Still Pretty Eh

Like this. And it’s beautiful. It’s beautiful to hear a soliloquy I loved so much already, and have it come to life in a way it never, ever, did before. I feel like I grasp his motivations, his twists and turns, no longer on an academic level but on a visceral, instinctive one. Because he’s presenting his mental and emotional journey in a way that speaks honestly, like a real person.

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

My third Artwork request for Pride Month was Utena ✨ A classic 🥰

Ok…. Let’s dissect this real quick.

-Andromeda wasn’t the queen of Ioppa, her son Perses was king of Ioppa, istg if this writer makes Perses a character in this universe and the son of this fucking Kleos imma-

-Recovering people pleaser - ok this one actually makes sense and is how I interpret her too… bc she stops being a ppl pleaser by choosing her own husband… who was Perseus… anyway.

-Katara coded healer - and just like Katara she’s removed from her loving canon relationship and forced into an enemies to lovers romance.

-Blessed by Astarte - I’m fine with this too bc Andromeda (at least in one source) was said to worship Aphrodite, who would likely be called Astarte in Ioppa… I’m just confused by the healer association? Astarte was a healing goddess sure but like Aphrodite she was mainly viewed as a goddess of love and beauty, was it just not feminist for Andromeda to be devoted to love goddess and be blessed with beauty? Idk I’m probably looking too much into this.

-Introverted but strong willed - what the hell sure

-Plant mom - look I’m not innocent of making baseless headcanons but… huh? Where did that come from?

This just frustrates me so much bc I get the feeling this writer did do some research for this book but somehow she read Perseus and Andromeda’s love story and didn’t stop to think “hmmm maybe I shouldn’t separate them or ship Perseus with Medusa” like it really does not sit right with me…

Now let’s get to… *sighhhhhhhhhjh* Kleos. This isn’t a real character he’s just an amalgamation of different tropes and characters who’s only there to serve as heavily manufactured “fan favorite” and Andromeda’s consolation prize.

- “Cassian and Jesper” - idk who these ppl are

- Bi King - y’know who else was a bi king in love with Andromeda?

- Daddy issues - I said this a million times but his name should’ve been Cleopatros, how deliciously ironic would it be for a man who hates his father to be called “glory of the father”? And besides, naming a Greek hero’s best friend “Kleos” is like naming an American hero’s best friend “Freedom”. Not only that, it would’ve made Kleos actually stand out as a character rather than only existing to have corny banter with Andromeda and Perseus.

- Doesn’t know when to shut up - me neither, this post doesn’t need to exist I just wanted to rant.

1) Where are Andromeda's Palestinian/Cana`an features and roots???

Her father was Ethiopian, her mom Palestinian/Cana`an from Jaffa (which is what Joppa is—we literally have the rocks where Andromeda was hung). Why is she dressed more like a Roman than a Cana`an, who'd also have some tatreez on her dress, since that's where Palestinians got it from (I know, a shocker we retained a tradition started by our ancestors)??? What she's wearing isn't even Tyrian purple! And where are her Stars of Ishtar if she's blessed by Astarte?

Guess the relationship is one-sided, which is ridiculous when you learn there is a theory that Andromeda and Astarte were the same person in earlier Palestinian depictions of the story!

First line is of Andromeda's Rocks in (now occupied) Palestine Second is from a book on antiquity clothing in the Mediterranean

2) Astarte is literally a Cana`an goddess Aphrodite was inspired by, and one mainly characterized for repping love, war and hunting, not healing (which she and her sister did partake in, but was not her main mojo). She and her sister, Anat, goddess of war—and who Athena took inspiration from—were famous for being sister-in-arms!

How Astarte was depicted by the Cana`an and her followers

3) Why is some Greek dude her bodyguard and not a Levantine/Palestinian/Cana'an man? Makes no sense, in-world, if you're going with the Andromeda was an Afro-Palestinian route. We come in blonde, too, if you want to emphasize the golden retriever aspect! We literally don't look different from the Greeks, either, we're cousins 😭.

Fifty shades of Palestinian blonde

If you're going to make an OC to be more "diverse," why not actually go with diversity that makes sense??? Which brings me to

4) Why was the Afro-Palestinian heroine of the original story delegated to side character??? And to an OC love interest??? Who's also Greek, like her original love interest—what was the point of divorcing her from Perseus, if you're just giving to give her his inferior knock-off (and who's not even the main character!)? All so Perseus can be shipped with Medusa, which is the other thing...

5) Why make Medusa a white Greek (from what I've seen), when her roots are North African? If you're going to go with the Afro-Palestinian Andromeda, then why not North African Medusa? Because now, what you did is break up the canon biracial pairing of Perseus and Andromeda to center a whitewashed pair you made up. Like, what? You know this is worst, right? The original myth is more progressive than you!

Medusa mosaic in Tunisia

There are SIX questions total in reblogs, the end will be marked by large green text. If you don’t see all six, check reblogs and grab the version with the ending note.

Answers amended from the 2025 census based on feedback. If you’re mixed, choose what feels right to you I’m not here to do phrenology or paper bag test you but don’t make it my problem either. When in doubt, ask yourself: would the whites kill you too in the race war?

This census is US-centric because so is tumblr, unfortunately. This poll is also starting with a heavy Black/racialized bias due to my personal followers. The main point of this census is to see how white-dominant the site is currently compared to prior years, as well

For the purpose of this census, Imperial Core will be defined as the following: United States, Canada, Australia, Aotearoa, basically all of Western Europe, Japan, and Israel. If you want to argue about any of these designations, too bad maybe they should stop colonizing.

Note for clarification:

*For those who don’t know, TMA means transmisogyny affected (such as trans women, some non-binary people, etc.) whereas TME means transmisogyny exempt (Cis men, cis women, transmasculine individuals, etc). If you want to ask for clarification for which applies to you for the purposes of this poll, feel free to ask and I’ll try to reply, but if you try to argue or quibble about the terms themselves, I’ll block you.