#homosexuality in folklore

[real-ants]

Monster girls bonding over love of worm

[cricket-mound]

bound to one another throughout time, and all of time.

ACHILLES WHEN I CATCH YOU!! it’s them. it’s literally them. they would do iliad shit in a MINUET if you put them on a battlefield.

clark choosing to not fight (definitely for a more valid reason than achilles istg) but people needing the HOPE he represents. so bruce adorns his armor and will gladly die in his place.

and despite his sacrifice, it only prolongs his lover’s suffering until his life too, is cut short.

they should not have let me read the iliad in middle school. that probably would have made me a better developed person.

[evolvingmonkey]

Love's Cosmic Secret: The Myth of Our Missing Halves

Why Some Folks in Love Feel Complete, While Those on the Hunt Feel Like Something's Missing?

Long ago, humans weren't quite the way we are today. Picture this: we used to be round, with two bodies facing outwards, each sporting a single head and two faces looking in opposite directions. We had four legs, four arms, and four hands, and there were not just two, but three sexes back then. The first type had two male bodies, and they were believed to be the offspring of the sun. The second had two female bodies, and they were the children of the earth. And the third had one of each, and they were born under the moon's watchful gaze.

These peculiar beings could walk forwards, backwards, and even roll around at lightning speed. But one fateful day, they got a bit too ambitious and tried to challenge the gods by scaling Mount Olympus. Needless to say, Zeus was far from thrilled. As punishment, he took a big cleaver and sliced each one in half.

Since that eventful day, us humans have been yearning for our missing halves – the parts that make us feel whole. The male bits that got separated from other males became male homosexuals, the female parts that were split from their female counterparts turned into lesbians, and those who originally had one of each ended up as heterosexual.

When these divided souls come to realize they're missing their other half, they're overjoyed to find them again. It's like a cosmic puzzle coming together, and they feel complete once more.

Have you ever felt this yearning?

[mavkaworld]

The Book Of Lesbian

On mavkas and rusalky -

Thats such a big easy distinction how people mixing them up. Like I know they both bad but one will finger you underwater and the other will you eat out your bush.

miteecordycied 1:1

@miteecordycied

Книга Лесбіянок

Про мавки та русалки -

Це така велика легка різниця, як люди їх змішують. Я знаю, що вони обидва погані, але одна буде пальцем під водою, а інша з’їсть ваш кущ.

miteecordycied 1:1

@miteecordycied

[mausoleum-letterbox]

30.) favorite mythological creature? and why?

"Death, as we tell him,

Gentle, kind, beautiful.

He is not mythological, not really,

But please, please, do excuse me.

My mother told him kind.

Yours,

A. Kreiss."

[marchwardenofmordor]

I fucking loved Nosferatu. The Death and the Maiden imagery, how faithful it was to the original FW Murnau piece (including some of the recreations of iconic scenes), all the ‘Little Deaths’ and how FINALLY there’s some gnarly vampire erotica that doesn’t feature the vampire as some glazed twink, and has him as a rotten old corpse instead. Loved the Romanian dialogue. Loved that gruesome death scene, and the final frame was a fucking work of art.

Unfortunately it makes me so frustrated that not everybody will get it or understand it and why it’s so good. Everyone I’ve spoken to about it were too preoccupied with “all the weird moaning” and laughing at the full frontal vampire cock.

Meanwhile I’m sat there trying to explain vampire folklore and their cultural history, documents of ‘real’ vampirism, their symbolism and roots in xenophobia and antisemitism, blood libel, the manifestations of demons as personifications of shame and desire, Bram Stoker’s possible closeted homosexuality and his ties with Oscar Wilde and how Dracula was published around the same time Wilde was imprisoned, the ‘bohemian’ movement in the victorian period and how it simultaneously romanticised, fetishised and demonised Romani culture, la petit mort and necrophilia and how grief, sex and death are intertwined, the science behind why humans both are attracted to and repelled by the smell of indole, why funerals make people hungry/horny, the Victorian Christianity perspective on blood transfusions, the significance of blood as a ritualistic symbol and device throughout mythology and history, mental illnesses and medical conditions connected to vampirism and other vampiric folkloric creatures like the Nachzehrer and the Gwrach y Rhibyn whilst everyone looks at me like I’ve grown five heads

And honestly? I’ve never kinned Dr Van Helsing more in my life than at that exact moment.

By all means, take me to the cinema to watch a piece of vampire media but do not expect to win an argument concerning vampires against me because I can and will put you on your arse. This is my domain, my special interest.

Just gonna add a lil something in here hol’ up

Bam. Enjoy some takes.

[cleradinthealps]

did you know that green socks are a symbol often associated with queer men?

i follow Eleanor Medhurst, a lesbian fashion historian, on tiktok. she made this video researching green’s role in queer color history and stumbled upon the presence of green socks as a symbol for queer men in the U.S. in the 1960s.

the tradition dates back to before Celtic tribes inhabited the British Isles when “the British Isles were inhabited by a darker-skinned pagan tribal culture known as the Brownies or, alternately, the Fairies.” Their culture emphasized non-patriarchal values and sexual liberation, which most likely included same-sex relationships. If you’ve ever heard of queer men being referred to as fairies, this is why.

Green was a color often sported by these people. Alongside this, Thursday was a holy day, hence the old superstition/saying that wearing green on Thursdays means you’re queer.

Phillip Hiscock, an assistant archivist and cited source in Medhurst’s video, stated, “To wear green socks, by the same people*, was thought to be a sure token of queerness, of being homosexual.”

*people who took care to wear green on Thursdays

Source: Venetia Newall, ‘Folklore and Male Homosexuality’

I think it’s definitely interesting that the writers chose to emphasize Mike’s choice of green socks in this episode!

[randopersonidk]

Ima throw my own two-cents into the Laito Drama conversation. I'm not trying to win an argument with people or prove that my view is right I'm just stating my opinion on the situation 🙏

I do consider Laitos situation to be a form of a sexual abuse. I am talking within context of the DL games themself but I'm also taking historical context into consideration. I'm also trying to work with different peoples perspectives to try and get a more well rounded analysis than just my point of view.

| 𝙃𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙭𝙩 |

Historicallly bloodsucking has always been a innuendo for sex or at least sexual tension Vampire folklore uses the act of bloodsucking as a form of intimacy, power and as a metaphorical penetration. It's why Vampires have always been romanticized since the victorian era as they represent everything taboo for people, Vampires were also associated with homosexuality. Basically the entire premise of vampires were their allure and sinful desire, the unknown or immoral. Vampires are the sirens of land. We see this foundation with vampires consistent from the Victorian Era all the way to media like Twilight, Interview with a Vampire, Dracula, Nosferatu, Vampire Diaries etc.

And I don't see any implication that Diabolik Lovers doesn't follow this format. Besides the fact that the game is literally a otome game the characters also follow this format.

( ʟᴀɪᴛᴏ ʜᴅʙ ᴍᴀɴɪᴀᴄ ᴇᴘɪʟᴏᴜɢᴇ )

● ʟᴀɪᴛᴏ: ɪ’ᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴛᴇʟʟɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛʟᴇꜱꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴛɪᴍᴇꜱ, ʜᴀᴠᴇɴ’ᴛ ɪ? ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ’ꜱ ɴᴏ ɴᴇᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ʜɪᴅᴇ. ᴡʜʏ ᴅᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴏʟᴅ ʙᴀᴄᴋ ꜱᴏ ᴍᴜᴄʜ ᴀɢᴀɪɴꜱᴛ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴜꜱ ᴡʜᴏ ᴀʀᴇ ʙᴀꜱɪᴄᴀʟʟʏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇᴍʙᴏᴅɪᴍᴇɴᴛ ᴏꜰ ᴅᴇꜱɪʀᴇ? ●

| 𝙂𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙭𝙩 |

The bloodsucking scenes are very heavy with sexual tension, on top of this the boys are clear that the act of bloodsucking is a intimate act as anytime Yui is around another male character the very first questions they ask her is if she's had her blood sucked, its obviously something that is personal to the main character and her chosen Diaboy, otherwise the other characters wouldn't care of she had her blood sucked and would've maybe press her on if she kissed another character or had sex with them. Execept they dont, she is only asked if she's had anyone else suck her blood, and this is in fact is referred to as cheating on them.

𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙦𝙪𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙨

ꜱʜᴜᴜ: “ʏᴏᴜ’ᴠᴇ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ɢᴏɴᴇ ᴀꜱ ꜰᴀʀ ᴀꜱ ᴛᴏ ᴄʜᴇᴀᴛ ᴏɴ ᴍᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ꜱᴏᴍᴇ ᴏᴛʜᴇʀ ɢᴜʏ."

“ᴅᴏɴ’ᴛ ᴘʟᴀʏ ᴅᴜᴍʙ. ɪ ᴄᴀɴ ᴛᴇʟʟ ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ ʏᴏᴜʀ ꜱᴋɪɴ, ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴄᴇɴᴛ ᴏꜰ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ ɪꜱ ꜱᴡᴇᴇᴛ. ʟɪᴋᴇ ɪᴛ ʜᴀᴅ ᴍᴇʟᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴀ ᴍᴜᴅᴅʏ ᴍᴇꜱꜱ…ɪᴛ ᴅᴏᴇꜱɴ’ᴛ ʙᴇᴄᴏᴍᴇ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴡɪᴛʜᴏᴜᴛ ʜᴀᴠɪɴɢ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴏɴᴇ ꜱᴜᴄᴋ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ. …ᴡʜᴏ ᴅɪᴅ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴛᴏ ʏᴏᴜ?” ● ( ʙᴏᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇꜱᴇ ʟɪɴᴇꜱ ᴀʀᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴀᴍᴇ ᴅʀᴀᴍᴀ ᴄᴅ ) ●

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ᴀʏᴀᴛᴏ: ...! ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴍᴀʀᴋ ᴏɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ ɴᴇᴄᴋ...

ʏᴜɪ: ᴛʜɪꜱ ɪꜱ...( ʜᴇ ꜱᴀᴡ ɪᴛ...ᴡʜᴀᴛ ɴᴏᴡ...!? )

ᴀʏᴀᴛᴏ: ...ɪ ꜱᴇᴇ. ɪ ɢᴇᴛ ɪᴛ. ɪ ɢᴜᴇꜱꜱ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɴᴅ, ʏᴏᴜ’ʀᴇ ꜱɪᴅɪɴ’ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ᴛᴏᴏ, ʜᴜʜ!?

ʏᴜɪ: ɴᴏ...ɪᴛ’ꜱ ᴀʟʟ ᴀ ᴍɪꜱᴜɴᴅᴇʀꜱᴛᴀɴᴅɪɴɢ! ɪ...!ᴀʏᴀᴛᴏ: ɪ’ᴠᴇ ʜᴇᴀʀᴅ ᴇɴᴏᴜɢʜ. ɪ ᴡᴏɴ’ᴛ ᴛʀᴜꜱᴛ ᴀɴʏᴏɴᴇ ᴀɴʏᴍᴏʀᴇ...

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ʟᴀɪᴛᴏ: ( ɪ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴅᴇᴛᴇᴄᴛ ᴋɪɴᴏ’ꜱ ꜱᴄᴇɴᴛ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ʙɪᴛᴄʜ-ᴄʜᴀɴ’ꜱ ʙᴏᴅʏ…ᴀᴛ ꜰɪʀꜱᴛ ɪ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛ ɪ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ɪᴍᴀɢɪɴɪɴɢ ᴛʜɪɴɢꜱ ʙᴜᴛーー )

( ꜱᴇᴇᴍꜱ ʟɪᴋᴇ ɪ ᴡᴀꜱɴ’ᴛ ᴡʀᴏɴɢ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ᴀʟʟ. )

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| 𝙇𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙤 |

So now, we've already established that the act of bloodsucking in its historal context and within the context of the game is infact intimate and sexual. Yes, the boys do need blood as food as well but within the scenes we are given of the bloodsucking, this is never the case ( I wish Rejet would've given more context on their diet habits and how exactly they eat but hey )

Now onto Laito, it is in fact canon that Laito has drinked Cordelias blood, we know this from his past flashbacks but from the fact that he recognizes Yuis blood from Cordelia. I most certainly view this as sexual abuse. Well first if all, what is sexual abuse? Well by defention " Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser."

So If we've already established that bloodsucking is intimate, and take into account that through context Laito is not actively after this or overpowering her in any way because it's shown that Cordellia is fully in charge of the situation and is the one who is actively iniating these interactions and is aware of this. Then all of these factors can be taken as sexual abuse, because its a unbalanced dynamic between a parent and child and Cordelia is in fact taking advantage of the fact that Laito will do whatever she asks even if he himself doesn't want it. Cordelia is in control of these situation, she's not weak or being abused for the fact that not only does she iniate these events whenever she wants and has full control over these men, she actively says this herself.

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ʟᴀɪᴛᴏ: ーー ᴡᴇʟʟ, ɪ ᴅᴏɴ’ᴛ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ᴄᴀʀᴇ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ʜᴇʀ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ. ᴋᴀɴᴀᴛᴏ-ᴋᴜɴ ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏɴʟʏ ᴏɴᴇ ᴡʜᴏ ɪꜱ ᴄᴏɴᴄᴇʀɴᴇᴅ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴀᴛ.ᴛʜᴇʏ’ʀᴇ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ᴏʀɢᴀɴꜱ, ᴀɴᴅ ɴᴏᴛ ᴀᴄᴛᴜᴀʟʟʏ ʜᴇʀ. ʙᴇꜱɪᴅᴇꜱーーᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴠᴇʀʏ ᴍᴏᴍᴇɴᴛ, ʜᴇʀ ᴇxɪꜱᴛᴇɴᴄᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜɪɴ ᴍᴇ ᴅɪᴇᴅ. ᴇᴠᴇɴ ɪꜰ ꜱʜᴇ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ꜱᴛɪʟʟ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ ɴᴏᴡ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴡʜᴇʀᴇ, ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɪꜱ.

ᴄᴏʀᴅᴇʟɪᴀ: …ʏᴏᴜ’ʀᴇ ꜱᴜʀᴇ ᴛᴀʟᴋɪɴɢ ʜɪɢʜ ᴀɴᴅ ᴍɪɢʜᴛʏ. ᴇᴠᴇɴ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴍʏ ꜱʟᴀᴠᴇ!

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ᴄᴏʀᴅᴇʟɪᴀ: ɪ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ᴀ ꜰᴀᴠᴏʀ ᴛᴏ ᴀꜱᴋ.ɪᴛ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ɪꜱɴ’ᴛ ᴇɴᴏᴜɢʜ. ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ ᴅᴏ ɪᴛ, ʀɪɢʜᴛ? ʟᴀɪᴛᴏ?

ʟᴀɪᴛᴏ: ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ᴀʀᴇ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ…ꜱᴏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ’ꜱ ᴡʜʏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ?

ᴄᴏʀᴅᴇʟɪᴀ: ꜰᴜꜰᴜꜰᴜ…ᴛʜᴀᴛ’ꜱ ʀɪɢʜᴛ, ʟᴀɪᴛᴏ. ᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴏɴ, Qᴜɪᴄᴋʟʏ…

ʟᴀɪᴛᴏ: …ɢᴜᴇꜱꜱ ɪᴛ ᴄᴀɴ’ᴛ ʙᴇ ʜᴇʟᴘᴇᴅ. ɪ’ʟʟ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴘʟᴇɴᴛʏ.

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ᴄᴏʀᴅᴇʟɪᴀ: ꜰᴜꜰᴜ…ʜᴏᴡ ᴍᴀɴʏ ᴅᴏᴇꜱ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ? ʏᴏᴜ’ʀᴇ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ᴍʏ ᴍᴇɴ, ʏᴏᴜ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ᴀʀᴇ ꜱᴜᴄʜ ᴀ ɴᴀᴜɢʜᴛʏ ʙᴏʏ.ーー ʙᴜᴛ, ɪᴛ’ꜱ ꜰɪɴᴇ. ɪ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴅᴏɴᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜɪꜱ ᴏɴᴇ ᴀɴʏᴡᴀʏ.ᴛʜɪꜱ ɢᴜʏ ꜱᴛᴀʀᴛᴇᴅ ᴘʀᴇᴀᴄʜɪɴɢ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ᴏʀ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ, ɪᴛ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴀ ʜᴀꜱꜱʟᴇ.

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ᴄᴏʀᴅᴇʟɪᴀ: ʜɪᴍ? ᴀᴀʜ, ʏᴏᴜ ᴍᴇᴀɴ ʀɪᴄʜᴛᴇʀ? ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇɴᴅ, ʀɪᴄʜᴛᴇʀ ɪꜱ ᴊᴜꜱᴛ ᴀ ᴍᴀᴋᴇꜱʜɪꜰᴛ…ʜᴇ’ꜱ ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ ꜰᴏʀ ᴡʜᴇɴ ᴍʏ ʙᴏᴅʏ ɪꜱ ᴘᴀʀᴄʜᴇᴅ. ᴀᴀʜ, ʙᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɢᴜʏ ᴍɪɢʜᴛ ʙᴇ ᴜꜱᴇꜰᴜʟ ɪɴ ꜱᴏᴍᴇ ᴡᴀʏ ꜱᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ’ᴛ ᴋɪʟʟ ʜɪᴍ, ᴏᴋᴀʏ?ᴀꜱ ʟᴏɴɢ ᴀꜱ ɪ ᴄᴀɴ ᴘᴜᴛ ʜɪᴍ ᴛᴏ ɢᴏᴏᴅ ᴜꜱᴇ, ᴏᴋᴀʏ?

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ʙᴜᴛʟᴇʀ: ᴏʜ ɴᴏ, ɪ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ᴏꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀꜱ ꜱᴜᴄʜ......ʙᴜᴛ ᴡᴇʟʟ, ɪ ꜱᴜᴘᴘᴏꜱᴇ ɪ ᴄᴀɴ ʜᴀʀᴅʟʏ ʙʟᴀᴍᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜɪɴᴋɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴀʏ.ᴡʜᴇɴ ᴄᴏʀᴅᴇʟɪᴀ-ꜱᴀᴍᴀ ᴡᴀꜱ ꜱᴛɪʟʟ ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ, ꜱʜᴇ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ᴀꜱᴋ ᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴘᴀʀᴛɪᴄᴜʟᴀʀʟʏ ꜱᴛʀɪᴄᴛ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʏᴏᴜ.ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴡᴀꜱ ɴᴏ ᴡᴀʏ ɪ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴏᴘᴘᴏꜱᴇ ʜᴇʀ.ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ʜᴀᴅ ᴍᴇ ꜱᴡᴇᴀᴛɪɴɢ ᴡʜᴇɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴄᴀᴜꜱᴇ ɪꜱꜱᴜᴇꜱ...

ᴀʏᴀᴛᴏ: ʜᴇʜ...ꜱᴏ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴇʀᴇ ᴀʟꜱᴏ ᴏɴᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴏᴏʀ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ ʙᴇɪɴ’ ᴘᴜꜱʜᴇᴅ ‘ʀᴏᴜɴᴅ ʙʏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ꜱʜɪᴛᴛʏ ᴏʟᴅ ʜᴀɢ?

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| 𝙑𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙡𝙨 |

Now, I'm trying to get my view across while also acknowledging other people's point of view, I'm sure we all agree that any kind of incestuous relationship is abuse because it's a imbalanced power dynamic. However to address the argument of " Their Vampires so their morals are different " Fine, if we play by those rules, then even if the incest isn't the problem, their own Vampire customs have already proven that at least the act of bloodsucking is intimate, and doing this with other men like how Cordelia had Richter suck her blood, than it is conisderd unloyalty, why would something be considerd cheating if it wasn't something to only be shared with your significant other. as I already discussed. So either way what Cordelia is doing is in fact wrong even from a Vampires perspective.

Beyond that even the way the situation between him and his mom is addressed by other characters feeds into the notion that it's not okay or normal.

●

( ʟᴀɪᴛᴏ ᴠꜱ ᴀʏᴀᴛᴏ ᴄᴅ )

ʟᴀɪᴛᴏ: ᴛʜᴀᴛ’ꜱ ᴡʜʏ ɪ ʜᴀᴛᴇ ʏᴏᴜ…ɪ ʟᴏᴀᴛʜᴇ ʜᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜ ꜰᴇɪɢɴ ɪɢɴᴏʀᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴡʜᴇɴ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀᴄᴛᴜᴀʟʟʏ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ᴇxᴀᴄᴛʟʏ ᴡʜᴀᴛ’ꜱ ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴏɴ. ᴀɴᴅ ᴀʙᴏᴠᴇ ᴀʟʟ…ɪ’ᴍ ᴇɴᴠɪᴏᴜꜱ ᴏꜰ ʜᴏᴡ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ ʙᴇ ꜱᴏ ʜᴏɴᴇꜱᴛ ᴀɴᴅ ᴜᴘʀɪɢʜᴛ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ. …ɪ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ɪ ᴄᴀɴ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ʙᴇ ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴛʜᴀᴛ. ɪ’ᴠᴇ ʙᴇᴇɴ ʀᴜɪɴᴇᴅ ʙʏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴏᴍᴀɴ. ɪ’ᴍ ɴᴏᴛ ʜɪᴅɪɴɢ ᴍʏ ꜰᴇᴇʟɪɴɢꜱ ᴇɪᴛʜᴇʀ. ᴛʜᴇʏ’ᴠᴇ ꜱɪᴍᴘʟʏ ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴇʀᴀꜱᴇᴅ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴡɪᴛʜɪɴ ᴍᴇ. …ʜᴀʜᴀ.

ʟᴀɪᴛᴏ: ɪ ᴡᴏɴᴅᴇʀ ᴡʜᴀᴛ ɪ ꜱʜᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴅᴏ?

ᴀʏᴀᴛᴏ: ɪ ʜᴀᴛᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴛᴏᴏ. ʏᴏᴜ’ʀᴇ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ʜᴏɴᴇꜱᴛ…ɪ ᴍᴇᴀɴ, ɪꜰ ᴏɴʟʏ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴀᴅ ᴀꜱᴋᴇᴅ ꜰᴏʀ ᴍʏ ʜᴇʟᴘ ᴀᴛ ꜱᴏᴍᴇ ᴘᴏɪɴᴛ, ɪ ᴡᴏᴜʟᴅ ʜᴀᴠᴇーー

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( ʟᴀɪᴛᴏ ᴍʙ ᴇᴘɪʟᴏᴜɢᴇ ) ʟᴀɪᴛᴏ: ᴄʜᴇ…ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴏᴍᴀɴ, ʜᴜʜ? …ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴅᴏᴇꜱ ꜱʜᴇ ᴡᴀɴᴛ?ʙᴜᴛʟᴇʀ: …ɪ ᴀᴍ ɴᴏᴛ Qᴜɪᴛᴇ ꜱᴜʀᴇ.

ʟᴀɪᴛᴏ: ɴꜰᴜ. ʏᴏᴜ ᴀᴄᴛᴜᴀʟʟʏ ᴅᴏ ᴋɴᴏᴡ, ᴅᴏɴ’ᴛ ʏᴏᴜ? ʏᴏᴜ’ʀᴇ ꜱᴏ ᴍᴇᴀɴ, ɢʀᴀᴍᴘꜱ. ᴏʜ ᴡᴇʟʟ, ɪᴛ ᴅᴏᴇꜱɴ’ᴛ ᴍᴀᴛᴛᴇʀ. ʟᴇᴛ’ꜱ ɢᴏ. ( ʜᴀᴀʜ, ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴀ ʜᴀꜱꜱʟᴇ… )

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| 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙤𝙧𝙮 |

Why is this not being said out loud or why would Laito need help if what what happening wasn't wrong? Now I had read about Laito having stomach issues and that Cordelias blood was helping with that. However I can't take this into account because there is no actual proof of that, we do have proof that Laito does have a sensitive stomach, however this is only discussed in Vandead Carnival and is never brought up again, and we have absolutely no implications or proof that Cordelia was helping Laitos stomache so I can't use that in my analysis, the same way I'm not bringing up that Laito and Cordelia have had sex, because it's only implied and this situation with Laito is very technical and nitpicky so I'm trying to best to be somewhat unbiased and stick to what is Canon.

| 𝘾𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙖 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜? |

So, why would Cordelia do this? Well she does actually give an answer for her treatment of the triplets in Ayatos DF

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ᴄᴏʀᴅᴇʟɪᴀ: ᴍʏ ᴄʀᴜᴇʟ ʙᴇʜᴀᴠɪᴏʀ ᴛᴏᴡᴀʀᴅꜱ ᴀʏᴀᴛᴏ ᴀɴᴅ ʜɪꜱ ʙʀᴏᴛʜᴇʀꜱ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴀʟʟ ᴅᴏɴᴇ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴏꜰ ꜱᴘɪᴛᴇ ᴛᴏᴡᴀʀᴅꜱ ʜɪᴍ ᴀꜱ ᴡᴇʟʟ. ꜱᴇᴇɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʜɪʟᴅʀᴇɴ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏᴍᴀɴ ʏᴏᴜ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ɢᴇᴛ ᴛʀᴇᴀᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴ ꜱᴜᴄʜ ᴀ ᴡᴀʏ ꜱʜᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴀᴛ ʟᴇᴀꜱᴛ ᴅᴏ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ʏᴏᴜ, ɴᴏ?ɪ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴄᴀʀᴇ ʟᴇꜱꜱ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴡᴏʀᴅꜱ ʟɪᴋᴇ ‘ɪ ʟɪᴋᴇ ʏᴏᴜ’ ᴏʀ ‘ɪ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ʏᴏᴜ’. ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴏɴʟʏ ᴏɴᴇ ᴛʜɪɴɢ ɪ ᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ. ーー ʜɪꜱ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ. (1)

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Cordelia mistreated her kids as a way to gain attention from Karlheinz, and for the argument of " Cordelia never mistreated the triplets, demons are just harsh " I have to disagree because Cordelia herself just described her treatment to the trplets as Cruel, Richter also refers to her punishments as " extreme " in Ayatos HDB. So her behavior isn't actually normal it is considerd cruel and extreme by other demons.

We can speculate about why Laito was specifically the one who had this kinda of relationship with her however we don't actually have an answer to this. Laito himself many times even says that he's not sure why he's the one who was chosen by her, and once again. I'm going based off Canon answers.

| 𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 |

To conclude my little analysis, yes, I believe this situation is sexual abuse, the act of bloodsucking is intimate and a sign of loyalty to Vampires so it's wrong for Cordelia to be having anyone suck her blood let alone Laito. The way Cordelia started her kids is cruel as she states herself and as other characters have pointed out. Cordelia was completely in control of her kids and in her relationships with other men like she also repeats herself. And with Cordelia being the triplets mother, her allowing, and asking Laito to suck her blood is a power imbalance. We can also see that Laito doesnt even fully understand the situation, and just does as his mother instructs him to and later regrets and has nightmares about this situation with his mother, proving how his relationship with her was not good.

| 𝙀𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙚 |

Thank you for anyone that's read this, once again I'm not tryna start a war or force anyone to change their opinions, these are my views and your free to agree or not. At the end of the day this is a video game and I think it's a little ridiculous to be sending threats to people no matter if we disagree with them.

[useless-catalanfacts]

A group of weeders standing in a rice field in Amposta (Terres de l'Ebre, Catalonia). I couldn't find the date but it's most likely from the 1920s-1940s. Photo from Museu de les Terres de l'Ebre.

This photo is interesting because it shows the traditional clothes that women from the Ebro Delta wore until the 20th century. It's very different from the image most people think of when we imagine "traditional women's clothes". The truth is that many countries (including ours when it comes to the pubilla and hereu outfit) fixed their "national costume" in the early 1900s, taking the upper class formal clothes as "the traditional clothes". However, that is not representative of the country in general, particularly of the working classes, nor of the many local variations that are always found around a country.

These weeders are wearing saragüells, which are a kind of tight-fitting trousers made of a light material that can dry easily. On top of this trousers, they wore a skirt that they rolled up to their waist. The reason behind this being the usual work clothes for women in the Ebro Delta area is because it's an area where, since 1860, most people worked in the agriculture of rice. Rice is grown in water, so they worked with their feet and lower part of legs in the water. (Ah, and by the way, yes, of course most women historically worked outside of the home, too.)

Now, here's why I find this interesting: the various dictatorships of Spain who called themselves "traditionalist" (Primo de Rivera's and Franco's) and their followers for many years forbid women from wearing trousers in many ambits or raged against women in trousers for being immoral. How is it possible that "traditionalists" said that, when there are traditional/historical clothes for women that include trousers? Don't "traditionalists" stand for keeping traditions? Well, let's hear the words of one of the movement's founders:

“For the authentic revolutionary conservative, what really counts is to be faithful not to past forms and institutions, but rather to principles of which such forms and institutions have been particular expressions, adequate for a specific period of time and in a specific geographical area.” Julius Evola, Men Among the Ruins: Post-War Reflections of a Radical Traditionalist.

This was said by Julius Evola (1898-1974), one of the ideologues of traditionalism. What he's saying here is that the point of traditionalism is not to be faithful to what the past or the tradition really was like; the point of traditionalism is to have some a priori beliefs and then look back in history and cherry-pick some places where that was the case. History is long and includes millennia of different cultures, you're bound to find pretty much everything at some point, and easily those ideas that have been the status quo in the immediate previous years (which is what they defend). This is why traditionalists defend that European powers are the heirs of Imperial Rome and have claims on other countries as such, but consider things that were completely normal in Ancient Roman culture (homosexuality, multi-racial cities, racial mixing) are not part of what they defend. It was never about following a real tradition or history, that was just an excuse.

These so-called "traditionalist" governments also pick one singular culture from the whole area instead of allowing each area to continue their traditional way of life. In the case of the Spanish dictatorships, exterminating the traditional customs, languages and cultural elements of the nations whose land Spain occupies (Catalans, Basques, Galicians, Aranese...) was a priority. They banned the languages, holidays, songs, and more. At the same time, they imposed one singular language (Spanish), religion (Catholicism), and the holidays, traditions (like bull-fighting), music, etc. of the Spanish with an emphasis on folklore from Andalusia (Southern Spain).

As a historian, it saddens me when people believe that what traditionalists say is really what the past was like, and nowhere do I see more lies than in what the "tradwife" movement have been led to believe. The real past was so much more interesting.

And speaking of trousers... Did you know that France had an 18th-century law that forbid women from wearing trousers which wasn't repealed until 2013? In 1972, the French politician Michèle Alliot-Marie was banned from entering the French Parliament because she was committing the crime of wearing trousers!

[mask131]

If you want to have a folk-authentic vampire... (2)

Here's more elements taken from various folklores, legends and historical "cases"! Another melting-pot...

Other conditions and events that predisposed one into becoming a vampire: being a "criminal" (by this understand - prostitutes, thief or pyromaniacs) ; a child dead before being baptized (overlaps with stillborn infant) ; to be born on a holiday day ; those born with a placenta colored red ; the "unbelievers" (by the Christian sense - in typical Christian xenophobia of old, Jews, Muslims and atheists were all considered "doomed" by default) ; those born with a tail (you know, when there's a sort of tail-leftover out of genetic defect) ; children who stopped being breast-fed THEN were breast-fed again ; people born on a Saturday or Sunday, and "bastards of the third generation", understan the illegitimate son of an illegitimate son of an illegitimate son.

Those who, after dying, had a cat, a bird, an "ugly/dirty" creature or even the shadow of one of those beasts passing over their corpse, are likely to turn into a vampire. There's also a strange legend about how homosexuals could turn into vampires - mixed with somehow how they also changed their gender every month due to their unnatural desires?

In Bulgarian folklore, a vampire starts out as a shadow. It is commonly thought that when someone who dies cannot access to the afterlife for one reason or another, their soul lingers on earth, wandering under the shape of a shadow. If they are not set free after forty days, they become a vampire as the shadow gains a skin and a sanguine system with blood (but the vampire lacks both flesh and bones). The vampire will then start drinking the blood of cattle, more rarely attack humans, and mainly visit their next of kin to frighten them regularly.

Remember when I said in Romanian folklore vampires had a short, furry tail? Well, while sometimes it is found by their back, like a regular tail, other times it is under thir left armpit.

While usually in vampire legends the undead leaves its grave every night and returns before the rooster's song, in some local variations the vampire only gets out of its tomb every Saturday, or during specific times of the year (for example they are sometimes said to get out of their grave on the eve of Saint Andrew' Day).

Vampires sometimes were said to wait for their victims by crossroads, attacking passerbies, wanderers and night-travellers ; usually they were dressed or wrapped in their own shroud.

Vampires were, as I said early on, confused with werewolves, and with the "nightmare beings" (night hags). But the vampire myth also overlaped with the witch myth. Witches and warlocks were said to become vampires after dying ; in some countries the local word for vampire has etymological roots with the denomination of witches ; and generally all the disasters caused by vampires were also commonly attributed to witches. Like them, they caused plagues and storms. Like them they caused sterility and famine by stealing the life-force of cattle and of plants growing in fields. Vampires were also said to steal milk, just like witches did: it was said they took the shape of cats to drink milk out of cow's udders, and once the milk ran out they tarted drinking the beat's blood. In Bulgaria, when priests distributed garlic on Easter mass, those that refused were considered to be either vampires or witches.

Some vampire variations in the Balkans/Silesia were said to each night go at the top of the bell-tower of the village and ring the bell: all those that heard the sound were doomed to die.

Other "local recipes" to prevent someone from becoming a vampire, or blocking an active vampire: piling up rocks on the grave, tie with ropes the hands or feet, to cut off the Achilles' tendon, or to place thorns under the corpse's tongue (it apparently prevents the vampire from sucking blood). Near the Aegean Sea is was a custom to place corpses suspected to be a vampire on a lonely rock by the sea - for vampires were said there to be unable to cross salted water (a belief which ties in with more common beliefs of inland Europe about vampires being repelled by salt, or unable to cross running water).

In Greek folktales, it was said one could only trust a vampire's word if they swore by their shroud.

In Bulgaria, men born on Sunday were said to have the power to identify and kill vampires - usually by stabbing them or shooting them until the undead lost all of its blood.

[quitealotofsodapop]

Do you know if there's any initiation process for people to become sworn siblings?

Or do they just say, "You're my sworn sibling now." to each other?

I think it is comparable to the historical practice of "blood brothers" in which close companions would symbolically "mix blood" by pressing opened wounds against one another or drinking one another's blood. In some cultures with a more "eww. blood" attitude, a sacrifice was made in each other's honour to seal the deal instead.

In folklore; the only reason the gods in the Norse pantheon don't get rid of Loki despite their mischief, is because Loki and Odin are blood brothers.

Noted examples in East Asia mainly come from Mongolian and tribal Chinese accounts - in which it was common practice amongst dear friends and their children. One famous example is Temüjin aka Genghis Khan and his childhood friend Jamukha - the latter's betrayal and attempted usurping considered one of the Khan's greatest emotional losses.

For particularly Chinese sources I found this article about traditional Chinese Kinship, though most of the sources come from Taiwan.

The standard ritual was for each sworn sibling to add their names and dates to a contract and ritualistically burn it - as to add it to the infernal and celestial archives. "Can't return me without the receipt" - at it's finest.

Another familiar practice was for each sibling in the pact to add their blood to wine, and pass it around to drink.

It's a bit flexible depending on the individuals. Whether for personal or political reasons. But the "ideal" scenario is people who are so close, that they feel that they might as well by legally recognised as siblings. Sworn brethren could, for example, contribute to the dowry of a sworn sibling's daughter, preform mourning rituals for the others bio family, or becoming legal guardians of your sworn-sibling's kid in case of their death.

Or in the case of Confucian-era China outlawing homosexuality, it was a clever way to facilitate a same-sex marriage. Can't fault two guys for living together and raising their kids when it's a legally recognised practice! A bunch of friends could come together and make a brotherhood pact as a way to cheekily help others in the group be married in spirit when the state wouldn't recognise it.

Some folks even did it so that members in their bio family who were interested in eachother could have "a reason" to be interacting. Imperial gender norms be wildin' so hard that you can't talk to your crush without your dads being legally best bros.

This is why in chinese slang; "sworn brothers" is used as slang for "gay relationship". Aka "oh my god, they were roommates."-vine.

In JTTW: Sun Wukong and the Brotherhood/Seven Sages declare themselves sworn kin at the same time Wukong elects his Marshals and Generals. In this case, they are all close friends who officiate their sworn kinship through partying hard, and making sacrifices to both Heaven and Hell. They even have separate days out together.

(Source: Anthony C Yu translation)

Who knows, maybe a wedding was thrown in the mix? With all the drinking I wouldn't be shocked if there was some confusion with the ritual contract! XD

Wukong, re-reading the contract years later: "HA! Flood Dragon and Tamarin put themselves down as the other kind of sworn brother! Wonder if they even noticed that?" Bull King, there to check: "I doubt it. I'm just glad I'm not legally married to anyone. Don't want any loose ends before me and Iron Fan get hitched."

Erlang and the Six Lads of Plum Hill/Meishan Brothers are all sworn brothers too - in a more frat-boy/brothers-in-arms sense. They've all likely know each other for decades, and legit see each other equal to siblings. Notably, Erlang shares the bounty he received from capturing Sun Wukong fairly across his brothers (and presumably the remaining odd bit for the dog). Four of the brothers are Marshals while Two are Generals, giving more credence to the headcanon of Wukong's Stalwarts being his sworn family as well. In an odd bit of hilarity amongst the tense fight of Flower Fruit Mountain, the bros even rib Erlang for thinking too hard about Wukong.

Erlang, trying to be cool and edgy: "What a foul being to dare call himself equal to heaven. I ought to-" Plum Hill Lad: "Aww! Elder Bro has a crush!" Erlang, flustered: "I DO NOT!!" Plum Hill Lads, all cracking up and making kissy faces: "Then why are you thinking about him so much?" "Major sus bro!" "If you wanna fight him so much why don't you just marry him?" (*Invasion is paused as all six Plum Hill lads start rough-housing with their elder bro. Many head-noogies are inflicted.*) Wukong, on the ground: "You know what those guys are talking about Macaque?" Macaque, teasing: "Why, are you interested in him or something?" Wukong, blushing like a schoolgirl: "Oh my gawds! Stahp!"

Curiously, Wukong describes himself and Erlang as "sworn brothers" later in the book; suggesting that they had a close relationship at some point. One of my fave pieces of art (can't find it rn) is Erlang asking Wukong to be his "sworn brother", and Wukong assumes he means "spouse" and gets confused when Erlang mentions having six more. XD

A "lesser" case would be; The Tang Emperor declaring Xuanzang/Tripitaka his oath/sworn brother because the monk is doing him a solid. The Emperor shows his immense gratitude, and Tripitaka gains some political clout that he can throw around if he needs to (the Empress of the Kingdom of Women even sees this as a marriage bonus). Tripitaka def doesn't do the "blood" or sacrificial part of what these rituals imply, as per his Buddhist upbringing, but it's still seen as a binding oath. Rather, they bow to one another and declare their status are sworn bros before an image of the Buddha in the monastery.

In Tripitaka's case, it's more of Emperor Taizong being like; "Look, this pilgrimage is so important to me that I'm gonna legally and spirtually count you as my little brother so that you understand how much I trust you." Meanwhile the monk is like; "What?Thats a bit much don't you think?"

Later on, the promise of becoming one's sworn brother is passed between characters akin to "If you pull this off for me, I would straight up be your best bro."

And ofc the Pilgrims consider eachother sworn kin/brothers at the end of the story, even if they didn't do a ritual to seal it.

So yeah in summary:

Rituals can be performed but are not 100% required. Even a mutual declaration before an idol/holy image is enough. Whilst the Brotherhood of Sages celebrate their new pact through booze and partying and blood sacrifices - Tripitaka and the Tang Emperor just declared it while in a monastery.

People did it for money and political reasons too.

They also did it cus "It ain't gay if it's brotherhood."

Sworn kinship can be forged overtime.

The celestial and infernal archives have the reciepts.

Btw you can do a "sworn divorce" if you and your bro have a falling out.

Whilst the practice isn't really a thing in modern China, I imagine it's still common amongst yaoguai and/or celestials.

[tyriq-edits]

Megop Wang Zhaojun AU

Hi everyone! A while ago i posted a Moodboard + Drabble for a Megop AU based on the ancient chinese Tale of Wang Zhaojun.

Now I do wish to explore this AU further in the future. However there are a few issues

I am white. Like REALLY REALLY WHITE. The type of white, Mozarella cheese is considered to have more melanin than I.

I am a history and archeology student and my two biggest passions (or obsessions rather) are History and Folklore of all kind and of all cultures. That much is true. HOWEVER I am specialised on the history and culture of ancient Greece and ancient Rome. Ancient China is NOT my fortee. Like in the slightest. Except for a handful of C-dramas and danmei (like MDZS and TGCF) I have watched, I have had little to no contact with this country and let’s be real THOSE THINGS DO NOT GIVE YOU A MASTER’S DEGREE IN SINOLOGY. So I am very concerned on wether or not I should even be ALLOWED to write about this AU any further than this. It fear it would be the equivalent of asking a Weeb to write the screen play of a historical drama set in feudal Japan.

I am trying to do some basic research on the Han dynasty and the imperial harem system of ancient china. However this does not erase the fact that I am not from this culture and I fear of it being disrespectful of me to use their tales and history to write fanfictions about homosexual robots. But at the same time I have also witnessed people writing fanfictions based on Greek Mythology without having done any research beforehand and i've only VERY RARELY seen them get any backlash for it/seen people think of it as weird. Same with the MDZS fandom, where they will put the characters in a setting based on the ancient chinese imperial courtsystem and no one really batting an eye if they got stuff wrong about it. So I am kinda conflicted and unsure on how fandom etiquette feels towards historical accuracy.

So this is a genuine question to my fellow Transformers fans as well as people from China or people who actually know stuff about the history of Imperial China. How do you think I should proceed?

[psychopurr]

ÖFUGUGGI FLAG.

pt: öfuguggi flag. end pt.

a flag for those who reclaim öfuguggi, an icelandic derogatory term referring to queer men.

the öfuguggi, or reverse-fin trout, is a mythological fish from icelandic folklore, distinguished by reversed fins and swimming organs, as well as its lethal toxicity; its poisonous reputation has lead to its use as a slur for men with "abnormal sexualities", such as perverts, and subsequently - homosexual men. while no longer as common today, this gives it space to be reclaimed to reverse the derogatory perspective and to wear with pride.

the deep blues represent the trout's natural colours, as well as resilience. the red symbolizes the flesh of the trout, as well as survival, strength, and defiance; and finally pink and purple to represent queer love, and reclaiming masculinity outside of rigid norms. the reverse-fin trout, rather than being seen as something unnatural, represents swimming against the current, breaking norms, and embracing one's identity unapologetically.

an additional flag inspired by disastergay's fag and dyke flag!

COINED BY nameless.

REQUESTED BY none.

TAGGING: @vndead-pvppy @rwuffles @isurvivedtheinfinity

[kevin-the-bruyne]

I really had to read with my own two eyes multiple times since this post had multiple people add on to it, bringing it back to my dash again and again, that the drama from Tharn and Phaya's past life did not feel dramatic at all. And somehow that detracts from taking the drama of the present as seriously as the show is taking it. This story is based on Thai folklore? The Naga and Garuda are eternal enemies. The love between a Naga and a Garuda is an insult to the literal cosmic order. Chalothon who was only trying to preserve the natural order has been wronged by their love. The natural order is also referenced several times but especially when the priest was like keep Phaya and Chalothon away from each other, they're destined to be enemies. Not meeting the show halfway to accepting this as part of your lens as an audience is frankly...an interesting choice to make. The next bit is pure conjecture on account of me not being Thai but I'm trying to relate to what The Sign is likely trying to do from my own understanding of Asian folklore and the way we use those stories to build new stories. What is there to get out of this show other than the big fuck you to 'natural order' of things that must be because of the way that they are. Why can't a Naga and Garuda be in love? This must be a concept that people explore under the general lens of forbidden love in Thailand (pure conjecture but also like I don't know how it can't be true). We all have our poorly explained versions of Forbidden Love gone bad; Romeo and Juliet, Ram Leela, Devdas would be some heterosexual stories of Forbidden Love that kind of hand waves around the forbidden part a little bit that I'm familiar with. Devdas (the story I'm most familiar with of the one's stated) and its myriad adaptations is a story about the absolute ways we hold on to class even as it brings about our own downfall.

It's a great pick for a queer adaptation because the reasons why the lovers couldn't be together was so made up and really came down to ONE person (Devdas' mother) who just couldn't let go of class even though everyone else was literally begging for the two to just be together because let me tell you none of you have met a poor little meow meow on the scale of Devdas.

The Sign is bringing the forbidden love between a Naga and Garuda as a parallel of the forbidden love between two men. Homosexuality outside of the legal sphere really does come down to an ideological difference as to what is natural vs not. Homosexuality goes against a natural order of reproduction. And this is true. Two men cannot reproduce, two women cannot reproduce with each other.

The challenge isn't to prove that they can, it's to prove that reproduction isn't the centerpoint of human life, that we have transcended the need for our life to be dictated by this 'natural' order because on principal our societies just aren't built along the paradigm of 'survival of the fittest' where the benchmark of species fitness is its ability to reproduce.

Thai shows including things that have come out of Idol Factory (that produces The Sign) are often socially engaged with LGBT rights within Thailand. Now that gay marriage is legal or on its way to be, I assume a move in the direction of bringing same sex relationships up to the same societal respect as straight relationships would be a natural direction that future screenwriters will go.

The Sign is trying very hard to take the question of homosexuality right to the heart of Thai culture and tradition and talk about it from that lens [this is less conjecture and more paraphrasing what Saint has said about the show in interviews] And I know that you all are capable of meeting a story halfway in respecting its desire to set up the stakes through references of allegorical story telling since y'all have been doing it with Last Twilight and Le Petit Prince. So I don't know even know why I had to make this post but: tl;dr: The stakes of the love between Tharn and Phaya and the forbidden nature of it is set before you even see much of the show just from the fact that Tharn is a Naga and Phaya is a Garuda and as a member of the audience you have to accept that the love between Naga and Garuda is a deviant form of love in Thai culture.

[solangelo-taylors-version]

best believe i'm still bejeweled

Hi! It’s Ziva (z-ee-va) and this is my little fandom chaos blog thingy. Read on for lots more about me!

ME: • Ziva • minor • she/her • questioning •

FANDOMS: • Riordanverse • Taylor Swift • Divergent • Chappell Roan • Hunger Games • Sabrina Carpenter • AGGTM • Dua Lipa • Heartstopper • Olivia Rodrigo • Conan Gray • Aru Shah • EPIC • Hamilton •

FAVOURITES: • T.S. album - evermore/folklore • pjo book - the last olympian • hoo book - house of hades • colour - pink • OTHER MINI THINGS: • summer camper at Camp Half-Blood • District 5 • Divergent • i have braces • I play netball • my nfl team is eagles • my football/soccer team is Man City • bibliophile

DO NOT INTERACT: • sexist • homophobic • racist • defamatory • bullies • creeps • pédophiles. •

WELCOME: • Everyone! • I really don’t mind if you are queer, black, heterosexual, homosexual, everyone is welcome 🤗 •

MY TAGS: • #ziva’s asks ♥ - asks I get

• #ziva’s reblogs ✿ - things I like, so I reblog 😁

• # [name] ☆ - probably an ask from them or something of theirs that I reblogged

• #ziva yaps .*･｡ﾟ- original posts

• #ziva sings *✹* - I don’t really know why I have this tag, but it’s on quite a bit of my posts, which might say something about me?

• #ziva writes ✍︎ - for when I write fanfiction, find more information below

CURRENTLY READING: Keeper of the Lost Cities: Lodestar

TO BE READ: Keeper of the Lost Cities • Six of Crows • Heartstopper 5,6 •

FIND ME ON: • spotify

dividers credit to @cafekitsune

ZIVA WRITES: requests go in my ask box • no smut • check my fandom list for fandoms I will write for • prompt list •

MY WONDERFUL MOOTS: • @hazellevessque • @the-eclipse-is-in-me • @mayo-mayasversion • @mayaa-69 • @tvd-1864-delena •

@permetutotheworld• @ghoztking • @your-local-depressed-fangirl • @currentlyinflames • @just-that-bookworm •

@doodlebugdpj • @sassyengene7 • @i-am-a-duck-collector • @telugu-girl-13 • @dayz72 •

@elytrianemrald • @the-official-failure • @your-local-bi-guy • @123letsgobestie •

@where-is-the-angst • @bookworm-fangirl1 • @its-alaina13 • @boobersandstuff • @shrxe •

@sun-of-icarus • @swiftsworld13 • @sevsalio • @hellangelxx • @reallychoppedphantom •

@not-a-gay-guy • @xoxochb • @shadowuserannie • @emdabitchass • @book-girl4evaaa • @nyxs-blank-canvas •

[superspeedycidersqueezy]

I associate the twins with certain vibes and times of year. Which was inevitable to happen from how much I think about them really

Said times of year are the fall to holiday season

Fall because that’s cider season and they made their debut as cider salesmen

And the holiday/Christmas season because their manes’ look like candy canes and they appear in two different holiday specials, which isn’t a lot yada yada, weird that it happened twice

The more well known special being the Best Gift Year which blessed us with Flim in this outfit:

Fella’s looking dapper 👀

The other is the mlp Holiday Special 2017 comic, which is a really cute read

The Flim Flam brothers come riding into town(?)(it wasn’t exactly clear where the setting was), and introduce the idea with of a Hearthswarming Season, folklore or a hearthswarming OC which has its own merch and a bunch of other ways to celebrate the season.

I love their holiday ideas here, but they introduce them like ponies have to buy from them. And promoting lots of consumerism.

The comic does frame the excess of consumerism as bad for the most part, but also actually it’s fine buy things that make you happy. Which makes sense, it is the story from an exclusive holiday comic that had to be brought.

I still suggest reading the comic yourself tho, it’s still cute and the twins wear cute festive outfits! If you have the chance feel free to give it a read, there’s free online ways to do so!

Now look at these festive fellas! :D

The sillies 🥰

Also damn 😳

having homosexual thoughts