#and end up in a poly relationship with the lesbian husband

[aenslem]

FOR ALL MANKIND (2019– ) 1.04 "Prime Crew"

[sohndesmondes]

Some of the fandom of The Wheel of Time is so funny because Rand can have three wives and it's totally cool that two of them kiss each other but the ideia of Rand having one husband is where you draw the line? Why is it cool that Rand gets so many women but he can't get one guy? And why is it "okay" for you that the girls kiss but Rand kissing another guy is unbelievable? I obviously see this coming a lot from man and look, I'm gonna explain.

I love poly relationships, they're incredible and I love that in the universe of The Wheel of Time they're not a problem BUT Rand x Elayne x Aviendha x Min really bothers me.

1: in tv show Elayne gives off huge lesbian vibes, just like Min.

2: it feels like that ideia of "wow, look at that guy, he gets so many chicks" and "wow, look, the girls kiss too, that's cool". I know that's not what the show is doing at all but I've seen that so much all over the years that would feel so good for The Wheel of Time to break it.

3: the way people have a problem with Rand and Min being queer pisses the fuck out of me. From what I know, Rand is sort of queercoded in the books and you just need to look at Min to see she's a lesbian. There's a lot of space to see them as queer.

4: I genuinely think that Rand and Mat have more chemistry and since the change of actor they didn't have much screen time together but you can tell how much their dynamic is believable.

Some people don't understand that books x tv shows are completely different and the wheel of time is an adaptation for a reason, things will and have to change for the story to make sense in the universe being created. In the universe of the tv show I think the pairing Elayne x Egwene x Aviendha makes a lot of sense because they're all very ambitious and trying to gain respect and autonomy over their own lives, they could push each other to be better people, besides I think is adorable how Elayne is a queen and Egwene probably would end up in a big power position (since she sees herself as the Amyrlin Seat) and Aviendha would probably be their warrior.

Now for Rand x Mat, knowing both of these characters it makes so much sense of why they would be a couple, Rand needs someone to pull him together and trust him to not explode and see him for who he is, and who better than that if not he's best friend since teen years? And Mat needs someone to take of care of him and believe in his potencial, and I could see Mat silently pining for Rand over the years or pining unknowingly, you know? As Rand would fall over time. It just makes sense man.

Look, I know Rand's relationship with Elayne is important but you can just make it platonic and it would still hold a lot of emocional value.

Just thoughts

[respectthepetty]

Season two of Chaser Game W was just as wacky as the first, but I'm going to go on record and state I believe season two was better because Fuyu really got to evolve and kept me entertain with all her hilarious facial expressions.

The finale began with the Red Devil back and back to her old habits, but instead of Fuyu immediately caving, she figured out this was her father's doing.

And when Itsuki was spiraling after Fuyu's mother visited, Fuyu was like, "You told my mother to eat poison, right?"

Because this is a color-coded family and her mother would not abide by the assigned color-coding. She also made their sweet daughter beg to not be sent away, so grandmama gotta GO!

Everything comes back to those gay penguins! I'm not even slightly upset that Fuyu's ex suggested she not tell people about her relationship with Itsuki. Not everybody can be out in all aspects of their lives, so it's reasonable to protect their child, they must rethink how not everyone can be trusted with the truth.

Our mama penguins decide that is solid advice and encourage their daughter to call Itsuki her aunt in public, so the bigots aren't mean to a five-year-old child.

But the bigots are doing the most to teach their children to hate others at a young age.

And even though my babygirl was thrown off by their decision, she also understood the reasoning behind the decision because it's clear they are in love (the color exchanges say so), and they love their child. Not telling others doesn't make that love any less valid.

But after all of that, these two show up in almost-matching outfits to tell the entire PTA that they have big old lesbian crushes on each other, so suck on that, ay yay yah!

As wild as that school scene was, I liked that it ended with the child repeating the question of "What is normal?" because two color-coded parents in love seems pretty normal to me!

Then Fuyu actually told the entire world they were in love as if the colors didn't already do that!

This is how peacefully everyone should sleep after they come out on international platforms and ruin bigoted bitches' day.

Especially this Red Devil's day since she threatened them so many times!

Even though the show went left in the last minutes by making the father be the one to say China needs to change,

And having the Red Devil take the credit for Fuyu's bravery,

I don't care because in fictional works, I want my happy endings however I get them, and this IS a happy ending.

Instead of being a poly series *sad face*, we got more of the story about two women in love!

We have Itsuki being the most adorable Heavenly Human wife to Fuyu.

And Fuyu still being the cringe corporate Black Brooder wife!

Then we have other color-coded girls in love who have witnessed the journey of our protagonists.

We have Itsuki finding other parent friends who aren't homophobic asshats.

We have grandma sending her lesbian granddaughters and cute great-grandchild gifts!

Because grandmas in QLs are really proving the Boomers didn't protest wars and fight for our rights to be wrongfully considered the bad guys now.

We have the ex-husband finally getting to live his best life too with someone who gets him.

And I got COLOR-CODED GIRLS IN LOVE.

And a babygirl.

[jev-urisk]

Writing thrupples with a 'hinge', from someone who falls asleep in the middle every night.

A hinge thrupple is where two people are dating the same person, but not one another. So, not a triangle.

I don't know any thrupples with a childish Jacob-Edward rivalry over the 3rd person (annoying, overplayed)

I don't know any always lovey-dovey thrupples where the two suitors don't do anything outside constantly showering their 3rd with affection (honestly a bit creepy to me)

I'm bi/pan and nonbinary/fluid. My partners are a big burly cis dude and a tall snarky androgynous lesbian, they're not at all attracted to one another. Sexuality/gender plays a big part in dynamics and what I'm called (one calls me Wife and the other calls me Boyfriend).

Many poly peeps set out with intention to have multiple partners, my situation happened accidentally with some help from my autism. Basically I fell in love with two people like the movies but instead of drama I had an honest conversation and they both agreed to try it out. 🤷

I call both my partners 'babe' which in hindsight maybe I should've used 'hun' for one of them, but it's also so cute when I say babe and have two people turn to me. ❤️ They do have some unique, less appropriate pet names tho.

So so so much communication is needed to make sure you're on the same page as your partners. Google calendar helps, as do chore charts. I have 2 date nights a week, one for each partner. Holiday plans are discussed months ahead of time.

Relationships develop at different speeds! One partner may be ready for a milestone a month in, a different partner may be ready for the same milestone in 4 years.

So many perks! Splitting bills, splitting chores, coordinating when emergencies happen, and VOTING! With 3, the discourse for deciding anything from what to eat to what color to paint a room is SO much quicker.

I think the biggest difficulty was getting over my fear that I was doing something wrong, that I was selfishly drawing 2 people into something that would end in heartbreak. I was also afraid my partners wouldn't get along. 😵‍💫

Minor difficulties include deciding who to take for events that are +1 only, remembering who we've come out to, and getting crushed in the middle of the night when both partners roll towards the center of the bed where I sleep. 🪦

I can only be legally married to 1 partner where I live, but my other partner hates the idea of doing joint taxes so 😂 when we have a wedding one day, we're going to get legal permissions to, say, visit me in the hospital when I'm dying and call it good.

Yes, I can have another wedding and it will be just as beautiful and symbolic as the one that included legal paperwork.

Only two people can be on a marriage certificate, but three people can be on a mortgage! We've jointly owned a house for almost a year and a half and it's been so much work but so nice to have our privacy.

My partners get jealous of one another, that's normal. They know to communicate that feeling with me so I can give them some 1 on 1 time or special attention.

If me and one of my partners are struggling in our relationship, I DONT vent to my other partner and just give a basic 'I'm working through something with X right now'. I know too many polycules that have become a drama mosh-pit. 😓

My partners can be friends, or lovers, or simple acquaintances but THEY decide that and I don't push them to do anything except communicate when needed. My partners are introverts and it's taken years for them to build up their platonic relationship lol

Yes, I do occasionally get double-teamed in sexy ways (less than you'd think). 90% of the double-teaming I get is both of them calling me short or agreeing that I'm cute when I'm angy about trivial things, though. 😾

My partners now consider each other metamores, friends, and team-mates. My lesbian partner calls my male partner their 'husband in-law' sometimes, particularly when they want something from him.

Sometimes my partners bicker and I think it's cute bc it means they've become very comfortable with each other. If they have an actual issue I just encourage them to talk about it/I don't try to fix it for them.

We generally live a comfy, laid-back life and do all the mundane things you'd expect of mid-twenties to early-thirties folk- raising two dogs, fixing the sink, caving and ordering taco bell, forgetting to make that appointment, griping about the economy, bringing home plants, watching birds fight over the bird feeder, and sleeping in on the weekends. We just do it with 3. ☘️

Extra note: Polygamy is a term used in religious and male-centric plural partner situations. We use polyamory, polyfidelity, harem (jokingly), and thrupple to describe ourselves. Maybe some use polygamy and like it, but where we live (Utah) the term is generally reserved for fundentalist mormons.

There's probably a lot more to say, so maybe this is just a part 1. Feel free to ask me questions or comment with your own hinge experience (or tell me about your thrupple ocs)!

[theflameisgonee]

was thinking about romances yesterday as one does and particularly mourning the fact that i've not been able to find any good poly ones lately - the ku girlies are particularly monogamous - so i was pondering that

i ALSO started thinking about that phenomenon of reddit posts, i'm sure you've seen them, where the husband wants to open the marriage and the wife is incredibly reluctant in agreeing, but then she's the one who ends up going on tons of dates and maybe getting a boyfriend and being happy, and the husband is now upset bc he hasn't had any dates and she's happy and now he wants to close the marriage again

anyway i combined these two thoughts and tried to think of how to make the concept with a happily ever after and less heteronormative and i arrived at this which has been delighting me:

character A convinces character B to open their marriage. there's is absolutely more nuance and discussion and communication and boundaries established in the course of this than the reddit post situations like the whole act 1 of the romance okay.

also, not in like. a regurgitating therapy speak way. that drives me nuts sometimes. it should be stumbling and confusing and probably uncomfortable at times!! we gotta create tension to get to the hea!!

act 2 we see both our mains!! going on dates!! and like a mix of good and bad for both of them!! but also we start building on this idea that character B is actually having a good time with this but character A is probably not. and can't figure out why bc what they ARE enjoying is seeing their spouse have a good time dating

aside for a particular scene im rly loving envisioning is the two of them debriefing post dates and having a genuinely silly fun time talking to each other about it

the break bad i think is character A going on a date with someone who by all accounts should be great for them, and it's a good date, but they just. don't. want to. and they like this person and have a fun time but there's no romantic spark - idk details

the important thing is like. character A realization that oh my god this whole time all they really wanted. was to have more friends to hang out with.

(i do think it would be particularly funny if character A was a man and ended up accidentally on a "date" with a lesbian and had to unpack why he was so relieved that it was actually a friend hangout the whole time)

i think we can get one (1) dash of intentional miscommunication where character A doesn't want to tell character B that actually they don't want to date other people but they do want character B to keep dating other ppl bc it makes them happy to see them happy etc

also fun if character B at this point has a steady additional partner and character A genuinely likes them and wants to be friends with them so bad

they do talk about it tho and it's like. the weirdest not-fight fight that eventually just breaks down into nothing bc they're both arguing the same side just saying it differently and then they realize what's going on and just. have to laugh.

anyway the happily ever after is that like. character A gets more friends and a better understanding of themselves and character B gets another partner or partners and everyone is rly happy together the end

think this is also born out of all the poly romances i read being closed triangle relationships and like cool yeah good i love that but also i would love to see some lopsided poly where everyone is happy and thriving!!

[6point5crows]

Poly Relationships Aren’t A Plot Device!!!

Bit if a warning: Angry rant with sloppy points and writing but Idc here you go

The thing about poly relationships, is we get no goddamn healthy rep whatsoever, and the rest of the LGBTQI+ community treat us like a weird dog-rat hybrid. Yes I know this is a bit extreme but at least hear me out before jumping in to be like, “That’s not true!!” especially if you’re not poly so therefor have no idea what our viewpoint is like.

To begin, the only rep we ever have in movies or TV or books is boiled down to a plot device, a trope, a love triangle, or simply just sexual. The only time I’ve seen poly relationships in movies and TV is literally just sexual— sexual and cheating. It’s always “I caught my husband with two other girls at once!” Or “Oh I’m cheating on you but let’s force this to work…” Or just overall shit communication and unrealistic issues.

Wanna know what that has done to poly relationships irl?

Everyone assumes it’s some kink thing, or that we are all cheaters, or that it’s all unfaithful and full of lies and jealousy. The amount of people who will hear of an actual poly relationship and go, “Oh you do it for the sex” is WILD.

But wanna know where we’ve heard this sorta assumption before?

For gay and lesbian relationships before better rep was given to it. Do y’all remember when being gay was reduced to just sex stuff by that majority? Poly relationships are STILL THERE. Yeah there’s people who will actually realize that it’s not all sexual, but so many people hear about poly relationships and assume it’s a kink.

Hell, anytime I look up definitions for poly relationships, it always seems to mention “but there’s usually a sexual aspect to that!” ???? NO?? Me and my partners are literally asexual ??

And I’m not shitting on people who are poly for the sex but that’s the same exact thing as like… ANYONE being any sexuality due to… the sex of it. It’s not exclusive to just poly relationships. But for some reason, we are looked at as different than the rest of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Another note is the common phrases and questions asked to poly people in response to saying we are poly. Such as:

- “Oh do you have a favorite?” Obviously harmful?? That’s fucked up??

- “Don’t you get jealous?” ???? Just don’t ask this??

- “Who is the third wheel?” Again just fucked up so stfu

- “Oh it could never work for me, you do you though.” While it seems respectful, if you think deeper about it, there’s no reason to say it in this way. No shit it wouldn’t work for you because you’re not poly. Do you see me going around saying, ‘Oh I could NEVER be a lesbian… you do you though.’ Obviously not because I’m not a lesbian like? I wouldn’t just start listing labels I’m not and ending it with that. “You do you” okay be fr and just say you’re polyphobic lmao

- Or just overall bringing up every single failed poly relationship to compair it to ours. Stop. Nobody cares.

Idk just I’m gonna post this because some of y’all piss me off, always sexualizing a valid label or calling it a trope and kink. Fight me in the comments and let’s see how many people are just polyphobic and small minded lmao.

[ilikereadingthisiswhatilike]

March 2024

Alcina Dimitresuc

Alloy

Cyberpunk characters

Single Mom @ratcash-wasgud Summary: Mizu is in love with you and your motherly ways. Warnings: None Special Tag: Modern AU, Parent AU Mizu

Bully @rabbitbandit05 Summary: You are being bullied and Mizu stands up for you. Warnings: Bullying, Slut Shaming Special Tag: Modern AU, College AU Mizu

𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧�� 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 @mt-oe Summary: This rough patch never seems to end. Warnings: None Special Tag: Modern AU, College AU, Angst Mizu

Hidden @rougecreator1 Summary: As a magic user you must hide you abilities, even form those you love. Warnings: None Special Tag: None Jinx

The Girl Time Forgot @hunnylagoon Summary: Ellie is the only time traveller who uses her uncommon gift to rewind time and constantly pester you-the only immortal who made a deal with death in 412 BC and is cursed to walk the earth for all eternity. Forever was promised but you never knew the price Warnings: Death, Murder, Mentions of Suicide, Self-harm, Toxic Relationship, Sickness, Violence, Angst, War, Mentions of Drugs Special Tag: Time Travel AU Ellie Williams

𝐓𝐨 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐧 @darlingverse Summary: You would do anything for your family, and finding a wealthy husband secures your future and your parents. Deep down, you’re not happy. You want excitement—one thrilling moment before you condemn yourself to a loveless marriage. An encounter with a known troublemaker does just that. Warnings: None Special Tag: Historical AU Dwayne

Bite Me @darlingverse (X) Summary: An accidental bite leads to you discovering a new kink—after all, what's the point of having vampire boyfriends if they won't bite you? Warnings: Blood Special Tag: Blood Kink, Poly The Lost Boys

Confession @buryustogether Summary: Two of you confess your love for each other Warnings: None Special Tag: Fluff Jinx

Baby I'm Yours @sweetcyberangel (X) Summary: When your friends leave you stranded at a club you find yourself in the helpful hands of the club's bouncer, who - by the way - is super hot and definitely your type Warnings: Drinking Special Tag: Muitly Part Abby Anderson

First time @obsessedduh (X) Summary: It is Jinx first time and your more then happy to help Warnings: None Special Tag: Fluff Jinx

Voyer @k3n-dyll (X) Summary: You catch Abby masturbation and decide to watch. Warnings: None Special Tag: Voyerism, Dom Reader Abby Anderson

But I'm a lesbian! @girlrotterr Summary: You get sent to a camp full of lesbian Warnings: Conversion Camp Special Tag: Mutil Part, Poly TLOU Woman

The thought of you @sapphhicsluticslut (X) Summary: she finally spoke to you, after the long awaited 2 weeks of ‘knowing’ you she finally spoke words to you. You just looks to pretty, so she had to make sure you got home safe. So no one could kidnap you or anything, for your own safety. And maybe something else… Warnings: Stalking, Voyeurism Special Tag: Mutil Part, Modern AU Ellie Williams

Winner Winner @lynnielovestlou(X) Summary: Abby and Ellie challenge each other to see who can make you squirt first. Warnings: None Special Tag: None

The thought of you @sapphhicsluticslut (X) Summary: she finally spoke to you, after the long awaited 2 weeks of ‘knowing’ you she finally spoke words to you. You just looks to pretty, so she had to make sure you got home safe. So no one could kidnap you or anything, for your own safety. And maybe something else… Warnings: Stalking, Voyeurism Special Tag: Mutil Part, Modern AU Ellie Williams

Sweetheart @pow-pow1111 Summary: You like to playfight with your girlfriend. Warnings: None Special Tag: Fluff Jinx

Could Be a Better Boyfriend Than Him @ceruleanangel Summary: Vi feels a little jealous after one of your performances and decides to show you what's her's Warnings: None Special Tag: None Vi

The Diamond of Zaun @ceruleanangel Summary: During your performance you see a ghost in the crowed. Warnings: None Special Tag: Mutil Part, Performer AU Vi

[sunny6677]

Epic: The Musical LGBT headcanons cuz I realized I haven't shown mine!!

@av-the-art1st @professional-procrastinating @rebootgrimm @interdimensionalvoid @gang-with-hatz

Odysseus: Bisexual with a preference for women, cis male, he/him. Loves Penelope, but also has a thing for Diomedes.

Eurylochus: Gay—but in denial/refuses to acknowledge it cuz he has an unrequited crush on Ody that he hasn't gotten over it and is trying to cope with it through his marriage with Ctimene, also demiromantic, cis male, he/him.

Polites: Aroace and bisexual (does have a unrequited crush on Ody that he knows Ody will never reciprocate—and Ody is one of the few people hes ever had a crush on—Polites does have a wife but its more like a queerplatonic thing/marriage), questioning his gender a bit but isnt sure of what he is and is fine with that, he/they.

Ctimene: Even though she hasn't appeared, I see her as a bi cis woman with a preference for women, and she likely did have a crush on Eury at first, but came to understand his situation and just ended up in a lavender marriage with him/just ended up being friends with him.

Perimedes AND Elpenor: I see both of them as MLM/Gay and Trans FTM, though Perimedes uses he/him and Elpenor uses he/they specifically. T4T and MLM./pos

Zeus: Cis man, he/him, bisexual with a preference for women.

Athena: Cis woman, she/her, aroace. Has had many queerplatonic relationships during her life time.

Polyphemus: Nonbinary and aroace—is sort of apathetic about pronouns and doesnt really care what people see them as. They just want people to leave them and their sheep alone. I feel like Polyphemus wouldnt care if anyone saw them as a girl or boy or anything else lol. They're outside of the gender binary anyway.

Aeolus: Trans MTF and also a demi-girl, bisexual with a preference for women , she/they. Can see them being queerplatonic with Hermes for some reason lol.

Poseidon: Demi-boy, pansexual and aro, he/they. He does see Amphitrite like a friend, but he isnt aware that he doesnt actually like her romantically, and probably doesnt like any of the people he thought he was interested in romantically either.

Amphitrite: Cis woman, she/her, lesbian. Unsure why even though she doesnt appear. I just see her like that in my interpretation of how she'd be in Epic.

Circe: Trans MTF, lesbian and ace, she/her. She's definitely lesbian—just look at her./lh

Hermes: Nonbinary, bisexual with a preference for men, he/they. Definitely has a crush on both Circe and Tiresias. I dont really see him as Circe's ex, but I do think he probably has an unrequited puppy love type crush on her, oblivious to the fact that shes very disinterested in men. They probably gave Ody some Moly just as an excuse to watch her fight or as an excuse to go talk to her after./lh (Also though I like Aeolus and Hermes in a queerplatonic way, I do like them romantically too? Im mainly saying this just to clarify for if I ever make ship content of them. I cant tell if I like them better as queerplatonic or romantic. Can see them in a queerplatonic relationship though—I see Hermes as being romantically married to Tiresias also./lh)

Anticlea: Cis woman, sapphic, she/her. Is a little unsure of what she is, but she knows she likes women. Probably thought she liked Odysseus' father, but never did (also I see his father as a gay cis man in denial lmao—at least in Epic).

Tiresias: Genderfluid, fine with different pronouns depending how he feels that day—like if shes feeling more fem she prefers she/her, if hes feeling more masc he prefers he/him, sometimes they prefer he/they or they/them, etc. Also, he's MLM and asexual. And they're married to Hermes. Their ex husband was a cis het man who abandoned him and who they didnt really have a good relationship with anyway.

Siren-elope: Demi-girl, she/they, lesbian and aro and poly. Probably had two girlfriends (one a female sailor and one a siren) before she died.

Scylla: Cis woman, she/her, aro and lesbian. Never really liked men to begin with and was always pretty disinterested in them, though of course no man ever listened to her.

Helios: Pangender, doesnt really care what pronouns people use on them, pansexual. This is my headcanon for her in Epic anyway.

Telemachus: Trans FTM and a demi-boy, he/they, bisexual with a preference for men. Realized he was trans at a young age due to his mom, who was very supportive when she found out (shes trans mtf and knows about trans people in general).

Antinous: Cis man, bisexual, he/him. Probably has a crush on one of the suitors. He deserves to date one of them. All the suitors besides Amphimous are terrible and deserve eachother.

Calypso: Trans MTF and a demi-girl, pansexual, she/they. Couldn't care less who ended up on her island, she'd fall in love with them anyway.

Apollo: Trans FTM, bisexual with a preference for men and demisexual, he/him.

Hephaestus: Cis man, aro and heterosexual—doesnt really realize he never really liked Aphrodite romantically and was just upset she cheated/chose to cheat, he/him.

Aphrodite: Trans MTF, pansexual, she/her. She just loves who she loves, it doesnt really matter to her what gender they are.

Ares: Trans FTM, unlabeled in terms of who hes attracted to but is poly technically, he/him. He and Aphrodite are T4T and in an open relationship.

Hera: Cis woman, she/her, heterosexual but shes an ally.

Charybdis: Bigender, gay/mlm and ace—she/he—thats at least the labels he was the most comfortable with before she got turned into a monster. 😭

Penelope: Trans MTF, she/her, bisexual. Had a crush on another girl once before she got with Odysseus.

[girlvinland]

Someone made a reddit post about couples looking for a third on lesbian dating apps and the general consensus is yeah it’s weird and annoying and gross, and I left a comment about some specific wording that gets used that always puts up a red flag when I see it, and some person commented that “I’m a woman who writes that because my husband and I have an arrangement where we both see women independently of each other, blah blah blah, he’s my best friend, etc.” (literally it’s like these people have a script) and to me it’s just like. Okay….unless I’m poly or something, sincerely, how is that any better lol. Oh yeah let’s go on dates and potentially fall in love while you’re still married to your husband and go home to him and prioritize him while just having your less important lady lover on the side, sounds really fun. What happens if we want to go further with things? Do you move me in with you guys? Do you leave him? Are you like “well that was fun but I have to go back to him now”? How is that a good deal for any woman who would be involved with you?

Sorry, I just legit can’t understand the people who do that either bc what lesbian with any self-respect would want to be treated like a side piece while her partner was still married to a man? I feel like only extremely specific people would be interested, and even then, it doesn’t feel like it would be fair to the “outsider” of the relationship bc there’s a bit of a power imbalance when the wife is almost always going continue to prioritize her husband, or, if not, maybe things will keep going until the husband realizes it’s actually a problem for him and his feelings are hurt and then things get messy. I have seen this situation play out the same way multiple times and it hasn’t been in good way. Idk why the people who do this defend it and expect to have a line of women waiting to be with them. Lesbians aren’t just toys you play with sometimes when you’re bored- most single women on dating apps are looking for other women who are actually single, who don’t center men, and who want to put focus on that one relationship. Idk what’s cute or appealing about “don’t you want to be with me while my best friend husband in the entire world is over there waiting for me to come home every day and you’re just kind of…there when I need you?” No, I really, really don’t.

End rant lol

[foggyfanfic]

Queer Madrigals

I'm about to post a couple future!fic for Encanto, so I figured I'd take a minute to talk about my headcanons when it comes to their genders/sexualities.

The Obvious: I've posted somewhat in depth about what I think Bruno and Isabela's individual deals are, so I'm not going to really talk about it here, but yeah. Using the labels I am familiar with, I assume Bruno is demi, bi, and nonbinary, and that Isabela is a lesbian who ends up marrying a trans woman.

The Married: I mean, we can sit here all day and speculate, but the only real headcanons I got are that Juli is demi and Pepa has made out with more women than Bruno.

Mirabel: I've mentioned this, but I didn't really talk about it. Due to heteronormativity I suspect it wouldn't occur to Mirabel to question her sexuality until later in life when the Pride movement starts up. I think she's bi, possibly also demi, but most definitely not very focused on her love life (another reason why she doesn't think too hard about her sexuality). She's got shit to do and if somebody wants to date her they better speak up about it because she's got too many projects going on right now to bother with mind games. Mirabel ends up with a man mostly by coincidence, I saw somebody do the numbers and its just statistically more likely that a bi person will end up with somebody of the opposite sex (the math didn't factor for gender). I try to keep all of my headcanons grounded to peoples lived experiences, and this felt historically accurate.

Luisa: I think that if Luisa were a tumblrina she would end up being CIS+, but would have to go through the journey of exploring her gender due to societal biases. In the context of 1950's Colombia, she spends her youth hearing abuelas and tias talking about how she needs to be more feminine if she wants a husband, and struggles with that for a while. Luisa sings "I glow because I know what my worth is" and that's the sort of thing somebody says when they're on the other side of some serious self doubt, so I do think she had to deal with a bit of misogyny and body image issues. The thing is, Luisa likes the way she looks, and she's proud of what a hard worker she is, but she also wears ribbons in her hair and skirts instead of pants to work in. Furthermore, I suspect every bi person in the village, male or female, has a huge fucking crush on her because if she was a modern tumblrina people would be responding to pictures of her with that "not to be a lesbian but oh my god" stuff. I headcanon her as being technically cishet, but culturally gay due to people being people about the whole Woman with Biceps thing, if that makes sense. Once she starts allowing herself some free time, she dates every bi man in the village.

Dolores: Morosexual. No offense Mariano.

Camilo: You know how gender is a product of your culture and different societies throughout history have had different ideas of how many genders there are and what it means to be a man or woman? I think being able to turn into a woman at will would have an effect on Camilo's relationship with his gender. Like, I don't know if he would be full nonbinary, because I have never met a shapeshifter and asked them how they feel about gender, but I can't imagine he sees gender as a rigid binary. Like I said, I try to stay grounded in my headcanons, and I have zero idea what the lived experience of a shapeshifter is, soooooo...?

Antonio: I have spent a long time weighing the options here, his association with animals makes me think he would be the least traditional Madrigal, so I would like to think he'd end up in the least conventional relationship. I posted a list of headcanons where I floated the idea of him being poly, but I like the idea of him being aroace better. I stand by the rest of it, though. He marries a lesbian, let's her girlfriend move in with them, and he's just kinda there. Like, the women consider themselves married to each other and he's just some guy who talks to birds. They're his best friends and thinks he's pretty great but the only time he has sex is when him and the wives want kids, and other than that he's just vibing. I arrived at this headcanon because I love the idea of him being sorta a reverse Bruno. Like, people think he has two wives so everybody assumes he's this total lady killer, they sing songs about how charming he is, rumors abound that he can make a girl swoon with a single smile, then you talk to him and he's just some guy. Occasionally, a woman will throw herself at him and he's like "No thanks" then starts having a conversation with her cat. Do you see my vision? Anyone? I don't care if nobody else thinks it's funny, because I'm giggling at my computer.

[ghxstchronicals]

•☽────✧˖°˖ 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 ˖°˖✧────☾•

except I poorly explain it in my own words

⌞ harlexon ⌝

➜. they're poly, but Haru didn't come 'til later! that being said...

➜. Alex and Dilon are childhood friends, turned lovers ! but. omg. in highschool they were the worst. I'm so serious.

➜. they were borderline DATING already. they could kiss, cuddle, hold hands, and Alex would pop out with the "what are we?" and Dilon just wouldn't answer

➜. a rift was caused when Alex kissed Dilon with Derek's support (Dilon SMILED???? he enjoyed it) ... but then she started avoiding him so like. okay.

➜. he made it no better tho??? he got more and more upset and bitchy as time went on, and NO communication happened.

➜. then they had a sleepover and were forced to sleep together, and had a very awkward conversation ⤿ "... it's pretty hot right now, isn't it?" "it's below sixty degrees in here." "right... I meant-" "shut the fuck up."

➜. don't worry! they work it out, and come out the next day ACTUALLY together. they were basically insufferable for everybody, with obvious crushes on each other, but everytime someone asked, it was always "what? no, we're not together??" (or "we're not???")

➜. they are happily married tho !! have been for years now <33

➜. Haru and Dilon, as i've posted so you should know already, went from strangers, to kinda friends, to fuckbuddies

➜. they didn't exactly "get together" until Alex got back, so they had sort of a situationship going on.

➜. that said, Haru and Alex hated each other. on Haru's end, this is the girl who took the love of his life from him, and on Alex's end, this guy is really trying to compete with me for my husband. what the fuck

➜. ... long story short; they fucked and Haru casually inserted himself into their relationship (the poly was his idea)

⌞ josmora ⌝

➜. love at first sight. literally !!

➜. Shamora fell first, Josh fell harder. she saw him when passing through ballet classes to get to her boxing class (nonamericans, DONT look up if ballet/boxing classes are real in the state of California. you'll find out that Im lying)

➜. she saw a pretty girl (pre-josh transition) and went. woah.

⤿ Shamora was terribly a lesbian before Josh (post-transition)

➜. she's acting all weird now, so come lunch time, her friends piece it together that she has a crush (she used to be obvious like that)

➜. Josh didn't acknowledge Shamora's existence until one day she scared off a group of nobody-girls that were fucking with him, then she invited him over to sit with her and her friends

➜. they IMMEDIATELY hit it off, and they're the only couple here that acknowledges that they're dating before they're even dating

➜. before they get married, and after he came out, Shamora paid for his top surgery and all other needed things (no bot-surg), and he married her faster

➜. That One Couple that makes you sick. the couple with the couple goals!

⌞ dash ⌝

➜. now lookie here.

➜. they're like. worse than Dilon and Alex.

➜. except it's not even Ash's fault. Derek is just a WHORE

➜. i'd argue that they're worse than Alex and Dilon...but I digress.. On one hand, Ash had a crush on Derek for the longest... the only problem was that Derek was a HOPPER.

➜. like... first, it's his twin sister's bf, a girl at one point, some more guys... oh look at that, he married Joseph of all people.

➜. now, this is probably the first time Ash directly interfered with Derek's relationships. mostly because Joseph was...Joseph. abusive, manipulative, cunning -- not that Derek didn't hit his ass back, but still.

➜. Derek even had his baby - only to get it taken after the divorce because (via Joseph) he was too "mentally ill" to take care of the kid (Joseph didn't get the kid either so)

➜. Ash and Derek saw each other during Derek's three-year headache... and then they finally got together themselves. oh my god Ash ily (no I don't)

⌞ jerelucy ⌝

➜. mommy and daddy of the group (literally)

➜. ran(runs) a successful business, hence the wealthiness of the family, be it biological, married into or found

➜. however, we're not discussing how they got together, rather their "falling out".

➜. headcanon that Jeremy is a lightweight... a terrible holder of alcohol.

➜. because he and Lucy were happy, excruciatingly so. with three kids, and newly born twins !!

➜. until Jeremy was working late out one night. he can't remember much except for waking up with a headache, then proceeding to turn to wrap his arms around his- this was not his wife.

➜. sitting up frantically, he'd find that he wasn't even at the penthouse. he honestly doesn't think her threw up any faster than he did right then and there.

➜. of course Lucy found out about it, and of course she was rightfully pissed about it.

➜. this led to frequent arguments - their oldest son gone, and their oldest daughter out in college already, leaving their second-older son to take care of the twins while they became strangers in their own home

➜. Jeremy lost himself the moment Lucy tried to divorce him. he became an entirely different person--not the gentleman he once was-- it the good father he was before.

➜. he wasn't active in his kids' life much anymore. but he did grieve when Dilon committed suicide when he was only...nine?

➜. while still not as active, he refused to go through with the divorce. Lucy never took him to court for it either. why??

➜. she was hurt and heartbroken, but she still loved him as much as she hated him now, even if he was a stranger now

[cutepastelstarsalior]

My thoughts on Clone high season 3…part 2

Episode 6

Hooray!!! Yippie!!!! JFK’s dads aren’t dead!!!!! Thank god

Abe and Mary calling each other babe and baby; cringe but in a so annoying cute way. Joan calling Confusies babe? Hmmm :/ 😬. Oh wow, I just realize that this is the second time (2) he’s been in a relationship. Wow!!

Omg serial killer episode.

Anna x Sacagawea 👀 👀 it’s cool to see which background clone and dating or kissing with other clones. (Cathrine x Anna x Sacagawea poly ship 👀 what if…)

Confucius and Joan not telling Harriet…cheating stuff!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh frustrating.

Killer cannibalism Mr b <3

Oh, I likes how they reconnect and semi work out their problems.

Yoooo Vince with 2 dads!!!

Episode 7

Abe and Joan sitting at their windowsill and talking is really dorky and cute!!

Then gang (mostly Joan) wants to befriend Mary and have her fit in!!! Yay!!!! Hope this goes well.

Cinnamon hasn’t made any new clones since 2012 👀

Mary not letting Abe see Joan anymore 🚩🚩🚩🚩 major red flag

There only like, 2 famous serial killers name Mary. So my guess she’s base off Mary Ann Cotton.

BLOODY MARY?????? (Didn’t she escape her mirror in season 2?) OH SHE BASE OFF OF MARY I THE FIRST WIFE OF KING HENRY

THAT IS NOT HOW THE LEGEND GOES. Ok before the modern Bloody Mary, a young women would walk up the stairs with a candle, backwards while holding a mirror. When she looks in the mirror she’s either see a face of her husband, OR a skull of the Grimm Reaper. In modern day, people turn off the lights and say her name with or without a candle. In modern time Mary is seen a a demon, witch, ghost (friendly or not) or covered in blood. The victims usually end up having their eyes scratched out, strangled, or having their blood drained out or souls stolen.

The only folklore I can find that resembles steals souls via sex is a Succubus. But they can’t hurt or drain their victims when they have sex.

The gang fighting skeletons!!!! :)

JFK offering to have sec with Abe…👀👀👀

Episode 8

Frida dad is a dilf. There I said it.

But yay!!!!!!! Seeing the clone high parents!!!!!!!! Yes!

I wish Frida’s dad was my dad :(

Oh hey Cleo’s mom is also alive!!!

Mr Kim I love you. He care so much about Frida!!

🎶makeover!! makeover!!🎶

:( awww Cleo and Frida broke up.

Episode 9

This friend group has major up and down problems….

Whoo Cinnamon lore!!

Omg lesbian genderbend common!!!

Episode 10

So if there is going to be a season 4, would it be about the characters doing the Cloney Island in the summer?

:( kind of wish the Joan of Arc and her foster mom plot would have been picked up…

Slaughter…Slaughterhouse cleanup??

Oh dang Abe can throw an ax!!

:( jfk feels objectified….cleo kind of does too :(

Abe and Joan getting together? Might to?? Eh, I don’t mind

Oh, guess Harriet and jfk are a thing now? Eh, ok I guess??

….cant somebody just carry Abe??

[niofo]

canon compliant amell-hawke family tree. feel free to use it as a base for your own. characters we don't know anything about and i named for my uses are revka's husband and their 5 children, that are all mages. (kinloch hold amell would probably be a bit younger than 22, as they're only getting their harrowing, but it wasn't fitting my timeline otherwise)

under the cut some background on the characters in my worldstate:

marian started as blue hawke, then aften death of carver in lothering and bethany in the deep roads she moved to red hawke. she's still kind to everyone she considers her family, but very protective of them, and often rude to outsiders. supports mage rebellion and anders' actions. she's a lesbian in a poly relationship with isabella and merrill. her weapon of choice is two handed ax, but she's proficient with all melee weapons.

lucas marin, son of antivan small-scale pearl merchants. his parents went into conflict with a competitor who had contacts amongst the house nero of antivan crows, who were then contacted to eliminate marin family. lucas managed to escape antiva fearing for his life, and in kirkwall met revka amell and tried to start a new life. when his eldest daughter showed magic potential and was taken by the templars, and soon after his wife's family collapsed and revka herself disappeared, he took remaining four children and kept moving: first across the marches, then to ferelden and finally orlais, but every single one of his children showed magic potential and ended up being taken by the chantry no matter how he tried to protect them. when he lost the youngest, twins, he decided to stay in orlais, not seeing the point of running any longer.

aderyn, eldest amell daughter, was taken into the gallows at some point in 9:10. by the time of 9:30s she was an enchanter specializing in force magic, she was also involved with the mage underground, helping other mages escape, especially ones that had the biggest threat of being made tranquil. she had the opportunity to escape herself, but stayed to secure a few more escapes, and was killed in the templar raid in 9:37, soon before anders blew up the chantry, at the age of 42.

yorath, the 2nd child, was brought to the ostwick circle where he befriended idris trevelyan and vivienne. unfortunately he was not skilled with magic enough for the circle's high standard and the templars decided him not able to attend his harrowing. he was made tranquil in 9:16 and worked in different circles since then. in 9:41 he was the first person to have his tranquility reversed by the inquisition, using the knowledge found in seekers' book of secrets.

gareth was early showing an impressive talent for spirit healing and learned under the tutelage of senior enchanter wynne even before taking his harrowing. yet soon after he helped his friend jowan escape, which marked him as a potential blood mage. knight-commander was still undecided whether to sentence him to tranquility or sent to aeonar along with initiate lily, but he decided to wait for the return of the templars and mages dispatched to ostagar. as soon as that happened though, uldred rebellion started, templars locked the tower until the arrival of the hero of ferelden. as tabris cleared the tower he encountered gareth fighting for his life, and learning about the situation, he invoked the right of conscription to get him away from the tower. gareth didn't go through the joining, but his close friendship with the warden and his actions during the blight granted him temporal immunity from the accusations. later he joined the rebellion alongside most of kinloch mages, and then became inquisition's main healer.

hefina was sent to the white spire and studied elemental magic under senior enchanter adrian, who also recruited her into libertarian fraternity. after the rebellion started hefina was dispatched to look for any displaced or abandoned mages andtranquil around the free marches. she was ambushed by a group of templars, but surprisingly saved by two passing antivan crows. the crows had an ulterior motive as they needed a help of a mage in their current mission and traded her life for assisting them. incidentally she also learned that her father was not, in fact, hunted in antiva, the hit was just for his parents and there was nothing personal going on. hefina helped the crows and then decided to stay in antiva to work with them more, giving the mage rebellion useful ties to the organization.

merfyn, twin bother of hefina, went to montsimmard circle where he aligned himself with the loyalist fraternity. he was progressing in his studies to become a knight-enchanter when the rebellion started and he joined first enchanter vivienne as a part of loyal mages staying with the chantry. he encountered a group of antivan crows who first took him for his sister hefina, which was when he learned that she is with crows, but he assumed that she was kidnapped. he asked vivienne for permission to go rescue his sister, hoping to recruit her to their cause, which vivienne allowed. when the twins finally reunited hefina explained that she is actually working with the crows willingly, and more than that, she is also a part of the rebellion. they were in the middle of a political argument when the news of the conclave explosion reached them, pushing their discussion to a later date.

[eolewyn1010]

Charité, season 4 - Queerly Subverted

Turns out I can't shut up; what a surprise. So I've put my final thoughts into separate posts, in the hope that they're more readable if they aren't a half novel just smashing your dash.

Something I always liked about Charité is that, from the beginning, they had queer characters. Season 1's Therese got kicked around by the plot, but she was an important character whose story we followed alongside Ida's, and while she fell prey to Bury Your Gays, she ultimately remained the only love interest Ida kept in dear memory. I don't need to get started on season 2's Otto and Martin because that would have me gushing about their lovestory until next week. Season 3 had... well, Simone Weiser. Who was, in and of herself, a wonderful character; don't get me wrong. She just really wasn't given the space her story would've needed to unfold. I hoped that this season would do better.

...Somehow, I wound up feeling cheated.

A friend of mine said if there were no trans characters this season, they would riot. I think we can afford some rioting, because despite the setting promoting an all-inclusive, super-tolerant future, there was not a single trans person to be found. The gynecology had zero male patients, no one casually mentioned HRT, no one was addressed with gender-neutral pronouns. I really didn't want there to be a big plot around someone being *le gasp* trans, but someone around just casually existing would have been nice. But nada.

When Simone Weiser showed up last season and then just disappeared again at the end of the episode with no further discussion, it felt like they just wanted to scratch the "queer" point off their to-do list. I think when they came to this season, they had something comparable going on; they checked - "we already had lesbians, gay men, an intersex person; shit, we only have the troublesome trans people left! We can't handle this!" And someone in the scripting room raised their hand: "Hear me out: Poly marriage." You goddamn genius. This is how I feel cheated: They used poly relationships to actually write around queerness.

For one, we have the Baldwin spouses - Piet Baldwin, Evelyn Baldwin, and Rupert Baldwin. Piet Baldwin is patient 0 for Maral's plot, and I don't remember seeing him ever, at any point in the season, in an interaction with his spouses that would indicate they are in a romantic relationship. He's in a quarantine tube most of the time, but also, the spouses talk a hell of a lot more to the doctors than they do to each other. Both Piet's wife and his husband are visibly quite a bit older than him. If you'd told me they were his parents, I would've instantly believed it. Now, I'm not opposed to age gap romances, but my problem is: He might as well have been their son - it wouldn't have changed the script of their arguments or their behavior among each other one bit. We never saw them together as a polycule; the part that would have made for queer appearances was conveniently isolated from the others so they could play out what looked like a pretty standard troubled het marriage. Now, I know that a man and a woman being married doesn't equal straight; the fact that they're all married to each other is a pretty good indicator that both of the men in this relationship are in fact bisexual. It's just, we never see them even holding hands or share a gaze or anything. They are queer, but they are not allowed to look like it.

Which is, funnily enough, the opposite to Lou Melnik (aka Discount Daniel Sträßer), who is allowed to look like he's heading out to CSD, but only ever has serious chemistry with Marlene. He, Marlene Hirt, and Ferhat Williamson end the season holding hands - that is, Marlene in the middle holding hands with either of the guys. There's no indication that Lou and Ferhat are dating; in fact, when they're on-screen together, they are just remarkably awkward. Which, I don't wanna shit-talk Timur Işık because I have only ever seen him in this role and can't say if he's a very lukewarm actor of if the script fucked him over, but Ferhat's chemistry with Marlene is also pretty much non-existent. Marlene and Lou have such lively discussions, sparkling eyes and smiles, and then there's Ferhat. Eh. The other polycule, who only end up as one in the last few minutes of the last episode and as such conveniently don't have to be shown going on dates together or kissing or whatever, consists factually of two pairings m/f. Again, it feels like a cop-out. And there's - Lou and Marlene were two of the few characters I actually liked; I am sold both on them and their relationship. I am, however, not sold on their polycule.

And then there's Maral Safadi and Julia Kowalczyk. The main couple, two women whose relationship is a major arc of the season. And... they look so awkward when they kiss, so stiff when they cuddle. I don't know what's wrong; they are for the most part decent actresses, and I believe them the characters are a couple when they argue (which they do a lot). I do not believe them their affections in the slightest. Is that part of Maral's workaholic deal? But then she's so oblivious of her marriage being in crisis until Julia literally yells it at her. So, what gives? It's nice to have a lesbian couple in the center of the narrative, but I get completely thrown off every time they try to sell me on the romance part. Nevermind that their resolution isn't one. Maral never says, "I'm sorry for my behavior; I have realized it was not good; I will work on this". She says, "I need you". And with that, everything is just fine again. They never work out their issues. The plot point of their son going to war is never resolved at all; that goes nowhere. Julia never accepts his decision; Maral never sits down with him to talk about it again. Whatevs.

In the end, I'm sitting here wondering: If you do it so half-heartedly, why do it at all? Either the script writers or the actors obviously didn't feel like doing queer characters.

[385bookreviews]

1.66.3 The Excalibur Curse by Kiersten White

SPOILERS

Pages: 345

Time Read: 5 hours and 37 minutes

Overall Rating: 3.5★ Storyline: 3.5★ Dialogue: 4★ Characters: 4★

Genre: YA Mythological Fantasy

TWs for the book: Violence, death, sexism/misogyny, multiple su*c*de attempts, colonization, war, su*c*dal thoughts, grief, toxic relationship, infidelity, xenophobia, self harm, blood, vomit, kidnapping, injury, gore, death of a parent, murder, gaslighting, abandonment, body horror, fire, animal death, s*xual harassment, child abuse

POV: Third person

Time Period/Location: The continent of England in the fictional city of Camelot

First Line: Once, not so long ago, Guinevere had ridden surrounded by armed soldiers and marveled at her power.

Guinevere (Nimue): Guinevere overall had a lot of great character development throughout this series. I really enjoyed her as a main character. I wasn't expecting her origin to be both from the Lady of the Lake AND the original Guinevere, so that was an unexpected and kind of dark twist. The fact that Guinevere lost her magic in the end, however, absolutely enraged me, I hate that trope so much.

Arthur: This book really made me not like Arthur I'm going to be honest. He made up for it and obviously had the excuse he was under Merlin's control, but the fact that he just went full colonizer rubbed me the wrong way.

Mordred: I'm so glad Guinevere didn't end up with Mordred, they had some chemistry but it just wasn't right. He also started to get on my nerves with his melodramatics.

Lancelot: I'm so annoyed that Lancelot was mostly absent from this book. Her and Guinevere had such good chemistry in The Guinevere Deception, and then it faded in The Camelot Betrayal, and I really feel like it should have come back stronger in this book.

Morgana (Morgan le Fay): Another thing that bothered me was really not getting much more of Morgana. She was such an interesting character with a lot of potential, but I feel like all of that potential was given to Mordred.

Storyline: I really did enjoy this book the most out of the three. It was entertaining and fast paced, and didn't have any side quests or what felt like filler episodes like most of The Camelot Betrayal did. However, this book went from a 4.5★ to a 3.5★ with that ending. Lancelot was set up to be a love interest in book one, the tension was gone in book two as her and Guinevere argued most of the time, and then she was largely absent from book three, with her and Guinevere never truly speaking and resolving the hurt feelings between them. And then when I think they will be together at the end (because Guinevere is connected to her and her alone by love and because she expresses wanting to kiss her in one of their shared dreams), Guinevere thinks to herself that her and Arthur can one day be properly husband and wife?? That really pissed me off because then she proceeds to hold hands with both Arthur and Lancelot. Was White going for a poly situation, because I don't think so? The other thing that really set me off was Guinevere losing her powers at the end. Sarah J Maas does this to her female characters and it makes me so angry every time, why can't they keep their powers and their magic? Why do they have to conform now that their power has served its usefulness. I also wish Merlin and Morgana were expanded upon as characters.

Representation: Brangien and Isolde are lesbians and in a relationship. Guinevere and Fina are bisexual, and it is implied that Lancelot also has romantic feelings towards Guinevere. It is implied in the second book that Sir Tristan is aroace, although I don't know if his connection with Nectudad was supposed to be interpreted as romantic or not near the end. Brangien is implied to be Asian, and Sir Tristan is black. Sir Bors has a withered arm.

Summary: Although I wasn't happy with the ending, I did really enjoy this trilogy. I know some complaints said it was slow, and plot wise it can be, but I found the characters engaging enough that I didn't even notice. Guinevere is one of my new favorite FMCs. I just wish the ending had been a bit clearer and her Lancelot were canon.

Complete Recap: Guinevere is in the clutches of Morgana, Mordred, and King Nechtan, who is being controlled by the Dark Queen. They are traveling north to bring her to the Dark Queen, as she has wanted her this entire time. They sleep during the day and travel at night. The first time they stop Mordred instructs her not to sleep, as the Dark Queen would be able to access her mind. As they ride that night however, Guinevere drifts off and meets Isolde in her dreamspace. She assures her that she is as safe as she can be, and gives her information about her location. Guinevere begins to get close with Fina, Nechtan's younger daughter and a warrior herself. They are attacked by another tribe, and Guinevere has a chance to escape, but Mordred and Fina are in danger, so she picks up a bow and arrow and defends them instead of running. In doing so, she realizes that she has the real Guinevere's muscle memory. Mordred warns Guinevere not to talk to Morgana, but Guinevere wants answers, so when they stop because of a storm, she goes to see her, Fina and Mordred following. Morgana tries to magically connect Guinevere to Merlin, first seeing where the emotion of passion leads her. Guinevere goes into Mordred's mind, where she feels his despair at having betrayed her and lost her trust. He tries to fight against Morgana to release Guinevere, but she restrains him with roots. When Guinevere comes back to herself, she insists they try again, and Morgana tries family. Guinevere splits off into three, first seeing Brangien scolding Ailith in the kitchen for being too concerned about the magic shield around the city. She sees where Guinevere left her crown on Arthur's bed and moves it before Arthur can return and see it. She then goes to Lily, who is visiting with the common people of Camelot with Isolde. The last person she sees for family is Dindrane. She is meeting with her stepson, Lionel, and she is instructing him to guard Princess Lily, hoping that she can make a match out of the two of them. Morgana is frustrated and argues with Fina and Mordred. Finally, she tries duty, but instead of taking her to Merlin, it takes her to Arthur. He is standing in the aftermath of a battle. He tried to come and get his son, but it was a trick and a lie that he was still alive, and him and his knights were ambushed instead. He suspects Guinevere to be in danger, but decides to prioritize Camelot, and take over the entire island, starting with the south.

The strength of the magic causes Guinevere to stop breathing, but Mordred revives her. Nechtan and Nectudad, his eldest daughter, are there, and Morgana is telling him Arthur's location and what he is doing. Fina takes Guinevere back to her tent and they get drunk, realizing too late the wine Fina stole from Morgana is actually the truth potion. They end up spilling all of their secrets, Guinevere sharing that she is a changeling and can do magic, and that she has feelings for both Mordred and Arthur, and Fina sharing she does not agree with her father listening to the Dark Queen and that she will help Guinevere escape. Mordred comes in, and Guinevere questions whether or not she can trust him, so he drinks some of the truth potion as well. He tells her that he was coming to Camelot to warn her, not take her, but he was tricked by Morgana. He realized after he raised her that the Dark Queen has been corrupted from being incorporeal for so long, and that's why he had been trying to save the wolves in the forest before Guinevere burned them. He tells her he plans to get her out and away from the Dark Queen. That night, when she dreams, Lancelot is there, but so is Mordred. They fight, and Guinevere is annoyed that they are paying her no mind. Mordred instructs Lancelot on how to beat him and discloses their location and information about Nechtan's forces. Guinevere wanders around the forest they are located in in her mind, and stumbles upon what looks to be herself but with brown eyes, floating dead in a pond. She runs back to Mordred and Lancelot, and he tells her not to explore her own mind like that as it can hurt her to force memories of her past. The next morning, without consulting Mordred, Fina retrieves Guinevere's pouch from Morgana's tent, and gives it to her along with clothes. She says she will leave her least favorite guard to watch her and then distract her father, sister, Morgana, and Mordred. Guinevere promises to get word to Arthur as soon as possible that she is safe so that way he does not come and attack Fina and her people. When she is gone, Guinevere changes and uses a knot to command the guard to take a horse and ride south, to trick them into thinking it is her. She then travels northwest on foot, planning on cutting down south to Camelot once she is far enough away. But not before she gets the answers she's looking for.

On her way, she comes across a group of people, adults and children, wounded. They tell her it was the Saxons, and she uses her cloak to bind wounds and her magic to burn away infections. They give her food and point her in the direction of a lake. She goes, and despite her fear, walks in. She slips and begins to drown, but Mordred saves her, bringing her to a cave and laying with her for warmth. She says she was trying to summon the Lady of the Lake, but Mordred tells her that was foolish because she is not an omnipresent being, and is usually just around Camelot. When they enter her dreams again, Lancelot is there ready to fight Mordred. Guinevere tells Lancelot to tell Arthur he doesn't need to march north. When Lancelot leaves to return to her post, Guinevere asks Mordred to kiss her. He refuses, since he doesn't want her to just kiss him in the dream and then ignore him in real life. They both wake, and she kisses him and they are together. In the morning, they talk about leaving Camelot and the Dark Queen behind, living just the two of them, free. Mordred takes them to a nearby forest and tells her he fell in love with her the second day of knowing her. Guinevere realizes she doesn't have a moment she fell in love with Mordred because she isn't in love with him. Morgana possesses Mordred, and does the connection magic to her again, this time using the word love. This connects her to Lancelot. She waits by a fire by the secret passage, and fans the flames as she sees Arthur off in the distance. He comes to meet her, and Lancelot explains everything that has happened, readying herself for Arthur to break the barrier and to go fetch Guinevere. Arthur refuses, still set on taking the north as well, and tells Lancelot she cannot leave Camelot because the magical barrier must remain. Lancelot is enraged, but complies. Guinevere wakes up back in her own body, Mordred asleep next to her. She realizes she needs to warn Lancelot that Morgana has just seen all of Arthur's plans, and goes to sleep so she can meet her and Mordred in her dream. They argue about what to do, Lancelot wanting to leave Camelot but also not wanting to break her vows to Arthur. Guinevere gets overwhelmed and walks through the forest alone. She comes upon the pond again, and this time, throws herself into it. Suddenly, she is experiencing the Lady of the Lake's memories again. She sees the Lady, Nimue, split herself in two, creating Nynaeve the one who trapped Merlin in the cave. She feels Nimue longing for a human life. Then she is experiencing the real Guinevere's memories, of her childhood, her father, her sister, and being sent to the convent. When the real Guinevere was at the convent, she would go out into the woods and shoot. When she went to follow an arrow, she discovered a lake. She cries at the lake, and the next night, her path is illuminated by lights. There is a boat there, and she gets in and rides it to the middle of the lake. She sees her reflection, once again having brown eyes. Then her reflection changes to a strong and confident version of herself, standing with Arthur, her eyes now an ever changing blue like the current Guinevere's. Merlin meets her on the shore, disguised as an old woman. He tells her that the man she saw is Arthur, and asks if she wants to become the person she needs to be to be his wife. She agrees, and for seven days, Merlin tasks her with things. She lays still on the forest floor to attract a doe to her before killing it, and lets Merlin trace knots into her skin with the blood. He then leads her into a cave, strips her, and submerges her into the water. She realizes too late she's been deceived, and Nimue drowns her, meaning to possess her. When the Guinevere comes to, Merlin is examining her, realizing that Nimue and the old Guinevere have both disappeared and yet also combined to create something new. Merlin alters and erases her memories, and tells her she will be queen of Camelot anyways like Nimue requested.

Guinevere comes back to her dream, no longer in a forest but floating in a void, despairing and distraught. Mordred and Lancelot try to comfort her, but she insists she is an abomination possessing the real Guinevere, that she is not real, and that she needs to get out of her body so the real Guinevere can have her life back. Lancelot says she is leaving despite Arthur's orders, and instructs Mordred to meet her at the coast. She comes out of the dream before Mordred does, and quickly throws a sleeping knot on him before he can wake. She steals his horse and rides back to Nechtan's camp, seeking Morgana. Mordred catches up with her right as she arrives, and makes it appear as though he had caught her and brought her back. Morgana knows this is a lie, but she covers it up anyways. Guinevere tells them that she has failed and Arthur is coming anyways, and Nectudad worries about Saxon invaders in the north. She takes most of their force and Mordred to fight the Saxons. Guinevere meets with Morgana alone, telling her what was done and begging her to bring the real Guinevere back. Morgana tells her only the Dark Queen can do that, so Guinevere agrees to go with them to the Dark Queen. They arrive at the Green Man's chapel to find a magical forest, teeming with life. The Dark Queen, merely an amalgamation of beetles and moths, sits on a tree throne, rotting the ground beneath her. Guinevere shows her memories to the Dark Queen, and she thanks her for showing her, and then says that she will expel Guinevere from her body, but only in order for her to possess the body, not for the real Guinevere to be free. Just in time, Arthur sweeps through the forest and kills Morgana with Excalibur. The Dark Queen runs away. When they leave the forest, Nechtan is dead, and a soldier is about to kill Fina when Guinevere stops them. She falls asleep, and upon waking, frees Fina from her bonds and brings her to her tent. Her and Arthur argue about several things, including her bringing the real Guinevere back, Mordred's loyalties, and whether or not he should fight Nectudad. Ultimately it is decided that Fina will come to Camelot to be one of Guinevere's knights, and Arthur will leave men under Sir Tristan's watch up there in the north. Brangien meets with Guinevere in a dream and tells her that Lancelot has been imprisoned for trying to leave the city, and they argue about this as well. Eventually Arthur uses Lancelot as a threat: either Guinevere stays as she is and Lancelot is pardoned when they return, or Guinevere tries to unmake herself and Lancelot is tried for treason. He also tells her that King Leodegrance, her and Lily's father, is dead.

They arrive back in Camelot, and Guinevere and Arthur hand in hand step through the barrier and free the city. On the ferry crossing of the lake, the boat is obliterated, and Nynaeve tries to drag Guinevere under. Arthur unsheathes Excalibur to send her away, and Fina saves a drowning Guinevere. They make it to shore and Arthur reassures his people, Brangien rushing to help Guinevere. Back in her rooms, she is surrounded by Lily, Dindrane, Isolde, Fina, and Brangien. Arthur comes to get her to speak with her privately, and she demands to know where Lancelot is. He says he freed her, but as punishment he sent her north to help Sir Tristan. Guinevere is enraged, but there is nothing she can do about it. Guinevere goes about trying to start a new fashion trend of covered wrists yet exposed arms in Camelot. Lily comes in and says that Arthur is having a meeting with Sir Bors and Lionel. Guinevere is once again angry, knowing what the meeting is about, and brings Dindrane and Lily with her to go interrupt it. She tells Arthur that he will be making big decisions like this with her, and with the women that the decisions affect. They then tell Lily that her father is dead, but she is not upset. She says that her brothers should not rule Cameliard, and Arthur agrees. Him and Guinevere say they want Lily to rule, but in order to be respected she will need to marry. They suggest Lionel, and Dindrane and Sir Bors can go with her to help. Everyone agrees. After the meeting, Guinevere tells Lily the truth about her identity. Lily isn't angry, and agrees to support her in whatever decision she makes about bringing the old Guinevere back. Guinevere convinces Arthur a council of women need to be in charge of certain things like divorce. She tells Arthur that Dindrane has been housing Blanchefleur because Sir Percival beats her and cheats on her.

After spending the day with her friends, Guinevere tries to use Excalibur to unmake herself. She fails, and spends the night with Arthur, as Brangien will no longer allow her to be alone. A messenger comes to Camelot from the north, bearing a letter from Sir Tristan and Nectudad both. They say the Dark Queen has begun to infect people, including Arthur's host, and they are coming south with the Dark Queen's army behind them. They ask Arthur to meet them at the forest without his men but with Excalibur. Mordred contacts Guinevere in her dreams. He tries to lie to her, saying everything he did was to manipulate her, but she sees right through it. He warns her that he is about to be possessed by the Dark Queen and begs her to stay with Arthur. Guinevere runs to tell Arthur, saying they need to save him, but he refuses to do anything to help Mordred. Guinevere wants to free Merlin, but Arthur refuses that as well, saying Merlin told him to allow him to stay imprisoned in the cave. That night, she tries to sneak out and leave the city but Brangien catches her, so she resolves just to go outside. She is startled by Lancelot, who has climbed up the castle wall. Fina and Isolde reveal themselves as well, and they formulate a plan to deceive Arthur and free Merlin. Guinevere also requests Lily's help. The next day, at the tournament where Fina and Lionel are to be knighted, Fina demands to fight Lancelot. Instead of following the rules, she knocks Lancelot out with a blow to the head. Fina and Sir Gawain carry Lancelot back to her rooms, and Lily begs Arthur to stay at the tournament so Lionel can be knighted and they can be married. When they arrive, Fina, Lancelot, and Guinevere prepare to leave, Brangien being sent away to get help, thinking Lancelot to be truly injured. Isolde steals Excalibur from Arthur's rooms, not having taken it with him so as not to make Guinevere sick. Lancelot, Fina, and Guinevere go to the alcove where she hid Lily once, and they jump down the hole and into the water below. Nynaeve immediately attacks them, but Guinevere is able to control the water and Nynaeve. She tells her Nimue isn't coming back even though she tried. Nynaeve ushers them on a current out to the shore, and begs Lancelot to unmake her with Excalibur. Guinevere tells her that if she keeps the Dark Queen out of Camelot, she will unmake her upon her return. Nynaeve agrees.

Sir Tristan, Nectudad, and ten soldiers, both from Camelot and from the north, come out of the woods. Arthur's soldiers begin to rush to meet them. Guinevere makes them all step in the lake to prove they're not infected, and they all do except one soldier. She is infected, and tries to infect Sir Tristan, but he dives under the water, and Nynaeve drowns the infected soldier. Sir Tristan stays with two men, one northern and one from Camelot, to greet Arthur's approaching forces, while Guinevere, Lancelot, Fina, Nectudad, and the rest of the soldiers go to free Merlin. Guinevere uses her own magic to age the stone, and then Lancelot uses Excalibur to break it open. Just then, a possessed Mordred comes out of the woods, with an army of possessed people behind him. They choose to fight instead of submit. Lancelot gives Guinevere Excalibur and tells her to go find Merlin. They then begin fighting, alongside Arthur who also appears. She runs into the cave, but is stopped by the Dark Queen. She tries to convince Guinevere to join her, but she uses a knot to trap her in place. Merlin comes around the corner, delighted that things are happening that he has not foreseen. He commands Guinevere to give him Excalibur. She pushes all her memories and sorrow and pain and guilt into Merlin to try to humanize him, but it doesn't work. He talks with her, putting her under his sway with his words, but when she touches Excalibur, it clears her mind, and she kills both the Dark Queen and Merlin. Excalibur begins to unmake Guinevere as well, but Lancelot and Arthur save her. She awakes to find all the possessed people free from the Dark Queen's influence, including Mordred. She also finds that her magic is gone. Arthur apologizes to Guinevere, realizing now that Merlin is dead that he was under his magic sway all along. Mordred apologizes to Arthur, and he forgives him, but tells him he can't stay. Mordred decides to go to Avalon, where Rhoslyn is. He gives Guinevere one last kiss and leaves. Nectudad and Arthur make an alliance. Some of the northerners stay in Camelot, including Fina, who really does want to be a knight, and Sir Tristan and some of the men from Camelot choose to go north. Arthur gives Nectudad his blessing to unite the tribes. Lionel and Fina are knighted, and Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot burn Merlin's body together.

[daughter-of-sapph0]

someones probably gonna ask what a political lesbian is, and there's a bunch of conflicting definitions online. so uh... let me be clear

political lesbians are not real lesbians. political lesbianism is and idea or ideology that was created by the (mostly white upper class cishet) 2nd wave feminist movement that homosexuality was a choice, and that all straight women should leave their husbands and date women instead. they somehow believed that this would end all sexism. however, as literally anyone with a single brain cell knows, sexual orientation is not a choice at all (because if it was, I'd be even gayer). so all these straight women who called themselves lesbians either didn't leave their husbands like they said they would, or they did but ended up living alone because again, they were hets who weren't attracted to women!

that brings us to today. the modern terf movement has a lot in common with the racist homophobic so called feminist movement of the sixties, and not the actual real feminists who were progressing human rights. terfs brought back the idea of the political lesbian. they claim that they believe in leaving their husbands and marrying "adult human females". except they don't. about 80% of them are married to men. a good portion of them are literally self identified "tradwives" or traditional housewives who uphold sexist standards and stereotypes from the 50s. as for those few who actually do avoid dating or marrying men, they're gonna have a tough time finding women to date. obviously, they aren't lesbians at all. they don't find any attraction towards women at all. besides maybe themselves, and jkr. but even if they did try and force themselves to met other women, any self respecting dyke would know they're a shit person immediately.

I'm friends with tons of dykes. lesbians, bi women, aces, pan women, poly women, etc. we all fall under the umbrella of "dykes". for every single one of us, our relationship to ourselves, our gender, our attraction, and our sexuality is all different.

for political lesbians, it's not. it's all homogeneous, because it's not an actual sexuality. it's an ideology. they all believe that they are the most important special little thing in the universe, that their gender is inherently tied to their cervix or whatever, and that they should divorce the person they love and try and date someone they don't because that will somehow end sexism.

sexuality is supposed to be about joy and love and what makes you happy. political lesbianism isn't about being happy. it's about control.

I'm tired. it's 11 at night and I'm just going on a huge rant because I'm tired of these asswipes trying to pretend like they're the authority of all dykes when a) they literally shrivel up like a salted snail if you dare to call yourself a dyke or a tranny or queer in front of them, and 2) THEY LITERALLY DON'T EVEN LIKE WOMEN