meridian_rose

Challenge #4 IceBreaker Challenge! Tell us about yourself.
To begin, I'm going to borrow tellshannon815's idea of posting the image made for a lands_of_magic challenge on the same theme:


Me with my nephews, pub lunch (that particular one is fish with red wine :D), and lots of photos of animals some past and current pets and animals I like. A pile of books because I used to read a lot and still dabble in books, ebooks, and read fanfic, and a sunflower because it is one of my fave flowers.
That challenge was to describe yourself in on-fannish terms but I'll add to that here. I'm multifannish and mostly involved in TV fandoms but sometimes I surprise myself by getting into a movie fandom and when that happens it hits pretty hard. I read, write, make icons and sometimes famixes and less often currently fanvids. Writer is a key part of who I feel I am.

( more personal stuff under the cut )

"A Spectral Analysis of Asexuality" is a poem by ysabetwordsmith looking at symbolism behind the colours of the asexual flag.

It's annual asexual awareness week. I've written a lot in previous years about the awareness weeks, about my asexual identity, and I write and continue to write fiction exploring and/or including asexuality.
You can find all those posts under the theme: asexuality spectrum tag, the non sexual intimacy and the sexuality tag

This post is going to talk about asexuality and fiction, along with some deeply personal stories, and a fair bit of talk about the anti/fandom policing currently doing the rounds. Because these things are interlinked, where

1) what you ship, read or write/draw now determines if you're a good person or a filthy p*do/n*zi and harassing people over fiction has become activism
2) exclusionism in the queer community leads to attacking people over their own sexual orientation/labels and makes for tight-knit circles where you have to conform to their beliefs, with a similar insulating effect in fandom anti-shipping circles
3) Your sexual orientation, sex, and gender, are often considered to be indicators of what you are allowed to like in fiction (you can't be a lesbian and ship a m/f ship, you can't write m/m ships unless you're a gay man, women reading m/m fic are "gross Fujoshis", etc)

There's also been a huge rise in ageism and it's mostly misogynistic (fandom mom used as an insult, calling people hags, telling women they should be doing their taxes and looking after their children instead of being in fandom spaces) but that's a slightly separate, if related issue from the sexual orientation one.

This year, despite the discourse/drama/wank over Neil Gaiman refusing to call Aziraphale and Crowley "gay men in a sexual relationship" and daring to acknowledge nonbinary people and asexuality exist, there's been a lovely amount of Good Omens fic and art that is non sexual in nature, some romantic, some queerplatonic. People have been good at tagging their work so it's easy to find/exclude things you don't want to read.
I've been writing h/c fic, I even wrote fluff (very rare for me), and I explored the idea of non-binary Crowley which was something new for me. I've been enjoying looking at exploring intimacy with care and respect for boundaries, and showing deep devotion that isn't rooted in sex.

However there's also been a lot of ace hate and exclusion on Tumblr and Twitter as a whole leading me to block many accounts. I wrote a bit about exclusionism in the queer community for one of this month's writingwednesday posts. I have to say, aside from one upsetting exchange with a family member and one online straight female who was proud of saying "zucchini*! Because asexuals are emotional vegetables!", most of the ace hate and marginalisation I have seen and experienced has come from other queer people.

*zucchini is a term sometimes used within queer platonic relationships, especially for an aroace person to describe their partner "They're my zucchini."
( Read more... )
I honestly expected things to get better over the years. And while in some respects they have, the pushback against asexuality and bisexuality has been unexpected and unwelcome, along with the return of "gay ships are bad because I say so" and the rise of "the shipper of anything I don't like is evil and probably a pedophile".

You're Perfect (1312 words) by meridian_rose
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Good Omens (TV)
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Characters: Aziraphale (Good Omens), Crowley (Good Omens)
Additional Tags: Fluff, Romance, nonsexual intimacy, physical intimacy (nonsexual), Body Worship, Hair Brushing, Bathing/Washing, Sharing a Bed, Kissing, Explicit Consent, Trust, Kink Exploration, Kink Negotiation, Wing Grooming, Foot Massage, Belly Kink, Aziraphale's soft tummy, Soft Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens), Slow Dancing, Asexual Aziraphale (Good Omens), Asexual Relationship, No Plot/Plotless, No Sex, Hugs, Belly buttons, Declarations Of Love
Summary:

Slowly and carefully they explore physical intimacies from hair brushing to wing grooming to Crowley worshipping Aziraphale's body as much as the angel will consent to.

I'm not going to tag Good Omens or shinynewfandom because I'd like that to reflect when I create or rec something and not just rant about the discourse.

At the heart of Good Omens, getting a renaissance due to the Netflix adaptation, is the Crowley (demon) and Aziraphale (angel) relationship.
Gaiman says it is a love story.
The book says while people assume Aziraphale is gay, angels are sexless unless they make an effort.
Gaiman also says the relationship can be platonic or romantic, not to rule out the characters being asexual or aromantic or trans.
People start screaming queerbaiting, homophobia.
They say if two men are together they're having sex or it's homophobia.
They say having asexual characters is "desexualising" and so homophobia.
They say there are already plenty of men in platonic relationships onscreen so there's no need for more so they're having sex. (Never mind that 99% of male platonic bonds are the H50 buddy cop style bromances, no homo, I love you man but look how many women I'm dating, live with you as a life partner nah I need to have sex with women)
They say it's obvious the characters are in love therefore they must be having sex. That their non-fannish mother insists there must be missing sex scenes because their love is so obvious.

People will ship what they want and post their explicit pwp to AO3.
But what they shouldn't be doing is screaming homophobia about, let alone at, Neil Gaiman.
They shouldn't be shouting down asexuals who want to see an actual QPR (NO IT'S JUST BEING BEST FRIENDS FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME) or nonsexual but romantic relationship onscreen.
They shouldn't be denying that there are het, bi, and homoromantic asexuals. By saying Crowley and Aziraphale have to be screwing they're saying no man can love a man without sex. In fact no-one can love without sex.

I'm tired of this love=sex crap. I'm sick of the discourse. I'm so done.
I've read the book twice. I've watched the first episode of the adaptation and will watch more. I've been reading some non-explicit fanfic. I may write some. But this constant "wahhhhh homophobia if they're not banging like a screen door in a storm" is not making the fandom a welcoming place to be overall.

While I'm ranting, there was a nice pro-asexual Good Omens article at Medium which I quoted from at tumblr. However I could have done without them insisting that most asexuals can/will have sex.
There's only 2 types of aces strongly acknowledged in the discourse typified as
1) aromantic aces, so lol they can only be friends with people don't date them anyway
2) asexuals who feel no/little sexual attraction but will always let you screw them anyway so they're still like real, dateable people!

The idea of nonsexual romantic intimacy is unacknowledged by most.

Final rant. I've been watching season 6 of Brooklyn 99 and jfc I don't know if the show is ruined for me after "Casecation".
The old "person doesn't want kids but is pressured by child-wanting spouse into agreeing to have them or they're getting dumped" trope.
There is never any "good" reason for someone to not want kids in these shows. You get pressured into changing your mind or you get dumped.
In B99 they even had mutual friend Rosa offer to bully Jake into changing his mind because Amy has to have babies.
I've seen this in too many other shows. This is the main reason I dropped Supergirl. (this article has a good take on that)

It's kind of related I guess. People are pressured to be sexual and to have children or else they're doing relationships/life wrong.

Why do I write nonsexual romance in fanfic? Because goddamn it I'm desperate to see that. It speaks to me as something I can imagine for myself.
Why do I write childfree characters in my original work? Because there aren't many options in fanfic, original fic is always pulling this "not a real marriage until he screws me and I give him heirs", and I desperately want childfree characters to exist. Not childless, not evil, not unsure but they'll change their minds, not damaged but they get 'fixed' and can't wait to have kids, but 100% committed to never ever having children.

tl;dr love does not equal sex.
Childfree people exist.
Comments are on but I'm behind on replies, the current climate has made me less want to check notifications and comments to be honest.

It's Asexual Awareness Week. I'm not creating anything this year but I have tags for my previous asexual awareness week posts and a tag for all posts including meta and fiction looking at asexuality, theme: asexuality spectrum

There's been pushback against asexuality in some places. Some tumblr posts insist that asexuals aren't "oppressed enough" to be consider part of the LGBT+ community (those posts insist "queer is a slur" too despite significant commentary to the contrary on how important the reclaiming and use of the term is for many.)
There are posts accusing people of "sexualising" children by saying that we should acknowledge more than just heterosexual romantic and sexual attraction. That telling someone you're asexual is "unneccessary" and exposing them to "information about your sex life".
Posts saying asexuals just need hormones or counselling or to be raped.
Posts saying that asexual posts confuse people and prevent them from being gay because of "internalised homophobia".

Most of those things have been, and in some cases, still are used as fodder against other queer groups.
"Trans people aren't allowed in gay spaces because a transman with a woman is heterosexual"
"Bihets aren't allowed in gay spaces!" (ie a bi/pansexual person in a relationship with someone of the opposite gender. The term bihet erases bisexuality by making same sex relationships gay, opposite sex relationships straight, and ignores trans people and nonbinary identities)
"Don't mention lebsians or women won't get married as they should."
"Stop mentioning you're gay, you're throwing your sexuality in my face!" (As they wear a wedding ring and have a photo of their wife on their desk, secure in displays of heterosexuality)
"You're not a gay man or a transwomen, you just need more testosterone and to pray harder to be the straight man you should be."
"She won't be a lesbian after I've f*cked her"

There's been some interesting discussion about the Russian bots that infiltrated Tumblr and the rise of dissent amongst queer groups who should be allies not enemies; "gold star lesbian" rhetoric, posts that are anti-bisexual and anti-asexual, a rise in TERF posts centring womanhood on menstruation and reproduction. Divide and conquer. It's awful and it's unacceptable.

If you don't know anything about asexuality there's a primer here and a lot of other links in this Asexual Awareness Week 2017 post.

Thanks for reading.

These 3 fics all deal with asexuality and/or nonsexual relationships.

Every Moment it Takes (1200 words) by meridian_rose
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Da Vinci's Demons
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Girolamo Riario/Zoroaster (Da Vinci's Demons)
Characters: Girolamo Riario, Zoroaster (Da Vinci's Demons)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, asexual spectrum Riario, Asexual Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Mentions other characters, Established Relationship, Sequel

Summary: Sequel to "Are You Gonna Be My Guy?" Zo and Riario are in a relationship but it doesn't take much for Riario to have doubts whenever someone brings up the subject of sex, or the lack thereof.
AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14106993
Tumblr promo post: https://meridianrosewrites.tumblr.com/post/172282089557/every-moment-it-takes-meridianrose

The Auction (1983 words) by meridian_rose
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Black Sails
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Max/John Silver (Black Sails)
Characters: Max (Black Sails), John Silver, Woodes Rogers, Billy Bones
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Charity Auctions, background Max/Anne/Jack, Silver needs reassurance, Sharing a Bed

Summary: Modern au, set post soulmate fic The Lock & La Clé. Flint needs Silver to go to a charity auction in his stead and insists he take soulmate, Max. While there, Silver and Max have a run-in with Woodes Rogers, and Silver suffers more anxiety about his relationship and how he fits in with the Max/Anne/Jack dynamic.
AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14118387
Tumblr promo post: https://meridianrosewrites.tumblr.com/post/172318210447/the-auction-meridianrose-meridianrose-black

The Asexual Psychic and the Virgin Witch (2019 words) by meridian_rose
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Midnight Texas (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Manfred Bernardo & Fiji Cavanaugh
Characters: Manfred Bernardo, Fiji Cavanaugh
Additional Tags: Olivia appears briefly, Asexual Character, past Manfred/Creek, acephobic Creek, Heart-to-Heart, Drunken Confessions, Virginity, Asexual Manfred, ace ring

Summary: When Manfred and Creek break up before she leaves for college, he and Fiji have a heart to heart with some surprising confessions.
AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14185563
Tumblr promo post: https://meridianrosewrites.tumblr.com/post/172520236667/the-asexual-psychic-and-the-virgin-witch ; with fic banner: https://meridianrosewrites.tumblr.com/post/173324485482/meridianrose-im-a-psychic-and-thats-unnatural

Links to things I've posted to Tumblr

Graphic: DvD/Pratchett quote http://meridianrose.tumblr.com/post/168217265781/some-people-are-confident-because-they-are-fools
Graphic: DvD/Pratchett quote http://meridianrose.tumblr.com/post/168119066771/da-vincis-demons-the-universe-they-say
[these now posted to DW on the 'originally at tumblr tag'
Bio Poem for gameofcards, DvD http://meridianrose.tumblr.com/post/168145092981/bio-poem-dvd-leonardo
[also at https://archiveofourown.org/works/5944009/chapters/29473035]

Graphic: Black sails fic illustration http://meridianrose.tumblr.com/post/168018031691/black-sails-modern-au-illustration-for-scene

Graphic: The Flash + belief http://meridianrose.tumblr.com/post/167380419751/the-flash-reborn-belief

Asexual week questionnaire: http://meridianrose.tumblr.com/post/166784427241/questionnaire

Professional Blog

Moodboards for the NaNoWriMo novel characters: https://itslmdee.tumblr.com/post/167589571245/character-moodboards-romaine-el

about the author meme answers: https://itslmdee.tumblr.com/post/168228547360/hey-there-for-the-get-to-know-the-author-ask-5

writing ask: https://itslmdee.tumblr.com/post/167944623380/for-the-writers-ask-1-when-did-you-get-into

Hamilton vs NaNoWriMo, collaboration with @desperatlytryingtowriteabook:
https://itslmdee.tumblr.com/post/167476750883/hamilton-for-nanowrimo-writers-12
https://itslmdee.tumblr.com/post/167510084060/hamilton-for-nanowrimo-writers-22

I Don't Need a Man - or a Woman (to make me feel good) (474 words) by meridian_rose
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Black Sails
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Billy Bones & John Silver, Billy Bones & Max & John Silver
Characters: Billy Bones, John Silver
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Asexual Character, Asexual Billy Bones, asexual awareness week fandom challenge 2017
Series: Part 5 of The Odd Trio

Summary: When it's been a long day it's good to have someone to talk to, but that someone doesn't have to be a romantic or sexual partner. Dating is optional.

At AO3 and below the cut
( Read more... )

Labels (712 words) by meridian_rose
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Black Sails
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Billy Bones & Max
Characters: Max (Black Sails), Billy Bones
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Asexual Billy Bones, Jack is mentioned, Silver is mentioned, Anne is mentioned, Gay Bar, discussion of sexuality, Biphobic OC, oc self-labels as gold star lesbian
Series: Part 4 of The Odd Trio

Summary: At a bar, Max meets a woman with some narrow views on sexual orientations, leading her to discuss matters with Billy (however Anne takes a more direct approach to bisexual erasure)