#homosexuality in folklore

[real-ants]

Monster girls bonding over love of worm

[cricket-moth]

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!

[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.

[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.

[fadelbison]

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!

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[briefbestiary]

Öfuguggi, a backwards swimming toxic fish from Icelandic folklore. Due to its nature, its name became a synonym for perverts, and a derogatory slur against homosexuals in Icelandic.

[linnetagain]

Hi! I’m not sure if you’re comfortable answering questions about your fics here so please feel free to ignore this if you’re not.

I’m a russian queer who left a comment under chapter 3 of The Season and I’m super qurious why you decided to make Астарион :), Cazador and Halsin russian. In Good Men and Monsters you mention that Astarion has been called upyr, does he have Eastern European background in that universe as well?

I’m completely enamoured with and fascinated by your works and wait for new updates religiously. Thank you so much for sharing them with us, you’re a солнышко! 🖤

Hello friend!! I am slow to answer but happy to! I can't promise I'll be very eloquent or be able to provide a satisfying answer but I'll do my best.

First of all, I haven't specified Astarion's background in Good Men and I likely won't, so if you want to read him as Eastern European please do! I can absolutely see how it fits. In the context of that discussion it's the concept of Vampirism and the folklore surrounding it that is focused on Eastern Europe rather than he himself. I am absolutely not going to touch some of Stoker's vampiric lore because he was a xenophobic Victorian man (the boxes of dirt... goddamn, Stoker, what the fuck - the grave dirt of course is relevant in Good Men but it's 'the soil the vampire was buried in' not 'fifty boxes of soil from his homeland'). I could write a whole essay on the symbolism of the outsider as a threat and the crossover of the ostracized sections of Victorian society in Dracula (non-english, lower class, homosexual, the list goes on and fucking on) but this is already a long reply so I'll spare you and look at Season.

There are a couple of reasons that it fits, for me, and a lot of it is to do with the Russian history of competitive ice skating. Writing a modern AU Astarion who wasn't a vampire meant I knew I needed to find another way to have that aspect of his character where his life hasn't been his own, where it's been shaped by other people for their own purposes, and even as an adult and being 'free' to make his own choices, he's living with the legacy of who they made him, and working to be more than that. Competitive sport definitely has that aspect already, unfortunately, and ice skating even more so.

I also never wanted him to be the only Russian, because then of course you're risking tokenizing him. Cazador made sense for obvious reasons, but Halsin too. I considered him because he's the other high elf companion, but also because in game he's the one with a history of war. Transferring him to a modern day context was harder than a lot of the other characters, but I wanted him to have that similar ground with Astarion that he has in game, even if they never address it. Unintentionally, it means that in Season he and Astarion have very different experiences of their culture and identity, especially in context of the diaspora, which is something I really enjoy exploring.

Of course that then raises the question of the current geopolitical state of Russia and the wider Slavic regions. Having real world issues as a basis for plot is always somewhat fraught, but it's also something very close to my heart and that I want to write about. I also didn't want to make them all British to avoid any of that difficulty, that would be both unrealistic and uninteresting.

I think the ultimate reason is that fiction, even fanfiction, is our way of processing and reflecting on and exploring our world. It's less obvious in fantasy settings, but it's still very much there. The ultimate reason I choose to do anything is because it's interesting - and usually, in a real world context, that means it's fraught and complicated. I want to write about things that matter, to me and to anyone who might read it, and I want to do it in a way that means anyone reading from a different context might feel seen.

The reason I started writing in the first place, however many years ago, is that I didn't see any asexual rep in fiction and I knew that if I needed it, someone else needed it too. I do the same now. I have queer Russian friends who feel like the world has moved on from what's going on in Russia at the moment, or that all Russian people are being treated like they MUST agree with what the Russian government are doing. The nuance of the situation and their identity is erased by oversimplification. I suppose part of writing this is just me wanting to do anything I can to combat that. It's not much, but I hope it's something, to know that you're seen and still being thought about, and people still care.

Writing characters who have dealt with miscarriage, drug abuse, xenophobia, chronic pain, emotional neglect and all those kinds of things is because I have feelings about these subjects, I want to discuss them, I want to explore what it means to live through something like that and how it affects you as a person. Fiction is a space to do that, and to invite people into those conversations that we wouldn't have otherwise. Art has always been a starting point, and it's always been at the forefront of social and political change. I don't write fanfic thinking it's going to change the world, obviously, but I do write it with the intention of treating real life situations with the respect and consideration they deserve, rather than just using them for drama or brushing over them because it's a difficult thing to talk about.

I know that Season is a love story. That's the ultimate goal, and I presume that's why people are still reading. But it's also, to me, a story about what it means to be queer in our world today. What that looks like, how far we've come and how far we still have left to go. I want to give people a story that is real, in that sense. That takes in all the fucking awful shit that can come with being queer and out and open, and still have hope and a happy ending. It's not easy, and I don't ever want to pretend that it is. But fiction also gives us a place where we can imagine what a happy ending might look like, in a world that doesn't provide them as often as we'd like.

So. Sorry for the essay as a response, but. I suppose I made Astarion Russian because it made sense for his character, but also because I want to write with hope, and not manufacturing false hope by turning away from the world as it is. I want to write all the awful, difficult, horrible things, and believe that happiness and hope are possible anyway, despite, and including them. We don't live in an ideal world. Sometimes I want to cave to despair and think that things will never be better. I write because I don't want to believe that's true.

[synesindri]

so admittedly i did think it was a little bit random when they started calling the mutineers a coven but i've seen the light now so here are my thoughts on this kickstarted by this description of a common 19th century british witch archetype:

literary representations of witches would also be underpinned by popular tales recorded by folklore collectors in most parts of Britain, which portrayed such people as utterly wicked, possessed of all too effective magical powers, and ending up brutally punished by death or injury

— ronald hutton, "Witches and Cunning Folk in British Literature 1800–1940," p29

1. "utterly wicked." i mean. no justification needed for this one probably.

2. "possessed of all too effective magical powers." not directly, but hickey is weirdly unaffected by sickness and starvation and exposure and exhaustion compared to the others (a lot of his off-the-rails behaviors/mentalities later on do map on reasonably well to symptoms of lead poisoning and other things going on, but like, he isn't bleeding or losing teeth and i would sell my soul for my skin to look the way his does even during the very worst of everything, so). he also clearly has a lot of power over many of the men, in an understandable leadership way that is more reliant on charisma, bribery, planfulness, and situations than magic, but it does seem kind of magical at times

3. "ending up brutally punished by death or injury." hard to get more brutally punished than literal bodily bifurcation. the rest of the "coven" likewise meet brutal ends.

4. devil shenanigans. lots of focus during this time period in british lore on witches and devil worship. obviously the tuunbaq is not a or the devil and it is troubling to suggest as much (even in its role as a fabricated entity that does not actually belong to the culture it has been inserted into). nonetheless, it is presented fearsomely in a way that seems likely to be understood as demonic or hellish by a christian crew such as the men of terror and erebus (it might even be described as such canonically? i don't remember specific examples and i haven't checked). certainly everyone has a good christian "avoid that thing" reaction to the tuunbaq — everyone except hickey, who finds it appealing and sees an opportunity to seek power through it, much as folkloric and literary witches of the era were depicted as doing through the devil.

5. christian inversions and rejections. the mutiny arguably really kicks off with the murder of lt. irving, the most outspokenly christian person in the group. christ symbolism through the "punished as a boy" scene through framing and posture. as lt hodgson so kindly spells out for us, cannibalism and (catholic) communion both involve the consumption of human blood and flesh. at mutineer supper time i was briefly convinced they were about to say grace (totally subjective on that one but whatev). hickey going up the hill to listen to his thoughts was very prophet-like imagery. hickey's final speech rejects god and religion. probably there are more examples but i think that's enough for this post that is already longer than i planned for it to be.

6. sexuality part 1. witches of the time and place were associated with non-normative sexual practices (including homosexuality, promiscuity, femdom, sexual coersion, so on and so forth). hickey is directly depicted in a sexual and romantic relationship with another man (who is also the one who first suggested mutiny in the first place, solidifying the narrative importance of the connection between gay people and mutiny. be gay do crimes but for serious). idk what the stance in general fandom scholarship is about the hickey-tozer dynamic, but i would say that is plausibly depicted as at least being implied to be not 100% heterosexual, which is particularly notable because that has important potential effects on how the power structure of the mutineer camp works — a chaste rank-based collegiality has a very different vibe than a situation where the main guy in charge and his second in command might be fucking (or kissing, or holding each other's faces in a sort of tender pseudo-religious way, or whatever else they might have been getting up to together) — this is getting a bit off from witchcraft but certainly there are many comparable depictions of witches coercing powerful men to do their bidding by using sexuality (see my non-existent au i just thought of just now that's based on lewis's the monk, i guess???)

7. sexuality part 2. witches also were notorious for doing castration to people. sorry, irving.

8. sexuality part 3. perhaps most notably witches were regarded as having sexual relationships with the devil. none of the mutineers ever gets it on with the tuunbaq obviously (although i feel confident that some adventurous fic writers out there have probably made this a subject of their study), but it is KIND of attempted symbolically. i talked about this already but it bears repeating here that the tongue is an erogenous body part generally, and there is possibly some mild extra narrative emphasis on that symbolism for hickey specifically, so the metaphorical self-castration of him cutting out his own tongue and offering it to the tuunbaq is a little bit giving weird sex. it's also giving nun/priest/monk-like disavowal of the potential for (at least a few types of) sex with human beings in favor of pledging oneself to a deity.

9. human sacrifice. common trope with witches, and the clear point of hickey's dragging everybody up that hill with him when he goes also to attempt to sacrifice part of his own human self to the tuunbaq.

10. identity. this is a little less solid but there's often kind of a sense that witches aren't who they claim to be? see lewis's the monk again, with (spoilers, i guess) the character of monk rosario revealing himself actually to be matilda, a seductive witch, who eventually does a double reveal that she's a demon. the "i'm not really cornelius hickey" reveal is giving that, a bit.

[universallydestinytaco]

Even More SF Fanfic Prompts!!

Y’all voted and I listened!! Here goes nothin’!! ALSO Please refrain from making any of these NSFW okay?

EDIT: So apparently in the Spanish Dub for SF Charlie's girlfriend is named Zoey and I made this post before that info became more well-known and prior I dubbed her as Susan....Zoey is a cute name OMG

Alan and Glep go grocery shopping, Alan is driving the cart and Glep is hopping around inside the little basket a little kid would sit inside of.

Folklore AU with Charlie as James (not to be confused with that one asshole…), Zoey as Betty and Pim as August.

Jennifer x Shrimp but make them wholesome yuri.

Jennifer, Zoey, Mustard, Smormu, Amy, Marge and her wife Glep on a girl's night out...and Amy, being the absolute bitch she is, she greatly annoys the others (feel free to add Yuri!Shrimp if desired).

Mr. Boss drinks from the fountain of youth and transforms into a 30-something again and OMG he’s this suave Anime bishie and he is like so totally hot you guys!! 🥰

Charlie and Zoey have officially broken up, Pim (repressing his own jealousy) attempts to get the back together by setting them up together without the other knowing at Spaghetti Disco with “secret admirer” letters but Charlie starts to reciprocate feelings for Pim realizing he wrote the letter…oh and you bet there’s totally gonna be angst via miscommunication, hurt/comfort, a chaotic food fight and homosexual fast dancing (inspired by @oui-oui-madame-baguette).

Mr. Frog robbing a casino in Las Vegas x Shamelessly opportunistic gold digger!Reader who is given the choice to either ruthlessly backstab him or genuinely make a connection.

Pim is just a regular guy making people smile and secretly pining over Charlie by day….but nobody knows that the little smiley face button pinned on his shirt is actually a henshin he uses to transform into his magical alter ego who fights off supervillains every night, he also has an arch-rival who is more of the classic lone wolf anti-hero type: now this dude doesn’t have any superpowers but he specializes in cool gadgets while donning a badass mask….he is also totally NOT crushing on Pim’s alter ego! Pim is (not all that) shocked to find out the civilian identity of this tall, dark and cynical is under the cowl! (It’s obviously Glep /jk we all know it’s Charlie)

Mer!Pim falls in love with Cha- *record needle scratch* waaait a second that’s just one of my own silly little AU fics I’m working on ALSO speaking of which y’all can check out the preview to here! Spread the word!!

[ao3feed-zukka]

Words Written Down

Read now on Ao3 at https://ift.tt/ZKeHJ1I by winblack “I can actually help if you want!”, he said, excitement showing up on his features while he looked through the books, “Back in the Southern Air Temple, I met these two monks, Dronma and her wife, Amrita, they were like full Fire Nation Politics scholars, I learn a lot from the—” Zuko frowned, confusion covering his features, “You mean, his wife?”, he asked genuinely, Aang looked back at him, a bit perplexed. “No... Dronma and Amrita, they were both women, so her wife?”, the younger explained, his expression turning from light confusion to a moderate amusement, there was something unreadable deep in his eyes. Zuko looked a bit flustered when he talked again, “Yes, I mean, it does… it does make sense”. Evidently, the topic had caught him off-ward, he had raised the question without reasoning, just his ingrained education taking control of his brain. Agni, It was not like homosexuality was something outlandish to him. Not in the slightest. . . This story is placed one year after the war, and it is centered on Zuko dealing with the outlawing of homosexuality in the Fire Nation and Sokka dealing with his inner demons. Words: 12091, Chapters: 1/2, Language: English Fandoms: Avatar: The Last Airbender Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Categories: F/M, Gen, M/M Characters: Sokka (Avatar), Zuko (Avatar), Aang (Avatar), The Gaang (Avatar), Katara (Avatar), Mai (Avatar), Suki (Avatar), Hakoda (Avatar), Zuko's Crew (Avatar), Original Characters, Southern Water Tribe Characters (Avatar), Water Tribe Characters (Avatar), Fire Nation Royal Family (Avatar), Fire Nation Citizen(s) (Avatar), Fire Nation Royal Palace Staff (Avatar) Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Mai/Zuko (Avatar), Katara & Sokka (Avatar), Aang/Katara (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Sokka, Aang & Zuko (Avatar), Aang & Katara (Avatar), Mai & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka & Suki (Avatar), Hakoda & Sokka (Avatar) Additional Tags: Idiots in Love, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, Zuko does Fire Lord stuff, LGBTQ Themes, Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Gay Zuko (Avatar), Badass Toph Beifong, Angst and Feels, Fluff and Angst, Katara is So Done (Avatar), Sozin was bitter so he said being gay was wicked, Queer History, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, References to Depression, References to Indigenous Inuit Religion & Lore, Korean Religion & Lore, Politics, Law Enforcement, Hurt Sokka (Avatar), Firelord Zuko (Avatar), Everyone Needs A Hug, Japanese Culture, Chinese Mythology & Folklore, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping Read it on Ao3 at https://ift.tt/ZKeHJ1I