B. asked Andrew Rowe:

This is not wholly a question, but there is a question present. I wanted to say that I absolutely love the intrinsic lack of “acceptance” language in the world of arcane ascension. As an individual who bumped up the tree in a world quite the opposite, I love feeling “normal” if not mundane. “Same-sex love? I’m sorry, is that not the norm, just like any other?” What was your motivation to include with such nonchalance?

Andrew Rowe There have been a ton of great works out there that explore the difficulties of discrimination against LGBTQIA+ folks.

I find it rarer, in my experience, to present settings where people are simply accepted as normal - and I think it's important to show a world where that might be possible, much in the way that things like the original Star Trek explored a setting that was largely post-scarcity and money was no longer a major issue.

To me, a setting of normalcy like this gives the chance for readers to see a possible brighter future.

Beyond that, it's also a reflection of other in-world story elements. If the local goddess is believed to be a lesbian, that's probably going to be reflected in general culture, law, etc.

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