I Want To Write Historical Fiction About The Middle Ages, And A Lot Of These Stories Will Involve Both

I want to write historical fiction about the Middle Ages, and a lot of these stories will involve both the Middle East and Europe, as these areas interacted a lot more than people realize and I want to educate! However, at this time Europeans were viewed as dirty and uneducated by their Middle Eastern neighbors (who Europeans saw as effeminate). Do you have any advice on including these views in a narrative without validating the idea of Europeans as the 'victims' or without (1/2)

unnecessarily juxtaposing the more-advanced middle east in the middle of a golden age with their less advanced European neighbors (as though the Islamic Golden Age can only be brought up in its relationship to the Dark Ages)? Essentially I’d like to portray the period accurate relationship between two fascinating areas of the world without demonizing one or the other. A lot of this will come down to research of course but I wondered if ya’ll had any thoughts about this type of problem. (2/2)

Juxtaposing Middle East / Europe in the Middle Ages

Europeans weren’t just viewed as dirty and uneducated, they were dirty and uneducated. Telling the truth isn’t victimization.

- SK

I am not sure what you are asking. It’s not like history is a popularity contest. One region was going through a period of political tumult, religious extremism and instability while the other was relatively stable. Is it bad to point that out? I mean, one of these regions thought diseases could be cured by blood-letting and huffing toilets while the other was coming up with algebra. It’s difficult to argue that Europe was doing well by any metric after the collapse of the Roman Empire. 

If it makes you feel better, the most cosmopolitan, populated city in the world at the time and its empire were both also imploding in China. 

- Marika

establish relationship doodles

support Polish lgbtq teens

Hey guys, you probably heard about the situation of queer folks in Poland. The ruling party has made homo- and transphobia into a new national virtue. Around 1/3 of local authorities adopted resolutions about fighting “gender ideology”. Gender transition in Poland is a very complicated and expensive process. All of this puts young queer people in a vulnerable situation, resulting in appalling rates of mental illness affecting them. On top of that, children’s psychiatric wards are overcrowded and one region doesn’t have such ward at all. (It’s Podlasie with a population of 1,8 million people.)

The poster above was made by the illustrator Szarosen. It reads “[Please] love me, mom and dad”. It’s a response to posters with the slogan “Love each other, mom and dad” which appeared across many towns in Poland. The organization responsible for those is known to be anti-divorce and has fundamentalist ties, advocating for married couples staying together despite home abuse. Szarosen’s drawing points to the lack of support, discrimination and even violence which many queer kids have to face, sometimes from their own families.

Anyway, here are links to some fundraising campaigns:

1 initially fundraising for the posters, now for psychological and legal help for lgbt individuals 

2 transitions 

“Every living thing has its own story. It is only through telling those stories that they stay alive.” [x]

The annual team-up with @IAmANonnieMouse for @inceptionbigbang  ❤

than 🦋

here, take this (a corny hyoshun comic set shortly after the sanctuary arc)