extremely well to Guin's overall arc and the themes of the show, it also carries with it a lot of thorny baggage in terms of depictions of gay people. I am, to be clear, not saying that I don't agree with you in terms of how Tomino approached his work. It just feels a bit egregious to play with those particular characteristics in isolation. There're no other gay characters who aren't constantly misnaming the object of their affection, for example.

Likewise, Loran shows little qualm about cross-dressing (or nudity), but he's firmly heterosexual in terms of his actual, textual attraction(s) (the man is Dianna-sexual if anything). So for all the things Turn A does well -- and it does a lot more I like better than Witch From Mercury -- it doesn't achieve anything quite so bold as centring a queer relationship and saying that such things are absolutely unremarkable.

Please don't think I'm writing this to disparage anyone's preferences or the ways certain stories resonated with them. For my own part, I find Turn A to be a vastly superior work, which is the reason I've been mulling over your post all afternoon. Turn A is much more competently told, with a much more coherent (and personally preferable) message. Nevertheless, a lot of what it does with 'queer rep' is far more limited than placing it front and centre without caveat. And yes, I know they tried walking it back with GWitch for the sake of whatever corporate politics they had to appease, but I've watched the show: it's not subtle. The relationship is 100% text by any rational analysis of an animated production. That's . . . nice to see, even if it didn't land for me.

I think Gundam has often been pretty good at telling global stories populated by characters from different countries and ethnicities, with different body types, different desires and so on. It has numerous explicitly queer characters at this point, at least two explicitly queer relationships and a lot more it takes very little to read as such thanks to the symbolism and coding involved. That is something Tomino and the rest of the original teams absolutely deserve credit for setting in motion. But some of the later shows have pushed this stuff further and been more unambiguous about stating the normal variety of human experience. However much I like Turn A, I wouldn't want to hold it up above those others in that regard.

-------

* I was curious so I looked into this a bit further; going by the Wiki, of the other protagonists, Doman and Heero are explicitly of Japanese descent; Kamille was born in Tokyo (but parents Hilda and Franklin, and Hilda is from Sheffield); Hathaway is at least half Japanese, on his mother's side; Gerrod is from North America but his design is very much default anime protagonist; and while Amuro settled on being at least half Canadian post movie compilations, he was earlier stated to have been born in Japan. Then there's Alfred, Shiro, Kira, Shinn and Mikazuki (all of whom we might safely assume are meant to be Japanese or of Japanese descent), and Athrun and Seabrook (blue hair, green eyes, could still be assumed Japanese by anime conventions?). Meanwhile, Jona and Rita appear to be specifically white Australian, and Bernie is most likely white American by descent, but I think Judau, the AGE kids, anime!Banagher and Io fall into 'ambiguous'? That is, they are *could* all be read as white or at least mixed race but their designs are such I wouldn't want to commit to it. Oh and then there's Char who thanks to Origin we have to count. The man's a walking Romanov expy using the name of someone from Neo Texas, so . . . yeah. Probably white? I think?

At a certain point we hit Japanese anime = default is Japanese if not stated otherwise/heavily visually indicated otherwise and hair and eye colour do not count in the absence of other cues, and I lose all confidence in making the judgement. Hopefully somebody else out there can give a better answer about the vagueness above if you're interested.

i think Turn A Gundam handles its “representation” really well, Tomino set out to make a final gundam series and he didn’t want to end it on a bad note and he ended up fighting and getting into heated arguments with some of the crew while on production of the show just to make the characters he wanted to and to not make Turn A a shallow series. a point brought up by someone in a gundam server i’m in talks about how the representation in the show doesn’t feel forced and then retconned like in WFM and fanmade like the gay representation in 0079 and zeta, by tomino making multiple characters in turn a queer and non gender conforming and keeping it not as “representation to be representation” but as a natural element of humanity and just how people are years later can it be fully appreciated and seen as true representation

[moonshrouded]

character tags.

✦ ╱ canon div. — ❛ hell’s empty，the devils are all here.

✦ ╱ hc. — ❛ we’re all going to die，i intend to deserve it.

✦ ╱ aes. — ❛ not yet corpses，still we rot.

✦ ╱ musings. — ❛ a heart full of midnight thoughts.

✦ ╱ ic. — ❛ i’m meaner than my demons.

✦ ╱ character study. — ❛ hollow is our chest.

✦ ╱ visage. — ❛ darkness lives in me.

✦ ╱ tartarus. — ❛ the gang goes to hell.

✦ ╱ behavior. — ❛ business in the front，knife in the back.

✦ ╱ meta. — ❛ destruction is a form of creation.

✦ ╱ text. — ❛ not interested in being polite or heterosexual.

✦ ╱ crack. — ❛ in memory of when i gave a shit.

✦ ╱ solomon. — ❛ tba.

✦ ╱ risa. — ❛ tba.