Special Affair

Medha was not given serpents and death at Neith's command, at her will, as punishment. She was given horror for protection and by Neith’s love.

☾☼☽

first place in the contest Devour Your Gods.

(some suggested listening: two weeks-fka twigs,water me-fka twigs,special affair-the internet,fuck ‘em only we know-banks)

background information: the original story entered in the contest used the names "Medusa" and "Athena"*. Many are familiar with the popularized tale of Athena cursing Medusa and this is somewhat of a refashioning/retelling. This centers the original Medusa -- Medha, an Afro-descendant woman whose dreadlocks resembled snakes in history and here, comes alive and Neith, the original Athena. Not gonna go into specifics (#google) but just know that ancient Africans were lit, as per usual. White pantheons have long been built off of the back of black metaphysical understandings, often demonizing the same people that created such rich cultures. In Sumerian deities, Poseidon is also likened to Oannes, the standard of marine gods. Whether Medusa/Medha or Poseidon/Oannes or Athena/Neith, the story is reworked so that it’s not a patriarchal gaze, pitting Neith as cursing Medha out of malicious intent, for a crime that Neith suffered from at the hands of a cruel man & assaulter. All to say, black queer love exists, and persists.

*: To clarify, the original story also depicted "Medusa" and "Athena" as black queer women, that has stayed consistent since my piece's conception, but the edits made in the current chapter are the name changes as well as minor sentence adjustments.