Mike Driver
art blog(derogatory)
Cosmic Funnies
AnasAbdin
Alisa U Zemlji Chuda
if i look back, i am lost
@theartofmadeline
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
izzy's playlists!
Jules of Nature
$LAYYYTER
KIROKAZE
2025 on Tumblr: Trends That Defined the Year
JVL
Three Goblin Art
tumblr dot com
祝日 / Permanent Vacation
todays bird
seen from T1
seen from Singapore
seen from Germany
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Malaysia
seen from Singapore
seen from Canada
seen from Egypt
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Poland
seen from Malaysia
seen from Malaysia
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from Netherlands
seen from Netherlands
seen from Argentina
seen from Canada
seen from Spain
@fatesline
if you ever find yourself wondering “well wait, what kind of prison sentences would long-lived species like elves receive in my world” consider that prisons are honestly pretty new. when people were imprisoned for long periods of time it was usually bc they were political rivals of members of aristocracy who didn’t want to go reminding the masses that you can just chop royalty’s heads off (or because they’re more useful alive for whatever reason)
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
A cloudless night and a moon nearly gone made for the perfect night for vanishing.
Nihal moved with confidence, bare feet guiding her across familiar paths without the aid of a light that would have surely given her away. If she had been less familiar with the way she might have struggled, but she had made this journey many times since childhood, and she walked amid the scattered herds as confidently as if it were the middle of the day.
She had planned this for long enough; she would not let them see her coming.
writing’s all fun and games until you have to google every character name you come up with to make sure there isn’t already someone well known with that name
The tamék (lit. purifying) flower originating from Myiing works as an insecticide, and is particularly important for discouraging mosquitoes that spread disease. Not everyone has made the connection between mosquitoes and the ague, thinking only that the insects are naturally drawn to the impure air that brings the disease. The sick are usually isolated along with their caretakers to prevent them from breathing out the foul air, and dried tamék leaves scattered to purify their surroundings.
The flower has become an important part of Myiing's economy due to its usefulness, and is exported around the world. Even though its appearance is far more humble than many other popular flowers, it’s often used as a symbol, like that of a merchant family below, depicted on a background representing a gray shield.
I did some reading on the topic on writingwithcolor and there were a lot of varying opinions so I’d like to get a better idea of the general stance from Jewish people (religious or secular) on Judaism in non-earth fantasy.
Some people said they’d like a fantasy-analogue of Judaism (as long as it doesn’t have a lot of stereotypes/they’re not evil/etc) because they’d like to see themeslves in fantasy characters even if they aren’t quite the same. while others said that unless a character can be explicitly stated as Jewish they’re not interested in Jewish-coded characters. This person is an author who mentions that you can hand-wave details and have characters be explicitly religiously Jewish without explaining why Seder exists if there isn’t even an Egypt. Which is totally valid, but I’m worldbuilding for its own sake and not writing a story, so I do want in-universe logic. There’s a lot of christianity in fantasy where religious stories, rules, and history change but are still blatantly christian, but there’s of course a difference since it’s a dominant religion through most of the world and it’s not difficult to find christian narratives to begin with. I don’t want to just randomly include things disrespectfully.
So basically: a fantasy world with a religion that isn’t called Judaism but has obvious shared elements - days starting at sundown rather than sunrise, having a different “new year” than other regions & different types of ‘new year’, a day of the week reserved for rest and worship, prohibitions against eating hares pigs and shellfish, removing blood from meat, holidays that include fasting, no hell-equivalent, etc. (obviously not a comprehensive list of parts of Judaism) These people aren’t villains and aren’t portrayed as more backwards/violent/greedy than anyone else, and don’t have particular associations with money or banking. They’re one group out of many, with (ideally) no one being the central part of the story. Would you prefer that, or a gentile author just not including it and leaving fantasy Judaism to Jewish authors entirely?
(Similar question would apply to Islam in fantasy, by the way, if anyone would like to chime in on that. I’ve found fewer discussion on it though)
(can’t speak for Islam lol but for the Judaism part)
honestly, creating pieces of fantasy stories with elements of real world religions is pretty nice. the important thing is to make good faith attempts to understand be receptive to feedback from Jews if you get any. doing a little bit of a research is also recommended. here’s a quick list of (mostly obvious) things to avoid:
horns. I think that one’s pretty obvious heh
drinking blood (blood libel)
in your research, you may stumble upon Kabbalah. Kabbalah is a compilation of very mystical traditions, but it’s like kind of a big deal within Judaism and a very strictly closed practice. Kabbalah references a lot of general Jewish things, so if you want to reference something in Kabbalah or a name or whatever, that’s fine, just try to steer clear of making a direct analogue, because that would be pretty disrespectful.
again, as you mentioned, the Jews and money thing is a bad idea
don’t associate goblins with your fictional analogue-thing, another weirdly antisemitic trope for yah that I’d suggest you steer clear of.
skin color can be pretty much anything, tbh. Due to the diaspora(s), there are many different jews all over the globe with different skin tones.
That’s all I can really think of now. That’s the basics :)
But….. if you wanna go a little further with it… :)))
Representation is nice, but if you’re doing legit worldbuilding, there are a lot of interesting concepts to play with regarding Judaism. If you’re just looking for like a few throw away lines, that’s cool, but for worldbuilding purposes (and because I’ve thought of this way too much) there are so many aspects of Judaism that already sound like they’re straight out of a fantasy novel that would add some interest to a fictional culture or setting. as long as the analogue isn’t too direct and has some outside influences added for flavor, I don’t really have a big problem with people using Jewish concepts in fantasy writing and fiction in general. Neil Gaiman is a good example of a gentile who uses a lot of Jewish concepts in his work in a super respectful and engaging way.
This is probably uneccesary, but because I’m a fantasy nerd, here’s yet another list of Jewish concepts that would be really cool in a fantasy setting. you can take individual ideas listed here and spread them out a little. it’s fantasy, and as long as you steer clear of those antisemitic tropes I listed, there’s a hell of a lot to dig into:
the idea of a “nameless god” isn’t strictly Jewish, but it does make the whole thing seem very eldritch and mysterious. that aspect can be appealing for a story.
the concept of an “eternal exile” or a theme of exile. there’s just something about the idea of eternally searching for a way back home, even back to a home you don’t remember, that I find particularly interesting.
look up how Torah scrolls are made. just like. that process is so dope. if you made that up in a story I’d call you a genius for it, ritual creation of religious texts is very interesting.
emphasis on learning and literacy? hell yeah, that’s awesome.
There’s more, and I might add to this later. It’s just fun to talk abt idk
TLDR; as long as you remain respectful and mindful, feel free to write Jewish representation. In my opinion, its better to dive right in and approach without fear and then go back and revise. Do your best and then double back, look for places you might have incorporated stereotypes, and keep the fun parts that are harmless! I don’t speak for all Jews obviously, but this is my whole spiel on the topic :)
@anonymousdandelion
Thank you both for the feedback! You’ve given me a lot to think about. You mention not being a direct analogue, which is a fair point - I wasn’t sure about spreading out different themes, I don’t want to come across like I’m rifling through to cherry-pick things I think are aesthetically ~Interesting~ while divorcing them from important context.
I have Marie Brennan’s book on my TBR pile, I’ll have to bump it to the top. And the only Gaiman I’ve read is American Gods, so I’ll have another peek into his works. Aside from the mangoverse I haven’t found a lot of fantasy in quite the same setting I’m looking for, so any suggestions on that front would be welcome.
I’ll be sure to hire beta readers if I end up actually writing any stories in this universe. Thank you again for your input!
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
I did some reading on the topic on writingwithcolor and there were a lot of varying opinions so I’d like to get a better idea of the general stance from Jewish people (religious or secular) on Judaism in non-earth fantasy.
Some people said they’d like a fantasy-analogue of Judaism (as long as it doesn’t have a lot of stereotypes/they’re not evil/etc) because they’d like to see themeslves in fantasy characters even if they aren’t quite the same. while others said that unless a character can be explicitly stated as Jewish they’re not interested in Jewish-coded characters. This person is an author who mentions that you can hand-wave details and have characters be explicitly religiously Jewish without explaining why Seder exists if there isn’t even an Egypt. Which is totally valid, but I’m worldbuilding for its own sake and not writing a story, so I do want in-universe logic. There’s a lot of christianity in fantasy where religious stories, rules, and history change but are still blatantly christian, but there’s of course a difference since it’s a dominant religion through most of the world and it’s not difficult to find christian narratives to begin with. I don’t want to just randomly include things disrespectfully.
So basically: a fantasy world with a religion that isn’t called Judaism but has obvious shared elements - days starting at sundown rather than sunrise, having a different “new year” than other regions & different types of ‘new year’, a day of the week reserved for rest and worship, prohibitions against eating hares pigs and shellfish, removing blood from meat, holidays that include fasting, no hell-equivalent, etc. (obviously not a comprehensive list of parts of Judaism) These people aren’t villains and aren’t portrayed as more backwards/violent/greedy than anyone else, and don’t have particular associations with money or banking. They’re one group out of many, with (ideally) no one being the central part of the story. Would you prefer that, or a gentile author just not including it and leaving fantasy Judaism to Jewish authors entirely?
(Similar question would apply to Islam in fantasy, by the way, if anyone would like to chime in on that. I’ve found fewer discussion on it though)
So first, there is an adage of 2 Jews 3 opinions for a reason. Outside of certain specific topics, there will be a variety of opinions, like you noticed on this topic.
For me though, that sounds like a very surface viewing on Judaism. Short hands essentially but without too much behind it. Good to have in background characters essentially but not really sufficient for main or even secondary characters. For example, something I would like to see also is the focus on some of the values like debate and learning, community, social justice, etc.
Definitely, I certainly don’t expect to get any kind of ‘universal’ answer.
Fair, I wasn’t sure whether to include things like achrayut and kehilla - to try and include the same exact values but in a world where the Torah doesn’t exist felt...inappropriate? Though I also don’t want to include anything blatantly against Jewish values either.
Even with a sacred text in this world, it still wouldn’t really be the Torah. So I thought perhaps with more surface level comparisons it would avoid the problems of essentially Judaism with the Torah changed but I’m definitely realizing it has some problems on its own.
@wenevergotusedtoegypt
Well yes, I’m not expecting a definitive consensus, I just wanted to gauge whether there seemed to be a particular leaning for and against it. If some people say it’s fine but most say “no don’t do that” I’ll not do it. Maybe it’ll be entirely mixed, but like I said: wanted to get a general idea of how more people feel about it (with an albeit small sample size) instead of the 2 people whose opinions I’ve seen
I did some reading on the topic on writingwithcolor and there were a lot of varying opinions so I'd like to get a better idea of the general stance from Jewish people (religious or secular) on Judaism in non-earth fantasy.
Some people said they'd like a fantasy-analogue of Judaism (as long as it doesn't have a lot of stereotypes/they're not evil/etc) because they'd like to see themeslves in fantasy characters even if they aren't quite the same. while others said that unless a character can be explicitly stated as Jewish they're not interested in Jewish-coded characters. This person is an author who mentions that you can hand-wave details and have characters be explicitly religiously Jewish without explaining why Seder exists if there isn't even an Egypt. Which is totally valid, but I'm worldbuilding for its own sake and not writing a story, so I do want in-universe logic. There's a lot of christianity in fantasy where religious stories, rules, and history change but are still blatantly christian, but there's of course a difference since it's a dominant religion through most of the world and it's not difficult to find christian narratives to begin with. I don't want to just randomly include things disrespectfully.
So basically: a fantasy world with a religion that isn't called Judaism but has obvious shared elements - days starting at sundown rather than sunrise, having a different "new year" than other regions & different types of 'new year', a day of the week reserved for rest and worship, prohibitions against eating hares pigs and shellfish, removing blood from meat, holidays that include fasting, no hell-equivalent, etc. (obviously not a comprehensive list of parts of Judaism) These people aren't villains and aren't portrayed as more backwards/violent/greedy than anyone else, and don't have particular associations with money or banking. They're one group out of many, with (ideally) no one being the central part of the story. Would you prefer that, or a gentile author just not including it and leaving fantasy Judaism to Jewish authors entirely?
(Similar question would apply to Islam in fantasy, by the way, if anyone would like to chime in on that. I've found fewer discussion on it though)
I have no idea why on earth a terf would follow this blog (just randomly spam-following to see how many people you can find who won’t block you?) but I guess I should mention that you aren’t welcome here, nothing I do is meant for you, and I hate you.
There's a story with varying details in Chēzang of two mortals who loved each other dearly, but one the mistake of praying for the blessing of the mercurial goddess Lau, for their relationship had not been one of official status, but after remaining together through the hardships they'd faced would be seen in public as a couple for the first time during Lau's festival. (reasons for the secrecy of their relationship vary through time, usually either due to both being women or due to differences of status)
Lau, goddess of alcohol, fermentation, and change, is notorious in many stories for blessing or cursing drunken revelers in the matters of love. In this instance, envy of the petitioner's beauty (or depending on the telling, a sense of disrespect or a simple dislike of the unchanging nature of their relationship), led Lau to instead curse the asker as she made her way to the festivities, robbing her voice and changing her appearance. In some versions the woman's appearance is changed to that of a stranger, to cause her partner to believe she had been abandoned, perhaps out of shame; in others she appears as a monstrous demon.
Instead of shattering their relationship, she was recognized by the woman who would know her love no matter the form, embracing her regardless.
Sho, god of marriage, promises, and the hearth, saw this unfold and undid his sister Lau's curse, and declared them married himself.
A tradition was born, celebrating their display of love: a masquerade in which partners ostensibly prove their love and the harmony of their souls by being able to recognize their partner even without being able to see their face.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
Happy WBW!
tell us about one (or more) of the common recipes in your world! Are there many steps to it? Is it something everyone knows how to cook or is it a secret passed from generations? What are the main ingredients?? Just... go wild about it!
(@worldbuildingwedasks)
WBW Alert!
@raevenlywrites @eloquenceandemphasis @pheita @viawrites-andacts @fields-of-ink @contes-de-rheio @writinginslowmotion @merigreenleaf @helga-leakadia @writeblrfantasy @crowandmoonwriting @ruinedqueenwriter @faithfire @danaspriddy @strosmkai-rum @lexiklecksi @directionoftime @thethistlegirl @elizahgodswood @anika-writes @the-bard-writes @vylequinne @storytracks @lunarmoment @kalis-scribbles @pen-and-inks @avian-writes @ayzrules @dearestannabel @thewrittenpost @willowiswriting @imaginationxlost @chazzawrites @faithfletcher @wizardfromthesea @the-writing-rat @lost-writer-on-the-loose @the-wierdo-christine @andiwriteunderthemoon @stormbeyondreality @dragon-swords-prophecies @nora-theteawriter @nana-writes @letswritestories101
Some common traditional elven food. Pretty much every underland elf learns to cook these growing up, and many surfacer communities continue the traditions - though sometimes with more human-palatable ingredients.
I’m not good at coming up with recipe names that aren’t just description of the item. Suggestions would be appreciated
Fish - steam the fish on a rack, slice into pieces, serve with a mushroom sauce that’s essentially mushroom cooked with water and/or wine, and raw sea lettuce.
Bread - either steam lichen into a surprisingly sweet tasting hardened treat or, with the addition of fancy surface ingredients, mix powdered lichen with other grain flour and make as you would any other bread.
Pan fry some grubs in mushroom oil, serve with lichen chips and roe
Deep fried fish bones - once again exactly what it says on the tin. Very popular with kids.
Happy Worldbuilding Wednesday! Tell me about magic in your world. Who can use magic? How can they use magic? Are they born with magical talent or can magic be learned?
WBW Alert - thanks for the submission!
Magic is used through concentration and strength of will, and draws upon life energies - most frequently and easily the caster's own, or, with some finesse, that of other people, animals, or plants.
Learning magic is a bit like learning math or how to whistle: theoretically anyone can do it, but in reality some people struggle a lot while others find it comes naturally. There's a steep learning curve, and it can be especially dangerous for amateurs to practice, since they can accidentally cause themselves serious harm or death due to not being able to regulate what they're doing. Most people don't have the luxury of being able to spend the time and energy to learn to do it.
Casting magic also requires knowing specifically what you're doing. You can't just 'heal' someone in a vague, general sense, though you can perform specific actions like clamping a blood vessel. Such a precise action has risks, since one could accidentally clamp the wrong vessel, or close several.
Virtually anything could be done with magic with enough energy and if you know what exactly you were doing, but in reality it's more difficult and you're more likely to fail and die anyway. For most people who don't have magical training and live in an area where other tools are available, magic isn't worth it. The biggest use it has in the general world is for sapping heat from water to make ice.
Magic has historically also been valued for its usefulness in warfare - being able to use enemies as a source of energy is especially powerful.
There are also less direct but more safe forms of folk magic, with efficacy that is less certain. Instead of doing something concrete like lighting a fire or drawing water from the air, these have more general uses: warding away evil, attracting luck, etc. The methods vary based on the region.
A secondary type of magic is accessible after infection from the spirit reaches, an area that had been magically scoured to stop the spread of disease hundreds of years ago. The original methods of magic used were lost to time, existing only as residual magic, which allows some expanded magical ability as the infection provides a source of energy, but also some really rough side effects.
Marriage customs in Sirine
In Sirine, outdoor labor is considered men's work, making men are a vital part of any farm. While parents want their sons to grow up and join good households, the loss of a hardy worker still provides problems. Stereotypically, Sirinian parents exaggerate their reluctance for sons to marry, especially to help the family acquire a good marriage price to offset their loss. This has led to the custom of women to be married "stealing" their future husband.
After a marriage has been arranged, when the wedding approaches, at some point in the night the marrying man will attempt to sneak out of his home while his family sleeps and meet with the marrying woman, and the two will attempt to slip away to find a place where they can spend an entertaining evening, free from the parents who have inevitably been very involved in their lives during the marriage arrangements.
However, family and friends are of course aware of the custom of the marriage flight, and will take much delight in interfering. If someone finds where they've hidden themselves they'll be heckled relentlessly. Some couples with particularly mischievous friends have thought themselves well hidden, only to end up with an unpleasant surprise as they're doused with a bucket of water right before things get interesting.
When the sun rises, the couple return to the home of the marrying man's parents for a breakfast and to start preparations for the wedding which will be held that afternoon, where they will have a more private follow up - if they're not too tired from a night of mischief.
Weddings themselves are rather simple affairs; while more politically-minded couples will host events as a pair after their marriage, the weddings themselves only involve the couple, family, close friends, and a priest. An animal – usually a goat – is sacrificed and eaten, and some of its blood dabbed on the backs of the hands of the couple. Festivities often include singing and dancing, and continues until the sun sets.
Upon marriage, men move into the household of their wife, where she resides with any of her living parents of grandparents, and at times aunts and sisters, who may also be married themselves. The main bedroom houses the current head of the family and her husband, and functions as both bedroom and office, and sisters and daughters are sometimes brought in to discuss the business of the farm.
Traditionally men and women live in separate living spaces, eating together in the family's dining and hosting area but spending evenings and nights apart. Some Sirinian families have been influenced by the Kapiken style, where each couple has their own small building that functions as their living space, usually encircling the communal living spaces. While this provides more privacy and can work well for very large households, most Sirinians are accustomed to sharing a bed with family and would find the solitude unnerving. When one needs particular privacy, they may suggest their roommates find some outdoor entertainment for a time, or may make use of the hosting area.
Divorces are possible, and simply involve the man returning to the household he grew up in, or a branch house of another female relative. Any children old enough to leave with him may do so if they chose. Technically a person could join an unrelated household without marrying if they're accepted, but not making the commitment to a family is frowned upon. There are those, particularly in cities, who live alone and don't have a family business, who are considered strange and asocial.
Inheritances often go to the eldest child of the head of the household, but an heir can be chosen from among the women in the household, and usually inherits while their predecessor is still alive, though they play a major part in decision-making and guidance throughout their lives. As long as someone remains to take over the household and care for their parents, other daughters may split off to start their own households, though this means they are generally out of the running for inheritance unless they are left the only woman in the family, at which point one of their daughters or sisters-in-law will take on their new household while they return to the place where they grew up.
Same-sex marriages exist among both men and women, and a woman does not have to have a husband or children to become head of household, as heirs are not restricted to the head's eldest child. Which household a same-sex couple joins depends on their preference and the needs of the households.
Ḑuqqall religious knives
The cornerstone of the religion of the Ḑuqqall is balance. There is a duality between the divine twins: light and darkness, life and death, man and woman, domains blending together, each needing the other. An excess of one or the other disrupts the order of the world. Knives symbolize this balance, as a tool used by each of the twins, used in bringing life into the world, maintaining life, and at times ending it. When expecting a child, a Ḑuqqall father will craft a specific knife for them, primarily of bone but potentially with wood or metal elements depending on the wealth of the family, which is called a dhāw. Its first use is to cut the child's umbilical cord, after which is will be kept in safekeeping until the child is deemed old enough to be given it during their coming of age. The dhāw is tied to the life and fortune of the owner, and is only used in certain ceremonial instances or in emergencies.
Parents will design patterns on the dhāw of their children with symbols correlating to hopes for the child's life and personality. These will be expanded on after marriage(s) and the birth of each child, with a final marker upon their death, before their dhāw is buried with them. With these records, the deceased will be able to keep hold of their identity in the fog of the first journey of the afterlife, and pull upon the life force imbued in their dhāw for strength and guidance. If a person does not receive a proper burial with their pattern completed their soul may be lost, not knowing of its own death and plaguing the living, trapped wandering with no memories, or consumed by evil spirits. In the case of twins, a second dhāw is made after birth and in a ritual is sympathetically bound to the other. The second, despite not literally being part of the life-bringing process in the same way as the first, is able to share that property due to the interconnected nature of twins' souls. Twins are considered good fortune.
New map and new general summary of fateline.
Fateline is a just-for-fun fantasy world with a moderate amount of magic and focus on speculative culture and daily life because I love mundanity. We've got underground elves and forest dwarves too just for the hell of it.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
Free to watch • No registration required • HD streaming
What kind of common colour symbolism is there in your world?
Alert, Worldbuilders!
@raevenlywrites @eloquenceandemphasis @pheita @viawrites-andacts @fields-of-ink @contes-de-rheio @writinginslowmotion @merigreenleaf @helga-leakadia @writeblrfantasy @crowandmoonwriting @ruinedqueenwriter @faithfire @danaspriddy @strosmkai-rum @lexiklecksi @directionoftime @thethistlegirl @elizahgodswood @anika-writes @the-bard-writes @vylequinne @storytracks @lunarmoment @kalis-scribbles @pen-and-inks @avian-writes @ayzrules @dearestannabel @thewrittenpost @willowiswriting @imaginationxlost @chazzawrites @faithfletcher @wizardfromthesea @the-writing-rat @lost-writer-on-the-loose @the-wierdo-christine @andiwriteunderthemoon @stormbeyondreality @dragon-swords-prophecies @nora-theteawriter @nana-writes
A lot of Sirinian color symbolism has been influenced by plays, with colors becoming associated with popular characters and later being used as a shorthand to invoke certain character archetypes to the audience
Warm colors are generally feminine, and cooler colors masculine
Red: Life, death, divinity, renewal; usually only worn by priests Blue: Homosexuality, doubt, rest Green: Wealth, maturity, trustworthiness Yellow: Youth, strength, stubbornness Silver/gray: Fate, death, deceit, mourning Brown: Safety, control, knowledge Pink: Innovation, humor, mischief Orange: Intimacy, devotion, passion
Purple: Indulgence, foolishness, fun
Black: Boldness, compassion, wisdom White: Peace, sleep, sickness
some gay symbolism
in Belros, rams are associated with homosexuality, since gay sheep are more common than you'd think. in real life, not just a worldbuilding thing.
buttons or jewelry made of ram's horns can be a subtle indicator of sexuality. the cyclamen flower is associated more specifically with lesbians due to their being the favored flower of the somewhat mythologized soldier Emelin, eventually evolving to an association with hares since the flower's petals resemble their ears. however, some lesbians still prefer the ram iconography. same-sex marriages are colloquially known as ram weddings, even though the couple in question might be straight.
(just as gay people may end up in a political marriage with the opposite sex, if you're not the first son (/daughter where relevant) you may end up in a gay marriage in order to strengthen bonds with another family while preventing you from having legal heirs that could enable you to challenge your older brother(s).)
in Sirine, as red is associated with blood, life, and childbirth; blue, as its opposite, can be used to indicate homosexuality or someone who is averse to marrying having children. plenty of straight people wear blue, but it's used as a euphemism, and in plays the use of blue for character's costumes is very deliberate.
