#legal name be polite and put some respect on it :)

[maskyartist]

PROOF THAT IM NOT DEAD YET IM JUST STRUGGLING WITH ART BLOCK THIS IS ALL IVE GOT YALL

(if you'd like to read the text simply open in a new tab, under the cut is also a translation if you'd rather that instead! :D i didnt wanna cut n post a bunch of images compiled together this time im lazy)

RIDE THE TIDE: LEADER

Kawa! Healed Sanatized Ex-Soldier

Weapon: Slosher (normal)

Role: Frontline Offense

"Well, ain't that cute!"

===

RIDE THE TIDE: PAINTER

Ichigo! Clan Family Runaway

Weapon: Flingza-Roller

Role: Defense Clean-up

"Eh, I need the cash."

===

RIDE THE TIDE: ANCHOR

Jackie! Anarchy Champion

Weapon: Splatterscope (Will also use the Z+T variant)

Role: Backline Support

"Just give me a challenge, would ya?"

note: Jackie is half-blind and partially melted in the face

===

RIDE THE TIDE: ASSAULT

Garbage! Kraken Squid from Alterna

Weapon: Heavy Splattling Deco

Role: Aggressive Frontline

"It plays mean for much fun!"

===

ANGELFISH ANCHOR: TEAM LEADER

Ika! A Petty Princess

Weapon: Classic Squiffer

Kawa's EX Best Friend

===

ANGELFISH ANCHOR: ASSAULT

Toxix! Alterna Researcher in Secret

Weapon: Dapple Dualies Nouveau

Mimic Octopus *Watching For Garbage (searching was a typo)

[justrainandcoffee]

Sinners (James Delaney x fem!oc) I

Summary: Sister Agnes Hill wasn't always who she claimed to be. There was a time when she was Inés Serra, a Spanish girl that went to London with her father and brother when the patriarch lost everything he had. It was there that she also met James Delaney. "Stay away from him" her father warned her. And she should have listened to the man.

Series warnings: Everything that Taboo is, including incest. || Religious theme. || Dark themes, like murder. || My oc is a nun. || Unrequited love, for now at least. || Angst. || Not fluff at all in this series.

Words: 2.8k.

Author's note: The name Inés Serra is the Spanish version of Agnes Hill. They mean the same. All my ocs are named after flowers and there's one called "st Agnes" || I wrote some dialogues in Spanish but their translation is next every line.

1795-1803.

Inés Serra arrived at London with her father Fernando and Felipe, her eldest brother from the coast of Cantabria, Spain. Specifically, the city of Santander after the patriarch lost absolutely everything making business with a Portuguese man who stole from him. But it was legal and Fernando Serra couldn't do anything about it. He put his signature not knowing the consequences of it.

Fernando Serra was a traveller merchant sailing through the seas where he met Horace Delaney. It couldn't be said that both men became friends, but they had a mutual respect for the other and a relationship based on trust. Something that it wasn't usual those days. Not in times of constant wars, at least. Both men, collected several enemies but the other weren't one of them. Widower and without places to go, Fernando sold his last possessions and bought three tickets to England, hoping that Horace Delaney could help him. Maybe his children could have a future in the Capital city. Perhaps his daughter could marry a rich man, even that could help. But Inés was still a little girl and was only 8 years old. Felipe Serra, his son, probably could work for Delaney trade company as well, he was 13 years old was old enough to work.

Horace Delaney received them and same as Fernando. Their respective children were more or less the same age. Delaney was weird man, but Fernando couldn't complain about it. He never asked him anything and Fernando didn't bother him at all, except for the times that they talked about job. Felipe, few years older than James, preferred to work at his father's side instead of focusing on his studies. On the other hand, Inés was admitted in a school for girls.

For the next seven years, Inés studied in London where she learnt the local language along with Latin and French as it was usual. She learnt history and art. They taught her how to sew and to paint. And they taught her to respect the King and God like they were the same person.

But when Inés was 14 years old tragedy knocked on the Serra's door. Working on the docks, Felipe cut his hand with an old knife. It didn't seem to be that serious at first. It bleed but they put bandages on his hand and the young boy could keep working. But few days later he got fever and couldn't move from his bed. In less than two weeks, a terrible infection affected his whole body and Felipe, only 19 years old, died a summer night. His body was buried in the cemetery in a funeral that only his father, sister and Mr. Delaney assisted.

Inés left school a year later to stay with his father that never seemed to recover from his Felipe's death.

It was there that she started to pay attention to Delaney's son.

James was a young boy that never seemed to talk too much, but he was well educated and courteous. As far as Inés knew, he was always polite to her and her father. It wasn't until Inés started to live with Fernando that she really got to know James. The past years, he was just the firstborn of her father's boss: the heir of their fortune.

And there was also Zilpha, his half sister. Inés loved her poor brother, he was a good boy and always protected her but the relationship between the Delaney siblings, in her eyes, was totally devotion the one with the other. Zilpha was the same age as her but they studied in totally different places. Her social status allowed her to go to a better school so Inés didn't know her at all. And to be honest, the Delaney girl didn't seem to be interested in being friends with her at all.

"It's a beautiful day, isn't it?" Inés said once to James when she found him in the city. She started to work as governess for a rich family not long after she left school. She was still young but her education was enough to do an acceptable work teaching and taking care of those kids.

"It is, Ms. Serra," he said, smiling.

Inés confirmed that moment, that she was falling in love with James the instant his blue eyes met hers. Even when he was an impossible dream. The few last weeks, she had spent her free hours looking at him through the distance.

"Aléjate de James Delaney," her father said once he caught her looking at him. "Su madre murió en un asilo. Rumores dicen que alucinaba y era un peligro para los demás y ella misma. Y Horace no está cuerdo del todo tampoco. Si ambos padres están enfermos, sus hijos también". (Stay away from James Delaney. His mother ended in an asylum. Rumours says that she was hallucinating and was a danger to the rest and herself. And Horace isn't completely sane. If both parents are insane, so are their children.)"

Inés nodded.

"Vas a encontrar un buen hombre algun día." (One day you'll find a good man)

And yet despite the warnings, Inés couldn't stop looking at him.

Inés probably could never forget the day that everything changed. It was an afternoon that seemed to be night because a heavy thunderstorm. She was returning home after work when she saw them even when at first she thought it was her imagination, but it wasn't. There, under a tree and believing there were no one, James and his sister were kissing. They were kissing in ways that the church and also society forbade.

Maybe she was young, just 15, but she was old enough to know that everything about that absolutely wrong. The closeness between the siblings was darker than she, innocently thought at first. Inés ran inside her bedroom and thanked the rain that disguised her tears.

Her father was right: the Delaneys were sick.

Inés, that usually found an excuse to talk to James now started to avoid him completely and that didn't go unnoticed by him.

"Are you going to work?" he asked days later. "I have my horse, if you want to."

"I'm fine. Thanks, I prefer to walk this morning."

"Is everything alright?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, Mr. Delaney I've to go."

James looked at her, walking fast and disappearing from his view as soon as she turned the corner.

Inés thought about telling her father what she saw, but she was afraid of the consequences that the revelation could cause inside the family and Fernando Serra still depended on Delaney generosity to keep working. So she said nothing, but the girl started to resent Zilpha. Her money, her education, her last dress and her relationship with James. World wasn't fair and it wasn't Zilpha's fault that she couldn't afford those dresses or the professors she had, but the envy started to grow inside her like a cancer. But it was especially because of James. Maybe it wasn't Zilpha's fault that she was poorer, but it was that she had James' attention. Because it was wrong, it was forbidden and Inés was sure both siblings knew that. In top of all the things Ms. Delaney had and Inés didn't, the other girl also had the love of the only person that Inés felt she could give her heart.

.

Maybe his sister didn't notice anything because Zilpha never really paid attention to Inés, but James did notice the way the teenage girl who used to greeted him every time they saw each other, suddenly didn't do it anymore. And it was clear now that she was avoiding him. If James' suspicious were right, then it was better to him to talk to her. His life, after all, was going downhill no matter what. His insubordination against the East Indian Company could cost him his head and his love for his sister already condemned him to hell, and he was barely 16 years old.

He wrote a letter to her asking Inés to find him at the port. There were always people there and none were going to pay attention to two young friends talking.

The wisest thing to do was not going there. It'd have been clever if she'd have listened to the voice in her head, but she didn't. First, because she was just 15 years old and then, because she was madly in love with the boy who sent her the letter asking her to meet him.

James saw her coming, she was wearing a blue dress and a hat with a veil covering part of her face. James was sure that boys did pay attention to her because she was pretty and her Spanish accent help her to be more captivating. Sadly, for him, the only thing he noticed looking at her was that she wasn't Zilpha.

"Am I late? I couldn't leave in time the house where I work because one of the kids is sick. Poor boy, but I guess he'll be fine soon."

"No, you're just in time, don't worry."

"I'm glad then. What do you want? Your letter said it was urgent, but you didn't say anything else."

"Mmh. Yes. Inés, I know that you know. I know you saw us- my sister and I. I don't know exactly what did you see, but I know you're avoiding me because of that."

Inés stared at him for a moment before looking down, playing with her gloves.

"Under the tree. A thunderstorm months ago, you and her were kissing."

James sighed. Yes, he remembered now. It was Zilpha's idea and he accepted because he didn't know how to say no to her.

"Inés-"

"No. Don't. I know enough to know that it's bad and I don't want to be involved in that. I don't want explanations… Mierda- fuck." Inés felt her eyes filling with tears and hated herself. "Te amo," she finally said to him.

She shouldn't have said that, but if she didn't say it, the envy, the hate she felt towards Zilpha it was going to be the end of her. Tomorrow morning she was going to ask her father to send her to Ireland, or maybe back to Spain to start a new life far away from James and his sister because the only thing that Inés was getting of all that was corrupting her heart.

"You don't love me," James said. "Give your love to a good man, because you're a good woman, Inés. I don't deserve it."

"Don't tell me what do I deserve or what I don't. And I do love you, so bad I love you. My father is waiting for me, James. I have to make dinner for him."

She hated her weakness in that moment. She hated her voice trembling and her tears running down her face.

The boy that James was back then, wasn't the cold man that he was destined to be and even when probably he was just motivated by pity and a bit of compassion, he kissed her. Inés felt his hand first on her waist and then him bringing her closer to him. She let him guide her. Inés felt she was dreaming, because she dreamt about it but even there it wasn't that good as it was now. Her hands were caressing the back of his neck, as James pushed even closer to him.

She loved him, so it happened that she offered him her virginity when the kisses weren't enough and James took it. It was behind a cantina, while she was sitting on a barrel. Probably, Inés thought, Zilpha was even privileged enough to be in his bed and never where they were now. Not where probably people passing by, and ignoring them, just believe she was a cheap whore. Another one of the dozens that were there.

At least he didn't hurt her and it was as gentle as he could. She hid her head on his neck when both of them climaxed. They kissed again, slower this time.

"Te amo," she repeated. But he didn't answer back, just tucked her hair behind her ear.

James pulled up his pants and helped her to get off the barrel.

"Goodbye, James." Tears were burning her eyes, but the girl didn't gave him the chance to do nor say anything because ran away from there.

Her father wasn't there when she arrived to the house and Inés was grateful for that. She cook something for him and left a note saying she didn't feel good and didn't want to eat.

Alone in her bedroom, the girl hugged a pillow to muffling her sobs, while she remember what happened.

She couldn't bear to see him next to his sister. Or watching her clinging to him, while she whispered something to him. Inés couldn't bear the idea of them pretending to be siblings during the day when they were lovers during night.

James sought her the following days but not avail. He wanted to apologize but didn't know how. Even when he didn't force her to do anything, the barrel, the cantina felt so bad to him. She was a good person, she didn't deserve what he did.

But destiny was ready to play its cards and the apologies should wait ten years, if the man he was about to be was still willing to apologize to her.

Ten years later: 1813.

Inés Serra was dead as her brother was and also her father. Fernando Serra died seven years ago probably because his liver failed after drinking just rum for over a decade. But Inés died two years before him and in her place was now Agnes Hill.

Sister Agnes, specifically, the one who worked in st. Bartholomew hospital, helping people and near the American man surnamed Dumbarton.

She didn't trust him but the hospital did and she was there just to follow orders. So far, the doctor besides being a weird man who loved chemicals never bothered her or the other sisters ever. Yet, everything about him didn't like her.

Agnes started her day as always. Her little and modest bedroom faced the streets and the morning workers always woke her up. She prayed before having her breakfast and after cleaning her space, went like always to the hospital.

"Thanks, sister," a man in wheelchair said to her, after she helped him to sit there and wheeled him outside to enjoy the sun.

Agnes heard the voice of sister Clarice, telling a man "just follow the smell." She saw his back and hat but not his face. She didn't care, probably another one looking for Dumbarton.

Agnes forgot completely about the unknown man, the American and even Sister Clarice, because she was talking to her patient. He was a funny grandpa always talking about his son and granddaughters and he made her laugh, but it was getting cold and he should return inside.

It was when she was heading to another wing, when Agnes saw the man wearing the top hat and she felt her heart stop. Ten years passed, she knew that. She even could say how many days passed since he left.

James Keziah Delaney is dead. She heard the rumours about his death one time she left the monastery to visit her father. James Delaney died in the sea.

Or he was alive, or he was the devil visiting her.

James' eyes caught a nun staring at him and for a moment he didn't pay attention to her until he looked at her again.

It was her. Clearly older, but it was her.

James turned to walk towards the nun but she wasn't there anymore. James looked around but didn't see her. He was busy, he couldn't stay there for a person who escaped from him once again. Through a peephole of one of the many doors that the hospital had, she saw him walk away.

And Agnes knew that even when Inés was dead, the feelings she believed dead as well, were still there. Burning her like the infernal flames around the Devil.

NEXT

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

I have seen a post comparing Steven's adoption of Henry II in the anarchy with what the Velaryons did with the Strong boys wanting to justify that their claim is legitimate, but in my humble opinion it is not comparable at all. This situation could be extrapolated to Aegon II having adopted his nephew Aegon (that was the LEGITIMATE son of his political rival) having himself a living son, in addition everyone would know that he is not his son and well in this case it would not be applicable but the adopted heir retains his family name...This is not what happens with the Strong boys, It has nothing to do with the modern concept of adoption that they want to apply. I don't understand why it's so hard for them to accept that these guys had no real claim to the throne. They can continue enjoying their characters accepting that they are bastards in every sense of the word. Do you think they are comparable situations?

I haven't seen this argument myself but clearly those are two completely different situations. Stephen didn't adopt Henry II, he made him his heir as a compromise to end to the civil war. And yes, the clear parallel would Aegon II naming Aegon III his heir over Jaehaerys and Maelor, had they survived. Again, this was part of a peace treaty. Everyone knew who Henry II's parents were, and there was no question of his not being trueborn. Henry II was still Count of Anjou, the title he inherited through his father, and styled himself Henry FitzEmpress in honor of his mother.

To understand why this happened, we need to look at some context. Henry II was only 20 when he decided to re-take his mother's throne, and Stephen was past 60. At that point England had been at war off and on for the better part of 15 years and both the clergy and the lords were unenthusiastic about continuing and forced Henry and Stephen to the peace table after Henry made some early gains in his campaign. Stephen respected Henry, and Stephen's own sons were kind of uninspiring as future kings go. Eustace, the older son and main obstacle, died before Stephen did, and the younger son, William, agreed to renounce his claim. Stephen never really took the throne due to strong personal ambition in the first place, but because he was persuaded by people close to him that Matilda would be a poor choice for queen, both due to her being a woman and due to the influence of her husband, Geoffrey of Anjou, who was pretty well hated in England. Leaving the throne to his children did not seem to be a major consideration for him when all was said and done. Conceding heirship to Henry II meant that the fighting could come to an end, and the country would be in capable hands, but Stephen himself would not face the humiliation and possible consequences of being outright deposed. As it turned out, Stephen died not even a year later, so Henry II took the throne sooner than expected.

Rhaenyra's Strong children are bastards that she's trying to put into the line of succession while claiming they are trueborn. They were not "adopted" by the Velaryons. The medieval world did not have a concept of adoption like we do in the modern world (Rome did, but not medieval Europe). The reason why it is treason to call them bastards is because what Rhaenyra is doing is illegal, and Viserys, Corlys, and Laenor are shielding her from the consequences. I wrote a post here about the whole idea that Rhaenyra's children are not legally bastards, but I have to admit comparing them to Henry II becoming heir after Stephen is a new one!

[average-transdalorian]

Several post-canon dungeon meshi headcanons (spoilers below the cut)

The first effect noticed from the Demon’s death was that background mana levels rose to (on average) that of somewhere between floors 3 and 6 of the dungeon. Patterns in the fluctuation of background mana are eventually discovered, as are several low-mana and high-mana areas

Many magic researchers moved to the Golden Kingdom, hoping that being at the epicenter would make their research into the changes go faster than their colleagues abroad. Due to this, many magic colleges were established in the Golden Country, and it became known as one of the best places to send magic users to or hire magic users from outside of the Elves’ Western lands

Due to the higher mana concentration, monsters began to spawn at higher rates on the surface. Travel between villages/cities became more dangerous, and more guards and defensive technologies were required at population centers

Many dungeoneers turned to guarding cities/villages and traveling caravans (adopted as one of the main modes of travel due to safety in numbers) to make money using their skills from dungeoneering

Others made companies that would go on monster hunting expeditions and bring back monster corpses as a way of finding more and more varied resources

The Golden Kingdom had some of the best monster hunting legislation in place, as its (re)founders understood that even monsters shouldn’t be overhunted or allowed to overgraze

Toshiro ended up being assigned as his dad’s (or his dad’s lord’s? Idk how powerful his dad was exactly) ambassador to the Golden Kingdom

Falin, at some point, proposes a fund to allow those who can’t pay to do so themselves to travel the world much the way she did. It is initially deemed too costly for the young kingdom’s treasury, but is kept in mind for a few decades until it could be put into place

Someone realizes eventually that Karka/Kahka Broud should’ve had stories of an ancient kingdom that up and sank into the sea one day. The revealed censorship causes a mild political scandal

Leed does not marry Laios, but Zon is given a title and some land. Conflict between the Orcs and their neighbors are the most common political issue that Laios faces; while anti-Orc prejudice is lower in the Golden Kingdom (and actively lowering) than other countries, it is still prevalent, and requires requires the crown to step in on occasion

A memorial to Senshi’s old companions is erected at the old entrance to the dungeon, commemorating how without them, he couldn’t have been able to help Laios and his party defeat the demon. Senshi is added to the memorial after his death

A memorial to Thistle is erected in the palace’s courtyard, detailing his motivations and spiral as dungeon lord. Further memorials are erected with it to Laios, Mithrun, and Marcille after their respective deaths, each detailing their experiences with the Demon and as dungeon lord

The Half-Foot laborer’s guild helps ensure that every Half-Foot is able to get a good job. Inspired by this, several other guilds were established

Although he never gets a memorial (by his own request), several Union terms end up being derived from Chilchuck’s name

Izutsumi invents a few different sports between her own travels. She never has an official job, but certainly gets by well enough

The Golden Kingdom legalizes supervised research into several types of ancient magic. Making beastkin is legalized, although with HEAVY restrictions due to moral concerns

The Golden Kingdom sees a steady influx of immigrants during Laios’ lifespan as more and more people seek safety from monsters within the curse’s radius, which grows exponentially as he ages until it reaches the borders of the Golden Kingdom

Falin does age somewhat slower than Laios; she takes over the throne after his death until a suitable successor is found

While her rule does not last long, she is regarded as a very significant ruler, as her rule is when the Golden Kingdom first needs to really use their anti-monster defenses

The practice of making golems to aid in manual labor is legalized in the Golden Kingdom

The Golden Kingdom is one of the first places to start buying monster products, due to Laios’ and Senshi’s proclivities

[horizon-verizon]

There's something really strange about how HotD allows women to seemingly have power until they actually have to exercise it and maintain it.

The young Rhaenyra fights to be heard but seeks to establish herself, then we jump in time and all her fire has gone out, Alicent denigrates her in the council and in 6 years in DS she has not gained ally for her future council to not speak above her and truly respect her.

Alicent as Rhaenyra's opponent apparently has allies, lords and knights who will follow her (even if it is in the name of her son because exercising power through a man is still power)then we reach her moment of greatest triumph and she... She was left out of the plans and begins to lose more and more influence.

Baela appears confident on e7 but as soon as it's her turn to stand firm on the council she starts to be a scared little girl (which wouldn't be a bad arc because in fact she shares it with Jace in what It could be age discrimination instead of gender, but it's still strange because I'm sure they are already legally adults and AEMOND doesn't seem to have those problems even though some must have objected to a 16-17 boy who may have only strategized in Westeros chess being his main strategist).

Rhaenys has apparently never been afraid to voice her opinion and ruled in her husband's name, so in theory she should know how to deal with men their man·splain and its benevolent misogyny or not. But eventually she needs to ask Corlys for help and be rescued because she's not enough to keep the council in order.

These are our main women and they all express in their plot that women cannot have or maintain power by themselves. Then we also have:

Lady Serena/Sabitha (still confused by the name) who sits at the negotiating table with Lord Frey and Jace in apparent equality. A woman who shows up with several men to shout at Daemon for the Blackwoods without any fear. And Alys and Mysaria whose power depends on what they achieve behind closed doors with more socially influential people.

There is a whole history of women in history clawing and fighting for power and influence any way they could. Henry VII's mother is one of my favorites because she was only the king's mother, not even queen dowager, but she was a constant and influential presence at court, many wives/mothers/sisters of Roman emperors were involved in political intrigues (Caligula's mother had to be exiled for seeking justice for her murdered husband and inviting rebellion, Comudus' mother and Marcus Aurelius' wife when she thought her husband died moved to protect her children by inadvertently causing a political disaster and Comudus's sister thought that power should belong to her and her husband and not her brother, etc) We have, of course, Matilda but there are also Isabella I, Mary I, Isabella of Castile and several of her daughters.What about the power of the consorts? Catherine of Aragon was loved by the fountain even after her death and the legitimacy of her divorce called into question the marriage to Anne and the legitimacy of Elizabeth I, Anne and Parr were well-read women who had a far from insignificant influence. Or Catherine the great? This is a very messy and incomplete list and we wouldn't even have to look at the real world because Asoiaf already has it, I think one of the favorite reviews I read pointed out that Martin managed to show in a world that oppressed women how they were equal in ability and intelligence to men, which made his world misogynistic, but women themselves were no less.

hotD refuses to give us that because every time women have to show real power and not an appearance of it (which is what these women do in the background, Pretend that hey, yes there are women with power, just not any of our protagonists!) is degraded and put in her place carrying a message completely contrary to a supposedly "feminist" narrative.

There is only pain, suffering and the romanticization of that female martyrdom. We don't need it to be a girl power fantasy but at least there should be some nuance, some catharsis and hope because otherwise the message is... Why would you bother leaving the kitchen?

Now, to be clear to any readers: Anon is describing more how the writers have women held back and/or men intervene on for women to have any ability to address or resist other men's pressures: example, Rhaenys and Corlys as Anon said above in that specific scene. This is NOT a in-world character hate spiel!

Getting into it:

Rhaenys didn't directly ask Corlys to step in for her, he did that on his own in the episode...HOWEVER, the WRITING and plot sequence has Corlys have to step in. And I'll add another scene that anon's point reminds me of--Rhaenys didn't know or wouldn't rule Vaemond to just not do shit or face severe consequences....she was the ruling Lady for Corlys in his absence, of course she can order Vaemond around...but she doesn't. (No he can still ignore her, but that in itself would be so much more interesting [and truer to her orig/better character] that she falter in how to address him. Imagine she had ordered him to not go to KL, he goes anyway [thus this is another breach of higher authority], and thus there are TWO levels to his disobedience and duplicitous behavior in trying to become lord against his Lord's wishes and while he's too weak to address such a thing).

I think that we can keep Baela's trepidation as is bc as you say, non, it could be age but it'd also mean her gender and position as a future consort. She'd of course have some "beginning" trouble with addressing the council BUT I think what the issue is 2 things: A) in 1x08, Baela didn't know how to address Vaemond and that's fine, but we need to see progress and that requires more scenes of her growing some confidence. B) those scene before Vaemond's attempt that S1 didn't provide, and thus maybe we could have had a more "fronting"-and-resentful/openly-indignant-but-not-retreating-Baela like we saw then

Aemond has a totally different experience from Baela as a second born prince who was not, at first, to be King or that close to practicing a ruler's power-authority. Despite his position & his belief in his own abilities, he also has been feening for a chance to actually put those abiliities to practice. Other than him being 2nd born, he doesn't experience the layer of misogyny that includes engendering young girls that they can't do a thing AND they shouldn't specifically bc their femaleness is seen as (in)humanely and inherently lacking.

"Alicent as Rhaenyra's opponent apparently has allies, lords and knights who will follow her"--well, in 1x06/07, she tells Larys that she is "alone" and she needs Otto's hand to help her gain more influence in court. Enough to properly intimidate Rhaenyra....but since we don't get to see and witness the actual results of Otto's return to court (Rhaenyra immediately leaves for Dragonstone BEFORE Otto even comes back!), even this is more an appearance of power. Why? Because if Alicent of 1x06 wanted Otto to use against Rhaenyra, and Rhaenyra leaves before he even arrives...what is the point of Ott? Bc Alicent is now #1 bitch at court, at least actively?! Why couldn't we get Otto creeping (not sexual) on Alicent's authority and sorta taking over over her slowly but surely and we see Alicent's quasi-regret in asking him back? Instead we have Otto completely taking over and Alicent totally unaware! Rhaenyra is not there to "negate" Alicent at council, "show off" her "plain-featured sons" (& what...sully Alicent's eyes? or what?), or take possible/present supporting courtiers at court...who we never ever see as you say anon...so Otto comes to court at Alicent's ehest, and she actually doesn't gain much except a man leadign her around more than her making at least some use out of him for use all to WITNESS in key scenes where instead of Otto making announcements at court, it's either her or one of her lackeys....again, this is not about COUNCIL, this is about COURT but why not both with more scenes of Alicent leading court than her at council?

nice pointing out the discrepancy b/t the main lead female nobles vs the fewer side female nobles and Mysaria.

"There is only pain, suffering and the romanticization of that female martyrdom." I mean, there was already much over use of pain-suffering of women compared to men in Rhaenyra's story; problem with HotD is that there was also the stripping down of female rage/defiance/militancy/determination/self-assertion despite some men's most stupid desires. Their own desires for power vs the males' desires to use them for power [again, that example I gave pf Alicent--in real time--realizing Otto trying to use her for his own power trips or just ignoring her & trying to still keep use Otto for her own ends but finding such a tightrope nearly impossible to walk], to be specific. This goes for the Vaemond-Rhaenys thing as well]

"We don't need it to be a girl power fantasy but at least there should be some nuance, some catharsis and hope because otherwise the message is" -- bc of GoT, there is no real message of "hope" for women specifically...as the Dance was always woman-focused, specifically the plight of a woman who has been killed simply bc she demanded the same privileges men had concerning feudal-monarchial authority. There's little-to-no catharsis in Rhaenyra's story--you can maybe find some comfort in her life at Dragonstone after the show is over...oh wait😒--but it is true HotD refuses to handle the moments and spaces of her life pre-end of war that would have showed her both happy and more in control over her body/residence/etc.: Harwin & Daemon, [canonically, both at Dragonstone]; Laena [both Dragonstone & Driftmark]; her own kids,Rhaenys [Dragonstone/Driftmark] -- And I already described more nuanced rewrites for Rhaenys and Alicent

[darkangel1791]

Because many of you answered in the poll that I should keep the disclaimer with the fic for the sake of historical preservation, I thought you might like to see this. It's about when Anne Rice Fanfic was taken off off the net.

In 2000, when the cease and desist letters were sent out by Anne Rice's lawyers, we were ordered to remove all fanfiction based on her characters from the internet immediately or we would be sued. A lot of pretty terrible things had already happened to some fanfic authors, so we all took them down. Where our sites used to be, many of us put this image.

It linked to a site which said this-

***********************

WHERE CAN I READ FANFICTION BASED ON ANNE RICE'S BOOKS?

Nowhere. You can't. On April 7, 2000 Anne Rice had the following message to say on her webpage:

"I do not allow fan fiction.

The characters are copyrighted. It upsets me terribly to even think about fan fiction with my characters. I advise my readers to write your own original stories with your own characters.

It is absolutely essential that you respect my wishes."

This statement was then followed up by attacks on Anne Rice fanfic authors. The attacks consisted of, amongst other things, e-mailed threats regarding not only the writing of fanfiction but any writing that any fanfic author attempted to engage in (regardless of who owned the copyright), attacks on businesses that the fanfic authors owned and weeks of harassing personal letters sent to fanfic author's e-mail addresses and guestbooks. Personal information about fanfic authors was also dug up by Anne Rice employees and used as part of the harassment. Suffice it to say, Anne Rice made her displeasure clear.

SO WHAT HAPPENED?

Unable to defend themselves against these attacks, the fanfic authors responded by going into hiding.

BUT DOESN'T ANNE RICE HAVE THE LEGAL RIGHT TO TELL THEM TO STOP? WHY DIDN'T THEY JUST STOP WRITING AND LEAVE IT AT THAT?

Yes she does. However this was not an issue of Anne Rice asking the fanfic writers to stop. If that had been the case there would have been no problem. The problem was that she was not asking or even telling, she was using the excuse of fanfic to cyber-stalk and harass the fanfic authors, even after said authors removed the illegal fanfic from their sites. Not having the money or legal resources to defend themselves against this, hiding was the only option left.

COULDN'T THE FANFIC AUTHORS JUST TRY BEING NICE TO ANNE? MAYBE SHE WOULD HAVE AGREED IF THEY HAD ASKED POLITELY.

The fanfic authors were nice to Anne. When Anne Rice fanfiction started Anne's publisher was aware of it (even going so far as to link Anne's offical Random House website to many of the fanfic-oriented sites) and quietly let it be known that there was a "don't ask, don't tell" policy in effect regarding it - as long as the fanfic authors didn't shove the fanfic in Anne's face, The Powers That Be could pretend that it didn't exist. In addition to this the early fanfic authors spent months researching the legalities surrounding fanfic and asking questions of other fandoms to see how they respected copyright law in their fanfic writing. This knowledge was then used to create a disclaimer system to make sure it was understood that at no time did the fanfic authors intend to infringe upon Anne's legal rights.

This system of mutual respect lasted for approximately five years. After five years Anne Rice abruptly changed her mind and let the fanfic authors know it by way of her lawyers. Fanfiction is now considered unacceptable by Anne.

WHAT ABOUT DISCLAIMERS? DON'T THOSE WORK IN OTHER FANDOMS?

For years a disclaimer was used in front of all Anne Rice fanfics which mirrored the disclaimers successfully used by other fandoms, namely one which pointed out that the fanfic in question was a "non-profit, amateur effort not intended to infringe on the rights of Anne Rice or any other copyright holder." While this disclaimer has worked well in other fandoms, Anne Rice considers it unacceptable. According to Christine Cuddy, Anne's lawyer "Even when done on a non-profit and/or amateur basis, such use of [Anne's] characters without Ms. Rice's permission constitutes copyright infringement."

DID SOMEBODY TRY MAKING MONEY USING ANNE RICE FANFICTION? WAS THAT WHAT CAUSED THE PROBLEM?

No. At no time did any fanfic author make money using Anne Rice fanfiction in any way, non-profit or otherwise. The only times that money changed hands were when fanfic authors and fans bought Anne's own books.

WHAT IF I WANT TO WRITE ANNE RICE FANFICTION?

Are you sure? Know what you're getting into. The threat of personal harassment is very real. Anne Rice does not want you writing fanfiction and she has the money to make you stop. Do you really want to try this?

WHAT IF I HAVE ALREADY WRITTEN A STORY AND WANT TO SHARE IT WITH OTHERS?

Don't. Not if you truly want to obey Anne's wishes. That's really all that needs to be said there. However, if you absolutely have to write a fanfic story and have to show it to somebody else via the Internet (which is, again, a violation of Anne's wishes) then doing the following may be of help. Bear in mind that this is not being offered to you as a guarantee or as any kind of legal advice. You could do all of this and still get sued. These are simply suggestions which may help you avoid being harassed:

Do not put the story up on a webpage. Share the story with others in e-mail, such as on a private mailing list.

Do not attach your real name to the story. Use a pen name instead.

Do not use the e-mail address provided by your ISP when sending out the story. Instead create an anonymous account for yourself with Hotmail, Yahoo or any other web-based provider and do not include your actual name and address when filling out the forms for that account.

If you have to put the story up on a web page do not use the webpage that came with your ISP account. Get a webpage from a free server such as Geocities, NBCI or Angelfire.

If you have put the story on a webpage do not link to the story from elsewhere on your website.

If you have put the story on a webpage do not submit that webpage to any search engines, webrings, link exchanges or other public forum.

Do not attach any personal information to the story, your email or your website in any way. This includes your real name, the name of your ISP, your home address, where you go to school/work or anything else that could be used to trace the story back to you. Likewise do not include any information about whether or not you are or were in the ARVLFC, as it is possible for them to trace your personal information through there as well.

Obviously at no time should you show or send the story to Anne herself or anyone who works for her.

Again doing all of the above is a violation of Anne's wishes. If you are writing fanfiction based on Anne Rice's books then you are disobeying her orders. Period.

I'M NOT A FANFIC AUTHOR BUT I DO ENJOY READING IT. IS THERE ANYTHING I CAN DO?

Given the sheer volume of Anne Rice fanfiction that has been written (and, as the above question shows, that people are perhaps continuing to write) it is obviously false to say that all Anne Rice based fanfic has disappeared off of the world wide web. Undoubtedly some of it still exists out there in some form or another. If you manage to find some there's nobody out there who can stop you from reading it and enjoying it. However at no time should you take what stories you find and put them up on your own webpage or even link to the webpages that you find without that author's permission. Making Anne Rice fanfiction available from your website via copying or linking to the story will get you into trouble - not just from Anne but from the author as well. Don't do it.

HOW DO I FIND THE STORIES THAT ARE STILL OUT THERE?

We don't know. And we certainly couldn't tell you if we did.

QUOTES OF NOTE

"I suppose the character is public ground. If you're willing to bring it into people's houses every week, the [fans] are entitled to certain liberties, where ever their imagination is carried by those characters."

--Paul Gross, aka Ben Fraser and Executive Producer of Due South, quoted in the Toronto Globe & Mail, Augst 8, 1998

"I am flattered and grateful for this outpouring of support, admiration and recognition. I am moved to tears actually at how my performance has moved so many others. The websites are magnificent. All the photos, artwork, chats, fiction and videos are really great. I honestly never thought I would create such a stir but I feel absolutely blessed that I have."

--Scott Cohen, aka "Wolf" from The 10th Kingdom in a letter to http://www.wolfpackclub.8m.com/letter.html. Spring 2000.

"I've read some of it... I find it very flattering that people love the characters that much."

- J.K. Rowling on Harry Potter fanfiction that can be found via the Internet. Fall 2000

*****************

I believe this was posted on October 4th, 2000, which is Louis' birthday, and also Anne's.

I believe I know who wrote it, but I am not positive, and even 23 years later, I am not going to expose them to any possible danger. It may be improbable, but never impossible.

So this is our history. This is what happened. And do please remember that J.K. Rowling was thought to be a perfectly decent person in the year 2000.

This isn't meant to spread any animosity now. It is just a look at history. I don't see how it belongs in AO3, but I want to put it somewhere before the Wayback Machine drops it.

ARVLFC = Anne Rice Vampire Lestat Fan Club

In 2012, Anne Rice kind of said fanfic of her characters was okay, but in 2014 she took it back.

With her death, I should think that only Christopher Rice would have the legal right, and possibly the money, to pursue this again, but so far he seems uninterested.

You may also want to read this article.

A Deep Dive into the Anne Rice Fanfiction Debacle by August T.

[morlock-holmes]

@onecornerface linked me to this paper, which I mostly agree quite a lot with, and lays out some thoughts that I've been having lately in a much more coherent, far less fundamentally angry form than I have. Particularly the fact that the American racial culture wars are primarily waged between rival groups of middle-to-upper-class whites and that the distinction between de jure and de facto segregation is actually important and worth focusing on.

I'm trying to think how to put certain thoughts in order, but over the last few years I have been increasingly fixated on the fact that de jure segregation and affirmative action have both been resolutely defeated in the law here in the US.

The defeat of segregation has been the quicker and more complete; I cannot bring to mind any attempt to revive Jim Crow or repeal the Civil Rights act.

Affirmative action, in contrast, has not been completely excised from the US but it seems to be well on the way out.

My followers will know that I like to piss people off by asking for a legislative or court victory for Affirmative Action that happened in the last half century. I think the closest I've gotten was a California ballot measure that didn't pass and maybe, like, one Supreme Court decision that was kind of a mixed bag rather than being entirely restrictive from the early 70s.

Both these situations strike me as incredibly weird, and people hate when I say that, because they sense a kind of dismissiveness lurking behind the assertion that these total legal defeats are weird.

Which frustrates me because it makes them incapable of even admitting that anything happened.

I cannot name any other important culture war issues like this. Roe V. Wade dates to very close to the Civil Rights Act, and American conservatives never once stopped working at overturning it through the courts and legislatures, and, as we know, they finally succeeded.

The same kind of continual push for legislation and court victories can be observed for every other culture war battle I can think of. If I asked you to name one legislative or court victory for anti-gay activists in the last fifty years you could probably name several off the top of your head, e.g. Prop 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act. If I asked you to name similar victories for pro-gay activists you'd cite Lawrence V. Texas and the Respect For Marriage Act.

Gay rights battles have been fought in the courts and legislature and continue to be fought up to the present day, just like battles over Abortion, drug use, gun rights, etc.

But the same is not true of Segregation or Affirmative Action. For example, current Supreme Court precedent bans the use of official racial quotas in college admissions. Affirmative Action advocates could pass trigger laws requiring such quotas, which would go into effect as soon as they could get friendly court judges to overturn current precedent. The same is true of white supremacists who want to bring back the bad old days.

But they don't.

When I point this out people get very angry and say, "Just because something isn't done by the courts or legislature doesn't mean people don't still do it. Here's an example of some private citizen doing something really egregious! Everybody knows that you don't get results by going to the courts or the legislature anymore! Please ignore all the states that are now banning abortion!"

I disagree. If something is a huge, controversial culture war flashpoint, but only one side has won any legal victories in a half century, that's actually so anomalous that I genuinely cannot come up with a third example after Segregation and Affirmative Action.

I think this is related to a conviction that destroying segregation and affirmative action are held (By different political groups) to be the key to achieving racial harmony.

It may look like segregation was defeated so thoroughly that nobody could possibly advocate for it seriously anymore, but that hasn't led to an end of racial strife. Since racial strife is caused by segregation, if it's still around that means segregation and race hatred must have somehow gone underground. Those feelings must be as strong as they were in the 60s, but now they're hiding and we have to do more and more psychological work to figure out where they're hiding.

And an essentially exactly analogous process happens for affirmative action.

Essentially, on the left the feeling is that if we had actually rooted out race hatred from the white psyche, we'd have racial harmony and equality.

We don't have racial harmony and equality, therefore the white psyche must still be riddled with race hatred, and we need to find it. It must be expressing itself through white chefs that want to cook soul food and tourists trying on kimonos, and we need to treat people who do those things as the racists they are.

On the right, the feeling is that the psychological problem is the ability to conceive of race at all; the way to racial harmony is colorblindness and particularly color-blind policy.

We don't have racial harmony and equality, therefore the affirmative action mindset must be heavily embedded in the left-wing psyche, and we need to find out where it is hiding. People hide it behind innocent-sounding phrases like "diversity" and "inclusion" and we need to run anybody who uses those phrases out of town on a rail.

Our whole approach to race in this country is devolving into increasingly hysterical attempts to force (white) people to have the correct attitudes about race.

Step back for a bit and the fact that we are trying to make it illegal to cause a white person to feel guilt about history has a sort of bizarre, 1,001 Nights fairytale quality about it. Like some fairy story where it is illegal to remind the Emperor that he will die someday.

I think I am coming around to the idea that racial strife in the US is no longer caused primarily by defects in the individual (white) psyche, and that our efforts to keep finding those defects are kind of the same mindset that convinced Soviet leaders that all failures were caused by sabotage.

[rozaceous]

so you wanna know more abt mariko's family

behold, some background and meta abt mariko's family. doesn't really fit into the fic proper (much to my chagrin) but should give some helpful context both to mariko, and the events of ch 18. it's also just a bunch of behind-the-scenes world building, bc i find that fun.

copying from some of my chats w verm:

mariko's family moved to konoha AFTER the kyuubi thing bc they were hoping to avail themselves of the hospital (her mom's health stuff), which is why kaya gets pushed into becoming a medic/ninja. mariko is also encouraged but she would've done it anyway, so she genuinely felt no pressure abt that one lol

but this means there's a lot happening in terms of her family not knowing abt naruto and the kyuubi

so they're like 'rough around the edges but sweet kid who needs food' and they get backlash

that NO ONE can explain

lots of passive-aggressive pushback from the village, but it's literally illegal to tell them anything

and as far as they know uzumaki clan is respectable? like, tragic or whatever, but a big name, so this looks extra baffling to them

her parents actually contemplate leaving konoha a couple times (they're from the capital), but decide to stick it out long enough for the kids to finish academy/become established medics

mariko's family is ordinary, no secret bloodlines or political ties or anything, they just go to konoha bc konoha's hospital is supposed to be the best, can work literal miracles. so this is maybe a year post-kyuubi? i feel like konoha would be eager for some new blood at that pt still; they no doubt took a huge blow to their population, even besides the infrastructure and losing the yondaime, so mariko's family probably isn't the only one to do something similar.

kaya is at the perfect age to start academy, and they absolutely steer both their kids into becoming medics. there might even be weird politics abt providing chakra healing to non-ninja in situations that aren't life-threatening.

i think kanako and kenta would see them pushing their kids into medicine as smart. gathering from the context of canon and elaborating: w civilians, you're pretty limited to whatever the family business/trade is, and i think that ninja villages/being a ninja is actually a lot more egalitarian/meritocratic and free with this. let's maybe also include that they have daughters, and wouldn't be able to totally rely on passing down any business/trade unless they had someone marrying in. so giving their daughters a means of supporting themselves/earning personal prestige is smart.

but so kaya and mariko would be ninja--and thus valuable to the village--but not of a designation that puts them in any particular danger. i also think that being a medic from konoha is the sort of ninja profile that would carry a lot of social currency even with civilians. (this is why mariko's mom makes that comment abt her working in the palace. this also fits in w all the pts abt medicine and politics that we see in haku's chs.)

and yeah, i view the situation w mariko's family as a huge culture clash between--not just civilians and shinobi--but non-konoha civilians and the civilians that were raised in the village. even after over a decade of living there, they're outsiders, and made to feel like it because they had what they saw as basic decency towards their daughter's classmate and then had the audacity to be stubborn about it.

so yes, kenta and kanako were going to leave and move back to the capital once both of their daughters were graduated and working in the hospital. other fics have used as a device abt becoming a shinobi and receiving your hitai-ate as a marker of being a legal adult, and i'm running w that. as far as they're concerned, their daughters would then be adults with stable and respectable work and capable of sustaining themselves, and they could visit each other. i don't think this is irresponsible parenting.

ofc mariko getting assigned to team7 is a wrench in the works. like, a FIELD MEDIC?? （⊙_⊙）

but ok, ok, maybe it's not the worst? she's got a pretty capable sensei (forget that he's popularly nicknamed 'friend-killer kakashi') and naruto is a good boy. not...too sure abt that uchiha kid (they were around for the massacre and were this close to leaving for good bc of it) but it seems like it'll work out?

kaya would have a MUCH more realistic view of the situation than her parents, esp since she's dating a branch member of the hyuuga. but kaya's view is something along the lines of "let's just get mom and dad out of here asap" and then she and mariko can deal with their own problems. (i...really need to give kaya her own outtake...)

but yeah, everything is a disaster and it's delicious

[mythologeekwriter]

The Department of Education’s guidance on transness in schools and colleges, and my issues with it

The full document of the guidance can be found here: https://consult.education.gov.uk/equalities-political-impartiality-anti-bullying-team/gender-questioning-children-proposed-guidance/supporting_documents/Gender%20Questioning%20Children%20%20nonstatutory%20guidance.pdf

(That link is so long what the fuck)

Under the cut for length (seriously, I put the below in a word counter and it was a little over 3,800 words).

The very short version is that the government is super transphobic.

“In recent years, we have seen a significant increase in the number of children questioning the way they feel about being a boy or a girl, including their physical attributes of sex and the related ways in which they fit into society. This has been linked to gender identity ideology, the belief that a person can have a ‘gender’ that is different to their biological sex.”

The above is the second paragraph of the document, and is in fact part of the foreword. This is what we’re seeing right off the bat. You know who uses language like “gender identity ideology”? You guessed it, transphobes!

"Schools are facing requests to take actions such as changing names, uniforms, or using different facilities to help a child appear more like the opposite sex, with the expectation that they will be treated as if they are. This is often referred to as social transitioning. This guidance is based on a set of five general principles that schools and colleges can use to frame their response to such requests:

Schools and colleges have statutory duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of all children.

Schools and colleges should be respectful and tolerant places where bullying is never tolerated.

Parents should not be excluded from decisions taken by a school or college relating to requests for a child to ‘socially transition’.

Schools and colleges have specific legal duties that are framed by a child’s biological sex.

There is no general duty to allow a child to ‘social transition’.

The Cass Review is clear that social transition is not a neutral act, and that better information is needed about the outcomes for children who undertake degrees of social transition. This means that schools and colleges should take a cautious approach and that decisions should never be taken in haste or without the involvement of parents. Schools and colleges should consider how best to fulfil their safeguarding duties towards the child who is making such a request and their peers, ensuring that any agreed course of action is in all of their best interests. There will be some requests for a type of social transition that will not be compatible with a schools legal duties, schools must abide by this."

That's a long bit, I know, so let's break it down.

"Schools are facing requests to take actions such as changing names, uniforms, or using different facilities to help a child appear more like the opposite sex, with the expectation that they will be treated as if they are. This is often referred to as social transitioning." - Less bad than some of this but wow do I dislike "with the expectation that they will be treated as they are" as phrasing, especially in light of the rest of this document.

The first two points on the list of five are just true things, yes, but they then act like someone being trans is going to cause a safeguarding issue. The rest of it just sucks. "Parents should not be excluded from decisions taken by a school or college relating to requests for a child to 'socially transition'." Why? I have, in fact, known people who are out at school/out to some people at school but not out to parents. Generally, this was because it would not be safe for their parents to know. "Schools and colleges have specific legal duties that are framed by a child's biological sex." I'm sure I don't need to tell anyone here why putting emphasis on biological sex is not great for trans people. "There is no general duty to allow a child to 'social transition'. Oh great, guidance that essentially permits misgendering.

We are now four pages into a twenty page document, with me having finished talking about the foreword.

The overarching principles section repeats the paragraph that refers to "gender identity ideology" that I opened the main part of the post with, but with the addition of "This is a contested belief. Many people believe this concept is one that reinforces stereotypes and social norms relating to sex." I'm not going to say too much about that because this post is getting ever longer but I mean in essence it's saying trans people don't exist.

It then expands on the earlier five points. The one I'd really like to highlight is this bit under "Schools and colleges have specific legal duties that are framed by a child's biological sex" - "While legislation exists that allows adults to go through a process to change their legal sex, children’s legal sex is always the same as their biological sex." Now, this seems to me to exist in much the same sphere as the argument that younger trans people are too young to know that they're trans.

Now we hit the language and terminology section! I'm trying not to let this post get too long though inevitably it's going to be pretty long, but I have a lot to say here.

Opening paragraph of said section below.

"The language used in this area has evolved over recent years and people use different ways to describe themselves. In this guidance we have tried to use language and terms that provide clarity, avoid colloquialisms and capture the range of children’s experiences, from questioning their gender through to gender distress or dysphoria. We have not used the term transgender to describe children. Under UK law children cannot obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate and therefore cannot change their legal sex."

The first sentence of that is fine, yeah. The thing I would really like to point out though is "We have not used the term to transgender to describe children." Ok. Why? Because I will be honest this reads to me as yet more of the philosophy that they do not know their own minds, and that trans kids aren't really trans and all of that shit. Also, newsflash, you do not have to change your legal sex to be transgender.

Now let's talk about the definitions provided in this section because I am not happy about them. I'm going to do this one by one, I have more to say about some than others.

"Gender identity: is a contested belief. It is a sense a person may have of their own gender, whether male, female or another category such as non-binary. This may or may not be the same as their biological sex. Many people do not consider that they or others have a gender identity at all." - Look. I really doubt anyone reading this can't tell why this is bad so I'm not going to say much. I just want everyone to comprehend that this is official government guidance.

"Gender questioning: is a broad term that might describe children and young people who are asking questions about their biological sex and perceived gender identity." - In light of everything else I don't love "perceived gender identity", and this does kind of continue the thing that permeates this whole document of doubting the very existence of transness but this could be worse.

"Gender distressed or confused: is a way of describing distress or confusion that may arise from a broad range of experiences connected to a child’s understanding of their biological sex and associated attributes and behaviours, but where a formal diagnosis of gender dysphoria has not been made." - Let's just call people confused! It's not like this gets weaponised against people! Oh wait

"Social transition: is a term often used to refer to a process by which people change their name, pronouns, clothing, or use different facilities from those provided for their biological sex. Not all people who go through this process will do so in the same way. Not all requests made to schools or colleges will comply with legal duties to safeguard children. Social transitioning is not a neutral act, as it has been recognised that it can have formative effects on a child’s future development." - The return of "social transitioning is not a neutral act", and the unsubtle implication that socially transitioning is somehow dangerous.

The last two I will talk about together because they're a little different.

"Gender incongruence: is a medical diagnostic term for a marked and persistent incongruence between an individual’s experienced gender identity and their biological sex."

"Gender dysphoria: is a similar diagnostic term to describe gender incongruence of at least 6 months’ duration, which is manifested by a number of criteria. The condition is associated with clinically significant distress or impairment in social or other important areas of functioning."

Just think for a moment about the requirements of medically and/or legally transitioning. This is not a post about the difficulties of that, but it's worth keeping in mind.

We have got through eight of twenty pages. Are you pissed off yet? I sure am.

"There could be instances where children disclose first to their teachers that they may be questioning their gender. If there is no change being requested, teachers can listen respectfully about a child’s feelings without automatically alerting parents, but, for safeguarding reasons, cannot promise confidentiality." - not loving not being able to promise confidentiality, to be frank.

I would also like to emphasise another few things. "If a school or college wishes to accommodate degrees of social transition, they are advised to do the following". If. The advice in question? Wait before considering the request to "ensure unnecessary action is not taken". That I will discuss a little. This, again, ties into this ongoing idea that these children don't know their own minds, and the idea that they aren't really trans. The other piece of advice is to make parents aware. The guidance states that "The only exception to this is the very rare situation where informing parents might raise a significant risk of harm to the child". So. People are going to be put at risk by this.

Then, if after "a period of watchful waiting" the school or college are advised to consider a list of points.

I don't want to quote the whole document at anyone reading this, so I will not quote that whole section, but I will quote some relevant chunks and mention the rest.

It mentions safeguarding again, and implies that socially transitioning might not be in the child's best interests. It puts a ton of emphasis on the views of the child's parent. It says any avaliable clinical information should be considered. None of this is looking great to me.

Now we get one that makes me want to scream. I'm going to quote the whole thing then break it down because it's one point on the list but it's lengthy.

"The seriousness and context of the request: Schools and colleges should take into consideration whether the child has made similar requests previously, and whether the child has properly considered the impact of their requests. As part of testing whether this is a sustained request, schools and colleges should seek to understand societal or other factors that may have in-fluenced the child, for example:  Has the child been influenced by peers or social media?  Does the child feel pressured to identify differently because they simply do not align with stereotypes associated with their sex? This is relevant as some people think gender identity reinforces stereotypes about men and women.  Whether it may be appropriate for schools and colleges to seek input from the SENCO or college’s SEND lead.  Is there an interaction with a child’s sexual orientation? Schools and colleges should note that the Cass Review ‘heard from young lesbians who felt pressured to identify as transgender male, and conversely transgender males who felt pressured to come out as lesbian rather than transgender’. Where a child discloses that they are also questioning or exploring their sexual orientation, schools should make clear that they are under no pressure to reach a particular outcome."

"Whether the child has properly considered the impact of their request" - Let's just take a moment to acknowledge that they continually talk about the impact of socially transitioning and don't actually explain it.

"Has the child been influenced by peers or social media?" - They get more blatant about this in this same list but wow does this smack of "people are being manipulated into thinking they're trans when they're not".

"Does the child feel pressured to identify differently because they simply do not align with stereotypes associated with their sex? This is relevant as some people think gender identity reinforces stereotypes about men and women." - This is just transphobia. I mean, this entire document is chock-full of transphobia, but you see what I'm getting at. This is a transphobic talking point.

"Whether it may be appropriate for schools and colleges to seek input from the SENCO or college’s SEND lead." - Wouldn't be a government opinion without some ableism, I fucking guess. For the unaware SENCO stands for Special Educational Needs Coordinator and SEND stands for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities. Does not take much reading between the lines to see the idea that disabled and neurodivergent people can't know if they're trans.

"Is there an interaction with a child’s sexual orientation? Schools and colleges should note that the Cass Review ‘heard from young lesbians who felt pressured to identify as transgender male, and conversely transgender males who felt pressured to come out as lesbian rather than transgender’. Where a child discloses that they are also questioning or exploring their sexual orientation, schools should make clear that they are under no pressure to reach a particular outcome." - Note how it spares far more concern for the "young lesbians who felt pressured to identify as transgender male" than for the "transgender males who felt pressured to come put as lesbian rather than transgender". And, perhaps unsurprisingly, makes no acknowledgement of gay trans people.

It then devotes a bullet point to the impact on the child, giving no information as to what that impact is beyond "significant psychological effects" and then advises caution, because obviously (eyeroll). Then it talks about the impact on other pupils, which I am even more skeptical of. Denying somebody the right to socially transition because of the impact on other people is immensely fucked up.

They then feel the need to emphasise that even if you've considered all of this and decided to let a child socially transition "Completing the above steps will not be sufficient to allow a gender questioning child access to spaces designated for the other sex, or to sports where it is not safe or fair to take part with the opposite sex".

"Members of staff should not unilaterally adopt any changes, including using a new name or new pronouns, unless or until this has been agreed by the school or college in accordance with the proper procedures and, in the vast majority of cases, parental consent, as set out in this guidance." - So you're actively taking away a potential safety net.

"If and where any change has been agreed, the school or college should communicate this to other pupils and staff where it is necessary and proportionate to do so. This should be done sensitively, without implying contested views around gender identity are fact. Other pupils, parents and teachers may hold protected religious or other beliefs that conflict with the decision that the school or college has made, these are legitimate views that must be respected." - They really don't want you to forget that they don't remotely support or care about trans people or in fact entirely believe in our actual existence.

Now we enter another section of the document.

"Schools should make sure that all relevant staff are aware of a gender questioning child’s biological sex." - They are, frankly, alarmingly pro outing people.

They then go on about how important it is to accurately record people's biological sex, I do not give a shit about their opinions.

The bit on changing names opens with the following. "Schools must record a child’s legal name in the admissions register. They may allow pupils to change their informal (‘known as’) name if they believe it is in the best interests of the child to do so." It then goes on to emphasise parental consent and considering the "relevant factors" talked about earlier.

The section on pronouns is four paragraphs and all of it sucks. "Agreeing to a child’s request to have others use different pronouns about them is a significant decision. Primary school aged children should not have different pronouns to their sex-based pronouns used about them." - I have a suggestion here: respect people's autonomy.

"For older children, schools do not need to specify pronouns to be used about each pupil and can decline a request to change a child’s pronouns." - Oh shut the fuck up.

It then again, talks about considering the relevant factors and says just so much bullshit, including this deeply unpleasant part of a sentence "schools and colleges should only agree to a change of pronouns if they are confident that the benefit to the individual child outweighs the impact on the school community". It should not be hard to refer to people how they want be referred to, actually.

And then we get to the real essence of it, which makes me genuinely despair.

"It is expected that there will be very few occasions in which a school or college will be able to agree to a change of pronouns. On these rare occasions, no teacher or pupil should be compelled to use these preferred pronouns and it should not prevent teachers from referring to children collectively as ‘girls’ or ‘boys,’ even in the presence of a child that has been allowed to change their pronouns. Even in the exceptional case where safeguarding requires a school or college to take an alternative approach, schools and colleges should exhaust all other options, such as using first names, to avoid requiring other individuals having to use preferred pronouns. In these exceptional cases, schools or colleges should make sure that all relevant staff are aware of a gender questioning child’s biological sex, to fulfil their safeguarding and legal duties."

Tell me you don't care about trans people, goddamn. I'm not sure I can say anything sufficient here, actually. This is incredibly transphobic, on so many levels, and it's horrifying.

I'm also going to briefly talk about this "In all cases, bullying of any child must not be tolerated. No child should be sanctioned for honest mistakes when adapting to a new way of interacting with another pupil." This does not read, to me, like they are in fact particularly concerned about bullying. Mostly it seems that they really want trans people to be in the wrong.

Now we enter a section on single-sex spaces. Brace yourselves.

Honestly I think the opening paragraph says enough. "Schools must always protect single-sex spaces with regard to toilets, showers and changing rooms, as set out below. Responding to a request to support any degree of social transition must not include allowing access to these spaces. As a default, all children should use the toilets, showers and changing facilities designated for their biological sex unless it will cause distress for them to do so. In these instances, schools and colleges should seek to find alternative arrangements, while continuing to ensure spaces are single-sex."

With that, we have got through fifteen pages, and have reached the section on uniform.

"Schools may have different uniform requirements for girls and boys. Some specify which uniform items are for girls and which are for boys, and similarly some schools have hairstyle rules which differ by sex. A child who is gender questioning should, in general, be held to the same uniform standards as other children of their sex at their school and schools may set clear rules to this effect." - Here's a radical proposal for you, stop determining dresscodes by sex or gender.

They then talk about consulting with parents again, and also that schools have no obligation to change uniform policies to accommodate children, that it should be considered whether all aspects of a uniform should be changed, and that a child changing their uniform doesn't mean they're trans and you shouldn't assume that. Once more, with feeling, trans people do in fact exist, not that they seem to want to acknowledge that.

The next section is on sports, so once again brace yourselves because frankly I'm sure we can all see where this is going.

"In particular, physical activity participation by girls drops in the teenage years – and it is important that schools and colleges are mindful of any actions that might exacerbate this further." - Not loving the implication of that in context of what this document is, to be honest with you.

"Schools and colleges that do not provide separate sports for girls are unlikely to be offering them equal opportunities to boys, and for some sports they will be putting girls at undue risk of injury if they have to play on mixed teams.

For all sports where physical differences between the sexes threatens the safety of children, schools and colleges should adopt clear rules which mandate separate-sex participation. There can be no exception to this. Boys constitute more of a risk to girls because they are generally stronger, larger and heavier than girls, especially when they are going through or have been through puberty. It would not be safe for a biological boy to participate in certain sports as part of a teenage girls’ team. Where sports are deliberately mixed-sex, such as mixed netball, there should be no cause for concern.

Even for sports where safety is not risked by mixed-sex participation, schools and colleges should ensure that sports are fair. For competitive sports, schools and colleges should be aware that without separate sex participation, it is unlikely that they will be offering equal opportunities to boys and girls.

For non-competitive sport, schools and colleges should continue to prioritise safety." - It is in a fucking school, who gives a shit. Furthermore, I did PE in school while disabled, so I'd truly love to know when people started caring so much about risk of injury and fairness.

We're nearly at the end now!

The final section of guidance is on single sex schools, and I think this one paragraph (below) is the most important bit.

"Single-sex schools can refuse to admit pupils of the other biological sex, regardless of whether the child is questioning their gender. A school cannot, however, refuse to admit a child of the same biological sex on the basis that they are questioning their gender."

It then talks about some legal considerations in an annex, and we are finally done with the document.

So: as it stands, the official government guidance is wildly transphobic, promoting misgendering and barely acknowledging the existence of trans people, amongst other things.

If anyone has any questions about anything I've said here, feel free to ask.

And if you've read to the end, I appreciate you very much.

[lemonhemlock]

hello! hope you are well. i love love love your posts. they are always so reasonable and aptly put. so thank you for all your hardworks <3

i was thinking about something for a long time. i'd like to know your opinion on that.

it's obvious that rhaenyra never should have married laenor. in the book she was threatened by viserys to marry him and if she had remained defiant, viserys would have disinherited her. she felt pressured to marry laenor in the show too, so that whole thing was unfortunate for her. when she married laenor, in the show she couldn't conceive his child. and then perhaps she and harwin began their relationship. when jace was born, it was obvious that he wasn't a velaryon.

so, exactly what was rhaenyra supposed to do after jace? she needed an heir to secure her position, but with laenor, it wasn't happening. and when jace was born, he didn't look like rhaenyra either. was there any way for rhaenyra to annul her marriage without offending corlys? and even if the annulment was possible, how it would have affected laenor? would people have called him "less of a man"? everyone knew for a fact that laenor was gay.

even though i am team green i feel some sort of sympathy for rhaenyra here because i still don't know if there were any possible way to get out of that situation without causing a huge drama. that being said, vaemond and his family deserved better.

i know, there are too many questions and for that i'm so sorry, i just had to ask them to you.

Hello, sweet anon, thank you for your lovely message!

As it happens, I already made a post that, I think, answers most of your questions (if you have other additional ones, hit me up).

it's obvious that rhaenyra never should have married laenor.

I think Laenor is actually a very good political match for Rhaenyra. He is also a kind man, who respects her, abides by her and would never hurt her. The problem with the Velaryons is inherited from the previous Targaryen generation. By marrying outside the family, Rhaenys created two additional dragon-riders with her children. Think about the fact that, at the time of Rhaenyra's marriage, House Velaryon had three dragon-riders, while House Targaryen only two. Uniting these two branches through marriage is a very good idea. Just like Viserys marrying Laena would have accomplished the same thing (🤢).

in the book she was threatened by viserys to marry him and if she had remained defiant, viserys would have disinherited her. she felt pressured to marry laenor in the show too, so that whole thing was unfortunate for her.

Only after she made a mockery of her betrothal tour and almost-slept with Daemon. She has a lot of opportunities and freedoms out of reach for many other noble lords and ladies.

when she married laenor, in the show she couldn't conceive his child. and then perhaps she and harwin began their relationship.

Not sure about Laenor's infertility. It's more likely he & Rhaenyra didn't really try.

when jace was born, it was obvious that he wasn't a velaryon.

Yes. Perhaps Rhaenyra hoped Harwin had some recessive blond genes in his background (not phrased in that language, obviously) and the child would come out looking more like her. But it was a huge miscalculation.

so, exactly what was rhaenyra supposed to do after jace? she needed an heir to secure her position

No, she didn't. See the first linked post. I think the better option here would have been to name Aegon her heir* and for Laenor to pass Driftmark to Laena's line after his death. Viserys had already produced enough children with Alicent and House Velaryon has no lack of cousins who can inherit, if needs be. There are enough Targaryens and Velaryons in the world by this point; they are not facing extinction.

*No, her life would not be forfeit in that situation. Legally, her claim is not very strong (narrative weakness / plot hole) and realistically-speaking people would not have much reason to rally behind her. I have a whole succession for the Iron Throne tag for this.

was there any way for rhaenyra to annul her marriage without offending corlys? and even if the annulment was possible, how it would have affected laenor? would people have called him "less of a man"? everyone knew for a fact that laenor was gay.

Previous post on annulment + another one. Important aspect to keep in mind: why would the High Septon award Rhaenyra an annulment when the Faith of the Seven is based in Oldtown, the home city of the Hightowers?

that being said, vaemond and his family deserved better.

Agree. That was a grievous abuse of power. 🤷‍♀️ Personal ambition is not a crime. Even if you want to argue Baela & Rhaena are ahead of him in the line of succession*, Vaemond has every right to petition his case and await the King's judgment. He is not seizing anything illegally here. He is officially appealing the institution of the Crown and stating his own argument. Not Vaemond's problem Viserys is rotting from the inside out and he is basically petitioning Alicent & Otto.

*Controversial opinion, but I'm not arguing that. I think the girls should be disqualified because they are not putting their own cases forward as a result of their conflict of interests (their father being married to Rhaenyra, who is actively trying to usurp the Velaryons out of her lands). Again, not Vaemond's problem they are unwilling or unable to argue for themselves and indirectly abetting Rhaenyra's takeover.

even though i am team green i feel some sort of sympathy for rhaenyra here because i still don't know if there were any possible way to get out of that situation without causing a huge drama.

It's not so much that Rhaenyra made one or two mistakes and now she should be punished for them, it's more that... I'm really struggling to see what/if Rhaenyra did anything right at all. She has been skirting her duties all her life and everything she does post ep. 6 is damage-control, which inadvertently backfires on her, because the hole she dug herself in is already too big.

Nevertheless, Rhaenyra is in a very difficult situation, no doubt. It is not fair that she has to clean up the messes left behind by Jaehaerys and Viserys, the two "peaceful" kings. Jaehaerys should never have passed over Rhaenys in the first place. Viserys should never have remarried and produced extra sons. It's a difficult task, but it is her lot in life, should she ever wish to become queen. She can always pass this on to Aegon and live her life as a rich, comfortable woman. No one is forcing her hand here.

The only way I see Rhaenyra having a sliver of a chance is if she maintains a good, honest relationship with Alicent and her sons, marries a powerful, rich noble lord and has his trueborn children + petitions, wines & dines, gives out bribes and favours constantly to the lords and important players in Westeros, makes constant royal progresses, gets to know them, gets them to like her, helps them with their grievances, just basically lobbies the fuck out of every power centre in the Seven Kingdom, including the common folk. So that, when the time comes, she has so much popular support that she can basically impose herself via some sort of charismatic authority. Doesn't flee to Dragonstone, abandoning the capital and the practical governance. And absolutely does not kill her husband and does not marry Daemon.

i know, there are too many questions and for that i'm so sorry, i just had to ask them to you

No worries, I just hope I answered them! 🦄

[the-greatest-fool]

On the Irony of “Rainbow Capitalism”

Perhaps one day there will be historical investigation, or someone will find it, as to how gay and lesbian studies, an arguably overly narrow set of fields, became queer studies and queer theory. Pick your fighters of Michel Foucault, Eve Sedgwick, or Judith Butler: either way, it seems indisputable that queer theory, which often appears as amorphous and hard to define as the queerness it constructs, is nonetheless possible to describe in some way. I don’t think it matters too much how. The point is that the study of queerness focused on the interplay between gender, sexuality, society, the body, the word, the form…a post-structural articulation of a matter of flesh and performance.

In the 90s and 2000s, pessimism was in vogue. Part of it came from a lineage of what really could be put more in a “gay studies” camp, meaning Leo Bersani and Lee Edelman. But another bite of the apple surely came from the Foucauldian, Deleuzian, Derridean, etc analysis championed by the likes of Judith Butler (gender is performance, but assignment of gender is socially imposed gender which subjects interpellate, etc). After all, some read Foucault’s statement that power is everywhere to mean that the gendering and sexualization of bodies in cisheteronormative ways is inescapable in modernity. And after Clinton was impeached by Christian moralists (though, nowadays we’d say what he did to to his intern was not in any way okay) who voted to ban gay marriage (kinda—read the wiki page for DoMA) and then retook the White House, one could see why.

A partiularly interesting text from this period comes from the early days of the War On Terror. Jasbin Puar argued that the “gay rights” movement was a rhetorical move that reified Western modernity and whiteness while sharpening the nationalist drum beat against the terroristic threat in the Middle East. This analysis of “homonationalism” is echoed today in our use of the term “pinkwashing.” As an aside, I personally disagree with a large swath of analysis from the 2000s (and even today) that saw terrorism as a dialectical grand reversal of modernity that could break down capitalism. You could say that makes me a reactionary, but I despised Abu-Ghraib and Gitmo as much as any liberal could. I hate warmongering and torture. But, for the same reason, I cannot justify in my mind such senseless violence. Suffice it to say that I simply cannot sympathize with those who seek liberation in the “queer assemblages” of terrorism. There is nothing liberating about a car bomb, only the thrill of the bomber.

But that aside, I can stomach the premise that the march to gay legal rights in the US—from the Defense of Marriage Act/DoMA to Obergefell (and more recently the Respect for Marriage Act! Yay!!! No seriously yay!)—should be read with some suspicion. Did gay rights succeed because of the power of persuading the hearts and minds of America? Or did it have to do with political economy: special interests, economics, and nationalism? Now people apply the same suspicion to signs of LGBTQ acceptance by companies. As such, there is an accusation of “pinkwashing” by corporations, namely “rainbow capitalism.”

One could argue that in some way, this cynicism is because of the state of the queer theory academy in a post Obergefell world. While trans rights are coming slowly into the spotlight of politics, the gay dimension has left it. Gay people in the US have equal protection under the law. They can marry. What else is left to critique about gay rights, but to critique its operationalization and celebration? Does queer theory suffer from over negativity?

And so we have the accusation, while Bud Light and SEGA and Gilette put up LGBTQ ads and logos, that this is cynical. It’s for profit. Here there’s an unholy alliance between leftists and conservatives, who both say: There’s no way REAL Americans put up with this gay and trans stuff! It’s the gay agenda—they’re doing it to milk more money out of us. Thus, the leftists and conservatives supply different terms to critique the same thing. Rainbow capitalism. Wokeness.

Of course, reactionaries’ concerns are different. Here, we should pay attention. They fear corporations want to normalize queerness. So they oppose it. Leftists? They don’t like the platforms normalizing it. It is with a weary sigh here that I object that, although no one should feel content with how we regulate corporations in America, nor even with how diversity initiatives happen, we should still at least be glad that for a moment, companies felt they had to do this. We were winning, almost.

I use the past tense because today, some corporations think that no one’s buying this. Conservatives backlash, as they did before the gay rights movement solidified its victories, and leftists object anyways. Then what’s the point? We are seeing a new rejection of corporate social responsibility/environmental social governance (CSR, ESG). We could see a decline of the types of ads that were common (but triggered culture war fights) in the 2010s up to now.

In the end, it seems perhaps the pessimists were right. Bigotry can decline, but it can come back. But perhaps the biggest lesson to learn of all is that “capitalism” is not one big monolithic engine. LGBT-targeted messaging and tolerance branding was not some giant ploy by The Capitalists. And LGBT acceptance was certainly not an intrinsic or inevitable feature of modernity. It happened piecemeal in response to how culture was changing—to consumer preference. So it can increase and decrease in response to what people want and how they express it, as well as political moves by reactionaries who want to shut it all down. In short, the acceptance, rights, and security queer people have are not some structurally determined phenomena by Global Capital, and we are not Corporate Puppets falling for some trap when we fight for it. They are determined in the social, economic, and political arena. Have pride in your own power.

As such, we may conclude that, as the sun sets, the skies clear, and the rainbows leave the sky, that rainbow capitalism never truly existed as such.

[turgidscum]

As another native, genuinely I suggest that you try to learn about what gender looked like pre contact. Idk what tribe you’re from but my tribes entire creation story and beliefs includes and respects who we now call 2spirit. Talk to 2spirit people from your tribe, talk to your elders. I get why you’re a transmed, trying to survive in a colonial system and worldview is hard and it makes us always put our energy into survival and respectability politics, but we need to be putting our energy into challenging that system and worldview, not just trying to live within it. And also you can be indigenous and have anti indigenous beliefs, (most of us have at least some, at least subconscious, that’s colonialism for you) I’m not erasing who you are.

my tribe has no history of two spirit individuals, as the term was only coined in 1990 by myra laramee, who was an elder of the fisher river cree nation. the cree nation is on the opposite side of north america from my nation. we have never had any contact, any trade, nothing. the language of our nations is as vast and changing as any other nation, and my nation has a negative history with anyone not cis or straight.

my tribe only permits same-sex marriage as a result of federal ruling under the cfr. my tribe will not reissue my card despite by name and sex being changed legally.

i suppose you could chalk this up to colonialism, and i wouldn't blame you. when i asked my elders about this, they said that lgbt people were generally cast out in our tribe... though, again, whether this is colonialism, i'm not sure. but i can almost guarantee that none of the elders of my nation at present are welcoming of lgbt people and do not stand behind the idea of two-spirit. i personally don't as i have no connections with such a term. i am a man and always have been.

my nation being southern certainly hasn't helped. while some of the other members i grew up with are lgbt, i have long-since left them behind and moved on with my life. maybe they're more accepting than they were ten years ago... who knows. considering they won't reissue my card, i doubt it. (perhaps i shouldn't say i have my card if it's not my name, right?)

i am proud of my native heritage. i am not proud of how my nation, and my tribe specifically, treat people like us.

[whippedcloudsofcream]

So I just learned this new history fact from my country which is a dirty hilarious:

There was this married Princess who slept with two Lords that were messing up the entire court due to their immense political powers, these two lords were headaches because they were causing troubles to other parties, it was a huge Game of Thrones situation at the time of the Princess' affairs so I can say it was her schemes to begin with

Those two lords were indeed plotted to be killed by the Crown Prince as they were his blocking stones to the Throne, the Princess was a relative of the Crown Prince at the time cuz they shared the same last name and family. Ofc other parties beside the Crown Prince wanted them dead too cause they were nepotists or power abusers

The first lord got killed cuz he was busy "having fun" with the Princess and ended up getting kidnapped by the Crown Prince and killed by him

The second lord got killed also bcuz of the same reason as the first lord, yes he was "having fun" with her too. But the Princess' husband caught them in the act and beheaded the second lord, the law at the time was that a husband can kill his wife's lover without legal issues

Woman's pussy is a treacherous thing and it's historically accurate lol

It seemed so convenient, I think her husband was in it too

So basically this Princess who put two powerful lords underground, a feat which even the men of her time were eager to do since those two were real assholes but they couldn't, it was actually incredible

She was a Princess that literally snipped a family's chance to be royalties and the supreme leader of the country at the bud since the second lord was so powerful, he almost could've turned his clan into a royal clan and made way for another much more influential clan to take that chance of being royalties, paving the way to one of the most prosperous dynasties in the nation's history

She basically turned the course of history with using sex and beauty

Mad respect

My country's Royal Lore was so hectic

Royal Lore has some of the most insane, dramatic stories, especially with badass women 😭💖💖

Good for her!! I feel bad they got killed during sex, but it was “war” 😭😭 The husband better be grateful she did so much work for him, she’s a badass in her own right 👌🏼💖💖

[michelleelizabethtanner]

At the end of rough night is Beth still trying to keep her relationship on the dl to the general public? Like obviously they’re fully committed to each other and all the personal people in both their lives knows what’s up and they don’t try to hide anything but what about everyone else? Does Rio come into her office and see her at work? If Beth held another police fundraiser would Rio attend? I would think not because they wouldn’t want to be publicly connected to each other in order to continue getting away with all their illegal doings but maybe at this point it doesn’t really matter?

Hi Anon! Thank you for the ask and thank you so much for reading Rough Night!

I was really back and forth on this as I was writing Rough Night specifically for that last reason you mentioned – that Beth was the face and Rio was the execution. And also because an overcorrection of their impasses about their differences felt inauthentic to Beth’s character. She would have to come a long way to have the epiphanies she’d need to have to truly see Rio and his experiences in society. But I decided that for Brio to legitimately be a level-playing-field couple, they have to have equal risk and equal access. Rio can’t continue to be the only one getting his hands dirty and then stepping back into the shadows so Beth can shine publicly. Their social inequality and Beth’s inability to acknowledge it was always a problem for them, and I decided the only way for a relationship to work between them is for her to begin to legitimize him socially and stop pretending like she can’t be seen with the likes of him when she herself is no better. It’s the bare minimum she can do to show respect to who he is. She can’t love him and also hide him like some sort of dirty secret.

Dean was arrested. He even pled guilty! Had they not divorced, would Councilwoman Boland not be seen with him because he was suspected for crimes that were never proven? Of course not. She even put him in her campaign photo, while he was still wearing his ankle monitor. So why would she not be able to have a legitimate public relationship with Rio who hasn’t been convicted of anything? We all know why. It’s because we’re all acutely aware that a man like Rio and a man like Dean don’t carry equal social standing. So I decided that Beth would slowly begin to work Rio into a public story of perseverance, social stigmas, and law enforcement prejudices as part of her platform as she expands her political career and reach.

Rio making a fundraiser donation in his own legal name in chapter 47 was intended to be worked into a future spin Beth could use of Rio’s social legitimacy. His donation shows active support of law enforcement. He is a local small business owner even in canon. In Rough Night he actively sponsors youth programs and opportunities for social betterment that Beth herself participates in. That story angle was all groundwork that I intended to expand on for Brio becoming a socially legitimate couple who work together in all aspects of their business. There would no longer be the “public face” and “nefarious execution,” as Rio had with Nick. Rio resented Nick for their dynamic and would have grown to resent Beth had I kept them in that disproportionate relationship. They are equally culpable for their crimes and equally socially legitimate for their contributions. Beth has the social standing and platform to make this happen and Rio deserves for her to do it. Beth needs to start saying some things out loud and acknowledging her own complicity in creating this type of social construct.

I had a passive mention of this in Crystalline, my dreamy little follow-up to Rough Night. In chapter 1, Beth gives a speech about prevailing prejudices in the local justice system and specifically mentions Rio as a victim of that system. This speech is set in a silly trope of Rio throwing her off kilter by coming to see her speak, and then bookended by a sex scene in her office. But that whole scenario was intended as a change for Beth professionally. A modification to her political platform and the beginnings of legitimizing her relationship with Rio to the public. Not only that, but Rio felt connected enough to her message that he attended the event in person to watch her delivery, which I hope speaks to his changing outlook on who he himself is as a member of society. Rio spent his adult life moving in shadow while Nick got to live his life openly. And if Rio is going to be with Beth, I wanted him to have everything – his passions, his skill, AND the soft domestic parts of life he always felt weren’t made for him. (Which included Rio’s changing accountability to how he behaves as a parent.) This was the only way I could think of to do a “happily ever after” for them. Beth needed to see her privilege, and Rio needed to acknowledge that he is deserving of his own humanity.

[aworldforastage]

novel appreciation: 君有疾否/Jun You Ji Fou by 如似我闻

I don't talk about Jun You Ji Fou nearly often enough for how unreasonably obsessed with it I am. This post is LONG because it's like 1.5 years of pent-up fangirling finally being set free ...

Synopsis

In the (fictional) Xia dynasty, the Emperor is young and weak, so the government is controlled by two powerful rival officials in their late twenties: Grand Commandant Chu Mingyun (military leader) and Grand Secretary Su Shiyu (top scholar bureaucrat). Chu Mingyun claims to have fallen in love with Su Shiyu, using this excuse to openly and aggressively gather information about his rival. However, an unknown power emerges to raise chaos and starts murdering officials right in the Emperor's backyard. Chu Mingyun and Su Shiyu put their conflict on the back burner to investigate the new threat, and develop a new understanding and respect for each other.

Chinese raws are free on JJWXC.

Key Characters

Su Shiyu is the scholar-bureaucrat most trusted by the young Emperor, who sees him like an older brother. Shiyu is sophisticated like jade, gentle like a spring breeze, so polite and kind you almost forget he is an expert at using the hidden dagger tucked into his sleeves. This man is full of contradictions: a scholar bureaucrat from a family of famed generals, a gentle and privileged young lord with an inexplicable viciousness and desperate edge in battle, the most loyal official who is wields far more influence than his role legally allows. He takes the path his family, nation, and allies need him to walk, and when he falls in love with Chu Mingyun, he knows there won't be room on that path for the both of them.

Chu Mingyun made his name in the wars against the Xiongnu some years ago, and has become the only man currently capable of leading the nation's military. With this unique position, he is almost brazen about his ambitions for greater power, though he also have his own principles and beliefs. As a character, though, Chu Mingyun really is the special-est snowflake. He is a foodie with a sweet tooth. He is the great war hero. He flaunts his beauty. He calls his younger love interest gege. Su Shiyu once carried him like a bride while he was unconscious. Don't be mistaken, though, he is the gong.

Someone summarized their relationship arc as "Chu Mingyun won't let being enemies get in the way of them being in love, and Su Shiyu won't let being in love get in the way of them being enemies."

What I like about this novel

Gradual relationship development. As rivals, the main couple is initially spending time together mostly for work, and ... they have a lot to do for work. Their interactions in these subplots give them a deeper understanding of each other's personalities and values, and change their longstanding prejudices about one another.

Strong leads who are treated like equals. Chu Mingyun is the gong but answers to "Madam Su" because it makes him feel like family. Su Shiyu is strong enough to carry a Chu Mingyun like a bride. Politically and intellectually, they are capable of derailing the other person's objectives if they mean it. They are both complex, strong characters with interesting nuances in their personality and moral values.

Pining, even while in a relationship. The main couple starts a relationship without addressing their ideological differences. Su Shiyu thinks Chu Mingyun is just using him to gather intelligence. Chu Mingyun thinks being together means they will eventually arrive at political compromise somehow. They are in love and make a great couple, so much so that they pretend to be in denial about the fact their relationship in its current state is doomed to fail.

Themes of love and sacrifice. This novel features several couples that end with bitter heartbreak. Some are victims to malicious plots, others are powerless against forces like illness or changes in society. Love is a very small part of the characters' lives, but it's almost always the most memorable and beautiful part. The main couple is one version of this, but they are not the only ones asking what are they willing to sacrifice for love, and what it means when love itself is sacrificed in the endless battle to survive.

A supporting cast with interesting story arcs. There is the genuinely kind but wholly incompetent young Emperor. There are women who never got to shine or live the way they deserved in a patriarchal society on the brink of war. There are bright-eyed young people who were taken too soon, and veteran politicians who becomes disillusioned with the system that repeatedly disappoints them. Through their stories you understand the unstable state of their world, and why Su Shiyu and Chu Mingyun arrive at such different stances on how to fix it.

Things that made me go "meh" about the novel

The most common criticism against this novel is the weakness of its political plot. I think this story is held to a higher standard due to its popularity, and it's flaws are not egregious compared to most novels in the genre (e.g. top court officials are abnormally young and powerful, the villains are abnormally brittle, etc). The ending, however, feels a bit abrupt and rushed, to the point that it's almost OOC.

Another problem is the text tends to tease more details and nuance than a feel-good fluffy novel, but can't deliver on them like a serious plot-driven novel. The story opens with up with a murder, so the main characters go look for the victim's grandson, which leads them to a shady underground casino .... It's one action-packed mystery after another, that you barely have time to stop and realize the murders (and most of these traps and plots) are not very helpful to the villain's objective, and mostly functions as an excuse to make our main characters go on dates work together.

I'm also a bit disappointed by the development of the supporting characters. Qin Zhao, Chu Mingyun's shidi and right-hand man, is pretty much defined by 1) his loyalty to Chu Mingyun and 2) his crush on shidi Du Yue. Emperor Li Yanzhen is implied to have more depth than meets the eye, but not with enough detail to help us figure out what he really thinks. A few villains are downright cartoon-ish, and there's an abysmally high ratio of fridged women.

Finally, admittedly also genre-typical for historical political c-novels, there are some non-flattering stereotypes around neighboring nations and foreign tribes, and also favors militaristic and autocratic politics.

Overall

JunJi is a story with obvious strengths and weaknesses. While reading, I felt like I saw hints of a rich vision for a very complex world and story, but it was not effectively delivered in text, and we just ran out of time and momentum by the end. But still, I'm charmed enough by the potential of this story and this world.

Random Personal Ramblings [Unmarked Spoilers Ahead]

Morality kitchen sink. One thing "the story teases but do not deliver on" is the moral ambiguity of the main characters. Both of them operate private death squads. Chu Mingyun spends years plotting treason, allows the death of innocent people to that end, and is also a "corrupt official" who casually misappropriates tens of millions of taels of silver. Su Shiyu has conducted extra-judicial torture and espionage, and let's not get into the implications of the cover up in the Big Thing of Su Shiyu's backstory…. Both characters have very bloody hands for the sake of their "greater good", but in the end, the story seems to have forgotten about this, and finishes with the air of a grand heroic victory...

Su-gege fangirl hours: someone get him a journal and a therapist. Su Shiyu spent his youth hoping to become a great general like his ancestors, but after his traumatic experience in the war, his father (correctly) forbids him from continuing in the military. I feel like a lot of Shiyu's admiration for Chu Mingyun comes from seeing him in action as a fighter and general. Even in the present, Shiyu is eager to go into battle. One time he tries to substitute for an injured Chu Mingyun to lead an offensive, and in another he marches out in what is basically a suicide mission to defend the city. That is the kind of life -- and death -- that he never talks about but seems to really want.

"Good danmei dad" award nominee: Su Jue. He genuinely cares about his son's welfare, even if it means ending the family's military legacy and killing his son's childhood dreams. After that rough patch, Su Shiyu and his father have seem to have a good relationship. Also, let's not forget he probably committed several crimes to help cover up that Big Thing in Shiyu's backstory.

Chu Zhiqing (╥_╥). Chu-jiejie is awesome and deserved better and what happens to her really explains Chu Mingyun's rage.

Li Yanzhen's wooden statue. So, this guy is the Emperor, but the people trying to overthrow him have already taken over the palace and are looking for him. It's probably his last act before certain death, and he rushes to where he is keeping his WIP wooden statue, carves Su Shiyu's face on it, tells the statue "you are very beautiful," and sets it on fire along with some "ambiguous thoughts from his youth." ... It's only three paragraphs but it has left me with a lot of feelings ...

Su Shiyu's teenage rebellion phase. It's almost impossible to imagine with the current elegant and proper Su Shiyu, but by his own admission he had a phase when he got into fights frequently. His father made him wear white robes so he can't hide the marks from fighting and escape punishment. I once saw a fanart on Lofter of a young Su Shiyu crouching on a roof looking down curiously, and the artist captioned it "young Su-gege looking to start fights", and omg do I have a million regrets about not saving that pic T_T ... I never thought of the character the same way again. The chaos gremlin had to grow up :(

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SRLP was formed in August 2002 by Dean Spade. It was named for Sylvia Rivera, the veteran of the Stonewall Riots and the transgender activist who died the same year that SRLP was founded. The goals of SRLP are to provide access to legal services for low-income transgender, intersex, and gender non-conforming people, provide public education and policy reform to end state-sanctioned discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression. The organization also aims to build a collective organization that develops the leadership of low-income transgender, intersex, and gender non-conforming people of color while participating in the larger movement for racial, social, and economic justice. As Dean Spade himself puts it, "Sylvia Rivera Law Project (SRLP) is committed to providing people with some basic services. We see providing survival services as central to our goal of building racial and economic justice-centered trans resistance.  

Since 2002, SRLP has helped countless queer people. Their mission statement is “The Sylvia Rivera Law Project works to guarantee that all people are free to self-determine their gender identity and expression, regardless of income or race, and without facing harassment, discrimination, or violence. SRLP is a collective organization founded on the understanding that gender self-determination is inextricably intertwined with racial, social and economic justice. Therefore, we seek to increase the political voice and visibility of low-income people of color who are transgender, intersex, or gender non-conforming. SRLP works to improve access to respectful and affirming social, health, and legal services for our communities. We believe that in order to create meaningful political participation and leadership, we must have access to basic means of survival and safety from violence.”