The Book of Esther, ants, flute music, etc.

[cahn]

(Or: December 2019: the month D would say to me before bed, "What were you doing tonight, giant ants or Fritzmas?")

Traditionally I make a post here on the media I consumed for Yuletide and have a more conventional reveal post elsewhere. This year I have a more conventional reveal post as usual, and in addition because all the (two other) people who are interested are here, I also have a collaboration-detail post for Frederician RPF here :)

I don't have a lot to say about canon this year, as I said most of it in the fic, I think. I did learn some things related to Bible/Tanakh/Book of Esther and my feelings thereof, ants, and flutes. A small sampler of weird things I learned tangentially (none of this actually made it directly into any final drafts):

-Apparently I have some dreadful mixed feelings about Mordecai (which were flagged in beta, lol). (Especially the bit where Esther goes "so, I might die!" which I feel is a totally legit emotional response, and then Mordecai comes down on her. Which, I mean, I understand his viewpoint too, but I guess my sympathy is with Esther :P :) ) Though I am working through those feelings :)

-Male ants are haploid (one set of chromosomes) and female ants are diploid (two sets of chromosomes). Male ants are basically walking sperm! One of the very weird things about this is that male ants can't directly have genetic sons (the haploid contribution comes solely from the mother), but they can have genetic grandsons -- they can combine their genetic information with a diploid female to make a diploid daughter, and that diploid daughter can pass some of the male's genetic information down to a son. (How weird is that?!)

-According to a general who (wikipedia says) apparently was not very reliable, the Persians won a major battle with Egypt by carrying cats, which the Egyptians regarded as sacred, and the Egyptians didn't shoot because they were afraid of hurting the cats.

-There's this guy who pours molten aluminum inside ant nests and sells them as sculptures

-Jan Dismas Zelenka, whom I have never heard of before, was a Czech Baroque composer who wrote some really cool stuff, like the secular oratorio Sub olea pacis et palma virtutis (youtube link)

Comments

[selenak]

Let me just say that the reveal you were working on an Esther based Story casts your bewilderement that anyone would name their kid Ahasverus into a new light. :)

[luzula]

Re: walking sperm, have you read the Tiptree story A Momentary Taste of Being? : )

[sophia_sol]

I don't think I knew until this post that you are also raspberryhunter! I'm delighted to discover that you wrote one of my favourite yuletide fics this year, not to mention having written lots of other fics I love in the past.

[mildred_of_midgard]

"What were you doing tonight, giant ants or Fritzmas?"

That's hilarious. Tell D I enjoy the little glimpses of his sense of humor I get.

The ant chromosome gem is amazing. When it comes to distinguishing males from females via chromosomal differences, if you can name it, some species has probably done it. It's really fascinating.

I'm afraid I can't read your Tanakh fic at this time, but it sounds like producing it must have been a heck of an experience. I can see why it was a struggle and the Fredersdorf fic was light and easy in comparison! (I can also see why your creative juices were used up, although to be fair, you did do a good job of taking my coat idea and running with it, as well as weaving the music and relationship developments together.) :D

[zdenka]

That's cool about ants, I didn't know that!

I'd never heard of Zelenka either, but the piece you linked was lovely.

Heh, I also think this is an understandable response on Esther's part, but I view Mordechai and that particular exchange more sympathetically than you do, I guess. I thought your Mordecai was fine in the final version, though, and that's more important than whether you personally like him . . .