holly_poly | Fandom pimping post

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From:

folkloricfeel

Pimping one thing in particular among my requests, because it's an almost-nonexistent fandom (seriously, there is ONE thing on the AO3 section, that isn't poly-related, and a handful of fanmixes on Tumblr) and I feel like it could be super relevant to this challenge's interests - or generally to people who like poly ships and also solid LGBTQ representation in their media?

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a 2013 novel by Holly Black, the author of the Curse Workers series, as well as the co-author with Cassandra Clare of the forthcoming Magisterium series. Holly Black is generally a lovely, fandom-positive person, and if you like YA lit, especially the sort of genre fiction that's popular right now in the media, this book is a lovely addition to the genre - most notably in that it features both a love triangle between a female protagonist and two male characters who are both canonically bisexual/fluid, and a B-plot romance where a transgender girl gets the boy and the happy ending. How often do you see LGBTQ representation in the media that specifically falls under the BTQ part of the community? I can't sing this book's praises highly enough for that, especially since it's marketed to the same kind of mainstream YA audience that loves The Hunger Games and The Fault in Our Stars. It's vampire YA, in case that turns you off, but the way the vampire lore is presented is a lot closer to zombie lore than conventional vampire lore, and it deals a lot more with social issue elements like examination of modern social media frenzies in supernatural outbreaks - in other words, it's a lot closer to In the Flesh than Twilight, despite the vampires.

There is also - the reason I'm mentioning this for this challenge - a main trio that toes the line between power trio and poly triad very heavily? Tana Bach, the protagonist, starts the story with a still-very-close-friend it's-very-complicated ex - Aidan Marinos, who's canonically stated to be bisexual (as in, we see him romantically/sexually active with characters of multiple genders on page). She goes on to have a main text romance with Gavriel that's lovely, but Aidan remains an important character throughout the story, to her and to others. There are also canon asides that Gavriel has had bisexual/fluid relationships in his past - without giving away too much, while we don't see him sexually active with members of the same gender on page the way we do with Aidan, there are things that are pointedly textually meant to be romantic/sexual gestures in their universe that he does with characters of multiple genders. By that I mean universe-specific things he does with Tana and also with male characters (and also, at one point, simultaneously with a male and female character he's presented as living in a triad with), but also I mean that "woke up in the bed of a male character" and "had canon orgies at one point in his life" are plot points that are stated point-blank on page.

There are also multiple times in the course of the narrative where Aidan expresses marked sexual attraction to Gavriel - commenting sexually on parts of his body, explicitly telling Tana he's jealous of her getting to kiss him and not the other way around, etc. Add to that the fact that Holly Black frequently responds to fan questions about subtext between same-gender characters and non-heterosexual relationships positively (as in, in a "yes, I meant to imply that" sort of way, reblogging same-gender-ship fanart, etc.) - it does end with two characters together rather than three (although the relationship/otherwise future of the third is left completely open), but it's the closest I've ever seen to a textual canon poly triad or poly relationship arrangement in mainstream YA.

(Trigger warnings - just in case - for semi-major character death, standard levels of fantasy/supernatural violence, some fantasy/supernatural gore, non-explicit teetering-on-consent-ish issues in character backstories, and very heavy implications of past child abuse? I'd never want to rec anyone anything that could have uncomfortable material without warning upfront, FYI!)

While I'd love to get it involved in this exchange as a canon if anyone's already familiar/wants to familiarize themselves with it, I'm mostly just promoting it for anyone who might be unfamiliar and interested in canon bisexuality/poly barely-undertones in their media love triangles!

Edited Date: 2014-10-21 03:50 pm (UTC)