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MUAHAAHAA! It lives!
Also... Gotta have a blackmail pic of the husband playing with the dog. All the cool people are doing it. :-) See? I told you he has long stoopid pretty hair.
Public humiliation is fun! Eh, Greg?
Oh, I noticed that for some perverse reason my picture of Sango failed to load properly when I did my last entry. Which was especially cruel since I mentioned spandex and all... :::shrugs::: Anyway hopefully this time you can see her. SANGO!
And!
Re; "The Twelve Kingdoms". It's getting very convoluted! I'm on the third story arc, "A Great Distance In The Wind, The Sky At Dawn" (don't you just love the lyrical-sounding chapters? So pretty), and I'm getting a little "Waitaminnit...what about that kid so-and-so, who left the kingdom of whoositz, where's he? And what about whats-his-name who fell off the cliff waaay back in arc one...wha happen? And and and..." There's all SORTS of unfinished business, and only a few discs left to finish it in, and new people keep popping in and muddling up the storyline. I'm getting anxious.
Cool thing is I'm starting to really "get" the language. Like I can totally figure out the names of all the Kirin as long as I know their gender and the kingdom they're from...and I know all the honorifics. Which is a good thing because the first few discs had me hitting pause and checking the glossary of terms kindly included with the series just about once every few minutes. S'fun though! Me = language geek.
I'm having a really hard time with some aspects of the story. The whole "babies from a tree" thing...doesn't that cause sexual tension to fly right out the window? Do they even need to have sex? I love the fantasy aspect but... :::shrug::: It just seems so ~odd~ to me because a world where all living things procreate asexually would seem to necessarily have a completely different view of life, morality...just everything. Would an asexual society be territorial? Or proprietary? Would there be monogamy, or romance, or even love? Sex and procreation seem like such all-pervasive motivators in every society, it's so deeply tied into our instincts for basic survival, I just can't conceive of a world without that.
Also... Gotta have a blackmail pic of the husband playing with the dog. All the cool people are doing it. :-) See? I told you he has long stoopid pretty hair.
Public humiliation is fun! Eh, Greg?
Oh, I noticed that for some perverse reason my picture of Sango failed to load properly when I did my last entry. Which was especially cruel since I mentioned spandex and all... :::shrugs::: Anyway hopefully this time you can see her. SANGO!
And!
Re; "The Twelve Kingdoms". It's getting very convoluted! I'm on the third story arc, "A Great Distance In The Wind, The Sky At Dawn" (don't you just love the lyrical-sounding chapters? So pretty), and I'm getting a little "Waitaminnit...what about that kid so-and-so, who left the kingdom of whoositz, where's he? And what about whats-his-name who fell off the cliff waaay back in arc one...wha happen? And and and..." There's all SORTS of unfinished business, and only a few discs left to finish it in, and new people keep popping in and muddling up the storyline. I'm getting anxious.
Cool thing is I'm starting to really "get" the language. Like I can totally figure out the names of all the Kirin as long as I know their gender and the kingdom they're from...and I know all the honorifics. Which is a good thing because the first few discs had me hitting pause and checking the glossary of terms kindly included with the series just about once every few minutes. S'fun though! Me = language geek.
I'm having a really hard time with some aspects of the story. The whole "babies from a tree" thing...doesn't that cause sexual tension to fly right out the window? Do they even need to have sex? I love the fantasy aspect but... :::shrug::: It just seems so ~odd~ to me because a world where all living things procreate asexually would seem to necessarily have a completely different view of life, morality...just everything. Would an asexual society be territorial? Or proprietary? Would there be monogamy, or romance, or even love? Sex and procreation seem like such all-pervasive motivators in every society, it's so deeply tied into our instincts for basic survival, I just can't conceive of a world without that.
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Adorable little black Kirin? ... :( I DON'T KNOW, which pisses me off.
Language geekiness? Aaaawesome. *loves being able to chat in weird terms once hang of it has been gotten*
Sexual stuff...well, there was a brothel right at the beginning. It'd mean that pregnancy wouldn't be a problem at the very least. STDs, on the other hands... XD That might affect things a little, but not very much. The people seem very human, just without the little plumbing quirks necessary for baby-making.
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Still...human physiology is completely tied to our sexuality. Dimorphism, secondary characteristics (let alone the primary ones)...why would beings that reproduce asexually even have breasts...or any "plumbing" at all? You'd think everyone would look like naked Barbie/Ken dolls. It would seem to me that the distinctions between "male" and "female" would break down completely.
I know I'm over-thinking this. :-) It's just that I LOVE a story with a little sexual tension in it (makes the world go 'round) and I'm having a hard time buying that there would be any in this story. Also it seems so funny to me, that they live in a world redolent with war and violence...but at least they don't have to carry babies in their wombs (whew!). What kinds of issues does the author have with that? Is it just an "eastern" thing? I just keep wondering where the author was coming from. Maybe it's just part of ancient Chinese mythology (like the Kirin). *shrug*
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That's true--men only have man-boobs thanks to their starting out as girls first off, and the biggest biological differences between us are sexual. Remember when Youko was surprised at her female minister, then reasoned that women can rise to high rank easily in that world because there's no child-bearing role to marginalize them? My guess is that the gods [the author] designed them as normal humans, then decided to place the burden of childbirth on those poor trees. It'd cut down immensely on population problems, unwanted babies and all that good stuff, at the very least.
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Since I'm asexual, boy does that strike a chord. To most people, asexuals are the most unnatural things in the world because they can't imagine sex not being one of the driving forces in their lives and think that anyone who differs popbably needs to be on some form of medication, to 'fix' them.
Never see anyone mentioning asexuality and couldn't stop myself from commenting even though my stupid hand makes it very difficult. :) I'm working on a story (and thinking of a second one) where the main female character is struggling with the idea that she may be asexual and isn't sure how she is supposed to fit into a world where everone is obsessed with sex in one form or another. :) she propbably won't be in the end because no one likes to read about asexual characters (what's interesting if there is no sex involved at any point?) but it's still a major issue for her.
Sorry for any mistakes, i'm in a bit of a hurry and feeling preet sick :) Hpe all is going well, glad the con was good.
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Secondly, here's the thing; when you say you're asexual...what you really mean is celibate, right? You're still sexual in the sense that you're an intact female mammal. You were produced via normal mammalian sexuality as well (you were born, not hatched). So was your whole family. So was every puppy or kitten you ever owned (I'm only assuming). Even things that DO hatch are produced sexually...bird and bug, frog and fish. Now ~some~ frogs and fish can switch their gender, but still they produce male or female sex cells after they change, and reproduce in the usual way. Yeast simply buds, so that's completely asexual. I think some worms simply split themselves to reproduce, so they are asexual too. Still...even trees reproduce sexually, and flowers have male and female parts. My point is we live in a world that reproduces sexually. Almost every living thing has sexual dimorphism. Almost every living thing came from parents. It affects our physiology, it colors our relationships. It causes males to protect females, and provide for them, and (in higher animals) structure their societies in order to survive and prosper and reproduce. Wolf packs organize around the mated alpha pair, for instance, and every wolf feeds and protects and nurtures that union. We have family units because of sexual reproduction, and we share dna, yet each new birth is a new combination of that dna, so sex makes us diverse. Each of us is unique because of sex. You have grandma's eyes because of sex (maybe?)...I have my grandpere's artistic skills (I firmly believe that's genetic). Yeast buds and makes an exact genetic copy of itself, but most things reproduce sexually and it's the basic process that creates diversity in most living things...we are evolution in motion.
I don't happen to think there's a single thing wrong with celibacy. I don't think it's aberrant, or a crime against nature, or anything of the sort. If only heterosexually active people who reproduce are considered viable living beings, I think it'd be a damn shame and a pretty boring world. I love my gay friends and I think every one of them is an amazing unique being who has a lot more to offer the human species than just dna. I love my sister who has never married or gotten pregnant, and if she never does she still is a force of nature to be reckoned with. Despite trying, I can't have any more babies because my body isn't working right anymore, and I've lost the ability, so my dear husband who is good and smart and unique will never pass on his dna unless he dumps me...and he's not that kind of person. Our relationship is strong and we are devoted to eachother...I don't consider us invalid just because we can't reproduce.
Still, we live in a world of sexual reproduction. The world of "The Twelve Kingdoms" is a world where all living things are hatched from pods that grow on trees. Every animal, person, even divine beings and magical creatures come from pods. Yeah, I know...it's magic. :-) I should just shut up. I just can't help wondering how it would color every relationship right down to a personal level.
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Yes, I'm celibate in a way, but that word implies a deliberate choice...let's see...as if someone were to say that a man 'decided' to be gay. Oh wait, here, I have something from asexuality.org that says it so I don't have to.
"Unlike celibacy, which is a choice, asexuality is a sexual orientation."
I'm not asexual by choice but by nature. I've never felt physically attracted to anyone in my life...I'm just not capable of it, for whatever reason. I'm only ever interested in things mentally...which is propbably why i've only ever been able to have odd little 'crushes' on imaginary guys (cartoons and characters). It's different than being gay or bi or whatever, of course...it's much more...flexible perhaps. It'd take a long time to explain it and typing really hurts, so if you're curious it'd be better to go to asexuality.org and read the faqs.
I was just commenting on what you said about sex being an all-pervasive motivator, which I think is absolutely true and is, for me, extremely frustrating. It even makes some of the stories I'd like to write useless except as personal entertainment because no one is interested in characters who aren't interested in sex.
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That explains it good :)
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While I have no problem understanding it when it's the orientation of an individual...I still can't wrap my head around an entire world system that biologically reproduces asexually. I guess that's why they call it "fantasy". :-)
And while it would be a challenge, I think it's very possible to write about an asexual character and make him/her compelling. There have been many asexual characters in popular literature (I'm thinking of Tolkien's Gandalf, for one example...perhaps also Hazel from Watership Down) where sexuality or orientation never really are an important issue. There are still strong relationships...just not of a sexual nature.
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That's true, but in the case of Gandalf, he's not a main character...and Hazel is a rabbit. But Frodo could certainly be seen as an asexual lead if you wanted. Though of course now everyone tries to claim that Frodo and Sam were gay, against all evidence. (Which is frustrating. Why does all love have to come down to sex? It's one of my frustrations.) The thing is, what I want to write isn't an adventure (at least, I don't think it would be) but a story about someone coming to terms with asexuality in a world where it is considered unnatural if it is known at all, and about developing meaningful relationships in such a society.
But I know that a lot of people would instantly be turned off as soon as they realized that some hot main male charactr wasn't going to come along and 'cure' her of her asexuality. Ican't tell you how many times I've heard the old line..."Just wait until you meet the right guy." It's always said as some giant magical truth, as if I will be transformed the instant he appears.
I'll probably end up writing my story just for therapy, lol. It's only been in the past few years that I've finally convinced (almost) everyone that he's never going to come. Lucky for my blood pressure, my mother has always believed me. :)
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But I know that a lot of people would instantly be turned off as soon as they realized that some hot main male charactr wasn't going to come along and 'cure' her of her asexuality. Ican't tell you how many times I've heard the old line..."Just wait until you meet the right guy." It's always said as some giant magical truth, as if I will be transformed the instant he appears.
People tend to want to believe in everyone being like everyone else. Deviations in any form, be it asexuality or vegetarianism (even though my family has been vegetarian for millennia, people still wonder how I survive without eating meat) or believing in magic scares the more conservative among us. That doesn't mean you have to bow to them, though. The rest of us do like differences and weird people, because we're weird ourselves. :)
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Damn. That sounded so greeting-cardish.
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I'm not much of a touchy person though. I like a good hug from a naturally affectionate but not needy person but I don't generally like cuddling except in special circumstances with special people.
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http://www.panikon.com
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The conversation above on asexuality is incredibly fascinating. You spark very interesting conversations!
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"You spark very interesting conversations!"
Yeah I sometimes step in it. ;-) Musing out loud helps me figure things out sometimes, you know? I like getting input from people...I already know what ~I~ think about things, I want to hear what everyone else thinks.
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him
DAVE ---- NOT "ANONYMOUS"
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