#weaver my HUSBAND…

[blueberyboy]

Have some more Weaver doodles and…Mason x Weaver perhaps? Please I need other people to understand me…..they mean so much to me….

[kaseylgifford]

Serpent in Repose

[backpackingspace]

When I manage to actually articulated it, I'm going to write an angsty Penelope pov of her deciding to unweave her work for the first time. I have so many feelings about this

[bowls-art]

Weaver and crows go along really well together. Had this idea in my little brain for a while, and I’m really digging how it came out

The trad drawing was what kicked it off + that chicken looking crow cause I didn’t know how to draw it off memory.

[lyssitalennon]

er is so fucking wild I hate like half the characters but I can't stop watching

[bookishnewt]

So many pairs just popped into my head.

"Are you okay" NO. THERE ARE LITTLE FICTIONAL BITCHES IN MY HEAD. AND THEY'RE KISSING.

[zarnzarn]

Hob Gadling as a husband is vastly different than Hob Gadling as a boyfriend.

Dream had known this vaguely- held old memories of how things settle after marriage, how arguments become commonplace with contentment, how people grow out into the reassurance to become different people.

What he wasn't quite expecting was the certainty.

He had no idea how much Hob was holding back in their courtship- or how insecure he must have felt, perhaps, to be so reserved. Dream had done his best to assuage the other's idiocies as they came up- why there was surprise that he would never choose to deal with this and that latest sycopanth when he had been tipped off that his husband was waiting for him at home in new clothing, he still doesn't know- but there annoyingly still seemed to have been hidden trepidations that he couldn't root out.

But proposing marriage seemed to have thrown all of this out of the window. The hidden steel-backed spine that Hob has had to prop him up all these years shines through much more freely now, and Hob is less and less afraid to show it.

("If I'd known how much you'd change if I married you," He'd snarled during one of their worst fights. "I'd have thought better of it."

Hob had put his hands on his hips. "Oh, is that what we're doing now? Alright, then." He'd poked his right hand into Dream's chest roughly, then held it out, one eyebrow raised. "Take the ring off then. No, you want a fucking divorce, take the damn ring off yourself, Dreamlord. Go ahe-"

"That's what I thought," Hob had said with due smugness 48 hours later- as was his right- as he slipped coffee and held the newspaper up for both of them. Dream hummed, curled in his lap and idly tracing his fingers over the many bruises over his husband's neck, and privately congratulated himself for the stroke of luck he finally seemed to have found, winning over a man who both loved him and liked him.)

"If you can't handle even the land parcel you currently have without Dream having to intervene every decade," Hob snaps now, crossing his arms as he glares at the Weavers of the Sa-Inaa'l galaxy. "How do you even have the audacity to ask for more?"

They hiss at him, raising their mandibles in threat. Hob raises an eyebrow back.

"It is not enough for our Weavers," The Elder says, voice even. "We cannot sustain on what we have."

"Not enough for your Weavers, or not enough for your greed?" Hob shoots back. "I've heard that the Sa-Inaa'l is being patronized now by the Western Forces. Just because you're willing to whore out your ancient art for money-"

"We do business with the Dream King, peasant ape," One of them snarls, banging a fist on the table. "We do not bargain with the likes of you!"

"Mind your tongue," Dream says mildly. "He is my husband in my ways, his ways and yours. Also, he is older than most of you."

"He is not even of royal blood!" The Elder bursts out, the first show of emotion from them that Dream has seen from them since they were a juvenile. "Surely this is unbefitting of your station!"

"Oh, because you're so befitting of yours. How much have you lost in profit within one year again?"

"You are out of place!" One of the younger ones shouts. It is amusing as always when they look Dream's way after saying it, as if Dream is in any way capable of putting Hob back in any places whatsoever. Dream is lucky if he gets Hob to listen to him once a week. Dream has not won a single conversation about food since the rings slid onto their fingers. They are quite satisfied with this setup, overall. "You are nothing but filthy peasant scum."

"Filthy peasant scum who is right about his information," Hob snaps. "Don't think we don't know that you're trying to distract us from the topic. Also fuck you."

Dream stirs and stops admiring the pitiful expressions on the Weaver's faces- honestly the farmer's market suffer his husband more than they are, the dramatic things- to look over at his husband, frowning at the last bit. He cannot decide whether that was hurt or frustration. Better not to take the risk.

He stands. "As entertaining as this has been," He cuts into the shouting. "My husband is correct. You will not receive any more land than you have. Also- my consort is worth a hundred generations of your Elders. Do not try to ever say or imply otherwise, or I shall make you regret it."

They are all cowering in the corner when he is finished speaking. He dips his head in dismissal and they shakily bow and scatter out.

Hob huffs as he watches them go, scowling. Dream drifts over and presses a kiss to his cheek. "I hope you don't believe their words, lover."

"I stopped feeling insecure about this whole prince thing the fifth time you shoved me into a scratchy outfit, ducks," Hob replies. He softens as he turns to Dream, and kisses his cheek back. "Don't worry."

"I worry," Dream returns. "I love you."

Hob smiles. It is not as wide and awe-filled as it used to be, and Dream feels pleasure hum in his throat at the sight of it. "I know."

[neechees]

Historical Indigenous Women & Figures [7]:

Indiana Juliana: a Guarani woman who, along with many other Indigenous women, was captured and sold into slavery during early colonial Paraguay. She is known for killing her slaver with poison and encouraged other Indigenous women to do the same. Elsie Allen: a prominent Chief, activist, and weaver of the Pomo who worked to preserve her cultural traditions and improve education and Native rights for her community. She is considered to have been one of the three most well known basketweavers in California. Agrippina Vaganova: a famed Armenian Ballerina who developed the Vaganova method, which remains a standard textbook for ballet instruction to this day. Che-Na-Wah: Hailing from the Yurok tribe and commonly known by her English name Lucy Thompson, she was an author who was first trained to become a spiritual leader, and served her community this way. In 1916, she became the first Native American published author in California, debuting her memoir which preserved cultural teachings of the Yurok in addition to criticizing Whites for over-fishing on Native Land, and directly expressing that violence towards Indigenous peoples of California as genocide. Reina Eva: known as the Last Queen of Rapa Nui, she was also one of the last women to have received traditional tattooing. She and her husband King Atamu Tekena experienced the Annexation of Rapa Nui to Chile. Teresa Magbuana: Indigenous revolutionary who took up arms against the Spanish, winning multiple battles, and took part in all three major resistance movements against all 3 colonizers within the Phillipines. She was often called the "Visayan Joan of Arc" Tjintji-wara: a Chief, alleged sorceress, and skilled tracker of the Mantuntara people in what is now called "Australia", she also resisted colonialism with her people by killing settlers' cattle that were drinking from and polluting the water on her people's lands while they were experiencing a severe drought. Her life experiences were recorded in a book and, at one point after she had returned home from a Christian mission that had treated her for an illness, she left saying, 'too much soup! Too much Jesus!' Tonita Peña: Also known by her traditional name Quah Ah, Tonita was was a prominent Pueblo artist who was raised by her aunt, a famed Pueblo artist in her own right, she heavily influenced social change within her community, and Euro-American views of Native American art. She refused to abide by gender restrictions at the time, while at the same time highlighted women's cultural significance within her art. Her son became a famous artist himself, and her art is featured in multiple prestigious art collections, including the American Natural History Museum.

part [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6]. Transphobes & any other bigots need not reblog and are not welcome on my posts.

[sabrinajenre96]

Not Without You

Fandom: ER

Pairing: John Carter x Resident!Reader (Married)

Warnings: Drug addiction, denial, emotional distress, hospital trauma, intervention, mention of pregnancy, yelling, heartbreak, mentions of past violence (stabbing), rehab, hopeful ending.

Word Count: ~5,000

---

You had always thought you knew John Carter better than anyone else. You could read his silences, his half-smiles, the small ways he reached for your hand after a long shift. You were his wife, his equal in the trauma bays and in life. But nothing could have prepared you for the day Peter Benton pulled you aside with a grim look on his face.

"We need to talk about Carter," Peter said, voice low, cautious.

You blinked. “What about him?”

Mark Greene joined, exchanging a glance with Peter. “Something’s off. He’s... not himself.”

Your heart skipped. “He’s just been through a lot. The attack — the pain, the trauma. He’s coping.”

Peter crossed his arms. “I saw marks on his wrist. Needle marks.”

Your breath caught in your throat.

“No, that can’t be—he wouldn't—” you whispered, but even as you said it, a cold chill crawled up your spine. You had seen him wince more than once, had found him zoning out, heard him say he was tired more often than usual.

But still. You shook your head. “He’d never lie to me.”

Mark looked at you gently. “You sure about that?”

---

That night, you watched John as he moved around your shared apartment. He was tired, claiming a long shift. You brought him tea, sat beside him on the couch, heart pounding.

“You okay?” you asked softly.

He smiled, kissed your cheek. “Of course. Just tired, that’s all.”

You swallowed, watching him carefully. “Are you in pain?”

He shrugged. “Some days are better than others.”

“And you're not taking anything... stronger?”

His eyes flicked to yours. “No. Why would you ask that?”

You forced a smile. “Just making sure.”

He kissed your forehead. “I’m fine, sweetheart. Really.”

But he wasn’t. You knew it now. You could see it, finally, as clear as day.

He had lied to you. Right to your face.

---

The next morning, you cornered Mark and Peter in the lounge.

“You were right,” you said, your voice low, tight with restrained emotion. “He lied to me. Last night.”

Mark’s expression fell. “I’m sorry.”

“We need to help him,” you said. “Now. Before it’s too late.”

---

An emergency meeting was called. You, Mark, Peter, Kerry Weaver, Dr. Chen, and Dr. Anspaugh sat around the table, every face grim with the weight of what had to be done.

“He’s risking his patients. His license. His life,” Weaver said.

“And he’s my husband,” you added, softly but firmly. “I’m pregnant, and he doesn’t even know yet. I can’t raise our child with someone addicted to painkillers. I won’t.”

Anspaugh nodded. “There’s a facility in Atlanta that specializes in cases just like this. Doctors with substance abuse issues.”

“I’ve already made the call,” Mark said. “They’re ready for him.”

Everyone agreed.

Today, they would confront John.

---

You sat in the conference room with the others, the walls feeling too small, too close. The lights buzzed above your head. Peter paced. Chen whispered quietly to Weaver. Anspaugh stood, arms folded, a stern figure.

And then John walked in.

He paused, seeing all of you. His eyes locked on yours.

“What is this?” he asked slowly.

Mark stood. “We need to talk to you, John.”

John’s brows furrowed. “What’s going on?”

Peter stepped forward. “You’re not well. You’re using.”

John’s face hardened. “That’s not true.”

“You lied to Y/N last night,” Mark said.

John looked at you. “What? No. I told you, I’m fine.”

You didn’t speak. You couldn’t. You watched him carefully, taking in the strain in his eyes, the fear behind the defensiveness. It was like looking at a stranger in your husband's skin.

“You’ve changed, John,” Chen said. “We’re worried about you.”

“This is ridiculous.” His voice rose. “I’m still doing my job. No one’s been hurt—”

“Yet,” Anspaugh cut in.

The room exploded with overlapping voices. Accusations. Pleas. Denials.

You sat frozen, hands clenched in your lap, heart hammering against your ribs. The baby inside you — barely the size of a plum — felt like the only thing anchoring you to this earth.

“SHUT UP!”

The room fell silent.

Your voice had cut through the chaos like a scalpel.

Everyone turned to you. John looked stunned.

You stood, eyes never leaving his.

“Show me your wrist.”

“Y/N—”

“Don’t lie to me again,” you said, voice trembling. “Please. I know. I know, John. And this... this person in front of me? This isn’t the man I married. This isn’t you.”

He didn’t move.

“You’re an addict,” you said quietly, tears welling in your eyes. “And I didn’t see it. I didn’t know. But now I do. And I can’t—”

Your voice cracked. You took a deep breath.

“I can’t raise our child with a man addicted to painkillers.”

Silence.

Then John blinked. “Child?”

Your hand instinctively went to your stomach.

“I’m pregnant,” you whispered. “And if you won’t get clean for me... then do it for our baby. Because they deserve a father. A real one. Not someone who lies, who sneaks around... who could hurt someone, even himself, without realizing it.”

His face crumbled.

You had never seen him cry like that. Not even after the stabbing. Not even when Lucy died.

His knees buckled and he sank into the nearest chair, burying his face in his hands.

“I didn’t mean to,” he choked out. “I didn’t want this. I just... it hurts. And I didn’t know how else to make it stop.”

You walked to him slowly, kneeling in front of him, your hands on his knees.

“I believe you,” you whispered. “But it doesn’t matter how it started. It matters what you do next.”

---

Later that day, bags packed, flight arranged, John stood outside the ambulance bay, next to you and Peter.

“I’ll go with you,” Peter said. “Just to get you there safely.”

John nodded quietly.

You stood with your arms around yourself, nausea twisting your stomach—not just from the pregnancy.

From everything.

Peter gave you a moment alone before the car.

John turned to you, eyes red. “Are we gonna be okay?”

You stepped forward, cupping his face. “You listen to me, John Truman Carter. There is no me without you. We’re forever. Life, afterlife, whatever comes next. But you have to fight for us. For yourself. For our baby.”

He rested his forehead to yours. “I’m scared you’ll leave.”

“I’m not leaving. I’m not divorcing you. But I am holding you accountable. And I will fight for you every step of the way — but you have to fight too.”

He nodded, breathing shakily. “I love you.”

“I love you more.”

“I’ll write,” he promised.

“And I’ll write back,” you smiled. “I’ll visit. You’re not alone in this.”

---

You watched as the car drove away, carrying your husband toward healing.

You pressed your hand to your stomach.

“For you, baby,” you whispered. “He’s going to get better. He has to.”

And deep down, you believed he would.

Because love — real love — never gives up.

---

END

[venussaidso]

Ketu Kinship p2.

Looking into the astrological influence of the partners of a lot of Ketu-ruled nakshatra natives in the public eye validated my initial claims that Ketuvians often prefer one another.

For example, I found out that Naomi Watts & Billy Crudup and Claire Forlani & Dougray Scott are married Mula nakshatra pairs. Or that Ashwini Moon native Alexis Bledel's ex husband is possible Magha Moon Vincent Kartheiser, or Magha Sun Manny Jacinto with his spouse possible Ashwini Moon Dianne Doan. Or that Amanda Seyfried and her current spouse, Thomas Sadoski, has possible Magha Moon just like she does. And even Ashwini Moon Josh Hutcherson's current partner, Claudia Traisac, likely has her Moon in Magha. And, Peter Capadli & Elaine Collins and Serena Williams & Alexis Ohanian are Ashwini nakshatra pairs, along with Christian Bale and Sibi Blažić. Just to name a few, of course.

Just found out Anya Taylor-Joy and her current husband, Malcolm McRae, are both Ashwini natives. And Jack Quaid and Claudia Doumit, who are currently dating [2023/2024], are an Ashwini pairing as well.

But in my recent post, I brushed up on Ashwini and Mula being the Ketu-nakshatra pair I see the most.

And now I just remembered that Cynthia Evirio and Lena Waithe are an example of this.

Or Mathilda May and Philippe Kelly.

Mathilda May was also married to Magha ASC Gérard Darmon.

And the worst example yet, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall.

Lauren Bacall was also once married to Magha Moon Jason Robards.

Also, David and Georgia Tennant.

AND Sarah Paulson And Holland Taylor.

Plus Kate Hudson and Chris Robinson.

AND, and, MacKenzie Scott and Jeff Bezos.

Disclaimer, I am simply an observer of patterns and I like studying nakshatras through the media, so this post exists to validate my other posts. I am not promoting anything such as compatibility etc.

Going back to fictional territories, here are some more Mula x Ashwini examples.

Francesca Bridgerton & Michaela Sterling from Bridgerton!

DMX & Jet Li in Cradle 2 the Grave.

Sigourney Weaver & Jennifer Love Hewitt in Heartbreakers.

Jennifer Love Hewitt & Jason Lee with Sigourney Weaver & Ray Liotta in Heartbreakers.

Geena Davis & Samuel L. Jackson in The Long Kiss Goodnight.

Raquel & Ares from Through My Window.

True & Jimmy from True Jackson, VP.

Daisy & Ben from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Dr Morbius & Dr Martine from Morbius.

Oscar & Lucinda from Oscar and Lucinda.

Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund from Casablanca.

Barb Wire and Axel Hood from Barb Wire.

[anaktoria-of-the-moon]

On female rage and mechanical augmentation:

I imagined a cruel emperor who collected girls who caught his eye, girls from his country and every other, to put into his harem of consorts and keep as he pleased, as toys, as ornaments made of cinnabar and sandalwood, silk and peach-flesh. Perhaps one day he picks the wrong girl.

She is beautiful, this woman, like all the others, and young, also like the others; but unlike many of the others, who were weavers and spinners, fishwives and performers, this one helps her aging mother in the art of making carefully crafted machines, little marvels of copper wire and forged arms, from dolls to steam engines to pistolets and more.

The emperor in his preening believes he has saved her from a sorry life of toiling away at the workbench with chipped nails and dirty palms, a commoner’s lot in which no woman could ever be happy. On her first night at the palace she cries and cries, and he says, Don’t snivel; it doesn’t become you; you have everything you want here, do you not? What could possibly be missing? And he yanks her pretty silken hair and laughs when she cries harder.

What he doesn’t know is that she cries not out of fear or sorrow, but rage, white-hot, plain and simple.

Clever girl, she doesn’t tell him so. She schools herself into the picture of the concubine he wants - obedient and demure, sweet and soft, the way she had teased metal in the forge into well-tempered alloy and shaped it into gears and springs and blades and beams. She says to him, Husband dear, I would ask for jewelry, the better to shine for you; I would ask for precious gold thread, for diamond earrings and bronze filigree; I would ask for a heated copper bath in which to soften my skin; I would ask for charcoal with which to darken my eyes for you, cinnabar with which to paint my lips. The emperor laughed at her folly but gave her all these gifts obligingly.

Then she begins her work.

The other women she has befriended, and they teach her well. From Haewon she learns to act, to powder her face and keep up the facade to their husband the emperor; from Jiaqi she learns to roast sulfur out of the cinnabar powder and combine it with the charcoal, and from Ori-hime she learns to spin out the gold thread and weave it into a control matrix that, when laid over her spine like a collar, makes metal move with only a thought, the same way her own arms and legs do. And with her own expertise she turns the copper into hammered panels, the bronze into reinforcing cradles, the diamond into grit for blades that can cut through anything.

By day she thanks them all by shielding them from their husband. When he asks for delicate Haewon, she volunteers; she saves Ori-hime’s clever, careful hands from him by giving him her own instead; Jiaqi she claims to have fallen sick, and offers herself up humbly when he, in his disappointment at the news, needs something to strike.

Her husband calls for her one day; he’s in a terrible mood, and when he’s finished with her the next morning the other ladies carry her sore body back and lay her on the bed and soothe her with tea and wetted cloths. They fuss over the mangled remains of her right hand. But she dashes it all away. Bring me my things, she tells them. Tonight is the night.

So they get Weilin with her expertise in taking apart a body and putting it back together with only a needle and wine and some thread; then they clothe her in a dress most wondrous: shining copper and gold filigree, with jade leaves and carnelian flowers inlaid, and for her lovely face a half-mask of precious gems and steel boning to cover the ugly marks he’s left. Cinnabar for her cheeks and charcoal for her eyes. How could any man resist this vision in a thousand shining colors?

Not the emperor. When she goes to him again in the evening he all but drools.

So enraptured is he that he doesn’t notice when the other consorts shut the door behind her and lock it from the outside, or when the panels of her dress click into place, or when, in the dim light of dusk, the tiny miraculous engine in her back roars to life and sends sparks through the fine mesh of the gold collar, sets her eyes aglow.

But when the sulfur and charcoal in the little compartment hidden in the undone lobes of her right palm is set afire with the click of a steel hammer, when she brings her face close and the mandibles of her jade mask open wide - oh, then he knows.

It is a bloodbath. She emerges covered in charred gobbets of his flesh, and the whole pavilion smells of gunpowder and burning meat. But she herself is pristine, untouched.

Her ladies throw themselves over her and find that her body does not yield. The copper has fused itself into her body, the collar has inlaid itself into her spine; in the heat of the fire she seems to have been reborn in metal wholly, from head to toe. She regards them blankly over the diamond-edged mandibles they have made for her, and they look back, and for all that she is known to them, they cannot help but be a little afraid.

She says, You can go now. It is done.

In the light of the burning palace, the women look at each other; they shake their heads. No, says Jiaqi, we are yours, as surely as we were ever his, and more than that. Where else would we go, now that we’ve overthrown an empire for you, now that you have overthrown an empire for us?

So the girl in metal looks at them and then, after a long, long moment, she says, Then you will be my queens, and we’ll rule together. But why aren’t you afraid of me? Why don’t you run? I am not what I was anymore. I am a blade forged in fire.

Haewon trembles - but then she lifts her chin. She says fiercely, You were always that. We just gave you the means to become it on the outside, too.

Sen-hime agrees, and then so does Weilin. And Jiaqi smiles and steps forward and takes the consort’s hand, gunpowder barrel and all.

She looks tenderly into the bloodstained face and she says, We made you what you wanted to be, and with that you saved us. How could we ever be afraid of that?

And: You are ours, and always will be. And we will always be yours, if you’ll have us.

So she does.

They call her the Mantis Consort, She Who Rules Alone; but that isn’t quite true. She has four loyal wives, after all, and each one of them as much has the throne as she herself does. They say that each man who tries her hand in marriage - or to bring down her walls with arrows and fire - goes the same way: head ground between jade mandibles, body strewn in pieces. And her reign lasts for as long as she lives. For who can vanquish a woman armed with fury and steel alike, and the love of four clever women besides?

[bowls-art]

Pookie…

[creamybeemovie69]

Some of my favourite little details in avatar: frontiers of pandora

The two guards outside the council room in the aranahe hometree that just chat shit? All the time? Even during that last confrontation with Etuwa's father they're just stood chatting about someone's poor foraging skills or some shit it's so funny

The fact that the camera lowers when you're speaking to humans, which I know is probably so we can get a good look at them but I chose to believe it's because your sarentu slowly kneels until they're eye level with them

Nefika and Relun's dynamic of miserable old man and batshit crazy old woman

Whatever the fuck Okul's got going on. Gender? Babes they're clinically insane, they're too busy running into poisonous gas to worry about gender

The sleeping pod things hanging from the ceiling in the hometree. It took me forever to work out where they were all sleeping because there was no way they were all fitting in that one sleeping den

"it is sound proof Priya."

Anqa forgetting her training and getting attacked by wasps because she's too busy thinking about Priya

Hajir and Alex planning to have tea, no one talk to me

Daniella being this very capable badass soldier with a hardened exterior and her himbo husband who's just happy to be there as long as there's wood to whittle and food to cook

The sarentu humming sarentu songs while they cook

Zomey refusing to leave the plane until she saw Eetu get out

The resistance humans wearing clothes that have been altered/repaired by Na'vi weavers

Minang losing her shit and charging the base in the plains despite being the calmer, more collected one? Good shit.

That little detail in the cloud spitter description that says kids make a game of seeing how close they can get to the plant without triggering it

"I can still smell the chemicals" just kill me now I can't take this

Every single individual human having to ask Jake Sully for permission to stay on the planet. Were they forced to go back to the RDA if he said no? Or were they just left to die out on pandora?

The ferals being unable to communicate with eachother and being so angry because they're so lonely

Kin, Relun and the Kame'tire trader all being friends before the Kame'tire were banished

Priya not being able to talk to Alma in her human form because her avatar was her friend

Nor just. Disappearing? Where did he go? Is he okay? Why can't I go looking for him?

The Na'vi naming options for your Ikran being the names of other kids in TAP

So'lek collecting the identity tags of the soldiers he kills

So'lek in general actually. "This dReAmWaLkEr decided to lock you up in a box instead 👀"

Alex being granted permission to stay on pandora because he wanted to keep Grace's legacy alive through his work. Why is this never mentioned anywhere but in his character description?

The comic book pages

The fact that Priya dyes her hair. Are you actually telling me this excitable little climatologist worked out how to make hair dye from pandoran plants before Alex figured out how to eat any of it?

Anqa's fucking "my land was invaded too". Give this head-empty lesbian a break man

Everyone hating Billy because they think he can't be trusted only for him to be one of the most loyal among them

Etuwa's father refusing to fight because he lost his wife, then deciding to fight because he won't let them take his daughter too

"what have they done to you, my beautiful?" Actually sobbing like a fucking baby rn

[somepsychopomp]

More omega!Odysseus & alpha!Penelope thoughts

Continuation of my omegaverse ideas (found here)

Also while nothing explicit happens there's a little spice down the line.

Odysseus and Penelope definitely had their first serious argument before they were even married. While still courting/betrothed, it turns into a huge fight over who's going to be bearing the children once they're wedded and mated.

Not that Odysseus thinks his wife should be doing it, but that he should be the sole bearer with no exceptions! And the problem is that Penelope insists on the exact opposite...

Penelope was raised as a woman in Sparta so no matter her secondary gender, she was going to be taught to be tough. Her being an alpha just so happened to give her all sorts of special privileges and respect when she saw with her own eyes the many ways omegas were disregarded and looked down upon. (And let's say that Sparta has a famously low population of omegas because they view them as too weak to survive & just don't choose to keep most omega babies)

So growing up in that environment, when Penelope finds the omega she wants to spend the rest of her life with, the omega who's as precious to her as all the jewels in the world and as beautiful as the stars in the sky, there's no fucking way she's going to treat Odysseus as a slave or pet. She's going to defy Sparta's crusty traditions by carrying their children, even as an alpha. She doesn't care if it's "emasculating" (or like, the equivalent of emasculating for alphas).

Penelope loves her soon-to-be husband and will not make him carry her children or be treated as if that's all he's good for.

In contrast, Odysseus grew up in a culture with more omegas where he wasn't as much of an oddity. Yes, it's still a bit strange for the crown prince to be an omega, but he's more than proven his worth through his intelligence, cunning, and his surprising degree of physical strength for an omega (thanks to him being a prince, he was taught to hunt. And thanks to Athena, he was taught to fight).

As he grew up, Odysseus rejected alpha after alpha, suitor after suitor, not at all appreciating the ways they tended to underestimate or belittle him, until he met a particular Spartan princess. He becomes convinced that they were made for each other. There was no feat of strength that the other could not match, for each was a skilled athlete. There was no riddle one could propose that the other could not answer in time. The one way they differed was when it came to strings; Penelope was a fabulously talented weaver while Odysseus was a masterful archer.

(At first, Penelope tried to court Ody with a newly woven cloak and he attempted to impress her by doing cool trick shots- basically trying to stifle their secondary genders by doing what "typical" men and women did to court each other. Then they figure out the other is down bad and they stop trying to hide their true selves.)

And by the gods, Odysseus was going to make Penelope his and he was going to treat her right. And that includes giving her strong, healthy children.

The fact that childbearing was a dangerous and oftentimes deadly event was no secret to either of them. As Ithaca's future king, he would gladly protect his wife from such danger by having their children himself.

Which, Penelope points out, is exactly why he shouldn't be the carrier at all! His people need him- he cannot risk his life for something so unnecessary when his future wife & alpha is more than willing to take that risk.

Aha! Odysseus says, already having his retort ready. Is Penelope insisting that he, an omega, is not fit enough to take up such dangerous work? That he is weak?

Oh, Penelope says, rising to his challenge. Then is Odysseus content to enforce his will over her as a man? Will he deny her her own freedom by refusing to grant her the opportunity to carry their children?

(AKA they basically invent a super weird field of gender politics and keep trying to one-up the other and twist their words around)

Their whole debate goes on for weeks or even months on end, with the core of their argument being, "I love you, I want to be your mate, and I will not let you suffer needless pain if I can take it in your stead."

But they can't keep debating forever when both their parents want to see them married sooner rather than never.

They have their wedding on Ithaca when Odysseus' next heat draws near, just to increase the chances of successful consummation. And let's just say that while the wedding itself goes by smoothly, their wedding bed basically sees war as these two have some of the craziest, nastiest, most confusing sex ever as Odysseus desperately wants to bottom and Penelope really, really wants to top the banging hot omega begging her for it. But at the same time, Penelope keeps trying to ignore her instincts and coax him into topping and it happens to feel really strange but really good for them both but also Ody desperately wants to be the one to conceive–

By the time Odysseus' heat is over, they honestly have no idea who's gotten who knocked up. And hey, wouldn't it be hilarious if they happened to get each other pregnant?

Thankfully, or not, they get their answer soon enough. Penelope waits and prays for the telltale signs of pregnancy to kick in- the fatigue, hunger, morning sickness, etc...

Only to wake up to the sound of her beloved Odysseus dry heaving over the side of the bed. A little visit from the palace healers confirms it.

He won.

Penelope wishes she could sulk or complain, and for like 2 whole seconds, she contemplates telling the healers to mix an abortifacient right there and then because she's not thinking about the baby. She's thinking about her omega's future health/safety, but she takes one look at Odysseus' face and his tears of joy & she simply can't deny the fact that her inner alpha is jumping up and down, elated to know that her mate is with child.

"Don't be so disappointed, my beloved." Odysseus says, laughing as she holds him in her arms and kisses his hair, eyes, lips, nose, and wherever else she can reach, "Why don't you take the honor of naming them?"

Her?

Penelope is shocked. She will not have her omega go through the pains and difficulties of birth just to refuse him the right to name his own child!

And thus, a whole new debate begins.

[amageish]

Marvel United: A Pride Special #1. Art by Luciano Vechio.

I saw some discussion about this cover and people not recognizing all the characters... so I did the only logical thing and made a reading list. Here's a comic recommendation for every queer character on this cover!

Shela Sexton / Escapade: A trans mutant superheroine figuring out her place in a bigoted world In a subversion of the usual mutant metaphor, Shela's parents accepted her mutanthood wholeheartedly... only to disown her when she came out as transgender. You can read her debut in Marvel Pride 2022.

Natima Ngoza / Beisa: A trans woman born in Mohannda who fled to Wakanda when running away from her judgemental family. She's a love interest for T'Challa and a take on the Catwoman archetype. Read all about her in the underrated 2023 Black Panther run!

Cooper Coen / Web-Weaver: A Spider-hero from Earth-71490, Cooper Ceon saved his classmate/crush Peter Parker from a spider bite on a high school field trip... only to be bitten himself. You can read about an adventure of his on Fire Island in Marvel's Voices: Spiderverse.

Gwen Poole / Gwenpool: An aroace Marvel Comics superfan iseaki'd into the Marvel Universe. With the power of meta knowledge, she will find her own place in the canon she loves so much. You can read her realizing she's aroace in ARomancing of Gwendolyn Poole (get it?), part of the Love Unlimited Infinity Comic.

Jean-Paul Beaubier / Northstar: Gay French-Canadian mutant sports superstar and Marvel's first textually gay superhero. You can read about him taking on anti-mutant bigotry in his home country in Alpha Flight (2023).

Rachel Summers / Askani: The sapphic daughter of Scott Summers and Jean Grey from the Days of Future Past timeline. You can read about her and her girlfriend fighting bigots in the British wizarding community (I wonder what THAT could be an allegory for) in Betsy Braddock: Captain Britain.

David Alleyne / Prodigy: Bisexual mutant supergenius. New Mutant, Young Avenger, X-Men, and most recently a professor at Empire State University. You can read about him and his boyfriend in the Young Avengers arc of the Marvel's Voices Infinity Comic.

Bobby Drake / Iceman: Founding X-Men and jokester who realized he was gay later in life. Bobby... He's gay! You can read about him bringing Rogue home as a fake girlfriend to meet his bigoted parents in Uncanny X-Men #319. While this story is before he came out, I think it is an EXCELLENT showcase of his character.

Xuân Cao Mạnh / Karma: Lesbian mutant hero and founding member of the New Mutants. Depending on how you define "superhero," she's arguably Marvel's first lesbian hero. You can read about her relationship troubles, as well as her reunion with her once-lost brother, in Karma in Love, part of the Love Unlimited Infinity Comic.

Charlie Webber / Sun-Spider: A pansexual Spider-hero with EDS. Originally a fan-submitted Spider-sona, she's grown in relevance and even had a speaking cameo in Across the Spiderverse! You can read her story in Edge of Spiderverse #4.

Logan Lewis / Nightshade: Sapphic teen genius and legacy hero to the original Nightshade, a redeemed supervillain. You can read her solo adventures as part of the Marvel's Voices Infinity Comic.

Billy Kaplan / Wiccan: The gay son of the Scarlet Witch... to grossly oversimplify the situation. He also may kind of be God? Good for him! Read about him in Young Avengers (2013).

Teddy Altman / Hulkling: The gay son of Captain Mar-Vell and Skrull princess Anelle. A Skrull/Kree hybrid, he was sent to live on earth for his protection - y'know, Superman stuff. Read about his wedding to his husband Hulkling in Empyre!

Ms America Chavez: The multiverse-travelling latina lesbian of the Young Avengers, Ultimates, and West Coast Avengers. Read about her helping her CLOSE PLATONIC FEMALE FRIEND Kate Bishop raise the baby landshark Jeff in It's Jeff! Yes, that is my America recommendation. I also love her role in Ultimates, but this is funnier.

Aaron Fischer / Captain America: An unhoused gay man and champion of the marginalized, selected by Steve Rogers to have the title of Captain America. You can read about him in Avengers Academy.

Justin Jin / Kid Juggernaut: The Korean-Canadian gay himbo grandson of Jin Moon-Ho, the original Juggernaut who Cain Marko took the name/powers of. Read about him summoning Doctor Strange to ask him about PreP (yes, that happens explicitly on-panel - it is awesome) among other things in Avengers Academy.

Raven Darkhölme / Mystique: The shapeshifting sometimes-nemesis and sometimes-ally of the X-Men. While she may not care about things like "human lives" and "the law," she does harbor a lot of love for wife Destiny - as well as their adopted daughter Rogue and biological son Nightcrawler. There's a lot I could suggest here, but I'm going to pick Marvel's Voices: X-Men as I ADORE the Mystique/Destiny flashback story in that.

Kate "Kitty" Pryde: The original new teenager on the block, Kitty Pryde has had a LONG road to embracing her bisexuality. After literal decades of queercoding, you can finally read her dating a woman textually in the currently ongoing Exceptional X-Men (aka the best current X-book).

[ceruleanskies48]

Symbolism in Taigen and Akemi’s Gifts

One of my favorite aspects of BES is all of the rich symbolism. An early scene that typifies this is when Taigen and Akemi exchange gifts.

Taigen gives Akemi a piece of candy, symbolizing the freedom that Taigen would provide to Akemi as a relatively open-minded husband. Seconds before this, Lord Daichi said to Akemi (after agreeing to her engagement to Taigen) that he hopes Taigen is better than he is at denying her candy. 

Akemi gives Taigen a gold comb, symbolizing the wealth and status that she would provide him. The gulf in the monetary value of their gifts also serves to emphasize the role this marriage would play in securing Taigen’s rise. This monetary value is further emphasized when Mizu takes the comb and gives it to the basket weaver and her daughter outside the gates of Kyoto, reducing the comb to its purely economic function.

The gifts thus richly illustrate the Taikemi relationship dynamic. They reflect the fact that their relationship is primarily motivated by the practical value each will gain from the other. Although their goal at the beginning of the season is to get back together, they each quickly lose sight of that. This is also highlighted when Mizu quips to Akemi that Taigen seemed more upset about losing his hair (and hair piece?) than his engagement. What hurt Taigen the most was the loss of his honor and status. And Akemi at the end of the season turns down Taigen once she sees an alternative path to freedom (leveraging her marriage to attain greatness). 

In addition, they are very impersonal gifts that emphasize that Taikemi do not actually have much in common or know much about each other. Taigen loves swordsmanship, Akemi loves poetry. They are shown to put on masks when around each other. Taigen doesn’t show Akemi any of his rough edges. Akemi pretends to believe in Taigen to get him to stay, but her facade breaks when he is at the doorway (“what if he kills you this time?”). The gulf between them is also emphasized when Akemi berates her father for trying to marry her off to a “whoremonger” only for us to later see Taigen enjoying himself with two prostitutes.

Thus, although the first scene with these two on initial watch looks like a classic romance, it is already full of symbolism illustrating the more complex dynamics at play.