#which are not actually implications
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Once again bringing to you the thought that Gortash was the serpent in the tree (cuz that man is a snake and slithering wet malice, not just wet malice or malice noooooo itâs gotta be slithering like a snake) and that Durge, in this instance, is little Eve who gained forbidden knowledge (realising she was in fact chilling in a golden cage) and who fell after becoming aware (just how durge fell from grace after learning how to genuinely spare someone).
Also bhaal becoming a god thx to Jergal and Durge being formed from a piece of Bhaals body (or his blood rather) bla bla bla
Do you see why I canât get rid of this reoccurring thought and how the symbolism just matches.
#also the implications this holds for bhaals plans#which are not actually implications#cuz u know what he does to a failed durge#I actually just realised that part em#*rn#and I am kinda disturbed by it#but itâs also quite poetic#also bhaals children slaying each other#but not particularly cuz they want to#like these 2 guys (u may know em)#named Cain and Abel#⊠Iâm not just imagining these parallels am I#bg3#bg3 spoilers#enver gortash#durgetash#bg3 durge#yeah the religious crisis is strong with this one#on so many levels#itâs the fucking creation myth bhaalspawn edition#watch me descent into madness in my own tags - the sequel
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One wedding and three funerals
Background paintings under the cut
#tomgreg#succession#tom wambsgans#greg hirsch#shiv roy#roman roy#kendall roy#yeah no im not tagging everyone thats too much#this is me going 'how much implications themes and symbolism can i fit in one painting'#yes i gave rose shivs haircolor. if we ever find out how she looks like and its not like this im just gonna pass away i guess#but yeah i hope yall connect the dots#i put waaay too much thought and work into this. i was googling pictures of all the actors as kids just for reference (sigh)#honestly kinda wanted to make tom and greg link pinkies as like. a pinkie promise. but that was too hard to draw in this angle#at least not without obstructing the view of the ring which is important to see so ya#my fave is actually the tomshiv wedding pic i went off with that. i love them... they should have run away to become sheep farmers fr fr#anyway im so glad im done with this UGH!! finally i can draw smth else without being like oh noooo i need to finish this#i see a lot of you wondering why there is no portrait of logan but one of ewan#it's bc the placement of the painting represent their standing. logans portray would not hang next to the stairs#his present portrait hangs at the end of it. all the way up at the top. alone and withering away#basically the picture you see underneath ewan to the right? its where toms parents would be. the right side of the wall is tom and gregs#and the left one is the roy siblings theirs. since they grew up rich rich. and tom and greg didn't#but ya thats why ewan hangs here and logan does not :)
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Ok like fuck man can we talk about this page? Cause it's very obvious that Bill is possessive over Ford (case in point with him literally telling Ford he belongs to him multiple times) but I think what sort of gets played down a bit is that Ford is also extremely possessive of Bill by the end of the time when they were working together, and the implications of that. Like. Bill essentially introduces himself as a god of knowledge. A being of pure energy and knowledge, a being greater than any human, in knowledge, lifespan, and power. And Ford by the end of their relationship, is possessive over essentially a fucking god. Like sure some of that is Ford's own ego and Ford becoming accustomed to Bill the past few years so the shock and awe of him being a 'god' is a bit less shiny, and the page in question also is supposed to heavily imply that their relationship is romantic in nature with their jealousy but also. Fucking hell Ford, possessive over a god.
But like... at the same time, Ford does have a claim over Bill. When Bill and Ford made a deal "until the end of time", it meant for the both of them; not just Ford being tied to, claimed by (owned, as Bill says) by Bill, but Bill also being claimed, owned by Ford; it's a marriage contract between the two of them, and they both are supposed to hold power over each other.
#hugin rambles#hugin rambles gf#gravity falls#gravity falls meta#billford#the book of bill#TBOB#bill cipher#ford pines#stanford pines#anyways. just. thinking bout the implications... jesus the both of them are insane#also like. very interesting to follow the idea of the contract and of its actually binding which it supposedly is...
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No but actually I've been really thinking about it and Mihawk just doesn't do shit by halves does he? he's so obsessive.
He doesn't just like red wine it's literally his favorite food
He doesn't just like swords, his is practically his soul made physical. Yoru is so coded in his dna that they literally had to make a replica for his clone.
he isn't just into swordsmanship he literally became the world's best and strongest swordsman
He doesn't just like to duel he's overdone it so much that no one can hold his interest anymore
He didn't just kill marines he was the literal marine hunter.
He doesn't just wait for Zoro at the top he collects every single bounty poster obsessively tracking his rise
He doesn't just let the kids live with him he adopts them, and teaches them how to be stronger. Doesn't let Perona go until he knowns that he can no longer properly guarantee her safety.
He can't just have a garden he has to go full on farmer strawhat and all.
He doesn't just like Shanks he wants to consume him whole he let's the memory of their duel haunt him and even 12 years later he can't fully forgive them. This might be the single most important relationship in his life.
There isn't a moderate bone in his body. He's either making decisions just because or letting them consume him whole.
I bet it's all the Catholicism.
#what are the implications of this for S-Hawk I wonder?#He seems to lowkey already have his competitiveness and haughty attitude#my boy's first words where essentially how dare you capture me. like he wasnt just trying to kill them#But yeah what's up with that you weirdo go see a theraphist#and maybe drink some water we haven't actually seen him consume anything but red wine which is concerning babe#except that one time he angrily ate a rice ball#seriously get help#dracule mihawk#op#hawkeye mihawk#mishanks#shanks#roronoa zoro#one piece#red haired shanks#marine hunter mihawk#goth fam#throwing thoughts to the void#one piece goth family#goth family
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The idea that uni protesters are "elitist ivy-league rich kids larping as revolutionaries" on Twitter and Reddit and even here is so fucking funny to me if you actually know anything about the student bodies at these unis. Take it from someone who's going to one of the biggest private unis in the US, 80% of the peers I know are either from the suburbs or an apartment somewhere in America, children of immigrants, or here on a student visa. I've heard about one-percenter students, but I've never met one in person. Like, don't get me wrong, the institution as a whole is still very privileged and white. I've talked with friends and classmates about feeling weird or dissonant being here and coming from such a different background. But in my art program, I see BIPOC, disabled, queer, lower-income students and faculty trying to deconstruct and tear that down and make space every day. So to take a cursory glance at a crowd of student protesters in coalitions that are led by BIPOC & 1st/2nd-gen immigrant students and HQ'd in ethnic housings and student organizations and say, "ah. children of the elite." Get real.
#also idk how to tell you this but even if it were true. wealthy children potentially sacrificing their educational careers to protest is#a good thing actually. idk how to tell you that caring about people from other nations is good#personal#âthis war has nothing to do with most students cuz nobody's getting draftedâ idk how to explain to you that we should be angry#that our tuitions of 10s of thousands of dollars that we pay every year for an education is being used to fund a genocidal campaign#also the implication that if you go to a uni institution you are automatically privileged by participation no matter your bg#i didn't /want/ to go to this school. i was supposed to go to a school with an art/animation program. but i realized my immigrant#parents have been working their whole lives to get me here. and turning the opportunity down would be a disservice to their sacrifice#this is getting into convos of âwhat 2nd gen kids owe their parentsâ which is different for everyone but. yeah#i just get pissed off at seeing people misrepresenting student bodies as âwealthyâ and âprivilegedâ and âeliteâ when it's such a blatant li#i remember a year ago a friend told me they can't fly home to hong kong for winter break because the plane tickets are too expensive#so they have to find temporary housing around the area#last quarter for a film doc class my film partner made a doc on a small group of marxist grad students from india discussing praxis#during a rally a few months ago in response to police presence the coalition invited palestinian students to speak about their experiences#and lead songs and read poems they wrote. these are STUDENTS. are they elitist too?#this is not to disregard my own personal privilege either.#this whole narrative's just to rationalize a lack of empathy to me. seeing a 19yo student get shot by a rubber bullet and your first#reaction is âHAW! HAW! bet richy rich didn't see THAT coming when she put on her terrorist hood!â#newsflash. these big uni campuses are HAUNTED by the violence of past protests and revolutions and police brutality. we know.#why do you think these coalitions have been making reinforced barricades at record speed
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Bells Hells, reentering the Raven Queen's domain: So what do you think about the whole Predathos situation? And what should we do about it? We're inside the Hallowed Cage btw.
The Raven Queen, lighting a cigarette on the thumb of an imp wedged inside her bosom: Adventurers, we've talked about this. What do YOU want to do?
#glad bells hells left that conversation with an actual plan#one the implications and ramifications of which they have thought out NOT AT ALL#but a plan nonetheless#but the start was#very typical of bells hells let us say#critical role#cr spoilers#critical role spoilers#bells hells#the matron of ravens
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Ages ago, I promised a sequel to my Ruthlessness sketches with my new Poseidon design, and well... See, I had a very specific vision for this, my beloved 𫶠favorite song in the whole entire musical. And I guess I was finally brave en- I mean, found the time to bring it to life. Enjoy đđđ±
@glisten-inthedark look at what I've done now
#epic the musical#own art#epic the vengeance saga#epic poseidon#epic odysseus#get in the water#Look at him he's still so âšextraâš#cw suggestive#cw nudity#at least i guess kinda?? nothing is technically visible but#guys i cant be the only one to whom this song has very VERY strikingly h*rny undertones#it's not just steven's suddenly quite sultry voice either#just think about how this is essentially âget into the water - which I control entirely - with me :)â#poseidon's trying to make him submit himself to him it's another power game#but this time it's so much more intimate#i mean the whole of get in the hundred strike is about brutal intimacy so i shouldnt be surprised ig#me omw to ruin this song for y'all forever i guess#just if you think about the implications what killing him in this wayâdrowning himâmight entail before he would actually die#complete control and envelopment ... you have imaginations guys#use them to follow this train of thought further in this direction and you will realize#my guy could literally just impale him with his trident or sth#but nopeââdrown. Get into my domain. Get into (an extension of) me. Submit your whole being to me. let me envelope you wholly."#or âgrant me a moment of total control over you before i end your life just in the way that I imagine and see fitâ#this is made so much funnier by the fact that poseidon completely fails to make odysseus submit in any way#and ends up submitting himself#yes i am doing 600 strike doodles next i shall have fun#i guess i should tag this even though this is genuinely not ship art just a part of the power game and poseidon's general h*rniness#odyseidon#poseidon x odysseus#odysseus x poseidon
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How do I say this without sounding insane. When people choose to depict abusive characters as Pure Evil rather than complex human beings like any other character, not only is it reductive and lazy and make for a less interesting story, I think it also kinda does a disservice by obfuscating the reality of abuse
#There was a lot of Catalina Flores talk on the dash today which inspired this. $20 to the first dc fanfic writer who can figure out how to#depict Catalina with an actual personality besides Evil Rapist Vixen dear god#also the reason why I hate the depiction of abusive Willis in fanon (and canon) outside of the classist implications is that it tends to be#very stereotypical and one note. Terribly boring even!#Dc
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it's quite offputting to me when ppl can't disentangle their hatred for capitalism from a hatred for... new technological innovation? the ways in which capitalism has shaped the development of certain technologies has been deeply negative, not to mention that imperialism ensures that new technology is usually produced via extractive relationships with both the planet + ppl in the global south.
but this weird tying of capitalist impact on innovation (+the idea of what is/is not innovation) to hatred of innovation itself (or even more disturbing valorization of "the good old days"/implications that technology is causing social degeneracy) is baffling to me. perhaps it is impossible to achieve specific technologies without unconscionable resource extraction practices, in which case they should not be pursued. but so many ppl act like there is something inherently morally suspect in pursuit of tech such as autonomous vehicles or AI or automation, independent of the material conditions that produced them/that they may produce.
tesla is evil because they exploit ppl for profit + participate in an economy built on the exploitation of the global south + use 'innovation' as a marketing tool to mask serious safety concerns. they're not evil bcuz they want to make vehicles that move on their own. there are actually a great deal of fantastic applications for vehicles which move on their own? equating technology with moral decay is not a radical position; you need a material analysis of why technological innovation has become characterized by harmful practices.
#just saw a truly tragic article abt a death related to self driving car#entire comments section SWAMPED with the implication that any attempts to create self driving cars is INHERENTLY EVIL#like. actually fully automated public transportation would be dead fucking useful#public transit is not currently fully automated + is extremely limited in many cities#im so tired of ppl who need the technology to also be BAD to call out the practices which produced it#things do not need to be black/white for u to understand that exploiting others is morally wrong...
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Kieran Culkin on Roman's playboy image and the way the actors/writers understanding of backstory fits together. (x)
#thought it might be interesting to throw this out there#I think âplayboyâ is sometimes used in connection with Roman by Jesse/Mark in a way that can be read as a split from Kieran's view#and that's totally fair#or it can be read as consistent in that that's the image Roman works to project#which i tentatively think may be the implication for what his life looked a little like pre-series but still thinking through that#I think that's what makes Roman so interesting to watch when he's in those party environments#he's clearly good at people in a way his siblings aren't#and he knows how to be in those spaces (even if there's a discomfort with drugs and sex)#see for example how he is with Lawrence in S1 and that he knew about Rhomboid#but at the same time that's clearly not all of Roman or even an accurate reflection of his internal life#and it's unclear how frequently he actually goes out#anyway I think the point is just that Roman is interesting haha#and I think both reads support the fake playboy thing and not like...a real one lol#roman roy#succession#cast interviews#hbo succession#kieran culkin
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Speaking of coins, I think it's neat that we have a trinity of Apollos with uncommon characteristics:
Apollo Karneios with ram horns and ram ears, Apollo Soranus with a star diadem and a pick-axe and Apollo Vejovis with winged head, a trident and a dagger. (The last two are the results of his syncretism with Roman deities)
What's more fun about the coins of Apollo-Vejovis is that some of them put a thunderbolt under his bust or straight up show him holding it:
And I can't help but think of this being equivalent to a girl wearing her mom's makeup for the photo day
#apollo#look Apollo has already used thunderbolt in a couple of classical texts#I don't think Zeus would mind if his son borrowed it for a few minutes for a photoshoot#Okay jokes aside Vejovis is such an obscure deity (just like Soranus)#The explanation given by Gellius is that Jupiter/Jove is ultimately derived from âiuvareâ which means âto helpâ#so Vejovis was the antithesis of Jove...doing the opposite of help#he was believed to bring harm with his arrows#So was also prayed upon to avert evils#hence his syncretism with Apollo#I also feel like they also just syncretised Jupiter with Apollo to some extent here#because soon after stating his identification with Apollo#Gellius has mentioned that a she-goat was sacrificed to Vejovius (yknow as a nod to Amalthea nursing Zeus/Jupiter#this also happens with Apollo Soranus actually#Soranus is conflated with Apollo and called the highest of the gods#and Servius notes that âhighest of the godsâ is a title given to Jupiter#so yeah it was a not a complete or even a direct syncretism but there was a line that connected them#and i find the implications very interesting#mine
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"Ignoring or erasing how a person's racial and cultural background influences the things they create is erasing the part ethnic minorities play in history and the formation of different cultures"
and
"Saying that something isn't actually British/American/etc because it was created by an immigrant or someone in an ethnic minority group is another way of saying that immigrants and their children are not really part of the countries they immigrated to and they'll always be outsiders"
are both true statements.
#this is about how many people say that foods invented by ethnic and racial minorities in britain aren't actually british foods#which has some really nasty implications about how you view the place of immigrants and ethnoreligious people in society
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see zim's a fun character because on one hand he's been legitimately mistreated in a lot of ways and was never really given the chance to be anything besides a walking nuclear bomb, and there's a tragedy in that he'll never be able to acknowledge that injustice much less act against it. but on the other hand he's destroyed the lives of millions (at least) and has a capacity bordering on the magical for turning any attempt to make him face a meaningful consequence for his actions into more widespread destructive chaos, so at the same time it's equally infuriating that he's thriving in spite of the limitations imposed upon him. somehow, both of these sentiments manage to effortlessly co-exist.
#invader zim#zim#iz posting#natterings#invader zim the show in which no one ever really wins#(except gaz and do what you will with the implications of a practical personification of apathy being so consistently rewarded)#anyway yeah the thing about zim is that the universe contrives to punish him for anything#EXCEPT for the stuff he actually deserves to get punished for#its like the ultimate lose-lose paradox
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on occasion ive mentioned that Function is made of math/is from the realm of math and happened to get stuck in a meat body but this also implies that his parents would still just be. literal equations.
#my art#im on the fence about if i want to find an actual specific equation that function used to be#but if hes not there anymore it would imply that the equation doesnt exist anymore which has. implications
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good coping mechanisms [not pictured]
nightwing 116 & red robin 12
#is it self-sacrifice or self-destruction? why not both#dick grayson#tim drake#i think tim's red robin fight is probably better known bc dick fans tend to focus on the angst at the beginning of the renegade arc#instead of the angst at the end of the renegade arc#HOWEVER at the end of the renegade arc blĂŒdhaven is exploding#and dick - who's been extremely down on himself and convinced that maybe he's kind of a bad guy -#gets a brief new lease on life by being highly-motivated to charge into the exploding city with a borderline suicidal plan#which very predictably ends in him charging into an explosion and passing out and getting rescued by batman#(bruce is then a jerk about it but never mind that for the sake of the parallel)#and so dick spends his whole charge-into-the-city-on-fire soliloquy thinking about how he's gonna do things RIGHT now#and he's BETTER now - no more shades of gray!! only black and white!!!#and on the one hand this is clearly genuinely felt and it's a huge relief for him to be able to see himself as a hero again#but it's hard to miss that. like. the actual plan that he has.#involves putting himself in extreme danger with no backup and probably dying#and there's a strong implication that maybe to dick that part is a feature and not a bug#hoc scripsi
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how is sex work perceived and treated - spiritually, legally, morally - in broad areas relevant to the white calf core cast? imperial wardi, the hills etc
Sex work is EXTREMELY stigmatized in Imperial Wardin, yet generally regarded as an element of society and a necessary function, not one to be eliminated. You'll occasionally find fringe groups decrying the presence of brothels as polluting elements upon cities, but they are minority figures- sex work is legal, generally accepted, and very common.
There are some exceptions- in most of the city-states, only sex work out of registered brothels is considered fully legal (independent sex workers are breaking the law in most city-states, though how much these laws are enforced varies heavily). All legally operating brothels must be officially registered, and are heavily taxed.
Prostitution of children is illegal, and this is one of VERY few protections for sex workers that is strongly enforced. But it should be clear that the societal definition of a child here does not match the contemporary- a person is generally considered an adult woman upon menarche (which is later on average due to poorer nutrition, but is still going to include a lot of like, 14 year olds). Boys are considered adults at the age of 16.
Forced prostitution is also illegal on paper, but this is poorly enforced. Even when not Outright forced, many sex workers are working as indentured laborers, or under prohibitive conditions where they have very little freedom of movement or legal ability to leave during the duration of their contracts.
Sex workers are an incredibly vulnerable, stigmatized social minority that have very few protections and are often subject to abuse.
The stigma against sex work surrounds the sex workers themselves. This is culturally justified and partly rooted in aspects of broader body taboo- receiving penetration = metaphysical vulnerability = openness to spiritual pollution, and they are considered to be heavily polluted by their line of work (regardless of whether or not a given person actually is receiving penetration on a regular basis- male sex workers who primarily have women as clients receive much the same treatment, the stigma here is fundamentally a form of bigotry, not something with a consistent internal logic).
In addition to concerns around penetration, the act of '''selling''' the body itself is seen as a polluting devaluation of the sacred body and using it to extreme excess. Sexuality and libido is societally valued, but in a framework of moderation- sex workers are seen as wildly out of moderation and are often ascribed qualities of an excessive libido by virtue of their line of work.
Sex workers are prohibited from entering most temples and participating in many public rites, justified in their âpollutedâ status, under the assumption that it will de-purify the place and sully most rites. This serves to keep them isolated from key facets of social life and culture, and can leave many spiritually ostracized (most sex workers from within this cultural sphere are also going to believe in notions that they are spiritually polluted, with limited outlets to cleanse themselves).
There is one folk tradition that has developed to assuage some of these fears and the sense of isolation- an epithet to the Face Ganmache that translates literally to 'Mother of Whores' (a rather strong name that reclaims degrading slang in the original language as well), which watches over sex workers and their labors. This is wholly a folk tradition and not part of core dogma, and priests are self-appointed, mostly elderly former sex workers. They provide rites of purification and blessings for those denied access to temples, sometimes train themselves as midwives to assist in births (or abortions), and will help ensure deceased workers get proper funeral rites.
Generally, the concept of something being spiritually polluted translates to full avoidance of the person/place/thing involved, but these concerns are rarely applied to the Hiring of sex workers (ie they are spiritually polluted and highly impure and shouldn't enter temples but you, the client, are not affected by contact). While some people will try to provide logical explanations for why hiring a sex worker is not polluting, this does not have any true underlying logic and is a product of a society that both reviles sex workers and desires their labor.
They are generally expected to visually identify themselves as sex workers at all times- the exact details vary by city-state, but wearing hair unbraided and an uncovered head in public is most common (particularly in the west of the region).
Male sex workers are denied certain rights otherwise available by default to men (self-legal representation, ability to own land that is not gifted, etc). Female sex workers do not have these rights to begin with, and have even more difficulty than other women in finding legal representation, given that they situationally rarely have fathers/husbands/male family members willing to support them.
Because of their inability to represent themselves in court and the difficulty in finding representation, they often have little to no recourse against abuse or violations of their contracts. There are some lawyers who specialize in representing sex workers (fewer still who do this entirely out of benevolence for a vulnerable social class), but they are few and far between.
The majority of sex work is marketed towards male clients, and the majority of sex workers are women. Male sex workers are mostly young men who serve male clients, and will usually keep themselves beardless and not overtly masculine (while not distinctly effeminate either) to remain desirable targets for the sexual outlet of most men. (There is no concept of sexuality in this culture- if you are a man, you are a penetrative partner in sex and the gender of the receiving partner is of little concern. Younger men beneath you in social stature (in practice, these are almost always sex workers) are considered appropriate targets of male desire, and as such you have some men who would be considered heterosexual by contemporary standards having sex with other men). Male workers who primarily serve female clients tend to vary more in age and have less social restrictions on their appearance or masculine presentation.
Eunuch sex workers usually serve male clients, and are regarded as appropriate targets of male attraction regardless of their age (largely as they are seen as entirely incapable of performing penetrative roles, and conceptualized as de-gendered). Akoshos (those designated male who perform women's gender roles) sex workers are seen as uniquely predisposed to serve both male and female clients, as their gendered space is broadly conceptualized as dual-gendered (being physically capable of performing 'male' penetrative roles while living under women's social roles)
Hiring of sex workers is not considered infidelity and is entirely permissible to do while married, though women are often heavily discouraged from doing so (largely out of concerns of pregnancy, partly out of patriarchal control over women's sexual behavior). A woman who pays for sex work receives more scrutiny than is applied to men. It is not outright inappropriate, but can be considered indicative of an excessive libido or overmasculinization. Women are imagined as having naturally lower libidos than men, so behaviors that challenge this notion tend to be be noted.
The only circumstances in which hiring sex workers as a man attracts scrutiny is when it is deemed excessive, symptomatic of an uncontrolled libido. Men who hire male sex workers closer to their age and/or bearded will also attract scrutiny- while not outright Condemned, it's suspiciously out of the acceptable range for male desire (though will most often similarly be interpreted as an excessive, uncontrolled libido, ie you'll just fuck anything with a hole). Receiving penetration from a sex worker as a man is wholly condemned, as is seen as UNIQUELY violating, not only a severe deviance from male social roles, but at the hands of a stigmatized, polluted figure that is at the absolute bottom of the social ladder. This usually happens in secret and often involves paying the worker off for their silence.
The one major exception to stigma against sex workers is in the lemna courtesan tradition. Lemna are mostly unmarried women and/or akoshos who are very skilled trained performers who work as entertainers for wealthy clients. Their services are not sexual in nature, rather they sing, dance, act, play music, and recite poetry, and are skilled conversationalists that provide company for clients. Lemna usually operate out of elite brothels, but as separate services to the sex workers, and are in theory never available for sex work. Lemna providing sex work sometimes (though not frequently) occurs in practice, but it is always be presented as something they have not been Paid to do- their payment was for entertainment, and they will present it as a (almost always purely fantastical) situation that they have grown attracted to their client and are engaging in a romantic tryst.
Lemna courtesanship is long-established and a valued part of this culture's art and theater traditions, and they do not face the same stigma as sex workers, rather being seen as an elite class of performers. They do not exactly have a High place in society either (as unmarried civilian women and/or akoshos, they are notably lacking in social power), but the regard towards them is overall positive. The exemption to this stigma partially lies within the framework of body taboo (they do not explicitly 'sell' their bodies or directly engage in sex work), but is largely rooted in the esteem of their tradition rather than any coherent logic.
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Sex work has a much less significant, less complicated, and less intensely stigmatized place in the highlands, mostly due to its reduced presence. Most people are living in relatively small agricultural villages, or transiently as herders, so there are fewer opportunities for sex workers to operate on regular and official levels. The only places you can reliably find sex workers within the highlands are in small quasi-towns that crop up around land trade routes, or occasionally as traveling traders (usually offering material goods in addition to sex work services).
Thereâs also no intra-highlands currency system, so sex workers will usually be paid in goods, which in turn influences the cultural lens on sex work. Goods have direct, immediate utilitarian value that currency does not, and paying goods for service is most pragmatically done as a means of material practicality- forming alliances, acquiring farmhands, receiving the defensive or offensive service of warriors, etc, not for temporary gratification.
The fact that this cultural sphere is fairly egalitarian in terms of gender (though it has strongly enforced, separate gender roles for married men and women) also contributes to the comparative lack of stigma- part of the Imperial Wardi stigma against sex work is interwoven with misogyny (with women sex workers being the most degraded extent of femininity, and male sex workers taking on inappropriate, degraded feminine roles in providing sexual services). Women have equal overall societal power to men in the Hill Tribes cultural sphere, and things associated with femininity are not Themselves degrading (men seen as feminine are not shamed for femininity itself, rather in their specific failure to perform male gender roles- the distinction can be subtle but is very significant to how gender roles are approached).
Casual sex between unmarried men and women is fully accepted, somewhat seen as a hallmark of youth. However, married couples are expected to remain exclusively faithful to one another. This also goes a ways to discourage hiring of sex workers, which would be accepted grounds for a divorce and a mark of shame on the person who strayed.
While not excessively stigmatized, the views on sex work here is nowhere near Enlightened And Supportive either, itâs still seen as a highly degrading, unfortunate line of work. Sex workers are usually going to be unmarried women of marriageable age who could not (or would not) acquire a husband for one reason or another. They are women who failed in expected roles of marriage and becoming the manager of a familyâs home and property, and have not even taken an esteemed, productive role for spinsters (usually physical labor in herding, farming, raiding) in favor of one that is considered âsellingâ oneâs body to provide useless, base services to desperate men. It's something that will usually be looked at as sad and unfortunate at best, or an absurd dereliction of duty at worst.
Male sex workers are virtually unheard of (within the highlands at least, there's cultural stereotypes of Wardi men being effeminate and predisposed to sex with men, so of course THEY'VE got male sex workers all over the fucking place), and the concept of a man operating as a sex worker would just seem absurd to most.
But the levels of social shame surrounding sex work are actually higher for the client in this cultural context- itâs suggestive that you either cannot afford to get a wife/do not have the requisite masculine skillset to be a husband, or otherwise that youâre so utterly incapable of getting laid that you have to go to great effort and barter for sex, a petty expense of valuable goods. It's both a foolish waste and in many ways a failure of expected male gender roles. Most men who hire the services of sex workers will keep it on the down low, or (if living near the borders) commute to Wardi towns or tradeways for access. Itâs seen as an act of desperation, foolish, emasculating, and will generally be mocked and shamed.
I actually have a framework of a folktale that kind of demonstrates the cultural lens pre-established (no names for the characters or clans involved, it's supposed to be of the far northern Bict-BraĂghnnas tribe). I'll put it under the cut:
One of the folktales describes a young woman who was strikingly beautiful and exceedingly clever. She was of the Bict-BraĂghnnas, the lone daughter of a very small, very poor clan, consisting only of her immediate family and a few cousins. Her father had died young, and her younger brothers and cousins were malnourished and inexperienced, and could do little to protect or grow their meager herd of horses (they certainly could not afford cattle). She had to take on the role of the provider for herself and remained unmarried long past marriageable age, living day by day doing whatever she could to scrape by and keep her family afloat.
She became aware that the patriarch of her ruling clan had an eye for her, and he began approaching her in hopes of soliciting sex. At first, she always brushed him off. She found him repulsive, as he was foolish and greedy and rather ugly. But she started to see an opportunity in all this. It was a humiliating opportunity, but one she was willing to take.
The next time he approached, she pretended to consider his advances, but only if he should provide payment in turn- if she was as beautiful as he kept saying, and he was as wealthy as he kept bragging, wouldn't it be worth the price? He first offered her a sack of barley, but she laughed him off. He then offered her fine clothes, but she feigned insult, was she not already beautiful even in poor, worn rags? He then offered her a breeding pair of pheasants, and she pushed aside her shawl to expose her breasts, and sweetly asked if he Really could not do better, wealthy in cattle as he was. The man was now, quite clearly, hard in his trousers.
He finally relented to an obscene payment- he would go under his wife (the owner of his cattle)'s nose and give her an adult cow, in payment for having sex with him just once. This is a high price to pay, but she was gorgeous and he was rich in cattle and could afford to lose one (or two. or five. Maybe more.). She accepted his offer and had sex with him, and came away with her very first cow.
(Some tellings of this story go on a tangent here where she sneaks the cow right back into the man's fields under cover of darkness, to breed it with one of his bulls and begin forming her own herd)
Over the next several months, he started regularly approaching her for sex in exchange for cattle, until he had to start coming up with explanations to his wife as to where the missing cattle had gone- he first claimed they were given as gifts, then that some were stolen, inventing wild stories of great raids and declaring open conflict with the greatest rival to his clan, all as means of masking his dalliances. This skirmishing came at great cost to his own clan, but he was too foolish and weak-willed to stop.
The woman was meanwhile using her newfound and growing wealth in cattle to make connections and political moves, slowly establishing herself as a powerful figure and having many in her debt. Her brothers and cousins, finally well fed, grew tall and healthy and began to take on roles as herders, protectors, and raiders, with the assistance of more young men gained in alliance. All the while, she dutifully continued her paid trysts with the patriarch whenever he summoned her.
Eventually, the man had given her so many cattle (which had been bred in the meantime, and more had been acquired in trade and raids) that she had three times as many as he did. One day, she did not appear as expected. She had amassed great wealth for herself and her clan, and had been courting the unwed son of the patriarchâs rival clan. The son paid a hefty bride price for her, and they were wed on that day.
Now the wealthiest in cattle and the most powerful clan in the valley, the woman and her new husband ousted the weakened and disgraced former patriarch, becoming the new ruling clan of the Bict-BraĂghnnas. The couple were wise and wealthy rulers, and their clan remains in power and rich in cattle to this day.
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The cultural outlook on sex work (among other things) is fairly well encapsulated here- the sex work itself is degrading, but this fits into common motifs of this cultural sphereâs folktales where the hero figure overcomes difficult and often degrading situations with wit and social skill, and ultimately rises above it. Note that as a (non-comedic) hero of this tale, she uses her sex work very intentionally and pragmatically for material gain and alongside many other measures to increase her standing. Also note that, when unmarried, she's specified as taking up practical labor roles, and ultimately acquires a husband and ends the story in the expected position as a wife.
The actions of the man who hired her are distinctly shameful. He is performing his role as a husband TERRIBLY- being unfaithful, completely mismanaging his wifeâs herds and ultimately driving his clan out of power all in pursuit of petty lust. He is in part an exaggerated, cartoonish embodiment of the cultural perception of the clients of sex workers- desperate, foolishly lustful, and an overall failure as a man. Most hearing this story would find his role highly comedic, a powerful but stupid foe for the clever and pragmatic hero to overcome.
(Very minor side note: the detail of him being enthralled by her breasts is also meant to be comedic- breasts are not sexualized in this culture (women's hips/thighs/buttocks are what is typically seen as sexually attractive), and many women will be out topless on hot days without note being made of it (toplessness is culturally acceptable, exposing genitalia/buttocks is not). The notion of a man being out of his mind horny over the sight of a bare tit would register to listeners as excessively lustful in a humorous capacity)
While the focus of the story is ultimately more on the contrast of thrifty and foolish behaviors, it also functions as a discouragement of hiring sex workers, casting the loss of assets in trade for sex as a similarly foolish venture, degrading to the worker and humiliating to the client.
#VERY long post. Enjoy#The only main characters who have hired sex workers are Janeys and Brakul#Janeys exclusively goes for 'appropriate' targets (mostly being women or young beardless men). Which he is not actually attracted to.#And is a fucking terrible rude as shit client with his only redeeming quality being that he pays VERY well (largely with the#implication of keeping quiet about whatever he inevitably did to embarrass himself)#Brakul only does it occasionally and on the downlow and goes for people he actually IS attracted to (men closer to his age- which#generally will be workers who normally serve female clients). He is VERY ashamed that he does it to begin with but is at least#polite and businesslike about it. He fucks off the second its over. Sometimes he's like 'actually never mind' and pays and leaves#midway through. Literally just pulls out and sets down some money and dips. They'll never see him again.#Palo has never hired a sex worker but has kind of a unique relationship with the community. Growing up in a mercantile family#in a district with a lot of brothels- sex workers were kind of just part of the community. He still ascribes to most cultural beliefs#surrounding sex work and isn't like Enlightened about it but is much more inclined to treat sex workers like peers and with a degree#of respect normally afforded to any stranger.#One of the akoshos in his community (that he spent his childhood fascinated with) was a priestess to the Mother of Whores and a#genuinely kind (though VERY stern) old woman. Had a very cold hard gaze and rugged look and he was kind of scared of her#but one time when he was 12 he got bitten by a street dog and she gave him a blessing then and there so he wouldn't have to walk#all the way to a temple. Their blessings are not considered legit under standard practice (given they are not considered a legitimate#priesthood) but he felt a lot better afterwords.
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