#bc id love to read stories set in medieval romania and not whatever tf mainstream vampire fiction is doing

[grecoromanyaoi]

also maybe im wrong and way off abt this but in my experience a very clear example on western chauvinism is evident in fantasy series depicting "other" cultures. its always inspired by that culture, and rarely actually takes place in it. notice how its always fantasy in an "asian inspired" or rarely "african inspired" fantasy, and barely is a fantasy setting in asia or africa. and its done to "white" cultures too, esp eastern europeans, and i actually think eastern europeans r a really good example of that. medieval western europe used to be the go-to setting for fantasy stories, right, but now the "foreign" fantasy is on the rise, esp slavic fantasy. and its different when andrzej sapokowski wrote the witcher or when naomi novik wrote uprooted, bc theyre themselves polish/of polish descent (and esp naomi novik who is jewish and imo a fantasy setting is a v freeing way for jews to explore history thru literature, but thats my onion and also another post). i think its different bc i dont think naomi novik wrote uprooted in a fantasy setting inspired by poland bc it didnt interest her to write/read a story set in poland. but i think a lot of these books/shows/etc. r only able to gain popularity bc western audiences want to explore/read about a "different" culture without directly engaging with that culture and its history, but rather with bits and pieces that are comfortable to them that were chosen from those cultures, mostly created by white westerners that aren't from those cultures. and im not saying this as inherently against fantasy settings inspired by nonwestern cultures (im writing one too) but like, how many of these stories actually showcase ideas that are uncomfortable to the western audience (notice how many things the witcher show changed to appeal to mainstream western audiences)? how many of those stories show morality and ways of thinking that are unfamiliar to a mainstream western audience? how many fans would atla have if instead of saying 'what if these magical people were inspired by asian people' they grounded it in asia and asian people and cultures, and said 'what if asian people were magic'? how many western writers dying to write the next witcher actually want to read a story based in medieval poland? idk. maybe im way off, but thats just my take.