#marriage 101: rules

[courtofcrescent]

How do royal marriages work in your world? If the MC is Mallory's Royal Consort will they be the only one or one of many consorts? Is it common for royals to have multiple lovers simultaneously?

Heya, Dear Anon!

A good question! And I'll absolutely take any opportunity to talk about worldbuilding 😆 Let’s delve into some ramblings about marriages, lovers, and heirs under the cut!

1. How do royal marriages work in the world of COC?

It depends on which kingdom we are talking about! But for the Kingdom of Luxendis (MC's kingdom) where passion is held in high regard, it’s an open secret that royal marriages are not born from passion; it's mostly political agreements (surprise!). It's common for both the ruler and their consort not to love each other romantically—there have even been a few who openly hated each other in the past. This is why the ruler may have concubines and the consort may have (official) lovers~

Luxendians don’t bat an eye about the royal family's affairs as long as both the ruler and consort always remember Luxen's sacred will to never forget the duty of the crown and keep the kingdom flourishing. So yeah, there won't be any big ridiculous scandals regarding these matter 😉

However the heir to the throne must be legitimate, meaning must come from an official union between King/Queen and Consort or King/Queen and Concubine to avoid succession problems (thus consort and their lover are prohibited from having any children in their union). If the ruler has no children from any legitimate union, they may appoint a legitimized bastard (royal bastards are quite rare tho) or a blood relative as the successor.

2. Is MC the only one or part of a line of consorts?

MC is the only Royal Consort of Luxendis! There is only one royal consort; the ruler's main spouse, so think of it as the King/Queen/Prince Consort in our world. However, in (new) Luxendis—the Court of Crescent—the term King/Queen Consort that Luxendians originally used has evolved into Royal Consort regardless of gender due to Imperial influence.

Why did the Empire simplify it to Royal Consort? Simple: the Empire wanted their conquered kingdoms to adhere to Imperial customs! The Imperial House uses the term Imperial Consort, so the rest must follow suit. But why use Imperial Consort instead of Emperor/Empress Consort? Because the Emperor who introduced it was a greedy narcissistic bastard who didn’t want to share his "magnificent title" with the Empress Consort—according to certain questionable historical chronicles, at least lol.

3. Is it common for royals to have multiple lovers?

The custom of having multiple lovers may vary depending on the kingdoms. For Luxendis, it’s a big yes! The Old King of the Former Royal Family had both a Queen Consort and a Concubine. The Queen before him had three concubines, and the King before her had dozens. Almost all of the Luxendis royalty have multiple lovers, with a few exceptions that can be counted on one hand. After all, Luxendians hold passion in high regards.

Additional Note: MC is Mallory’s only consort, yes. However, that doesn’t mean there won’t be any potential concubine(s). If MC and Mallory are of the same gender or if MC doesn’t choose Mallory Romance Path or if MC doesn't want child of their own blood, Mallory will automatically take (or plan to take) a concubine(s) to produce an heir later in the story.

Thank you for the ask! 🩶

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

Do you have a list of good sex ed books to read?

BOY DO I

please bear in mind that some of these books are a little old (10+ years) by research standards now, and that even the newer ones are all flawed in some way. the thing about research on human beings, and especially research on something as nebulous and huge as sex, is that people are Always going to miss something or fail to account for every possible experience, and that's just something that we have to accept in good faith. I think all of these books have something interesting to say, but that doesn't mean any of them are the only book you'll ever need.

related to that: it's been A While since I've read some of these so sorry if anything in them has aged poorly (I don't THINK SO but like, I was not as discerning a reader when I was 19) but I am still including them as books that have been important to my personal journey as a sex educator.

additionally, a caveat that very few of these books are, like, instructional sex ed books in the sense of like "here's how the penis works, here's where the clit is, etc." those books exist and they're great but they're also not very interesting to me; my studies on sex are much more in the social aspect (shout out to my sociology degree) and the way people learn to think about sex and societal factors that shape those trends. these books reflect that. I would genuinely love to have the time to check out some 101 books to see how they fare, but alas - sex ed is not my day job and I don't have the time to dedicate to that, so it happens slowly when it happens at all. I've been meaning to read Dr. Gunter's Vagina Bible since it came out in 2019, for fucks sake.

and finally an acknowledgement that this is a fairly white list, which has as much to do with biases with academia and publishing as my own unchecked biases especially early in my academic career and the limitations of my university library.

ANYWAY here's some books about sex that have been influential/informative to me in one way or another:

The Trouble With Normal: Sex, Politics, and the Ethics of Queer Life (Michael Warner, 1999)

Virginity Lost: An Intimate Portrait of First Sexual Experiences (Laura M. Carpenter, 2005)

Virgin: The Untouched History (Hanne Blank, 2007)

Sex Goes to School: Girls and Sex Education Before the 1960s (Susan K. Freeman, 2008)

Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex (Mary Roach, 2008)

Transgender History: The Roots of Today's Revolution (Revised Edition) (Susan Stryker, 2008)

The Purity Myth: How America's Obsession with Virginity is Hurting Young Women (Jessica Valenti, 2009)

Not Under My Roof: Parents, Teens, and the Culture of Sex (Amy T. Schalet, 2011)

Straight: The Surprisingly Short History of Heterosexuality (Hanne Blank, 2012)

Rewriting the Rules: An Integrative Guide to Love, Sex and Relationships (Meg-John Barker, 2013)

The Sex Myth: The Gap Between Our Fantasies and Realities (Rachel Hills, 2015)

Come as You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Tranform Your Sex Life (Emily Nagoski, 2015)

Not Gay: Sex Between Straight White Men (Jane Ward, 2015)

Too Hot to Handle: A Global History of Sex Education (Jonathan Zimmerman, 2015)

American Hookup: The New Culture of Sex on Campus (Lisa Wade, 2017)

Buzz: A Stimulating History of the Sex Toy (Hallie Lieberman, 2017)

Histories of the Transgender Child (Jules Gill-Peterson, 2018)

Revolting Prostitutes: The Fight for Sex Workers' Rights (Juno Mac and Molly Smith, 2018)

Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex (Angela Chen, 2020)

Pleasure in the News: African American Readership and Sexuality in the Black Press (Kim Gallon, 2020)

A Curious History of Sex (Kate Lister, 2020)

Boys & Sex: Young Men on Hookups, Love, Porn, Consent, and Navigating the New Masculinity (Peggy Orenstein, 2020)

Black Women, Black Love: America's War on Africa American Marriage (Dianne M. Stewart, 2020)

The Tragedy of Heterosexuality (Jane Ward, 2020)

Hurts So Good: The Science and Pleasure of Pain on Purpose (Leigh Cowart, 2021)

Strange Bedfellows: Adventures in the Science, History, and Surprising Secrets of STDs (Ina Park, 2021)

The Right to Sex: Feminist in the Twenty-First Century (Amia Srinivasan, 2021)

Love Your Asian Body: AIDS Activism in Los Angeles (Eric C. Wat, 2021)

Superfreaks: Kink, Pleasure, and the Pursuit of Happiness (Arielle Greenberg, 2023)

[oh-no-its-bird]

Someone ( @ohai-there ) asked me if I had any thoughts ab mdtb weeks "cultural differences" prompt, so, like, take just the copy pasted reply I gave them (+ some extra) :

I was up all night drawing birthday art and am this 👌 close to blacking out for x amount of hours so this risks being nonsensical fair warning

Uhhh culture shock my beloved, let's seee

Easy answer is the senju are very touchy feely, easily and willingly sleeps around (they face a lot less risk of bloodline theft due to rarity of the mokuton so there isn't as much ingrained cultural fear of being assulted/facing the baby shaped consequences of sleeping around willy nilly)

They can take multiple spouses and it's actually rare for the head of house to have only one wife (Hashirama is an exception bc Mito is a Princess(tm) and so to take another wife would risk offending her own clan culture, he is fine with this and they possibly often take others to bed with them just for funzies (potential hashimitoizu noises(?)))

Uhh anyways so that, they're super liberal with touch, etc. Etc.

Also they don't really do crazy deep romance and are super used to casual no strings attached flings, you have to make yourself VERY clear in what you're doing if you want to actually start a fr relationship bc otherwise many "courtship" behaviors are just like. Casual, culturally acceptable flirting and invitations to bang (the senju have a 101 different ways to proposition eachother in flower language alone.)

Meanwhile the Uchiha are on the total opposite side of the spectrum— they're like super conservative (In contrast to the Senju not having an ingrained fear of bloodline hunters, their very valuable and very vulnerable kekkei genkkei makes them prime victims, which has lead them having generations of trauma fueled insane abstinence lessons)

+ They're a noble clan and regularly interact with the Daimyo's court, so there's even more etiquette culture ingrained into them so they can send anyone into court if needed (While the Senju, who are NOT a noble clan, only ever send their main house, and so only they have to even worry about court etiquette)

They do not believe in divorce, they do not believe in political marriages (tho they do happen very very rarely, it's seen as very sad and tragic when it does) they... sometimes believe in multiple spouses, in specific situations (they can't regularly interact w the daimyo's court and not have to face it as a concept, after all)

So like. Super up tight, hella rules about how to show affection and proper ways to conduct yourselves, months long courting rituals before u even get to kissing, to sleep together before marriage is SINFUL

But they're ALSO super fucking romantic and absolutely insane about having soulmates and one true loves and are just super intense ab all that romance stuff where the senju are super relaxed in it

I think u see where this is going

Anyways uhhh

They make a village and there's tons of culture shock

Then Tobirama, being Tobirama (standoffish and cold, not especially interested in the usual wild Senju sex parties or whatever tf kind of events they're hosting in the gardens) is like, among the most "normal" to the Uchiha (from a cultural standpoint)

And bc of that, Madara maybe interacts w him more like "well he's kind of awful but at least he's not a sex FREAK like the rest of these Senju WHORES"

Umm Madara tries to court Tobirama but Tobirama sees it as him only trying to bang (?)

Which he possibly doesn't even want to do

Tobirama is like "Ah man, if only he were interested in actual courtship, but he has only given me the Senju flowers of "I wish to ravish you in the fields" and not the senju flowers of "I am potentially interest in maybe going on a date" (a proposition that a)he received not too infrequently, and so was not odd, and b) he politely rejected by accepting the flowers then showing Madara that he had planted it in red soil)

Meanwhile, Madara is like. "Wow this courtship is going so great he's accepting all my Uchiha flowers of pure devotion and innocent love in bloom"

Just in general, their clans having different flower meanings could be funny actually. The Uchiha regularly interact with court so I think they'd have to have, like, "normal" flower meanings (or else theres be some implications there of how theye gotten so far while using incorrect flower meanings in genuinely important events) so that means its the Senju who have odd meanings for flowers-- which also works, bc, like, mokuton

however many years ago, a previous descendant with mokuton told his clansmen the ""real"" meaning of these flowers,,, u wouldnt get it,,,

Another fun route could be, like, the Uchiha method of declaring ones intentions to court someone also happens to be the Senju's method of declaring a feud.

Madara tries to flirt with Tobirama only for Tobirama to understand this as Madara telling him to his face that the peace may be ongoing but he'll always hate his bitch ass !!!

[starstruckbyacomet]

A Feedback to ABC

🎄All I W❄️nt for Christm⭐️s Is L❤️U☃️

Below is a copy of my feedback to ABC. I wrote the feedback on a Microsoft Word document, because it was too long to be written on the description column of ABC's feedback page.

I'm not suggesting people to read the whole thing (it is a long-ass letter). However, there are some points in it which I think worthy to be mentioned, if anyone still want to write feedback to ABC:

1)) Criticism on the writing of Season 7 and Season 8. I made a list of '13 reasons why' 🙄 I thought the writing of Season 8 was crappy, and actually called it 'crappy' on my feedback. The list included everything which has bothered me, except 2 things: Ortiz and Eddie storylines. There is a possibility that Ortiz would come back as a stronger villain in the future, and Eddie's issue with Shannon might be resolved in Season 8B. Thus, I withheld my judgment. It's important to tell ABC how bad the writing was, because you wouldn't guess it from all the positive publications and adulation about the show out there. The higher ups on ABC might also not be aware about it.

2)) Mentioning that fans have noticed the three-baitings: the thrill-baiting, the Buddie-baiting, and the Tevan-baiting. Even if the show or ABC didn't mean to bait anyone (which honestly I doubt 🙄), at least ABC would be aware of the distrust and negative perceptions on the show, and hopefully would take actions to counter them.

3)) Reasons why we don't want to see Buck with any love interests other than Tommy.

4)) Suggestions of possible storylines for Tommy. Initially I was hesitant to write this part. I thought, these professional writers surely didn't need suggestions from someone like me. But then I remembered how they'd botched Season 8A (*shudder*), and I was afraid that they wouldn't bring Tommy back, because they didn't know what to do with him. So, fuck it! Someone, anyone, got to tell them. And if that someone had to be me, so be it.

5)) There was no mention of the online harrassment. In my criticism about Buddie-baiting, I called the Buddie fans "obsessed", instead of "toxic" or "hostile". I want my feedback to be read pass the social media team. Mentioning the online harrassment might make the social media team tossed my letter to the garbage bin, because they didn't want to be blamed on their passivity.

I'm sorry that I couldn't participate in financial donation this year. I've been out of job for quite a while, because I was bullied on my previous workplace. This is also the reason why I've been so adamant against online bullying. I hope however small what I do for this movement, it still helps somehow.

🎄..☃️..✨️..❄️..🎄..⛄️..✨️..❄️..🎄..☃️..✨️..❄️..🎄

Dear ABC,

I've been watching 9-1-1 show for years, and have been involved in its fandom for quite a while. There are growing concerns among the fandom about the show, which is the reason why I'm writing this letter:

A. THE WRITING

The writing of Season 7 was not good. Shannon's doppelganger storyline was hard to believe, and Amir storyline was rushed. Buck was the only character who got a decent story with his new relationship with Tommy. However, most of us were willing to look past those shortcomings because it was a shortened season, with only 10 episodes instead of the usual 18 episodes.

We'd expected Season 8 will be better, alas, it's been worse:

Gerard was retconned to be a bumbling old relic. It's hard to believe that he was the same menace who had ruled the 118 firehouse with iron fists in the Begins episodes of Season 2.

In episode 8x05 "Masks", Hen and Karen had a disagreement about Hen's working schedule. Why did this issue come up now, after their 7+ years of marriage? Hen never changed her job during their marriage. Karen has even been very supportive when Hen was enrolled in a medical school, while also working as a firefighter from Season 4 to Season 6. At that time, she was notably busier than she is in this season.

In episode 101 "Pilot" Abby mentioned that Tommy was her ex-boyfriend. Why did in episode 806 "Confessions" Tommy say he was Abby's ex-fiancé?

In episode 8x06 "Confessions" Maddie told Chimney, her husband, that she was pregnant. After her unexpected pregnancy back in Season 3, we expected the couple would be more careful with birth controls. Apparently they didn't. It is a running joke within fandom that birth controls don't exist in 9-1-1 universe. Also, why didn't Maddie have a discussion with her husband before she got pregnant? A pregnancy should be a couple's decision, not forced by half of the pair to the other half.

In episode 806 "Confessions", Tommy gave Buck two Lakers tickets as anniversary gift. It is implied that Tommy didn't know that Buck did not like basketball. We're not sure what the show wanted to tell with this scene. If it meant to imply that Tommy was not a good boyfriend because he didn't know that fact, it achieved the opposite effect. Buck was the one who had given the impression to Tommy that he liked basketball on episode 804 "Buck, Bothered, and Bewildered". Thus, if Tommy still didn't know that Buck disliked the sport after 6 months into their relationship, it was Buck's fault for not coming clean to Tommy.

Buck was flustered when talking with a woman on his anniversary date with Tommy in episode 806 "Confessions". Buck is 33 years old, not twelve. He's been dating a lot of people before. Buck should have known better than showing his attraction to other people while being on a date.

Still in episode 806 "Confessions", Buck asked whether Tommy was attracted to women. At the time, they've been dating for 6 months. Previously, in episode 705 "You Don't Know Me", Buck told Eddie that Tommy was gay. If Buck had known that his boyfriend was gay, why did he ask Tommy whether Tommy was attracted to women? Buck might be not the brightest bulb in the box, but we didn't think he was so stupid or ignorant that he couldn't differentiate between being gay and being bisexual.

Again, in episode 806 "Confessions" Tommy broke up with Buck because he was afraid to go further in their relationship. Tommy that we knew was mindful to other people's feelings. In episode 704 "Buck, Bothered, and Bewildered" Tommy visited Buck to clear the air after he'd sensed that he might have inadvertently created a wedge between Buck and Eddie. This mindful Tommy wouldn't date Buck in the first place, if he knew that he couldn't go to the next phase.

After Tommy broke up with Buck, Buck didn't seem to fight for their relationship. In episode 405 "Buck Begins" Athena said that being Buck meant never give up. In the past, we have seen Buck fought for things which mattered to him. He sued LAFD to get his job back. He broke the law to save Maddie when she was in danger. However, after Tommy broke up with him, Buck didn't even try to communicate with Tommy like an adult. Instead, he was... baking? This is not the Buck we have known.

In episode 807 "Hotshots" and episode 808 "Wannabes" Buck didn't even look sad when he was not baking. He did look anxious when Tommy was mentioned, but other than that, he acted normal. Tim Minear mentioned in interviews that Tommy was important for Buck, but we didn't see it on screen. Fans have been mourning the relationship harder than on-screen Buck.

After the break up, why didn't any of Buck's closest people encourage him to clear things up with Tommy? In episode 709 "Ashes, Ashes" Bobby told Buck that Tommy was good for him, and Chimney has asked Tommy to fly into a hurricane, practically made Tommy risked his own life for the 118 team. However, after Tommy broke up with Buck, none of them told either Buck or Tommy to talk with each other and clear things up.

In episode 807 "Hotshots", Chimney encouraged Buck to "jump back in the pond", and Buck answered with "I don't know which pond to jump back into." The conversation seemed like a subtext that bisexual Buck now could sleep with both men and women. As a bisexual person, I am very offended by this scene. Like other people, bisexual people cannot control to whom we fall in love to, regardless of the gender. The implication of the scene is that bi people are 'easy' or 'loose' and used to pick partners to sleep without giving much thoughts on it. It is a common prejudice which we've been fighting against for a very long time. Watching it implied on the scene is insulting, to say the least.

The prolonged screen time of Brad Torrence. Initially fans didn't hate Brad. However, we couldn't help but notice that a big portion of Season 8A was spent on Brad, while other main characters we actually cared about were put aside. Now, Brad Torrence becomes a bitter joke among fans. Most of us couldn't stand him any longer. On top of that, the scene of Brad saved a suicidal Hotshots fan in episode 806 "Wannabes" felt like an undeserved pat-on-the-back to the show, considering the crappy stories the show has been giving us since Season 7.

B. THE BAITING

B.1. THE THRILL-BAITING

Fans have noticed that 9-1-1 has been seemingly baiting new viewers to watch the show, but didn't give them what they were looking for. One example is the big disaster emergency stories at the beginnings of Season 6 and Season 7. There was no other big emergencies during the rest of the seasons and audience knew that. Long term fans like me were delighted by those stories, and ratings indicated that the big emergencies have attracted additional viewers. However, surely you've noticed that ratings were back to normal right after the big emergency stories had ended. The drops were not even gradual. It's because new viewers knew that the thrill ended after the 3rd episode of the season. And with such crappy storylines which I have explained in Part A, new viewers hardly wanted to stay.

B.2. THE BUDDIE-BAITING

Another baiting that we've noticed is the Buddie-baiting. There are fans who want to see Buck and Eddie (a.k.a. "Buddie") in a romantic relationship on screen. These fans are not subtle about what they want. Tim Minear, Kristen Reidel, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Oliver Stark, and Ryan Guzman have acknowledged the existence of the fans in various occasions. The Buddie fans have been voicing their demand since Season 2. Unlike normal fans they are very obsessed about the pairing they root for. Other 9-1-1 fans like me, who don't root for Buddie, have concerns regarding how the show has been portraying Buck and Eddie's interactions on screen. In our opinion, if the show didn't want to pair Buck with Eddie romantically, then it should stop giving nods or hints about them as if they were a couple or a couple to-be. Those nods or hints only give false expectations to the Buddie fans. For examples:

1)) In episode 7x06 "There Goes the Groom", there was a Buck & Eddie drunk karaoke scene. The scene should include Henren and Ravi, or at least Ravi in the scene, to avoid misinterpretation by Buddie fans.

2)) In episode 8x06 "Confessions", Eddie talked about beards, right after he mentioned that he was straight. Buddie fans has interpreted this scene as a clue that Eddie was hiding his sexuality. Here's the actual conversation on screen:

Father Brian: "And you, you have that... very handsome mustache." Eddie (chuckling): "Do you wanna know why I grew this?" Father Brian: "Tell me." Eddie: "Because the LAFD doesn't allow beards. Too flammable. Otherwise, I'd have gone full mountain man." Father Brian: "So, it's a disguise?" Eddie (averting his gaze): "Something like that." Father Brian: "What're you afraid of seeing when you're looking in the mirror?"

The conversation could be done without mentioning beards at all. For example:

Father Brian: "And you, you have that... very handsome mustache." Eddie (chuckling): "I'm glad someone likes it." Father Brian: "Nobody else likes it?" Eddie: "Well, sometimes my friends tease me about it. But I think they're just not used to see me with a mustache." Father Brian: "So, it's new? Is it a trend that I didn't know about?" Eddie (chuckling): "No, not a trend. I just want to see something different when I look in the mirror." Father Brian: "So, it's a disguise?" Eddie (averting his gaze): "Something like that." Father Brian: "What're you afraid of seeing when you're looking in the mirror?"

If a non-writer like me could come up with an alternative conversation with the same ending without talking about beards, so could the writers. Even if the conversation became longer, the show could cut some time off of Eddie's dancing scene at the end of the episode. Inserting beards in the conversation feels like baiting Buddie fans without actually giving them what they want.

3)) In episode 8x06 "Confessions", a pantless Eddie opened his door to Buck after Buck was dumped by Tommy, and proceeded to let Buck sat next to him. Eddie was pantless because he had been doing the Risky Business Dance. There are other iconic dances which Eddie could do without losing his pants, like Michael Jackson's Moonwalk, the Footloose Dance, John Travolta's Staying Alive Dance, etc. This sexual innuendo only gives a false message to Buddie fans.

There is a growing concern that the show has been baiting Buddie fans to keep watching without actually making Buck and Eddie a couple. This feels deceitful, exploitative, and manipulative. Fans don't need 'nods' or 'hints' or 'subtexts'. A few decades ago, when homosexuality was a taboo, giving nods and subtexts about the subject on TV shows seemed brave. It doesn't work that way in this modern era, when marriage equality has been a law for quite a while. On the contrary, it feels deceitful and cowardly. As if the show was afraid to upset its queer-averse audience, but also wanted its queer-leaning audience to keep watching.

B.3. THE TEVAN-BAITING

After 9-1-1 re-introduced Tommy back in Season 7, a lot of fans were captivated by this character and his love story with Buck. We dubbed the couple as 'Bucktommy' or 'Tevan'. In the fandom, a lot people have shared how they could relate to Tommy. I'm one of them. Like Tommy, I came out later in life, although only to selected people in my life. Like Tommy, I also have done less than honorable things to cover my sexuality, which I still regret even now. A lot of fans, including me, also relate to Tommy's longing for a family who could fully accept him. That's why we were rooting for his relationship with Buck.

We were shocked and heartbroken when the couple broke up in episode 806 "Confessions". To add salt in our wound, everyone involved acted out-of-characters like I mentioned in Part A. It makes the break up felt like a rushed afterthought, instead of a well-prepared storyline. It's very contrast with how the story of Brad Torrence and Hotshots were told. Furthermore, Tommy had been portrayed as a loving boyfriend to Buck in the previous episode (ep. 805 "Masks"). We felt that the show has played with our feelings, and for what? To make us cried our hearts out on the internet and gave the show hypes and online engagements for free? Once again, it feels like the show has deceitfully baited us. Looking back at how it has seemingly baited thrill-seekers viewers with emergency scenes only at the season openings, and how it gave 'nods' to Buddie pairing without ever make it happened, the thought doesn't seem outside the realm of possibility.

A lot of fans have noticed a trend of ship-baiting in TV shows. Unlike queer-baiting, these TV shows have included openly queer characters from the start, so people don't accuse them of queer-baiting. However, there's usually only one queer couple who has a long-term relationship which lasts until the end of the show. Other queer characters either end up single or appear single (e.g. Guilermo de la Cruz of What We Do in the Shadows), have elusive romantic partners who appear very rarely on screen (e.g. Paul Strickland of 9-1-1: Lone Star), or have a string of failed romantic relationships until the shows ended (e.g. Travis Montgomery of Station 19). The story of Travis Montgomery of Station 19 is very telling. He was the only main character who didn't get a 'soulmate' at the end of the show. He was dragged from one failed relationship to another during the whole 7 seasons. This was a notably different treatment compared to other main characters in the show. It has made fans wondered whether the fact that Travis was gay had something to do with it. There had been one queer couple, Maya Bishop & Carina DeLuca (a.k.a. "Marina") who was prominently on display and got a happy ending in Station 19. Why didn't Travis get a lasting relationship like other main characters, instead of being paired with a brand new partner in the end? As if there was a diversity quota, where only one queer couple per TV show was allowed to be prominently on display and got a happy ending.

C. WHAT NEXT FOR BUCK

Reflecting from what happened with Travis Montgomery of Station 19, some fans have predicted that 9-1-1 planned to drag Buck to a string of failed relationships before pairing him with a woman at the end of the show. There's also a speculation that Buck would be paired with Tommy or even Eddie right before the show ended, because by then the show would not have to portray his queer relationship on screen further. Until then, the audience might have to watch Buck jumps from relationship to relationship again.

There are several issues with this scenario:

1)) Buck has gone through FIVE failed relationships since the beginning of the show (with Abby, Ali, Taylor, Natalia, and Tommy). It would be NINE if we include hook-ups and kisses (the unnamed firetruck hookup, the snake-keeping lady, his ex-therapist, and Lucy Donato). Giving Buck another failed relationship is beyond repetitive. It screams "we run out of ideas what to do with this character." A lot of us simply don't want to watch that repetition.

2)) It would be hard for any other partners to measure up to Tommy. Tommy shared a unique connection with Buck: Buck was Tommy's replacement in 118 firehouse and they shared a same ex, Abby. Tommy also had a good relationship with Bobby, Chimney, Hen, and Eddie, and has been portrayed as a good boyfriend for Buck. If an ideal partner like Tommy was thrown out of the window, why should we care about Buck's next love interest(s)?

3)) Tommy's unique connection with Buck and how Tommy has been portrayed on the show have given a lot of potential stories for Buck and Tommy together. For examples:

Tommy has done terrible things in the past, probably while he was in the military. This would give Buck a dilemma: would he leave Tommy, or would he love and trust someone with a checkered past although that person has repented.

Tommy could have a trauma or PTSD from his time in the military, probably related to DADT. This would give Buck a new role as a caregiver to who tried to help his partner struggles with a serious issue. It would be more serious than accompanying Taylor Kelly to meet her estranged father.

Tommy might apologize to Abby. Not only Buck and Abby deserve a closure, Tommy and Abby do too. Buck might even facilitate this.

Those examples have never been shown before. Any of them would feel fresh and better than having Buck goes through several romantic relationships again.

4)) As I mentioned before, a lot of us feel that the show has been baiting us, the queer-leaning viewers, to watch the show without giving us the queer relationship that we want. Our experiences with TV shows like Supernatural, Station 19, and the latest one, What We Do in the Shadows, have taught us to recognize the baiting signs. A lot of us refuse to be exploited again. Several fans have quit watching the show after episode 806 "Confessions", others were waiting until the half season hiatus to see whether Tommy was coming back or not, before quit watching it for good. We plan to watch the show again only if Tommy and Buck get back together.

This is not the first time I was disappointed by a TV show. Several years ago, I quit watching Grey's Anatomy because it messed up Jackson and April (a.k.a. "Japril")'s relationship with a love triangle story for too long. Although disappointed, at the time I didn't care enough to express my concern to ABC. I simply quit watching the show, because it didn't give me joy anymore. However, I care more about Tommy and his relationship with Buck, hence this letter. I hope the show will bring Tommy back and restore his relationship with Buck once more in Season 8B. I know a lot of fans have a similar hope.

#All I Want for Christmas Is Lou

Best regards,

[My name]

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

Do you think that book!Alicent was a one dimensional evil stepmother and the show has fixed her by making her a sad victim of the men around her? I don't agree with this take but i see so many people argue in favour of stripping her of her agency in the show in that book!Alicent was nothing but a misogynistic caricature made by the sexist maesters.

Thanks for this question anon! I had actually been meaning to write something about the "evil stepmother" accusations that get thrown at book!Alicent because having recently re-read F&B, I just don't see it.

First of all, and I think most notably, Alicent's relationship with Rhaenyra doesn't really deteriorate completely until Daemon returns to court. Before that, we don't really have much information about the first few years of Viserys' marriage. The fandom likes to claim that Alicent was beefing with a 9 year old but that isn't really backed up with much evidence. After the account that nine year old Rhaenyra poured for her new stepmother at Alicent and Viserys' wedding (and on a seriously wtf note, helped undress her father for the bedding, but that's another topic), the next words we have about Alicent and Rhaenyra are when Alicent quips, about Rhaenyra's relationship with Criston Cole, "Ser Criston protects the princess from her enemies, but who protects the princess from Ser Criston?" And y'all? This is not beefing or bullying. Alicent is pointing out that Rhaenyra, now about 13-ish, is in a vulnerable position as an unmarried young woman. Is she also possibly picking up on some weird predatory vibes with Criston? Perhaps (which is also also interesting, considering Criston later defects to Alicent's camp)! Remember, book!Criston is only a year younger than Daemon, so anything between them would not only be completely off limits because Criston is a kingsguard, but also extremely inappropriate just based on their ages alone. Regardless, Rhaenyra is at this point surrounded by a lot of men ("many lords and knights sought her favor") and Alicent alone seems cognizant of the danger this poses.

After this, the relationship between Alicent and Rhaenyra evidently deteriorates, but we're not told precisely how, only that the "amity between Her Grace and her stepdaughter had proved short lived, for both Rhaenyra and Alicent aspired to be the first lady of the realm..." Keep in mind, this is Gyldayn editorializing without a source, and as for being "first lady of the realm," it's just as likely that Rhaenyra was jealous of her stepmother's position as queen as it was that Alicent had any particular animosity towards Rhaenyra. In any case, the book does not suggest that either of them are at fault for the breakdown.

This is also around the time that Otto gets sent home for bugging Viserys about the succession, so that probably had something to do with it, although this still does not amount to Alicent beefing with a child, as it's doubtful she brought up the situation to Rhaenyra herself, but rather she and Otto brought the issue to Viserys. And although I don't really want to get into the succession weeds here, I do want to make it clear that the expectation that Viserys would make his firstborn son his heir was an entirely reasonable one. Everywhere except for Dorne, sons inherit before daughters, and if Viserys had made it clear before he married Alicent that he had no intention of replacing Rhaenyra as heir, Otto might not have married Alicent to Viserys in the first place. There are multiple examples of men with daughters but no sons remarrying in order to get a male heir. It's the only reason Corlys offered Laena as a bride to Viserys (and, arguably, Corlys would have had the leverage to force the issue, which is perhaps one reason why he did not choose Laena). And it wasn't just Otto and Alicent-- people asked "what of the ruling of the Great Council in 101?" But Viserys basically told naysayers to shut up and stop asking. Okay.

Then we have the dress incident, and at this point Rhaenyra is 14, Daemon is back in town, and there's a tourney on. Alicent wears a green dress, Rhaenyra wears a black and red one. It's interesting that in this chapter, no additional context is given to this event. Much earlier in F&B, we do learn that the High Tower is lit green to call its banners against Maegor the Cruel. The show makes this association clear, but Gyldayn does not say that Alicent did this as a declaration of war on Rhaenyra, only that "the queen wore a green gown, whilst the princess dressed dramatically in Targaryen red and black." If you've read F&B, you know that Gyldayn loves editorializing, so the fact that the association made by the show is completely omitted here suggest that Gyldayn lacked this context, or people at the time of the event simply thought it was a green dress with no additional meaning, or perhaps he expected in-world readers to draw their own conclusions (although it's kind of unlike Gyldayn to resist showing off his knowledge when he can). Regardless, after that, the people gave them the nickname the blacks and the greens, and it stuck.

Anyway, it's clear Alicent and Rhaenyra aren't getting along at this point, and they probably resent each other, but there is no mention of Alicent actually doing anything whatsoever to harm Rhaenyra, much less "bullying a child who has just lost her mother" or "beefing with a nine year old." This seems to be a complete invention. Given that book!Rhaenyra is a spoiled only child, by this point a teenager, accustomed to having her father's undivided attention, and now he has a new wife and at this point three new children in his life, it's equally likely that Rhaenyra was feeling displaced and acting out. However, instead of giving her any helpful guidance or correcting her, the trusted adults in her life reinforce her negative feelings, and as we'll see, even use those insecurities to manipulate her. As for Alicent "poisoning her children against Rhaenyra," there's simply zero evidence to back this up. In fact, what eventually happens would seem to suggest that Alicent was at least somewhat concerned about the hostility between her children and Rhaenyra. And here is when things really break down, because this is where Daemon really starts to stir the pot.

Before the tourney, Daemon had been fighting in the stepstones. He returns to King's Landing a hero, and immediately latches onto Rhaenyra. As for Alicent, "although he treated her with all the courtesy due her station, there was no warmth between them, and men said that the prince was notably cool towards her children, especially his nephews, Aegon and Aemond, whose birth had pushed him still lower in the order of succession." So who is, in fact beefing with children? Daemon Targaryen. At the same time, Daemon starts cozying up to Rhaenyra, giving her extravagant gifts, telling her stories, and doing the one thing that is absolutely sure to win over a teenager, being a hater. Daemon hones in on Rhaenyra's issues with Alicent and together they have a great deal of fun openly mocking Alicent and her children, and what Daemon called the "lickspittles" who were in Alicent's camp. This works very well on Rhaenyra because of course it does! Daemon is the cool dragonriding uncle, the handsome Rogue Prince, and Rhaenyra is eating up the attention. She and Daemon have dragonraces and he tells her she's much prettier than Alicent and strokes that teenage ego. It's also at this point that the rumors about Daemon and Rhaenyra having a sexual relationship begin, and Daemon supposedly asks for Rhaenyra's hand in marriage because "who else would take her now?" Keep in mind, she's fourteen. And whether it's true or not, Viserys exiles Daemon again. He goes back to the Stepstones, and things settle down in King's Landing.

Of course the relationship between between Rhaenyra and her stepmother is bad by this point. Her and Daemon have just spent six months mocking her and her children and their supporters. Aegon is only about four or five years old, so the beef has got to be pretty one sided, although even little kids can tell when they're being given the cold shoulder or laughed at. Rhaenyra even makes a point of always referring to them as her half-brothers, rather than simply as her brothers. Still, a few years pass, Rhaenyra is now sixteen, and it's time for her to get married. Alicent proposes she marry Aegon, and one of the reasons she gives is that they don't get along well. "All the more reason to bind them together in marriage," Alicent says, acknowledging that Rhaenyra hating her now six year old younger brother is in fact a big fucking problem. If Alicent hoped for Rhaenyra and Aegon to marry, why on earth would she poison her children against Rhaenyra? But Viserys shoots this idea down, saying "the boy is Alicent's own blood. She wants him on the throne." And yes, of course she does, but she probably also wants him to stay alive.

So, Rhaenyra marries Laenor, and after that there's really no point in trying to maintain any sort of stepmother relationship, is there? Rhaenyra is now an adult, she's married, and she's made her feelings about Alicent and her siblings very clear. At this point, Alicent has to look out for the safety of her children, who are going to be Rhaenyra's biggest rivals. And if they dislike their older half-sister, who can blame them? Again, this is a girl who spent the better half of six months laughing at them. Rhaenyra did nothing but sabotage that relationship. And if Alicent decides she's going to fight for Aegon's inheritance, she's only doing what any mother in her position would do. There's no evidence she does it for power or greed, she simply does it because she doesn't owe Rhaenyra anything and letting someone who is actively hostile to her children take the throne unchallenged, especially when that person's claim is untraditional to say the least, and seen by many as being weaker than that of her sons, would be taking a huge risk with their lives. There's nothing "evil" in Alicent's actions. Book!Alicent did not bully Rhaenyra, did not "beef with a nine year old," or "poison her children against Rhaenyra," in fact, she did what she could to bind them together, but Rhaenyra, (at least in part taking her cues from Viserys and Daemon), was simply not interested. And you know, that's fine too, Rhaenyra doesn't have to love her stepmother or care about her half-brothers. They're much younger and it's natural that she wouldn't be much interested in them. But as heir to the throne? It sure would have been a much smarter idea to cultivate those relationships.

Book!Alicent isn't an "evil stepmother" though either, after a certain point she she simply prioritizes her own children over someone who has made it abundantly clear she has no use for any of them.

[elin-moon]

More on Alicent and her inconsistent character in season 2:

I feel like the writers and directors forgot what and who Alicent is as a character, what she represents. From watching season 1, I'd say Alicent is a representation of the women who not only live the way the Patriarchal society wants them to live, but also openly supports the Patriarchal system and shames women who don't live by the expectation, because for them it works so it should work for every woman.

This is most evident in Alicent's treatment of Rhaenyra, constantly going out of her way to put down Rhaenyra's authority amongst the men at court and in the council. Of course, it is all for her own gain, as Rhaenyra having less power means more power for her, which comes in the form of respect from the men around her. In everything Alicent does, she's looking to make herself look more endearing to the men around her by putting down another woman who is not behaving in the typical way that a woman is expected to be.

Such as with the really strong focus on Rhaenyra having bastards, not because she's sleeping around with a lot of men, but because the man she's married with can't have children with her; Rhaenyra is having bastard children out of a necessity to have heirs, but also because it is expected of her as a woman. If she were a man, no one would've cared, which is even said in the show:

"If I were born a man, I could father a dozen bastards." - Rhaenyra Targaryen

A man can have sex with as many women as he wants and have as many illegitimate children as he'd like, but a woman can't. If she does, she's considered a whore, which is exactly what happens to Rhaenyra, and Alicent perpetuates this by further spreading the rumours of Rhaenyra's infidelity and her children's legitimacy, all for the betterment of her own cause, to make Aegon appear as a better candidate for the throne. Alicent uses the Patriarchal system to her advantage to get what she wants, to put her son on the throne.

The most important thing is that Alicent doesn't necessarily see this as wrong. I mean, look at her father, Otto Hightower, who constantly tells her that a woman could never rule, that it must be Aegon that is king, becuase he's the first born son.

"It wouldn't matter if she were Jaehaerys himself come again; she is a woman."

In his eyes, Rhaenyra could never rule on her own as a woman, and he sends this message down to his daughter. Society itself also supports him in his belief, as is evident by the Great Council of 101, where Viserys was chosen over Rhaenys to rule, the very first scene in the first episode. As every woman in the show, Alicent suffers under the Patriarchy, but she's been raised to believe that that is what's right, and any other woman who refuses to suffer the same and tries to push back against the system in anyway is wrong and should be taught better.

Alicent's loyalty to the Patriarchy is also presented through her piousness to the Faith of the Seven, a fictional religion that takes inspiration from real life Christianity. Now, we all know very well that Christianity is being used as a tool to keep women down and subservient to their husbands, encouraging them to be obedient to the men in their lives. Christianity is alos the root of purity culture, telling young girls they must remain pure and chaste maidens for their future husbands, and if they don't do so, they are harlots and whores and sinners and they will surely go to hell. Since the Faith of the Seven is so similar to Christianity, it supports a similar concept of women needing to remain pure before marriage, and Alicent would've been raised with this belief, so evidently believes it so herself. This would not only further tie into her treatment of Rhaenyra, who she believes has sullied herself by having sex outside of marriage, but also her treatment of other girls and women.

For example, Dyana, the maid that Aegon raped. While, by all means, Alicent does help her, giving her contraceptive Moon tea and money so she can get away without trouble, Alicent still helps the maid hide. It is suggested by the show that this isn't the first time Aegon's done this, yet he hasn't really been punished by the law in anyway, because he's a man, and Alicent knows this. So, the best she can do is offer Dyana (and possibly other maids that have suffered similarly) an escape from further suffering. But she also has to keep her son's actions a secret, because they are considered bad, and while Aegon won't get punished for it, it may give him a slightly bad look to the public and give Team Black something to use as proof that Aegon isn't a capable ruler, and Alicent can't have that. So, she makes sure the maids, like Dyana, don't talk of what's happened to them, paying them to get out as soon as possible. She knows she can silence them easily since their voices don't matter as mere maids, so her privilege as queen is used as well, making sure women beneath her struggle in silence.

Her perpetuating Patriarchal values is also evident with her daughter, Helaena. While she doesn't mistreat her in any matter and cares for her dearly, Alicent obviously thinks that what is bets for Helaena is for her to live by the expectations set out for women. She has her daughter married to Aegon at 13, and forces her to have children with him as a teenager. In the book, she's 14 giving birth to the twins, and in the show, assuming she's around 19 and the twins are 4, she gives birth at 15. Either way, she's far too young to be getting married and having children, but this is what society expects of her, and what Alicent pushes for, since she believes it is for the best. Alicent herself was a teenager getting married and having children young, both in the show and the book. Sure, in the book she's 18, but that is still quite young (as an 18 year old myself, I couldn't image getting married and having children), and in the show, she's about 14 getting married and 15/16 having her first child. Alicent lived by society's expectations, and it is evident in the show she doesn't enjoy it, but she believes she must, so she thinks Helaena must as well. In fact, she believes every woman must as well. She sees Rhaenyra doesn't live a life of servitude to her husband, and Alicent hates her for it, most likely being jealous of her freedom, seen most evidently first when Alicent is still young and Rhaenyra is still unmarried and refuses to marry even though she's given plenty of men to choose from while Alicent had been given no choice.

"I think it's rather romantic" - Alicent Hightower

"What's so romantic about being locked up in a castle and made to squeeze out heirs." - Rhaenyra Targaryen

Alicent is jealous of Rhaenyra's percieved freedom, of her ability to choose who to marry, who to have children with. Alicent doesn't see that Rhaneyra is still being forced to marry when she doesn't want to, she just sees the privilege of choice on who that Rhaenyra has, and she wishes she could have that, and feels that Rhaenyra is being ungrateful. As time passes, and Rhaenyra gets away with stuff women wouldn't normally get away with, such as having illegitimate children as her heirs and having an affair with the man she loves, Alicent becomes more and more jealous, and it turns into cruelty, trying constantly to put Rhaenyra down to make herself feel better; she's the one being a good woman here, she's the one following the rules that society set out for her, she she believes she is righteous in what she does. She believes women must live like her, living for the men around them and offering everything they have to men, even their ambition, or else they are wrong.

"You've gone too far!" - Rhaenyra Targaryen

"I!? What have I done but what was expected of me? Forever upholding the kingdom, the family, the law, while you flout all to do as you please! ... Where's duty? Where's sacrifice? It's trampled under your pretty foot again!" - Alicent Hightower

Alicent believes sacrifice is necessary, something women must do, and when Rhaenyra doesn't sacrifice her owns self for the men around her, Alicent believes she's not being a woman correctly, that she's behaving incorrectly because she doesn't live exactly as the Patriarchal society expects her to.

The Patriarchy requires women to sacrifice everything: their very freedom, their very rights, their very desires, all to be desirable to men, and religion is used to make women believed that these sacrifices make them righteous, that it makes them better then other women, which only strengthens the system as the women who are being oppressed support their own oppression.

This is who Alicent was in season 1, and season 2 fails to deliver this. She has sex outside of wedlock even though her religion would forbid it, and she tries to break away from what she started and tries to go back to Rhaenyra even though she hasn't been given a good reason to other than a desire for freedom from the system. While I don't believe her character arc of breaking away rom the system is bad, I feel it was badly written; it all happens far too quickly. In just a few short weeks (at best), she's gone from fully supprting her son taking the throne and being willing to make sacrifices to achieve this, to abandoning her son entirely while he's injured and longing to break away from the cage she's been trapped in for years. It's unrealistic, no one can change that quickly in a few weeks. This arc would make sense if it was more drawn out and build upon slowly. Perhaps Alicent's desire for freedom could be foreshadowed at best in season 2, and in season 3 have it fully manifest, but it being far too late for Alicent to escape and now she has to suffer with her guilt and regrets as she watches everything fall apart around her, driving her mad as she can no longer change anything, no matter how much she wants. She has build her own cage and chains, and now has no choice but to keep to them, no matter how much she hates it now.

But whatever, we shall see what season 3 will do with her character. Perhaps they'll fix up on the inconsistencies and find a way to make her character make sense in a satisfying way that somehow aligns with season 1 and 2, but we'll have to wait.

For now, I'm done.

[cinnamonnangel]

ASTRO 101 - THE HOUSES (PART II)

SEVENTH HOUSE - I BALANCE

(The Seventh House is ruled by Libra and Venus.)

House of marriage, personality and character of our partner, partner’s job

Civil partnership, bilateral relations, long and committed relationship, close friends, closely associated with, opposite side, associations, union, consultancy

Terms of relationship and behavior

Joint ventures, hostilities, adversary, rivals, competition

Traits we feel lacking in ourselves, the parts of us that are in us but have not been revealed and that we have difficulty in accepting

Lower back, skin, external sexual organs, bladder, ovaries, blood

International relations, military or civil wars, treatises, arbitrators, illegal criminals, marriage and divorce rates, foreign trade, public relations

EIGHTH HOUSE - I DESIRE

(The Eighth House is ruled by Scorpio, Mars and Pluto.)

House of death - natural or unnatural, accident, suicide, fire, drowning, diseases, corruption, crises, surgery

Sex, sexuality, erotism, desire, fantasies, fetishes, sexual life

Alteration and transformations, sharing

Heritage, money that comes to us beyond of our control, money that comes to us from others, inheritance from husband

Tax, alimony, debt, heritage, loan, lottery, gambling

Robbery, fighting, theft, slaughter, butchers, coroners, harassment, rape

The fears, privacy, feel rage towards, abomination

Psychology, occultism, parapsychology, subconscious, spiritual psychology

Genitals, groin area, colon, sex organs, gall bladder, rectum, urogenital system

International debts, international financial agreements, charges, stock certificates, interest rates, foreign exchanges, credits, fuses, mortgages, pension funds, legacies, mortality, life-critical, suicide

Surgery, morgue, surgeons, laboratories, nuclear forces, sewage, organized crimes, terrorists, detective, demimonde, arms, underground sources, cabalistic subjects

NINTH HOUSE - I ASPIRE

(The Ninth House is ruled by Sagittarius and Jupiter.)

House of wisdom, mastership, higher education, academic trainings

Cults and thoughts, abstract reasoning, moral evidence, philosophizing, religious cult, reflection, abstract thoughts

The house where we deepen the information we get from the 3rd house

Distant relatives

Society's mindset, social law rules, social and moral rules, harmony with society

Expedition, long trips, distant travels, foreign countries, foreigners, exterior, crew, communication instruments, media, broadcast

Hips, thighs, sciatic nerves, lower spine, liver, autonomic nervous system

Foreign relations and trade, courts, laws, judges, minorities, companies, advertising portfolios, religion and clergy, the country's philosophical and religious tendencies, migrations, long-distance communications, fast-moving news, broadcasting, popular culture, foreigners

Universities, airlines and transport, maritime transport, ministry of foreign affairs, flight attendants

TENTH HOUSE - I USE

(The Tenth House is ruled by Capricorn and Saturn.)

House of profession, honor, social status, public esteem, dignity, business, character, reputation and career

Glory, name, fame, recognition, way of life, purpose and power

Social roles, status in society, the part of society that sees us, social identity, prestige and title

Marital status, our partner's family, parents, father, authoritarian leaders

Skin, hair, knees, teeth, bones, joints, skeletal system, reputation

Government, the state's reputation by foreign countries, heads of state, powers, executives, leaders, celebrities, notable personages, public figures, uplands

ELEVENTH HOUSE - I KNOW

(The Eleventh House is ruled by Aquarius, Saturn and Uranus.)

House of friends, groups, associations, endowments, a circle of friends, people around us, hives, social environments and organizations

Goals, future plans, hopes, goals of life, wishes, happy news, wealth, fortune, expectations from life and dreams

Income from career, colleagues, international friendships, audiences we offer ideas, incoming wealth, gains, profits, writings

Social media, mass media and virtual communities

Endowments associations, politics, parties, establishment, the masses

Lower leg, calves, ankles, electrical impulsive of the nerves, circulatory system, elimination

Allied countries, social institutions and administrations, legislative changes, national mobilizations, revolts, revolutions, organizations, erosions

TWELFTH HOUSE - I BELIEVE

(The Twelfth House is ruled by Pisces, Jupiter and Neptune.)

House of tribulations, secret matters, troubles, subconscious, covert and covered topics, privacy, loneliness, ermitage, place of isolation

Thoughts, anxieties, and fears underlying repressed consciousness, spiritual life

The things we hide from others and are afraid to tell, our shadow sides, psychological problems

Karmic transmissions, burdens and problems we brought from the past

Secret enemy, backfriend

What kind of pregnancy our mother had, our condition in the mother’s womb and the emotions transferred to us in the mother’s womb

Fantasies and fetishes

Feet, all bodily fluids, the lymphatic system

Secret enemies, secret organizations, private affairs, spies, psychics, fortune-tellers, wizards, deep and secret affairs, criminals, thefts, assassinations, drugs, addicts, dark business people, unemployment and strikes

Hospitals, prisons, rehabilitation centers, mental hospitals, faith houses, orphanages, clinics, charities, overseas

[aifsaath]

I am continuously perplexed at how a show as objectively bad and problematic as hotd keeps inspiring outstanding fanfics like yours and @gwenllian-in-the-abbey’s. Truly it’s a mystery to me, especially considering that the books covering the dance are supposed to be quite mediocre as well from what I’ve perceived. Just so you know,with that trailer out now I’m gonna completely blend out the events of the show and consider our fathers clad in red canon

@gwenllian-in-the-abbey AAAAAAAAAAAAAA, I think George's gonna order a hit on us:D

I'm glad you like our slightly destructive approach to teh canon. I'm mostly fueled by spite and my dislike for George's and HBO's complete disregard for the historical context of the stuff they draw their inspiration from (you can't do the Matilda vs Stephen showdown and expect the same sense of injustice, when your main conflict is about Viserys' imbecilic approach to rules, Rhaenyra's weak-ass claim and papa/dragons being her go-to solution to all her problems, Daemon being a chaos gremlin, Corlys' malignant ambition and the Hightowers being the only ones who actually care about the rule of law.)

A lesbian romance doesn't automatically turn a story into a feminist manifesto, nor does a girlboss who's treated by the narrative as the second coming of Christ. Context matters and it's a mistake to view the Dance through the lens of modern ideals about egalitarianism.

GRRM's hubris when it comes to "Aragorn's tax policies" is just another thing that enrages me and Gwenllian, because the man completely misunderstands the medieval legal codes. Just because they were complex that doesn't mean they were fucking contradictory on their own; no one wanted civil wars breaking out each time a monarch died.

Problems happened when two countries with generational beefs worked on two different principles of succession, ie. England (male-preference primogeniture) vs France (male-only primogeniture), or if there was some dynastic fuckery that completely messed up the clear-cut succession lines with usurpations and cousin marriages (Yorks vs Lancasters).

Had Richard II (the son of the Black Prince) died peacefully without issue, the succession would have followed through the line of the Duke of Clarence, with Edmund the Earl of March eventually becoming the king (and he was Richard's heir, btw).

But that's not what happened. The son of John of Gaunt usurped the throne and it was then passed down through his line, because he was the crowned king. Now, you can argue whether or not he had any right to do the usurpation in the first place and whether or not he was the legitimate king and you bet people back then argued about that too. This ambiguity is how you create a proper narrative about actually conflicting claims. The only thing propping up Rhaenyra against her brother is the fact that Viserys is a moron.

How the fuck can I take F&B seriously and without the Dead Sea's worth of salt, when it pretty much blows Jaehaerys' posthumous dick about his wisdom when he "let" the council of 101 decide the succession (while politely ignoring the fact that Jaehaerys' own claim is legit only in the cases of either full salic or semi-salic succession, ie male-only), while never once it calls out Viserys out on his extremely dangerous decision. He gets to die venerated as the peaceful grandpa and all the blame for his incompetence is piled on Aegon II and Alicent.

Let's go through the possible succession systems, shall we?

If we follow male-preference primogeniture, the legitimate line of kings ends with Aerea because she was the eldest child of Aegon the Uncrowned, Maegor's eldest nephew. Only after she and her sister die without issue, Jaehaerys can become the king. Jaehaerys' canon ascension works only because Rhaena gave up her daughters' claims. The next in line would be Aemon and after him Rhaenys. But that's not what happened.

If we follow the salic law (male only), the legitimate line of the kings goes Aegon I -> Aenys I -> Aegon Uncrowned -> Jaehaerys I -> Viserys I -> Aegon II. This is probably what Jaehaerys wanted to ensure, since he challenged Maegor's kingship in the first place.

If a crowned king can choose his heir, then Jaehaerys was never a legitimate king and Aerea was the true queen, because Maegor, who had won his crown in the trial by combat, chose her as his heir.

What about the principle of seniority? Cognatic seniority where men and women have equal claims is out of the question since Aegon I was the crowned king, not Visenya. Male-only seniority would go Aegon I -> Aenys I -> Maegor I (uncontested!) -> Aegon Crowned This Time -> Viserys the Not Tortured to Death -> Jaehaerys I -> Aemon (only if his uncle Viserys has no issue) -> Baelon -> Vaegon -> Viserys I -> Daemon (EW).

Notice the distinct lack of Rhaenyra.

Team Black keeps mentioning the widow's law, but that's a bulk of nonsense. I suppose the misunderstanding originates from a (willful) misinterpretation of this passage. The book says:

Now, I highly doubt Jaehaerys intended for the law to mean that a daughter from the first marriage should come before the sons from the second. The wording is a bit unlucky, but I suppose the intention was to establish the legal position of the second wife and her children as united with the position of her step-children - she has the same duties towards them as if they were own, and the same goes the other way. Which would make sense. Because otherwise, no one would be desperate enough to marry a widower with daughters. Since we know that title and land ownerships have remained in the same families without changing hands once or twice since the implementation of the law, I really doubt the team black's literal interpretation of the passage was the one intended. Ffs, Viserys was pushed to marry again because he had only one daughter, meaning, this law wasn't viewed the way the Team Black wishes for. And I'm not even delving into the fact that this would be a female inheritance hack penned by Jaehaerys, if that was the case. Talk about ooc.

So, yeah, we're taking Gyldayne's interpretation of the past with so much salt our hearts are gonna fail.

[naisaspalace]

Vedic Astrology 101 p2

Basic explanation of the houses, rulership and signification and how to read the chart (or interpret it on a basic level).

Introduction:

after explaining a little of the signs and the planets now i will attempt to introduce the houses, the rulerships and their respective significators.

i will bring the nakshatras in the next part.

click here for part one, if you wish to read it :).

The chart:

The Vedic / sideral chart has a different form of layout and from now on we will have two "designs", one is the northern form (the left side) and the southern form (the right side)

The Northern format uses triangles, the kendras (1,4,7,10) are in the middle. the difference is that the houses are fixed but not the sign

and on the southern side, the chart houses are not fixed but the signs are fixed. (picture below).

there is no "right" chart format to choose from, you can use which one is easier for you to understand, I myself use the northern chart and I will be using them for further explanations if I find them necessary but on a solid basic level, those are the charts formats.

and you can see the chart, as a circle if you wish, by using other websites like astro or astroseek which showcase the charts using a circle format independent of the system you choose to use.

The houses

classifications:

The Kendras (or Quadrants): Houses I, 4, 7 and I 0. These are highly significant houses. The Panapharas (or Successant Houses): Houses 2, 5, 8 and II. The Apoklimas (or Cadent Houses): Houses 3, 6, 9 and 12. The Trikonas (or Trines): Houses I, 5 and 9. These are highly auspicious and, along with the Kendras, determine the health, wealth, status, dignity, rise and virtue of a native. The lagna, being both a kendra and a trikona, is the most significant of all houses. The Upachayas: Houses 3, 6, 10 and II. These houses indicate struggle, competition and material achievement. The Trika Houses: Houses 6, 8 and 12. These are considered bad houses (Duhsthanas). They indicate debt, disease, loss and misery. The Ayu-sthanas (or houses of longevity) : Houses 8 and 3 (8th from the 8th). They indicate the length of life and, therefore, also the death. The Maraka-sthanas (or killer houses): Houses 2 and 7. The two halves of a horoscope: (a) Houses I to 7 indicate the invisible half and houses 7 to I indicate the visible half of the horoscope. (b) Houses 10 to 4 indicate the eastern half and houses 4 to 10 indicate the western half of the horoscope.

first house or the lagna (ascendant).

represents your body's health and appearance, character, and strength (psychical).

ruled by mars ,house of, aries, sun is the significator of the first house as it also signifies the self and the house where the sun exalts.

the second: money earned and material goods as well as the face appearance and the voice and throat.

ruled by venus, house of taurus, jupiter is the significator because is related to accumulated wealth, financial assets and speech.

the third: nervous system, siblings, short trips, communication style

ruled by mercury, house of gemini, mars is the significator because the third house is related to courage and mental ability.

the fourth: mother, emotions, family, home, origins, heredity, and ancestry.

ruled by the moon, house of cancer, moon is the significator

the fifth: love matters, pleasure, leisure, children, ego, artistic skills and intelligence.

ruled by the sun, house of leo, Jupiter again because the fifth house is related to children, education, intelligence, entertainment, cinema and drama.

the sixth: everyday life, daily work and colleagues, co-workers,health, and house of open enemies.

ruled by mercury, house of virgo, significator of the 6th House are Mars and Saturn because the sixth house is related to diseases, enemies & litigations.

the seventh: unions, marriage, other people, associations, and contracts.

ruled by venus, house of libra, venus is the significator.

the eighth: debts and crises, transformations, death, financial investments, and sexuality.

ruled by mars, house of scorpio, is Saturn because the eight house is related to longevity, joint assets of husband and wife, inlaws and their family, death and rebirth, fall and rise, occult sciences, dark knowledge, hidden things and secret affairs.

the ninth: travels, abstract and higher concepts, spirituality, and foreign matters.

ruled by jupiter, house of Sagittarius, the significators are Sun and Jupiter because the ninth house is related to long distance travels, higher education, gurus and luck in life.

the tenth: social success, professional destiny, karma, and reputation.

ruled by saturn, house of capricorn, the significator is Jupiter because the eleventh house is related to gains, profits from all sources, professional networks, friends and family wealth.

the eleventh: friends, social networks, ongs, earned gains.

ruled by saturn, house of aquarius, the significators are and the twelfth: enemies, difficulties, solitude, hidden ordeals, secrets, dissolution, subconscious, spirit guides and imagination.

ruled by jupiter, house of pisces, the significators are Saturn and Jupiter because the 12th house is related to jails, hospitals, asylums, spirituality, spiritual donations, foreign lands, imagination and the subconscious mind.

obs1: the lord of the lagna is called the lagnesh

obs2: rahu and ketu rule no house, but that depends on the author/teacher because rahu co-rules aquarius so he to some people also rules the 11th, and the same for ketu who co-rules scorpio (8th).

The end (please read)

just like the first part this was short as well, because this website has a character limiter but, i hoped i explained well enough and helped someone to understand the basics of the houses better.

for the next parts i will tell about the nakshatras and will bring charts to teach how to read on a basic level. thank you for reading <3

readings are open. click here for contact info. and please leave feedback and suggestions of posts if you desire too.

[navree]

The Velaryons siding with Team Black gets even more ridiculous when you consider that Daemon threw a tantrum (shocker) around the time of the Great Council of 101 AC when Rhaenys was even considered as a candidate opposing Viserys. This fool allegedly gathered together enough resources in preparation to rebel against the crown if it looked like Rhaenys would be selected as heir apparent instead of heir presumptive. Why she would ever forget something like that and allow Laena anywhere near Daemon is beyond my understanding.

None of the Velaryons should be on Team Black at all.

Corlys doesn't particularly like Viserys at all and has been routinely disrespected by him, not just in the matter of being purposefully led on with regards to the Laena marriage but even in how he's treated in Council. He's also absolutely got a grudge about Rhaenys not being on the throne and feeling shafted as a result, not to mention Daemon summarily executed a member of his family without trial, and the disrespect shown to his House should be enough to at least want him to remain neutral.

Rhaenys absolutely doesn't like Rhaenyra, she was deeply antagonistic towards her the second she was proclaimed heir (out of jealousy I guess????) and was also convinced that it wouldn't work out. Not to mention, even beyond how she was treated with the Great Council, look at her kids. Daemon kept Laena away from her family for a good number of years and then she died, only to behave like an ass at her funeral and get married well before was considered appropriate. Rhaenyra "disrespected" Laenor with the Harwin Strong affair and their children, which we know Rhaenys was aware of because she brings it up to Corlys. And she thinks Rhaenyra killed Laenor to marry Daemon, because Rhaenyra has deliberately made it look like she had Laenor murdered, which alone gives her every right to hate Rhaenyra until the end of time. There's no way she would agree to betrothing her granddaughters to the Strongs, there's no way she'd go to Rhaenyra's side in the civil war she predicted just because Rhaenyra hadn't burned Dragonstone down in twelve hours, honestly the character they've written likely should have agreed to Alicent's proposals because that whole "we don't rule ourselves but heavily influence those that do and wield power that way" is literally what she already does with Corlys.

Baela, again, shouldn't be on board with Team Black either. Like I said, she was shunted off to Driftmark because Daemon the Targaryen supremacist wanted to devote all his time and energy to his pureblood Targaryen marriage and subsequent pureblood Targaryen children at the expense of his daughters. And while on Driftmark, she watches Rhaenys rule it alone, act as Lord of the Tides herself. And I'm meant to think she never once thought about how Driftmark should have been Laena's by rights, as Corlys's eldest, and thus her's by rights, as Laena's eldest? She's fine being a consort, a position with considerably less power, to Jace, who she does not know at all because she's spent all her time in either Pentos or Driftmark, while her inheritance, her rights, get passed not even to her little sister, but to some kid who isn't even Laenor's? No, why should she be on board with that after her treatment and how she's been raised? Even if she doesn't have any issues with Rhaenyra herself, the disrespect shown to her and her family by Rhaenyra's faction isn't something she should look past.

Rhaena meanwhile has been treated apparently like shit by Daemon her entire life, all because she didn't have a dragon (and because Daemon is a giant flaming asshole). And like her sister, she has to settle for being a consort, but even worse, to someone who, according to the laws of their country, has absolutely no right to the inheritance he's getting, which should be either her sister's or her's. Again, even if there's no issue with Rhaenyra on Rhaena's end, the treatment from Rhaenyra's allies like Viserys and Daemon is bad enough that it should give her pause. Plus, both Rhaena and Baela were dragged to watch their father get immediately remarried to someone else after their mother just died, that doesn't engender much love towards him or his new wife, who they had only met like two days ago.

None of the Velaryons should support Team Black at all, because the treatment they've received from people who were firmly on board with Rhaenyra's succession (or at least came on board eventually) has been atrocious since Rhaenys was first denied the Iron Throne all those years ago. And you might say "but that's petty why can't they just supported Rhaenyra because of feminism", but 1) feminism does not exist in Westeros, the concept of a movement towards female empowerement and equal treatment does not exist in this country or in the minds of its people, everything is on a case by case basis which is why Rhaenyra herself keeps to male dominated primogeniture when dealing with issues of succession 2) yeah it's petty and selfish, but this is a dynastic struggle between one (1) family. None of them are in this for altruistic reasons, everyone's looking out for themselves and are motivated by their emotions and their desires, not any lofty goals or ambitions. Everyone is selfish here, the Velaryons have the right to be selfish too especially to advance their own self interests.

[goodqueenaly]

If Daella Targaryen (daughter of Jaehaerys I) had a son with Roderick Arryn, how would it affect the Dance of the dragons and would they have any chance of becoming lord of the Vale?

It's important to mention outright that it's unclear how scenario would have affected the conception and birth of Aemma Arryn, or the death of Princess Daella, inextricably linked to the birth of her only child (again, fuck Rodrik Arryn). If we're to suppose that Daella was always going to die following the birth of her child, as her ludicrously extremely infantilized narrative would suggest, then we might suppose that such a boy would replace Aemma, which would have very significant implications for the outbreak of the Dance as it happened IOTL

I did discuss the prospect of a Rodrik Arryn-Daella Targaryen son briefly before. It's unclear, from the very limited information we have, whether Rodrik would have preferred such a son over his elder sons as an eventual heir (or whether Jaehaerys I would have nudged or outright suggested he do so, for the sake of his grandson and the future of a Targaryen-blooded potential heir to the Vale), still less what the vague Widow's Law would have to say on the matter (and still still less how his half-siblings, their children, and the aristocrats of the Vale would have seen this boy). Too, even if Rodrik preferred his first wife's sons over a son by Daella, it's entirely possible that this son would have been looked at as an eventual spouse for the future Lady Jeyne - an Arryn cousin who could be trusted to rule the vale as jure uxoris Lord Arryn (much as occurred with, say, Denys Arryn). (Whether Jeyne, who stridently avoided marriage IOTL, would have agreed to, or been forced to agree to, such a marriage is a likewise unknowable prospect.

It's also interesting to consider this Targaryen-Arryn boy's prospects at the Great Council of 101 AC. While I very highly doubt anyone would have seriously looked to Rodrik Arryn's son as a potential heir to the Iron Throne - as a female-line grandson of the king, and a (presumably) dragonless non-Targaryen (and non-Valyrian) to boot - as the only other surviving, legitimate, dynastic grandson of Jaehaerys I beyond the sons of Baelon, Rodrik may have piqued some interest of the council's attendees, and perhaps even divided votes between the leading candidates, Viserys and Laenor (until and unless he himself threw his support behind one of them, perhaps).

Again, because we have no idea whether this boy could or would have become Lord Arryn, or what his relationship would have been with his Targaryen cousins (who again may not have been his in-laws, if Aemma did not exist), or how he and Lady Jeyne would have gotten along, it's impossible to say how the Dance - if, indeed, a version of the Dance even happened - might have been affected.

[courtofcrescent]

Hiiiii D ❤️

Okay get ready for a long winded one. I apologize in advance and also hope you are well btw 😇

Okaaaay sooooo. I read your marriage ask, so i have a few questions:

You mentioned if MC and Mallory are the same gender then he would need to take a concubine or would need to have that conversation late to produce an heir and also that MC may be his consort but that doesn't mean there wont be other concubines.

1. If MC is a female and they are on Mallory's route, would that change anything? Or would they still want to take on concubines?

And

2. if MC and Mallory are the same gender then they would likely need to produce an heir, right?

Awwwwwkwaaard conversation to have with your husband yikes 😬 😅 especially if you are on their romance route. Can't imagine it's a great image to have in your head.

3. If MC and M are not romantic and just have a friendship and MC takes on a different lover and M also has concubines how would that work. I suppose mc can't have kids with their chosen lover? But Mallory can have kids with a concubine if they don't produce one with mc?

Or did i get that mixed up? Lol, i doubt you have an idea of what I'm on about? 🤔🤣

Also realized now after pressing send i erased the i from your name when adding the heart ❤️ 🤦‍♀️😭

I'm sorry.

----

(Here's the marriage ask in question!)

Hiii dearest Liz!

Haha don’t apologize! I absolutely adore a long ask 😆 Also I’m doing fantastic—hope you are too! And no, you're not entirely wrong. Here’s a detailed answer under the cut!

If MC is female and on Mallory Romance Path, Mal will only take (or plan to take) concubine(s) if MC doesn’t want to have a biological child of their own. Worry not, Mal won’t have any romantic—or even platonic—feelings towards the future concubine(s)! Mallory’s heart will solely belong to MC (but he’ll still fucking the concubine in this path tho, sooo yeaa).

You’re correct! If MC and Mallory are the same gender, he’ll automatically take concubine(s) to produce an heir. But just like in the first case, Mal (if romanced) won’t have any affection for the future concubine(s)! And yes, it's still definitely not a great image to have in your head lol.

If MC is female and not on Mallory Romance Path, there will be an option to produce an heir out of duty to the crown. If you choose this option, Mal won't take any concubine because the deed will be done. If you don't choose this option, then Mal will take concubine(s).

Addendum to (3): just as MC can have opinions about Mal’s future concubine(s), Mallory will also have opinions about whom MC chooses as a lover! The dynamic may vary depending on who the MC’s lover is. Official lovers of the consort are mostly treated like concubines of the ruler, with the exception that consorts and lovers are prohibited from having children together. That’s the royal law, true. But since the founding of Luxendis thousands of years ago, do you think every past consort had a squeaky-clean record? 👀👀

Sooo if your MC meets one of the three conditions I’ve stated above—(1) if MC doesn’t want a child of their own blood with Mallory, (2) if MC and Mallory are the same gender, or (3) if MC doesn’t choose Mallory Romance Path plus combine with clause number 1—future concubine(s) will always be present in the plot. This particular MC cannot avoid this whole fiasco, I’m afraid.

The future concubine(s) plays a crucial role in producing the heir to the throne. Depending on your choices and relationship, MC can sway and influence Mallory’s decision or even have the final say on who will be chosen as the future concubine(s)! The consort has quite significant power in this matter, as only a consort can officially appoint any concubine (and only the ruler can officially appoint the consort’s lovers; I discuss this briefly here).

The future concubine’s role is vital, yes. But, what could happen once the role is fulfilled? We are at the Court after all, a lot of things can happen behind closed doors, Your Serene Highness 😉

Oh btw this whole fiasco will happen muchh laterrr in the story. The heir from the concubine may be born during the main story, but the heir from the MC will not. MC's child(ren) will only appear in the epilogue!

Pheww this is long haha! Hope this clarifies what you need 😆

Thank you for the ask! And don't worry about it, you can call me Di, D, Dee, or even :D (yes the smiley face) 🩶

[cupids-chamber]

— LOVER'S DAYDREAM In dedication of the month of love, also my one year blog anniversary takes place in February 14th, Valentine's day.. Lovely timing, isn't it?

EVENT STATUS: OPEN

" CONFESSION " (CLOSED) Wonder if he'll confess, it's about time now isn't it.. wonder how he'll confess as well... LIST: Leona, Jade, Jamil

" ARRANGED MARRIAGE " Out of a line of many suiters, which one will you pick? LIST: Silver

" FORCED MARRIAGE " Well it's never pleasing being married to someone without a say, but I suppose you'll grow into it. LIST: Idia

" MARRIAGE LIFE " Marriage life may not be perfect, but being with your lover through everlasting binds, is quite the nice sentiment. LIST: Jamil, Cater

" PROPOSAL " (CLOSED) Well I wonder how he'd propose, aren't you quite curious yourself? LIST: Azul, Idia, Riddle, Leona, Kalim, Jamil

" CONFESSION NOTE " (CLOSED Him leaving you a confession note.. LIST: Leona, Malleus, Jamil

" SECRET ADMIRER " (CLOSED) Looks like you've got yourself a secret admirer.. I wonder who could it be.. LIST: Floyd, Jade, Sebek, Ace, Jamil, Riddle, Azul, Vil

" LOVE LETTER " (CLOSED) Oh what's that on your desk!... oh my.. it's a love letter! LIST: Riddle, Jamil, Malleus, Lilia

" DATING 101 " Well why not reach out to your friend on how to pursue your crush. LIST: Floyd, Azul

" RUNAWAY BRIDE " (CLOSED) Well where could the bride have gone? LIST: Jamil, Malleus, Lilia, Vil

" WEDDING " Wonder how the two of your wedding would go, shall we plan in advance? LIST: Epel,

" HONEYMOON " Well what are you plans for the honeymoon. LIST: Jamil, Idia

— RULES

FANDOMS : TWISTED WONDERLAND

RULES | OTHER ON-GOING EVENT

© cupids-chamber, do not repost, plagiarize, translate, or adapt my work without prior permission and or confirmation from me.

[atopvisenyashill]

If Rhaenys was the Queen, do you think Laenor and Rhaenyra would still be matched and, more importantly, would Rhaenyra have had children with Harwin Strong? Because that feels so much more dangerous.

i mean THATS THE MILLION DOLLAR QUESTION RIGHT.

okay so @riana-one said in a reply that i can't fucking find now that most likely, in the case that one of Viserys & Aemma’s kids still lived, that Laenor would marry Rhaenyra and Laena would marry the boy, and imo I think that’s likely in the case that Rhaenys ascends and becomes Queen Regnant. TBH the fact that Rhaenys and Viserys didn’t marry was kinda stupid (i mean, these people don’t need to be MORE inbred but like, what’s the point of all the incest marrying if you’re not using that to combine the claims of competing lines? but then again, we all know the reason is misogyny and purposefully cutting rhaenys' competing claim out of the family tree to ~put her in her place~). I think Rhaenys & Corlys are perfectly astute enough to realize their best option is to combine their line with Viserys.

HOWEVER. There’s a few important factors in Laenor being Prince of Dragonstone and marrying Rhaenyra that change the plot as well as their characters-

LAENOR is the Crown Prince, not Rhaenyra as Crown Princess which means there’s more pressure on Laenor himself to actually, ya kno, attempt to consummate the marriage than there is in the og canon where it’s very vague as to whether Laenor attempted to have legitimate children with Rhaenyra or whether she was so mad about the match she simply refused to bed him and Laenor went “cool idgaf” (bc….like all of his behavior in canon points to Laenor simply not giving a shit about how Rhaenyra got pregnant, and perhaps they even mutually disliked each other!)

Rhaenyra is so cavalier about having bastards specifically because her father is King and will protect her from the pushback (or so she hopes). If it’s Laenor’s mother that’s ruling Queen, that’s a much different scenario where Rhaenyra knows she’s not going to have backup.

Is Harwin even still at KL? He’s there in canon because Lyonel is on the small council and he needs to Be Useful In The City but if it’s RHAENYS who is Queen that means SHES picking her Small Council (or, I suppose, Corlys is picking her small council). How she got her crown is going to factor into what her Small Council looks like - if Aemon never died and passed the crown to his daughter he spent years acclaiming as his heir and fighting to protect her rights, that Council will look different than if the GC 101 chose her over Viserys (and how is Jae taking that), and THAT TOO looks different than if like, Viserys and Daemon both die and now the crown MUST pass to a female line. For all we know, she makes Boremund her Master of Laws because he’s been her number one supporter her whole life & he’s her dear uncle!

Rhaenyra’s life looks infinitely different if she’s raised as a daughter of a man with no seat. She might not even grow up in KL; again, depending on how Rhaenys comes to her throne, it’s possible Viserys & his family aren’t even welcome there the way Rhaenys & Jocelyn are effectively banned from KL after Jaehaerys usurps them, or that Viserys would feel awkward in KL the way both Rhaena's did. Would Rhaenys work something out with Viserys so he can live at Court or be the castellan of Dragonstone? Does Viserys decide to take Rhaenyra & Aemma and fuck off to the Vale (and does that bring Daemon to the Vale and are they welcome there??). The point there is, Rhaenyra’s childhood looking so different is going to affect the way she approaches sex, marriage, and children. I mean, if Viserys never remarries Alicent, or Aemma doesn’t die, that negates a lot of the hang ups Rhaenyra has later in life!

SO! Yes, I think it’s likely Laenor and Rhaenyra still marry. Does Rhaenyra have children with Harwin? It’s very hard to say! Because she’s not the crown princess, she doesn't have her father to cover for her, and it is legitimately treason if she's caught fucking someone else (as opposed to her fucking Harwin as Crown Princess, that's a gray area because she is the one the line descends from, not Laenor). At the same time, Rhaenyra grows up in circumstances where a woman is allowed to inherit the Iron Throne due to ~something~ and grows up as the daughter of a man without his own seat which will inevitably change Rhaenyra's outlook on her own life. Plus, if Corlys and Rhaenys are breathing down Laenor's neck and going "you need to actually attempt to fuck your wife Laenor and stop ignoring her to fuck stable boys" that may prompt more action from Laenor, not to mention that with Rhaenys and Corlys as rulers, they have a lot more say over whatever the fuck is going on in that marriage because it's happening right under their noses.

Corlys, meanwhile, does not have the motivation to simply pretend the boys are legitimate. He has the throne. He has the power. D While I don't think he would push for Rhaenyra to be straight up executed for cheating on Laenor (that is going to piss her father, uncle, and maybe mother OFF), he is not going to help her cover for it the way he does in the series.

So....IF Laenor still finds himself incapable of having children, the ting is that Rhaenys and Corlys are going to push more aggressively on Rhaenyra. Maybe this means they are stricter with Laenor (not allowing him the freedom to have male lovers at court perhaps?) OR it means Rhaenyra becomes desperate enough that she attempts to fuck someone else. The thing here is - if Rhaenyra knows its her head if she's found out, will she try to be discreet and fuck someone who is blond? Or even fuck Daemon?? Is Harwin even at court? It's hard to say! Certainly, I can see Rhaenyra feeling desperate enough to try to get pregnant through other means besides Laenor but I'm not sure she would go straight to Harwin in this scenario!

[bobfloydsbabe]

wip ask game

Thank you for tagging me @blue-aconite

RULES: make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! then tag as many people as you have WIPs.

✩ arranged marriage au | rhett x lou ✩ linger chap 3 ✩ josephine hollingsworth | anthony bridgerton x oc ✩ TURNING TABLES | the rewrite ✩ 101 dalmatians au ✩ lou tells rhett she's pregnant ✩ the holiday | rhett x lou ✩ the holiday truce | eccentric professor bob ✩ but daddy i love him | outlaw!rhett x bartender!lou ✩ you look miserable | historical romance epb ✩ house party | historical romance epb ✩ sonogram shock | rhett x lou ✩ the aftermath | mob boss bob ✩ if jas didn't stop doing this | hangman x oc ✩ jake and bradley find out | epb ✩ penthouse smut | mob boss bob

NO PRESSURE TAGS: @attapullman, @bobgasm, @withahappyrefrain, @sorchathered, @sailor-aviator, @bradshawsbaby, @ereardon, @sio-ina-bottle, @cherrycola27, @sebsxphia, @lewmagoo, @teacupsandtopgun, @rhettabbotts, @laracrofted and anyone else who wants to do it!

[gwenllian-in-the-abbey]

"Yet you toil still in service to men. Your father, your husband, and your son. You desire not to be free but to make a window in the wall of your prison."

Episodes 9

What's your opinion on the speech?

Rhaenys' speech here is a bit silly. What woman doesn't "toil in service to men" in this world? Medieval women were not even allowed to own property or sign contracts. Part of this show's problem is that some of the writers seem to be under the impression that Westeros is undergoing a feminist movement and Alicent is "team patriarchy" while Rhaenyra is "team feminism," as if Rhaenyra's own "right" to rule doesn't derive specifically from a man, her father, granting her that right, as if that same man couldn't snatch it from her on a whim. She has to toil in service to her own father, and even if she becomes queen, she will find herself surrounded by and beholden to men who will very quickly remove their support if she does not dance to their tune, and in fact we see this in the Dance, where Rhaenyra has terrible advisors but she's not really able to remove them because she can't risk them going over to the other side. And when she does attempt to assert herself against them, this is precisely what they do.

I think many people don't understand that the idea of women as an oppressed group, with solidarity across class lines, religious lines, and ethnic lines, that is, intersectional feminism, is extremely modern. Rhaenys cannot separate herself from her class interests, she lacks even the most basic framework necessary to do so. She might see her sex as a prison, but her greater allegiance would be to the Targaryen royalty that she was born into. Breaking free from the prison of patriarchy would mean also being metaphorically exiled from her own royal privilege. When it came to the council of 101, Rhaenys did not risk alienating herself from her grandfather the king in order to assert her right to the throne, instead she put forward her son Laenor as an alternative. In her marriage with Lord Corlys, she deferred to him rather than risk her status as Lady of Driftmark. Rhaenys did not pit herself against the might of the patriarchy because it would mean pitting herself against the might of the monarchy itself.

This isn't a criticism of Rhaenys. She only did what most women in her position would have done. She did not have what Rhaenyra had, the mandate of a king who had thrown the might of the monarchy behind her cause, declaring her an exception. Viserys did not sign a decree asserting absolute primogeniture because he could not pit the monarchy against the patriarchy when the monarchy itself relied on the patriarchy to uphold it. And in our world, knowing that monarchy and patriarchy waled hand in hand, many medieval/early modern queens regnant very much avoided overly associating themselves with womenhood, instead leaning into the rhetoric that they were female in body, but male in spirit. They believed that as exceptional women, they might claim a sort of honorary male status. Think of Elizabeth I's speech to the troops at Tilbury as they prepared to face the Spanish Armada, when she said:

"I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too..."

Notice how she concedes the point about her "weak and feeble" woman's body? She then goes on to say that she has the heart and stomach not of a man, but of a king, aligning herself not only with manhood, but with royalty, which is the source of her exceptional status. And this is echoed in the idea of Rhaenyra seeing herself as an exception, when Lord Corlys reminds her that if she allows women to inherit the seats of Stokeworth and Rosby, she may lose the support of lords who took her side. They were siding not with a woman because they believed in smashing the patriarchy, but rather they were siding with monarchy, believing Rhaenyra had the mandate of the old king. However that mandate could be revoked if Rhaenyra were to turn against the patriarchy and attempt to divorce it from the monarchy.

So the ironic thing is, Rhaenyra is doing very nearly the same thing Rhaenys is accusing Alicent of doing, except if womanhood is a prison, then perhaps rather than building a window in the prison, Rhaenyra has secured parole for good behavior. She could be put back into the prison at any time and is keenly aware of that. The prison of patriarchy, after all, still exists within the walled confines of feudal monarchy, and neither Rhaenys nor Rhaenyra are attempting to climb those walls.