blipples

Here is “Knot”, a short comic I drew to sell at Mocca and TCAF this year. The printed version is going to be SO PRETTY. I’m in love with the cover (which I will post later).

I just wanted to do something fairy-tale-like that talked about doubts and frustrations and how to deal with them. I’m really happy with how colorful and adorable the story turned out to be. 

Not only this, but from the moment Jaime walked out of her life, her story ended. The only other meaningful moment she got after this was in the finale, when she wrote his story in the book, teary eyed. It was all about him. We’re not allowed to see her angry or hurt about how he betrayed her trust. No, we get to see her write his heroic deeds, acknowledging the fact that he chose Cersei over her (btw, Gwen was amazing in that scene, and she deserves all the awards).  

Brienne as a girl wasn’t Arya, she was Sansa. She wanted to be a lady and to marry her true love, she wanted to carry on her lineage and lead her house. But she was beaten down and told she wasn’t feminine enough, pretty enough. Those dreams were stolen from her by the adults in her life who were supposed to be protecting her. The closest thing she had to a mother told her that no man would ever want her, that she was ugly, that she was embarassing herself when she did girlish things like dancing and singing. She was made to feel like a failure just for existing, for being umarriagable, for causing the end of her house by being so ugly that no one wanted her, the Evenstar’s only daughter. 

Instead of just crumbling and disappearing, Brienne took up a sword and decided to make something else of herself. She wanted to help people, she wanted to contribute, and she decided to find a good lord and serve them. Which is amazing and wonderful, and I love that about her. 

But she also deserved the character arc her book self is written with, where she realizes that 1) knighthood is not as it’s portrayed in the songs and it’s really another romanticized trap, and 2) she is worthy and deserving of love and loyalty, even though literally everyone she meets tells her otherwise. Her life has value, she doesn’t have to throw it away in the name of someone else’s cause. SHE can be the lord that leads others. She can carry on her lineage. She deserves for her dreams of falling in love and having a family of her own to come true. 

I think Jaime was inevitable for her first lay. With their history, it made a lot of sense and felt more like a favor. He does care greatly for her, just not as much as he loves Sis Bitch. He should not have led Bri to believe there was any future for them because there never was going to be, no matter what happened in KL. But the actions of that night are still neccessary.

Jaime gave Brienne the gift of lifting the veil of insecurity that blanketed her life for so long. The knighting reassured that all her dedication and practiced skills are more than worthy of recognition. The bedding showed her that she is still a woman deserving of love and her physical presence should not get in the way of that.

Bonus: shitty gif version of the above (for that slide down the glass, add your own sound effects)

It’s Mother’s Day coming up, so I’m thinking of all the women in my life and all the awesome roles they play (mothers, non-mothers, and never-mothers alike).

Flowers in Film — ( 2 / ∞ ) 🌸

Person: What’s demisexuality?

Demisexual: It means you don’t get attracted to people unless there’s an emotional bond.

Person: Oh, so like, a normal person?

Demisexual: Actually, no, although I can see how you’d think that. Most people don’t have sex with people unless they have an emotional bond with them but that’s not really to do with sexuality, that’s just staying safe and having common sense.

’Normal’ people, although not intending to sleep with someone right away, still know, usually, whether they would be interested in doing that within a short amount of time, sometimes immediately. People come up to me and say “You’re attractive, can I have your number?” after just seeing me from across a bar. They’ve never spoken to me, don’t know who I am but still found me attractive and are thus interested in getting to know me more to see if they’d like to start a relationship.

Demisexuals don’t experience that. We don’t see underwear adverts and find the actors desirable. We don’t look at someone from across a room and think “they’re hot, I wonder if they’re single”. ‘Sex sells’ goes over our heads. Dating apps where you swipe pictures across the screen are useless. We literally don’t get attracted to people that quickly.

Person: Oh, I see. So it’s not just being picky or abstaining from sex, it’s literal lack of attraction?

Demisexual: Yes, you’ve got it.

Person: That must make dating difficult.

Demisexual: It does. Many of us are interested in dating but are limited to people we know emotionally. If someone asks for my number I then have to say to them ‘can we be friends for roughly two to three years, by then I should know whether I find you physically attractive and if I do we can start dating’. It’s sad because I don’t want to get people’s hopes up or seem like I’m leading them on. But I literally do have to know them for a while before I can get attracted to them if I do at all. It also meant growing up was a strange experience because everyone would be pointing out attractive people on TV, in magazines and when walking down the street and I just didn’t understand.

Person: Well thank you for taking the time to explain that to me. I understand now that there is a difference between abstaining from sex and actually lacking attraction.

Demisexual: No problem. It’s nice to be accepted and understood.

Demisexuals, you are real and valid. Just because people don’t understand what you go through that doesn’t mean what you go through is fake. Pride is about respecting and celebrating all sexualities and their nuances. 

You should also note that demisexuality is common among those on the autism spectrum. To deny demisexuality is not only illogical but it’s also ableism. You’re erasing people’s symptoms because its convenient for you and because you don’t understand them. 

Demisexuals just want to chill and exist. They don’t want fame and to be mollycoddled. They just want awareness and acceptance.