#its in the terms and conditions of being a sapphic

[therealrainbowmadness]

The downfall of media representation: a look at the massive cancelation tide of queer-woman-led shows of 2022

A little more than a year ago, I published a piece on what I called “the queer renaissance” where I reminisced on Lexa’s legacy (The 100) and showed optimism on the representation scenario given the variety of shows airing or to be aired with queer woman among their characters, and the grand amount of WLW couples in committed relationships that had on-screen marriages between 2020 and 2021. But even then, when things were still looking up representation-wise, I pointed that a cloud of worry was coming due to the end of many beloved shows that featured queer characters. There, I mentioned Black Lightning (Grace and Thunder), The Bold Type (Kat and Adena), Supergirl (Alex and Kelly), Brooklyn99 (Rosa), Atypical (Casey and Izzie), Genera+ion (Riley and Greta), Dickinson (Emily and Sue), Motherland Fort Salem (Raelle and Scylla) and Killing Eve (Eve and Villanelle). Little did I know that my optimism was foolish and that the worry brought by the end of the above-mentioned shows would only grow stronger after a very disturbing 2022.

The first cancelation tide came in April. When rumors started regarding the selling of The CW, queer fans immediately started worrying for their beloved shows, specifically for DC Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman. Turns out they had a reason to worry because even before the network was sold by Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery to Nextstar, The CW axed a long list of names from their portfolio. The shock was evident since The CW traditionally renewed their shows and allowed departing series to have a final “goodbye” season, as they did with Supergirl. But what called everyone’s attention was the fact that Legends of Tomorrow last-airing season (the seventh of their run) had done great regarding to critics and ratings. It also had more views than shows that would get renewed, like Riverdale. Media outlets later revealed that the apparent cause for cancelation was that the uncertain future of the network at that point led Warner Bros. to not want to commit to another long-term lease on the sound stages in Vancouver. The fact that they also did not renew their deal with Netflix for distributing content largely affected their revenues as well. Not to say that any of these issues did not play major parts on the future of our beloved shows, the fact remains that series that were in similar conditions, that is, also shot in Vancouver, also distributed by Netflix, and with similar or lower ratings and approval from critics, were renewed. In contrast, Legends of Tomorrow and Batwoman were not. The difference between then and the ones that got renewed: both were led by woman who loved other woman. And one of then was led by a black woman.

           It was not easy moving on from such losses and being left without a proper ending to beloved characters and couples. But the cancelation wave did not slow down. Gentleman Jack was canceled in July by HBO. Despite BBC’s desire to move forward with the show, they still needed HBO as a co-producer and global distributor. It was hypothesized that the gap between the first and second seasons, caused by the pandemic, led to lower ratings and, thus, cancelation. But the untold reality was that HBO somewhat sabotaged the show by changing its time slot to air in the US and not pushing as much publicity for season 2. This kind of approach reminded me of the way Nickelodeon treated The Legend of Korra, constantly changing its time slot and ultimately moving it to streaming for the fourth and final season. Korra was a pioneer in queer representation for animated series.

The Wilds was canceled after a second season mostly focused on new male characters instead of the group of girls that led the first season, including the couple Shelby and Tony. Some shows had briefer runs, like Prime Video’s Paper Girls and Netflix’s First Kill. So short indeed that it makes me believe that genre TV for sapphics is the ultimate streaming queerbaiting. It is worth mentioning that many people, including LGBTQIAP+, stated that these shows were better off being canceled since they were poorly scripted and had terrible CGI. Addressing these issues, I have to say that poor visual effects never stopped series from getting renewed (just see Supernatural) and shows with really horrible scripts are constantly made and renewed by streaming platforms (Netflix’s Elite is a perfect example). However, I do not agree that they are badly scripted at all. Despite heavy criticism, First Kill had an expressive number of views and ranked well in Netflix’s Top 10 in many countries, also showing great numbers on socials which were at least comparable to Heartstopper (already renewed by Netflix).

But it was not enough for Netflix to cancel First Kill, and the news about the cancelation of Warrior Nun hit colder than ice. Warrior Nun was already a beloved show that grew its audience during the pandemic. Although some had reservations for the first season because of a possible queerbaiting, this possibility was erased by season 2 and the beautiful slow-burn romance between Ava and Beatrice. The momentum the show gained by the launch of its second season was impressive and it was impossible to go through the Twitter timeline without seeing some post or photo related to the show or Avatrice. The impact was so big that made people go back and watch the first season as well. Rotten Tomatos season 2 critic ratings were 100% and audience score was 99% with 7925 reviews. In fact, season 2 had the highest Netflix audience rating ever. The audience, already aware of Netflix MO, grew the engagement of the series on social media, despite Netflix showing zero effort for advertising the new season whatsoever. And again, despite the great ratings, views and engagement, the show got axed without much explanation, leaving a passionate audience with multiple unsolved cliffhangers.

Netflix, having one of the largest portfolios among networks and streaming platforms, is naturally the home of many shows with LGBTQIA+ characters. It does not feel like a coincidence that these shows, especially the ones featuring lesbian and bisexual woman, are the main targets for cancelation. The cycle continues: platforms pick up shows with a queer character for producing to fill the diversity box; they offer little to no support for the people involved on the actual making of the show, offering lower budgets compared to other equivalent series; besides the low production value, they also put little effort on advertising these series, making very hard for the show to do well outside the queer bubble; still, some audience, specially queer woman, sign to that platform to watch the series, grow attached to the characters, ship the couples, engage on social media, and do what they can for it to get to as many people as possible, since the network or streaming is doing virtually nothing in this regard; ultimately, the show either performs poorly as far as visualizations, mostly due to the sabotage of their own producing platform that offered a low production and advertising value, or performs well, but never well enough to them. In the latter case, it feels like woman-led shows are always held to a much higher standard than the male-led ones, having to do so much better to get same recognition. Misogyny and lesbophobia are the two words that come to mind describing this heartbreaking cycle.

At the end of the day, what we are left with? Series that give terrible endings to their sapphic characters, like Killing Eve. Series that are giving us kind of a bad type of representation, like The L Word Gen. Q season 3 (destroying character evolution and pushing outdated plots). Series with great representation which we are so afraid to get attached to just so we’d be disappointed again (like A League of Their Own and Sex Live of College Girls). And series that we will never even know the ending (choose any of the above-mentioned series). It is worth pointing out that all the fandoms are fiercely fighting for their shows to get pick up by other platforms and find new homes, as they should. A great example that the fight is worth fighting is Wynonna Earp. The show was canceled after its third season, leaving the audience with many cliffhangers. The fans fought hard and SyFy pick up the series for two more seasons. Ultimately, season 5 never happened, and its only owned to the creator Emily Andras, who did not want to make the same mistakes as season 3 and leave multiple loose ends, that we got a satisfying beautiful ending at season 4. But even with only one extra season, it was so worth it. And one final season could be all we needed to feel a sense of closure for all these falling series.

It is worth highlighting that LGBTQIAP+ representation is so important for so many people to recognize themselves in the characters and feeling less alone in this world, for helping people accept themselves, come out to their families, and just to normalize in general the existence of LGBTQIAP+ people in all sorts of environments and genres. We are currently seeing undoubtedly a major regression on how media approaches representation in general. We started back then being either sexualized or straight up killed, evolved into great characters with diverse well-thought-out plots, only to now have our shows canceled. And, although we are all exhausted, we cannot go down without a fight. A unified fight with all fandoms from canceled shows. As we did in 2016 after Lexa’s death, we need to make our points to major media outlets, go after the sponsors of the platforms, make a fuss in social media, look for alternatives. I still hope that, together, we have the power to make a difference if not for the series that were already canceled, to at least avoid that the shows that are still running or just starting to have a similar fate.

#lgbt #lgbt community #queer #representation #lexa #clexa #avatrice #warriornun #firstkill #calliete #gentlemenjack #batwoman #legends of tommorow #papergirls #wynonna earp #sex lives of college girls #a league of their own #the l world generation q #killing eve

[justsome-di]

Writeblr Intro

I go by Di, scumbag artist. Self-portrait in bottom right hand corner there.

You can find me here on Tumblr, on Instagram and Threads @ justsomedi, Patreon @ Just Some Di, and AO3 @ justsome_di

If you ever feel like hitting me up, my inbox is always open! I also like talking about my leopard gecko, manga/anime, gay shit, and internet mysteries and lore!

Check out my Carrd for up-to-date info!

I so far have four projects I've been posting about/working on!

Nobody Ends Up Dead in a Bathtub, Everyone Keeps Their Organs (or affectionately shortened to NEUD) is my baby. My favorite child. I love them more than the others.

NEUD is currently up on AO3, Tumblr, and Patreon for free. Bonus short stories featuring the cast are available on Patreon under the paid member tier.

Intro Post: Here

A New York office worker and a sex worker get set up on a date–one thinking it’s a real blind date, the other under the impression it’s an ordinary appointment. After realizing it was all a shitty prank, they set out for revenge. Their plan: show up to an upcoming Halloween office party as a genuine couple, convincing the pranksters they genuinely fell in love and refusing to let themselves become the butt of the joke.

The Fairest of All Stars is currently being posted on AO3, Tumblr, and Patreon. It's a sapphic fantasy! My only fantasy story I've ever tried writing. It's very self-indulgent.

Patreon members are five chapters ahead of what's on AO3 and Tumblr.

WIP Intro: Here

Andy didn’t mean to become a pirate captain, but after killing the captain of her ship, she finds herself thrust into the role. Years after the incident, she is fierce and feared and recovering from a tropical fever that wiped out half her crew. Just as they’re about to dock, they find an injured siren left behind by her choir. Andy, drawn to her, pulls her onto the ship and decides to keep her there until she recovers. But with the Navy hunting for both pirates and sirens, Andy has just made her ship an even bigger target for an iniquitous captain looking for revenge.

On a Few Terms and Conditions is a WIP still very much in its infancy. The summary thus far:

Youngest child of a prominent, political family, Miles was once hailed a boy genius. Valedictorian of his private high school, full ride to study politics in D.C., promising career ahead of him. But by junior year of college he has a major issue: he’s on academic probation. To keep it a secret from his parents and the public eye, he has to secretly find a tutor to get caught up over the summer in order to graduate on time. The solution: Liam, the youngest of another political family who may or may not hate Miles. Throw in some political drama, Miles’ bad habits catching up to him, a little romance, and they’re all in for an interesting summer.

Angel is a project I've been working and re-working over and over again. I'm very, very passionate about it, but the plot is all over the place. There are a few WIP posts up on Tumblr.

WIP Intro: Here

Angel is the youngest member of boy group, NXT. For four years, he's followed every expectation his company has set for him. Diets, dating bans, media training. But after a string of bad publicity and a drinking habit he can't shake, he's gotten a new reputation of being a rebellious bad boy. While NXT is on a summer break, he's told to shape up and get ready for a side solo career that's been perfectly packaged for him. At first, it looks like everything might be okay despite the mounting pressure. And then he meets an indie artist, Eisle. Eisle grows his hair long, paints his nails, kisses boys, and doesn't listen to anyone. And it's all very confusing for Angel who's just trying to keep up with the image his company made for him when he was 15.

#writeblr #writblr #writblr intro #wip intro

[roxxeatzgravel]

Things in the welcome home fandom that make me wanna pull out my organs one by one

DISCLAIMER!!!!!!! I AM NOT TELLING YOU TO GO HARASS THE PEOPLE WHO USE THESE STEREOTYPES/THINGS IN THEIR OWN AUS. I am simply stating my opinion and do NOT go harass the creators of the AUs i mention

okay starting strong!! shipping heavily queer coded characters with the opposite gender. EX: Wally x Julie and Medic x Mercy

it just feels so forced and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth cause it feels like theyre trying to erase queer representation. Wally x Julie feels like massive sapphic (and Aroace depending on who you ask) erasure since i (and quite a few of my moots) see Julie as sapphic, others see wally as aroace, the RF au especially makes me feel sort of uncomfortable since his entire character feels way too serious to be wally, with the fact its a Wally x Julie AU makes it even worse for me

second, When wally is protrayed as being flirtatious and possesive

the possessiveness is a problem i see with a lot of young fem presenting/identifying fans around my age or older, Im not blaiming those fans for wanting that in a partner because as young girls/fem people we are conditioned by the media to want that possessiveness even though people who view you as their property are more likely to overstep the boundaries that you set and it’s generally an unhealthy relationship, but I hate the misscharacterization of it.

When a creator makes a “punk” or “emo” au and does the most piss poor research on the alternative fashion they’re representing

Punk itself is a movement not just a fashion sense, its anti-bigot, anti-facist, and anti-classist. So I hate it when a creator just puts Wally (and the others) in black leather and call it “PuNk” no thats the most mainstream BS I’ve ever seen dude. Emo (atleast how I view it) is a generalizing term for Alternative fashion not to mention the AUs only ever use the term punk or emo, like get fucking creative godamn

Anime inspired AUs that aren’t tongue in cheek (tongue in cheek: in an ironic or insincere way)

It just rubs me the wrong way. That’s all (Also a lot of mainstream anime have a habit of sexualizing their especially young female characters)

Mafia/mob AUs that romanticize the mob

The mafia was an organization of CRIME, that means wally or barnaby or who ever is probably a wanted war criminal in fifteen different countries in that AU for either mass murder, being a hit man, drug trafficking, maybe even a little human trafficking. The mafia (or yakuza or whatever) was fucked up man.

AUs that include Wally being a creep towards people

It’s just fucking gross I don’t have to justify this one.

The people who made those “sexy” edits on TikTok before clown stated he was okay w/ NSFW

Y’all pls, it’s not that hard to respect the creators wishes. And for some reason all the ones I saw were made by Spanish speaking fans

That’s all I guess

[ellsss]

personal post:

okay so like, i'm about to get super personal on here in terms of like dating, and romance so if you don't like those topics just scroll along.

but tbh, im just painfully sad and i feel really hopeless. i have only really had real, honest feelings for one person in my life and i saw a future with her and she said she wasn't ready to commit her time to a relationship.

it hurts so much because she was so perfect and i had a lot of respect for her, and she was amazing for communicating her feelings and being honest with me.

to top it off, i haven't been in a relationship my whole life, or kissed anyone, guys haven't found me attractive, and still don't which shouldn't matter as a lesbian, but unfortunately, because of social conditioning, as a woman i care about it so much.

and to make things worse, i thought sapphic women would be way more accepting and better than men, but it turns out their standards are just like men's. the fatphobia, the superficiality, and the pure racism just makes it worse.

as a black woman, whose bigger than the conventional standard of attractiveness, and as a femme black woman, i am masculinised by both white and black men, white women and white sapphic women/afab people. it feels like black women are always pushed out of femininity, especially by white counterparts.

because of the fact that i have been single my whole life AND the issues in both heterosexual and sapphic spaces, i just don't feel loveable, pretty, sexy or feminine enough, and my loneliness and low self esteem have just been amplified because of it.

it makes me want to cry because i so badly want to be perceived as feminine and sexy as i feel sometimes on the inside and it just feels like it may never be the case. despite the fact i am a cis woman, i do experience a level of gender dysphoria because i feel as though i'm constantly not perceived to be feminine enough for both men and sapphic women and afab people.

i have felt this way for a really long time and i've never really known how to put it into words until now tbh. i guess i wish i felt confident enough to do and be who i feel i am on the inside, and i wish people saw the femme side in me that i see in myself...

it's got to the point in terms of dating where i have people blocked and i've unfollowed, not because they are bad people but because they are so beautiful and everyone sees their femininity and most if not all are in an ideal relationship with my ideal dynamic (if you know me you know that soft butch/masc/studs are my typeee, unfortunately for most of them i've had experiences where they don't see me the same way).

it's almost really emotionally triggering for me, because it just continually amplifies my feelings of loneliness and undesirability in regards to how others have felt about me my whole life, and how i feel about myself. i want to be able to see that stuff and not be affected, but fuck, its so hard..

anyways, thats my rant i guess, if you got to the end, thank you💕💕

#ellsss' rambles #personal post #do not reblog #sapphic yearning #tw fatphobia #tw racism #feeling alone #yeah... just want a gf/partner already tbh #being a black woman #black sapphic #black femme lesbian

[quinkysideblog]

The gender is gendering tonight.

The one thing I know for certain is that it's Not Female. I was a girl, once, a long time ago. I was a little girl who then grew up into a man (but "man" is questionable in itself). I'm am definitely transmasculine, but that's not all. It's hard to be eloquent as it's late and I'm probably going to misuse terms that some people would probably consider common knowledge but I have to be okay with that so I can work some of this out.

It's not agender - there is definitely a gender here. It's not binary but it's also not nonbinary, at least not in the way it's come to be represented in a lot of spaces, as this sort of "third option". It might be some sort of gender fluid? I've been using "genderfucked but from a male starting point" and "genderfag" but those don't feel quite right either.

I recently learned the term "aporagender: a nonbinary gender identity separate from male or female or anything in between while still having a strong and specific gendered feeling" and that resonates *almost* right.

I know gender is a social construct and that social conditioning can play a role in the way I'm gendered and perceived by others but what do I do when my gender isn't *quite* he/him and not *quite* he/they and not *quite* they/them but neopronouns don't feel right either. It's awful hard to maintain a sense of identity when I'm not sure what that identity is.

And another thing!! My gender is also somehow tied to the way I experience attraction. I identified as a sapphic-leaning bisexual for a *lot* of years and the way I am attracted to women/femme-aligned/femme-presenting people *remains feminine in nature*. The way I feel attraction differs depending on the gender(presentation) of the person to whom I am attracted - for example, my attraction to my husband is quite firmly Gay Male Attraction but to, let's say, Rhea Ripley? That's fully a Sapphic feeling, and I know that there are some people out there who use "transmasc sapphic" but that's still not right. I looked for a long time at various versions of genderflux but that's not....quite...it...either.

I'm so frustrated, and I feel really alone. I wish I could be wildly confident in the weirdness and breadth of intrigue I possess; I wish I could be unapologetic about who I am, and I might just land back on "queer" with no further explanations because at its core, I'm neither straight nor cis. I feel like that should (should it?) be enough but it's not and I just want to be weird but also being weird is exhausting.

#nonhorny posting #q is having a gender crisis #late night posting #gender fuckery #genderfluid #genderflux #queer #queer lonliness #queer community #genderfag #genderfuck #queer longing

[chaosintheavenue]

Unprompted answering of random asks from my own ask memes for Kayli:

🌱 What’s their basic information? Name, gender, age, that sort of thing

Full name: Kayli Meyer (surname was originally Radley until she was around 7-ish years old)

Gender: Cis woman

Orientation: Asexual, vaguely sapphic but also definitely not alloromantic (AKA, the exact answer I would have given for myself about a year ago)

Date of birth: 19th February 2275 (so, five months older than Trin at any given time)

Place of residence: Born and raised in California- more specifically in Lost Hills. She had never left California before travelling to West Virginia with Trin and living there for two years (2297 to late '99) and some spare change. Has just left WV and headed back west at the current point in the day-to-day OC timeline in my head

🌎 Do they have a favourite region of the world map (e.g. the Forest, the Ash Heap…)? A least favourite region?

She enjoyed seeing the variety of different environments in Appalachia more than anything else, but she does have a soft spot for the atmosphere (not literally!) of the Ash Heap that Trin doesn't share

As for least favourites, she didn't particularly enjoy embarking out further towards the east side of the map (Mire/Cranberry Bog region), but that's more due to the tougher enemies in that region and potential for Trin to start scorchily losing her shit than the actual geography

📷 How often do they take photos (or alternatively, how often do you use photomode haha)? Any favourite/funny photos of them you’d like to share?

She will sometimes take environmental shots to capture any unusual or striking features in the landscape, but on the whole isn't snap-happy like someone I could mention. Definitely doesn't love being in shot herself (so, not a fan of selfies).

🎻 Do they play musical instruments? How skilled are they at it?

Yesss. I literally added this question to that list specifically for Kayli lol.

She's taken violin lessons since childhood, and kinda knows her way around all string instruments as a result. Also figuring out a little bit of piano, which is more likely self-taught. But the violin will always be her baby.

💰 What is the most expensive thing they own?

The most expensive thing in terms of its overall value that she ever owned, past tense, was probably her first violin. It was in pristine condition with a pearlised blue varnish, which I'd imagine would have been very hard to come by.

It survived its time with her, by the way! She just had to swap for a new refurbished one eventually because it was child-sized.

💬 How many languages do they speak?

She's only fully fluent in English, but knows phrases here and there in plenty of other languages. However, I'm inclined to think that she would count the ability to read and write sheet music as knowing a language, which brings her total per her own judgement to two.

☂️ What’s their favourite type of weather? What type of weather do you associate with them, if any?

She's not a fan of any extremes of weather, but especially not storms or heavy rain. Having grown up a) underground and b) in California, the severe East Coast-style radstorms were an unpleasant novelty to her and she's very wary of them.

🍇 Favourite food? Any dietary restrictions or specific dislikes?

Discovered when she travelled east that she likes fresh seafood- but it absolutely has to be fresh, and that's going to be in much shorter supply where she's now living than it was in Appalachia. Welp. Lakelurk meat, maybe?

Her all-time favourite food is the gulper meat in Rudy's pepperoni rolls!

🤖 Do they believe science or art is more important? How much value do they place on each?

She'd firmly agree with the paraphrased quote 'Science keeps us alive, but art is what we live for'.

#Kayli #oc asks #if you hadn't gathered Kay is the Musical OC™

[ponycules]

PONIES ARE GAY!!

hello! i am ponycules and this is my mlp sideblog for all gens (though im partial to g1 and g4).

my big queer mane 6 headcanons are down below ↓

twilight

she/they transfem bigender demigirl

bi greyce greyro polyam

twilight would describe her gender as "part girl, part something else". what else? she's not so sure herself. a partially masculine and partially androgynous second gender? whatever, they think that bigender demigirl works just fine.

theyre bisexual and dont get sexual crushes or desires very often. they get romantic crushes a bit more, but has to be friends with a pony first. she could call herself demiromantic, but prefers greyromantic. she was the last to realize that everyone was interested in dating eachother, thus creating the twilicule (not her name idea) (everyone else agreed on it because she brought them all together).

applejack

he/she transfem butch

lesbian greyro polyam

applejack prides himself on his gender presentation: not in an appearance way (like rarity), but in more of a "proud to be unapologetically himself" way. she won't change the way he presents for nopony, and she likes being masculine.

he loves women, especially his primary partner rainbow dash, though he doesn't get crushes very easily if ever. it took a while for her to start dating the other four mane six members after the twilicule was formed, even with the constant flirting between the six of them, and she's not looking for any more partners.

rainbow dash

he/they transmasc (sapphic) boy

gay (wlw) polyam

rainbow dash is one of those trans ponies that knew from a young age that he was different, and was known by others as a tomboy. first he thought he was a trans man, and then learned about butch lesbianism. after a lot of soul searching, they concluded that they were a trans man, just in a wlw way.

part of their gender nonconformity, rainbow prefers to call himself gay instead of a lesbian, as he feels the term implies womanhood even if it doesnt mean to.

pinkie pie

any normative pronouns + neos (pronoun hoarder) agender xenogender multigender genderfluid genderhoarder

pan objectum polyam

pinkie doesn't have a gender, but that doesnt mean she can't have fun with it! she is a boy and a girl and both and neither and none of the above. he likes to hoard neopronouns (like fun/funs, party/partys, pony/ponys, i could go on) and xenogenders (like genderfun and smilegender) even when they dont necessarily relate to their gender. honks pan and loves all ponies, and tends to get crushes easily. it loves everyone a ton! they even fall in love with objects, and is dating quite a few of them.

rarity

she/they (gem/gems sometimes) afab intersex transfem femme genderfluid

lesbian polyam

rarity, though being assigned female at birth, identifies as transfem because of growing up with a typical "male" puberty due to her intersex condition. their relationship with gender is complicated due to this, but they like to mix around their presentation depending on how they feel that day (though always keeps a well-kept beard). she uses she/they normally and gem/gems when wearing drag or very extravagant outfits. she considers herself femme no matter what outfit she wears.

rarity is a lesbian and a hopeless romantic, always wanting to go on dates and meet another love of her life. she deals with a lot of comphet and guilt about relationships, but her girlfriends are always there to comfort her. other than the twilicule she's crushing on sassy saddles and coco pommel.

fluttershy

she/they/it/bun/flutter transfem

asexual bi lesbian polyam

fluttershy isn't too interested in labeling her exact gender experience other than "transfem", but she does like expressing herself through pronouns. bun/buns for buns favorite creatures on earth, flutter/flutters for flutters cutie mark and name, and it/its because it finds those pronouns beautiful in their own way.

theyre attracted to all genders, but fluttershy finds that their attraction to women is most important to their identity, so she ids as a bi lesbian. shes not interested in sexual relationships. buns in a qpr polycule with tree hugger, who is an aro bi nonbinary lesbian; and discord, a chaosgender omnipanbi gay lesbian draconequus

[pridepages]

Simply Sweet: Legends and Lattes

I just finished Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree. I have thoughts...

Here there be spoilers!

Travis Baldree’s debut novel is billed as a story of “high fantasy and low stakes.” It’s a delightful premise: all the lesbian cottage core dreams of opening a coffee shop with a girlfriend in a quiet and peaceful town where (mostly) everyone is charmed and charming. Except, the girlfriends happen to be monsters and the town is right out of a game of Dungeons and Dragons.

Legends and Lattes features Viv, an orc used to a life of questing who is finally ready to hang up her sword and embark on a new adventure: opening the first coffee shop in her new city. But even when you’re a creature of myth, opening a start-up is a challenging undertaking. It will take the help of new friends Calamity “Cal” the hob, Thimble the rattkin, and Tandri the succubus to help the fledgling café get off the ground. But between old enemies and new jealousies, this party finds trouble brewing even stronger than their espresso!

I have increasingly seen additions to this low-stakes-high-fantasy genre. The narratives are light and tight, characters don’t tend to have much backstory or development, but nevertheless they have a laidback kind of charm. Baldree’s origins are in video games, and it shows. While perfectly entertaining, the novel’s prose is rather bare-bones and plot-driven. Purple prose isn’t a necessity for a fantasy novel, but it was difficult to find anything notable or quotable in this text. Still, fans of all things sword and sorcery may still find the novel worthwhile for a couple of reasons.

First, the book has been described as a comfort read. After decades of the most visible queer content being stories of pain, suffering, and even death, it can be a kind of relief to read a book where challenges include determining what kind of pastries to serve or how to keep your cafe air-conditioned in ye olde pseudo-medieval times. At times it can feel frustrating that the story makes minimal use of its set dressing. Particularly when it periodically veers into anachronism while winking at the reader. Still, there’s something about its message of ‘the real treasure was the friends we made along the way’ that’s as warming and familiar as a cup of good coffee.

Second, it’s surprising and refreshing to read a respectful sapphic story written by a man. As a gay woman, lucky as I am to live among people who are generally accepting, I am nevertheless used to the sting of constantly seeing my identity get sexualized--even by men who should know better. It becomes the default setting to grit your teeth and expect missteps. But Legends and Lattes makes none. The love story between Viv and Tandri is a gentle one founded on mutual respect, admiration, holding each other accountable, and supporting each other’s dreams. Their chemistry is genuine without feeling sordid. Because Tandri is a succubus, the story even weaves in elements of the sexualization and harassment that feminine-presenting individuals face in a realistic manner without veering into exploitative. Between making one love interest an orc (traditionally an ugly, brutish, ‘masculine’ type of creature) and the other a succubus (traditionally representing the demonization of feminine sexuality), Baldree’s sapphics become surprisingly real women living life on their own terms despite the stereotypes the world affixes to them.

Far from being wearisome, this wholesome predictability is simply sweet. So while Tolkien or Le Guin this is not, I do recommend Legends and Lattes. Because sometimes the real treasure is the warmth, love, and acceptance that we find along the way.

#legends and lattes #travis baldree #sapphic #wlw #lesbian #lgbt reads #queer lit

[lesbianklance]

sapphics with whips<3

#she ra #she ra and the princesses of power #spop #spop catra #catra #vld #voltron legendary defender #vld allura #allura #princess allura #im in love with both of them your honor #its a sapphic thing guys #all sapphics must own whips #its in the terms and conditions of being a sapphic #omg and archery is lowkey wlw too #allura did use a bow and arrow in the m&m ep #seems kinda gay to me👁️👄👁️

[moved-to-void-kissed]

Split of Twin Flowers

After being rescued from the realm of darkness, Aria seeks a way to give Ves a chance at living her own life, while also continuing to survive in her own right. Aqua brings her to the scientists at Radiant Garden to see if they have a solution, and for Aria to explain her situation, but the only option available may carry some worrying implications.. (3937 words)

Takes place after the ending of KH3. Content warning for mentions of battle scars, talk of a character being possessed, an event comparable to an exorcism (it’s kind of hard to explain in non-series-specific terms, sorry), and rather a lot of self-insert-focused exposition.

(Comments on and reblogs of my work are always okay, and appreciated, but are by no means required. I recommend reading this piece on the original document, but if that doesn't work, a transcript has been copied and pasted under the readmore.)

tag list: @thatslikesometaldude | @garchompp | @beeon | @tex-treasures | @catake | @tartaglialovemail | @catcao | @lilacslovers | @kissofthemoonrabbit | @vilehusband | @dragonsmooch | @childrenofmeyneth | @kalliopi-ships | @blackbirdcrime | @strawberryshipz (to be tagged in what I make, please click here!)

This is a piece I have been working on for a long time, and am very proud of, so I really appreciate anyone who takes the time to read it. I hope it isn’t quite as heavy as the content warnings may possibly indicate. I’m also using it as my post for the twenty-ninth day of sapphic September; there’s just one more to go!

Document transcript:

The door to the laboratory opened halfway, and a young woman tentatively poked her head around it. Upon seeing that she was not interrupting anything, she smiled and emerged more properly, brushing a lock of blue hair from her face.

“Oh, Master Aqua!” The lone scientist in the room smiled warmly as he noticed her. “Thank you for coming. I’m glad to see you’re alright.”

“Thank you, Ienzo.” Aqua replied, even if she did still in fact look rather tired. The long battle to defeat Master Xehanort and the true Organisation still felt fresh in her mind, and although it was a fight that the light had eventually won, it had still taken quite a toll on her. Not only that, but she hadn’t had the same chance to rest as the others - though thoughts of locating Sora still weighed on everyone’s minds, Aqua had been more concerned with finding a way back into the realm of darkness in order to rescue Aria, her partner who she had so unwillingly abandoned..

Now that Aria was finally free as well, Aqua could let herself relax a bit more, and with that lowering of her guard came much contemplation of everything she had gone through.

“Um.. Master Aqua?”

“Ah!”

She’d been staring off into space again, judging by Ienzo’s worried expression half-visible under his hair.

“Is everything alright?”

“Yes, don’t worry!” she replied, slightly embarrassed at her lapse in concentration. The young scientist did not look entirely convinced, but he seemed content enough to continue.

“I’m the only one here at the moment, but I should still be able to help with what we talked about over the Gummiphone. Did you happen to bring Aria with you?”

At this, the half-open door Aqua had come through continued to swing open as if of its own accord, only to reveal another young woman entering the laboratory with a somewhat nervous expression. She had clearly been through a lot, and the realm of darkness she had reportedly been trapped in for aeons had definitely left its mark on her; several large patches of darkness could be seen spanning her face and body, with one reaching down her left eye like a melting wound.

“Yes, I’m here..”

Her catlike eyes flickered nervously around the room, and it soon became apparent that what Ienzo had thought was a cape were in fact a pair of black feathered wings, both subconsciously curling around her shoulders. It was only upon recognising that Ienzo was the only one present, and that his initial reaction to seeing her was not as negative as she was expecting, that she was able to relax slightly and explain herself from behind a now-steeled facade.

“My name is Aria.” she said, looking up at the scientist from under her messy blonde hair. “Aqua said you might be able to help me achieve something. Has she already.. told you about, well-”

“We’ve already spoken a little bit using the Gummiphone I was given before, but he said it was best for us to come and talk in person to try and get everything clear.” Aqua stepped in after sensing Aria’s hesitation and took her hand to support her partner. “It’s alright - you can trust him,” she whispered close to her ear.

Trusting only in her love’s reassurance, Aria started to explain her intentions to Ienzo, who seemed content to listen even considering the clear presence of darkness she had; this silent gesture of tolerance was greatly appreciated. She appeared hesitant to reveal much of her true nature as a Heartless, but she did what she could to inquire whether the young scientist knew any way for a heart to be released from its current body and inhabit a different one, allowing the dormant self within the original body to reawaken. Unfortunately, Ienzo remained pensive, even after she had said her part.

“So, you’re looking for a way for a heart to enter a new body? I’m sorry, but.. I’m not sure we’ll be able to help you. Any of the resources we could have used - which is to say, the replicas, they would have been perfect for this - were taken by Roxas, Xion, and Naminé’s hearts.”

“Oh. So, there is nothing you can do?” Aria persisted, but Ienzo shook his head.

Then came a flash of hesitant inspiration.

“Unless..” He trailed off and turned to look down one of the corridors leading away from the main lab space. “Could you two come with me, please?”

“Of course!” said Aqua brightly, as Aria nodded in assent.

==========

The three left the main hub of the laboratory to walk down the corridor, which felt as though it was turning downwards into a basement level of sorts. Once there, they came to a tall door which Ienzo unlocked with some sort of biometric scanner, and this opened out into yet another laboratory space with a similar layout to the first - however, this one seemed in a less presentable condition than the other, and its lack of windows seemed to be what was giving it a more foreboding presence. There was a distinct sense that something bad had happened here, once upon a time.

“After you and the other Guardians of Light helped to defeat Master Xehanort,” Ienzo was saying to Aqua, “we went back to the Keyblade Graveyard to see if there was anything to salvage from the battlefield, and we were able to bring this back with us.”

He gestured to a container at the far wall, in which the two Keyblade wielders could now see a strange white figure suspended inside, resembling a featureless mannequin. It appeared to be dressed in some kind of dark robes, of a dull purple colour inlaid with sharp red motifs, worn over pieces of tarnished metal armour. A number of scuffs and dents littered the otherwise-smooth surface, and Aria could sense traces of a dark presence seeping from the container, despite the blank nature of the figure itself.

“What is this..?”

“This is one of the replicas that Even created, back when he was still Vexen, and a member of the first Organisation.” Ienzo explained. “The first twelve were prototypes, initially abandoned as failures, since they were made before his assistant provided the data needed to perfect them, but.. From what I understand, the real Organisation - which Vexen was also a part of at the beginning - repurposed those twelve into vessels for Xehanort’s heart, as backups in case the people they brought through time fell in battle again.”

“That’s right, I remember fighting these now.” muttered Aqua. “But, didn’t they fuse into one form, eventually?”

“That’s what I thought, too, from your accounts of the situation.” replied the scientist. “I’m not sure if Sora defeating the replicas in battle made them all separate out again, since they weren’t really designed to be fused, or if this one was already too damaged to combine with the others in the first place. Regardless, it was the only one we recovered.”

He now turned to face the blank figure with a concerned expression. “We’ve been running some experiments to see whether it can be repurposed for anything, but.. There’s a lot of darkness still lingering within it, so it wouldn’t be safe for a heart of light to inhabit without risking it also being afflicted by that darkness. And we haven’t found a good way of destroying that darkness without compromising the replica, either.”

“I could sense the dark power when I saw it, so corruption would seem a likely outcome.” Aria mused. “This would also be darkness from Xehanort, so.. it isn’t that surprising that some part of it stuck around. Persistence did seem to be his only worthwhile trait.”

She had crossed her arms in contempt at this last part, but seemed satisfied enough to relax after studying the replica further. “It shouldn’t matter any more than he did in the long run, though.”

“Hmm..” Aqua seemed concerned about the prospect, but was trying to keep an open mind. “What do you make of it, Aria?”

“Well..” She took a moment to examine the figure with an unchanging expression. “The replica body itself has sustained some damage from the fight, but I don’t see why that would affect my ability to inhabit it - it’s just possible that those injuries would reflect in my new appearance, which is.. nothing I’m not accustomed to. And, if the heart within a replica determines its appearance, then maybe what’s left of my heart - or, I suppose, the heart that I once was - would be able to smooth over those gaps. Though, if it’s the latter, that could mean my appearance ends up changing, which.. is not what I want.”

Aqua tentatively nodded, but Ienzo seemed more visibly confused.

“I’m sorry to interject, but- what do you mean by “the heart that you once were”? You’re saying that that’s different to your heart, somehow?”

“..In a sense, yes. How do I explain this..?” There was a slight pause as Aria tried to gather her thoughts, and it was clear she was still trying to think by the hesitant nature of her words that followed. She had seen right through to the heart of the man standing before her, which glowed with a newly-restored lustre. It was a heart that sought to help people, and sought knowledge in order to do that, though there were visible flickers of a long-seated regret present as well. Still, it was a heart that she judged would not judge her, so she decided to provide it with the truth she hoped would sate it.

“Though I look mostly human to you, this- isn’t technically my body, however much I treated it as such. If I were to let go of this vessel, or be driven out from her, you would see me as I really am - a Heartless, a flowering thing. However, Heartless are created when a heart is consumed by darkness, so.. surely the appearance I would take if I were to possess a blank replica would be that of the person this heart - my heart - used to belong to. Only, I don’t- I don’t really see myself as him, or as Ves. I am different, I am my own- well, person, if I can even call myself that. Yet, when I imagine my appearance outside of this vessel, I can only see myself as a Heartless. Does that make any sense?”

“I think I follow..” the scientist mumbled, though his still-furrowed brow seemed to indicate otherwise. “So, you kept your memories of who you were, even after turning into a Heartless? Kairi had implied that the same thing happened to Sora, but.. I’d just attributed that to him turning the Keyblade of heart on himself to free her, so it wouldn’t have happened to anyone else.”

This claim caused Aria to shake her head. “To my knowledge, the method is irrelevant; what matters is the intention. The more willingly a person opens their heart to the darkness, the more of their mind they keep when their heart is consumed, and they become a Heartless. I believe this is what happened with Ansem, though he actively sought after darkness so strongly that he retained a human appearance as well as mind. The emblem on his chest was the only way an onlooker could tell his true nature. When it comes to my original self, he was a Keyblade wielder, very similar to what I know of Sora, but… though he certainly did not willingly or deliberately let his heart be consumed, he was able to accept his fate in his final moments, and that is what allowed the Heartless formed at his demise - so, in other words, me - to retain some semblance of mind and self. Just.. not as much of it.”

“Oh. Yes, I think that makes more sense now. Thank you for the clarification.” said Ienzo. He was writing something furiously in a book that seemed to appear out of nowhere, then became startled when he realised his blunder. In an instant, he opened his mouth to ask something, but closed it with relief when Aria’s expression reassured him she did not mind him making notes about her.

It was Aqua’s turn to speak up now. “It’s so interesting to hear about this from you, Aria - but, I can’t say I’ve seen that kind of behaviour in any of the Heartless I’ve fought before. Had you noticed it at any point while we were in the realm of darkness?”

“Not that I can recall.” she replied. “It isn't exactly that common of an occurrence, considering most people’s disdain for the darkness. And, not only that, but..” She turned away from the other two here, and her next words came much more reluctantly again.

“Before I took over Ves, I remember feeling that I was losing myself - all I was driven by was this desire to be complete again, to be human again, but that was fading away over time. Then, when I found her, I didn’t necessarily feel more human, but what sense of humanity I did have was no longer fading away. So, if I hadn’t found her or someone like her in time, I probably would have lost my sense of self completely, and become just as mindless as most other Heartless are. It’s only thanks to the type of Heartless I became that I was even able to possess her in the first place, and.. I didn’t start to truly feel more like a person until I met other Keyblade wielders, and they interacted with me.”

“I see, I see.. So you’re saying that, in those Heartless that retain a sense of who they were before becoming Heartless, the remnants of normal heart behaviour - of humanity, if you will - have to be nurtured by others in order to be sustained, and will just be lost to the darkness if not actively encouraged?”

“Yes.”

Ienzo paused to finish hastily scribbling this knowledge down in his notebook, then lifted his head in realisation once he had had some time to think. “I think I might remember something of that from the old Organisation, actually.. Though, the memory is very hazy..”

To stop his mind from wandering as it wanted to, he returned to address the matter at hand.

“From what you’ve said, Aria, it does sound like you’d be able to make use of this replica - and you may well be the only one who could. I don’t think there’s any other solution here for you, and.. I say there’s no better way to find out than by experimenting. Give me a moment to get everything ready, and then we’ll be set to see if it works!”

Aria nodded, content with the proposal, but Aqua reached out to take her hand with a worried expression.

“Aria, are you sure you want to do this..?”

“Of course I am, Aqua. This is why I came here.” she replied. Then she hesitated again. “..Why, is there something wrong?”

“Well, no, it’s just-” Aqua took a moment to settle her whirling thoughts, holding both of Aria’s hands in her own now. “I don’t know what’s going to happen when I use my Keyblade on you. I don’t want to hurt you, or even destroy you. And, if something happened with the darkness infecting the replica, then..”

Aria couldn’t bring herself to meet Aqua’s gaze, but it was clear she appreciated the consideration, and did her best to reassure her love. “If I could leave of my own accord, I would have done so by now, but.. we’ve become too intertwined for me to do that myself. And Ves is not quite strong enough to drive me out from within - it’s enough of an effort for her to stay existing in the first place. So.. an outside force seems to be the only way to separate us. And there isn’t anyone I’d trust to wield that force, other than you.”

Despite herself, Aqua couldn’t help but smile at the last admission, and she felt her normal confidence returning. “..Alright then. If you’re sure about this, then.. I’m happy to be able to help.”

The two embraced for a moment, then there was a pause of silence as Aria took a few steps back to stand in the middle of the room. Once Ienzo had brought the replica out of its container, he carried it around to the other end of the laboratory, closer to the other two. Aqua summoned her Brightcrest Keyblade, then slowly raised its tip to be level with the X on Aria’s outfit. She took a deep breath, then pointed the Keyblade directly at her partner, echoing the movement used to open the paths to new worlds.

Aria instinctively flinched when a thin beam of bright light shot forward from the tip of Aqua’s Keyblade, striking her directly in the chest. She was then forced down into a kneel as an aura of pink-tinted darkness began to escape from her body. Her expression was grim, as if she was in pain, but Aqua caught sight of a hint of a smile before the darkness now emanating much more rapidly from her form started rising up to create something above her. It almost completely engulfed her body as if to pull it upwards too, seeming particularly concentrated around her head and wings, before disconnecting entirely to drop a drained figure to the floor. This left a dense collection of dark pink wisps, amalgamating in the air.

Ienzo was now well off to the side, looking rather alarmed, but his expression was replaced with complete surprise when the amorphous cluster of darkness coalesced, giving way to what looked like a floating mass of pink petals. Eventually, it turned around to reveal a large jagged mouth and piercing yellow eyes, staring with an expression he found difficult to interpret. The Heartless stayed floating in place for a moment, as if disoriented, then suddenly appeared to notice Aqua, staring at her curiously.

“Aria..?”

Her tentative call was clearly recognised by the flowering monster, which began to float cautiously towards her. She still had her Keyblade summoned, and her hand was trembling ever-so-slightly - whether with nervousness, uncertainty, or something else entirely, it was impossible to tell. Then, Ienzo stepped between the two and lifted up the replica body, hoping that Aria still remembered the plan.

“Here!”

It seemed the Heartless remained aware, as she moved forwards more purposefully after this, and collided directly with the empty vessel’s centre. A few petals scattered from the force, but it took only a few moments for the Heartless’ form to disappear entirely, appearing to be absorbed into the replica body. This caused another aura of darkness to manifest, enveloping the blank surface of the replica and making Ienzo recoil from the body - but it caught itself as it fell from his grasp to end up kneeling on all fours. A few more moments passed, as the darkness engulfed the entire body in a shell, before gradually dissipating after a few gold sparks were seen being forced out of the system.

The figure that stood up was slightly smaller than the replica had looked in the container, with catlike ears now poking upwards from a fluffy head of golden blonde hair. As she lifted her head, a cluster of cute freckles were seen scattered across her face, though in what Aqua thought was a slightly different arrangement than before. There were other little differences here and there, as well - the shape of her face, the way her hair fell at the back, how she stood dressed in the unfamiliar clothes from the replica in the middle of the silent laboratory.

But all of Aqua’s worries disappeared when the girl standing before her opened her eyes. Neither the bright, empty yellow of the lesser, mindless Heartless, nor a piercing orange like the seeker of darkness, nor even the harsh cold shade between the two that Aria’s eyes had been before, but a warm and resolute amber was the colour that met Aqua’s gaze, and regarded her with a renewed sense of gratitude and love.

“Aria!”

The Keyblade Master ran across the room towards her partner and nearly knocked her over with the energy of her emotions. Aria was nervous, but comfortably allowed herself to melt into Aqua’s embrace, now able to feel the connection between the pair even more strongly than before. Something felt so much more tangible about her presence now, and the relief coursing through her new body was enough to bring tears to her eyes.

“Aqua, it really worked..!” she smiled, speaking in a quiet voice filled with gratitude.

“I’m so glad you’re alright!” exclaimed Aqua, who also had a few tears in her eyes. “How do you feel? Is everything okay?”

“Yes, it’s all fine, I promise.” she asserted. “The replica’s darkness was not organised; it was just remnants that my presence has removed. I feel.. different, but in the best possible way. I could never have done this without you here with me - thank you, so much, for being here..”

She trailed off, still smiling at her partner, and another wonderful moment came and went. Then, a movement from behind Aqua caused Aria’s expression to take on a slightly fearful quality, and she turned her head to see what was happening. The cause of this movement was the figure left behind when Aqua set Aria free, who was slowly trying to get to her feet, her heart’s light flickering nervously. A bright green eye could be seen darting anxiously around the room from under her hair, but she was too weak to properly move, and quickly fell back to the ground again. Ienzo stepped in to support her, and his assistance was clearly welcomed as she was just about able to stand.

“Please take her somewhere she can recover.” Aria requested hurriedly. “After everything I put her through, she needs every opportunity she can to rest and adjust to being herself again..”

“Don’t worry. We have good facilities here.” Ienzo assured her. “Everything will be fine.”

This did little to ease Aria’s guilt, but the gesture was nevertheless appreciated. “Thank you, Ienzo.”

The scientist nodded, and then slowly helped the girl walk to the corridor. She appeared to be very shaken, and was glancing at everything with apprehension and unfamiliarity, but as she turned the corner of the corridor, she looked back at the couple still standing side-by-side, and met the eyes of both her saviour and her prison.

(For all that you have done to me, I know why you do not deserve forgiveness.

But, this is not the first time we have seen each other face-to-face since that day, thanks to that mirror you found in the darkness.

And ever since that moment, you have sought a way to free yourself from me. To let me live the life you once denied me. To break the hold that any other being you’d call your kind would do everything to strengthen.

You calculated the risks, but you still took them - the risk you would lose everything and the one person you cared for, for the sake of me getting to “get rid of you”.

So, who am I to judge a person - the person you have become - by the actions of the creature you once were..?)

A ghost of a smile flickered over her face, and the long-held vessel finally free again spoke of her own accord for the first time since the age of ancient fairytales.

“Thank you, Aria..”

#a call from the void #creations from the void #kingdom hearts selfshipping #this post is okay to reblog! #sapphicseptember2021 #selfship #selfshipping #love: wayfinding waters (aqua) #selfship: survivors of the dark (aqua/aria) #self‑insert: darkness' champion (aria) #and also featuring #self‑insert: ruby in the light (ves) #read the post carefully before opening the readmore please #or opening the document (which is how I recommend reading this one) #I have spent a long time trying to write this piece #i am proud of it

[sepublic]

A Palisman from a Grom Tree?

           I’ve heard speculation about Luz and Amity’s Grom Tree being used to create their Palismans respectively… And this is a charming concept, I like it! I’m also partial to the idea of Luz adopting one of the discarded Palismans that the Bat Queen is guarding, as I feel it just makes a lot of sense for her character and ties into her themes and motifs; But at the same time, I can’t deny the appeal of Luz and Amity getting their Palismans from a symbol of their sapphic love! And if not Luz, at least Amity could carve her Palisman from the tree…

           Though, it does raise the question- If Plant Magic can create Palisman Trees, then why is it such a dwindling resource? Is Belos actively regulating and restricting the growth of these trees, and hunting down those who break his law? I wouldn’t put it past him… And I have to wonder if a magical staff can be a potential workaround to Belos’ coven bindings, as Luz lacked a bile sac, but was able to cast spells through both the Training Wand and Owlbert. I also have to wonder how a Training Wand functions, for that matter- Amity’s seems to be wooden and it apparently has to be recharged. Are these wands carved from a weaker form of wood, or at least use less of it? Are wands that need recharging the result of this dwindling resource, and witches being forced to make more from less?

           How do you recharge a Training Wand? I’ve speculated in the past about the idea of Bile transfusions… Is this a way? Do some witches donate magic bile that can be used to recharge a wand- And it works, because that wand is made of magical wood that can actually process that bile into spells? Perhaps Palisman Wood, or at least the material for wands, is like a botanical version of the organs that process bile and convert it into actual magic… It needs bile to actually work with and function, just as Eda’s hands can still cast circles, ideally- But her bile sac has been drained, so what it does produce is powerless. A drained wand being reminiscent of Eda’s current condition would be an interesting parallel, actually, and maybe further recontextualize Eda making a point of Luz needing to learn Glyphs; Especially since it’s helpful to have Glyphs AND a Palisman anyway, not to mention that magical bile could be used for others without access to glyphs.

           But, I digress… It’s worth noting that the magic doesn’t seem to come from JUST the wood itself, as Belos cracks open a palisman like an eggshell to harvest its bile within. Is the wood inherently magical, or just able to process magic? Maybe both- Maybe the wood produces magic and then turns it into spells. Regardless, back to my point… I wouldn’t put it past Belos to restrict the creation of palisman trees if staffs could be a workaround to his bindings. Perhaps that’s why we see so few of them- Only one from Eda a wild witch, another from Lilith, who likely has privilege as Head of the Emperor’s Coven (the way members of that group lack coven bindings)… And we hear of one of Willow’s dads having a staff, though we technically don’t know if his has a Palisman on the end, either; Or if it’s basically just a bigger Training Wand in function.

           Dana refers to the resource for palismans as dwindling, so maybe Belos is involved, who knows? Regardless of why those trees are becoming rarer, there leaves the question of why they can’t be replenished… And perhaps regular Plant Magic can’t grow them, period? At least Plant Magic generated from bile… If magic ultimately comes from nature and the Titan’s own body, then perhaps only nature can spawn these trees, naturally; Attempts to spawn them from bile-magic comes from an individual witch and not the Titan itself, and so they end in failure. But Luz… Well, Luz uses Glyphs- The earliest form of Magic, taught by the Titan itself! And Glyphs directly interact with, interface, and manipulate the nature around the user; AKA, the very body and flesh of the Titan!

           So perhaps Glyphs have a more innate connection to nature and the Titan itself, and through this connection, Luz’s Plant Glyph was able to spawn a genuine Palisman Tree from the Titan’s body by triggering its production/growth! If so, then does Bump or anyone else recognize this is as a Palisman Tree? Did Eda, or were the characters not simply paying enough attention? It’d be interesting if the characters find out later that the Grom Tree is made up of Palisman wood… If so, is owning this tree illegal? Or is Bump allowed to do it, in addition to not caring much for the law anyway… It’d be neat to see Luz and/or Amity carve a Palisman from the tree, and then let Bump use the rest to help other students create Palismans!

           And instead of cutting down the entire tree, harvesting it all at once for instant power and gratification the way Belos probably would- Hexside lets the tree flourish, and has Plant Witches –Willow and Jerbo likely among them- regularly tend to it… Clippings and branches are removed, but enough of the tree itself is preserved so it can heal, regenerate, and continue providing palisman wood for future generations! It’d be a nice message about environmentalism, about preserving nature so others after you can benefit from it… And the value of temperance, doing things in moderation to keep in mind the needs of others. It’d contrast with Belos, who seems associated with mechanical industry, which tends to completely devour resources immediately for itself, leaving nothing behind to grow and supply for others, all for that short-term profit… And really, that seems pretty in line with how the Coven System functions and what this show has to say.

           Overall- I don’t know if Luz will specifically make her own Palisman from that tree, much less what kind of Palisman it’d be… Maybe Amity, and even a bunch of other students from Hexside, could get in on the fun! I’d like to see Willow make one for herself, given her connection to plants- And maybe Jerbo, as he is older, and he’s well-versed in Plant-Abomination magic, which was basically what was used to create the Grom Tree… Actually, the discussion of the Grom Tree could be a neat segue into bringing Jerbo back into the picture, but I can also see the writers not doing that either. Even if Luz doesn’t use the tree, it’s totally in-character for her to provide opportunities for others in this way; And it’d be a neat opportunity to discuss the nature and origins of Palismans and the resources that go into them, as well as how the Emperor’s Coven might react and its stance on Palismans.

          We know that witches typically get their staffs after graduating and make them at school, which suggests they’re legal… So, maybe they aren’t a workaround to Coven Bindings, or they’re a privilege only for particularly skilled witches. Maybe the Emperor’s Coven will try to confiscate the Grom Tree, hoo knows? This does remind me of how in Escape of the Palisman, we see the Bat Queen fly off to a particularly massive tree in the background. Perhaps this tree is where Palismans are carved from- It’d make sense given how she and other palismans gather nearby, and maybe it has something to do with how the Bat Queen made her own kids! Imagine that, a Palisman creating Palismans… Maybe THAT tree will be utilized, maybe it’s the Grom Tree- Maybe it’s both, because the more trees, the merrier!

#the owl house #owl house #palismans #grom #the owl house bat queen #training wands #magic #magic staff #the owl house belos #emperor belos #speculation

[thisseethingcoast]

The Invisible Lesbian in Young Adult Fiction -A culture of misogyny erases the stories of queer girls- essay by Malinda Lo

The other day on twitter I saw someone tweet about their reluctance to read f/f (female/female) romance, even though they identified as a queer woman. They admitted that reading f/f could somehow feel too close for comfort; that reading m/m (male/male) romance was sometimes easier, and allowed them to relax more. Several people responded, a bit self-consciously, that they agreed.

That wasn’t the first time I’ve encountered this. Since long before twitter, I’ve known queer women who’ve admitted that they often prefer books and films about gay men over books and films about lesbians. Sometimes they seemed a little uncomfortable admitting it, but I understood. I recognized their discomfort because I’ve felt it myself.

When I was a teen, I don’t recall knowing that lesbians existed, but I certainly knew that gay men did. I remember being captivated by Maurice, the 1987 Merchant-Ivory film of E.M. Forster’s novel, about an upper-class gay boy in Edwardian England who struggles with his homosexuality. Fortunately for Maurice, he gets a happy ending.

I was also drawn to My Beautiful Laundrette (1985), about a homosexual relationship between a young British Pakistani man and a right-wing punk named Johnny. Although the film includes brutal homophobia, the two young men are together at the end.

I remember hunting for more movies like My Beautiful Laundrette and Maurice at the video store, completely ignorant of why they affected me so deeply. Later on I found My Own Private Idaho (1991), starring Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix in a story of unrequited love. It never occurred to me to look for any such movies about lesbians, and if it had, I probably wouldn’t have watched them. It would have been too shocking—too close to what I truly desired.

It was only years after I came out to myself and my friends, after I’d had my first relationships with women, that I became comfortable watching movies about lesbians. In those early years, the only way I could watch these films was by draping myself in false cynicism—by viewing “ironically,” ready to criticize bad acting or directing without giving it a chance—or by disengaging partway, not really paying attention. It was all too intense for me.

Seeing lesbians onscreen called my whole life into question. Why had it taken me so long to figure it out? What was wrong with me for taking so long? Why wasn’t I comfortable seeing people like me? Was I a terrible person for being uncomfortable with it? Had I actually internalized homophobia so deeply? Why did it hurt in this strange way to see those women together?

This queasy, dangerous feeling; vulnerability. I can’t look.

Movies about gay men didn’t affect me that way because I was not a man. I could see myself in them without seeing myself in them. They were safe, and they fulfilled my desire to experience a same-sex relationship without actually experiencing it.

I think I had been conditioned to ignore and deny lesbians. It took me years to decondition this automatic tendency to erase people like me. I had to do it by living my life—having romantic relationships with women, being in communities of queer women, and slowly, by exposing myself to fiction about them.

Sometimes it’s easier to be a lesbian in real life than it is to read a book about them. Real life is full of distractions that can dull the sharpness of what’s going on. If you’re at a party or a bar, there’s alcohol (there’s a reason for the long history of gay bars). There are other people; there are the daily demands of living your life. And we human beings are really good at ignoring stuff that makes us uncomfortable.

Reading, I think, is one of the most intimate forms of communication there is—even more than film or TV. A book’s words are in your head. While you’re reading that book, you become that book. It makes total sense to me that if you didn’t grow up seeing people like you everywhere, reading about someone like you can be an overwhelming experience. You’ve been conditioned to not see yourself. Seeing yourself turns your world upside down, and while it can be exciting and affirming, it can also be deeply disorienting and scary.

It’s easier to not look, to not engage. To seek out that mirror in a slightly distorted way. To read books about gay boys. To breathlessly watch Maurice or My Beautiful Laundrette.

A note on language

I identify as a lesbian. For me, lesbian means a woman who is in primary sexual or romantic relationship with other women. This is separate from gender identity, and lesbians may be cisgender or transgender or nonbinary. I want to note here that my definition of lesbian includes all genders.

In the YA book community, books featuring same-sex romantic relationships between girls have been identified with an evolving series of labels, including lesbian. The term f/f arose out of fandom to indicate a story that involves a romance between two female characters.

The term Sapphic has evolved in online discourse to be more inclusive than its dictionary definition, which simply means lesbian. Within YA, Sapphic now describes a female character who is sexually or romantically attracted to other women, but this character may be bisexual, pansexual, lesbian, queer,  or unspecified in her sexual orientation.

The word lesbian has always come with baggage; it is not a neutral word. It has connotations of being sexualized, ridiculed, embarrassing, exclusionary, man-hating, excessively or problematically political, or racist. And yet it’s also directly linked to the near-mythical life of one woman, a poet named Sappho who lived over 2,500 years ago on the island of Lesbos, who wrote some of the world’s most beautiful poetry about desire between women.

When I use the word lesbian, I use it knowing its complicated history and multiple connotations. I use it to claim a community that I’m part of, to draw a line through time, to underscore the fact that we have always been here.

loandbehold.substack.com/p/the-invisible-lesbian-in-young-adult

#malinda lo #essay #lesbian #media #w/w #bisexual #queer #invisibility

[commander-passiflora]

Something So Magic About You

Day 1 of @tyrias-library‘s Valentine’s fic week! As always, thank you for organizing this bc it’s a delight to participate and see what everyone else comes up with. The prompt today is “Confessions,” so this is about how Braham and Auslog got together. Title is from “From Eden” by Hozier bc I listen to Hozier while I’m writing A Lot. What can I say, I am but a simple sapphic

Also this time around I decided I’d post things both on tumblr AND ao3, so if you’d prefer to read it there, here’s a link for you. Enjoy!

“Ugh, what do I do, Toril?” Auslog asked, pacing their tent. 

Currently, Toril and Auslog and the rest of Dragon’s Watch were set up on a cliff in Sandswept Isles, overlooking Althoma, the Olmakhan village. Here, they could monitor any threats from above before they had a chance to cause serious problems, and nearby sand portals offered easy travel to the Inquest facility the next island over for anyone who had a jackal, as most of the guild did by this point. 

Toril followed the other norn with her eyes from her place on the pile of furs that served as their bed, watching with a smirk as Auslog placed her head in her hand.

“I dunno, babe,” Toril said with a shrug. “I always say you should just say something, so you already know that’s what I’m going to say. Do you need me to actually say it?”

Auslog stopped, turned to face her, and wrinkled her nose at her and made a grumbly sound.

“No,” she groaned. “Or yes. Maybe?” 

Toril chuckled.

“What if I say something,” Auslog explained, little drops of water gathering at her hands as she went, falling to the ground when she failed to pay attention to her magic, “and he doesn’t return my feelings, and then it makes everything awkward for everyone?”

“That’s not gonna happen, Aus,” Toril said.

“You don’t know that! How do you know that?”

“Because you’re both--well, okay.” Toril sighed heavily. “Because you are emotionally intelligent and capable of being professional, and because Braham will fall in line if I tell him to fall in line.” 

“But then you’ll have to--and we’ll--and I--and it would be humiliating, and--and if he--but I can’t--and--”

“Aus, Aus, hey, stop,” Toril said, standing and wrapping her into a soft embrace. She placed a soothing hand on the elementalist’s back and used the other to gently toy with her hair. “This isn’t going to help anything, this agonizing over it. Either you do or you don’t, and that’s up to you. You just have to do what feels right. But I can’t tell you what that is, and pacing up and down our tent at a mile a minute won’t either. Plus,” she said teasingly, “you got the floor a little wet, and now it’s muddy in here.”

Auslog laughed, gripping Toril tighter and coiling her arms around the Commander’s neck. The elementalist gave her a quick peck on the cheek, stretching up on her toes, before untangling herself and looking up at Toril.

“I have one actual question for you though,” Auslog said. “I think it’s important.” 

“Shoot.”

“What if it makes it awkward for you? I mean, he’s your best friend. I wouldn’t want to put any kind of divide between you if it goes south.”

“Hey, how about you let me handle the particulars of my relationship with Braham?” Toril said, brushing a lock of hair from Auslog’s cheek and tucking it behind her ear. “Any problems that happen between me and him, regardless of what they have to do with, are between me and him. I would never, ever blame you for a problem I have with another person. You go after what you want, if you want to. Don’t worry about me. Please.”

Auslog sighed dramatically. 

“Okay,” she huffed, “I guess you’re right.”

“Of course I am,” Toril said with a scoff. “Aren’t I always?”

“Oh, shut up.”

“Make me.”

***

“Toril, I, uh--could I talk to you for a sec? Like, over there?” Braham said, gesturing past the tree line around their camp. 

It was supper time, most of the guild gathered around a large pot of stew over the fire at the center of the camp. The Commander took another bite from the bowl in her hands and then set it carefully on the stone bench beside her. (Having an elementalist around does have its perks, she mused as her knuckles brushed the smooth limestone.) 

“Sure, let’s go,” Toril said, getting up with a groan to follow him. “What’s going on?”

She grabbed a piece of bread as she went, dipping the corner of it into the pot of stew bubbling over the fire.

“Let’s, um--let’s wait until we’re...I don’t want anyone else to hear this.”

“What the hell is going on, Braham? You’re freaking me out.”

Once Braham was satisfied they were far enough, he turned to her and took a deep breath.

“Listen,” he said, “I think...Wolf help me, I don’t even know why I’m--this is a terrible idea, just--”

“Out with it,” Toril said impatiently.

“Okay, um, fine, it’s--I think I have feelings for your...partner.”

“Which one?”

“I’m sorry?” Braham said.

“Which partner?” Toril said around a mouthful of bread, brow furrowed. 

“Oh, I, um--well, it’s--”

“Auslog, right? You have a crush on Auslog?” the Commander said for him, unfazed.

“I’m not sure I like the phrasing there,” he said, “but yeah. Yeah, I think I do.”

“Okay, so talk to her about it,” she replied, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“But she’s your girlfriend,” Braham said. “It would--that’s weird, isn’t it?”

“You like her?” Toril asked.

Braham nodded.

“You’d like to have a romantic and/or sexual relationship with her?” Toril continued.

“I don’t--that’s so--how are you so technical about this?”

“Experience,” Toril said flatly, biting off another bit of bread. “Now, would you?”

Braham sighed, ran his hands over his head, and nodded. 

“Good,” Toril said. “So talk to her.”

“What if it makes things weird?” Braham argued.

“What if it doesn’t?” Toril shot back.

“What if she doesn’t like me?” 

“What if she does?”

“What if she ends up hating me?

“What if she doesn’t?”

“You know what, I--” Braham grumbled. “I don’t know why I thought it was a good idea to even bring this up. I’m sorry. Just forget it. Forget I said anything.”

He stomped off, back toward camp, as Toril watched with a smirk. She rolled her eyes and bit off another chunk of bread before following.

***

“Toril, this is driving me crazy,” Auslog complained a few days later, once again pacing their tent. “I don’t know how much longer I can deal with him looking at me like that, and his eyes, and just...everything! What am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to react when he’s over here just existing and looking like a-a-a fucking sculpture--and definitely better than any that I’ve made, and--”

“Hey. Aus. Babe. Look at me,” Toril said calmly, stepping in front of her and grabbing both of her shoulders. “You know the answer to this. You know what you should do. So just, y’know, do it.”

“You say it like it’s so easy!” Auslog complained, shrugging her off and continuing to pace. “I don’t have your confidence. You don’t give a single shit about what anyone thinks or says about you--”

“That’s not true,” the Commander interjected.

“--but some of us aren’t lucky enough to have that,” Auslog continued, ignoring Toril’s input. “I know I need to just suck it up, but it’s...there’s so many things that could go wrong.”

“Auslog, you have stood beside me as I stared down two Elder Dragons, a mursaat, a fucking god, and Raven knows what else,” Toril said, stopping her again with a hand on either side of her face. “If I have the courage to do that, then you have just as much. Maybe more. I’d be lost without you, and if Braham doesn’t see what I see, then that’s his loss. But you’ll never know if you don’t try.”

“Yeah. Yeah, you’re--you’re right,” Auslog said with a sigh, flopping onto a pile of blankets on the floor. “Just like always.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say that,” Toril said, sitting beside her. “But at least most of the time, probably.”

The elementalist gently punched her arm before falling against her side, Toril quickly adjusting to hold her against her side, and for a while, they just sat like that, enjoying the quiet.

“Hey,” Auslog said softly after a few minutes had passed. “Did you mean all that? About being lost without me?”

“You know I did,” Toril answered.

“Yeah, I guess I do,” Auslog said, smiling. “I’d be lost without you, too, my love.”

“Oh, stop,” Toril said, playfully fighting back as Auslog stretched up to kiss her face.

***

“Look, I know you said I should just ask her,” Braham said, sitting next to Toril on the cliff overlooking Althoma, “but it just doesn’t feel right.”

“Okay,” Toril said, considering. “Does it not feel right because you can’t see yourself in that kind of relationship with her, or does it not feel right because you’ve been conditioned into monogamy?”

“How am I supposed to know?”

“If she weren’t also my girlfriend, would you feel comfortable asking her, say, to dinner?” Toril asked, then added, “In a romantic context, of course.” 

“Yeah, I think so,” Braham said. “Is that...is that bad?”

“Not at all,” Toril said. “Erlend and I had some hangups at first too. He wasn’t sure about the idea of being in a committed romantic relationship with someone already in a committed romantic relationship of their own. And it’s awkward at first, sure, but it gets easier. You start to find a new normal. A better one, in my opinion.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Braham said, sighing heavily. “But I just--you’re my best friend, Toril--”

“Aw, thanks,” the Commander cut in.

“Shush,” he said, bumping her shoulder with his. “But seriously, I can’t just ask out your girlfriend. I mean, for one, we’re grown adults, not teenagers. I don’t even think ‘ask out’ is a term that applies anymore, and--”

“Braham,” Toril interrupted sternly.

“Toril?”

“I’m going to say this one more time, and then that’s the last time, and from there you’re going to have to figure the rest out on your own, okay?”

“Okay?” Braham said, unsure.

“Please, for the love of all the Spirits, please ask out my girlfriend.”

Braham rolled his eyes in response.

***

It had been two weeks.

Two weeks of two of the most important people in her life coming to her to complain about their own emotional incompetence. 

Toril was at her wits end. She wasn’t the type of person to tell one or even both of them that their feelings were mutual. That was a betrayal of trust, and even if it was probably for their own good, she felt uncomfortable with it.

So she couldn’t tell Auslog to just talk to Braham because he’s already interested, and she couldn’t tell Braham that Auslog had been complaining about how unfair it is for him to be like that, and she couldn’t sit here and deal with the two of them anymore. Something had to be done.

She couldn’t tell them. But she could encourage them to tell each other. (“Encourage,” of course, was a rather nice word for what she had planned. “Force” would probably be more accurate, but the former had a significantly more positive connotation.)

And so Toril found herself behind a desk in the command tent, the one that they used for planning and storage and arguments of a more professional nature, waiting for Kasmeer to fetch Braham and Auslog. When they finally entered together, Kas tagging along behind and closing the flap of the tent with a quick wink to the Commander, they looked both confused and terrified. Toril was, if she was honest with herself, a little ashamed of how much she was going to enjoy this.

“What’s going on, Boss?” Braham asked. “Kas said you needed to talk to us about something?”

“That I do,” Toril said, tapping her fingers together where they rested on the desk. “You’ve both been driving me absolutely insane and it has to stop.” 

“What--what do you mean?” Auslog said, a rush of nervousness hitting her as she thought through the reasons Toril may have called them here like this.

“You both know I’m not the type of person,” Toril explained, “that tells someone else’s secrets. I won’t. I won’t betray your trust like that, either of you.”

“Okay…?” Braham said, brow furrowed.

“But I can get you to tell each other,” Toril said.

The realization dawned on Auslog first, her eyes widening as she worked through everything this meant. It took Braham a bit longer, but eventually he responded with a simple, “Oh.”

“I’m going outside,” Toril said, standing and walking around them to the tent flap. She pushed it aside, stepping out and then turning to add, “Fucking talk to each other. For my sake if nothing else.” And then she let the flap fall back into place and gave them their privacy.

“Well, that was…” Braham said, trailing off.

“...unexpected,” Auslog finished.

“Yeah,” he agreed. 

“Yeah.”

“Yeeaaaah...so…”

Auslog cleared her throat. “So I gather that you’ve spoken to Toril about me in a...romantic context?”

“Is that--is that the kind of conversation we’re going to have right now?” Braham asked, cocking his head to one side.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you...don’t sound like you. I wasn’t thinking we were gonna be so...clinical about it.”

“Oh. Yeah,” Auslog said. “I, um--I was kind of trying to channel Toril. That confidence she has, y’know? She’s always so sure of herself in situations like this, and I’m so...not.”

“Hey, that’s--I like that. I like you.”

“Spirits, I feel like such an awkward mess.”

“I like awkward,” Braham assured. “Awkward is...cute.”

“Oh, you--you think so?” Auslog asked, blushing and looking toward the floor.

“Absolutely,” Braham declared, emboldened. “Everything about you is so...you’re so strong and so willful, but you’re also so incredibly gentle that it leaves me in awe. You care so deeply. You fight so fiercely not because you enjoy the fight, but because it protects innocents. You’re just--you’re a force, and I can’t help but be drawn to that.”

“I, uh--thanks, that was...I’m not sure what to say,” Auslog said. “I think between the shock of Toril dragging us here for this and hearing you say all that, I’m a little scrambled.”

“That’s alright,” Braham said.  

“I just know I like you. A lot. And I want more than being sort of your second best friend by proxy of Toril. I want to keep seeing you look at me like that. And I want to be closer to you. In every sense.”

“In that case,” Braham said, smiling, “would it be alright if I kissed you?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”

#gw2 #gw2 fanfiction #tyriaslibrary event #valentine's fic week 2020 #fanfic #my fic #verse: toril #toril dragonslayer #auslog iceshaper #braham eirsson #here's some nice braham/aus fluff #featuring toril being super fed up with both of their shit lmao #side note: #some of this dialogue is like. uncomfortably close to convos i've had with a couple friends not super long ago? #i am a useless oblivious queer who enjoys writing about other useless oblivious queers #but guess what! #they got there in the end and so did I

[comicteaparty]

January 28th-February 3rd, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from January 28th, 2019 to February 3rd, 2019.  The chat focused on Poco Adventures by Bryan Climer.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Poco Adventures by Bryan Climer~! (http://pocoadventures.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PST), so keep checking back for more! You have until February 3rd to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 3. Will Nigel remain on Poco’s side, or will he eventually turn evil because of the lich dagger? How will Nigel’s evil traits coming to light affect Poco’s belief in trusting people until they prove her wrong?

QUESTION 4. Will Sun’s status as an elvish princess earn her pursuers in the future? Do you believe Sun will continue to remain with Poco, or will duty eventually compel her to leave?

QUESTION 5. Do you believe Poco will continue to avoid a relationship with Sun, or will she eventually confess? Do you think Sun will reciprocate? How might the event affect their relationship, whether for good or ill?

RebelVampire

1) my favorite scene is probably all the stuff that happened once poco got back to HQ. it was nice getting to see the little community poco has built, figure out everyone's place in it, and meet a bunch of new characters. just in terms of exposition, it really helped ground me and finally feel like there were stakes and bad things that could happen. 2) Poco. I just like how she's balanced. She can be fun and goofy but can also be immensely caring to those around her. as recent events show, tho, she isnt perfect. She rash and more than willing to chase after revenge and be the monster everyone thinks she is. I just think she's got a good dynamic and i enjoy seeing her adventures. 3) I think Nigel is kind of doomed for the evil. Not by choice, but I mean...it's a lich dagger. There's nothing more evil than a lich. And I just feel regardless of what Nigel wants, the odds are stacked against him. I think the more evil he becomes, the more Poco's gonna have an internal struggle about trust and whether it's worth it. Which I think in turn will play into the struggles about whether she should be better than the monster she's assumed to be or be the monster she should be anyway. 4) I think Sun won't be compelled by duty, but I do think some pursuers are gonna come eventually. Lack of heirs is how kingdoms collapse, so it's not something that can be shrugged off. Especially now that she's used it as leverge I kind of think she's asking for it. Cause ya kind of don't get to abandon your kingdom but then use the fact youre a princess without consequences. 5) Poco is definitely gonna confess, because those are the sorts of feelings that just come bursting out after the bottle gets too full. I think Sun will reciprocate eventually, but probably not at first. I think at first Sun is gonna be surprised and confused.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 6. How might Nigel’s backstory as a betrayed prince affect future events? Do you believe Poco will understand and accept him keeping it secret? Also, what is Nigel’s hand up to during all the story’s events?

Delphina

Just caught up on the archive and gaaahhhh another comic with a sapphic lady knight! My one weakness!

For some reason, the scene where Poco gets to the top of the mountain only to find out there were stairs all along made me giggle a lot. Of course Poco chose the hard way. Of course!

Sun is cute (aforementioned lady knight weakness) and I'm intrigued by her past and how it's going to catch up to her, but Poco is probably my favorite so far because she's been given more nuance at this point in the story. She's feisty and competent, and that's always fun.

I gotta agree that Nigel's chances don't look great. He's already lost a bit of control and I suspect reuniting with that rogue hand is going to make him lose it entirely. This comic hasn't been shy about murder, so I suspect after some deliberation, Poco's gonna pull the knife on him. Maybe if we're lucky he can be necromance-d back without too much fuss.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Why do you think Ryker killed Poco’s parents and the other goblins? Was it just non-human racism, or was there another reason? Do you believe Poco will actually manage to kill him this time, or are they destined to face off again?

Delphina

Yeaaaah, I might be wrong about this, but Ryker doesn't seem That Deep. I'm assuming he's just a racist violent dude and he murders a lot of people because he thinks humans are superior, and Poco's family were some of the few that effectively fought back and scarred him/stopped him for a while. I don't think she'll kill him yet. They'll meet again.

RebelVampire

(the archive for the chat on Helsirvente is now up! @khkddn https://comicteaparty.com/post/182467247440/january-21st-january-27th-2019-ctp-archive)

QUESTION 8. Given the massive human slaughter, what backlash might the Outrunner Outpost face for their actions? In general, how do you think Poco and company might affect humans’ views on non-humans?

@Delphina I have been ultra worried about that rogue hand. I can't decide whether I should find it more light hearted or more ominous of things to come. Cause he seemed fine when he had it but maybe he won't be fine because of the severing. Not to mention Nigel will probably have to realter his outfit or something.

6) I really do hope Nigel's background comes into play. I'm really curious about this random fact he's a prince and it seemed a significant point to bring up. And I mean...if he does get taken over by a lich very easy to show up to the old kingdom and go "i am the rightful heir" or something. I think that's a secret Poco would understand that, since its not like she doesnt already keep royalty in the pocket. 7) I'm a bit torn. I kind of think it's a mix of both. Like one goblin did something bad, but then Ryker was a racist and said he couldnt tell them apart and just genocided them. I don't think she's gonna get to kill him anytime soon. Ryker is super not done being the ultra dick of this story. 8) I think there's gonna be bounties on them for sure. I don't think the humans are gonna take kindly. Although I think the one dude Sun save might try to say something but then meh out. For the time being, I think Poco and them aren't really gonna change anything about people's viewpoints. Partly cause Poco herself is kind of ready to be the villain they want her to be. Her bro is really the one who has the chance of changing viewpoints, and right now hes in no condition to be all heroic.

Delphina

Yeah, Poco's core tactic seems to be "gather up all the non-human folks into our own little commune". I'm curious if they'll take the healer in, because he's the only human that's expressed a desire to not murder anyone, but I suspect if that happens, it's just going to be a matter of "well, you're one of us and you'll have no contact with humans from here on out". While Ryker might send MORE people after them, I don't expect the plot to move beyond skirmishes.

I guess there's also the possibility if Nigel somehow assumes a position of authority over the humans as his birthright and Sun goes back to her position of authority over non-humans as her birthright, they could politics their way out of hostilities, but it's a long shot and would definitely take a tone shift over what we're seeing at this point in the story.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. Overall, what other adventures and mishaps do you think Poco might get up to in the story? Also, what role might the pacifist Miller have to play in future stories?

RebelVampire

QUESTION 10. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

RebelVampire

9) im definitely thinking were gonna see some more dungeon diving. cause cant have adventure without dungeons. as for Miller, I do actually think he's gonna wind up with them eventually. maybe not right away, but I think he's gonna express some opinions that the big cheeses arent gonna be fond off and hes gonna be exiled or something like that. 10) im looking forward to seeing nigel's hand arrive cause that could go really badly or be really benign. and until then the tension is building as to how that will all play out.

Delphina

Yeah, I also want to see what happens with Nigel's hand and see a little more around his and Sun's backstories and worldviews.

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Poco Adventures this week! Please also give a special thank you to Bryan Climer for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Poco Adventures, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: http://pocoadventures.com/

Poco Adventures’ Twitter: https://twitter.com/pocoadventures

#ctparchive #comics #webcomics #indie comics #comic chat #comic discussion #book club #bookclub #webcomic book club #webcomic bookclub #comic tea party #ctp #poco adventures #bryan climer

[firebirdscratches]

Pride flags

I love the explosion in pride flags. I love it.  Yes, the original Rainbow Pride Flag is here for us all, but I think it’s wonderful that people are putting such specific, creative wordsmithing into naming their experience, and that they’re also celebrating our diversity and insisting on wonderful, colorful plurality. It’s inspiring, honestly. It also confuses me when people are like “you just wanna feels special,” or “you’re just making stuff up, now.” Buddy - I’ve got bad news for you about...words. And language. And pretty much 95% of human culture. Things mean what we decide they mean! And to me, it’s so refreshing to see queer people making so many bold, bright, beautiful declarations of who they are. There is a reason the rainbow was the choice for our community - each color represents a different aspect of begin gay, but it also emphasizes that there’s so many ways to be gay, and that we must always embrace and celebrate our uniqueness.  So, I decided to make a post with all the pride flags I’ve found that could apply to me! Some of them are more accurate than others, but these are all flags I’ve identified with at some point. 

Can’t beat a classic!

Oh wait, you totes can. I love how this emphasizes our community’s diversity and challenges us to maintain our commitment to intersectionality and listening to the people of color in our ranks. 

I identified as bisexual in college, when I was first figuring things out! I still feel fine being called bi...I just think there’s other terms that are more specific for me!

For a while I identified as polysexual, but I never really felt like it was a perfect fit, and also it seemed easily confused with polyamorous (which I also am). Finally I settled on...

IT ME! :D

OOOoooo so pretty and sparkly! :D From here on in, I’ll put them under a Readmore so that your dash isn’t dominated by an epic long post! 

I just found about this flag/orientation today! Omnisexual! I’m excited about it! Look how gorgeous the flag is! I’m still not clear on the difference between Pansexual and Omnisexual, I’ve seen it articulated different ways by different people...I think I’d be fine with both, tbh! Until I understand the precise distinction it’s hard for me to say which I feel closer to...but I think I’ll stick with “pan” for now, since it feels more accurate for me than bi or poly, and most people understand it. 

Aces are beautiful and belong in our community! Aces are so great!

I’m a gray ace, or graysexual...this is the pride flag for that :D 

This is the original intersex flag...

And this is the new one. I LOVE IT! I never cared for the way the old flag insisted on a gender binary with its pink and blue, though the white was supposed to represent nonbinary intersex people...also it was frequently mistaken for the trans flag, and while I am intersex, I’m definitely not trans, as I was AFAB and identify as a woman. (I didn’t even find out I had an intersex condition until I was 18!) I like how unique this new design is! 

Polyamory pride! :D 

Did you know that lesbians who prefer to kiss and cuddle than have sex used to be called “Bambi Lesbians?” How adorable! And how useful for the ace sapphics today! This was designed by @alouette-lulu, along with a lot of other deer pride flags! She didn’t originally intend them to be “Bambi” pride flags, but I think it works perfectly!

Here’s another design for Bambi lesbians! 

...but I’m not technically a lesbian, so here’s a Perfect Bambi Pan flag! XD I ADORE these, thanks so much for sharing your art, @alouette-lulu!

The sapphic pride flag! AAAAH It’s so pretty!! Sometimes the violets are drawn, instead of being shopped in like this. Did you know that in the language of flowers, Violets were used even centuries ago to express Sapphic romance? Dreamy! <3

The queer flag! Well....one of them. XD I love the word queer, I love how defiant it is, I love its history, I love its refusal to be simply defined, and most of all I love how nobody can agree what the queer flag is, it’s perfect!! I hope there’s always twenty different queer flags because that’s just so QUEER AND PERFECT!!

Another queer flag design!

Oooo Geometry, YAAAAS

TRUTH

The BDSM Pride Flag! I’m not as active in the community as I used to be, but it was honestly lifesaving when I was going through a difficult time, and I learned SO MUCH about who I am as a person through my time in my local kink community.

The Leather pride flag! I’ve often seen this used interchangeably with the BDSM pride flag, but Leather is actually a very specific subculture of the BDSM community with houses and discipline and apprenticeship protocols. I identify more with the first one, but see this one used more often...it still makes me happy when I see it, like I found a kindred spirit! 

The Sapiosexual flag! For a brief while I identified as sapio, but I eventually realized that while intelligence is a key component in my sexual attraction, it wasn’t the most important - that’s kindness, and a sense of humor. I realized this flag actually wasn’t right for me, but it helped me on my journey! 

I actually just discovered this flag in my googling for this post! I am a fat woman, and I’m learning every day how to be proud of that in a fatphobic culture. And this design is based on Neopolitan ice-cream! How cute! At first, I was really excited about it! Unfortunately, this flag is also associated with feederism, stuffing, padding, and other fat fetish, which I find disappointing. Not because I’m judging people’s kinks, but I do not participate in them - I don’t like being fetishized for my body - that doesnt make me feel “proud.” The “vanilla” stripe is supposed to represent “all BBW and BHM and the people that love them” - but I don’t like the implication that I’m “vanilla” just because I don’t participate in fat fetishism. (I’m decidedly not vanilla.) This is a very new flag, having only been designed in 2011, and I’m sad that I couldn’t find a better example for fat queer people.  So why end on that down note?  Because I’ve decided to design my own Fat Pride flag!! :D Defining our communities for ourselves is a quintessential part of the gay experience. I realized - why am I waiting around for someone else to do it? Be the change you want to see in the world! I’m going to try and do it justice! <3 Thanks for reading my long post, and if you liked and reblogged, have a hug from me. I love my community, and I’m so happy Pride Month is here! 

#pride #pride flags #long post #flashing gif #tw: epilepsy #AAAAH I LOVE BEING QUEER #gay #lesbian #bisexual #pansexual #ace #asexual #gray ace #graysexual #queer #polyamorous #omnisexual #sapphic #bambi lesbian #bambi pan #intersex

[sapphic-sex-ed]

(part 1) i've thought of myself as bi for a few years but now i'm thinking i might be a lesbian. i'm sexually attracted to men sometimes, but the thought of being in a relationship with one is like lol no thanks. i don't want to come out as bi and then end up later saying i'm a lesbian and contributing to the "being bi is just a phase" stigma, but i also don't want to come out as a lesbian and then end up dating a guy, which i feel is very unlikely but theoretically possible.

(part 2) i don’t know if its compulsory heterosexuality or genuine confusion. it’s just been really bothering me for a few months bc neither label feels right atm, and it seems like this is something i should just know. i know there’s not any specific answer that’s gonna help me make that decision, but if you have any advice or resources or anything that would help me figure this out i would really appreciate it! thank you for reading!

this is something that lots of Sapphic folks (myself included!) struggle with. if you do come out as bi, it is okay to later end up identifying as a lesbian. there is lots of biphobic rhetoric out there about bi being a phase and people who identify as bi later coming out as lesbian just “picked a side”, etc., etc., but this isn’t your fault at all! you coming to terms with your sexuality is not contributing to biphobia.

i don’t necessary think this is something you should just know - the way sexuality is conditioned and the existence of compulsory heterosexuality can make it difficult to sort through these feelings. i’ve identified as bi for probably 4 years now, and have spent the last year or so trying to sort out if i’m a lesbian or still bi, just with a strong preference for women-aligned folks. i don’t have any super specific advice other than give yourself time to figure it out, and don’t feel bad for not knowing. sexuality is confusing and also oftentimes fluid and finding the label that works for you is tricky. don’t feel guilty about changing your label - i know lots of people who identify as lesbians who once identified as bi, and even a couple people who thought they were lesbian but now identify as bi.

there is lots of stigma around coming out multiple times, and that can make sorting this out even harder, but just take your time and you will find a label that is comfortable and works for you. also, if you’re only interested in dating and being with women, it’s pretty likely that you could identify as lesbian. nobody can tell you what your sexuality is, but reading up on things other lesbians have written about their experiences with compulsory heterosexuality and coming to terms with their identities could help you sort this out.

as always, any followers or other mods with advice pls chime in!

–mod elle

#mod elle #advice #ask #anon #compulsory heterosexuality #coming to terms #identities