#They are both matriarchal and patriarchal at the same time

[marchioness-of-the-flowers]

My take on how Altmer full names are figured out based on information from the ESO quest a Duelist’s Dilemma.

plus bonus thoughts on Altmer kinship

[vcreatures]

Tengu are a medium sized, arboreal, humanoid inhabiting the lush mountain and forest terrain of Nippon . Communal and highly social, Tengu live in large extended family units with a matriarch or patriarch at the helm. 

Sexual dimorphism is subtle. With males and females being roughly the same size, color and shape. While males and females both posses large noses, dominant elder males have been recorded having noses that extended beyond their stomachs. Such a nose is incredibly attractive to highly selective females. 

While relatively docile in nature, if provoked, they can be quite dangerous, using their large fangs, claws and brute to wield fatal blows. This ferocity is especially displayed during territory disputes amongst rival clans.  

While relatively high on the food chain Tengu are still susceptible to predation. Kitsune, Ryu and at times even Oni will actively hunt adult Tengu. However it is the young pups who are most susceptible during their nascent voyages away from mom. 

While incredibly nimble in the trees, Tengu also are able to fly. Due to their robust bodies they can only fly for short distances but can cover vast distances despite this.

An eclectic diet, Tengu are opportunistic eaters. With a diet ranging from fruits and nuts to Kappa chicks and small rodents. 

Due to their high intelligence Tengu are known tricksters who will regularly steal clothing, food and supplies from lost travelers. 

[aliciavance4228]

Was Athena a Feminist or a Female Misogynist?

Athena is perhaps the one most famous goddesses from Greek Mythology, and was for a very long time considered a good role model for women and a feminist due to the fact that she's a smart woman who can fight in battles. However, there are also a lot of people who claim that she is in fact a female misogynist and consider her to be the original "pick-me girl" or "I'm not like the other girls" girl. And the fact that she's seen besides male heroes most of the time or the myths of Medusa and Arachne doesn’t make this situation any better.

And the very first problem in this equation is that people are using a lot of modern terms (and a modern mentality in general) in order to label a figure that was firstly mentioned thousands of years ago. So there's a LOT to unpack here.

The first mentions of Athena come from mycenaean mythology. Back then the place that later became Athens surpringly had a matriarchal view on society, which would explain why Athena as a female figures isn't depicted in a traditionally feminine way. But years have passed, and things have changed a lot both socially and culturally. Athens, despite of being one of the most developed cities from Ancient Greece, had a very patriarchal view on society, to the point where even the other cities considered it to over exaggerate. In order to understand just how misogynistic athenians were, they believed not only that the woman is a disfigured version of the man, but that men could find a way to reproduce themselves without the help of women and that the female is nothing but a vessel when it comes to reproduction.

The thing is that, while a lot of things changed in the Athens in time, the goddess that was the patron of that city remained the same. So the question that naturally comes is: If women are inferior to men, then why is our patron deity a goddess? And so, the only play which specifically depicts Athena as a female misogynist appeared: Eumenides. This play was obviously written by a male Athenian, and its pure intention is to answer to that question. In the Eumenides, Athena says this thing:

It is my duty to give the final judgment and I shall cast my vote for Orestes. [735] For there was no mother who gave me birth; and in all things, except for marriage, whole-heartedly I am for the male and entirely on the father’s side. Therefore, I will not award greater honor to the death of a woman who killed her husband, the master of the house. [740] Orestes wins, even if the vote comes out equal.

As you can observe from this quote, the dialogue is ment to confirm the ancient athenian perspective about reproduction, as well as their views on women in general. Despite the fact that Metis was supposed to be Athena's mother since she was pregnant with her when Zeus ate her, in this play she is completely erased and Athena has one single parent figure: Zeus.

In other words, Athena was clearly a product of the society that worpshipped her; a society that believed that traits such as high intellect or strenght cannot be attributed to women. It is up to you guys to decide wheter the Eumenides is canon to the rest of Greek Mythology or not.

However, aside from this particular play, Athena shows no ill-will towards women purely for their gender. She had a very close relationship with Pallas to the point where she even takes her name after she killed her by accident (Thank you, Zeus!), and acted as the big sis towards Artemis and Persephone, as it is suggested in Homeric Hymns to Demeter.

Furthermore, if you ever read the Iliad then you would observe that her interactions with mortal women are very different compared to those with Medusa or Arachne from Roman Mythology.

In the Iliad, Athena gifts Penelope in handicrafts, wiles, and storytelling, making Penelope an anti-Arachne due to the fact that she isn't punished by the goddess for her talents, but rather blessed for them.

Athena has endowed her above other women with knowledge of fair handiwork and an understanding heart, and wiles, such as we have never yet heard that any even of the women of old knew, of those who long ago were fair-tressed Achaean women— [120] Tyro and Alcmene and Mycene of the fair crown—of whom not one was like Penelope in shrewd device…

At the same time, we have the story of Cassandra and how Athena avenged her. Cassandra was brutally raped by Ajax the Lesser in her temple. She asked Athena for revenge, telling her what happened to her. Athena was absolutely livid, sent a storm to wreck the Achaeans' boats when they failed to kill Ajax, then destroyed his ship near the Whirling Rocks and left him to die, or lifted him in the sky during a storm and impaled him with her father's thunderbolt. At this point, Cassandra is an anti-Medusa, because she was avenged instead of being punished for being raped. Furthermore, in the original greek myths Athena herself was about to be raped by Hephaestus at some point. She was very aware of the fact that there's a difference between a woman who had sex on her own will and one that didn’t consent to it, so it makes no sense why she wouldn't help a rape victim.

Medusa and Arachne were later additions by Ovid, and their stories were anti-Authority Propaganda.

So instead of quickly coming to any sort of conclusion and deciding wheter or not Athena was a Feminist or a Misogynist, perhaps people should understand the fact that the situation was way more complicated as she was nothing more than a character that was depicted both according to the societal and personal views ancient greeks had on women (which were more or less different depending on the century and the poet), and that the answer is way more complicated than we think.

[y-rhywbeth2]

D&D Vampire Lore Dump #3

Hierarchy (Spawn VS Spouse VS Lesser VS Greater) How they're "born" and the pecking order and what distinguishes a vampire spawn, a vampire bride/groom/spouse, a "lesser" vampire and a "greater" vampire. Also, the various ways a vampire is "born". With a brief nod to the various random species that crop up; for example there are vampires who are elves and there are elven vampires and these are two different things!

OBLIGATORY DISCLAIMER FOR FIRST TIME READERS: There are two things to note about the lore presented here: First, while the standard stat block in the monster manual is the default, in terms of lore vampires have this annoying tendency to be incredibly, stupidly varied. They are magical monstrosities ruled by the power of symbolism and superstition above anything else.

The next is that D&D is decades old, spans five editions, several settings and hundreds of writers. One guy establishes a piece of lore, and then the next picks it up goes "nah" and writes something else. I collected info from four different source books, all from different editions, which naturally don't entirely agree on how vampires work. Lore never stays consistent and may contradict itself. You may see information somewhere else from a source I don't have that contradicts what I wrote here. If you read this and like some of this stuff but not other bits, take the good and ditch the rest. Larian themselves have not written BG3 totally compliant with some established D&D lore or the original games.

Welcome to D&D: In your own story canon is what you say it is.

Feeding | "Biology" | Hierarchy | Weaknesses and Cures | Psychology

Ultimately, while they can be classified separately, a vampire is a vampire is a vampire. In every edition newly created vampires are enslaved to the wills of their creator, but the concept of vampire spawn as a separate category wasn't introduced until third edition. Even then, they were mainly just normal vampires enslaved to the will of the vampire that made them and the only difference was that they couldn't create spawn, turn into a wolf or command animals. Prior to 3.5e what set the "spawn" apart was the age difference: vampires grew stronger with age, and the fledglings were impossibly outmatched by their seniors.

Age is the cornerstone of the vampire world; it is expected that a vampire is to show due reverence/fear towards their elders while in turn expecting the same respect/fear from their juniors. Younger vampires are to refer to their elders as "Eminent [Name]," "Ancient One"... while older vampires tend to refer to younger vampires contemptuously as "Child" or "Fledgling" regardless of their actual age and power. The age categories shown are used more by scholars and hunters to classify the degree of threat, rather than by vampires themselves. Fledgling - 0-99 years old Mature 100-199 years Old: 200-299 years Very Old: 300-399 Ancient: 400-499 Eminent: 500-999 Patriarch/Matriarch: 1000+

-

Generally spawn are created almost exactly as Astarion tells you. A vampire kills you by draining all of your life energy and you get up with the next sundown as a member of the undead. If you were buried then you are bound to your gravesite, sometimes a vampire who is not buried will rise again, being bound to the site of their murder. Generally though, those killed by vampires who are not buried in a grave are simply dead. Sometimes vampires are bound to the soil of whatever they consider their homeland instead of their grave. …and also some of them have toxic saliva that turns you into a vampire, and some of them are born of curses that they cast on you by making eye contact that make you sicken and mysteriously waste away and rise again a vampire. A vampire is limited in the number of spawn it can create/control. The more powerful the vampire, the more it can have.

Spawn remember both their death and the identity of their killer on waking, and generally grasp what they've become within seconds.

Other ways to create vampires includes necromancy, the influence of Fiends (devils and demons) and divine will. Bhaal, for example, can cause a slain creature to rise as any form of undead he chooses. Vampires made this way are forced to complete whatever purpose they were created for and after the task is complete usually have full free will.

Vampires created by other vampires are freed of their master by either their death or by the master explicitly dismissing them from service. 5e has added a ritualistic gift of blood, but the key factor is still the vampire freeing its spawn willingly. The Turn/Command Undead ability of a cleric can also break a vampire's control over its spawn, temporarily.

There's conflicting information on the extent of the control vampires wield over their spawn. Some state that spawn are forced to not only obey but have a sensation of affection for their master forced upon them (even against their will) and spawn can be forced to take actions that will harm and kill them if ordered. Another source, however, states that while all vampires have an inborn compulsion to obey their maker, the exact level of control is not guaranteed and particularly stubborn offspring may be able to fight back, and that spawn build a resistance to their master's control over time.

Whatever the truth is, vampires don't trust their offspring and don't take chances. When it comes to educating their "children" about their condition, vampires will omit vital information or even teach them flat out lies to keep them ignorant of their own potential and dependent on their maker. One vampire is on record laughing about how he's convinced his spawn that if he dies they will die with him. Vampires are also known to kill their spawn if they're worried that they're growing too powerful or seem to be learning too much… or just because the vampire is worried by the mere idea that they might, even if their spawn are innocent of whatever slight their master is imagining. Vampires do their best to abuse and gaslight spawn into a state of self-debasing terrified obedience where they truly believe their master is an indestructible, powerful being they could never stand a chance against, while they are weak and helpless. Just in case.

-

Aaaand then there are vampire brides/grooms/spouses: Sometimes a vampire develops a fixation on an individual and decides they're going to keep them bound to them for all eternity, untouched by time. To do this they turn the target into a vampire through a slow, drawn out murder via draining the blood out of the target, followed with the vampire feeding the victim their own blood. The spouse-to-be may be permanently lost to bloodlust and die within 24 hours, and even if not the trauma this inflicts on the target is usually too much for the new "spouse" to cope with. Assuming death doesn't follow, the pair are bound together by a sensation of obsessive affection and telepathically linked, much as if they're drinking each other's blood (but without the ability to control each other). Their bond enables them able to share thoughts and share the experience when their partner is feeling a powerful emotion.

Vampire marriage follows a pattern: Eventually, the spouse gets tired of the utter repetitive tedium of existence as combination of a favourite decoration, pet and sex toy that's been put on a display shelf somewhere, and gets rebellious. They start wanting to use their powers and have and do things for themselves outside of their significant other. Said SO then responds by getting jealous and possessive and tightening their grip and putting extra locks on the bars. The emotional link creates a toxic feedback loop and everything escalates from there. Vampire divorce also exists, though only the sire can end the bond (the spouse must agree, but that agreement doesn't have to be given of their own free will). The spouse is then free. Generally the vampire, being so bound up in their chosen spouse and not wanting a free vampire running around on their turf, doesn't want to divorce and instead it's all downhill until one fatally tears the other apart in a rage.

A vampire can't have more than one spouse at a time.

-

At the other end of the spectrum are Greater Vampires. These guys are created when a succubus drains the life out of a living being - a sensation that makes you believe you're in the throes of passion but is actually "quite painful, giving no satisfaction, only utter emptiness." It also destroys their soul beyond recovery. What makes them "greater" than everyone else is simply that they cannot be harmed by sunlight. They have all the same powers as a "lesser" vampire.

Outside of that we have garden variety vampires. They die in the sun, have all the powers every other vampire has and aren't enslaved to another vampire's will. That's it.

All vampires have the following abilities*:

The ability to turn into mist, giving them the ability to fly, very good escapist skills (if you're made of air you can just enter a locked room through the keyhole, after all), and make themselves invulnerable to most forms of damage.*

The ability to mind control others by making eye contact "crushing the will of another."*

The ability to climb or walk on walls and ceilings similar to a spider.

The ability to completely heal from almost any amount of damage within minutes.

Immunity to paralysis (so a Hold spell won't work)

The ability to drain the life energy and/or blood out of a living being, and in the process create a new vampire enslaved to their own will.*

Upon being freed they gain the additional ability to summon rats, bats and wolves to do their bidding, as well as transform into those animals.

*(Most of these traits do not appear on the vampire spawn stat block in 4e or 5e's Monster Manuals, despite spawn being capable of all of the above until that point save creating their own spawn. Only spider climb and regeneration was included.)

There are also other kinds of vampires. Nosferatu are mutated by their curse into obvious monsters, and aren't harmed by sunlight. While typical vampirism affects anything, there are other types of vampirism that are pickier about hosts. Elven vampires are killed by moonlight instead of sunlight and hate plants so much. Gnome vampires age rapidly, can turn into ghosts and inflict seizures on people they touch. Then there's the vampire dragons, and the vampire illithid (which is what you get when you somehow infect a tadpole with vampirism and use it for ceremorphosis) and the vampyre - which is a type of vampire with a pyromania problem…

D&D gets a bit silly with vampires, sometimes.

EDIT: OK, apparently I didn't specify enough. Astarion is a normal vampire with the sunlight weakness. Elven Vampirism is a different type of vampirism that affects elves and half-elves, but he doesn't have it. Otherwise Cazador wouldn't be able to have human, gnome or tiefling spawn.

[bones4thecats]

Hi~ I hope you don't mind but can I request Malleus, Leona, Vil and Crewel with blue diamond in Steven universe I saw your last ask and I love it so much I was wondering if you could do the same thing with the twst version

Btw I love your writing and work keep up the good work and remember to take breaks and care for yourself have a good evening or day in life author 🥰🥰🥰😊😊😊

A/N: I haven’t written a Twisted Wonderland piece for so long, thank goodness people still remember I write for them😂. Thank you so much for the compliment, I try keeping my writing simple, but sometimes I get carried away, lol. You also have a good day/night, Anon!! Anyways, I hope you enjoy this~~

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・

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🐉 Sharing a high position in both of your personal lives, you had met at a young age

🐉 He’s tall, around 6’6, and you being around 25ft-100ft definitely scares most, your kids are definitely gonna be tall

🐉 When he saw how caring and gentle you were, it made his heart skip multiple beats

🐉 Your a matriarch and he a technical patriarch, how ironic

🐉 He doesn’t like watching you cry, it’s just something he hates

🐉 Whenever someone’s around you, most likely Yuu and Grim, and they start crying when you feel guilty or sadder, he tells them the reason on why they’re sobbing

🐉 Speaking of Yuu, besties forever. If they can tame Malleus, then you and them relate with one thing

🐉 Shrinking down is something you must do often, and if it drains your magic, oh well, it’s worth it if you get to hug your friends and boyfriend

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・

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🦁 Leona and you were fairly overlooked in favor for your older siblings

🦁 You for your oldest sister, White Diamond, and him for his older brother, Falena

🦁 When he first met you, it was during a meeting of world leaders, he sat in the other room while the main heads spoke

🦁 You sat down alongside Yellow Diamond and a young human, whom Yellow called ‘Pink Diamond’ and you liked calling ‘Steven’

🦁 Once you two got together, he hated how much taller you were than him, he hated feeling small

🦁 So whenever you shrink yourself to be 5’6-5’10, because you know he liked you shorter than him, even by an inch

🦁 Leona offers you smiles whenever you start feeling down, he may shed a few tears, but he can hold it back quite well

🦁 You and him have rough spots when it comes to your role in your family, but he can look over them most of the time

●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・○・●・

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👑 Vil first met you because you were needed to find the authenticity in a few blue diamonds they were using in a film

👑 He looked at how tall you were outside and how you shrunk to the average height of 5’7, just a hint shorter than him standing at 6’0

👑 When you looked at his headpiece and examined the jewels and just barely glide your hands against his, his heart skipped

👑 Your beauty was immaculate, how did he not notice that?

👑 If you visited NRC for a duty, he would be one of the first people to shake your hand and give you a welcome

👑 You two got along fairly well, though his perfectionism gave you flashbacks of White Diamond’s standards

👑 He does like giving your diamond located on your chest a simple shine in the mornings, there is no use in having a diamond if you’re not keeping it clean

👑 He doesn’t mind the crying when he isn’t wearing makeup for a shoot, but when he is, he tries keeping you happy, not like he doesn’t to begin with!

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🐾 He and you met when you were children

🐾 You and him had certain standards that many struggled to make, but you were more flexible with the different people than him

🐾 As you both grew older and got your lives straightened out, you got married and started working in different fields

🐾 You led the Blue Diamond’s in your homeland while he taught at NRC, the college where he attended as a young teenager

🐾 You did enjoy visiting him, so seeing a 25ft-100ft woman outside shrink to around 5’8 was quite odd for the students, even if they had seen 5 overblots in the past month!

🐾 While Crewel was quite strict with the boys screwing around, you just chuckled at their antics and gave them pats on the head for their actions

🐾 Many cannot believe you’re together

🐾 He smiled as you sat on the floor, petting his two dalmatians with such love

🐾 Crewel, like Vil, doesn’t mind the crying, so long as it doesn’t stop him from finishing his work, but he keeps you happy most of the time with the help of your sisters, ‘Pink Diamond’, and his dogs, so!

[technocheese]

Happy pride! Made with gouache, ink, and gel pens.

This is a project I've been working on for a while for an anti-hate campaign. I chose to rebut the argument that homosexuality and non-cis gender identities are "unnatural" by providing examples of animals that are regularly seen to exhibit these so called "unnatural" behaviors with no human influence. What's more natural than nature itself?

Since the majority of animals have no concept of gender and many do not exhibit romantic attraction (namely reptiles, but just solitary animals in general), it was really difficult to specify what animal might fit in what category, especially gender-wise. This was definitely a thinking exercise, lol.

Here are my explanations for everything. I wish I could write this out a little better, but I've been working on this all day and my brain is completely fried but I wanted to get it out before pride month ended. I also have footage of the process I need to turn into a timelapse but its like 15 hours of video and it's going to take forever to render. I'll probably link it here eventually.

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Lesbian: Mourning geckos are an all female species of gecko that reproduce asexually through parthenogenesis. Even though they can lay eggs alone, they engage in pseudocopulation with other females, which seems to trigger ovulation.

Female koalas engage in all female "sex sessions," attempting to mate with each other prolifically. They reject males during this time.

Gay: Penguins have been observed to form same-sex partnerships, even going as far as hatching eggs and raising chicks together.

Male giraffes exhibit striking amounts of homosexual behavior. In one study, sexual activity between males made up 90 percent of all observed mating attempts.

Bisexual: 18-22 percent of rams are bisexual. They also seem to exhibit asexuality, in addition to homosexuality. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2668810/

Transgender: Hens will sometimes stop producing eggs, grow spurs, have increased wattle growth, and begin exhibiting male specific behaviors, like crowing.

Clownfish are born male and become females later in life if no other dominant female is present. They are sequential hermaphrodites.

Intersex: The gene that gives calico cats their coat pattern is linked to two X chromosomes. Male presenting calico cats will have an extra X chromosome, and can be considered intersex. (Sorry that the cat also has white, it's hard to color a calico with only two colors lol)

Asexual: Bees and naked mole rats both live in communities where only the most dominant matriarch (and patriarch, for mole rats) breed. Both male and female mole rats exhibit this behavior. The nonbreeding individuals benefit the community by gathering resources and rasing young.

Aromantic: Reptiles, as a general rule, feel no romantic attraction. Tortoises are solitary by nature and do not form bonds with their mates.

Pansexual: Lovebirds can be non-discriminatory with the mates they choose, and it is not uncommon to see individuals match up regardless of sex.

Agender: Ochre sea stars show no sexual dimorphism at all. Most animals have no concept of gender, but they are especially genderless. The only way to determine their sex is to examine their internal gonads.

Genderfluid: Gobies are one of the few animals that change their sex multiple times in their life.

Nonbinary: African land snails are hermaphrodites. They have both male and female sexual organs.

[miryum]

Okay okay okay I feel like a genius and I know this is a lot and I’m so so sorry I just think it’s make a really compelling story!

Princess!reader is betrothed to Arthur. Neighbouring kingdoms with palaces very close together (this is important I promise). She’s like six months younger than him and it’s been set up since she was born. So she arrives at the palace, looking absolutely stunning, and she’s terrified. To his credit Arthur is very nice, very sweet. He shows her around, introduces her to people, makes sure she’s comfortable, etc..

But how could she possibly be looking at him when the middle brother is the same young boy she would secretly meet over the summer, the first boy she ever liked, kissed, and danced with around the forest before they both grew up? The boy she always thought she’d marry? The boy who is now sneaking into her chambers to kiss her absolutely breathless.

The same boy she still loves…

@bright-shiningstar I am SO SORRY that this didn't come out sooner, but every single time I looked at this request it literally made me squeal out loud, so I had to make sure it was perfect!! I think I rewrote it at least five times, so I hope you like the finished product! Thank you so much for requesting!

Buddies in the F1 world: @hey-kae @vinvantae

Warnings: Some swearing, probably some grammatical errors

Day 0

“Y/n, do you remember the Leclerc’s?” Your parents had sat you down after dinner. 

“Yes, has the agreement gone through?” Your parents had spent most of your life drafting a treaty with the Leclerc’s, offering your hand in marriage as a staple. Prince Lorenzo was married to a young queen of a neighbouring kingdom, joining the two realms. Prince Charles was deemed too old for you. So that left the youngest. Now that you were old enough, the treaty was solidified.

“We got confirmation today,” your mother said, smiling proudly. She was so pleased to see her eldest daughter married off. “Prince Arthur is officially your fiancé!”

Your younger sister leaned into your side, trying to be a rock of comfort. You weren’t completely angry about being forced into marriage (the few times you had visited the Leclerc patriarch and matriarch, they had been kind and enchanting to you. You had no reason to think that their sons would be any different.) but you were petrified. You would be moving away from your family and home. You didn’t know what lay in front of you.

“And you’re leaving tomorrow…” your mother tied the strings of your distress.

“What?” Your sister, Megan, cried out. She latched onto you, pulling you close. “That’s not fair! Why can’t she stay for another week?”

“Because the wedding is in a week,” your father explained. “The Leclerc’s have it all set up. Luckily, they’re kind enough to give you a week to acclimate yourself to their family. Chin up, darling,” he said to you. “This is a joyous occasion.”

“I mean, I would’ve preferred the middle son,” your mother whispered. “More status and closer in line for the throne, but the youngest is acceptable.” Your father rolled his eyes. 

“Why don’t you retire for the night?” your father prompted you. “You need to look your best tomorrow.”

“I can’t believe you’re leaving so soon!” Your sister dragged you away from your parents. “I thought I would get more time with you.” She hummed sadly.

“Megan, it’ll be alright. I’ll make sure you’re invited to the wedding.” You felt odd reassuring her, wondering if it should be the other way around. 

“Oh, that’s right,” Megan groaned. “You’ll be Princess Y/n Leclerc in a week. That doesn’t sound right at all.”

“Why don’t we have a sleepover, hm?” You needed to distract Megan with something else, otherwise her worries would double your anxiety and stress. “Just like old times.”

“Yes!” Megan squealed and ran ahead of you. Her slippers padded down the hall. “I’ll grab my pillow!”

You grasped at this moment of silence to try and calm your racing heart. Unbeknownst to your parents and sister, the marriage to Prince Arthur wasn’t the biggest of your concerns. Your breathing was uneven and you palmed your eyes, getting rid of any semblance of tears. 

Were you ready to see Charles again?

***

You couldn’t breathe. Tears and snot obscured your face and clogged your airways. The rational part of you that would’ve been saying, someone would realise you were missing and come find you, was drowned in your fears of, oh my gosh I’m going to die alone and have to spend my few remaining days eating tree bark! 

You weren’t sure how you had run this far, but you were sure it was to be your doom. If only you had stopped by the stables to grab your pony, Newt. If only you hadn’t strayed from the path. If only you had turned around once the sun started to set. 

Internally chastising yourself, you sat down at the base of a tree. You knew that yelling would be no use and you should probably conserve your energy. You wished that you had paid more attention to those survival lessons the knights had taught you. 

“Um, excuse me?” 

Your head shot up at the sound. “Who’s there?” you called out, jumping to your feet.

“My name is Charles,” the young voice explained. You couldn’t see the owner. “Are you alright? I heard someone crying.”

“Where are you?” you demanded to know.

A boy, a couple years older than you, maybe seven or eight, stepped out from behind a tree. “Hi,” he said, smiling. He wanted to show he wasn’t a threat. “Can I help you? You seem lost.”

“Yes, I am!” You couldn’t help a new onslaught of tears. “I was walking and I guess I took a wrong turn? Are your parents somewhere around here? It’s almost dark and I need to get back.”

“My parents are at home.” Charles prompted, “but I can walk you home?”

“I don’t want you to get lost, too.” You shook your head. “Can I come with you back to your village? I’m sure there’s transportation I could find.”

“Oh, no.” Charles shrugged, causally leaving out the part that he was a prince, and if he wanted, could snap his fingers and order a ride home for you. “It’s alright. I know this forest like the back or my hand. Where do you live?”

“Uh…” You wiped your nose on your dress. “I live at the L/n castle.”

“That’s not far away at all!” Charles smiled and you grinned back, already infected by his charms. “Did you know this forest is actually the border of Enza and Haas? I don’t live that far away, either. Do you know about the Leclerc’s?”

“Yeah, my- the King and Queen,” you corrected yourself quickly. “They’re friends with them.” You weren’t sure why your five-year-old self wasn’t telling this new friend that you were royalty. Maybe you didn’t want to scare him away? 

“My family’s house is right next to their palace,” Charles said.

“We’re practically neighbours!” You stood up and beamed.

“Can I walk you home, neighbour?” Charles giggled at his joke. You nodded and grasped his hand in the trusting way only children can. 

It turned out that the Enza palace and the Haas castle weren’t far away from each other. Once the pair of new friends realised this, they made plans to meet up more often. At the Haas gates, you made sure Charles would be safe and get home quickly. He reassured you that he had explored the forest for hours and would never get lost. He promised to meet you the next day at the clearing where you had met so you knew he wasn’t being mauled to death by a pack of wolves. 

Little did you know that a great friendship and a great love was suddenly born.

Day 1

“Y/n. Y/n.” Megan placed a hand on your bouncing leg. “You're practically shaking the whole carriage. I know you’re nervous, and this is an awful thing to say, but maybe try to hide it?” 

“Sweetheart, what I believe your sister is saying, is ‘calm down’.” Your father held a piece of parchment and peered over it at you. “This is nothing to worry about.”

“Your father and I had the exact same disposition when we were your age,” your mother smiled softly at you. “I know the uncertainty you’re feeling, but trust me, it will get better.”

No it won’t, mom! You wanted to scream at her, how will it get better if the boy I used to love is living in the same palace as me?!

“I’m sure it will,” you said. A minute or so passed with Megan trying to fill the space with meaningless conversation. 

“Wait, wait!” The carriage passed a grove of trees that looked eerily familiar. “Stop! Stop the horses!” Your cries turned frantic and banged on the side of the carriage. Sticking your head out the window, you repeated your demand. The driver yanked on the reins and before it came to a complete stop, you jumped out. 

“Y/n! Where are you going?” Megan shuffled to get out after you, tripping on her dress. 

“Y/n, get back here!” Your mother cursed, yelling towards Megan, “get her back here, Megan! We’ll be late!”

You wanted to rip off your dress. It was scratching at your body and snagged on branches and twigs as you ran. You needed to make sure it was still there. Then you would go back to your family. But you just had to be sure.

“Y/n!” Megan groaned in frustration as her high-heel got caught on a tree root. She tugged on it and cried out, “You cannot simply leave!” 

“Please, just give me a moment!” you called back. The forest easily came back to you. It felt like a force was pulling you towards the clearing. 

“Do you wanna play hide and seek?” You sat on the grass, watching a nine-year-old Charles throw a ball up into the air and catch it. And then throw it back up. And catch it.

“Really?” Charles groaned. “That’s such a baby thing to do.”

“Hey!” You kicked him in the ribs. He yelled out and squirmed away. “First off, I am not a baby! And second, you’re not being very entertaining right now. I’m trying to think of things to do.” Other than having to sneak away from the castle, a hard thing about being friends with Charles was the age gap. He was entering a stage in life where he was determined to be cool and stoic and you sometimes wondered if he regretted his friendship with a little girl.

“Yeah, yeah, sorry,” he mumbled, offering a pitiful apology.

“Well, if you’re not going to talk to me, then I’ll just go back home.” You stood and slowly shuffled over to Newt, who was tied up by Charles’ horse, Scuderia. 

“Y/n, wait.” Charles suddenly appeared behind you and grabbed your arm. “I’m sorry, really. It’s rude of me to ignore you. We can play hide-and-seek.”

“No, you’re right,” you conceded. “It’s a little too childish. Wanna just talk?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m cool with that.” Charles couldn’t help the smile that overcame him. He didn’t know much about Y/n L/n’s personal life, but he definitely knew that you were one of his best friends. 

“Y/n, what the hell are you doing?!” Megan plucked a twig out of her hair. 

“I can’t do this,” you whispered, collapsing to the ground. The tree stood in front of you and the clearing still looked picturesque. It was where you had met with Charles all those times all those years ago. You wondered if you initials were still there or if the tree had scabbed over them. You didn’t want to check.

“What do you mean? Y/n, you can’t back out now. Mother will not allow it. Think of the Enzan royal family. This will ruin our relationship with them.” Megan crouched down next to you, sweeping your hair out of your face. You silently wondered how she matured so quickly.

“Megan, it would be better if this was a faceless prince that I had no connection to.”

“Is it not?”

“No, I-” You sighed. “Nevermind. Let’s go. I’m sorry.” 

After a tense carriage ride that consisted of your mother berating you for running off and you apologising profusely but not giving any explanation of why, the Enza palace came into view.

“Stand tall, good posture, don’t speak unless spoken to, and let your father and I handle the political aspects,” your mother reminded you. She swept your hair back into place and ran her fingers along the creases of your dress. She huffed at the dirt stains courtesy of the forest floor. “It’ll have to do. Now, come along.” A footman sprung open the carriage door and your father stepped down to victorious trumpets. He helped your mother down and the footman offered his hand to Megan who took it graciously. You refused the footman’s hand, jumping down on your own. 

“Y/n, you look dejected,” Megan whispered to you.

“And that’s because I am.” You clutched your dress and Megan huffed, wrestling your hand away. You understood her gestures and held out your arm. Megan took it and led you closer to the Enza royal family. 

“Look up,” your mother whispered. “At least look at your husband.” But it wasn’t your husband that drew your eyes. There, on the steps, was Charles Leclerc, or Charlie.

“Do you like anyone, chérie?” Charles felt odd asking this. Wasn’t it always the girls who had to be obsessed with crushes and who-liked-who? Why was he bringing this up?

“Uh… why do you ask?” You were eleven and it was weird to discuss this with a fourteen-year-old boy.

You weren’t sure how your feelings for Charles started. You guessed that because he was the only boy even remotely close to your age that you saw, it was bound to happen. 

“I don’t know,” Charles mumbled. “My older brother’s seeing someone and my younger one is now obsessed with girls. I wanted to know if you’re also caught up in this lovey-dovey stuff.” 

“Is it bad if I am?” You were afraid that Charles would ridicule and tease you for being swept up in the romance that was apparently ruining the continent. Even your sister gushed about a stable boy that she was infatuated with. 

“No, chérie,” Charles said slowly. “I just need to know if there’s another guy I need to compete with.” 

You laughed and said, “Don’t worry, Charlie. You’ll always be my number one.” 

“Good,” Charles tried to hide his smile. The butterflies in his stomach made it harder. Charlie. You called him Charlie. It was like you were trying to intoxicate him in this new thing called love.

***

When Charles heard your name for the first time in three years, he froze. And to hear it directed at his younger brother, no less. 

But when he saw you, time stopped. 

You hadn’t changed much over the three years, albeit your hair was a styled different and the way you carried yourself had stiffened. He desperately wanted to run up to you and kiss you until you both saw stars. He wanted to fold you in his arms and never let you go. He had lost you once and he wasn’t going to let that happen again. At least with you marrying his brother he would be able to see you. If he couldn’t touch you, seeing you would be enough. It would be torture, having you just within reach but unable to hold you, but it would be worse to not see you at all. 

It had been torture all these years. 

He cursed Arthur for being the youngest. If Charles had been born just after his youngest brother, he could’ve had you for himself. He cursed his heart. It wasn’t fair to fall for someone he could never have. He wondered if his parents would try to marry him off too. He wondered if he could marry someone while you were in his home. For certain, he could never love anyone as much as he loved you. Would he stay single his entire life, watching you and his brother grow old together? Would he marry someone in a loveless marriage? Or could something else happen that changed it all….? 

And then you looked at him.

Sparks ignited in his body. Then you looked at his brother. His heart was cleaved in two. Right. You weren’t there for him. He had to remember that or he would torture himself into oblivion. He already was torturing himself. Charles didn’t know if it would be better to avoid you or indulge himself in your presence. 

His father started talking to your father and Charles noticed Arthur stepping forward to greet you. Your mother pinched your side and Charles’ jaw clenched. From your stories, he didn’t like your mother, but this only solidified his opinion. 

Charles felt Lorenzo’s stare on him- the only person who knew about his rendezvous with you. Charles plastered on a smile and stayed stock-still. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he heard Arthur say to you.

“You as well.” Your voice was just as he remembered, if not more formal. You never spoke that way to him. Your words were always filled with laughter- not diplomacy. 

“May I give you and your sister a tour of our home?” Arthur proposed. 

“That would be lovely, thank you.” Megan detached yourself from your arm so you could walk with Arthur, your sister trailing behind. You brushed past him, holding your gaze forward. It would only pain you more to see him. 

“Charles, you need to talk to her,” Lorenzo whispered harshly to him. “It won’t do anyone good to have you sadly avoiding her. Arthur can’t have his wife and his brother looking lovelorn without knowing the cause.” 

“Arthur can never know,” Charles growled. “It would make things worse.”

“He doesn’t need to know if you and Princess Y/n work things out before the wedding,” Lorenzo persisted. 

Charles took a breath and finally said, “I’ll think about it, alright?”

Day 3

Arthur had spent yesterday showing you around the Leclerc palace and luckily, it was of similar design to the Haas castle. Megan had left with a tearful goodbye, promising to visit a day before the wedding to help you prepare. Your mother left you with a kiss on the cheek and your father had hugged you tightly.

You had spent the third day in your new room, handmaidens helping you unpack and commission new dresses for you. The Steward and Housekeeper had sat you down, giving you an overview of what the wedding would entail and the customs of Enzan marriages and politics. Of course, you already knew most of it as your mother had begun drilling it into you at an early age. 

You had collapsed into bed after they had gone, too tired to join the Leclerc’s for dinner or even change out of your dress. Yet you still couldn’t find purchase in sleep. It just wouldn’t come.

It was late at night when a knock resounded on your door. You slowly peeled yourself off the bed- which didn’t feel at all like your own- and said, “Come in.” 

“Hi,” Charles softly said. 

“Oh. Hi.” You straightened up and bowed your head in a form of a curtsy.

“Don’t- don’t do that.” Charles shook his head. “I was never your superior.”

You stood silently for a while, the awkwardness resounding. It seemed like a chasm was between you two. 

“I’ve missed you,” Charles admitted carefully. 

“I missed you too,” you said. “It’s been a while, huh?” 

“Yeah,” Charles chuckled uncomfortably and you joined him. “And to see you with my brother, no less.” Your laughter stopped immediately and you looked at the ground. “Right,” Charles swallowed harshly. He couldn’t seem to unstick that lump in his throat. “Sorry. I’m sorry. For it all. I should’ve never ended-”

“I forgave you a long time ago, Charlie,” you admitted. A wave of relief passed over his face and it looked like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. In one sudden movement, you tumbled forward and engulfed the boy in a hug. Charles swept his arms around you, reciprocating immediately. It felt nice to have you in his arms again. It felt like home. He pressed you closer to him, inhaling. Charles placed a soft kiss to your hairline, mumbling about all the times he missed you.

“Charles? Can you promise me something?” you asked. 

“Anything.” 

“Can you promise to never leave me alone again?” Your voice sounded so small and for the third time today, you unintentionally broke his heart.

“I’m sorry, chérie. I never meant to leave you alone in the first place. But yes, I promise to always stay by your side from now on.” 

“Even though I’m betrothed to-”

“Don’t talk about that, please.” Charles shook his head. 

“Okay,” you conceded. “But what will we do? Charlie, I still love-”

Charles cut you off with an Earth-shattering kiss. His hands circled around your lower back, gripping you even closer- if that was possible. You circled your hands around his neck, running them over his shoulders and down his torso. Every dip and curve was like you remembered. His kiss was just like you remembered.

“Charles?” The newly eighteen-year-old hummed in response and you glanced over at his figure. He was laying on a soft pitch of grass that was illuminated by a stream of sunlight that broke through the trees. His eyes were closed and a small smile graced his lips, showcasing one of his dimples. He had obviously been working out, and he had nicely grown into his body. He was wearing a loose tunic that highlighted his arms. The curve of his muscles made your heart jump a little quicker. You loved these moments with him alone, and you would be damned if your title of royalty got in the way. “Have you ever thought about growing up?”

“Sure I have,” Charles said. “What about it?”

Your brows settled into a frown. “My parents have started talking to me about marriage.”

“Already?” Charles opened one eye to find you already looking at him. Your hands were clasped over your stomach and fiddled together with anxiety. “You have a few more years.”

“Yes, but they want to lock down a husband before it’s too late,” you explained. “Apparently, I’m already betrothed. I just don’t know to whom.”

“You’re already married?!” Charles sat up on an elbow, looking incredulously at you.

“No,” you scoffed. “It’s synonymous with being engaged.”

“Geez,” Charles exhaled and laid back down. “I didn’t realise I was pining after a practically married woman.”

“Excuse me?!” 

Charles smirked. “Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t figure it out sooner, chérie. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one in this relationship.” 

“Charlie.” The nickname made his facade drop and his heart rate rise. Was it all a big mistake? Did he just throw away this coveted friendship that he had worked so hard to cultivate? “Are you serious?” 

“As serious as death,” Charles whispered. 

“Death?” You couldn’t help but let a laugh escape. “Couldn’t you choose another word? Death sounds so cruel.”

“What other word would you like me to use to express my love for you?” Charles joined in your laughter, and once again, you relished in the sound. 

“I don’t care.” You rolled onto your side and Charles copied your actions, taking your hand in his. His fingers tapped over yours as if planning out the wedding dance. “Just so long as I can say it back.” 

It was all you could imagine for a first kiss. 

You gasped, pulling back from the boy you loved. “Charlie, I can’t do this. I- I’m about to marry your brother, for goodness sake! I can’t be kissing you and- and-”

“I know, chérie, I know,” Charles stepped back and he instantly missed your touch. “But I love you too. And I can’t bear seeing you so close, but knowing I can’t feel and love you. It hurts. It hurts being away from you.”

“Charlie… we can’t.” It pained you to say it, but it was true. You weren’t about to be the type of person who cheated on their husband with their brother. Even if it was for love, you still had morals.

“You’re not married yet,” Charles tried to smile. “Let me come to your room at night. Just to talk to you. Just to be around you. We’re still best friends, are we not?”

You chuckled sadly. “You always find a way to bend the rules, huh, Charlie?”

“For you, I’d do anything.”

Day 4

“I wish we could have met under better circumstances,” Arthur admitted. “You’re an incredibly nice girl and I have a feeling we would’ve made good friends. I mean, we’ll still make good friends, but what I’m trying to say-”

You let out a light laugh. “I get it, Arthur. I think we’ll make good friends too.” 

“How are you adjusting?” your fiancé asked. “Are you comfortable? How’s your room? We can repaint it, or redecorate if you wish?” 

“Arthur!” You chuckled at the boy’s concern. “Everything is perfectly fine! Thank you. You’re making this transition much easier.” 

“Well, I want to make sure my future wife enjoys herself,” Arthur shrugs. You stilled at his words. “And I wanted to introduce you to some of my friends. Maybe they could become your friends too?”

“Sure,” you agreed. Arthur proceeded to lead you around the palace, presenting you to a series of guards, dukes and duchess, butlers and maids. You met Earl Carlos, Duke Pierre, Baron Daniel, Knight Max, Lady Carla, and attendees such as Lily, Lewis and his daughter, Lando, Sara, and Esteban. They all seemed extremely accommodating and pleased to meet you. Everyone promised to help you through your time in Enza and to be loyal to their new princess. Arthur hovered a hand over your lower back the entire time, and as much as you appreciated the gesture, it didn’t feel the same as Charles’ touch.

“Arthur?” Like you had summoned him, Charles appeared behind you. “Mother and Father are requesting your presence in the throne room. It’s about finalising the formalities for… your wedding.” 

“Yes, of course,” Arthur nodded. “Can you keep Princess Y/n company, Charles?”

“Anything, brother.” Charles clapped Arthur on the shoulder. “Did I ever congratulate the two of you?” 

Arthur’s brow twitched and you wondered if he could also see the buried sadness in Charles’ eyes. “No, but I’ll gladly take it now.” 

“Well, congratulations. You’re lucky Maman and Papa found you a good one.”

“Yes, I am.” Arthur pressed a sweet, chaste kiss to your cheek before rushing off to his parents. Agonous jealousy was splayed on Charles face the moment Arthur turned away.

“I don’t know how many times I can say this in four days, but I’ve missed you,” Charles said, a sweet, awkward smile on his face as he shoved his hands in his pockets, stepping towards you. “Whenever I’m away from you I miss you.” 

“And I don’t know how I’m going to stay away from you if you keep proclaiming your love for me.” You reached out and touched his forearm.

“Then don’t stay away.” Charles wrapped you in a hug and you felt yourself giving in. “I can talk to my parents and I’m sure if we just explain the situation, they’ll understand. We could get married and be together. Arthur could marry a princess from Wolff or whoever he wanted! Y/n, we could-”

“Charlie, my love, what of my parents?” you asked. “They signed an agreement about me and Arthur. Not me and you. As much as I love the situation you’re describing, as much as I love the possibility of being with you, it’s impossible. Unless you can convince my parents otherwise, which is impossible, it’s not going to happen.”

Charles hummed, slowly separating himself from you in fear of someone seeing your embrace. “Then the least I can do is try.” 

You tied up Newt, silently counting down the minutes until Charles arrived. The seconds ticked by and you sat down at the base of the tree that had your initials carved into it next to Charles’. You traced Charles’ initials with your finger, still in the euphoria of love. It was only a couple weeks ago that you and Charles had confessed your love for each other and he couldn’t seem to stop saying it whenever he had the chance. It became greeting, conversation starter, and goodbye. 

But for some reason, Charles seemed to be late today. As time ticked by, a light mist coated the air. Normally, he was early, even getting to the clearing before you, but you tried not to worry. He probably had some duties to attend to, like you had had a couple weeks ago. You had apologised profusely to Charles, but he had forgiven you with the price of a kiss.

Newt started to get restless after twenty minutes and the mist turned into drizzle. You, now eighteen, fished out an apple to calm him down. It was another fifteen minutes before Scuderia showed up, Charles practically standing in the saddle, rain dripping down his body. “Charles!” You stood up, waving him towards you. Instead of the brilliant grin that usually graced his face whenever he saw you, a frown was burrowed into his brow. “What’s wrong?” 

“Chérie,” Charles didn’t even bother to tie Scuderia up before bundling you in his arms and peppering kisses to your forehead, temples, cheeks, and nose. He twirled you around so his arms were crossed in front of you, cradling you, and started kissing your neck, collarbone, and earlobes. 

“Charlie,” you laughed lightly. “What are you doing?”

“My chérie, mon amour, I’m sorry. I didn’t want it to end like this.” 

“Charles,” you spun around in his arms, taking his face in your hands. You gently caressed his cheek in an attempt to calm him down. “You’re scaring me. Please, tell me what’s wrong.” 

“I love you, you know that, right?” Charles assured you. You nodded along. “Then you have to believe me when I say it pains me that I can’t meet you here anymore.”

“What?” Your heart dropped and your stomach twisted. “Why?” 

“My mom and dad are getting suspicious, chérie. I think they know I’m meeting a girl out in the forest,” Charles tried to explain it to you but you just became more confused with every word. “I’ve already turned down one marriage proposal and they’ll get frustrated if I turn down another.” 

“You’ve done what?” You stepped back from him and Charles’ hands reached out, trying to keep you close to him. You backed up, away from him, until you could feel Newt at your back. “You never told me about that.” 

“I didn’t think it was important,” Charles argued. “But what I’m trying to say is that I think it’s best if we take a pause on the meetings for now. My parents are already breathing down my neck and it doesn’t help that you’re betrothed. Lorenzo found out about you and I’m worried what will happen if someone else does too.” 

“Charlie, you turned down a marriage proposal?” You couldn’t wrap your mind around it. “You could’ve had a wife by now? And who cares if Lorenzo knows about me?! I almost- it feels like you’re embarrassed about me?” It came out like a question. You tangled a hand in Newt’s mane, hoping for some sort of stability. “You never cared about my betrothal before this. Why now?” Charles swallowed and you could see a war debating in his mind. “Answer me, Charles,” you demanded. “What happened that made you bring this up?” 

Charles took a deep breath and said, “you’re the princess of Haas, aren’t you? It all makes sense. Your betrothal, your outfits, your manner of speaking. I thought you were just a duchess or countess, but no. You’re the princess.”

You weren’t sure how to answer. How did you find out? seemed too accusatory. I thought you knew? was too deflective. What does it matter? was too aggressive. You settled on saying, “yes. And you’re Prince Charles Leclerc. I’ve kind of always known.” 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Charles whispered.

“I’m not sure,” you admitted. “It never really came up. Some part of me thought you knew- thought you had connected the dots and just accepted it. I didn’t intentionally hide it from you. I’m sorry.”

“Y/n,” Charles started. “I can’t hang out with you anymore.” The beginning of tears pricked at the back of your eyes and your face grew hot. You opened your mouth to say something, but Charles beat you to it. “It’s not proper for us to visit each other outside of the court. If people found out they could…” He trailed off and shook his head. “I’m sorry, my chérie.”

You couldn’t meet his eye, instead focusing on a patch of wilted flowers. “Okay,” is all you could say. “Goodbye, Charles.” Newt’s mane was slick with rain as you climbed on. Your horse seemed to sense your urgency and quickly wove through the trees, leaving Charles behind. You wiped at your eyes, letting Newt take full control. You regretted it when a branch snagged on your arm and you cried out, a line of blood starting to appear. When you returned to the Haas castle, Megan didn’t question it when you collapsed on your bed, instead opting to help you change out of your rain-soaked dress before curling up with you under the covers. 

Little did you know, Charles was still sitting in that clearing, silently crying. Scuderia bumped his nose against Charles, but the prince just pushed him away.

Day 6

“So, what’re you going to do about it?” Megan asked.

“Absolutely nothing,” you admitted. “There’s nothing I can do. The treaty has been signed, the preparations are underway, and Arthur…” You sighed before continuing, “he’s really nice. I could envision a future with him.”

“But what about Prince Charles?” Megan sat on your bed, the night before the wedding. You had given in and told her everything. “Can you envision a future with him?”

“I want a future with him.”

A deeper voice whispered, “I want a future with you too.” Charles stood at your door, and peeking out behind him was Arthur.

“Shit,” Megan muttered.

“What are you doing here?” You stood up, eyes flickering to Charles before sheepishly locking eyes with Arthur. “Prince Arthur… I’m sorry! I didn’t mean-”

“No, no,” the boy reassured you, his small, anxious smile seeming almost… hopeful. “You’re a wonderful girl and an even better friend, but you’re not who I would’ve chosen to marry. No offence,” he quickly added. “We just don’t click. We don’t have that same spark that you and Charles do. And, well, I kind of have my sights set on someone else. Charles explained it all to me.”

You laughed. “Guess we really are the perfect pair, huh? Both pining after other people.”

“And you after my brother?” Arthur joked, gasping dramatically. “How unfaithfully devious of you.”

“Oh, shut up.” 

“What does this mean, then?” Megan asked for you. “We can’t just swap Charles out for Arthur at the wedding.”

Arthur grinned and said, “Why not?” He slung an arm around Charles, clapping him on the chest. “Guess you’re getting married, big brother.”

Charles laughed loudly before turning to look at you. “Y/n L/n, will you marry me tomorrow?” 

Your lips separated in half shock and half elation. “I- I… yes! Though I admit, I expected something a bit more extravagant.”

“Chérie, I’m just upholding my promise.” Charles opened his arms cheekily and even though you were confused by his words, you fell into them, happy to be able to hold him in the presence of others.

“Hmm?”

“You don’t remember?” He lifted an eyebrow, throwing you his signature smirk.

You tossed a ball to Charles who threw it back.  “Anything new in your life?” he asked.

“Nope. You?”

“Nope.”

After a minute of silence Charles said, “Let’s make a deal.”

“Alright, what is it?”

“If, in ten years, we still have the same, boring lives,” You scoffed at his words. “then we get married and make our lives un-boring, together.”

After a moment’s deliberation, it didn’t seem like a bad deal to an eight-year-old. “Okay,” you readily agreed. “But I doubt my life will be boring in ten years.”

“Sure…” Charles snickered at you. “I’ll let you believe that.”

“How can you not remember my completely legitimate marriage proposal?” Charles scoffed quietly, leaning down to bump his forehead against yours.

“Well, pardon me for not remembering something you said thirteen years ago,” you tapped him on the chest.

“How could you not remember a proposal?” Charles asked. 

“I would like to know the answer to that as well,” Megan spoke up. 

“Well, does it matter as long as I say ‘yes’?”

“No, I guess not,” Charles beamed as he bent down to kiss you.

Day 7

Charles kissed you again, but this time it was in front of an altar, before a crowd, and with you wearing white. 

Surprisingly, it hadn’t took much convincing for your parents to understand the situation. Apparently, Charles had stayed true to his word and contacted your parents, explaining everything. Your father was just relieved you were still marrying someone and your mother had always preferred Charles anyway. King and Queen Leclerc, after hearing of the years of meetings you and Charles had shared, were more than thrilled. They were eager for you to join their family and a marriage of love always went better than a marriage of politics. 

The wedding was already planned, the chefs already prepping, and the priest already booked. All they needed was to switch out Arthur’s name for Charles’.

“May I present Prince and Princess Leclerc of Enza!” The priest announced to thunderous applause.

“Hello, chérie,” Charles whispered and his nose bumped against yours. “Or should I say, Princess Leclerc?”

“I like that name best,” you grinned.

“I do too,” Charles admitted.

[aliusfrater]

sammary hcs? can be things you like to think about in connection to canon or just straight up fic porn stuff...

SORRYYY you get meta. or whatever this is 🫳

i talked about this in the tags of a poll once but sammary intrigues me in the earlier supernatural intentional gothic horror incesthorror + later seasons supernatural wwird action/comedy/adventure thing kind of way. a best of both worlds kind of way. like i think of it as an extension/perpetuation of mary kissing azazel in her father's body while unknowingly selling her son's body and quite literally creating the space for what can be seen as sam's csa metaphor but in the most literal way because this is a sexual relationship between post-resurrection!mary and sam. even moreso if you consider all the sam-mary mirrorings and parallels + the similarly motherly overtones in the simularities between her & jack's and sam & jack's relationship as well as the same overtones in mary as a symbol for sam + mary as a matriarchal figure for jack (the sam-mary 4.22 panic room scene and the 14.17 mary and jack 'tell me it's okay' scene are sisters to me). like their sexual endevors would just be blurring that line further either in terms of what their relationship could become ORRR in terms of their characters (both literally in terms of what they would get up to sexually and what it would metaphorically mean). this ship is like What if you lapsed them as people + their narrative structural (patriarchal & winchester familial dynamic & hunter dichotomies) roles a little further.

anyway, realistically, or in my head at least, they're less romantic and more sexual mostly from mary's side because there's a lot of friction between her and Making Sam This Way + Continuing It but also she thinks sam is fucking hot and she initially has a really hard time thinking of sam as the same son she doomed. she also thinks he's really sweet in that every time he goes out of his way to Understand ber and Forgive her or remember little things about her she kind of melts but again she struggles with it (i also like to think that her fear that sam won't forguve her perpetuates into her thinking sam's forgiveness is too good to be true, which adds to her emotional distance). sam, on the other hand, needs her to romantically acknowledge him so bad it's basically unrequited but he's also getting the weird motherly connection he needs from their sex life so it's enough to keep him hooked. their dynamic is like. they have nasty fucking sex (in a way that's not fun for the audience) and cuddle after then mary slips out of bed in the middle of the night and sam isn't surprised when he wakes up and she isn't there despite only them being in the bunker and not needing to hide it from dean but he buries his face in the sheets where she was laying and curls up real fetus position-like and his eyes water. there's a lot of emotional compartmentalisation on both their parts in a 'well at least we have a relationship we both want/are getting something out of' kind of way and this wraps around to the aspects in which they're similar in. their sex is a way to relate on their respective panic rooms and autonomy losses which are strikingly narratively similar lol but especially relating to azazel and the fissure it creates that's constantly cracking and repairing itself between them. i read a fic once where the only time sam and mary explicitly talk about it is in the impala in a kind of constipated way so my idea of this ship is like a Sure, And fix-it that's mutated into something else.

as for headcanons my favourite is that i think mary is jealous of (nonship) sam and dean and what they have and hates herself for it. when sam and dean stare at each other the whole time after sam's ressurection in 13.21 -> 13.22 and dean leads sam off to get cleaned up and they head off alone, she gets resentful about it (in a canon way i can't rightfully connect here so i'll leave it alone). it goes back to the not letting herself have anything super nonsexual w him thing. also. when mary dies sam doesn't mourn the sex.

honestlyyy this is one of those ships where you just really like both characters separately but specifically for mary and sam, it's actually crazy to me how much they mirror each other, especially when it comes to the reveal of mary's actual personality rather than her idolised version and how much That also mirrors sam's as well as how little anything was canonical done with it. it's like my brain made too much space for the sam and mary section but there was a shortage so i'm making up for it with this whole idea. i don't even want to smash them together like dolls. i'm cutting them open and connecting their intestines.

[cuntasaurus-rex]

Yautja Headcanons

Originally posted at @tichindesfattits

NSFW/mature themes

Hierarchy

Clan Leader/Matriarch

The leaders of the clan. I feel that both pretty much have the same amount of power, both working together to run the clan, though clan leader has final say on the most important decisions

Also, I think that either males or females can be clan leader; in the case that a female yautja holds the title, their counterparts are referred to as "Patriarchs."

Clan Leaders focus more on off-planet matters, dealing with warriors and hunts, while the Matriarchs focus more on on-planet matters, and focus a lot on child raising related issues in particular.

Both positions are earned through through challenging the former leader/matriarch to a fight to the death; although in a minority of cases, it's simply passed to another member of the clan (such as offspring or one considered worthy), or earned through a contest of some kind (such as a hunt demonstrating leadership skills or getting a better trophy).

Ancients (Title)

Ancients are elderly yautja that are old enough to have written the laws that the yautja abide by now. They are older, and are usually off doing their own thing. They will occasionally advise the leaders of the clan, as well as give guidance to younger members of the clan.

Elders (Title, Rank)

The most experienced of yautja, they make up the smallest class of yautja. Used for warriors, but unlike the Elite title, it is often used to refer to older yautja of other professions as well.

Elder Warriors often also hold the title of Clan Leader/Matriarch. There is a council of Elders, made up of both male and female yautja who advise the clan leader and matriarch. They are also the ones responsible for assigning Enforcers to hunt down Bad Bloods.

Chiva Masters are one of the positions that an Elder Warrior can hold, responsible for overseeing the rite of passage of all young unblooded.

Elites

Also known as "Veterans", Elites are yautja who are highly specialized in their field, and there are many subsets of them.

Arbiters/Enforcers: Yautja that are either assigned to hunt down Bad Bloods by Elders, or hunt them down themselves for the honor of the clan.

Pack Leader: In charge of training groups of unblooded yautja.

Adjutants:

A hunting captain's/pack leader's second,-in-command. Help Leaders train packs of unblooded yautja.

Blooded

Regular Blooded yautja, who are above youngbloods, unblooded, pups and sucklings. They are also above servants and slaves.

Youngblood

Freshly blooded young adult yautja.

Unblooded

Any young yautja that hasn't been blooded yet. Most known for being used for unblooded warriors.

Pups/Younglings

Children's rank isn't really considered, but they do answer to anyone above them.

Sucklings

Infants are below everyone else in rank for obvious reasons.

ALSO:

Servants:

Servants are younger yautja who don't know what path they want to take; they perform public service jobs until they decide (though there usually is a certain amount of time they have to do so).

Slaves:

Usually yautja who have passed their Chiva but have become crippled in some way, and so can't pursue their path any longer.

If they choose not to kill themselves, they become slaves to other yautja. No yautja is born a slave, and yautja born to slaves are raised with the same opportunities as other children. Slaves can't be beaten or killed without good reason, and must be provided for.

Note: Not all clans practice slavery, some having abolished the practice entirely.

Ages

*Human equivalents are in parentheses

1-10: Babies to toddlers (0-4).

Nothing's really expected of them for obvious reasons.

10-20: Children (5-10).

The time period of learning the basics like reading and writing, all the normal things expected for young kids. The concept of the honor code is introduced early on, but not really enforced yet..

20-30: Preteens (10-12).

This is where they start learning more about their culture and life skills.

All young yautja go through basic combat and hunting skills throughout this period.

While not all yautja will go on to pursue the warrior's path, it is expected that they learn some skills, as they will be beneficial for them to know as they get older- particularly fighting skills, as it is their main way to settle disputes and prove themselves worthy to potential mates.

They also begin learning more advanced subjects in their schooling.

The honor code begins to be enforced, though being underaged, the punishments aren't harsh or extreme and are just treated as learning opportunities.

30-40: Young teens (13-16).

Have started learning more about their culture, and are expected to uphold the code(though death and banishment are usually not on the table still, except for extreme offenses).

Usually have a 'graduation' before they start having to pick a trade/career to learn.

40-50: Older Teens (16-18).

Have either started their apprenticeships for their chosen trade/career or have chosen to begin training to become a hunter.

In the case of choosing the warrior's path, the first real segment of their training begins (starting with basic survival skills, learning about future prey, and being taught the fundamentals of the warrior's path). Combat training also begins.

The honor code is fully enforced for all young yautja.

50-60: Young Adults (18-21)

The age Yautja begin reaching/reach full physical maturity. While they are adults, they're not fully recognized as such until they pass their tests (which vary depending on what their career is).

In the case of warriors, the second stage of their training begins, where they are taken to other planets and begin to prepare for their Chiva.

90-100:

Of Blooding Age/Have been blooded, which is what all young yautja are referred to after passing their respective trials.

While warriors in training are the only ones to battle kiande amedha, other younglings also have to hunt a prey creature as a rite of passage.

After being blooded, all young yautja are seen as official adults.

100+:

Blooded. Makes up the bulk of the population, all various ranks competing to gain status and honor.

500+:

The age where yautja reach the rank of Elite, highly specialized in their field. This is almost used exclusively for warriors.

750+:

Elders, older, highly experienced members of yautja society.

1000:

Clan Leader & Matriarch, the leaders of clans

1000+:

Ancients, elderly yautja. The smallest and most dangerous faction of yautja.

*These ages, especially for older adults (starting with elites) are baseline and age can be disregarded in favor of skill when climbing in rank. for example, a Yautja CAN reach Elite status at say, 300+ years. Same way some can be Elders/Clan Leaders sooner, etc. Usually not more than a two hundred year gap though.

General lifespan: I feel like 2-2.5k years is a yautja's maximum life span, going off of a canon yautja's age.

Mating

•Males interested in the same female will fight for the right to her. They then have to fight the female in question, in order to prove themselves. I don't think females interested in the same male will fight one another for him. While I'm sure it can happen, particularly for the younger ones, there are too many males to pick from. And anyway I just think that most yautja women are the embodiment of "girls' girls" and therefore won't be caught dead fighting another woman over a man of all things.

•Mostly in the case of two females interested in the same male, the older more experienced one gets him by default.

•Females are definitely more aggressive and assertive during sex, especially during breeding season. Males go into it expecting to get banged up - and they do.

•"Submissive" males are looked down as a whole, but behind closed doors I absolutely believe that there are males that enjoy being dominated by big females- and that are females that enjoy it just as much.

•Sex is a very casual thing in yautja society. It definitely happens outside breeding season, depending on an individual's preferences. Some don't see it as necessary outside mating season, others enjoy it too much not to do it.

Other sex-related HCs

•While all yautja are able to breed after reaching the appropriate age, it's not as simple as that. While they're old enough to be considered, it's just that: considered. Usually the ones most involved in breeding are higher ranked warriors - ie, those who've already produced strong offspring and are therefore most sought after.

•Most clans view mating with anything other than their own as dishonorable. While half-bloods with other species are possible (if unlikely) they are usually viewed as abominations, and the ones who aren't killed and are allowed into the clan usually don't have a very good time of it.

•I feel like there's no way yautja don't know what BDSM is, even if the don't have a name for it. They're freaks, period

Courting

•Males will do a lot of posturing. Flexing, displays of strength, fighting other males to prove themselves to females.

•I also like the idea of them being somewhat like peacocks and dressing up to catch a potential mates' attention.

•While I feel like males are more active in trying to win mates, as there are more of them in the male:female ratio... I feel like females will also participate as well. Particularly young females pursuing a higher ranked male that's sired strong pups in the past. They will also do the same type of things that males do to gain attention.

•Offering not only trophies, but also small trinkets as courting gifts. The latter for cases where the yautja are closer, such as friends or trying to be life mates.

•I think that yautja are not monogamous, as their society is very focused on breeding/producing offspring. However, I do feel that pair bonding/developing affections for one particular partner isn't uncommon, and two yautja will settle down, especially as they get older.

•Because their society is so focused on breeding, I feel same-sex relationships can get quite a variety of reactions. Especially taking into account clan traditions, some being more lenient, and others not so much. I feel that most yautja in same-sex relationships will try to keep it quiet, because depending on the reactions (not caring as long as offspring are made/ if you're a high enough rank and have lots of kids already, to having it be outright looked down upon and risking being ostracized/exiled).

Misc

°Like jaguars, yautja also consume a hallucinogenic plant to not only boost their mood but to enhance their senses when hunting. It's called Guh'ja.

°Yautja don't like milk, and think it's strange that grown humans still drink it. Are especially horrified because humans drink the milk of other species, at that.

°Their dreads shed and peel, and have to be properly maintained, not only for looks but for practical purpose. If they have too much dead skin on them, it can hinder them sensing their surroundings.

°Despite their harsh lifestyle, yautja are very social and touchy, especially with those they are close with (direct family and hunting packs come to mind).

°Yautja can't really speak human languages very well, often having to spend years to learn, and even then it's not perfect. Because of this, most yautja use translators and voice recorders to communicate with humans, especially the younger ones. Also because they don't have lips, they use their throat to help form human words.

Pregnancy

•My personal bc is that yautja females are pregnant around the same amount of time as humans. So roughly nine months. Breastfeeding period is also the same, at roughly 6 months. (credits to partofmycharm for helping me)

•Most of the women don't let their pregnancy get in the way of their day to day life. Though as their due date approaches, they are definitely more mindful of their activities. No fight fights in the kehrite for sure.

•One of the most dangerous yautja females is a pregnant one. Their mood swings are very extreme, especially as the delivery date gets closer.

•When the time comes, yautja women give birth in a nest they've already had arranged, and are assisted by other females. Males aren't involved at all.

Children

•Females are the primary caretaker of children. Usually a group of them will all raise their offspring together in a community type deal. •Males aren't involved in childrearing, and unless they are higher ranked yautja (who make more effort to have an impact on how their offspring develop) usually only active in their kids lives once they've reached their late teens, if not later than that.

•Females are very protective of their young, to the point of maiming/killing anything they perceive as a threat to their offspring.

[anewkindofme]

What’s the argument that Dean is more of a mom than Sam’s father, if I may ask? Sorry, I just gush over character interpretations from other users!!

I think Dean radiates maternal energy vs paternal. This does go back into the basic gender roles that are set long ago, but I think for the time that Dean and Sam were growing up, it translates. When Dean gets into Mary's head he says...

For 4 years, Dean grew up with both parents. We see in the "road to heaven" episode that John would often disappear for a couple of days, leaving Mary alone with the boys. Therefore, she was the one cooking meals, comforting them when they were hurt or sick, doing the most care for Sam.

Of course, fathers can (and should) do these things. However, I find it interesting that Dean says he had to be both mom and dad. Because the Winchester family fell into those matriarchal and patriarchal roles. And in these dynamics, the mom is almost always the true superhero. The one who makes the magic. Maybe some aren't working or the primary breadwinner, but they're the ones that get shit done. They're the real ones shaping the kids. Which is just what Mary did.

Dean stepped up into her shoes. Not John's. We have several references and even see him feeding Sam. Fixing him up when he's hurt (the knock knock jokes). Making sure he got to bed, did his homework, etc. He made the magic and raised Sam into the man he was. John would step in and help at certain points. But as John writes in his own diary (which I've only read excerpts of), he wasn't the one raising him.

Dean was extremely parentified. But he was pushed into the role that the family was suddenly lacking. While I believe John was a better father before Mary died, he was still not very present. He was there to play with the kids and provide. But not do the day to day. Dean says "it (Mary & John's marriage) was only perfect after she died". Telling us that things weren't great. Dean romanticized it so Sam wouldn't hate John more than he already did and so he'd have an image of a "perfect family to cling to". When Mary died, John needed a mother for Sam as well as a father to patch up the holes as he didn't have it in him to do the bare minimum anymore.

There's also hints in the "road to heaven" episode that Dean was already parentified back then. He comforts his mother (and as this is a memory, we know this isn't just Adult!Dean trying to comfort her). Sam says Dean was cleaning up John's messes from Day 1. I don't think it was to the extent that it'd become, but even from a young age, Dean was acting as the husband Mary needed. Then she died and he became the wife John needed.

I hope I'm explaining myself well. Because I'm sure this can come across as a misogynistic point of vew. As I said, men should do all of these things day to day. And now, in 2024, there have been leaps and bounds of fathers doing all the mothers do.

But Dean was born in 1979. Sam came along in 1983 and Mary died the same year. Things were different during this time. Fathers weren't taking on these roles.

I don't think Sam thinks too hard about what role Dean took on. He's just a second parent. But clearly, Dean recognizes that he took on that motherhood role. Because that's what the family needed. It shouldn't have fallen on him, but it did.

Thanks for listening to my rambles! I hope they make sense, haha.

[fan-clan-fun]

So you want to Build a clan? Chapter 8- Ranks : Leadership

Alternative titles: Monarch, King/Queen, Matriarch/Patriarch, Chief, Commander, Ruler, Chieftain, Captain, Boss, etc

The Canon explanation of the leadership of the clans is fairly simple and easily explainable. You have a leader, and a deputy, and when the leader dies the deputy becomes leader. The only requirements when it comes to choosing a deputy (which are often not even kept to anyway) are that a deputy must be chosen by moonhigh if the clan has need of a new one, and the one chosen to be deputy must have mentored at least one apprentice. The thing is, this approach to leadership is honestly a bit shallow. Even the books on occasion will mention what might happen if the rules are broken or twisted or confused (like when Tallstar gives Onestar leadership rather than Mudclaw) or when different deputies are appointed despite not having mentored any apprentices, but there are barely any lasting consequences.

So now the question is, what can we do in our own clans to give the leadership system more depth and solidity? You can stick with the Canon approach and just add more detail, or consider other approaches when it comes to the type of leadership, how it is implemented, and how long it lasts. Let's take a look at some of the options.

Leadership Duties

First, it's wise to consider what your leaders do. Are they just there to order cats around, or do they have their own tasks, expectations and responsibilities? 

In canon, it seems that leaders are the top of the piramid, making general decisions for the entire clan, and running some things such as patrols, training for apprentices, choosing mentors, etc. Some leaders seem more involved in day to day than others, going on patrols or staying back at camp. Of those who do remain at camp, some are more invested in their clanmates lives directly, either by interfacing with various different members of the ranks, or assisting with tasks within and without camp.

So when you are building your clan, consider what purpose the leader serves, what their day to day looks like, what the clan would expect of them and what work they do. That will help guide you when you consider what type of leadership you want.

Types of Leadership

Specifically for the top position of leadership in the clan, deputy/equivalent will come later. 

Canon Leadership

This was discussed above, so I'll be brief. Canon leadership involves one leader, one deputy, the deputy chosen by the leader to succeed them upon death. This system relies on the leader having almost absolute power, as is evidenced by the code which says the leaders word is law. There could be many discussions about the pros and cons of this system, how it encourages nepotism and authoritarianism. While on the flip side it is simple and should, hopefully, not cause any issues with succession (except when a leader changes his mind last minute or both leader and deputy die at the same time). In any case, most people know this way of leadership, so let's look at others.

Inherited Leadership

This type of leadership is different, the premise being that the leadership is inherited through some sort of specific criteria. The most common one would be by blood, similar to a monarchy, where an heir to leadership is chosen among family members as closely to the current leader/monarch as possible. The next leader can inherit through other criteria as well, such as being chosen by a religious sign, or by some criteria of skill or personality. The important part is that these heirs are usually chosen young, and raised to be placed in their role, giving them time to be taught how to lead. At least that's the idea, it doesn't always work in practice. But the point of this is that the heir is not chosen based on skill or experience. In some ways it could be good to choose leaders young, give them the time and training to take on their role, though it would also be a heavy burden to bear. A smart clan would train multiple heirs to be safe, in case one were to not make it to adulthood or the chance to take on leadership.

Elected Leadership

This would be most in line with the way leadership is decided in modern times, though the way it works in a clan would be different. Elected Leadership would be a clan, or part of the clan, casting votes to choose the next leader or deputy, through casting stones, or spoken votes, or another method. This method would hopefully choose a leader which a majority of the clan agreed with. Either through casting votes in some sort of voting system, or gathering in a meeting to agree to the best option. This system would ideally allow for leaders to be replaced if they did not do their job correctly, as the leadership is chosen by the clan itself, and thus beholden to the well being and support of the clan.

Group Leadership

This one goes somewhat hand in hand with the previous one. Group Leadership would be a different set up, in which more than one cat held power. Perhaps the clan has two leaders, or three, or a council with one senior member from each rank. How they are chosen could be from any of the other methods, but it's different in how it's set up, because power is more evenly shared.

Earned Leadership

Earned leadership in this case is a situation in which a leader of a clan has to overcome a set of challenges or hurdles, or fulfill certain criteria. Perhaps the clan warriors all have a battle royale and the winner takes the leadership. Perhaps only cats with a certain age, skills, or renown can become a leader. This type of leadership could encourage a lot of competition, and mean the clan is unstable for a bit until a leader is chosen and establishes themselves. Either way, it's much more individual, and about the cat who becomes leader having enough ambition or at least reason to pursue the leadership, than about the broader clan and it's needs and ideals. It would work best in a more independent clan, than a more community driven one.

Religious Symbolism

Leaders chosen based on the religious symbolism/rites of the clan. This could mean they are directly chosen by Starclan, or through prophecy, or through the word of the religious figure within the clan. It would be the kind of situation with a lot of pomp and ritual and meaning, surrounding their religious beliefs. Perhaps the leader is even considered a religious figure, or the religious authority within the clan. I would give examples, but this one is as varied as the different expressions of religious belief and symbolism. Clans who use this would likely have a more predetermined view of life based on their beliefs, and try to curry favor with whatever religious authority would give them such a privilege. 

Some questions to help you get an idea of the type of leadership that would work best for your clan:

How religious is your clan? Does your religion affect how a leader is chosen? What sort of ritual or ceremony surrounds the naming or choosing of a new leader?

Is it expected that a leader have certain skills? Be a good fighter or something else? Are there specific criteria to be eligible, like mentoring at least one apprentice? Or is it a case by case scenario?

What is the average age that a leader is chosen? Are they chosen young and trained for the role? Or generally older and experienced? How long do leaders remain in their position? A certain period of time? Until retirement? Until death? 

Do they actually get nine lives? If so, how do those function? Where do they come from, how easy is it to lose one? Do they combat old age?

What function does a leader serve? Are they a mere figurehead, or do they have more direct control over day to day life? What aspects of day to day life do they control? Is leadership considered authoritarian, or more egalitarian? Does your leadership follow Canon's guidelines of the leaders word is law? Are leaders generally respected, or disdained in the clan?

[tochugesya]

my theories on kunikida’s childhood/backstory *·˚ ༘♡

kunikida is my favorite character (world shock) so i wanted to share my thoughts of it are taken from aspects i have annotated about him/he has said. these are theories!!! nothing confirmed. pd: i have taken some info from doppo kunikida’s irl life, asagiri has taken a lot of details of his life so i doubt he won’t now. please enjoy! :) i also apologize for any misspellings, english is not my first language.

1) kunikida & his family:

kunikida is one of the few characters that have confirmed families (as said in the mini novel kunikida & katai’s magnificent days), so the possibility of being an orphan is eliminated. it’s not mentioned if he has parents or not but he has a family. here are my options/theories abt his family

his dad/his mom (or both) work for the military/government. usually the “stick” personality is associated with having a military family, kunikida’s character trope (istj, moralist) fits in the “military family” stereotype and considering bsd has a lot of topics around the military (like the current arc), it’s a high possibility. this also explains kunikida’s hate of authorities (we will get into this later), and even if they’re not from the military they’re probably people with high prestige/on the traditional side (ex: the zenin’s in jjk).

on the opposite side, kunikida’s family are anti govt (anarchism). again this is mostly related to his authority hate. this also can be linked to the azure king (if you want me to elaborate please let me know!)

these are my main ideas. important to note that irl’s stepdad worked for the ministry of justice and was an ex samurai (which could connect him to one of the fukus). other small things i have noted:

kunikida cares a lot about reputation. maybe this need for the ada’s reputation to stay intact is a reflection of his family.

kunikida used to pass a lot of time with katai (more than with his own family) so they are probably busy people/weren't really present in his life

kunikida has a “motherly” behavior yet he has a strong personality that is usually linked with a strong patriarchal figure. i personally link this to the fact that kunikida’s household could have been more matriarchal. with this, kunikida could have conflicts with his mother possibly related to his idealism.

kunikida is the youngest child. don’t debate me on this.

kunikida’s family dedicates to save people’s lifes/bring justice to them. so he followed their footsteps in his own way.

2. kunikida’s young years

2.1) his possible relation to the great war:

(spoilers for bungo stray dogs manga chapters 65 and 66)

when you think about kunikida's potential childhood, most people assume he had the most "normal" childhood out of all of the ada members. however, kunikida could have (sadly) been involved similarly to how yosano was or in other ways. this section will be divided in two sections: kunikida doppo's irl relation to the sino japanese war (with a connection to irl mori) and kunikida and the usefulness of his ability in the war context.

kunikida doppo and the sino japanese war: for a little bit of context, the first sino japanese war (1894-1895) was a conflict between the japanese empire and china because both countries were looking for being the dominant influence in korea. in this time, multiple authors that were bsdfied participated as war correspondants with the exception of (surprise surprise) ogai mori, who enlisted in the japanese army as an army doctor.

kunikida doppo worked as a war correspondant along with his friend katai tayama in the sino-japanese war. there is no information about where kunikida worked in, but katai worked in taiwan in the same division as mori; this war correspondency was vital for kunikida's career, he got extremely popular due to his war journalism). both kunikida's (doppo and his brother shuuji) were disciples of soho tokutomi, a japanese historian and journalist; it was under him where he became a war correspondant, learnt german (similar to mori) and worked in the newspaper "Kokumin no Tomo" founded by soho, and where mori published "the dancing girl".

kunikida had a involvement in the russo-japanese war, but it's insignificant compared to his work in the sino japanese war. i put this in the post because, as mentioned, asagiri puts details from the irl's life in the story; this is not the reason why i believe he was in the great war, but it makes a little bit more possible.

as i keep rereading this arc, i noticed something yosano said that caught my attention:

doesn't this sound a little similar to mr. idealist "no one will die in front of me"? because it does to me. even if they don't mean the exact same thing, the general idea is the following: keeping people alive.

yosano truly values human life

kunikida's ability and his usefulness in the war:

here's why i believe kunikida may have been involved in the great war; his ability. kunikida's ability "doppo poet" consists of being able to create anything that comes from the notebook. kunikida's ability, even if doesn't look like a threat at first glance, it's a tricky one; if he wanted, he could use a bigger notebook he could summon bigger weapons (such a b0mbs, bigger guns) but he stays with a smaller notebook (which yes it's practical, but why would he use grenades when he could summon better weapons?)

kunikida, with a never ending pile of paper, could summon multiple useful weapons almost at the same time; for the great war, having someone that could create weapons in an instant is convenient. it's also important to remember that ability users' were searched at that time (+ mori's plan, that is explained in chapter 65 or 66).

but besides his ability, and with the past section focused on yosano's trauma and response due to going to the great war, it's not difficult to assume he could have been in a similar situation. kunikida's constant creation of weapons that killed people, that he didn't not want to do because he was a child, in front of him, with no way to stop it because he was forced to create those weapons and because he was a child... he couldn't save them all, kunikida's own experience as a child soldier/weapon during the great war, in this context, is why he's so attached to them, because he sees his little self in them, and in general, it may be possibly the main reason of ideals' being born, so “no one will die in front of me” is kunikida’s reaction to the cruelness of war, just like yosano’s (panel attached below) plus, kunikida's reaction to death is very emotional and raw, which is something that is not seen a lot in bsd (and it's one of his most important characteristics), and has been a theme around for a looong time now.

i wish i'm wrong in this one (please)

2.2) kunikida the rebel

as the name says (lol) kunikida could have been a rebel in high school as well. kunikida does not care about breaking laws (except the ones where he acts like a normal citizen). this could be the aftermath of years of trauma; it's not linked to why he is the way he is but is... more of a way to show he's not that much of a "stick"

ps: between all this mess, he met katai. i don't have a theory abt their meeting but i know those two find each other in the moment they needed it the most. :) following the war timeline, i think katai's family were also involved and they met when it finished and... trauma bonded (to put in blantly).

3. kunikida and the past (why does he not want to talk abt it?)

i want to dive into the most interesting part of kunikida's conversation abt his backstory. he does not want to talk about it.

there are multiple reasons this could be such as shame and trauma; i don't have an elaborate reason why (there could be MULTIPLE) but here are the ones i feel that are the most likely:

as i said before, kunikida could have been from a family of politicians and military members. as he's an idealist, and the topic of politicians and corruption could fit perfectly, he would want to disassociate himself from them.

> this doesn't have to be only abt having govt affiliated family btw. but just the idea that he doesn't want to associate himself with his family because they don't have the same ideals.

he got disowned. not much to mention here

trauma. again not a lot to say here.

rocky relationship with his family. or maybe they are just shitty people and doesn't want to be with them anymore.

othe stuff i have thought about is that kunikida is a liar. not exactly something possible considering ranpo should know by now but it’s still… there. it’s possible.

that's it! i hope you enjoyed. sorry if it's too long i love kunikida. :)♡ let me know what you think as well!

[dailyanarchistposts]

“We are left to answer for our women”

“Hear and listen to what we, women, shall speak, as well as the Sachems; for we are the owners of this land, AND IT IS OURS! It is we that plant it for our and their use. Hear us, therefore, for we speak things that concern us and our children; and you must not think hard of us while our men shall say more to you, for we have told them” Seneca women “We are left to answer for our women, who are to conclude what ought to be done by both Sachems and warriors. So hear what is their conclusion. The business you come on is troublesome, and we have been a long time considering it; and now the elders of our women have said that our Sachems and warriors must help you, for the good of them, and their children” Sagoyawatha “Red Jacket”, 1791[34]

Anarchist anthropologist Harold Barclay has pointed out that “Egalitarian does not… mean that there is any equality between sexes and between different age groups” and that “true sexual equality is a rarity.”[35] By contrast, the Rotinonshón:ni are often held up as an example of a matriarchy, though I disagree with the semantics of that term. While the Rotinonshón:ni are both matrilineal and matrilocal, and the women do have a role in consensual politics and in selecting and removing men from leadership positions; women do not wield power over men the way men wield power over women in a patriarchal society. Anthropological archaeologist Dean Snow, explains this very well: “Iroquois women were not matriarchs, or Amazons, or drudges. They were Iroquois women, who lived in a nonhierarchical society in which their role as food producers was properly appreciated and in which the elevation of some aspects of kinship to political significance gave them influence that they might not otherwise have had.” [36]

Another anarchist anthropologist, David Graeber, described the overlapping councils by gender:

“Longhouses were governed by councils made up entirely of women, who, since they controlled its food supplies, could evict any in-married male at will. Villages were governed by both male and female councils. Councils on the national and league level were made up of both male and female office-holders. It’s true that the higher one went in the structure, the less relative importance the female councils had—on the longhouse level, there wasn’t any male organization at all, while on the league level, the female council merely had veto power over male decisions—but it’s also true that decisions on the lower level were of much more immediate relevance to daily life. In terms of everyday affairs, Iroquois society often seems to have been about as close as there is to a documented case of a matriarchy.” [37]

Another indication of differences between the Rotinonshón:ni and European settler society comes from that same Sullivan expedition in 1779 that destroyed so many Rotinonshón:ni towns. While preparing to attack and destroy the towns, General James Clinton even remarked that the Rotinonshón:ni men never raped women, and that some measures needed to be taken to prevent American soldiers from raping. [38] Among the Rotinonshón:ni, violence against women, including spousal abuse, was harshly punished by a woman’s kin. [39] A man who abused a woman could not be selected as a roiá:ner. [40]

Divorce was easy and common, so much so that Jesuit missionary Father Jacques Bruyas, while regarding divorce as the greatest sin among the Rotinonshón:ni, explained that “There is as great ease in breaking marriages as in making them — the husband leaving his wife, and the wife her husband, at pleasure.” [41] Since the husbands lived with their wives’ kahwá:tsire (matrilineal clan), in divorce former husbands had to leave the home. While the majority of the property as it was held in common through the matrilineal clan, personal possessions were always kept distinct between a husband and wife. [42] Children remained with the mother after divorce, [43] a contrast to the paternal ownership of children which was the standard in the continent’s European settler society until it was replaced by maternal preference in custody in the 1920s. Kanatiiosh (Barbara Gray) has argued that “western law emerges with a structure based on hierarchy, which I believe is attributed, to their treatment of women as secondary citizens. Whereas, Haudenosaunee law emerges with a democratic structure based on equality and goodwill for all.” [44]

Family planning was essential to women, who had the responsibility for farming, and often chose to limit the number of children for whom they were responsible at any one time. There were many abortifacients and fertility medicines known to Rotinonshón:ni herbalists. [45] Christian missionaries, and later in the early 19th century the Shotinontowane’á:ka prophet Ganioda’yo, who codified Karihwí:io or Gaiwiio (“the good message”), preached against divorce and abortion, while emphasizing the relationship of husband and wife over that of mother and daughter. [46] Wallace, a psychological anthropologist and historian, regarded the reforms of the Karihwí:io as “the sentence of doom upon the traditional quasi-matriarchal system.” [47] Kahentinetha Horn, the editor of Mohawk Nation News, has asserted that the polity’s “structure has been modified to accommodate the Gai’wiio. For example, instead of the Clan Mothers appointing the Chiefs according to the Old Way, in the Gai’wiio the Chiefs select the Clan Mothers.” [48]

Over time, individual households of nuclear families replaced the traditional longhouses as residences. The situation had so changed by 1850, when Lewis Henry Morgan published his classical ethnographical study The League of the Ho-de’-no-sau-nee, or Iroquois, he observed that women, and only women, were punished for adultery by public whipping. [49] In 1924, an elected band council, rather than the traditional polity, governed Ohswé:ken; women were initially deprived of suffrage. [50] At Onondaga, Tonawanda and Tuscarora, the iakoiá:ner never lost their rights to select roiá:ner. [51]

Drawn by Joseph Keppler, “Puck”, 1914 [52]

At the same time Rotinonshón:ni rights and responsibilities were under attack, female European settlers were gaining some of those very rights. The contradiction is made even more glaring in the examination of American feminism by Women’s Studies professor Sally Roesch Wanger, who found that the gender relations among the Rotinonshón:ni were an inspiration to suffragists in the United States like Matilda Joslyn Gage, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucretia Mott. [53] While Gage had been to court for attempting to vote in U.S. elections, she pointed out that her adoption as Karonhienhá:wi into the Wolf kahwá:tsire granted her a voice in selecting roiá:ner—giving her more political representation by adoption into the Kanien’kehá:ka nation than she had in the U.S. [54]

This difference in regards to suffrage was something well known to Rotinonshón:ni. Gawasco Waneh (Arthur Parker) wrote in 1909: “Does the modern American woman [who] is a petitioner before man, pleading for her political rights, ever stop to consider that the red woman that lived in New York state five hundred years ago, had far more political rights and enjoyed a much wider liberty than the twentieth century woman of civilization?” [55]

Modern feminists might regard the traditional division of roles according to gender as less than egalitarian. Some contemporary Rotinonshón:ni would agree, and argue that traditional gender role division is obsolete, while also pointing out that some of that division had its origin in colonial gender roles imposed by European cultural imperialism. One example is the concern raised by Taiaiake Alfred:

“We cannot hold on to a concept of the warrior that is gendered in the way it once was and that is located in an obsolete view of men’s and women’s roles. The battles we are fighting are no longer primarily physical; thus, any idea of the indigenous warrior framed solely in masculine terms is outdated and must be rethought and recast from the solely masculine view of the old traditional ways to a new concept of the warrior that is freed from colonial gender constructions and articulated instead with reference to what really counts in our struggles: the qualities and actions of a person, man or woman, in battle.” [56]

[dailycharacteroption]

Book Review: Classic Monsters Revisited

I had said yesterday that we’d be looking at how Pathfinder reimagined goblins and other monsters , and now I’m here to deliver!

Classic Monsters Revisited was the start of one of my favorite series of setting books for Pathfinder’s core setting, the Revisited series. Like the name suggests, it was all about showcasing various monsters (plus one time they focused on magic items) and how Pathfinder sought to recontextualize them and breathe new life into the concepts, which they did at first, thought later iterations were more focused on showing off the new monsters they had ripped wholesale from folklore or made up wholesale, though they never truly abandoned revisiting monsters that had been featured in past iterations of D&D.

The monsters this time around were Bugbears that were less “vaguely bearlike uber-goblins” and more creepy stalking predators like the boogeyman that their name is actually a variant of; Gnolls that were, let’s be honest, more or less the same as D&D gnolls but with a different deity slapped onto them; The Goblins we all know and love from their  fusion of Stitch and Gremlins; Hobgoblins being the classic militaristic types we know of but also being created by divine intervention on goblin stock; Kobolds, who aren’t changed that much from past systems beyond not having any connection or reason to hate gnomes in particular; Lizardfolk, which aren’t changed much beyond actually exploring their culture and demonstrating how different societies have different social mores; Minotaurs, which aren’t changed much at all; Ogres, who’ve gone from lesser giants to being “The Hills Have Eyes” style degenerate mutants and hybrid offspring of humans and giants, while being capable of some of the most monstrous acts both against other humanoids and even each other; Orcs, who aren’t changed much and were just given relevant lore for the setting; And finally, Trolls, which aren’t changed much but are given interesting lore tying them to the First World and also exploring the difficulties of maintaining the metabolism necessary for their regeneration.

The art and lore in this book is all fun stuff that taps into not just the physiology and behavior of these beings, but also where they live and what their lives are like. Interestingly, the art for trolls appears to predate the official look that Pathfinder gave to troll-kind, and hearkens back to their look in D&D, what with the elongated drooping noses that almost certainly would get in the way of eating and whatnot, whereas later Pathfinder would give them massive tusks and underbites, a more potbelly appearance, and somewhat porcine faces.

One the one hand, this book perfectly showcases how Paizo was willing to go above and beyond to make some of their classic humanoid threats more interesting and diverse, be it the comical goblins, the terrifying bugbears, or the pure disgust of ogres.

On the other, however, a lot of the humanoids in this book actually are barely changed or fleshed out at all, and are sometimes just awful for awfulness's sake. Gnolls and orcs being universally cave-dwelling slavers and brutes, kobolds being cowardly, minotaurs barely having a society at all, and so on.

The good news is, this eventually gets better, with orcs being given proper nuance with the matanji orcs of the Mwangi Expanse being goodly guardian warriors, while the Belkzen orcs even got enough nuance to see that they were forged by the struggles caused by both the Dwarven Quest for Sky and the return of the sun, while others focus their pride and physical prowess elsewhere.

Meanwhile, gnolls get a more matriarchal culture (far cry from their weirdly misogynistic patriarchal one even while worshipping a goddess), and we see, especially with mwangi gnolls, them being a practical and pragmatic people, a far cry from the assumption of lazy slavers that only represent the most monstrous tribes of their kind.

And Minotaurs! Oh, how they improved minotaurs over time, including giving them a better origin based in Pathfinder’s not-Greece Ibyldos rather than being “Lamashtu did a thing again”.

All this to say nothing of how kobolds have evolved into a people able to match their pride with their actions and even get new lore where they adapt and evolve to match powerful beings they revere.

All of these changes as the Pathfinder setting evolved does mean that while this book is a good jumping-off point, a lot of it is woefully out of date.

Some of that goes back to the original assumption that Pathfinder was going to be a more edgy, dark fantasy setting. (They went as far as to explicitly state the carnal, often incestuous, habits of ogres, for example.) However, some of it also ties back to the lingering assumptions of Gygax’s vision of D&D, wherein biological determinism was very much a thing and “evil” ancestries were inherently so with no chance of redemption and no moral recourse but to wipe them from the earth, and all the horrific implications that come with that when used as a metaphor for the real world.

Thankfully, we as a fandom are happily moving away from such things, with conflicts with orcs and goblins being more about struggles for resources, cultural misunderstandings, and of course the influence of evil gods teaching them that malicious right-makes-right ideologies are superior, which you can happily apply to any people, even the traditionally “good” peoples.

I think that will do for today, but this has been a fun revisitation. Now, on to something more focused on mechanics than lore!

[blueberry-bubbles130]

The disappointment of the characterisation of the Bourgeois family in Miraculous Ladybug.

This essay/post will be talking about my feelings regarding the characterisation of Bourgeois family, as I'm doing a rewrite fanfiction of Miraculous and the Bourgeois family plays an extremely important part in my rewrite.

Trigger Warnings include:

TW: Child abuse

Child neglect

Verbal abuse

Emotional abuse

Domestic Violence

If I have forgotten to add any trigger warnings in the post please comment and I'll add them as soon as I can.

Getting this out of the way with now because I don't want to focus on her in this post, and because she won't be in my rewrite at all, I don't like Zoe. In the canon of the show all she serves as is a replacement for Chloe and a wielder of the Bee Miraculous. Unfortunately in the canon show, she is tied to the miraculous and Chloe in such a way that she cannot be talked about with bringing Chloe salt/bashing into the discussion, and has no true character of her own out of just being nice. There are others in the show who already could've filled the role much better. Zoe is far better written in fanon and fanfiction. But I don't want to be beating a long dead horse so there are other posts you can read to see Zoe's poor implementation in the show, and absolutely great fanfictions you can read that gives her a developed character if you like her. With that being said lets get onto the main essay.

Who are the Bourgeois family?

In the show the Bourgeois family are an upper class family that are said to hold a lot of influence. The family consists of Andre Bourgeois; the patriarch of the family who owns a hotel, and is also the mayor of Paris. Audrey Bourgeois; the matriarch of the family and a famous fashion critic. And Chloe Bourgeois; the child of the family and the temporary bee miraculous holder. The Bourgeois family can be considered a large secondary example of Miraculous's wasted potential, and it's inability to truly give a satisfying conclusion to any concept they've tried to execute during it's run. And some will say this is just the end of an arc and season 6 will continue and deliver. But it won't, especially considering Miraculous' record with delivering on expected plotlines it isn't promising in the slightest and I do not hold hope for season 6. Despite this, I'm rather interested in the Bourgeois family, and they are my favourite part of Miraculous making it even more disappointing to see the outcome of the plotline involving them.

Audrey Bourgeois-

I'm doing Audrey Bourgeois first because despite having a lot to say about all the family members, I have the least to say about Audrey.

Audrey is characterised as a harsh fashion critic who has nothing kind to say about anyone around her. Her kind words are only reserved for someone who can truly impress her, examples being Marinette and Gabriel. Marinette being shown to the audience and Gabriel being told to the audience. She is responsible for launching Gabriel into fame as a fashion designer. Audrey isn't even remotely nice to her own family. She abandons them mostly and seems to return only when work arises in Paris. And even then she belittles both her husband and Chloe constantly.

Something I find interesting in fanfiction for Miraculous Ladybug is that before we got any glimpse of who Audrey is. Everyone assumed she'd died and they either called her Simone or Julia, Julie or Juliette. And this gave depth to both Chloe, and Andre. This will be discussed again later.

Audrey's character has at least stayed consistent throughout Miraculous' ever-increasing run, which is a miracle considering Miraculous issues with characterisation, among other issues. However at the same time it's quite odd considering unlike Andre who got more developed regarding his past and what he wants, Audrey remains quite flat character-wise with only glimpses of there possibly something else to her. I think that Audrey despite staying consistent and explaining a lot about Chloe and Andre, she's still wasted potential. In one of the episodes characters such as Gabriel, Natalie and and I think maybe Tomoe are shown watching important story information on a tv. This would seemingly hint that Audrey had something to do with Gabriel. Which is believable considering Audrey's personality and previous appearances with Gabriel. However as of season 5 this has not been expanded upon in anyway whatsoever and like I keep saying I doubt it will be in season 6 or future seasons if they get anymore. This makes me believe that Audrey should've been expanded upon as a villain, she could've stolen a miraculous and possibly became a main villain. She's close to Gabriel, she's got the perfect personality for it; the only thing she needed to be a good villain was a decent motivation and I easily could've believed her becoming a villain if she'd been given decent motivation. She's already controlling and demanding, so Zoe could've never been introduced and you could've had it so she wants ultimate control over Andre and Chloe while placing herself as some sort of evil Queen. And that's all I really have to say about Audrey. Hell! I've already seen a few posts where people state that Audrey should've taken over as mayor after Andre, which makes a hell of a lot more sense then Chloe doing it. It's not exactly the same because she's the stepmother, but something I think Audrey should've been a bit like but far more toned down for the child audience is like Julia Cotton from Hellraiser. She's just so perfect as a example of someone willing to go to extremes in order to achieve their desires. Hell it's already there in her akuma, Style Queen! Just make her an evil queen, it wouldn't have been that hard and then we wouldn't have to deal with that mess we got with them attempting to make Gabriel sympathetic but then being shown him horribly abusing his son with glee at every opportunity he gets. You could keep Gabriel and Natalie sympathetic and make Audrey even more despicable than she is.

Also Audrey is clearly abusive, and in 2023 we should not need to have debates over whether she is because some people say she's just cruel. No she's abusive, it's clearly abuse.

Chloe Bourgeois-

Chloe is definitely my favourite character out of the Bourgeois family and Miraculous as a whole, and while her characterisation post season 3 does sadden and disappoint me, it doesn't anger me like what the writers did with Andre.

Chloe starts the series as nothing more than an obnoxious bully who torments her classmates. When we get to season 2 we get to see Chloe receive more depth as a character and see how her parents helped her in becoming the person she is today. Then season 3 happened and we see Miracle Queen. Now I don't think Miracle Queen is completely horrid, It makes sense that Chloe may begin to regress or backslide into her unhealthy habits. And I've even seen people still redeem her with miracle queen being in their stories. What pisses me off about Miracle Queen, especially when people online talk about it, is that they just seem to forget about Gabriel akumatising Audrey and Andre to use as blackmail against Chloe. Like yes at the end of the day, Chloe still makes the decision to become Miracle Queen and do what she did. But you cannot deny that a fully grown man who should know better, put the two people she presumably cared about the most at this point in danger in order to blackmail her. He cornered her on the balcony and essentially railroaded her into making that decision. Like what was she going to do if she said no, she can't fight Hawkmoth without a miraculous and even if she'd tried he might've legitimately hurt her or her parents to win. Here again we see fanfics just knock the show out of the water, with many people deciding to make Chloe trick Hawkmoth into giving her the miraculous and then she just runs away to get help. Also Marinette shouldn't have gotten involved in Chloe's family drama, like why did she think it was a good idea to do what she did in Queen wasp. Just why?

Something else regarding Chloe's character arc that just genuinely confuses me is that during season 2 it's obvious in episodes like Zombizou, Style Queen, Queen Wasp and Malediktator is that they're written by other writers who have differing opinions on Chloe to Thomas Astruc. And now I think Thomas was busy on a different project while this was was being written, which is fine. But what confuses me is that surely Thomas could've looked over the episode script and maybe said to change it. Instead of just letting a character he clearly does not like get development he also didn't like and then arguing with Chloe fans and Miraculous fans who may not like Chloe but understand her character arc was butchered as well as others, on twitter over it.

As well as this is season 5, I think it's revealed season 1-5 of Miraculous takes place over 1 school year. In France the average school year is about 10 months long lasting from September to late June early July. This means each season could technically take place over about 2 months. This gives Chloe 2-4 months at most to redeem herself. Which is just too much to expect of her to try and completely redeem herself and undo a lifetime of unhealthy behaviours in that short of a timespan. No wonder Miracle Queen happened, she hasn't had the proper support to try and unlearn those behaviours or redeem herself. And it makes Andre giving her over to her mother even more saddening/rage enducing, because Zoe has been around for the same time Chloe was given to try and unlearn her healthy behaviours. So Andre has abandoned his daughter who's he risen for her entire 13-14 year life for some child he's known for about 3 months at best.

Then season 4 and 5 begin the endless parade of Chloe Salt/Bashing in order to prop up Zoe. As well as the butchering of other characters, to continue hammering in that point, such as Andre, but we'll get to him later. Now I'm not saying I'm completely against the idea of evil Chloe, there are some brilliant fanfics out there with Chloe just either hamming it up as an evil villain or treated as a tragic villain, who's fall from grace is a pure tradegy. And I love it both because it treats Chloe with the seriousness she deserves, the majority of fanfics treat the abuse she's suffered with seriousness and not as some joke like the serious does. You want a absolutely brilliant Chloe Bourgeois fanfic read "Float like a Butterfly, Sting like a Bee" on ao3 it's just so good and I can't recommend it enough.

Also on the topic of redemptions Sabrina, Felix, Natalie and especially Gabriel shouldn't gotten redemptions. Gabriel, Sabrina and Felix don't show any remorse for their actions, in fact they all show glee in their actions apart from Natalie. But even then none of them truly face any punishments for their actions and sure Gabriel doesn't get to enjoy Emilie being back alive, but he still gets away with his numerous crimes.

As a final note on Chloe's development, it's been said by some people before it's quite harmful that Chloe doesn't get treated with the seriousness that she deserves and is one of the only villains not given a redemption as well as not being what is considered a "perfect" or "idealised" victim of abuse like Adrien is. And as someone who has lashed out at others due to issues with authoritive figures in the past (not to the extent Chloe has thought, especially with the bullying and wealth, I'm also not French) I do relate to Chloe in a small way. And this makes it harder for me personally, and it really is just harmful because it might give kids who have lashed out like her due to similar or the same issues the same idea that they don't deserve love or a guardian who can actually care for them in the way they need, as children.

I'm not saying give Chloe a redemption, she just should've been treat with the seriousness she needed.

Gettting back on track lets talk about the final member of the Bourgeois family.

Andre Bourgeois-

Oh Andre, where do I begin with him, in canon.

For seasons 1 to 3 he's mainly Chloe's nervous father and enabler. Then we get a bit of depth in season 4 and 5 about him wanting to be a director but not getting to due to Audrey and politics. Then in season 5 he lets Audrey take Chloe.

A deleted part of the script was revealed in which originally he gave Chloe to Audrey which in itself is horrific because he knows how Audrey is. Not only has she subjected Chloe to verbal abuse but him as well. This would be changed in the series to him just letting Audrey take Chloe, which is just as worse. These are just as bad because either way he's trying to absolve himself of any responsibility of what happened with Chloe which he is equally responsible for as he is Chloe's main enabler. And you know I actually had some hope for him in canon that he'd realise it was time to as someone else brilliantly put it "ditch the bitch" and forge a better relationship with Chloe, but that never happened. I guess that's what I get for having hope for Miraculous's canon.

It legitimately pisses me off so fucking much than in canon he gets to wash his hands clean of the whole problem with Chloe.

Now fanon Andre is so much better than his Canon counterpart and thinking about it now, Fanon Andre has always been better than his canon counterpart.

Bringing back up the whole thing about fanfics that pre-date Audrey is that it gives not only Chloe but Andre more depth. These fanfics typically paint the picture that Andre is a man that closed off not only by politics but the death of his wife and because he's not in tune with his own emotions, he can't help Chloe so instead of ignoring her grief like her father, Chloe is lashing out instead.

Even fanon versions of Andre that are more far more closed off, corrupt, and evil are much more enjoyable to read about than canon Andre, and have more depth. Something about Canon Andre just makes him even more loathsome and detestable then his many often better fanon versions. And when he does get redeemed in fanon it's just so good, because the people writing him, understand what makes his character have actual depth to him and make him realise his faults in a satisfying way that gives him a good redemption.

Maybe it was just me projecting the fanon versions of Andre onto the Canon version that made my disappointment and anger so much worse. But either way his overall canon characterisation is disappointing.

Again if you want to a fanfic that has Andre be a good antagonist, read "Chloe and the Bee" by @anxresi it isn't complete but what is there is just brilliant. And If you'd prefer to read a fanfiction where Andre is trying his best to be a good parent to Chloe read "Float like a Butterfly....Sting like a Bee" by Bookmonkey on ao3. They're both such amazing fanfics.

Conclusion-

Overall the characterisation of the Bourgeois family within the canon of the actual show is just a neatly packaged example of Miraculous' many issues such as bad writing, poor pacing, inconsistent characterisation and either attempting to poorly redeem abusers who should know better or just letting them get away without any consequences whatsoever.

I'd like to say thank you for listening to my long feral rambles about the Bourgeois family.

[lowresolutioncryptid]

I’ve been seeing a lot of terfs deny the very clear link between trans exclusionism and nvzism/white supremacy simply because they do not understand the history behind it. ignorance is not a legitimate excuse to perpetuate systems of white supremacy. And it is further testament to the harm that banning critical race theory and queer studies in schools is doing to y’all’s brains. Because if I’m being completely honest, I’m seeing an alarming amount of self-identified terfs and radfems who are legit STILL IN HIGH SCHOOL. YOU ARE NOT WELCOME HERE. My blog is 18+, not for children, anyone under 18 gets immediately blocked. Anyway…

Transphobia and anti-blackness are historically linked and continue, to this day, to be overlapping forms of systemic oppression. Black trans women, specifically, have higher murder rates than any other group. Both trans and black people statistically face more medical discrimination than cis and white people, respectively. The combination of both of these marginalized identities forms a particular and very sinister intersection of oppression.

Not only do both of these systems of privilege work to uphold the social and structural power of cis people and white people.. biological essentialism and transphobia also, historically, were used to define the beliefs of white supremacy and race essentialism. Race essentialism is the false belief that it is “natural order” for whites to oppress other races. For centuries, white “philosophers” made up a whole list of pseudoscientific “reasons” WHY they believed racism was “natural”. One of them was the idea that “distinct and separate biological sexes were the mark of a more evolved race-“ meaning the white race.. they compared European patriarchal sex roles and gender roles to the matriarchal cultures and gender variance that they observed in communities of color.

I have seen terfs accuse people who bring up this historical fact of “masculinizing” black women and women of color, which is a very real issue, but in this case and with historical context, that is a misunderstanding and most of the time is being said by people who want to silence trans people and shut down any criticism of terfism.

Acknowledging the thousands of years of acceptance of gender variance and third/fourth gender categories within pre-colonial African, Indigenous, Latin, Asian, & Middle eastern cultures, is not to blame for the masculinization of women of color, and as a matter of fact: the invention and enforcement of Eurocentric gender roles REQUIRES and RELIES on the masculinization of women of color in order to uphold white women’s place within white supremist systems as the “ideal of femininity” that they can then weaponize against women of color when they do not adhere to those Eurocentric standards.

During times of enslavement and segregation, black women were forced, legally and socially, to conform to very strict Eurocentric femininity standards in order to avoid harassment and violence, and if they deviated from these norms and codes they were dehumanized, masculinized, and were “made into examples” of white femininity being “superior”. Gender roles and biological essentialism do not exist in a vacuum outside of the white supremist systems that they were created within and invented to maintain. To imply that all women share the same experiences within these systems is akin to saying “I don’t see color”.. it’s denying the lived experiences of people of color.

Most gays are familiar with the symbol of the pink triangle, the badge worn by LGBT victims of ww2 concentration camps, but the transgender victims are often overlooked..

“Hitler’s Nazi government, however, brutally targeted the trans community, deporting many trans people to concentration camps and wiping out vibrant community structures.” - Museum of Jewish Heritage.

The US holocaust memorial museum that holds remembrance vigils for the victims persecuted by the nazis, under the Obama administration, included both gay men and transgender people in their list of victims. However, under the Trump administration this was changed to only include gay men. When asked about this change one of the museum’s head curators responded that because trans people were viewed by the nazis as indistinguishable from gay men that they are “included” with the definition. This is an obvious cop-out. The other reason that they gave was that the term “transgender” was only officially coined in the 1980’s, despite the thriving population of German trans people and gender-nonconforming subcultures that pre-date the nazi control of Germany.

Ancient Judaism recognizes at least six (6) distinct sex categories and gender roles, our women fulfilling “traditionally masculine” roles and vice versa.. this is a direct threat and opposition to nazism which relies on Eurocentric patriarchal gender roles. White women serve one purpose within nazi ranks: BIOLOGICAL incubators for white babies. If you don’t have 1) European genetic material 2) biological capabilities of reproduction (vagina, womb, mammaries) to be exploited for domestic labor, you are not considered a “true” woman by nazis. “Woman” being defined within nazism by biological, reproductive traits is so eerily similar to terf’s definition of woman that the only explanation for still perpetuating these ideas that I can think of, other than apathy or being full blown nazis, would be ignorance and historical illiteracy. The systemic eradication and erasure of trans and gender-nonconforming people by the nazi party was essential in maintaining these standards at a structural level, as well as the reinforcement of these false beliefs within popular culture. In order to maintain that false image of “dominance” “supremacy”, they had to invent a subclass that was then deemed “inferior” by their own standards.

When trans people of color and trans Jews are explicitly telling y’all that the harmful rhetoric you spread about trans people has DIRECT historical links to white supremacy and nazism, and (whether intentionally or unintentionally) upholds these systems that are killing us, it’s not your place to dig your heels into the ground and come up with excuses. It’s your place to listen and reevaluate your views.