#not that i think this is that dumb. its a perfectly valid question imo why are we so obsessed with the fucking military

[butchnavi]

can i say something that might get me cancelled if i said it irl. why are we (indians but more specifically the indian governement) so obsessed with border and military disputes our country is literally twice the size of the entire continent of europe and/or the cumulative size of oceania and the americas put together population wise. as far as i know most of the people from these territories aren't really begging to be a part of india either why do we need such a massive fucking military budget over this shit "they can't stay independent pakistan or china will pounce if they don't belong to us anymore" don't you think that's THEIR choice and prerogative. they aren't asking to be a part of india. "if pakistan gets kashmir they will keep taking and taking and india will be in ruins" you sound like a conspiracy theorist. kashmir has never unanimously wanted to be a part of india. don't we have enough problems to worry about people are literally starving and homeless everywhere in our country. decentralisation isn't the worst thing that could happen to a territory right now we're too big and diverse a country is an indian identity we're forcing on them really the most important thing right now

[marinerofthestars]

the zodai tag

bit of a late arrival to this fandom, but better late than never, i suppose!

1. How did you hear about the books? about a year ago, i was doing research on the zodiac for an urban fantasy project i’m working on, tales from omphalos, when i found the house ophiuchus info page on the zodiac website. unfortunately life got in the way and i forgot the series for a while, but a little while ago i remembered zodiac’s worldbuilding and got sucked right back in!

2. What is your favorite moment from the series so far? it’s hard to choose just one moment, but i’d have to say skarlet and rho’s first meeting in black moon for how atypical it is. we know skarlet is the hypotenuse in rho and hysan’s love triangle, but she doesn’t act like the stereotypical petty Other Woman at all. she’s charismatic, she’s genuinely fun to be around, and she has sympathetic motives and ambitions. above all, she’s actually super nice towards rho, and doesn’t let her feelings get in the way of their political collaboration. (and then thirteen rising assassinated her character. yes i am still bitter about it why do you ask)

3. Which House are you from? house leo!

4. What do you like about your House? artistry pride is something i’d really love to be a part of as an aspiring author, i have blaze and trax (both criminally underrated characters imo) as my housemates, and our zodai wield FLAMING SWORDS in battle. what’s not to love?

5. If you had to change Houses, which House would you pick? since leo really vibes with my passion for art, this is definitely a tricky question! probably either libra (police brutality is a thing of the past with bind, and their government seems like they have their act together), scorpio (much waterworld. much ambition. much cool tech. wow), or sagittarius (diversity, democracies where the voices of the young and non-complacent can be heard, and really vibrant cities are all things i appreciate)

6. Which system would you most like to visit? capricorn, no question. the zodiax is THE single most location in the entire zodiac bar none to me - an ancient complex the size of a planet, its oldest curators having access to transportation systems most inhabitants don’t even know about? an archive of humanity’s collective knowledge, so massive it has hotels and restaurants within it because leaving to sleep or eat is just so impractical? LET ME TOUR IT. LET ME UNCOVER ITS MYSTERIES I KNOW THEY EXIST (i think history is rad okay)

7. If you got to choose, which Zodiac technology would you like to have? probably...the tattoo? i don’t have anywhere enough knowledge about neuroscience/engineering to design my own, but assuming that i did, i’d love to design a tattoo that can interface with my brain and with digital art software, so that i can turn whatever ideas i have in my head into artwork!

8. Which character would you want as a best friend? skarlet. she’s six feet tall, buff as all hell, super attractive, prefers diplomacy to violence but still perfectly capable of kicking ass, and an outspoken risers’ rights activist. what’s not to love? (though knowing the type of people i usually hang out with, i’d probably end up with like. twain or gyzer as my best friend. one can dream though)

9. Which sign would you like to date? aries, because as previously stated skarlet is awesome. (a sentiment i will continue to reiterate) failing that, either libra for their sense of justice, scorpio for their ambition and passion, or aquarius for their innovative mindset.

10. Who do you hope Rho “ends up with?” (If anyone at all!) firstly, thank you for acknowledging that rho might not be interested in romance after everything she’s been through. (aromantic rho? arho?) secondly: skarlet.

this might be a little controversial, but i feel like in some regards, rho has far more chemistry with skarlet than she has with hysan. (ms. russell. i am sorry but. i have. Issues. with ‘centaur smile’ and the context surrounding it doesn’t make it any better) all of their interactions are marked by a noted admiration on rho’s part, and it’s not just merely admiration of her frankly enviable body (there’s more than enough of that, but it feels respectful somehow, there’s no five-page purple prosey ramblings on how the sweat glints on skar’s brow as she lifts weights, unlike with some people - sorry, mathias), but admiration of skar’s personality.

her charisma. her ambitions. her drive to fight for people who’ve been beaten down for millennia, to give a voice to the voiceless. to use violence as a last resort, not a first strike.

even at their absolute worst in thirteen rising, even when they’re butting heads, they don’t let it get in the way of doing what needs to be done. hell, skarlet even points out that she wouldn’t be giving rho such a hard time if she didn’t respect the hell out of rho, if she didn’t think she was tough enough to take it. there’s a sort of unspoken bond between them, a slow orbit that they’re both caught in. at the end of the series, they part way on relatively good terms, and with the hope that maybe, just maybe, that orbit might become something more than just professional acquaintance.

also their oppositional dichotomy of cardinal fire/water signs is an awesome aesthetic that i really wish was brought up more than it was in canon :( 

11. If you could record a Snow Globe, what would you put in it? only A snow globe? you’re not exactly giving me a lot of slack here in all seriousness, if i had to choose one moment to record in a snow globe, probably the moment i first came up with the idea for the urban fantasy project i mentioned above, tales from omphalos. i’ve never been devoted as much time to or invested as much energy in a project as i have with tfo, and i’d like to keep an easily accessible record of my original vision on hand. and hey, if by some chance i manage to follow in romina’s footsteps, get tales from omphalos professionally published, have it become a big success with a respectable fandom, i’d like to look back every once in a while, and remember how it all began.

12. If you had the chance to tell Rho anything, what advice/encouragement would you give her? - lies, especially lies of omission, are necessary a lot of the time to get ahead in politics and life in general use that being ahead to help out the people and groups you care about - don't trust the immortal child-aristocrats or expect them to behave in a way that won't inevitably screw you over - if you must play nice with them, figure out how to decrease gemini’s horrific income inequality, and see what you can do about exporting cell rejuvenation therapy to the wider zodiac - ferez is right, risers are the future and you need to acknowledge that going forward - skarlet is excellent at garnering support and bridging generational gaps, and while fernanda purecell is a bougie running dog, she’s got her head screwed on the right way regarding politics and institutional riserphobia; together, the three of you should be able to make some headway towards making amends for past wrongs - i don’t care if family heads have suffrage, matriarchal aristocracy (aristocratic matriarchy?) is NOT a democracy or a form of government that looks out for the rights of men/NB people/agender people/multigender people/intersex people/you get the idea - romance is by no means an exclusively two-player game, and skarlet has said she would be open to an arrangement; however, if you MUST insist on ignoring that polyamory is a thing, go for the six-foot risers' rights activist - i’m sorry about all the bullshit with your mom. whatever the end result was, whatever her intentions, it does not excuse the way she treated you and your dad and stanton. it’s okay to feel like shit because of what she did to you, and not being able to wall it off doesn’t make you weak or anything dumb like that - you’re already far stronger than she ever was. i know how much it sucks - i was in the same situation as you once - but believe me when i say that things do get better. you’re not alone here, rho. - please you gotta fight the gender binary you live in the FUTURE you gotta do it you gotta-

BONUS QUESTION 13. How would you react if your friend became a Riser? let them know that I love and support them no matter what their house, that being the way that they are is totally valid, and that anyone who says otherwise will have to answer to my fist in their face. if they’re unbalanced, make sure they have access to any resources they need (possibly including memory recap vlogs, definitely including medication and therapy to help out with any health issues they may develop).

[moonlitgleek]

Honestly, the argument over Lyanna’s consent could easily be settled by answering only four questions:

Was her consent voluntary?

Was her consent free?

Was her consent informed?

Was her consent ongoing?

I’m going to set aside Lyanna’s age for now despite how this alone invalidates any argument for consent since Lyanna was a minor even by Westerosi standards and thus incapable of giving consent. But I know that people will come out from the woodworks claiming that “this was how things were back then” which is factually incorrect, and “we shouldn’t apply our modern world’s rules to medieval period” which…. why shouldn’t I? The text calls Lyanna a “child-woman” and goes a long way in establishing her youngness, powerlessness and impulsiveness. It shows how a somewhat similar “relationship” between Cersei and Lancel - which also includes a fucked up power dynamic and an older “partner” using the younger one’s naivete for their own purposes - was devastating to Lancel’s psyche. We argue about the skewness of Dany\Drogo and what it means for the definition of their relationship, we argue about how Cersei and Lancel’s relationship could not be considered consensual despite Lancel saying yes. So why should I ignore the same considerations when it comes to Lyanna and Rhaegar?

However, let’s put that aside for a little while as we try to answer the above questions. Consent is not just about saying yes: for Lyanna’s consent to be valid and accepted, it had to be voluntary, free, informed and ongoing, otherwise it was not consent. But did these adjectives truly apply to Lyanna’s situation?

Was Lyanna’s consent voluntary?

Or did it involve any form of coercion, manipulation or pressure? Was it given on an equal ground that allows Lyanna to give consent without feeling any pressure or compulsion to do it?

From the very start, the power imbalance makes it close to impossible for Lyanna to give a voluntary consent. She was in a very vulnerable position: a 14 years old maid faced by an adult crown prince and his loyal Kingsguard, being trumped on account of both age and rank. The power dynamic is heavily skewed in Rhaegar’s favor here, which not only casts shadows on Lyanna’s assent but makes her ability to even express it in doubt since the situation would put tremendous pressure on her, simply based on the difference in age and rank.

But it goes beyond that. Oftentimes when the topic of consent is raised, it’s either the circumstances under which Lyanna disappeared or her experience at the Tower of Joy that are the subject of discussion. But I want to start a bit earlier than that, namely at the Tourney of Harrenha,l since we can’t really separate the events of the tourney from what happened next, not if we want to have a more thorough examination of this plot.

Rhaegar’s actions at the tourney are not usually discussed wrt Lyanna’s consent, even though they are actually the first clue that something is entirely wrong with this scenario. Much has been said about how dumb a political move Rhaegar’s crowning of Lyanna was; how it broke chivalric code and alienated two paramount families in one stroke while severely offending a third; how it was an insult to the honor of Lyanna and House Stark, etc, but not much about why Rhaegar chose to do it in spite of all these considerations. What did he hope to achieve with this stunt that posed an insult to both his wife and Lyanna, and that framed the latter as a royal mistress? Many people - myself included - have attributed that to an ill-fated attempt to reward Lyanna for her actions as the Knight of the Laughing Tree or even a nod of respect to her valor, but the thing is that Rhaegar was not unaware of the implications of his actions. He couldn’t have been ignorant of the insult he was dealing Lyanna, the Starks, and Robert and so if this was genuinely meant as only a reward or an acknowledgement of Lyanna, it defeated its purpose. You do not show respect to someone by publicly sullying their honor. Now I’m of the opinion that Rhaegar’s interest in Lyanna as the mother for his third child started at Harrenhal and before he found out that Elia could not have more children, so in light of that, what did Rhaegar have to win by declaring his designs on Lyanna so publicly, something that could only ever make it harder for him to have her? What purpose did that stunt serve and how does it fall in line with anything we know of Rhaegar? I find it very hard to believe that he committed such an outlandish blunder without a purpose and for absolutely no pressing reason. That crowning must have served Rhaegar’s interests somehow, otherwise he wouldn’t have risked so much doing it.

The only answer I can find lies with Lyanna herself, lies in the theory that Rhaegar’s actions were designed to appeal personally to Lyanna. Through her actions as the Knight of the Laughing Tree, Rhaegar knew her to be someone who put stock in honor and rules of chivalry so he controlled the image he presented to her from the get go. Rhaegar was a part of chivalric culture and he knew the importance of symbol and image politics; he probably already planned to use his chivalric image to appeal to the gathered lords as a better alternative for Aerys, but instead he used it to shape Lyanna’s opinion of him to guarantee a favorable outlook that would later help him convince her to run away with him. Rhaegar knew the worth of chivarlic action, one of its cornerstones being the crowning of queen of love and beauty at tourneys. By crowning Lyanna, Rhaegar projected to her an image of the chivalric prince who cherished her actions as the Knight of the Laughing Tree and sought to honor them, a complete opposite to what Robert would have done.

It’s also worth noting that the crowning fits perfectly into the romanticized idea of courtly love that is widely regarded as pure and ennobling (and that includes the  in-universe view. Look at how fond the singers are of the story of Queen Naerys and Prince Aemon the Dragonknight) which is something that must have appealed to a maid of fourteen with romantic inclinations who cried upon hearing Rhaegar’s song. That, in and of itself, is a strike against Rhaegar imo. He knew what his actions really meant and what they implied to the gathered lords. He knew he was breaking chivalric code and dealing a grave insult to many people, but he still chose to use a romantic chivalric notion to play on Lyanna's naivete, romanticism and even her sense of honor, and to project an image to her that, while not completely false, is still not honest. This was not simply a matter of Rhaegar appreciating Lyanna’s spirit, or even falling in love with her; he had ulterior motives driving his action to the point where he chose to insult so many people to ensure his objective: making Lyanna Stark enamored with the idea of him as someone who would not stifle her or force her into a specific box. Which, of course, was a lie.

That brings me to the circumstances of Lyanna’s disappearance from the Riverlands. While I do not think that Rhaegar took Lyanna by force, manipulating her into saying yes isn’t exactly a development. In all probability, Rhaegar projected an image of himself as someone who was granting Lyanna a choice, but while I do not believe that was true (more on that later), what mattered was that she believed that she could make her own decision, as opposed to being forced into a relationship with Robert. Lyanna was headstrong and free-spirited. She did not want to marry Robert and expressed her qualms to Ned, but no one took her opinion into account or cared about her objections. Her father pretty much owned her and he wanted the match with Robert so that was it. To be presented by a choice, to think that she was free to decide whether to stay or to leave, would appeal greatly to her, not to mention work to distance Rhaegar even more from Robert in her mind. To Lyanna, Rhaegar respected and even rewarded her willfulness, and gave her the space to make her own decision and to take her own life in hand, something that Robert would never do. But that was, in actuality, just an illusion Rhaegar projected to her. 

Under these circumstances, Lyanna’s consent can not be called voluntary. Not only did the situation include a good deal of manipulation or, at best, lying by omission, but she was not in a position to give voluntary consent in the first place due to the power imbalance between them.

Was Lyanna’s consent free?

Free consent means that the person giving it had the space to say no and to have their decision respected and honored. If someone isn’t willing to accept a no from a partner, then there is no freedom of choice in the first place, and thus consent can not be given.

Again, I go back to the power imbalance that, in and of itself, invalidates whatever consent Lyanna gave. A person in such a vulnerable position, under the authority of another, is incapable of giving consent. Lyanna and Rhaegar were not on equal ground in any way, shape or form, which muddies her consent. She could not compel Rhaegar to do anything at any point. She could not make him leave her alone if she wished. She could not make him respect her decision if she’d said no. She had no control over where she was going or how long she stayed there. She was in a situation that she could not get out of if she wanted to. What kind of consent could she give under these circumstances? A person in that unbalanced power situation can not give consent, plain and simple.

Secondly, did Lyanna have the space to say no and have it be respected? Would Rhaegar have simply left her alone had she refused him? No freaking way. Rhaegar was after his third head of the dragon and he was not going to turn around and find another to father his third child on that easily. For whatever reason, he believed that Lyanna had to be the mother of the third head of the dragon and he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. He had two Kingsguard with him to support his plans. That invalidates any consent given from the onset of this relationship. If Rhaegar wasn’t prepared to accept Lyanna’s rejection just as much as he was prepared to take her up on her agreement, then she did not have a choice in the first place, regardless of whether she understood that or not. That makes whatever scenario Rhaegar presented to her and the choice he supposedly gave her only a pretense designed to get her to agree to go without the need to physically force her. That is deception. If Rhegar had no intention of heeding Lyanna if her wishes contradicted his, but still made her think that she did have the space to say no, then he lied to her and deceived her. Any consent obtained under these circumstances can not be valid.

Was Lyanna’s consent informed?

Consent is not just about agreeing to something, it’s knowing fully well what you’re agreeing to. If you do not know what you’re saying yes to, how can your consent even count?

This is where I ask how much Lyanna knew about what she was agreeing to. If Rhaegar, at any point, withheld information from her or lied to her -- whether outright or only by omission -- he’d have rendered her incapable of consenting to anything. For Lyanna to make an informed decision, she needed to know about the prophecy and that Rhaegar primarily wanted her as a vessel for a prophecy child. She needed to know that Rhaegar’s plans included spiriting her to a tower in Dorne and staying there till he got his prized child. I’ve seen some arguments that Lyanna did know about the prophecy, but come on; she was a teenager trying to flee an unwanted marriage to someone who would have forced her to live by his beliefs. What 14-year-old rebels against being subjugated to one man’s whims only to run to another knowing he would subjugate her to his whims? What 14-year-old thinks it’s a swell idea to be an incubator for a savior? What 14-year-old thinks it’s a good idea to endanger her life in a high risk pregnancy in the middle of no where for something that sounds like legends and fiction? What’s with the belief that of course every single woman in Rhaegar’s life was ready to risk her well-being, and even her children’s well-being, for a prophecy that only ever sounded plausible to the Targaryens?

(And honestly, even if she did know and agree to this, I would still be spitting blood. Because she was fourteen, and Rhaegar had a responsibility to be the adult in the situation and recognize how utterly dangerous those plans were for Lyanna’s health. He was endangering her life by impregnating her, and raising the risk factor by leaving her in an isolated tower in Dorne without proper medical care.)

On top of that, Lyanna needed to know that she would not be able to have any contact with her family for as long as Rhaegar deemed necessary. She needed to know how utterly difficult it would be to get a marriage between her and Rhaegar recognized and what that means for her position in Rhaegar’s life. She needed to know that Rhaegar’s plans included vanishing completely and forcing her family into a confrontation with Aerys.

So did she know any of that? No? Then she did not know what she was agreeing to. She couldn’t make an informed decision because she did not have all the information necessary to see the complete picture. You can not consent to what you do not know.

Was Lyanna’s consent ongoing?

It’s not enough for her to say yes one time. Saying yes to leaving with Rhaegar is not a blanket consent to everything that happened afterwards. Did Lyanna agree to being spirited away to Dorne? Did she agree to staying in Dorne while Rhaegar left for the capital? Did she agree to be made to give birth in the Tower of Joy?

Lyanna’s experience at the Tower of Joy is frankly disturbing. By taking her to Dorne, Rhaegar effectively isolated her from everyone she knew and made her completely dependent on himself and his Kingsguard for everything, including information, which is made even muddier by the fact that Dorne was Elia’s home which means it was an unfriendly territory to Lyanna, the woman who Rhaegar dishonored Elia with. The information we have about the events starting from Brandon and Rickard’s murder paints a very ugly picture of what happened in that tower, because there is no way Lyanna would be content to simply remain at the Tower of Joy after knowing that her father and brother died as a result of an action she took. Even arguments that Lyanna might not been able to leave due to pregnancy complications can not account to the pesky fact that Rhaegar only left Dorne to fight in his father’s name against Lyanna’s surviving family, and that Lyanna would never be alright with that.

So we have a couple of options as to how this story went: 1) Rhaegar did not tell Lyanna about Rickard and Brandon, and she only found out sometime after he left, which means he withheld information and she had no say in the matter, or 2) Rhaegar did tell her but either pressured\manipulated her into staying, or outright prevented her from leaving, regardless of her wishes.

Neither scenario is particularly a riveting character endorsement of Rhaegar, neither do they bode well to any argument that Lyanna stayed in Dorne willingly.

I’ve always found arguments that Lyanna accepted Rhaegar’s decision to declare for his father both illogical and infuriatingly minimizing to Lyanna’s character. One of the few things we know about Lyanna is that she defended a stranger simply because he was her father’s man, and because she could not abide the injustice of three squires ganging up on him. She went on to defend Howland’s honor and rode in a tourney specifically so she could get justice for him. This is the girl who Ned described as having iron underneath her beauty, who obviously believed in family values, honor, justice and Northern nationalism. Assuming that she would be accepting of Rhaegar taking the field against her surviving family in the name of the king who murdered her father and brother flies in the face of any character motivation we ever glimpsed of her, not to mention blatantly ignores the fact that she was screaming for her brother as the Kingsguard met him sword-to-sword to prevent him from reaching her, or that she clearly trusted Ned and wanted him by her side.

Do not erase Lyanna’s experience at the Tower of Joy: isolated, pregnant, alone, dependent on Rhaegar and subject to his will, powerless to change her situation, forced to remain behind as the father of her child took up arms against her beloved brother who only rose to demand justice for their murdered father and brother, left to the “protection” of Rhaegar’s Kingsguard who were willing to kill her own brother on their prince’s orders despite how clear it is that Lyanna trusted Ned implicitly. None of that speaks of consent, or even of an ability to give consent.

In conclusion:

I think we’re having the wrong argument when it come to Lyanna’s story with Rhaegar: the point of examination should not focus on whether Lyanna agreed to run away with Rhaegar, or even whether she married him or not, but rather on the validity of her consent. Saying yes is not good enough under these circumstances, not where there are plenty of considerations that undermine her consent, not least of which being a teenager completely under Rhaegar’s power. We need to talk more about what Lyanna’s agreement truly means and how it redefines her relationship with Rhaegar. No matter how much we try to swing it, Lyanna was 14 and being “courted” by an older and more experienced man entirely capable of manipulating and coercing her, even if he did not use violence for it. The fact that she almost certainly did not know his true purpose in pursuing her (i.e: getting a child out of her for the prophecy) makes her consent even more dubious: Rhaegar withheld information about Lyanna and so whatever dubious consent she made was muddied even more by him deliberately making her unable to make an informed decision. And that’s just the surface level of this. This might have gotten her to the impulsive decision of marrying in front of a heart tree (as I believe things went) but the fact remains that agreeing to that is not the same as agreeing to isolation in Dorne, to remaining in Dorne while Rhaegar left to fight in Aerys’ name, and to be kept away from her remaining family by the sword even as she screamed for her brother.