#I also want a non-sexualized premise for their bonding

[tragedyposting]

rating ao3 tags

I was tagged by @supercantaloupe. thanks sach! this looks like a fun, fresh one :)

Tags generated here! Basically tldr; generate ten and rate them according to... with bonus points if you explain why. How much do these tags affect your decision to click on a fic? -10 -> very dissuaded 0 - don’t care either way +10 -> very enticed nope -> if it’s a hard no and you’d never click on a fic with that tag or or you even have the tag blocked or you’d insta click out of the fic if it wasn’t tagged

OK so confession, I (also) don't read much fic. Basically I exclusively write fic (for me the draw of fanfic is in the act of creation) unless a friend sends me something they've written and want me to read or it crosses my dash and intrigues me, so I'm going to just kind of comment on how much the tropes/topics interest me in general as a fanfic writer or as a reader.

Friends-to-Lovers: +7. I am honestly not all that interest in sex/romance in fiction, I think its an overrated aspect of the human condition as far as fiction is concerned (not to say it doesn't have its place I just feel like we put waaay more importance on it than need be and as a result it oversaturates the way we engage w storytelling) but if I'm going to read a romance narrative I need them to like each other. I love couples who are equally viable platonically and i love couples with long histories that bond them closer.

Illnesses: 0? Or maybe like +5 with a caveat? This is highly context dependent bc I'm a sucker for caretaking and sickfic and I would def love to see more rep for chronic illness stuff but I don't think I'd want to read about like, slow terminal illness or anything like that its just too real/personal for me.

Relationship Reveal:-4. Yeah idk, having been in a relationship scenario where I had to keep it a secret in some contexts (for [her] closeted reasons) I can say I'm not really a big fan of the secret relationship thing. Been there, done that, not a fan. But I guess if you had a really interesting premise I'd do it.

Broadway: +10 I guess! I have written a nice dose of Broadway fic myself. Unless the tag implies its like, a story set in a Broadway theater? I wouldn't want that.

Elevators: 0. Idc I'm not claustrophobic so I guess thats not a problem but this is so niche.

Public Humiliation: -10 I'd rather die. If that's your kink I'm not judging but it is soooo not mine. I don't do secondhand embarrassment well.

Light-Hearted: +8. I prefer angst as a general reader most of the time but light-heartedness appeals to me in fanfic as a balm for the stress of high-stakes stories.

Acceptance: ? Idk what kind we are referring to here.

Coercion: -8 its not like a full-on trigger or anything but I find it very uncomfortable/unpleasant, even in a non-sexual context.

Poison: 0. I'm not booting up ao3 to search for poison-themed fics but its fine I guess?

Tagging @signawyvern @sofiyaalexandrovnarostova @windsweptlassie @crown-and-stallion @bratyakaramazovy and @jjesperr if you wanna! also if i didnt tag you but you wanna do it feel free to say I tagged you bc i cannot think of people's URLs tonight.

[nerdygaymormon]

What was conversion therapy like? Can you describe it?

The retreat I attended was aimed at LDS men and incorporated some of our spiritual teachings along with practices from places like Journey Into Manhood and other gay conversion camps, which operate on the premise that for a gay man to change his sexual orientation, he needs to fill his need for male attention with non-sexual bonding that is intimate and affectionate. They attempt to do this with the use of psychodrama, visualizations, role-playing, and team-building exercises.

These types of retreats do not promise a rapid shift from being gay to straight, but claim they provide a foundation so men can work on making the change over time.

In 2019, Journey Into Manhood co-founder David Matheson (who is Mormon) and sometimes described as the “intellectual godfather” of “ex-gay therapy," announced that he was divorcing his wife and dating men. He’s not the only one. Many prominent leaders of gay-conversion organizations have left the ex-gay movement, including:

Michael Bussee, one of the founders of the well-known ex-gay group Exodus International

John Paulk, the poster-child for ex-gay group Love Won Out

John Smid, former director of the ex-gay group Love in Action

Tim Rymel, former outreach director at Love In Action

Bill Prickett, founder & Executive Director of Coming Back

Despite decades of living and teaching their methods, all these men eventually had to accept that they weren't "converted" and recognized the stress and problems trying to deny and change their orientation had wrought in their lives, not to mention in the lives of all the people who'd come to them for help to change.

————————————————————-

At the retreat I attended, many of the men knew each other from other retreats they’d attended, including Journey Into Manhood. They also were familiar with the different kinds of activities we engaged in.

The man in charge of the retreat was considered an expert in the conversion of gay men to being straight.

The retreat was held at a state park which had a few bunkhouses, another building with toilets & shower facilities, and a lodge with the kitchen, dining facilities, and space to meet. It was pretty secluded, there was no cell service, we were cut off from the outside world.

Once everyone was checked in and assigned a bed in the bunkhouses, we gathered together. We were told that nothing we do at this retreat is mandatory, but to please trust the process and participate in all activities because they're each important.

The first activity was to climb up a ladder & do a trust fall. I'm a large person, I was not confident it was a good idea to expect this group of people to catch me. Also, I have a social anxiety disorder, which the retreat leaders were made aware of, and my anxiety was spiking.

When it was my turn, I declined to climb the ladder and fall backwards. Rather than say that it's my choice and no activity is mandatory, the "expert" leader badgered me, trying to get me to do it. Of course this only brought more attention to me, which did nothing to help calm my social anxiety, and nor did being shamed and peer pressured.

When it became clear I wasn't going to do it, he said it was either this or an even worse activity. I chose the unknown activity

The leader called all the men over and they formed a tight circle around me. I was told to cross my arms and keep them against my chest, keep my body stiff and lean back, the men were going to support me.

With only my heels touching the ground, the men were told to push me around the circle. I was to keep stiff and they'd catch me and push me off to some other men in a different part of the circle.

I did not like feeling out of control & I stopped it.

The leader then said I had to do this or the trust fall. If I didn't want to do this, let's go do the other. I refused to do either.

I think that marked me as a trouble maker.

—————————

With the trust fall activity completed, we went inside the lodge where we were to play getting-to-know-you games.

First we made a wide, loose circle and went around and each said our name. Then a ball was introduced and the person holding the ball says his name, then the name of another person, and throws the ball to them. This repeats over and over to help us learn everyone's name.

For the next game they put two lines of tape on the floor, one line represented the answer ‘yes’ and the other ‘no.’ They'd ask a question and we were to go stand on the line that matched our answer.

It started off easy, with questions like have we ever done this, or done that? The questions got increasingly personal and then turned sexual.

Have you looked at porn in the past 6 months? Have you masturbated in the past year? Are you circumcised?

The next game is where we line up in order without speaking. For example, line up shortest to tallest, or line up youngest to oldest, or from who traveled the shortest distance to the furthest distance. Again, these became more personal and then sexual, such as "line up according to your shoe size (wink wink, nudge nudge) without talking."

Damn, why so many questions about our junk?

—————————

The rest of the day we alternated between sitting together and listening to someone teach us about this principle or that idea, and that would be followed by an activity.

I liked some of the activities, such as looking into another man's eyes for 5 minutes. Everyone giving a compliment to the man standing in the center of the circle.

One of the activities was to introduce ourselves in 2 minutes. Several people said they have same-sex attraction. When it came to me, I said that ‘I'm gay.’ Well, that again seems to again have marked me as a trouble maker.

At lunch, one of the participants lectured me about using the word 'gay' to describe myself. “We have unwanted same sex attraction and by using the word 'gay,' it shows you've accepted this as part of who you are and don't want to change. By saying 'I'm gay,' it makes everyone else feel judged, like you think lesser of them because they can't accept themselves, but this is why we're here, to change.”

I swear, there are so many unwritten rules and expectations about this retreat that everyone else knew but me.

—————————

Something nice was when it was time to enter or leave the lodge, one of the staff would stand at the door and touch us with scented oil and say a short blessing on us before we walked through the door.

The other thing we did every morning and evening was ‘check in.’ That is we went around the room and each man had to say what he was feeling, no explanation, just what you're feeling, and then the group would answer, "I hear you." 

—————————

We learned about love languages & took a test to discover our love language. Then we paired up & had to 'speak' that man's language. My person liked touch, so we cuddled. I basically gave him a massage, rubbing his neck, arms, etc. A very intimate thing to do with a stranger.

—————————

We acted out the story of the prodigal son from the Bible. Supposedly it shows men go on journey to learn what they want--friendship & connection with other men. I didn't really get how that story fit with this idea.

People volunteered to play the different roles, except me, I was assigned to be the mom/wife. I think I was purposely assigned the only female character in a play about men connecting with men because I'm the troublemaker

—————————

A couple times we sat alone in nature, or looking out the window. We were supposed to be writing certain things or answering particular questions. Instead I sketched pictures of the scenery.

When we were supposed to share some of our answers, or to use what we'd written for another activity, then I was kinda lost.

Honestly, the instructions weren't always clear, but everyone else was busy writing, they seemed to know what to do based on doing similar activities at other retreats. I didn't really know what they wanted from me

—————————

The worst was 'guts work' or 'carpet work.' These terms were interchangeable and it seemed each man used the term he was familiar with from other retreats. No one could explain to me why it was called this.

The principle behind this 'work' is that we have feelings and we need to honor those feelings by fully expressing them. This differs from actual therapy with a psychologist where we talk about feelings, what feelings can tell us, limitations of emotions, and good & bad ways to deal with those feelings.

For this activity, we were split into small groups of about 5 or 6 participants and 2 or 3 staff members.

The first participant from my group expressed being upset his retirement isn't what he hoped because his wife had an accident & now has mobility issues. He suggests to her different activities and she most always declines, saying she's in some pain or that wouldn't be a comfortable experience for her. He became very angry as he described this.

The staff had a box full of what seemed like random items. They pulled out a towel from the box and rolled it up. Then gave it to this man and told him to pretend it was the neck of his disabled wife, and to use it to express his anger and frustration.

He put his hands around that rolled-up towel & pretended to wring the neck of his wife while yelling “This f*cking b*tch ruined my life!” This was him ‘honoring’ his feelings?

Needless to say, I was shocked and stunned.

The next man said he experiences SSA (same-sex attraction). He has been on so many first dates over the past 15 years trying to find a woman that he can be attracted to & feels discouraged, maybe he��ll never find her. He felt like a failure and less of a man because he couldn't be attracted to women.

The staff had us form two lines, holding hands with the person across from us. Including the staff, there were four or five pairs of us and he was to push his way through our arms towards his goal of being man enough to be with a woman.

As he pushed through us, we were to yell things like ‘he's a p*ssy,’ ‘sissy,’ ‘coward,’ ‘he can't do it,’ ‘he doesn't deserve her,’ ‘he's not manly enough,’ ‘no woman would want him.’ Basically we were to taunt him and question his masculinity.

He pushed his way forward through our arms as we jeered, and this showed that he's manly enough & does desire women. I don't get how this was "honoring his feelings," but he felt very good at making his way through the gauntlet.

At that point I walked out. I was done. I headed for my bunk.

The staff came after me and said I must return. I had to be part of the group activity. This was crucial. All the other men were counting on me.

Reluctantly I returned with them and walked in to find a man with a baseball bat bashing a punching bag shaped like a body while yelling, "I hate you!"

How is this helpful?

I told the staffer I was not participating in this. How is acting out violence against people we love a good thing? He grabbed a chair, set it outside the door to the cabin, and I was told to sit & think about what I'd said and how it impacted the other men by demeaning the work they were doing. And that they'd get me when it was my turn after everyone else was finished with their carpet work.

There was paper and a pen, and as I sat there I wrote a love letter to me from our Heavenly Parents. It was actually a lovely moment for me.

When they came to retrieve me, I showed them the letter and said “This is my carpet work, I completed it. I refuse to do any violence.” They had me sit up front as they read the letter I'd written, which I didn’t like, I didn’t mean for that to be shared with everyone.

—————————

That night we were taken from the lodge one by one, blindfolded, and a staffer directed us where to walk. We wound up in a cabin alone with only the person who guided us. We took off our blindfold to find ourselves looking at a sheet of fabric.

The guide read a script of what the fabric represented. When ready to remove it from my life I was to flip the fabric over, revealing another piece of fabric, which the guide then read the meaning of.

There was something I didn't agree with, I didn't want to remove it from my life. I explained why I didn't want to flip the fabric. It's a set script, the staffer didn't know how to respond, so he kept reading the same question over and over until I flipped the fabric. At that point I went through motions to get this over with. The final fabric flip revealed a mirror where you see the new you. It's meant to be an emotional moment, looking at yourself, into your eyes, and realizing you have been transformed.

I was told to take as long as I wanted to view my new self. I didn't have a desire to do any gazing at myself in the mirror, and I was quite over this activity, I turned to the guide and said, "I'm done, let's get out of here."

———————

At the end of the 3rd day when the retreat ended, I was more than ready to get out of there. Everyone was to stay and cleanup and then head into town for a final meal together. I excused myself with the explanation I'd come from out of state and had a long drive home and needed to get going.

————————————————————-

Some of it is hokey, some of it horrifying, some of it was okay and even enjoyable. While "voluntary," it felt like being trapped with people I needed to mollify in order to avoid more abuse.

I didn't need more shame, I didn't need to be yelled at, I didn't need more stress or trauma. I already was having a hard time because of my social anxiety.

It was a strange mixture of moments of homo-romanticism (idk if that’s a real word) followed by toxic masculinity. Maybe the idea is by associating them together it would make future homo-romantic feelings bring on stress, terrible feelings & unpleasant memories. If that’s the case, it’s a flawed theory. And how gross that they mixed in things from church with all this. 

I’m a grown adult and this was just a 3-day retreat. I can imagine the stress is even greater on minors who are there knowing their parents want, and expect, them to change. What if my parents were paying for me to meet with this "expert" on a regular basis and then being isolated out there in that setting where I don't have control over when I wake up or go to bed or eat, totally at the mercy of these people with no way to contact the outside world for help? I'd feel trapped with the only escape being to pretend to make "progress" or to end my life.

Also, the staffers didn't seemed trained to deal with the trauma and high emotions they were having the participants experience.

It's stressful to be in that situation with all the pressure to say I'm making progress on changing my orientation. Considering studies show a person can't change their orientation, it's no wonder that conversion therapy can lead to depression, anxiety, drug use, homelessness, and suicide. Are parents okay with those results?

————————————————————-

If you’ve ever had therapy with a licensed psychologist, this will all seem shocking. I can’t imagine my therapist would approve of any of what I experienced at that retreat.

————————————————————-

I have 2 friends who continue to participate in retreats like this. They like it because they connect and bond closely with the other men in attendance.

I think what they are experiencing is shared trauma bonding.

There's other ways to connect emotionally with people without these extreme & manipulative measures. In fact, learning to connect with others without this artificial experience would be far more beneficial to people as they can use that throughout their life.

[hannahfortune]

Analytical Application 2: Structuralism and Semiotics

Connotation :: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Definition: 

Connotation refers to the additional meaning or associations that a word or image carries beyond its literal definition. Ferdinand de Saussure, in "Course in General Linguistics," emphasizes the importance of the connotative aspect of signs. He states that the “bond between the signifier and the signified is arbitrary,” (1), also mentioning that the sign is based on “tradition” (2). This means that the associations or connotations we have with linguistic signs and symbols are based on personal experience and arbitrary societal tradition/association.

Analysis:

The poster, featuring exaggerated and sensuous lips adorned with bold red lipstick, embodies a myriad of connotations that resonate with the film's themes of rebellion, sexuality, and unconventional identity. In this context, the lips serve as a potent signifier, conveying layers of meaning through their visual representation.

The bold red lipstick, a hallmark of femininity is often used as a symbol alluding to sexuality. This symbol traditionally carries connotations of passion, desire, and empowerment. Depending on the viewer’s personal experience, this could symbolize confidence and defiance of societal norms, reflecting the film's exploration of sexual liberation and the rejection of conventional gender roles. The exaggerated size and central placement of the lips amplifies their allure and intensity, heightening the sense of desire and indulgence associated with the film's narrative.

Furthermore, the absence of any other visual elements besides the lips and the text accentuates their significance within the composition, emphasizing their role as the primary signifier of the film. This minimalist approach allows the viewer to focus solely on the evocative power of the lips and the provocative message they convey based on the symbol’s connotations.

The tagline "a different set of jaws" serves as a linguistic sign with its own pop culture and personal connotations, possibly referencing the popular film "Jaws" while also playing upon the lips (and teeth) pictured in the poster. This juxtaposition of the familiar with the unexpected captures the essence of the film's unique appeal and cult status, inviting viewers to embrace a cinematic experience that defies traditional conventions. In all, this movie poster utilizes the connotations of both symbols and signs to appeal to a certain audience and encode a message to the viewer. 

(I don’t have the space to talk about the font for the title but that has its own connotations with ‘horror’ as well!)

Diegesis :: Nuns on the Run (1990)

Definition: 

Diegesis refers to the narrative world depicted in a film, including the characters, events, and settings. Christian Metz describes the diegesis as “the fictional space and time dimensions implied in and by the narrative, and consequently the characters, the land-scapes, the events, and other narrative elements…” (3). Something that is diegetic is included within the film’s universe in order to add context or further worldbuilding in one way or another.

Analysis:

The film poster for "Nuns on the Run" (1990) presents an interesting interplay of diegetic and non-diegetic elements, particularly with the inclusion of a wanted poster within the poster itself. Diegesis, as defined by Christian Metz, refers to the narrative world depicted in a film, including the characters, events, and settings.

In this poster, the diegesis is primarily represented by the characters portrayed by Eric Idle and Robbie Coltrane, who are dressed as nuns hiding behind a wall as Brian Hope, Eric Idle’s character, looks into the camera. This imagery establishes the narrative premise of the film, which revolves around two small-time criminals who disguise themselves as nuns to escape from the law.

However, the inclusion of a wanted poster featuring the characters' mugshots and names (as well as the crime they committed in the film’s narrative) adds an intriguing layer to the diegesis. While the characters themselves are part of the film's narrative world, the wanted poster is a diegetic element being used for a non-diegetic purpose. It serves as a meta-narrative device, bridging the gap between the film's fictional world and the story of the movie, advertising the film’s concept. The inclusion of the wanted poster within the film along with the 4th wall break also highlights the playful and comedic nature of the film, following comedy movie poster tropes.

Overall, the film poster for "Nuns on the Run" (1990) effectively utilizes a diegetic element in a non-diegetic way to establish the narrative premise and genre of the film. The inclusion of the wanted poster within the poster adds depth and complexity to the diegesis, inviting viewers to consider the film's narrative world from a meta-narrative perspective.

Filmic Narrative :: Flatliners (1990)

Definition:

Filmic narrative refers to the storytelling techniques employed in cinema, including the arrangement of events, characterization, and thematic development. Metz explains the filmic narrative as the storytelling techniques and structures employed in cinema to convey a coherent sequence of events, characters, and themes to the audience (4). It is made up of the techniques that are used and collocated to present the narrative to the viewer.

Analysis:

The film poster for "Flatliners" (1990) offers a glimpse into the film's narrative through its composition and imagery. The poster features a striking visual of five silhouetted figures walking across a narrow beam of light against a backdrop of darkness. This imagery immediately evokes a sense of mystery and intrigue, hinting at the film's exploration of the unknown.

The arrangement of the silhouetted figures suggests a group of characters embarking on a collective journey or quest, a common trope in narrative storytelling. The use of silhouette enhances the sense of anonymity and universality, allowing viewers to project themselves onto the characters and engage with the narrative on a personal level. The beam of light that illuminates the characters serves as a visual metaphor for enlightenment or revelation, symbolizing the transformative journey they are about to undertake.

Aside from the outfits of the ghostly, translucent characters, the heart monitor behind the title of the film implies the setting and premise of the film, with the sound of heart monitors having a strong association with medical environments. As well as medical environments, the heart monitor (particularly when it flatlines) represents death, or at the very least the stopping of the heart.

The tagline "Some lines shouldn't be crossed" adds an additional layer of narrative intrigue, suggesting that the characters' actions may have unforeseen consequences that blur the boundaries between life and death. All of these elements work together, or collocate, to present a peek into this narrative to the viewer. This is a perfect example of how filmic narrative can be utilized outside of actual filmmaking as a form of storytelling. Although the poster only alludes to the film’s themes and story, by analyzing the many elements in the poster, we can extract a form of the narrative that draws us in further.

Language (cinema) :: Poltergeist (1982)

Definition:

Language in the context of cinema and film refers to the unique visual and auditory elements used to convey meaning and evoke emotions. Christian Metz explores how cinematic language utilizes various techniques such as editing, framing, and sound design to communicate with the audience (5), forming its own kind of film language!

Analysis:

The film poster for "Poltergeist" (1982) exemplifies the concept of language in cinema or filmic language as defined by Christian Metz, emphasizing the unique visual and auditory elements used to convey meaning and evoke emotions within the cinematic medium. The poster employs a combination of visual elements and symbolism to communicate the eerie and supernatural themes of the film, effectively engaging viewers and setting the tone for the cinematic experience.

The poster features a young girl sitting in front of a static-filled television screen, her hands reaching out towards, if not touching, the screen as if drawn into its depths. This imagery serves as a powerful visual representation of the film's central premise, which revolves around a family haunted by malevolent spirits through their television set. The static-filled screen symbolizes the intrusion of the supernatural into the domestic space, blurring the boundaries between reality and the unknown. 

It is also worth noting that static has a very notable and distinctive sound. When one thinks of television static, they likely think of the sound that goes along with it. This use of a symbol with connotations of sound is a clear use of filmic language to convey the uncanny themes of the film’s narrative.

The poster for "Poltergeist" utilizes visual elements such as lighting, composition, and symbolism to convey meaning and evoke emotions in the viewer, all elements of the language of cinema. The static-filled television screen serves as a visual signifier of the supernatural phenomena depicted in the film, while the girl's body language communicates fear and fascination due to the uncanny nature of her pose. Through its use of visual language, the poster effectively sets the stage for the cinematic experience, inviting viewers to watch the film and properly engage with the language of film that it utilizes.

Sign :: Jackie Brown (1997)

Definition:

A sign in cinema refers to any element within the film that carries meaning, including images, sounds, and notably, language. Ferdinand de Saussure defines a sign as a combination of a signifier and a signified. He argues that signs are arbitrary and derive their meaning from cultural conventions and tradition (6).

Analysis:

The film poster for "Jackie Brown" (1997) offers a plethora of signs to analyze. The central signifier in the poster is the image of Pam Grier as the titular character, Jackie Brown, positioned prominently at the forefront. Grier's confident stance and assertive gaze serve as visual cues that signify Jackie's strength and resilience as a character. She embodies the archetype of the empowered female protagonist, a key signifier of the film's narrative focus on themes of agency and empowerment.

Accompanying Jackie Brown are signs that provide additional layers of meaning and context. The presence of other characters, such as Robert De Niro's Louis Gara and Samuel L. Jackson's Ordell Robbie, serves as signifiers of the complex web of relationships and conflicts that drive the film's plot. Their positioning and expressions convey subtle hints about their roles and motivations within the narrative.

Moving away from the film’s narrative and toward the signs imbued within the poster’s text, actors’ names are highlighted in a bright red against the gray background, with the director Quentin Tarantino’s name outlined by a golden bubble. With his name and the colors and font as the signifier(s), the signified meaning of this highlight is Quentin Tarantino’s prestige; effectively branding the film as prestigious, given his history of critical hits.

Overall, the film poster for "Jackie Brown" effectively utilizes signs to convey key aspects of the film's narrative, characters, and even to highlight the creators. Through the strategic arrangement of visual elements, including characters, color, and typography, the poster engages viewers and encodes messages about the film and its background and creative process.

1) Ferdinand de Saussure. Course in General Linguistics. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1966, 67. 2) Ibid, 74. 3) Metz, Christian. "Some Points in the Semiotics of Cinema" in Film Theory and Criticism, 68. Edited by Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. 4) Ibid, 68-70. 5) Ibid, 67. 6) Ferdinand de Saussure. Course in General Linguistics. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1966, 67-75.

[mediaevalmusereads]

Hen Fever: A Sapphic Victorian Romance. By Olivia Waite. 2022.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Genre: historical romance, novella, lgbtqia+ literature

Summary: Lydia Wraxhall is on her best behavior every day of the year—except one: the annual Bickerton Christmas Poultry Show. On that day she brushes her birds, sharpens her tongue, and engages in the closest thing the village knows to war.

Harriet Boyne is a soldier’s widow reeling from the worst years of her life. She and her friends have inherited a manor on the village outskirts, and Harriet is looking forward to a quiet holiday far from the anguish of the battlefield.

But a dispute over a flock of loose chickens — a rare local breed, which Lydia thinks could be champions and Harriet thinks could be delicious — draws Harriet into the competition under Lydia’s grudging guidance. Harriet’s frozen heart is thawed by Lydia’s gentleness, and lonely Lydia blossoms under Harriet’s keen regard. But the day of the poultry show is fast approaching, and everyone’s drawing up battle lines. And in the contest between secret love and public glory, there can only be one winner.

***Full review below.***

Content Warnings: graphic sexual content

Overview: This book has been on my list for a few months, and since I haven't been in the mood for a full-length novel, I figured I'd pick it up. Overall, there were things about it that I liked and things that I wish had been a little different. While I enjoyed the homestead-y premise and the ways in which post-war trauma was treated (especially with the focus on women), I also think the romance could have been built up more effectively and the conflict could have been more substantial. Thus, this novella gets a 3.5 star rating from me.

Writing: Waite's prose is fairly clear and well-organized, effortlessly transitioning between telling and showing when appropriate. It feels very natural and flows well without feeling like it rushes or drags, and I think it's appropriate for both the scope and genre of the story.

Plot: The non-romance plot of this book follows Lydia Wraxhall, a known town spinster, as she strives to compete in the local poultry fair. Lydia has won the competition every year for the better part of a decade and aims to do so again. As she is deciding what kind of chicken to show, her prize rooster runs away. Lydia follows him into the woods and finds 6 hens of a breed thought to have been lost a decade ago. She also happens upon Harriet Boyne, the owner of the property, who wants to claim the chickens for herself. Lydia and Harriet strike a deal, but what they don't account for is their growing attraction to one another.

While I think this story started out well, competing interests in the chickens seemed to be brushed aside fairly quickly, and afterwards, it seemed to pose no obstacle at all to the love story. The dominant theme is thus not the poultry fair, but the PTSD and grief that the characters carry as a result of the war. I don't quite really have a complaint about this shift, as I thought that Waite portrayed them well. In fact, I appreciated the focus on how war affects women and people back home, rather than how it affects men. But I also think there was something of a disconnect between the dark tone of post-war trauma and the lighter tone of the poultry fair. Granted, Waite does try to weave them together towards the end, but I also think Waite could have made the two threads more strongly interconnected.

Characters: Lydia, one of our protagonists, is interesting in that she is a forty-something year old spinster who uses her skill in chicken farming to express herself. When the story begins, Lydia is grieving for the loss of her brother, Peter, who died during the war, and she chafes under the expectations of her parents, who treat Peter's death as a heroic sacrifice. I liked that a huge part of Lydia's arc involved reflecting on what she wanted out of life and confronting her fear of leaving her village. I also liked the bond she had with her brother and the way his loss was felt so keenly.

Harriet, our second protagonist, was also interesting in that she had post-war trauma, and seeing a female character with war trauma is somewhat rare, in my experience. I liked that Harriet's arc involved accepting that grief was a part of her life and that she had to learn to live anew. I also liked that she evolved from a closed-off, cold-hearted woman to someone who was willing to be vulnerable and accept love, even when it was scary.

Supporting characters were fine and appeared at appropriate times without dominating the narrative. I liked the group of war survivors that all lived together in the same house with Harriet; they felt like a found family, and I adored the way they supported one another through each other's grief. Peter, Lydia's brother, also felt like a full character, even though he is never present (because he has died); characters talk about him with fondness and often voice their feelings about how "heroic sacrifice" was worth less than having a flesh-and-blood brother and friend in their lives. The village couples at the end of the novella were a nice touch, mirroring the conflict at the beginning in the church.

Romance: The romance between Lydia and Harriet is both emotionally fulfilling and somewhat frustrating. On the one hand, I very much enjoyed that both protagonists were a little older, and I liked that their love was portrayed as a kind of healing force that sparked joy in both of their lives. However, I also wish that Waite had done more to build up a feeling of longing and that the conflict towards the end was less manufactured. As it stands, it feels like Lydia and Harriet bond over talking about the war and Lydia's dead brother, and while that's fine sometimes, I also wish Waite had shown more moments of emotional vulnerability and longing while they were preparing the chickens for show. When they finally get to the show, Waite then has Lydia say something careless which hurts Harriet, and to me, it didn't feel genuine, as Lydia isn't portrayed as thoughtless or careless with her speech elsewhere. Even if she wanted an excuse not to be "nice," it doesn't explain why she lashed out at Harriet. This conflict is also resolved fairly quickly, and while it might be just fine for some readers, I personally like my conflicts to be a bit more substantial.

TL;DR: Hen Fever is a tender sapphic romance featuring two heroines who are greatly affected by the war. While I wish the romance included more longing/yearning and I wish the conflict was a bit more substantive, the novella as a whole is a pleasant reflection on grief and finding one's place in a small community.

[naruhearts]

*serves cake*

Yeah, as soon as I saw the synopsis, I delighted in what we CAN potentially get after MIRROR-loaded 14x04 and 14x05 (in that 05 was, again, giving us increasingly overt nudges as per Bobby/Mary = Dean/Cas to communicate trauma, DECONSTRUCT it, and lean on each other (aka Dean desires Cas the confidante/lover-coded textual best friend, while Cas desires Dean to open up to him) as a relational unit for psychological healing.

High hopes, low expectations, yet again, BL’s 02 was surprisingly cohesive and non-creepy.

I SHOULD BE SLEEPING BUT I HAD A THOUGHT AND NOW IT WONT LEAVE

so i was shutting down some negativity with a positive qt about this summary:

and i was being very “hey these bonds need a shot at forming too” (because they do and sam&cas deserve some bro time that isn’t centered around OMG WE NEED TO SAVE DEAN) when it dawned on me:

mary was paired up with sam when they split up and they talked about bobby and how she finds it hard to get him to open up cause walls

and what was she wearing?

and who ELSE do we know wears a tan coat, hmm?

me when i connected the dots

ME AN HOUR LATER AFTER IT PROCESSED:

YALL

like imagine

cas and sam are in the car driving home. sam checks in with cas, just seeing how he’s doing emotionally cause that’s sam for ya. cas tries to use the winchester f word but half way through the syllable opens up about how he wishes dean would just talk to him about his trauma and let down his walls

and sam tells him the same thing he told his mother: that if he cares about him, and he knows cas does, he’d try to get past that wall.

i’m a freakin endgame-positive shipper and i’m gobsmacked at how freaking obvious they’re being

[glamorouspixels]

Hello! Do you have any recs for fics that center Jane and Phryne's relationship? I love the show but I feel like Jane as a character needed more attention.

Oh, I am delighted that you would come to me with this, thank you! I know you asked specifically for Phryne & Jane stuff, but the second part of your question (giving Jane as a character more attention) can be interpreted to include Jane & Jack fics too, so you're getting both! :D

Phryne Fisher & Jane Ross Fanfic Recs

a safe place to land by missymeggins

This one is about Jane struggling to feel at home at Wardlow, and feeling restless and having an almost instinctive desire to leave. It focuses 100% on Phryne and Jane's relationship. Because of her own past, Phryne can relate to Jane's experiences and she helps her feel more comfortable at Wardlow. I'm really in awe of this fic. It's super nuanced and full of feelings!

Bon Goût non Raffiné by QuailiTea

Phryne helps Jane with her French lessons by introducing her to a scandalous and surprisingly sexual etiquette book. I just reread this one and I'm in love with how Phryne-esque Phryne's parenting style is 🥺🥰 It may be unconventional, but it works and she clearly knows just what Jane needs to feel better.

Friends and Relations by @rain-sleet-snow

Mac wants Jane to have more positive role models in her life and starts tutoring her in science. What starts out as weekly after-school lessons turns into an adorable friendship. The focus is more on Jane's relationship with Mac than with Phryne, but it's still Jane-centric and I would highly recommend it!

In Time with Miss Jane by @aurora-australis-tumbles

In this one we see Jane interacting with almost everyone, but Phryne keeps appearing all throughout the fic. It's about six different expressions of love portrayed through six different interactions between Jane and various members of the Wardlow family and all of the scenes are wonderful 😍

All Wrapped Up in Each Other by @omgimsarahtoo

While not exactly Jane-centric, this fic contains what is probably my all-time favorite exchange between Phryne and Jane so I'm putting it on the list. It's a wonderful mix of family fluff and romantic Phrack moments, including a pre-Christmas weekend getaway where Phryne and Jack manage to stay naked the whole time. We also get a brief hint that Jane might be into girls, which is an idea I have a massive soft spot for myself <3

Jack Robinson & Jane Ross Fanfic Recs

of fate and plaits by @leliesblou

A university-aged Jane has an injured wrist and needs help with her hair, and Jack, being the only one around, gives her schoolgirl braids. He tells her about his sister and nieces and "contemplaits" (pun stolen from the fic's summary) his family. Yep, it's just as adorable as it sounds and you should go read it :D

Unconventional by @rubycaspar

*dissolves into a puddle of fluff and feelings* Jane runs into Rosie at a book sale. Without knowing that she is Jack's ex-wife, Jane tells Rosie what Jack means to her 🥺🥰 Jack shows up a short time later. He and Jane eventually return to Wardlow with a ridiculous number of books, and they talk about who they are to one another, which results in the cutest and most heartwarming conversation everrr. Go read iiit as soon as you possibly can!

Mistaken by Skald_of_Askr

Please don't be scared away by the fact that this is incomplete. The two chapters currently posted can be read as standalones and they're both wonderful. The premise of the fic is that Jack slowly realizes that he's Jane's dad, and it's told through various slice of life-type of scenes. The two chapters posted are wonderful. I especially loved chapter two, in which Jane gets sick and Jack takes care of her, but both chapters are amazing.

Basement by whosrickygoldsworth

Jack and Jane get trapped in a basement and they use the opportunity for some father-daughter bonding time while they wait for Phryne to rescue them 😂 Jack teaches Jane about Shakespeare, which means the fic is both fluffy and educational!

Old-Fashioned by @gaslightgallows

This one could fit into either category. I'm putting it with the Jack & Jane fics because it involves Jack's Christmas present to Jane, but it's really about the three of them as a family and it is heartwarming and adorable. They're all sleepy and soft and wearing pajamas, and there are hugs and hot cocoa, and by now I've read it more times than I can count 🥰

The Way You Roll Your Eyes by yours truly :D

Another "Jane is queer" fic with Phrack elements set at Christmastime! Jane and her friends are throwing a pre-Christmas party. Jane's invited over one of her friends, whom she has a crush on, so they can get ready together. Because Jane is nervous and she's never done another person's makeup before, she asks Jack if she can practice on him. While the first half consists almost entirely of Jack & Jane bonding time, chapter two is when Phryne comes home and discovers that she rather likes the sight of him in makeup 😇

[k-s-morgan]

I understand liking hannigram,merthur and sebaciel but destiel? What makes you ship it really? Dean is the straightest character i have ever watched.

Oh, I really have to disagree with this! Even without Castiel, who Dean is in love with on both subtextual and pretty much textual levels, I cannot see him as anything other than bisexual. Dean’s emotional repression is a huge part of his character. Embracing his sexuality, his softer nature, his quirks is a very long journey that stretches for all 15 seasons, and while it's still not resolved fully by the end, it comes pretty close to it.

I think it's a beautiful contrast to see Dean, who starts out as a walking stereotype of a straight masculine guy that has sex with every passing woman, abhors 'chick flick' moments, and desperately tries to earn the approval of his toxic father, gradually transform into a man who loves cooking, who sings ridiculous songs out loud, wears silly pajamas, underwear, and other clothes he wouldn’t be caught dead in before, who hasn't bothered to sleep with a woman in years and who openly enjoys domesticity. The Dean who loved putting on pink female underwear yet considered it shameful is still there, but now he's much more open about his personality - he's a happier and freer version of who he was. Sexuality and feelings for Castiel are just a part of this big picture.

About destiel and Cas in particular: he and Dean share an endless amount of both text and subtext. I've also never seen more mirroring with other romantic couples than the writers do with them. Here's a couple of fan edits that display just some of such mirroring.

Longer video

A shorter one with parallels between Destiel and Sam's love interests in particular.

Dean is a man who always wanted a family and a person who would love him unconditionally, and he always ended up hurt. As an abused child forced to grow up early, he's completely love starved, and his self-esteem is non-existent. He and Sam have an unhealthy relationship because Dean doesn't understand that people grow up and move on to build their families - Sam does, and this creates a rift between them.

Dean: “You and me and Dad—I mean, I want us….I want us to be together again. I want us to be a family again.”

This shows the state of Dean's mind and his views on love. Dean wants to stay with someone forever. He craves loving and being loved, he longs for constant contact. He wants to share his life with someone, and in his mind, it can only happen with Sam and John because they are the only people he knows how to love. It doesn't matter how flawed their family is, it's all Dean's got. Unconsciously, he's trying to assign the role of a life partner to Sam and John, and obviously, this could never work.

Like Sam says, "Dean, we *are* a family. I’d do anything for you. But things will never be the way they were before."

The script adds: "Dean looks heartbroken."

But Sam is right. Their co-dependency emerged because in their childhood, they had no one else. No friends, no meaningful connections, no long-term bonds. And as life has it, most family members drift apart with time: they still love each other, sure, but they pursue different interests and they start their own families. Dean doesn't get it. Sam is ready to open his heart to others, but Dean isn't - this is all he knows and he’s too scared and too emotionally closed off to learn.

And that's why observing him with Castiel later is so fascinating. There is suddenly an angel of the Lord who worships him, who structures his whole existence around him, who loves him and values him above everyone else. And finally, after all those years, Dean starts to understand it. He's still fiercely attached to the concept of family, but it begins to expand, and the more he clings to Castiel, the more he lets go of Sam, the healthier and more balanced their relationship becomes. Sam finally becomes a brother who has his own life but who'll always be there if needed; Castiel becomes someone who is going to be there always, period. And Dean can finally become truly happy. Cas helped Dean feel special and loved in a way he's never been before, and this very premise is something I really love. I could probably write a novel about their dynamic alone :D

I think the fact that Dean is in love with Castiel back is confirmed canonically after Cas' confession, when Lucifer, who only ever turned into people's love interests, took Cas' form for Dean. To me, though, Dean's feelings were textually confirmed back in S10, when he expressed that there are "people" and "feelings" he'd like to experience for the first time, and in S11, after Amara's clone told him she senses love in his heart that's cloaked in shame (and we know it wasn't about an actual Amara). There are plenty of moments like this and plenty of men apart from Castiel that help illustrate Dean’s bisexuality.

[isaaclaforeze-remade]

The (more pressing) issues with Netflix’s Castlevania

Making this post at the request of someone who’s been asked this and doesn’t want to get into it, as well as for my own convenience - people like to ask me why if they’re not familiar with the subject.

Disclaimer since I’ll be putting this under a readmore: This is not a full list of issues with the show, it is only the most important stuff that I feel people should know about or keep in mind if they choose to watch it, or engage with people who actively participate in its fandom/endorse it.

As this is only the crucial issues, I will not be covering too much regarding canon-inaccuracy here. The average layman doesn’t care about that, and there’s bigger issues that would be present even if this series existed independently of Castlevania.

Trigger warnings for sexual assault (both real and in fiction), rape (same as previous), grooming, racism, and discussion of violence.

If there is only one thing from this post you read, let it be this first point: Its writer and producer, Warren Ellis, has allegations of sexual assault and coercion from over 60 different women against him. Many of the victims’ statements can be read for yourself here. I have not read all accounts as I am sensitive to these things myself, but of what I have read some of these women were as young as 19 when Ellis was well in his 30s+. These allegations came out in 2020.

There are two separate instances of rape in the show which I will describe very briefly and not in great detail here for two reasons: One, I am not an authority on this as I have not watched this far into the show myself, but these events have been relayed to me by those who’ve watched it. Two, this topic is very triggering to me and there’s no way in hell I’m opening that Pandora’s box for myself today or any day. In one instance, two characters are introduced and bond with Alucard in Season 3. The situation escalates, they rape him, and he kills them. From what I understand this is not discussed ever again. In the other, Hector is kept as a sex slave by a vampire named Lenore. Important to take note of is that in the Netflix adaptation, Hector is a man of color. Lenore is white. She is well loved by the Netflix fandom and from what I have been told the narrative does not treat her as though she’s done wrong.

Season 1 of the show was adapted from an earlier attempt at a Castlevania III adaptation as a film. This was made by Ellis collaborating with then-series producer IGA, who left Konami in 2014 and did not work on the Netflix show beyond the remnants of his work left over in the Season 1 script. Ellis had this to say about working with IGA:

“The film is, of course, set in Wallachia in 1476. We’ve worked with Koji Igarashi to get the film solidly inside the Castlevania timeline, and he’s approved everything I came up with, including some new embroidering to the timeline. To make it work as a film, I had to introduce new backstory, and I went through five drafts of the premise and three of the full outline to get the material where IGA wanted it. He remains absolutely passionate about Castlevania. After eight rewrites of pre-production material, I remain absolutely passionate about beating the crap out of IGA in a dark alleyway one day.” (source)

Again, the list of things wrong with this show is non-exhaustive, and I will likely revisit this post to add more to it later when I can find the words to properly describe it. For now this will be all, and it is the most important stuff. If you choose to watch the show please think critically about it not only about these matters but about classism, ableism, etc. I would also recommend looking into its source material first, because in my opinion it’s important to recognize what’s off about it when informed of how Ellis felt about the man who made that source material.

[radfem-moira]

I know this has been talked about to death but I recently came across it again and I cannot help but be simultaneously amused and appalled by this particular section:

Surprisingly, among the 127 participants open to dating a trans person, almost half selected a trans person of a gender incongruent with their stated sexual orientation. For example, 50% of the trans-inclusive straight women and 28% of the trans-inclusive gay men were willing to date a trans woman, even though one wouldn’t expect either straight women or gay men to be attracted to women. Similarly, 50% of trans-inclusive straight men and 69% of trans-inclusive lesbians said they’d date a trans man, even though both groups are presumably only attracted to women. And 33% of the trans-inclusive bisexual/queer participants said they would only date a trans person of one gender but not the other, even though one may expect this group to be attracted to multiple genders.

Surprisingly. Surprisingly. Are the people who push transgender rhetoric truly so disconnected from reality (this article is only two years old, so I don’t expect that this has changed recently) that they think people's sexual orientation and attraction dies as soon as someone cosmetically alters their body?

I was confused about this wording, and I figured this was just the way the writers of this report had decided to present the findings. Surely, no serious researcher would arbitrarily choose to ignore the fact that dating same-sex trans people - gay men dating trans women, and lesbian women dating trans men - is not uncommon. But lo-and-behold, from the mouth of the authors (I know it’s paywalled, DM me if you want the PDF, I might be able to arrange it):

In an ideal world, free of cisgenderism and transprejudice, an individual’s gender identity (transgender vs. cisgender) would not factor into whether they were viewed as a viable dating partner. In such a world, dating decisions would be premised on preexisting desires, such that an individual interested in women would be interested in trans women and cisgender women.

Ooooo boy, we’re starting strong. Three pages in and they’re already waxing poetics about a world where the gays and the straights have been moralized into fucking the sex they’re not naturally attracted to. Yeah. To these people, in an ideal world, gender identity exists, but not sexual orientation. And then they say transgender ideology isn’t inherently a homophobic movement. But I digress.

When a participant says that they would be willing to date a trans person of the same biological sex, the authors classified this naively as an ‘incongruent response’. Lesbians who claimed to be willing to date trans people were the most likely to fall in this category, and at least, the authors had a sensible explanation for this:

While one may be tempted to explain the high rate of incongruent responses among the lesbians in the current sample as cissexist, we caution against such an interpretation of these data. Such a conclusion would be overly simplistic and ignorant of the realities of lesbian herstories and the complexities of gender (e.g., Meir et al., 2013). While biologically determinist views of gender likely play a role in some, or all instances of incongruence, another likely contributor is the lived experience of having dated partners assigned female at birth who have transitioned either during or after the relationship, thereby providing some lesbian women with the experience of having initially begun a same-sex relationship that ultimately turned into a mixed-sex relationship with a trans man (Pfeffer, 2008). This experience or, perhaps just the awareness of the potential for this experience based on the experience of peers, may have led some lesbian participants to indicate openness to dating trans men but not trans women. In other words, the lesbian women in the sample who responded in an incongruent manner may have lived experience with having had a past (or current) partner undergo a gender affirmative transition, demonstrating how intimate bonds can often move beyond boundaries of identity (Canoy, 2015; McDermott, 2010). Indeed, past research has examined the experiences of lesbian women whose partners pursue a gender affirming transition while in the midst of a relationship, often resulting in the lesbian partner reconfiguring her own understanding of her sexuality and lesbian identity in an attempt to continue the relationship with her now trans masculine partner (Pfeffer, 2008; Riggs et al., 2015).

This, to me, is the most interesting, and saddening, part of this study. Not the fact that trans people aren’t getting laid. Not even the fact that the authors of this study calls a cis lesbian x trans man relationship a ‘mixed-sex relationship’.

To me, it’s how lesbians are the most likely of all single-sex-attracted sexual orientations (gay men, gay women, het men, het women) to overall an entire part of their core identity just to ensure their partner feels good about themselves. In other words, lesbians are far more likely to relent and call themselves ‘bisexual’ or ‘pansexual’ or ‘queer’, to renounce their identities as lesbians, just for the sake of their partner’s ego. Our love is so filled with self-denial and self-effacement, it’s astonishing.

And what’s most disheartening about this, to me, is that the rest of the world inevitably views this as a good thing. People praise lesbians, and also straight women, who choose to stay with their transitioning partners. Lesbians have a long history of gender non-conformity, so one could hypothesize that the reason we’re less likely to be fazed by a change of pronouns and some cosmetic alterations is that many of us find masculine females attractive anyway. Straight women who love feminine men are not nearly as ubiquitous as lesbian women who love masculine women.

But at the end of the day, my issue isn’t that lesbians stay after their partner decides to become a trans man. It’s that they’re expected by these partners and by their social groups to renounce their lesbianism as a result. This reeks of homophobia to me, and the fact that ‘reconfiguring  her own understanding of her sexuality and lesbian identity in an attempt to continue the relationship with her now trans masculine partner’ is not seen as goddamn horrific and wrong.

There is SO much more batshit insanity in this study, ranging from talks of masculine privilege. Turns out the report I first linked is pretty close to the original content. Academia is truly completely disconnected from the real world and the people that inhabit it.

[tundrainafrica]

Hi!! Do you think Levihan as a ship is kinda underrated? Like even though its the third most popular ship(just behind Ereri and Eruri) but I don't really think many people give it the credit it actually deserves. Someone on reddit pointed out how if the interactions LH had, especially the ones in and after ch 115, were between some ship involving two cis man, literally everyone would've called it canon. Do you agree?

Do you think Levihan as a ship is kinda underrated?

You know, I actually used to think Levihan is underrated. But i was surprised to find out that Levihan actually still has a fair amount of fics. In fact it has more fics in ao3 than Aruani or Eremika and maybe even Connie/Sasha. It’s actually surprisingly one of the top non M/M ships in the AOT fandom in ao3. But I don’t know how much the number of AO3 fics have to do with popularity though.

But why is it lower than Eruri and Ereri? 

I think you partially answered your own question by pointing this out.  “Someone on reddit pointed out how if the interactions LH had, especially the ones in and after ch 115, were between some ship involving two cis man, literally everyone would've called it canon. “

But there is something else I want to point out actually. I think that even if Levihan was a relationship between two CIS men, I still think it would remain less popular than Eruri and Ereri. 

First things first though, let’s answer the question: Why are Ereri and Eruri popular? Because Levi is popular and the general consensus of the majority of fangirls is to put Levi aka the most popular character in ao3 with the two sexiest men in the whole fandom who have at least a reachable and justifiable bond with Levi. 

If we consider what actually gets people into a ship, (personally I still don’t understand Ereri but lemme try), 

1. They look cute together

2. They have a very obviously deep bond with each other. 

3. The enemies to friends trope gets incredibly enticing.

So Ereri I think fell with number 1 and number 3 (I’m honestly thinking of the courtroom scene now).

 And I read a fair amount of Ereri fics (no, I never liked Ereri I just wanted my hurt Levi fic and I was desperate), and one thing which a lot of Ereri fans like to explore is the fact that Levi becomes his bodyguard for a while and Eren has to stick close to Levi right? There are a lot of themes relationship wise (enemies to lovers, slowburns, bodyguard and ward) which can be explored with this set up. Eren is obviously one of the most popular characters in AOT too and the main protagonist so it is only natural that this would fall on top. 

On top of that Eren is pretty cute. 

What about Eruri? Eruri takes the cake for reasons 1 and 2 first of all.

On top of that, Eruri rose through the ranks of one of the top ships in AOT because of Season 3 in particular but I think even before that, Erwin and Levi had enough crumbs already to justify shipping them. 

Sure, Levihan won with the fact that Levi was first introduced next to Hange. But, in the more iconic Levi scenes in Season 1-3, for example when Eren got to talk to Levi for the first time in the dungeon, who was Levi with? Erwin. 

When it came to the more serious, more plot relevant scenes, Erwin and Levi were almost always together. Actually, the only time Levi and Hange spent a lot of time together in very plot relevant scenes was during the uprising arc when Erwin was out of commission. 

But then after that, we get the Take back Shiganshina arc where Erwin and Levi had their most iconic moments. 

So with Levi and Erwin constantly together during the more plot heavy scenes, most of the audience, even the most casual people would remember their relationship over Hange.

That’s why Eruri is still more popular than Levihan. 

What about Levihan? Only number 2 applies to Levihan actually.

Also, it’s not very memorable? Like if you’re not looking for a relationship in AOT you won’t find it. And really, who looks for a relationship in AOT.

Most of the scenes where Hange and Levi are shown together are incredibly light scenes and they’re usually shown for the lolz and are not as blatantly plot heavy as the scenes where Erwin and Levi are seen together,. Most of the plot heavy Hange and Levi scenes happen when Erwin was out of commission which makes it easy for the audience to think that Hange and Levi were together out of necessity.

And when we consider reason number 1. Hange is not conventionally attractive or cool to the average viewer. I have lots of friends who actually don’t like Hange and they’re casual watchers. They find her weird, crazy, and not as clear cut or cool as Erwin or Levi so even if Hange were a guy, I don’t think her relationship with Levi would have topped the AOT charts

Where does Levihan actually shine though? 

It shines in Season 4. We notice in Season 4 that Levi and Hange are constantly together. But the thing is, with Season 4, we kinda ended up with a new setting, we have new characters and we have new perspectives on how to approach the story. So even if Levihan is more obvious there, even if Levi and Hange are shown to have a closer bond in Season 4, it gets overshadowed by other things like the Marleyans, the actual war and the actual chaos. 

Let alone the fact that Levi and Hange spent a huge chunk of the chapters before chapter 115 away from each other. And when they are together, the plot and the overall war ends up outshining whatever relationship development they have. 

Yet regardless, even if a lot of their interactions weren’t very plot relevant thus, very forgettable for the casual reader who is not in the mood to analyze relationships, I think that 115, 126 and 132 are still very important for the relationship of Levihan and are decisive evidence that there is definitely something there. Like actually I showed 115, 126 and 132 to multiple people who have never watched AOT in their life and a lot commented that the scene in 126 in particular screams ‘COUPLE.’ but the thing is, the forest scene in 126 was overshadowed by more pressing things. In fact a lot of people criticized it for being a slow chapter. 115 was overshadowed by Zeke’s backstory and the actual war. 132 was overshadowed by her death.

And when I did notice the relationship enough to appreciate it, I did look back at the previous AOT episodes and the previous Levihan scenes and I really did see that most of the interactions of Levi and Hange in the earlier seasons are not as obviously relevant to the overall plot. So if people don’t actually look for it, they won’t see it. 

It’s an incredibly subtle ship and as a fan, I actually only appreciated it in retrospect so I kinda understand why it’s not so popular. 

So to answer your next question.

Someone on reddit pointed out how if the interactions LH had, especially the ones in and after ch 115, were between some ship involving two cis man, literally everyone would've called it canon. Do you agree?

Actually, I don’t agree with this. 

Sure, if Levihan was a ship between two CIS men then Levihan would probably be more popular. But I think a lot of people still wouldn’t consider it canon. 

I used to read a lot of works and participate a lot in Shonen manga fandoms, sports anime fandoms (I’m literally a simp for sports animes man I think I’ve watched most of the iconic ones) in particular so I am aware of how ships with two cismen go. And even if they do have a lot of sexual tension like let’s say Daichi and Sugawara, Kageyama and Hinata  from Haikyuu, Kuroko and Aomine from Kuroko no Basuke, Oishi x Tezuka from Prince of Tennis, people in the fandom at least have the head to say “It’s not canon.” 

But at the same time, people still ship them. 

On the contrary, I think people are actually more likely to deem something canon if they are a heterosexual ship because we live in a heteronormative society. On top of that, writers (especially Japanese writers) are more likely to make something canon if it’s a heterosexual pairing because societal expectations and marketing and corporate synergy and bullshit like that. 

I need to point out something about male writers though. Male writers are incredibly good at writing male to male dynamics but for some reason tend to fuck writing women up a lot. So we end up with incredibly blah ‘die for our ship’ women and two guys with so much sexual tension if they were a man and a woman, people are more likely to deem them canon. 

Naruto and Sasuke for example or Riku and Sora from Kingdom Hearts. I can swear that Riku and Sora had way more development over the course of five games than Sora and Kairi but Sora and Kairi became canon. Naruto and Sasuke had more than enough development and literally Naruto did the equivalent of Hange jumping into the river at 115 by literally begging all the fucking kages to spare Sasuke during the great ninja war but Naruto married Hinata and Sasuke married Sakura.

And even in Western media, we have Johnlock, we have Destiel. And even among female writers I have half the mind to add Will and Jem from Clockwork Princess to the mix for men with the most sexual tension but are never made canon. 

So I don’t think it’s the male/male dynamic which makes people think, oh they’re canon. I think it is the premise of the show overall which makes people hesitant to deem Levihan canon. 

The scenes which are very important to the Levihan shippers are scenes which the casual watchers who are allergic to romance will skim over. We saw a taste of that when people got angry that ch. 126 was winning the Besatsu polls for example. 

People just wanna focus on the titans, the action and the exposition. And the moment anyone decides to add romance to the mix, suddenly people are like, NO DON’T RUIN THEIR CHARACTER. OR NO STOP TURNING AOT INTO A ROMANCE.

Because people have this idea that the moment we decide to explore the relationships of the show, when people start falling in love in the show, the show becomes bad. Really, I believe a lot of the reason for this though is because a lot of male writers don’t know how to handle romance or it becomes difficult to pair people off in the end because a lot of their Male x male relationships actually have more sexual tension than a lot of the male x female relationships they write so a lot of the endgame heterosexual pairings end up falling flat.

Going back to AOT though....

One other thing to note:  Looking from the eye of those who don’t look for romance or are just a casual watcher,  the scenes which had more titans and action and overall exposition (which most people watch AOT for) tended to show Levi and Eren together or Levi and Erwin together more which explains why these relationships ended up shining more since these scenes are more memorable. 

I like to think of Levihan as this awesome product with lots of potential but has the shittiest marketing team ever. Because the marketing team just did a horrible job on where to put the ‘billboards’ and how to design their flyers if you know what I mean. So even if Levihan is a great product, it won’t sell because they just didn’t have the right ‘billboards’ ‘flyers’ or other marketing material in canon. Like people have to make the effort to look for it to actually find it and to actually appreciate the canon but when they do, they got some high quality product. 

So I like to compare Levihan to those  hole in the wall restaurants in the small towns or those street shops which sell the most authentic cuisines or those treasures we find in the antique shops. 

Thanks for reading and sorry for this long ass meta. Anyway...

I’d like to end this long ass rant with just two tweets which summarize my overall thoughts on this.

Link to the tweets: 1 2

Again, Thanks for reading!

[fanfic-writers-bingo]

PROMPT LIST

List of all prompts with descriptions that will be available on the BINGO form. More will be added eventually!

- 5+1: Five times your character/pairing did or experienced something and the one time it was different. ex. 5 times *character* failed a test + the 1 time they passed.

- Adoption fic: A fic involving adoption in some way.

- Afterlife: A fic involving the afterlife.

- Age Difference: A fic involving age difference, usually between a couple but you can interpret it however you like.

- Agent/Assassin/Hitman/Spy: Where the character or their love interest is an agent, assassin, hitman, or spy.

- Aging up: Taking a character and aging them, so say there a character who is fifteen in canon but age is an important part of the story so you age them up.

- Alpha/Beta/Omega (ABO): A fic involving the omegaverse where humans take on wolf-like qualities such as but not limited to mating, heat cycles, knotting, and scenting.

- Amnesia: Where a character suffers from amnesia wether there is a medical reason or they just woke up one day with no memory.

- Angels/Demons: A story in which the main characters are either angels or demons. Love interest are usually opposites.

- Angst: A story that invokes feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity

- Apocalypse: Any story involving any kind of apocalypse, think The Walking Dead, World War Z, Resident Evil, I Am Legend, Legion, etc. 

- Arranged/Forced Marriage: A story where a character(s) are in a forced/arranged marriage. Usually by their parents but can sometimes be for political or social reasons.

- BDSM: BDSM includes a wide range of practices and role play. Can be used in a sexual context but it is not always a sexual dynamic.

- Baker/Chef/Personal Chef: Where a love interest is a baker, chef or personal chef.

- "Bareback Mountain" AU: Alternate universe inspired by the film Brokeback Mountain, usually in m/m fiction.

- Based on a movie: A story based on a movie.

- Based on a painting: A story based on a painting.

- Based on a poem/quote: A story based on a poem or quote.

- Based on a song/lyrics: A story based on a song or song lyrics.

- Bodyswap: In which two (or more) characters switch bodies. Often to be taught a lesson but that isn't always the case.

- Break-up: A story revolving around a break up or maybe beginning with a break up that leads into a happy ending.

- Car accident: A fic involving a car accident.

- Character Death: Major or minor. Character death is just that, the death of a character.

- Childhood/Highschool Sweethearts: A story about childhood or highschool sweethearts.

- Coffee Shop AU: In most cases, one half of the main pairing is the barista and the other is or becomes their favorite customer; in some stories the whole cast works at a coffee shop.

- College: A story taking place in college.

- Confessions of Love/Lust: One character confesses feeling of love or lust.

- Confessions of Love/Lust--Under the influence: One character confesses feeling of love or lust while under the influence.

- Crack: Crack Fic is any story whose premise and events would be completely implausible in Canon. Also usually a fic not meant to be taken seriously.

- Crime/Mystery: A story involving or revolving around a crime or mystery.

- Cross-dressing: Where one character dresses as the opposite gender. Usually used in NSFW fics but doesn't have to be written in a sexual context.

- Cross-over: Where one fandom crosses over with another fandom(s).

- Cuddling for warmth: Where two love interest have to cuddle together due to coldness and usually results in the confession of feelings.

- Dance AU: Any story that involves dance. Could se something like Step Up or Dirty Dancing.

- "Dear John" AU: An AU based on the move Dear John where one half of a couple is away in the military and the other is in their home state waiting for them to come home. Can be written many different ways.

- "Didn't know they were dating": In which two character are basically dating or show all of the characteristics of a couple who is dating but they are both oblivious to it until someone in their lives points it out.

- Domestic Life: A story showing the domestic lives of two characters, usually in a relationship.

- Doppelgänger/Evil Twin: In which a character has a doppelganger or evil twin who wants to take over and ruin their lives.

- Dub-con: Dubious Consent, usually in a sexual context. Can be written many ways but one examples is two people having sex while under the influence of alcohol or other substences.

- Elf AU: Where one or all characters are elves.

- Enemies to Friends back to Enemies to Lovers: Where two people start out as enemies, become friends, revert back to enemies and then become lovers.

- Enemies to Lovers: Where two people start out as enemies and become lovers.

- Episode tag: A fic based on a particular episode.

- Fake Dating: Where two characters pretend to data and usually end up developing feeling for one another.

- Fantasy AU: And story that takes place in a fantasy world or involves fantasy elements such as but not limited to magic, faries, and witches.

- First Time: A fic about someones first time. Usually in a sexual way but could be first time doing anything.

- Fix-it: A chance to fix a scene you just know could have/should have turned out differently.

- Forbidden Lovers: In which two characters are forbidden from being together, usually by a parent.

- Forced break-up: Two characters who are forced to break up, could be because of a parent or to protect their love interest.

- Found Family: Where characters who are mostly unrelated bond together and form their own family unit, relying on each other for love and support.

- Friends to lovers: Friends who become lovers.

- Genderswap: In which one or more characters are written as the opposite gender.

- General AU: The opportunity to write in any AU such as but not limited to soulmate AU, sex worker AU, etc.

- Ghosts: A fic involving ghosts in some way.

- Hate sex/Enemyslash: Where two people have angry rough sex. This could be a couple who is mad at one another or a hero and bad guy that give into their sexual tension.

- Highschool AU: AU that takes place in highschool.

- Historical AU: AU that takes place at a point in history that is not the present.

- Horror Movie AU: Story based on a horror movie/book.

- Hurt/Comfort: Where one character is hurt and another comforts them.

- Hurt on the job: Where a character is hurt at their job.

- Hybrid: A fic involving or revolving around hybrids of any kind.

- "In denial": Where a character is in denial about something wether its feelings, a break up, grief or loss.

- Isolated/Trapped: Where a character is isolated in some way or trapped.

- Kidfic: A fic that involves kids.

- Kidnapped: A fic that involves or revolves around kidnapping.

- Kink: Any NSFW kink of your choosing.

- Knotting: Part of the ABO universe, used in a sexual context.

- Left for dead: Where a character is left for dead in someway.

- Loss of parents: A fic that involves or revolves around a character losing their parents.

- Lovers to Enemies: Lovers who become enemies.

- Mafia/Mob: In which a character or their love interest is involved with the mob/mafia.

- Magic AU: Alternate universe in which magic is prevalent.

- "Magical healing cock": In which a characters cock is able to heal their partner in some way, shape or form.

- Marriage: A fic involving or revolving around marriage.

- Merpeople: A fic where a character or characters are mermaids.

- Missing scene/Deleted scene/fill-in scene: A chance to write a scene you feel was missing, deleted, or needed to be filled in from a time gap.

- Modern AU: A fic that take place in modern day times.

- Mourning/Grieving: In which one or more character are grieving the loss of something/someone.

- Mpreg/Fempreg/Magical Pregnancy: Any kind of pregnancy fic that did not happen naturally.

- Mutual Pining: Where two people are pining for one another.

- Next Generation: A fic that focuses on canon characters kids.

- Non-Sexual Kink(s): A story involving kink that is not inherently sexual.

- Nostalgia: A sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations.

- Oblivious Pining: Where one or both characters are very obviously pining, well obvious to everyone else but oblivious to one another.

- "Only one bed": In which two characters much over come the sacred obstical of sharing a bed and usually results in confession of feelings or smut.

- Original Character(s): A fic involving or revolving around original characters.

- Pastfic/Backstory: A story that focuses on the past or back story of a character.

- Pining: Where one character is pining for another.

- Pirate AU: AU involving pirates.

- Porn/PWP: Self explanatory, shameless smut.

- Pornstar: In which one or more characters are pornstars.

- Pre/Post series: Taking place before or after a series started or ended.

- Presumed Dead: Where a character is believed to be dead even though they really aren't.

- Prison: A story that takes place in prison.

- Requited/Unrequited Love: A story revolving around if love is being returned or not.

- Roommates: In which two characters, usually love interest, start off as roommates.

- Royalty: Where one or more characters are royalty.

- Secret Dating: When two characters are secretly dating.

- Secret kid: Where a character had a kid that the never told anyone about or someone shows up with the news that the character has a kid they didn't know about.

- Secret Virgin: Where a character hides the fact that they are a virgin.

- Sex Compulsion: Heat fic, fuck or die, sex pollen, etc.

- Sex Kitten: In which a character uses their sexual appeal usually to corrupt their more innocent partner sexually.

- Sex Magic: Sex involving magic.

- Sickfic: A fic involving someone being sick.

- Snowed in: Where two characters end up snowed in somewhere, usually leading to confessions of feelings or smut.

- Songfic: Fic based around a song.

- Teacher AU: In which one or more character are in a teacher roll in a school setting.

- Theatre AU: In which one or more characters are in a theatre setting.

- Threesome/Foursome/Fivesome: A smut fic involving 3-5 people.

- Vampire/Werewolf: A fic where the character or characters are vampires, wolves or humans.

- Wedding: Fic involving or revolving around a wedding in some way.

- Whump: Where a character is hurt, be it emotionally or physically.

[thetorchwoodarchive]

Gwen Focused Stories as Submitted by the Mods and Users of the Torchwood Archive

Everyone! Thank you so much for your submissions! Recs are under the cut!

As always, please mind the warnings and ratings listed on each individual story. 

Feel free to reblog with additions!

Something Beautiful by Cyus (Gen | complete | 4,500 | PG)

After Torchwood, after Jack, Gwen lives her life, even as Jack comes back.

Domestic Disharmony by thirteeninafez (JackIanto, GwenRhys, Gwen&Ianto, Gwen&Jack | complete | 3163 | G)

In which Jack and Gwen get stuck in the Archives and discuss green milk, thermostats and Ianto Jones.

Side Note by Aliciajazmin (Gwen&Ianto | complete | 1027 | T)

A few months after her best friend's funeral, Gwen runs into Rhiannon while grocery shopping. Ianto's sister has some questions and Gwen has some things she needs to say to her.

Inevitability (and other hard truths) by violetmessages (Gwen&Ianto | complete | 1236 | T)

There's a clock ticking down at Torchwood, and Gwen realizes she's the only one who hears it.

All Around Me are Familiar Faces by gwendolyncooper (Gwen&Ianto, JackIanto, GwenRhys | complete | 2602 | G)

Gwen Cooper wakes up in Jack Harkness' bed. Ianto Jones wakes up in Rhys Williams'. And they find themselves in each other's bodies. As close as they are, this might be a level too deep in their friendship.

Blueberry Knees by Violetmessages (Gwen&Ianto, JackIanto, GwenRhys | complete | 3878 | T)

If Ianto thought about it, the way Gwen’s illness progressed was rather like falling asleep. Slowly and surely, but then all at once.

He hadn’t noticed it at first - he still loathed himself for not recognizing that something might be wrong. But he hadn’t, no one had, so it slipped through, like little crumbs falling between the crack of their ancient sofa.

And there was nothing to be done about it.

Power Struggle by Prochytes (GwenTosh, Gen | complete | 1416 | T)

How Gwen ended up in charge by the start of Season Two, based on the premise that one should never assume Jack Harkness is joking.

Bad at Communication by engagemythrusters (JackIanto | complete | 1740 | G)

In which Gwen visits a hospital, where Jack and Ianto, respectively tired and high, are complete idiots.

The Hands on the Clock Keep on Ticking by Violetmessages (Gwen&Ianto | complete | 10235 | M)

They all knew it could happen to anyone. They’d all seen the proof. Even if it happened to a miniscule amount of the population, it was still a possibility.

But they had grown complacent. They had forgotten that they too were also at the mercy of the Rift, that the Rift did not make an exception for those who knew its existence.

They had forgotten until they were faced with it themselves.

In which Gwen and Ianto get sent back to 1969 by the Rift.

Pastries, Avoidance Tactics, and a Bottle of Scotch by pocky_slash (Gwen&Ianto, GwenRhys, JackIanto | 6220 | G)

In which Gwen said something she regrets, Ianto makes a poor dinner choice, Rhys offers sound advice, and Jack has a key. A different sort of "Meat" post-ep.

Children, Daleks and Mopeds: How Gwen Cooper Got Her Groove Back by paycheckgurl (Gwen&Jack, GwenRhys | complete |  9603 | T)

Following a disastrous shopping trip that put her at the center of an explosion, Gwen finds a little alien boy.

Or: The series of events in which Gwen acquired another child, had a much needed conversation with Jack, bought a moped, defeated a Dalek with a boxing glove, and learned that loving yourself and saving the world don’t need to be mutually exclusive.

A coda to Revolution of the Daleks where I explain why Gwen has a son all of a sudden.

I Don’t Know What to Think by  aliciajazmin (GwenTosh | complete | 2637 | T)

Gwen and Tosh travel with the Doctor through time and space, taking a break from Torchwood. Gwen decides to bring along her pet rat Owen (not to be confused with Human Owen). Also, Gwen and Tosh are desperately in love with each other.

Lost Inside by Xennon (Gen | complete |  36,642 | T)

The team go in search of some smugglers.

A Vision Too Removed to Mention by Pocky_Slash (Gwen&Ianto | complete |  13920 | T)

In which Ianto is stuck in a time loop that feels more like hell.

Club Wales by Pocky_Slash (Gwen&Ianto | Series |  69,530 | G-T)

 In the wake of Jack's disappearance, Gwen finds comfort in a new friendship with Ianto. Gossip, bonding, and other hijinks of understanding ensue.

To the Waters and the Wilds by Violetmessages (GwenTosh, JackIanto | complete | 13190 | T)

“Beautiful, isn’t it?”

Tosh whirled around. She’d thought she was alone, she’d expected it.

Then she locked eyes with the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen, a woman who seemed to radiate an ethereal glow, a woman that emanated an otherworldly light.

Cold Pizza by  Eberesche (GwenRhys, Gwen&Ianto | complete | 4767 | T)

With Jack missing and the Rift running the team ragged, Gwen's plans for a single night in are foiled.

Safe by DinoDina (GwenToshRhys, GwenRhys | complete |  1191 | G)

After the cannibals, Gwen doesn't go home with Owen. She rides back to Cardiff — back to Rhys — in an ambulance with Tosh.

Dead on Arrival by violetmessages (JackIanto, GwenRhys | complete | 13582 | M)

Ianto Jones wakes up. The only problem is, he's certain he was dead.

You Won’t Be Seeing Us Today (You Won’t Be Seeing Us in Hell) by Beleriandings (GwenRhys, JackIanto, Gwen&Ianto | complete | 11141 | T)

One day, Syriath took Gwen's voice. She should have realised Gwen wouldn't stand for that.

Girly Night In by Mathemagician (GwenTosh | complete | 1088 | T)

The girls and Ianto have a night in. Gwen figures something out about herself.

For the Torchwood Femslash Fest prompt "Sexual Identity"

This Earth is Empty Without You (But the Grave is Not) by violetmessages (Gwen&Ianto, GwenRhys, JackIanto | complete | 1036 | G)

Ianto Jones' funeral happens on a perfectly sunny day. Gwen hates every minute of it.

In a Polaroid Picture by innocent_until_proven_geeky (GwenTosh, GwenRhys, Gwen&Jack | complete | 2176 | G)

Gwen finds a photo of her and Tosh, and remembers.

Exit Protocol by Beleriandings (GwenTosh | complete | 6139 | G)

Not long after the deaths of Tosh and Owen, Gwen gets a message from an unnamed user on the Hub system. That really shouldn't happen. And yet, there it is.

To the Sticking Place by zephyras (JackIanto, GwenRhys, OwenTosh, MarthaMickey | complete |  96433 | M)

The end justifies the means. Failure is not an option. There is always a choice, except when there isn't. These are the phrases Ianto Jones lives by and he refuses to allow anyone, even Captain Jack Harkness, to change that. Jack/Ianto, AU, Torchwood One Agent!Ianto.

These Happy Days by Violetmessages (GwenRhys, JackIanto, Gwen&Ianto, GwenJackIantoRhys | series |  16,777 | G-T)

A series of non-chronological stories in which Ianto miraculously survives CoE in some fashion and Torchwood Three (plus Rhys and Anwen) settle down near the seaside.

Piece it Together by Beleriandings (JackIato, Gwen&Ianto | complete |  3442 | T)

Gwen realises that for all they talk, she's never asked Ianto about how he and Jack got together before. The answer is a lot more complicated than she was expecting.

Respite by Beleriandings (Gwen&Ianto, JackIanto, GwenRhys | complete |  2590 | G)

Even by their usual standards, Gwen thought it was absolutely fair to say it had been a rough week.

Dancing in the Midnight Garden by Fionn_sgeul (Gen | complete |  17660 | G)

In which Gwyneth the Maid and Gwen Cooper are the same person, Jack meets someone else whose life was completely turned around by the Doctor, and Torchwood is invaded by garden gnomes

Don’t You Know For Years You’ve Haunted Me by Virtualsilver (GwenRhys, JackIanto | complete | 12083 | T)

Gwen has inherited a recessive trait that has lurked in her ancestors' blood for generations: she is prescient. She can see flashes of where the timeline is heading and can feel when something - or someone - changes it.

She tries to use her foreknowledge to change events for the better, but securing the outcome of her interventions proves to be a challenge.

He Really Loves That Coat by DracoPendragon (JackIanto | complete | 585 | G)

It was quiet when Gwen entered the Hub that Monday morning. And the sight that greeted her was not one she’d expected, but wasn't one she minded seeing.

Sink Your Feet into the Mud (and I’ll Return) by violetmessages (Gwen&Ianto, GwenRhys, JackIanto | complete | 3404 | G)

What if she could bring Ianto back?

It’s a dangerous idea. It’s got the potential to be catastrophic. But Gwen is all out of options. She’s surrounded by the graves of the people she loves, abandoned, save for her husband, and she refuses to let her best friend go without a fight.

Painted in the Sand (To be Washed Away) by moonlightrhosyn (Gwen&Ianto, GwenRhys | complete | 1992 | T)

Gwen could still see their bodies every time she closed her eyes.

This is Me Trying by gwendolyncooper (GwenRhys, Gwen&Tosh, GwenOwen | WIP | 2524 | T)

“Sometimes you do stupid things to try and cope, to get a sense of normalcy, to make all this chaos and the Rift and space and aliens and the things we see make sense. Stupid, horrible things that should never have happened, and they come back ‘round to bite you again, and--” “What happened, Gwen?” Tosh’s prodding is soft and careful, but it speaks the glaring truth they both know - Gwen is stalling, talking around the issue at hand. Verdant eyes flash upwards with a startling intensity now, wide and filling with unshed tears again, the special agent’s plush lips pressed into a trembling line as she attempts to retain a semblance of control over her emotions. “I told Rhys about Owen.”

Fourty-Eight Hour Stand-Down by pocky_slash (JackIanto, GwenRhys | complete | 2740 | G)

"You and Ianto had a domestic," Gwen guesses. Jack scowls at her. In which Jack is kicked out, Gwen just wants a night off, Rhys buys milk, and Ianto clears table space.

Ret-comp (Retroactive Compensation) by reiley (LisaIanto | complete | 499 | T)

The phone. The one that could call any place or any time in the whole universe. The one Jack had locked away and warned them all that it was never to be used.

Any Other Day by Amand_R (JackIanto, JackGwen, GwenRhys | complete | 84055 | complete| NR) 

Hey, this one time? At Torchwood? Gwen and Jack switched bodies and everything went pear-shaped.

Space Tripping (in spaaaaace!) by Princessoftheworlds (JackIanto, IantoOther, GwenRhys, Gwen&Ianto | complete |  5115 |T)

Gwen and Ianto road trip across space - space trip, get high, shop, have a light existential crisis, face grief, and get massages - not all necessarily in that order.

Empty Chairs by princessoftheworlds (Gwen&Ianto | complete | 412 | G)

Gwen tends to Ianto's wound.

Forever, And What Comes After by Violetmessages (JackIanto, GwenRhys | Complete | 10028 | T)

“Hm, imagine if they did,” Ianto said. “Torchwood would have to come out of retirement.”

In which Gwen and Ianto relax at a spa, Jack and Rhys attempt bad science, and Anwen is just along for the ride.

One In The Same by Violetmessages (Gwen&Ianto, GwenRhys | Complete | 1638 | T)

Ianto, Gwen thinks. Her best friend would never turn her away, and maybe she can sleep on his couch for the night. Perhaps by the morning she’ll be okay again.

Wastin’ Away In Margaritaville by Paycheckgurl (Gwen&Ianto, JackIanto, GwenRhys, Gwen&Jack | Complete | 1419 | T)

Jack’s bad coping mechanism is agreeing to be a surrogate for an alien spawn baby. Gwen’s is at the bottom of a bottle.

Big Finish: Expectant from Gwen’s POV

[a-lil-bi-furious]

omg i sent an ask for the ship ask thingy a while ago but completely forgot about it (i assumed it never arrived??) but now i remember and still.. need ...to .. know... opinion on stisaac and allydia?

Hi Anon! Tumblr would betray me and not deliver your ask?? 😱😠 Rude. I did not receive the first, but I am happy to answer this one. Sorry it took me a bit (school’s got me super busy rn), but hopefully you’ll still see this!

Stisaac

I don’t really ship Stisaac tbh, so I haven’t given them tons of thought? It would take some convincing for me to ship them romantically because their relationship in canon just felt like pure hostility on both ends to me. I do, however, see some potential there with the banter (add in even a tiny sprinkle of affection and we have something to work with). If they were to have a relationship, I can’t see them being all that serious or committed to it, and I have a hard time seeing it as a very healthy dynamic. They’d be like...the pair that people think are dating? Maybe? It’s kind of hard to tell when the only things that ever come out of their mouths are insults with very little outward affection (even though they both care at least somewhat, they just won’t admit it).

I think their dynamic in general is interesting, though, because they’re only really in the same circle because of Scott. And (in my opinion) some of their hostility is because Scott’s in the middle of them; he’s always been close with Stiles, but he’s starting to really bond with Isaac too. Scott has always been Stiles’ best friend, and for a long time it was just the two of them, and now suddenly there are all these other people around. And that’s great! They could both use some friends. But Isaac is living in Scott’s house and suddenly just seems to be everywhere Scott is. Stiles already wasn’t all that fond of the guy and now he’s getting all chummy with Scott and Scott is all chummy with Isaac. And he hates it. And Isaac knows he does. But look, Isaac wasn’t big on Stiles either and with the clear chip on his shoulder and all the insults Isaac is happy to just deflect that bitchiness right back. He couldn’t care less about what Stiles thinks of him. He kind of wishes he wasn’t around so much, though, practically marking Scott as his best friend territory. What I’m trying to say is (whatever the nature of their respective relationships with Scott) there’s some jealousy here.

The form of their relationship I’m most on board with is begrudging friends who somehow end up paired off a lot and hate it, but kinda, sorta, maybe, a little bit have grown more fond of each other. But that’s a secret for the grave. They’re frenemies. And hey, sure, maybe they’re frenemies who get a little hot and bothered and make out once. It’s not a big deal, okay? Stiles threatens Isaac in his very morbidly specific way about telling anyone it happened. Isaac quips that it wasn’t good enough to be worth telling. And then casually announces it hours later, entirely too pleased with himself. Lydia and Allison are so over this before it even starts, but ultimately decide to fan the fire. Poor Scott is ready to bash his head in with these two fighting. Again. (Afterward he never lets Stiles live it down. After all, what are best friends for if not to mercilessly lovingly harass each other?) I’m rambling nonsense at this point. What I’m trying to say is I see them as essentially rivals turned friends-ish. I don’t ship them, but I’m discovering this dynamic would be fun to play with in the love/hate, bantering sort of way. I could potentially be convinced to read fic with them given the right premise, but couldn’t see it/wouldn’t want it in canon.

Allydia

Now, Allydia. I don’t even know how to describe my feelings on this ship! I feel mystified by it, honestly. They both just have such wlw energy so much of the time, and it’s a damn shame Lydia never got a girlfriend. I always loved both Allison and Lydia individually, and I did love their friendship! They were never a pair that I really gave much thought while watching the show (specifically ship-wise) but I remember seeing a gif set once outlining their relationship, and was kind of like “ok but why the fuck not??”

I love pretty much any iteration of them, canon-compliant and not. I ship them romantically, platonically, queerplatonically; in a polyamorous relationship, as friends who dated but decided they were better as friends and are super close/supportive exes, mutually pining, unilaterally pining; in different AU situations like... dark!Allydia, (both) supernatural!Allydia, (both) hunters!Allydia, non-supernatural world Allydia, etc. etc. I am 👀 intrigued about pretty much any idea. I do prefer a healthy dynamic, so that’s for sure a constraint, but mostly I just...am more or less indifferent to the form of Allydia I get as long as I get it somehow and they’re close and love each other, whatever kind of love it is. I get so emotional sometimes about how much they bonded, and especially about their relationship in season 3. That’s where it really seemed to blossom in a genuine, reciprocal way. In seasons 1 and 2 I do think Lydia and Allison cared about each other, but they were both so focused on portraying an image/persona that sometimes genuine care in that relationship got overshadowed by superficiality. And they are such a power couple too! Oh my godddd the strength and the confidence and the skill and the intelligence and the sass...incredible. I also cry whenever I think about Allison dying, and Lydia feeling it and screaming for her. I just....they were so connected and they loved each other and I am sad. I haven’t read fic for them before, but I certainly would if recommended a good one. 

I think my overall preference for shipping Allydia is as a queerplatonic relationship--just “platonic” doesn’t seem to quite cover how they feel in the way that most people mean it, but there isn’t a romantic connection. (To be honest, Lydia strikes me as somewhere on the aromantic spectrum just in general.) But, yeah, no one quite understands them like the other does, and ultimately they want to go through life together. So they live together and build a life together. They’re open to date other people romanticlally/sexually (if either wants); they function as partners in every other way, just as they always have, really, since Lydia first spotted Allison and announced “You are my new best friend.” And maybe love at first sight does exist, but maybe it isn’t what everyone assumes it will be. Maybe there was something about that glance that said “come get to know me” and Lydia declared “I already do.” Maybe there’s so much focus on romantics that people miss it when true love in other forms passes them by. Not Lydia. She’s not one to let opportunities pass her, and, honestly, she isn’t one to wait for them to come along either. She creates her own; if she wants something she goes for it. She wants a relationship with Allison. She gets a relationship with Allison.  And hey, it works out wonderfully. No one is impaled by a sword, and they live out their long, happy life together. Yep. It’s decided.

(Send me ships and I’ll tell you if/how I ship them!)

[mediaevalmusereads]

Master of Crows. By Grace Draven. Self Published (?), 2009.

Rating: 2/5 stars

Genre: fantasy romance

Part of a Series? Yes, Master of Crows #1

Summary: What would you do to win your freedom? This is the question that sets bondwoman, Martise of Asher, on a dangerous path. In exchange for her freedom, she bargains with her masters, the mage-priests of Conclave, to spy on the renegade sorcerer, Silhara of Neith. The priests want Martise to expose the sorcerer's treachery and turn him over to Conclave justice. A risky endeavor, but one she accepts without hesitation--until she falls in love with her intended target. Silhara of Neith, Master of Crows, is a desperate man. The god called Corruption invades his mind, seducing him with promises of limitless power if he will help it gain dominion over the world. Silhara struggles against Corruption's influence and searches for ways to destroy the god. When Conclave sends Martise as an apprentice to help him, he knows she's a spy. Now he fights a war on two fronts -against the god who would possess him and the apprentice who would betray him. Mage and spy search together for a ritual that will annihilate Corruption, but in doing so, they discover secrets about each other that may damn them both. Silhara must decide if his fate, and the fate of nations, is worth the soul of the woman he has come to love, and Martise must choose continued enslavement or freedom at the cost of a man's life. And love.

***Full review under the cut.***

Content Warnings: sexual content, blood, magical violence

Overview: After being a little lukewarm on Radiance, I decided to give Grace Draven one more try, mostly because her books seem to be popular on tumblr. I picked up Master of Crows on a whim, and though I think it has more plot than Radiance, the main characters were really not to my taste. For me, Martise was too passive and Silhara was too much of a jerk to be likeable, and the massive power imbalance between the two meant that I didn’t really root for their relationship to succeed. Thus, this book only gets 2 stars from me.

Writing: Draven’s prose is fairly straight-forward. It’s easy to get through and it flows well, giving the reader just enough to know what’s going on. I don’t really have any criticisms for its simplicity because Draven is writing within romance, and the point isn’t to be poetic. Rather, it gets the job done, and I think most readers will appreciate that.

Where I do think I can criticize this book is in the repetition of phrases. More than twice, I saw the term “half mast” used to convey when a character’s eyes were half open, and I think I saw “tattoo” used multiple times to describe a rapid rhythm or tapping. It’s not the biggest deal, but I was definitely pulled out of the story when I noticed these things.

I also think I can criticize Draven for telling us some things that should have been shown. We’re told, for instance, that Silhara isn’t a noble man, that he’s selfish and ambitious, etc. but we’re never really shown scenes of him acting out of ambition or being actually tempted to give in to Corruption’s influence. I would have liked to see Silhara be put in positions where he is making choices or doing things that make the reader think he was susceptible to Corruptions influence. Maybe we see him researching spells for making himself more powerful. Maybe something happens on page with Conclave that is so bad, he starts seriously considering Corruption’s offer to give him revenge. It could be argued that we do get some of that, but it felt like everything was told to us, or happened in the past, and we were expected to absorb it.

Plot: Most of the non-romance plot of this book revolves around Silhara trying to figure out how to destroy the god Corruption while Martise acts as a spy, trying to get some dirt on him so the Conclave (a collection of priests/mages) will have an excuse to kill him. To be honest, I thought the initial premise was a good one; I liked the idea of conflicting loyalties and the eventual shift from enemies (of a sort) to lovers.

However, I do not think this plot was handled well, mainly because Corruption seemed to be a background threat. Multiple times throughout the book, we see Silhara be more or less tormented by the god, whether through dreams that keep him up at night, through disrupting Silhara’s magic abilities, through manifestations, and through temporary possession. While scary, I don’t think these scenes had much lasting impact, which didn’t make Corruption feel like a real threat. If Silhara is being kept awake at night, for example, I want to see scenes where his sleep deprivation gets him in trouble. If his magic is out of control, I want to see scenes where he has to decide whether he wants to risk using it or if he should go through his life without his powers. Something other than Corruption just being a lurking boogeyman that occasionally pops up and becomes a nuisance rather than a real, omnipresent force.

I also think Martise’s plot was a bit weak, mainly because we’re never really shown her having conflicting feelings or arguing with herself about whether or not to give Silhara to the Conclave. Martise is a slave, and her master promises to free her if she can get dirt on Silhara. While fine, the desire for freedom never seemed like a driving force for Martise; we never see her digging through Silhara’s study for potential dirt, of trying to eavesdrop or do other things that would show her actively trying to achieve her goal. Instead, Martise is rather passive, waiting for information to come to her, and she never really wrestles with her life as a slave, not the decision of whether or not to report Silhara once she falls in love with him. I would have liked to see more angst or at least more of an evolution where it felt like Martise had an arc independent of her service or usefulness to Silhara.

Characters: Martise, our heroine, is rather passive and seems to exist mainly to be used. I really didn’t like that she seemed to have no ambition or agency; she mostly waited for things to happen to her, and only shows agency towards the end, when the big showdown happens. Even her “gift” - the magic ability which lays dormant in her until Silhara awakens it - seems to be built around her being a tool to be used, and I was extremely disappointed that her arc didn’t seem to be about empowering her as a woman or as an ex-slave.

Silhara, our hero, is the type of love interest I absolutely hate. He’s extremely powerful, but is a complete jerk to the heroine and commits random violence towards other people out of jealousy. While we’re told over and over again that Martise loves him because he’s a good person at heart, I really didn’t see it. He not only beats up someone who speaks poorly of Martise, but he also seems comfortable ordering her around and treating her as a servant until the very end. The only redeeming qualities he had seemed to be that he doesn’t like people treating women poorly (which, ok, I guess) and he’s kind to his servant, Gurn. Other than that, he’s not an alluring figure.

Side characters were fun, if under utilized. Gurn is Silhara’s mute servant who uses a kind of sign language to communicate. I really liked this character because it inserts some disability representation, and I liked his relationship with Martise. The two seemed to bond over their shared status as servants, and I honestly wish there had been more of an arc or exploration about class with these two. Other characters served their purposes. Cumbria, Martise’s owner, is largely absent, but manages to look bad in every way. He’s not a super compelling antagonist just because he’s not on the page too often, but when he is, I think Draven did a good job not making him over-the-top evil. He’s mostly just greedy and petty, and I wish he had been used more deliberately in conjunction with Silhara’s exile as a commentary on corruption within religious orders. Corruption, the god, is a different story. As I explained in the plot section above, Corruption isn’t much more than a boogeyman, and I got really tired of him really fast.

I’m not sure how to feel, however, about the Kurman people in this book. The Kurmans are a nation/ethnic group/tribe/society with some rather odd gender dynamics. Women can apparently own property and vote, and they are supposedly respected, but they are kept separate from men much of the time, wait on men at feasts, can’t meet men’s eyes unless they want to communicate sexual availability, and so on. It was rather bizarre to me, and I seemed to be getting conflicting ideas about whether or not this society was feminist or not. I also wasn’t sure if they were supposed to be modeled on any real-life ethnic groups or societies; they are described as wearing pointy shoes, having swarthy/dark skin, having multiple wives, etc. so I got the impression that they might have been like Arabs, Mongols, or Ethiopians (due to the food they eat, etc), but if so, I didn’t quite like how Silhara refers to them as “barbarian,” even if it was in jest.

Romance: I couldn’t get on board with this romance. At all. Martise was already too subservient as a character, and while I get that some of this could be a survival technique, it didn’t make sense that Silhara would fall for her based on the ways in which she surprised or challenged him. Because she barely did. She never called Silhara out in any meaningful way and seemed to go along with whatever he wanted until the end.

Most of my discomfort, however, comes from two main issues: 1.) Silhara never seems to put Martise’s well-being first, and 2.) there is a huge power imbalance between the two that isn’t corrected until the very end, and Silhara never seems to be interested in leveling the playing field. First, Martise’s well-being: Silhara constantly offered comments that seemed to tear Martise down or, at the very least, be a back-handed compliment. He never seems to want to find ways of making her happy, and he centers his own desire and well-being even after big things happen. For instance, in a scene where Silhara is temporarily possessed by Corruption, he hurts Martise so badly that she cannot speak (as in, he chokes her almost to blackout). When he is freed from possession, he never seems to care about what he did to Martise or how she might be in pain. Instead, the first thing he does is order Martise to get away from him, then he orders Gurn to look after Martise to make sure she’s ok. All the while, he focuses on his own pain and jokes about his balls (which Martise kicked in order to free herself from his grasp). I was flabbergasted - why wouldn’t you want to make sure for yourself your lover is ok after something like that?

Second, the power imbalance. Even though Silhara doesn’t know Martise is a slave for the majority of the book, he does take her into his household as a servant, and has no qualms about ordering her about or taking advantage of her gentle nature. You’d think that if someone fell in love with a servant, much of the romance would be about overcoming class barriers or finding some way to put the two characters on equal footing. Sometimes, this is done by the lower class person having a sharper wit or calling out the upper class person on things that make them change for the better. Martise and Silhara never seem to have that arc. Martise calls Silhara “Master” throughout the whole book, and Silhara didn’t seem uncomfortable with it except when they were having sex. He never stops presuming to give Martise orders and expecting she obey them, not even at the very end when the question of her freedom gets resolved. And there are books out there where this class barrier is done well (Jane Eyre comes to mind), so I think Draven could have put more work into exploring the dynamics and how Martise is a match for Silhara, even given her status and lack of magic (at least, for a while).

TL;DR: Master of Crows has a good premise, but ultimately suffers from unlikeable or passive protagonists, a weak plot, and a romance with uneven power dynamics.

[mediaeval-muse]

Book Review

The Wolf in the Whale. By Jordanna Max Brodsky. New York: Redhook, 2019.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Genre: historical fiction, magical realism

Part of a Series? No

Summary: A sweeping tale of clashing cultures, warring gods, and forbidden love: In 1000 AD, a young Inuit shaman and a Viking warrior become unwilling allies as war breaks out between their peoples and their gods-one that will determine the fate of them all. "There is a very old story, rarely told, of a wolf that runs into the ocean and becomes a whale." Born with the soul of a hunter and the spirit of the Wolf, Omat is destined to follow in her grandfather's footsteps-invoking the spirits of the land, sea, and sky to protect her people. But the gods have stopped listening and Omat's family is starving. Alone at the edge of the world, hope is all they have left. Desperate to save them, Omat journeys across the icy wastes, fighting for survival with every step. When she meets a Viking warrior and his strange new gods, they set in motion a conflict that could shatter her world...or save it.

***Full review under the cut.***

***Mild spoilers in the plot section.***

Content/Trigger Warnings: rape, sexual assault, racism, misogyny, blood, violence, infanticide, slavery

Overview: I’m not an expert on Inuit culture, so if there are any Inuit, Indigenous, or scholarly reviewers out there who can speak more about the representation in this book, I highly recommend listening to them over me. (I am, however, a medievalist, so I can speak to the Norse elements in this book, if desired.)

The Wolf in the Whale is the kind of book that I have wanted for years; one that pushes back against the colonial gaze and gives us a perspective on Vikings from a non-European point of view. Unfortunately, I’m not entirely sure if this book did that for me. Brodsky (from her own research note) is not Inuit herself, though she does detail her research process and seems knowledgeable about some aspects of Inuit culture. Combined with some storytelling elements that she included in her tale (such as rape and misogyny), I feel somewhat conflicted about how to rate this book, even as I appreciate what it was trying to do. I think for me, personally, The Wolf in the Whale didn’t do as much interrogation into gender identity as it could have, nor do I think making Inuit spirituality/religion fit into Norse mythology entirely rejects a colonial point of view. I did, however, appreciate the premise and the writing, so I’m giving this book a 3.5 star rating.

Writing: Brodsky’s prose is very literary in tone, and I thought that Brodsky wrote with an easy balance between telling and showing. She uses neither flowery language nor sparse descriptions, and it was easy to visualize what was going on without feeling like everything was being spoon-fed to me. I also think the sentences flowed well and the pace was generally appropriate, and I found it easy to keep reading, even though this book was around 500 pages long.

This book is, however, written in first person, which I personally don’t care for because first person can make some descriptions seem awkward. Brodsky manages to sidestep a lot of awkwardness by using a more literary style, reigning in some emotion to make it feel as if the POV character is retelling their story from a future, detached kind of mental state. So props to her for that.

Plot: The Wolf in the Whale follows Omat, an Inuit girl who is raised as a boy, as they struggle to ensure their family’s survival. Over the course of the novel, Omat encounters food shortages, divine conflicts, and strangers (including other Inuit, Indigenous peoples, and Norsemen), and the majority of the latter half of the book is spent following Omat as they search for their cousin, Kiasik, who has been kidnapped by Norsemen.

In general, I think the structure of the plot worked well. Brodsky divides her book into sections that reflect different conflicts in Omat’s life, and I think the events unfolded in a logical way. I also really enjoyed the valuation of stories (especially when Omat and Brandr, a Viking, bond over storytelling) and the magical realism that gave Omat a connection to the spirit world. I furthermore appreciated that Omat’s story was one of Inuit contact with Vikings; as a medievalist, I’ve studied sagas that this book is loosely based on, and I appreciate the fact that Brodsky represented the Vikings not as heroic explorers, but colonizers and slavers.

I did not, however, enjoy the fact that so much of this book seemed to revolve around misogyny, and I got a weird sense that even though Omat is our POV character, Norse mythology seemed to take center stage when the Vikings showed up. First, the misogyny: I can’t speak to the accuracy of the Inuit stories about their gods and goddesses, nor can I say for certain if Inuit peoples have strict prohibitions against women doing men’s work and vice versa; thus, I can’t say whether the numerous stories about rape or the taboos that Omat is punished for violating are accurate or exaggerated. However, I think I can say that Omat needed to have a much more defined personal journey that didn’t revolve around her disdaining women’s work or being sexually assaulted. As a girl raised as a boy, Omat is incredibly anxious about being perceived as a hunter and a man - to the point where they express a lot of disgust or shame at being seen wearing women’s clothes or doing women’s work. I think there’s a way to explore Omat’s gender anxiety without denigrating the role women play in Inuit culture, as without women’s work, everyone would die. To be fair, Omat does learn to appreciate women’s roles over time, but I think that process needed to be more gradual and punctuated with plot points where a woman’s skill or knowledge proved to be valuable.

I also do not think there needed to be so much sexual assault (or threat of sexual assault). While I do think Brodsky showed Omat to be affected by her rape, and there’s a nice moment towards the end where Omat addresses all the rape that their goddesses have endured in their stories, I also think the constant threat of sexual assault was a little much. Again, I can’t speak to whether Inuit culture expects women to essentially be sexually available for their husbands at all times and able to be “loaned out” to other men, but I think I can say that as a female reader, I was tired of Omat being threatened to be raped all the time, by Inuit and Viking alike. I would have preferred that Omat come to view their stories in a new light after their assault, and that Omat form bonds with other women who straddle the line between male and female (such as Freydis and Loki, despite their antagonism) in order to grow as a person without a concrete binary gender identity.

Now for the Norse mythology stuff.

***HERE BE SPOILERS.***

While I did like the magical realism that made Omat’s spirituality feel real, I think actually speaking to Norse gods themselves pushed this book from historical fiction to fantasy for me in a way that felt jarring. Also, I think that Brodsky put a little too much value on Norse mythology to the point where it became validated over Inuit spirituality towards the end. To explain: Omat learns in the book that Inuit gods are actually the Frost Giants from Norse culture, and while I get that Brodsky was trying to make all religions fit into one cosmic system, it felt like she wasn’t so much rejecting colonialism as much as she was imposing it. I didn’t like the fact that Inuit gods being Frost Giants meant that Norse myths are real and Inuits have to fit into Norse cosmology, not the other way around. Moreover, Omat is responsible for bringing about Ragnarok, which means that the big mythological battle is between Inuit and Norse gods. While all the gods are reborn, so to speak, after the battle, only the Norse ones speak to Omat, which felt a little unfair.

Characters: Omat, our POV protagonist, is a compelling character in that they have interesting strengths, flaws, and personal challenges. As a girl raised as a boy, Omat struggles to find an accepted identity within their culture, while also getting in trouble for pride (especially when they try to “prove” that they are a man). I liked that Omat was so interested in stories and connected so strongly with the spirit world, and I found their courage to be admirable. I did have some problems with Omat’s utter shame at all things feminine; as mentioned above, I think the acceptance of women’s work and a female body could have been a good character arc, but I think everything was too mired in misogyny to be powerful.

Brandr, a Viking and Omat’s ally-turned-lover, was admirable in that he rejected a lot of the violence of Norse culture and learned to see Omat as a capable, formidable leader. It was a little strange to me, however, that Brandr seemed to offer Omat what their people could not: acceptance of their gender-fluidity. It seemed like almost a critique of Inuit society, though to be fair, Norse people also expressed a lot of misogyny and homophobia in this book. I hated the fact that Brandr was revealed to have raped 3 women prior to meeting Omat, and while it’s good that Brandr realizes how wrong he was to do that (even though his culture told him that it was expected of a Viking), I think he got off far too easy.

Supporting characters were interesting in that they were heavily flawed. Kiasik, Omat’s cousin, struggles with his affection for Omat and his envy of them, leading him to make some decisions that open a rift between the two. Freydis, the legendary leader of the Viking expedition, is determined and harsh, which is fine since she is a major antagonist, but I would have preferred more commentary on gender roles when Omat saw her inhabiting male and female roles. Various Inuit characters were also interesting, such as Omat’s grandfather and adoptive mother, who support Omat in their personal journey. Issuk and his family were hard to like, since Issuk is a braggart and a rapist and his band does little to stick up for Omat.

TL;DR: The Wolf in the Whale has an exciting premise and does well with its magical realism. Moreover, it is well written and clearly has good intentions; however, misogyny and Euro-centric/colonial biases still creep up and detract from the valuation of the main character’s Inuit culture.

[l-egionaire]

Queer Platonic Elsa and Anna evidence.

So, after making my first post about the possibility of Elsa and Anna being Queerplatonic, I went and did some reading on Queerplatonic relationships, talked to some tumblr users who better understood the topic and even read some fanfiction that portrayed the topic. While I still don’t think I’m an expert, I do feel I can say that Elsa and Anna might have a relationship like this. So, I’m going to give some evidence. But before I do, I want to provide a definition of what a queerplatonic relationship is for those who don’t know. It’s defined as

“a relationship which is more intense and intimate than is considered common or normal for a "friendship", but doesn't fit the traditional sexual-romantic couple model. It is characterized by a strong bond, love, and emotional commitment, yet is not perceived by those involved as "romantic". The relationship may or may not have some elements or degree of sexuality/eroticism at various times, or none - it doesn't matter, because sexuality/sexual exclusivity is not what the relationship is organized around. It's defined by the intensity and significance of the emotional connection.

The people involved do not have to identify as "queer", it's a type of relationship experienced by and available to anybody regardless of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or (non-)monogamy. The people involved in a queerplatonic relationship may consider themselves partners, life-partners, a couple, a triad, or any other term that implies the relationship is meaningful, committed and intimate.”

While I don’t feel that they’d classify their relationship as this way due to the term not existing in their point in history, I do feel it fits them well. So, I’m going to provide some evidence that pertains to other facts about queerplatonic relationships and correlate that with things about Elsa and Anna’s relationship.

1. Queerplatonic relationships are often the most important ones in the persons life.

In a queerplatonic relationship, a persons relationship with their queerplatonic partner is the most important, even more than romantic ones. And that’s very clear with Elsa and Anna. Anna loves Elsa more than anything else and Elsa loves Anna more than anything. Anna does have a relationship with Kristoff and while, it’s not any less important or strong, it’s clear that Elsa comes first to Anna. While it wouldn’t be easy to just break things off with Kristoff, If Anna had to choose between him or Elsa, you know she’d choose her sister. Because she’s who she loves the most.

2. Queerplatonic partners have a level of emotional and sometimes physical intimacy beyond what most people would consider normal.

Intense Emotional and physical intimacy can be signs of a queerplatonic relationship. They have a close emotional bond with one another different than the bond usually common with friends. They are also sometimes very physically affectionate. Things like hand-holding, snuggling, cuddling, hugging and occasionally even kissing can be part of that. Elsa and Anna are extremely emotionally and physically close. They are each other’s most trusted person and confidante. They share things with each other they wouldn’t share with anyone else, even significant others. They have an intense and powerful love that I personally feel transcends even familial affection. And as for physical affection, in many of the shorts and things they are often seen hugging, holding hands, and just being in extremely close proximity. While this might not seem odd for them being sisters, it’s still clear they are extremelly comfortable with physical intimacy with each other.

3. Queerplatonic Partners often plan their lives around each other.

Partners in a queer romantic relationship will feel their relationship is so strong, they don’t wish to be separated and usually plan their lives so that their partner is still with them. I feel this specifically pertains to Anna. Though she expresses a clear desire to escape her loneliness and the pain of her past, she has no desire to leave Arendelle or her sister. If she gets married, she lives in the palace and you can tell when Elsa tells her to leave that she doesn’t want to do that. She even is willing to die for her because for her life without Elsa means nothing. And the same is true vice versa. Elsa has no desire to live without Anna.

4. Queerplatonic relationships are often seen as romantic.

People in Queerplatonic relationships can occasionally act so close that they are seen as being in a romantic relationship. Elsa and Anna’s interactions throughout the movies and other media is often seen as being a sign that they have romantic feelings for one another. Indeed, some romantic tropes are used in regards to their relationship. Even people who see their relationship as being platonic describe them as being soulmates and indeed, that’s how some queerplatonic partners would describe their significant other, as their soulmate or their other half.

5. Queerplatonic Relationships are common among asexuals.

Queerplatonic relationships, while not limited by sexuality, are common among asexuals as replacements or substitutes for romantic relationships. While it may not be canon, many fans of the Frozen franchise perceive queen Elsa as being asexual. It could be easy to see the queen forgoing any sort of attempt at romance and instead choosing to be solely with her sister.

6. Conclusion

Now, I know some of you reading might have still have one question: can siblings have a queerplatonic relationship? Well.....I don’t know. The sources I’ve found usually focus on talking about friends and the people I’ve asked all say they don’t quite know whether that term can be applied to a relationship between siblings, BUT I did find an analysis about the brothers from Supernatural through the lense of a queerplatonic relationship and I feel some of those ideas could apply to Elsa and Anna. I’ve also read a piece of fanfiction where the premise-Elsa and Anna forgoing romantic or sexual relationships to be with each other- is somewhat similar to the concept and can be found at this URL:

https://m.fanfiction.net/s/11667496/6/

Once again, while I’ve done some reading on the subject and talked about it with other people, If anyone more knowledgable on the topic feels inclined to say anything, please go ahead, i’d want to make sure I’m not offending anyone or misrepresenting the idea. But I felt I just wanted to present this evidence to the idea.