#social hierarchy young royals

[raincitygirl76]

Boris is the only adult in Wilhelm’s entire life so far who is entirely on Wilhelm’s side. He doesn’t report back to the Queen, nor does he consider her wishes more important than his duty to his patient. Boris is the only adult who treats Wilhelm like a troubled teenager first, and the crown prince of Sweden a very distant second.

Boris doesn’t give a shit about the succession crisis. All he cares about is treating his patient to the best of his ability. And the fact that his patient is the future king of Sweden doesn’t factor into Boris’s treatment plan. Yeah, Wilhelm’s situation is relevant to their sessions. But only insofar as it’s a significant source of anxiety to this patient, and a significant source of this patient feeling trapped.

Boris is the only adult in Wilhelm’s entire life who just wants him to be a happy human being, without reference to his position. And who gives precisely zero fucks about how the Queen will react to her heir’s therapist encouraging him to self-actualize.

Kristina sent Iwlhelm to therapy so he could learn to control his emotions, avoid outbursts. Instead, the therapist she picked encouraged Wilhelm to pay attention to his own emotions. To put his own happiness above his duty to the monarchy.

THIS MAN DIDN'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT THE REPERCUSSIONS, HE WAS ALL THERE FOR THE DRAMA I LOOK UP TO HIM BECAUSE SAME

A HERO

[raincitygirl76]

Omar Rudberg is a very attractive young man. So I find it hilarious (though somewhat sobering) that nobody at Hillerska seems to notice Simon is gorgeous. All because he’s a lowly non-resident (and a socialist to boot, who refuses to act grateful to be allowed around his social betters), they pretend Simon’s looks are nothing out of the common way. It shows the pressure of class solidarity.

Makes me wonder, though, how many Hillerska boarders secretly have crushes on Simon. Because, you know, they have eyes, even if they don’t dare admit it to their friends because it would be social suicide. Are there girls in Simon’s classes who wistfully sigh over how aesthetically appealing he is? Or fellow choristers who covertly watch him sing when they’re supposed to be watching the music teacher and/or reading their scores?

I wonder how many girls quietly cried themselves to sleep right after the video came out. And told their curious roommates they were crying because apparently the Crown Prince is unattainable. But really they were crying because apparently Simon Eriksson is gay. And therefore definitely off the market, if those girls ever got up the guts to cross class lines and acknowledge how crush worthy he is.

P.S.

Incidentally, I don’t think Simon intentionally went back in the closet when he moved to Hillerska. It’s just we know from 1.01 that hardly anyone has spoken to him since the start of the school year. It’s kind of tough to come out to people who are pretending you don’t exist and won’t talk to you.

And then Wilhelm arrived, and was obviously interested but extremely closeted himself. So Simon had a large incentive not to arouse the suspicions of their Hillerska school mates by coming out himself. I don’t think Simon was hiding in S1 so much as just not choosing to actively bring it up. I’m pretty damn sure if someone had asked him flat out, he would’ve said he’s gay. But nobody did ask, so he and Wilhelm could continue to fly under the radar as close platonic friends.

We can also infer from Saran’s comment in 1.03 “Why are you sneaking around?” That at Marieberg, Simon was out and proud. But he wasn’t a pariah at Marieberg. People actually talked to him there. And he wasn’t deeply in love with a closeted guy at Marieberg.

It could also be another reason (as if Simon needed another) that Simon feels so betrayed by Wilhelm denying the video in 1.06. Simon has already compromised his principles for Wilhelm even before the video, by making allowances for Wilhelm’s closeted status and sneaking around secretively. And Wilhelm repaid Simon having previously compromised his principles by abandoning him altogether.

It’s one thing to let people assume you’re platonic friends and not actively correct them. It’s a whole other ballgame for Wilhelm to actively lie to the press and the entire world. Assertively affirming his (nonexistent) heterosexuality and his single status.

[artifacts-and-arthropods]

African Social Spiders: these spiders live in colonies that can contain up to 2,000 spiders, most of which are female; they hunt, forage, maintain their web, and raise their offspring as a group, without any dominance hierarchy or caste system

This communal behavior is extremely rare among spiders, which are normally solitary creatures. The African social spider (Stegodyphus dumicola) is one of the few species that has been identified as a true "social spider," forming colonies and living in communal nests where the spiders work together to hunt, forage, build webs, and care for their offspring.

Above: an African social spider feeding the young spiderlings of her colony by regurgitating food for them, exhibiting a level of maternal/allomaternal care that is relatively uncommon in both spiders and insects

African social spiders can be found in various parts of southwestern Africa, where they will often build a dense silk nest in the branches of a thorn tree and/or shrub. Most of the spiders in the colony are female (more than 85%, according to some studies) and the species itself also has a female-biased primary sex ratio, as researchers have found that female embryos develop in more than 80% of the eggs that the spiders produce.

Above: a group of African social spiders working together to subdue their prey, which will be taken back to the nest so that it can be shared with the rest of the colony

There is no evidence that any dominance hierarchy or caste system exists within S. dumicola colonies. The spiders all cooperate to complete a variety of tasks, such as hunting, repairing the web, foraging, defending the colony, caring for the colony's offspring, etc. While none of them are exclusively assigned to a single task, many have a primary role that they fill, often based on their physical size and condition.

Above: close-up photo of S. dumicola

This species also engages in extreme allomaternal care, meaning that many different spiders (including both mothers and "allomothers") all share the responsibility of caring for the colony's offspring; even the unmated females help out with brood care. The mothers/allomothers tend to the eggsacs, regurgitate food for the baby spiderlings, and even engage in matriphagy, which means that they will eventually be cannibalized by the babies.

From The Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior:

... some proportion of females do not reproduce – sometimes as much as 60% – but remain as helpers, contributing to foraging and brood care (allo-mothering). Both breeding females and virgin allo-mothers regurgitate food for colony offspring and eventually let the young consume their bodies. ...

Young that are raised with both mothers and allo-mothers show higher survival and growth than young raised by their mothers alone, suggesting a clear fitness benefit of cooperative breeding.

Spiders of this species generally measure about 2.5 - 3.5mm long; they can be found in Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Lesotho, and Eswatini.

Sources & More Info:

Science Direct: Social Spiders

Current Biology: Quick Guide to Social Spiders (PDF)

Phys.org: Untangling the Social Lives of Spiders

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: The Age & Evolution of Sociality in Stegodyphus Spiders

Entomology Today: Social Spiders Divide Labor According to Body Size & Condition

Animal Behaviour: Extreme Allomaternal Care by Unmated Females in a Cooperatively Breeding Spider

National Geographic: Baby Spiders Eat their Mothers

University of Portsmouth: Social Spiders Have Different Ways of Hunting in Groups

Behavioral Ecology: Spider Societies Mitigate Risk by Prioritizing Caution

Behavioral Processes: Warring Arthropod Societies

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology: Does the African Social Spider Stegodyphus dumicola Control the Sex of Individual Offspring?

[raincitygirl76]

This is fabulously interesting. I urge you to click on the cut!

Some thoughts on the hierarchy at Hillerska

A few days ago, @raincitygirl76 made a really intriguing post about how the show is about the class system (find it here!), mainly focusing on Hillerska’s impact as an employer and the types of students who go there.

That inspired me to go off on a tangent and make a separate post about the hierarchy. I’ve been using Agnes Hellström’s book about the real boarding schools (‘Att vara utan att synas: Om riksinternaten Lundsberg, Sigtuna och Grenna’, 2013) as a fanfic reference, so I’m also using that here. It was written  back when the schools were still allowed to charge for tuition, and I’m sure things have improved since then. However, much of the content is pretty consistent with what Lisa has said about doing research for YR and what we see in the show.

Disclaimer: I’m not Swedish, just a Nordic neighbour, and these are just my own impressions. If I’m wrong about something, please feel free to add on to this or correct me!

Keep reading

[moonbaby26]

Title: Wine

*Crossposted to AO3 Here*

Pairings: Doflamingo x Fem!Reader, Doflamingo x Crocodile (implied), Doflamingo x Fem!Reader x Crocodile (implied)

Warnings: language, non con, full on cruel Doffy taking out his own insecurities on reader, warlords being pompous assholes, vaginal sex, sex as punishment

Synopsis: Inspired by Day 1 prompt of #Doffytober2024 “Wine”. You were one of the kitchen servants in the royal palace in Dressrosa. Unfortunately you were also alone, responsible for attending to the king’s needs during one of his late night meetings. Doflamingo is more stressed than usual due to who his current guest is, and you end up bearing the brunt of that aggression after a simple mistake.

A/N: I know Doffytober is more a fanart tag, but I can’t draw. Soooo…yeah 😅. I couldn’t call this a Doffy blog without contributing something! Just a quick oneshot.

Fic Masterlist

——————————

You were cursing to yourself. That damn brat Dellinger had slammed into you. And you knew it was on purpose. The wine you’d been balancing within perfectly poured glasses for the young master and his guest was now all down your front. The remains of the bottle along with the rest of it, now shattered and sparkling across the stone floor of the palace corridor as you still heard Dellinger’s deranged giggling fading into the distance.

There was no time to clean this up. So you turned straight back into the kitchen. You were alone in here this late at night. Thankfully at least. Because you’d just have to change quickly. More white uniforms were in the far cabinet.

But you set out new wine glasses first. That now broken bottle out in the hall had been the only year left of the tawny port the king preferred.

Why he even liked it you had no idea. It was far too sweet to your pallet, even as a dessert wine.

Yet you knew exactly which other varieties were still in the racks here, and there was no time to go all the way back down to the palace wine cellar to search further anyway. 

So you grabbed another bottle, this time your preferred choice to end the meal you knew had already been sent upstairs earlier for their business meeting.

With the new wine bottle and glasses set out, you then went to stripping. Your stained shirt was already off. Your soaked pants falling around your ankles next as you had just been stepping out of them when the kitchen door swung wide open.

You gasped, reflexively grabbing the metal serving tray that’d still been nearby. You held it in front of you as if it were a shield.

And if it had been literally anyone else, you likely would have still thrown that tray at them in the moments that came after. But as it was now, you were completely frozen in your surprise. And your fear.

“Young master...” You finally said in a voice that didn’t even sound like your own.

And Doflamingo had been scowling, bad posture and all as he’d first barged through that door. But you saw the way he’d straightened up. The way his scowl faltered in the briefest look of confusion as he took in the sight of you.

“Where the fuck are your clothes?” Came the immediate vulgarity you’d so often heard when he berated you and your fellow workers.

You knew you were nothing more than another insect in the strict social hierarchies he’d furthered during his short time as Dressrosa’s new king.

It felt like he was now scolding a misbehaving animal.

Your only option was to admit fault and submit immediately in hopes the punishment would remain only verbal. He’d listen to no excuses you knew. Especially any that concerned his own shithead crew.

“I spilled the wine, your highness. I was changing and was then going to pour more to deliver to you and your guest.” You were trying to keep your face muscles tight. Trying not to let your lip quiver for as painfully aware as you now were that the meager serving tray was not large enough to cover much of you.

And the air in this kitchen was cold as chill bumps were starting across your bare skin.

But you saw that blood vessel beginning to rise in the king’s forehead. His own lips pulled to the side to reveal more of those perfectly white teeth in his familiar sneer.

“First, you kept us waiting.” He growled out. “I summoned you over ten minutes ago, you little twat.”

And he was starting to walk again, starting to close the gap between the two of you with his long strides as your fingers gripped harder and harder against that tray.

“Second, you spilled the only bottle I had left of that year then? I already saw it in the corridor. So don’t you dare deny it. I should make you lick it off the goddamn floor!”

You felt a wave of nausea go through you. Panic is what it truly was as his large hand had moved so quickly. He’d grabbed that tray. Ripped it right from your arms as it was then thrown with a violent clatter against the far stone wall.

His grip had been hard enough to bend the tray, and the impact enough to chip the stone itself.

But you didn’t avert your eyes from him now. Even as you couldn’t tell exactly where his own glare was focused. 

Was it most on your terrified face as he leaned further in?

Or on your chest barely covered in a tattered old bra you should have thrown out weeks ago? And would have if you’d only had the money to indulge in newer clothes.

Or down to your thighs maybe? Pressed together as if they would hide anything else from him, with only the small strip of fabric that had also been washed and dried to nearly nothing over time. Frayed and distressed, now shielding the last of your decency.

The insanity of feeling this insufficient, humiliated and standing before the king in such poverty highlighting garments was not lost on you. 

But it fit further into his ideas of what you really were didn’t it?

You were just a mongrel to this devil.

Those soulless red lenses of his sunglasses seemed to remind you of this too. As you saw your own pitiable reflection in them while his sneer changed into a smile that was somehow even worse.

Because there was not a trace of mercy in any of it.

He was going to punish you now.

And it would be physical this time.

Doflamingo hissed like an animal even through his false smile.

And in that moment you thought only of a snake with its fangs already out. And the fear of having to watch it strike when nothing could be done to move your body away from him in time.

You screamed, a sound that was fully primal as well as his hands closed briefly like shackles around each of your arms and his body hit against yours.

“Louder.” You heard him grunt when your spine slammed down onto the counter behind you.

He wanted the whole castle to hear you. He wanted them to know. 

Your underwear was torn with a single pull from his hand next. He didn’t even have to use his string to cut it. The weak fabric just ripped as if it were paper in his grip.

“Young master! Please!” But you rather be hit. You rather be cut.

This was too far, even for him. You couldn’t…

“Please what?” The king only laughed right above you.

You could feel the intensity of his body heat. You could smell his rich cologne as he untied his bright colored pants so easily. 

He freed his hardening length without hesitation, not even a flicker of empathy in this man as your tears began and you still refused to look at anything but his face. 

He was smiling back at you too, as his hand fished in an inner pocket of that feather covered coat which remained over his broad shoulders like a cloak.

A little foil covered square came out of that pocket as he brought it to his grinning mouth and bit it quickly to tear it open.

Of course the luxury of a condom meant nothing to you in the horror of this moment.

Yet he spoke again while he lowered his hand to unroll that thin cover over what you now knew was fully ready between his legs.

“You know you don’t deserve this level of attention…do you, little mutt?”

The overwhelming arrogance was dripping from what really should have been a forked tongue by this point. 

Once the condom was on, his rough hands shoved your bra up, pushing it uselessly to your collarbones before he squeezed that soft flesh painfully while he positioned himself at your entrance.

“You’re not even that pretty either.” He added so purposefully too, just for that additional touch of cruelty before you felt the beginnings of that lower pressure.

And you didn’t care about these words, truthfully. He wanted to hurt you however he could now. It was a mental game just as much as it was a physical humiliation.

Your steady tears weren’t yet enough to satisfy him.

But you did gasp as that pressure spiked abruptly. 

He was big. Very big, as you squeezed your wet eyes shut and endured the first of his shameless moans while he pushed his way inside of you.

That and the disgusting sound of the suction your channel soon created around him, slicked at first only with whatever synthetic lubricant that condom had been precoated with.

He began to thrust faster as his hands stroked down your body though. He was feeling everything, touching everywhere despite all his heartless words.

If you really disgusted him so much, that was not shown in the way he couldn’t keep his hands off of you now.

But your eyes were still closed as you tried and failed to fully dissociate from each additional complicated feeling. 

It was only self preservation to attempt and relax, you knew that. You tried not to hate yourself as that first tremble went through your thigh either from how deep he was then moving rhythmically inside of you.

You weren’t resisting him in any way now. 

And he was getting wherever he’d wanted to be all on his own. You could hear his breathing change soon enough. You felt his hands grab onto your hips as he groaned again, that pace still increasing.

But even your fierce will to not look at what carnal crime was now being committed against you had its limits.

Because the added element of an all new male voice was finally enough to make you turn your head as your eyes reopened in a return of fear. 

“Well this is a lovely picture.” 

The words came across with all the warmth of a morgue as the new uninvited also strode their way into the kitchen.

Doflamingo snarled above you, seemingly caught off guard himself even as he did not pull his cock out of you. He actually bottomed out even deeper in response to the interruption. His short fingernails still well sharp enough to hurt as he held your hips against his own in something that nearly felt possessive instead.

Like a predator not wanting to share its current meal.

“Fuck off, reptile. I’ll be back upstairs in a minute.” Doflamingo growled to the other warlord.

“That’s the first true thing you’ve said tonight. Because it does only take you a minute, now doesn’t it?” Sir Crocodile scoffed, only walking closer as you felt him taking in the pathetic scene of your bared body currently pinned beneath your king’s.

Doflamingo sneered defensively again as that smell of cigar smoke encroached in tandem with the other man’s highly judgmental aura.

“I don’t have all night, you whore.” Crocodile’s voice darkened more then as he addressed Doflamingo. “I sail at dawn regardless. So if you want to finish this arms deal, then I suggest you get to compromising. Instead of riding the unwilling help.”

“This brat spilled our wine.” Doflamingo retorted, and for the first time it felt ridiculous to be reminded that this had been your great crime. So childish and nonsensical of a response, especially with him still fully sheathed inside of you like the monster he really was.

But you were only staring at Sir Crocodile by then. Because he was making eye contact with you while Doflamingo just complained.

Crocodile was looking at you as if you were actually a human in that moment.

“Good. Because your taste in drink is shit. I got tired of waiting and came down here to pick my own anyway.” Crocodile responded in irritation regardless, then noticing the other bottles still in the nearby wine racks.

“Fuck you.” Doflamingo spat, beginning to move his hips against you again only when the other had turned back away. But the Heavenly Demon’s wary attention clearly remained on the other pirate even as his cock continued to pound into you.

“Keep wishing.” Crocodile’s true disrespect of the other was palpable too, while his hand grabbed one wine bottle after another by the neck, turning them to read the labels.

And the way this retort clearly got beneath the king’s skin was of no help to you of course. Doflamingo only thrusted more erratically in his growing frustration, hurting you more.

His aroused panting had stopped too. His self-pleasure within you had been interrupted with the threat of the other’s presence and he was now almost embarrassingly struggling to recapture that high.

And Crocodile noticed, glancing back over then when you made another noise of pain at the king’s roughest thrusts. “Are you actually having sex or just humping her with all the skill of an unneutered dog?”

You winced as Doflamingo’s hands somehow gripped you even harder at this insult and his voice loudly erupted.

“Just fucking go back to my office already! Let me finish what I started!”

You’d never heard the Young Master sound this flustered.

But in the meantime, Crocodile’s continued perusal of the remaining wine bottles had led him back to the one you’d set out just before Doflamingo’s attack. 

Still being brutally fucked, you were now helplessly watching as Crocodile set his cigar down. He checked the label on that bottle too before deciding to pour himself a tasting portion.

He sipped it, then making abrupt eye contact with you again. He spoke to you too, with all the casualness as if you’d just been standing here alone together.

As if Doflamingo wasn’t still balls deep between your legs.

As if the other pirate wasn’t even here with you and Crocodile at all right now.

“Is this the wine you were trying to bring us instead, Miss?” Crocodile asked, swirling the glass a bit before taking even a second taste.

And why you did it, you didn’t know. Even a nobody like you could recognize the freshly lit fuse of Doflamingo’s flaring temper as his body heat seemed to increase at these words.

“Yes, Sir Crocodile.” You answered so quietly.

Just before the king’s hand clutched around your throat to silence you and he yelled again.

“Go. Upstairs!” His orders which usually held the weight of a near god in this country, seemed to roll harmlessly off the other however.

Crocodile only filled that glass completely now with the wine you had chosen. He put his cigar back in his mouth before picking the glass off the counter to carry it with him.

He gave the two of you a parting look of only mild interest this time.

“Leave that one alive when you’re done then. I need better kitchen staff anyway. We can make a trade of some sort.”

And there was silence for a painful amount of seconds, before Doflamingo did release your throat abruptly. His smile had vanished. 

“You’re serious.” The king stated with a foreign air of incredulousness.

“You have a poor eye for talent.” Crocodile huffed, refusing to further explain himself as he did exit the room as unceremoniously as he’d come. 

And Doflamingo just stood there for a while, like his brain was trying to catch up.

He then looked back down at you. You who was still keeping his cock warm for him as he frowned.

“He actually likes you. You lucky little shit.” 

Yet his voice was different then. Because for the first time it did feel like he was talking to you instead of at you.

To your further shock his long fingers now moved over your clit as he began to rub it as well.

“But this just made you have a value. So you better remember who you really work for if I send you home with him…”

You couldn’t stop your abdomen from tightening then as Doflamingo rubbed that little bundle of nerves so purposefully now.

And it was a different kind of smile this time as he watched your reaction beneath him.

“The next time I’m in Alabasta, I’ll expect you to butter him up for me too. You can be the appetizer for that gator. But remember, I’m the entrée.” 

One that apparently paired well with your particular wine choice which Crocodile now favored as Doflamingo’s strings grabbed the whole bottle instead.

He took a crass guzzle from it after pulling it into his hand, rocking into you as deep as he possibly could again. 

His odd expression seemed to say he didn’t think it was half bad either.

Either that or he was finally starting to enjoy your body again without the distraction of the other warlord in the room.

“You aren’t off the hook with me either though. I’ll want my taste too the next time I see you.” He grinned, starting to pant again then as his fingers ran over your mouth. 

He leaned down over you more, body heat further mingling with an added intimacy that made your insides churn even as your orgasm finally threatened to overtake you.

Doflamingo’s voice whispered as he pushed his fingertips past your lips next, bidding you to suck them. “Maybe then we’ll just start with three to begin with. A cute little mutt, and her two warlords. But I’ll let you choose the wine for each round that night.”

You could see the way his mask was finally faltering now, his own lips parting while he watched you suck him subserviently and his fingers slipped in deeper.

“Is that a deal…my little cur?”

He actually shuddered once you nodded, with your tear stained cheeks and all as your channel clenched reflexively around him below your waists.

And that squeezing of your body around his did finish him off at last. His body still trembling as he rode that orgasm all the way through and came within the condom.

His larger frame was so heavy and uncomfortable when he draped briefly over you in the aftermath before pulling out. But his voice was nearly as soft as his spent cock then.

 “Good girl…such a good girl.” Came that rare praise only at the very end. “Behave in Alabasta, and I’ll see you soon.”

And the devil smiled at you one more time.

“Keep his bed warm for me.”

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End. Thanks for reading!

[kazumist]

EYES SET ON YOU .ᐟ

✩ — xiao realizes that his eyes were set on you the whole time. if it was since you made your entrance to the party or if it was since you met fifteen years ago, he doesn't really know.

✩ — prompt: felicity – the most chased after of the season asks you for a dance. (another entry for @xianyoon's event yayyyy)

✩ — includes: xiao x f!reader. fluff. cw: alcohol consumption (again,, it never gets old with me sawry) but there's only like two details about it, ooc!xiao pls i have no idea if i wrote him well during the second half. wc: 4164. kuni is reader's twin so you're technically the daughter of ei in this. some liyue and inazuma characters mentioned kinda. slight dual pov?? i guess ... yeah that's pretty much it. no beta i die like xiao almost did during the perilous trail quest tbh !!!

a prince should be confident, courageous, sophisticated, and dignified.

prince xiao checks out on most of those things. if anything, the townspeople in the kingdom of liyue take pride in their beloved prince. king zhongli is proud of his son as well as his older sister, princess ganyu. however, out of all the four traits stated above, there’s only one that prince xiao doesn’t count himself in: confidence. he isn’t referring to confidence when it comes to his abilities; heavens no, prince xiao knows and is proud of his capabilities (although not verbally; he had always been the reserved type of man even when he was a child) in terms of strength and wit. it’s more like the crowned prince of liyue doubts his abilities in terms of being sociable. having connections is a crucial thing for a man like him who’s currently in line for the throne after his father, as these connections could aid him when he takes king zhongli’s place one day. 

marriage, of course, was an inevitable thing. it’s a requirement, a demand that needs to be fulfilled, whether one likes it or not. king zhongli pities his son that he couldn’t escape from this predicament, but the king just assures his son that he should marry someone that he loves. having a loveless marriage has more cons than pros anyway. he wants his son to be happy, this is the least he could do for him.

…as well as the ball that he held in hopes of his son meeting someone of his interest.

it has been a short while since the ball started. many of the young women around xiao’s age had decided to make their move, yet all were fruitless attempts as xiao had already turned them down. they’d put on a forced smile, walking away but as soon as the prince’s back faces them, you could see their grip getting tighter around the fan in their hand if you squinted. xiao retreats back to his father's side, sighing in exhaustion. his social energy wasn’t really made for posh events like these. he looks at the crowd below, catching a glimpse of his sister talking to her friends and entertaining other guests. (xiao had wondered at some point why he was in line for the throne rather than his older sister, who is more capable of ruling than he is, but he soon realizes that it is how the royal hierarchy works.)

his eyes shifts themselves towards the entrance. he’s not surprised that people are still arriving at this hour because, as far as xiao could recall, his father had invited a few other kingdoms to this ball as well. yet xiao could vividly feel his eyes widen as he saw a familiar face that had made it’s entrance—yours.

and all of a sudden, xiao suddenly finds himself being seven years old all over again.

— — — — — — — — 

the young boy hid behind his father, his head peeking out ever so slightly as he eyed the child in front of him. it was a young girl who looked just around the same age as him. she was rather coy as well, as she clung to her mother’s hand. xiao looked at the child’s mother. he had heard of her before, of course. queen ei of inazuma—his father told him that she would be visiting today along with his daughter and son. though he doesn’t really see the son present at the moment. perhaps he didn’t join?

“my apologies for being a tad bit late, king zhongli. kunikuzushi really didn’t want to accompany us.” he heard queen ei sighed. well, that answers one of his questions, at least. king zhongli laughs at her words, “it’s quite alright. there are times when children could get rebellious against their own parents.”

“rebellious? i prefer to call it disobedient.”

his father chuckles again before reaching a hand behind him, patting the seven year old xiao on the head. “xiao, i would like you to meet (name). she’s queen ei’s daughter and is just the same age as you.” he gently says. zhongli knows that his son is not particularly fond of socializing, but he tries to get him out of his shell bit by bit. xiao steadily steps out, slowly stepping forward in front of his father. “(name), i’d like you to meet xiao. i told you that you’d be meeting him today, didn’t i?” queen ei softly says to her daughter. the child silently nods and lets go of her mother’s hands. she approached the young boy, lending out her hand for him to shake.

she stuttered in her words, clearly nervous. “i-i’m (name).” xiao reaches out and receives her hand, saying his name in return as he lets go. “well then xiao, why don’t you take (name) to the castle garden for the meantime? me and her mother are just going to have an important chat.” xiao heard his father. he nods in acknowledgement, and this time it was his turn to reach out his hand for the girl to take. (name) looks back to her mother for approval, eyes asking for permission to allow her to join xiao. “you can go; i’ll come and pick you up as soon as we’re finished.” she says, giving her daughter a little head pat.

hand in hand, xiao led her to the castle’s garden, where the gardeners planted all sorts of beautiful flowers located in liyue. xiao immediately leads the girl to where the qingxin flowers are located. but he doesn’t say anything when they get there—he doesn’t know what to say. should he state how this is actually his favorite flower? but he thinks that boys having favorite flowers isn’t allowed. should he say that this flower reminded him of her? the white flowers swayed against the light breeze in front of them.

“this… this is called a qingxin flower.” he starts. he doesn’t really know what he should say. might as well start with telling you what this flower is, right? “it’s pretty..” you say, admiring it. a fresh and minty scent wafts over your sense of smell. you’re pretty, xiao thinks. but he swallows his words instead and blushes at the thought. but it’s true, you are pretty. you had that small sparkle in your eyes that xiao finds himself captivated by.

your time continued on with you and xiao admiring other flowers such as glaze lilies and silk flowers until your mother and king zhongli entered the castle garden, a sign that their important chat is now over—and that (name) needs to head home. she bids xiao farewell with a small wave and a smile, while her other hand has a qingxin flower in her hold (xiao gave it to her as a little souvenir) and xiao finds himself doing the same. there were no actual goodbyes said, as they both silently hoped that they would cross paths once more.

— — — — — — — — 

the flashback ends when he hears your name being announced. the crowd below him whispered, as your family had already caught the attention of the ton. well, no one could really blame them. xiao noticed numerous things already. your hair had grown much longer, you had grown in terms of height too, and your strides as you made your entrance had confidence in them. this time, xiao noticed how much you took after your mother in terms of aura. queen ei, who’s aging like quite the fine wine, leads you and your brother, kunikuzushi, as you continue walking inside.

it has been fifteen years since xiao last saw you; your last meeting with each other was when they visited—the day you met. of course, you weren’t the little (name) that he met when he was seven anymore. even your brother had taken in some changes, xiao notices. he had spent a fair amount of time with your brother when he went abroad to study and train at the age of eight. this is also a reason why xiao didn’t really have the chance to meet each other again. kunikuzushi had a stern look on his face, while you had a calm one.

king zhongli smiles at the sight of the royal family of inazuma making their entrance. it has been a while since he and queen ei met, as their busy lives as rulers of each of their respective kingdoms are quite demanding. “why don’t you go down and greet them on my behalf?” zhongli muses. xiao simply nods at him, making his way towards kunikuzushi first—after all, he knows him more than he knows you.

“kuni.” he greets his old friend as he approaches the two of you. their mother had her on business to take care of, he supposes, as he takes notice of her sudden absence by her children’s side. “ah, alatus. it’s a pleasure to see you again.” he says. you looked at him in confusion and said, "i’m surprised you’re friendly with other people, brother.” kunikuzushi looked at you, offended by your remark. “sister, what do you simply take me as?” he replies with a forced smile since they were in public at the moment. you ignored your brother, doing a curtsy as you greeted xiao. “it’s wonderful to see you again, prince alatus.” she says.

again? so you remember that time too. “again? since when the hell did you two meet?” kunikuzushi asked. “around fifteen years ago, when mother visited the kingdom of liyue to discuss something important with king zhongli. you were throwing a random tantrum that day and didn’t want to accompany us. also do mind your words, brother. we’re in public for goodness sake,"  you replied, scolding kunikuzushi. 

“and you don’t really need to point out how i had a tantrum back then. i was seven!”

“we were both seven, if i may remind you.”

xiao watches the twins interact with each other. it was different from how he and his older sister would interact. but nonetheless, xiao is somewhat glad that there’s someone in kunikuzushi’s life who could match him in verbal terms. “whatever, how are you faring as of late, alatus?” his friend shifts the topic, giving you an eyeroll, to which you return with a slight jab to his side. xiao then grabs a drink from a refreshment table nearby, taking a slight sip. the taste of alcohol makes contact with his taste buds as he slightly smacks his lips after. “i’ve been...” he trails off. how has he been lately? xiao doesn’t recall. he’s been busy with all of these ball preparations and the mental preparation he needs to take when he is to be married. 

“well. i’ve been quite well.” he finishes. “i’m glad to hear that. i heard you’re looking for a bride this season?” kunikuzushi then asks. “ah, yes. my father thinks it’s about time i start to settle down.”

“what’s the rush? we’re only at the age of twenty and two.”

“he isn’t pressuring me to get myself married away, kuni. but he wants me to start looking now, hence why this ball was held.” xiao sighs. kunikuzushi looks at his friend in pity; well, he isn’t any different. marriage has seemed to be a recent topic as well for queen ei and her son. “excuse me, gentlemen, as i see a friend quite close. i wish the best for you, prince alatus. and brother, watch your behavior, will you?” you then said, stepping away. “hey, what do you—” the other sibling swallowed his words back down his throat, not wanting to suddenly raise his voice.

“god, what does she take me for?”

“someone not trustworthy enough to be left alone, as it seems.”

“shut it, alatus.”

— — — — — — — — 

alatus then encounters you again.

you were alone this time. and xiao had just escaped the horrific clutches of mothers showing off their daughters to him. “it’s nice to see you again.” xiao then greets you, taking the spot beside you. “mhm, same to you.” the silence wasn’t awkward—it was rather serene. both of you stood there, hiding away from the crowd. perhaps you weren’t someone who finds socializing all fun, preferring to be in your own little bubble instead. or perhaps you were also hiding yourself from the other nobles that have attempted to make a move on you.

“what brings you into a corner like this?” he decided to ask.

“oh, it’s... you know, not every noble is necessarily a pleasure to be in the company of, if you get what i mean.” you replied, choosing your words rather carefully.

in your peripheral vision, you see xiao then nod in agreement. so my second guess was right, he thinks. “honestly speaking, i promised my mother that i’d dance with at least one noble tonight. she wants me to step out of my shell, per se, since whenever i accompany her to balls like this, i usually just glue myself to her side.”

“at least you find yourself accompanying your mother either way. i don’t really escort my father a lot.”

“really? and didn’t you make your debut when you were just eighteen? that’s around four years ago already. “didn’t you make your debut at the same age? we’re simply allies in this boat, princess.” xiao then shoots back. you went blank for a moment, processing what he had called you. well, you were a princess. he wasn’t wrong about it, but why did it sound... something different when it rolled off his tongue? “touché.” 

maybe it was the alcohol that he consumed taking it’s effect on him, as xiao felt rather bold now, making a smooth step to stand in front of you. he wasn’t that drunk, but maybe it’s some sort of liquid courage. “well, if you promised your mother for her to be an audience of you dancing with a noble...” he reaches out a hand towards you. the sight is familiar—and this is when you started to realize that a lot of things have changed between you and alatus over the past fifteen years. “may i have the pleasure of being your dance partner tonight?”

you take his hand. “you may.”

widening eyes and hushed gasps weren’t everything you noticed as you and xiao casually made your way to the dance floor. kunikuzushi had his eyebrow immediately raised as he watched your arm linked with xiao’s walking together, pausing himself as he was about to take a sip from his drink in hand. “well, would you look at that?” king zhongli hums in amusement from above, queen ei turning her head to see what he’s looking at.

“my, well, i certainly knew she had taken a liking to your son when they were children, but i didn’t expect it to continue into adulthood.” the queen says.

a new song had just started as xiao took the lead. they swayed—to the left, to the right, forward, and around. with one hand holding yours and the other on your waist, he twirls you around. he then catches you in his hold once more, pulling you close. close enough to hear your steady breathing, close enough to admire your face, and close enough to get himself lost in your eyes.

the close proximity aided you in observing just how much had changed with xiao over the past fifteen years. he had grown taller; that is obviously for one. he wasn’t that shy anymore, as he is now rather demure. his eyes still fascinated you with their unique shade of yellow, as his pupils were sharp—it reminded you of a cat’s. his hair had a few highlights of a lighter shade of green, in contrast to his main hair color.

you then realize that everything has changed.

the scowling of both men and women envied the two individuals dancing in the center. after all, they technically lost. the other women had lost to the princess of inazuma and the other men had lost to the prince of liyue—they wouldn’t dare to even come between them. because as much as they would hate to admit it, both of you were a perfect match. you complement each other well.

then, something xiao had been concerned about for some time happened: the part where he would have to lift her up. it may have been the proximity, the intimacy, or just the fear of letting her fall because it would be difficult for her to stay upright in such heels if his hand slipped. the lady gave a little yelp and fell back to the ground, thankfully without breaking a bone, but there was no time to consider anything more despite the slow music. xiao raised her up with an erratic act of trust.

“what a strong gentleman you are.” you whispered in his ear, commending him for the successful dance move. all eyes were on you now, as everyone was too hooked onto your performance. it was alluring—you were alluring, xiao thinks. the dance then comes to an end as you bow to each other as a sign of respect. he guided you away, and you quickly sneaked in a kiss to his cheek when no one was looking, not even xiao. his eyes widened as he felt your lips come into contact with his cheek. he then raises his hand to feel the spot your lips landed on. 

xiao feels something in his chest, something rather warm.

— — — — — — — — 

after all this time, xiao is still not the one for long conversations. he prefers to indulge in a comfortable silence rather than spend his time in a bustling crowd. so naturally, xiao finds his way into the castle’s garden. he can’t really withdraw from the party; the season has just begun. maybe give him a good two or three more parties and maybe xiao could find a way out to leave early. his cheeks are greeted by the cold and gentle breeze of the night as he steps foot into the garden.

fifteen years is enough time for one to mature and grow up. you and xiao are aware of the dark side that society holds. but one thing hasn’t really changed: his love for qingxin flowers. xiao learned as he grew up. it’s that boys are actually allowed to have favorite flowers. (could you really blame him for thinking otherwise? he was just seven.) making his way to where the qingxin flowers are, he stopped in his tracks as he noticed that he wasn’t apparently alone in the area. 

the lightly dimmed lights that surrounded the garden are what helped xiao see that it was you who was standing there, admiring the qingxin flowers. you seemed to have sensed that someone was behind you, turning around to see who it was, and much to your relief, it was xiao. “prince alatus.” you greeted him again with a curtsy. “princess (name).” he greeted in return with a bow and walked closer to stand beside you. 

“it feels nostalgic to be here again.” you said. xiao stays silent, preferring to listen. “do you remember? you bought me here when we were seven. i remember myself being very shy back then.” you continued, laughing as the memory replays in your head. xiao tries to construct a reply. “mhm, do you know what a qingxin flower symbolizes?” he then asks. “not really. what is it?”

“affection and happiness.” xiao softly smiles. it was just a small one, as he reached out his hand to touch the flower before him. you glance at him, admiring the look on his face.

and suddenly, you found yourself being seven years old again.

— — — — — — — — 

she was nervous. very nervous. as far as she could recall, this was her first time meeting someone outside of their kingdom. she really, really wants to be friends with this xiao boy—she’s heard a few from her mother. so she doesn’t really want to mess up, but she doesn’t even know how to approach him!

as soon as they arrived, she first looked at the tall man in front of them. that should be… king zhongli! she thought that his description fit the one that her mother gave her when she described him. but she looks at her surroundings for xiao. she doesn’t really know what he looks like, since her mother only told her that they’re of the same age and that he’s a nice kid. but she soon notices something behind king zhongli—something dark green? she watched him as he peeked his head out from behind his father and joy washed over her. he’s here! she thought. 

although her expressions don’t really show it, she was overjoyed when she realized that she wasn’t alone. perhaps it’s a common feeling amongst children whenever they encounter someone their age, there’s a familiar force that pushes them to befriend that person. she was no different from that, of course, as this is how she feels towards the boy in front of her now.

after they had been introduced, xiao was holding her hand and directing her to their garden. she took in everything she saw as they walked past, including paintings, decorations, and other things on display. they stopped in front of a small field of pretty white flowers. “this… this is a qingxin flower.” she hears the boy beside her say. a qingxin flower? that’s a bit hard to pronounce… she thinks. as she leans closer to inspect the flower further, it’s minty scent meets her sense of smell. “it’s pretty…” she lets out.

xiao picks one qingxin flower; there’s apparently four on one stem. xiao then takes a flower from those four. she silently watches him, wondering what he’s going to do with it. as xiao stepped closer, she held her breath. she feels the familiar feeling of a flower being tucked behind her ear. she reaches out one hand to touch it. “m-my dad always told me to be nice to girls. but i don’t really know how but i hope that’s okay.” xiao then says, looking away as she giggles at the sight of his ears turning red.

“thank you, xiao!”

while she was on the way home with her mother, she had a huge smile on her face as she gently caressed the qingxin flower’s petals with her fingers. “did you have fun with xiao today, honey?” her mother asks. “mhm! he gave me this flower; isn’t it pretty, mommy?” she exclaims. the little girl then tells her mother about what happened while they were in the garden. queen ei smiles to herself at the sight of her daughter being enthusiastic about her interactions with prince xiao.

— — — — — — — — 

deja vu seemed to take over as you saw xiao pick a qingxin flower. even more when you watch him take another flower from the four. you were replaying the memory of the day you met inside your head but surely you’re back in reality, right?

you breath hitched when xiao stepped closer, tucking it behind your ear again.

“are you perhaps taking me on a trip to memory lane tonight?” you chuckled. xiao simply smiles in return as he steps back. maybe, he swallows the response down his throat. “i realized something tonight.” he then says. “hm? and what might that be?”

xiao was never the type who would say a lot of things. he usually kept his thoughts to himself, hiding them in the back of his mind and dismissing it right away. but for once, he finds himself rambling. “that despite the fact i’m rather modest or demure and the fact that i’m not really an individual who is up for long conversations, i find myself enjoying sharing a silence that’s covered in tranquility. i am a mundane man, (name), yet in spite of that, i can’t help but yearn for an individual like you to accompany me for the rest of my life.” surprised at him for dropping the formalities, you still listened.

“i—forget that. my apologies. i doubt there is anyone who could compare for a woman like yourself in the first place. we aren’t the same seven year olds that spent their afternoon in this exact garden anymore. a lot—if not everything—has changed between us. so let me be selfish for once: would you accept my invitation for a mundane life? you don’t have to feel obligated to give a response now.” you took another qingxin flower from its stem; only two remain now. it was your turn to step closer.

“i won’t give my answer now, xiao.” you start, dropping the formalities with him as well. “this is all rather shocking, after all, but promise this: once summer comes around, there will be a summer festival held inazuma as it does every year. can you promise me your attendance? the sight of the fireworks prepared by the naganohara family is certainly one to commend.”

“i promise.”

xiao then realizes that he had his eyes set on you this whole time—whether the past fifteen years are counted or not, that’s for him to keep.

[queenvhagar]

Can I get your personal thoughts and feelings about Criston Cole. I'm interested in hearing what you have to say about him.

My personal background is in sociology, so I'm really interested in social stratification and how different groups in society interact, as well as how intersectionality comes into play in societies. This comes into play for my media interests in that I find shows that explore sociopolitical issues to be most compelling to me personally. A side note is that I also studied medieval French society and concepts of chivalry and courtly love, so this also informs my perspective on how I view stories in medieval contexts.

Fire and Blood explores the history of the society in Westeros and tells stories of wide-scale societal conflict that impacts people of various social backgrounds. In this society, people are stratified by race, class, socioeconomic status, gender, ability, and more. When it comes to the adaptation House of the Dragon, one of my major gripes is that it's only interested in looking at one of these aspects of stratification, gender, and examining it on its own without regard to its intersection with race, class, socioeconomic status, ability, and other social markers that exist in this world. The show wants to explore sexism, but it does so in a vacuum without meaningfully and realistically taking into account how classism, racism, ableism, and other systems of power interact with and exist at the same time as sexism. The way the show handles the character of Criston Cole is a good example of how they fail to fully explore these aspects of world building.

Criston Cole is Dornish in a medieval, feudalist monarchy where Dornish people are looked down upon and discriminated against. He is lowborn in a society that values highborn people and royalty above all else. As he is not born to an important family, he lacks resources like money and land that could allow him social mobility. However, he does have skill at being a knight, a role highly mythologized, idealized, and romanticized in medieval contexts. Knights operate with honor and abide by a code of chivalry, and it is viewed as a noble and honest pursuit and means of living that any boy in that world could dream of embodying. It is Criston's skill with the blade and other knightly abilities that allows him to pursue this role and begin to rise in status and achieve upward mobility.

At the tourney for the heir that Viserys throws in anticipation for Aemma's birth of a son, Criston stands out due to his skill and due to him surpassing expectations of a Dornish lowborn man at a royal tourney. His performance and appearance lead him to be selected by the princess for Kingsguard, the highest position a knight could rise to in this society. Now, Criston finds himself as the highest of knights in service to the realm and particularly the royal family who rules it, the members of which who stand at the top of social hierarchies in this society: Valyrian race, royal blood, immense riches, power, and privileges available to them. And, of course, access to dragons, the ultimate weapons and safeguards of power in this world.

As Criston says himself, his position as Kingsguard is something he worked for his whole life and it's all he really has to his name and legacy, due to his birth and his family's position in this world. As a Kingsguard, at least early on, he takes his vows seriously and performs the job as he thinks an ideal knight would.

One night, the princess, the who promoted him to Kingsguard in the first place, reveals her attraction to him and pressures him to break his vow, and she does not accept multiple refusals as an answer. He implicitly cannot refuse her request, as she holds authority over him. Despite the fact that, yes, she is a young woman of 18 and he is a young man in his early twenties, it stands that she still holds an exceptionally higher amount of power than he does: she is a Targaryen, of the blood of Old Valyria, a dragon riding princess, daughter of the king, and heir to the throne that grants the best absolute power her father holds, while he is a knight from a lowborn family of Dornish background. In this instance, on a whim, the princess knowingly or unknowingly uses her power to take sex from him without considering what might happen to him as a result. The consequences of this event are potentially severe for him while relatively minimal for her. As it stands, if anyone found out, the consequence for him is to be slowly tortured to death. For the princess, if anyone found out, there is ultimately protection from the king. Criston would die an agonizing death, but at the very worst, she is disinherited, but only if her father wishes it (and she still retains her name and her dragon to help her survive in the world). Following this event, the princess tells him that she expects him to be fine with being used for sex whenever she wants, despite the severe risks to safety and well-being this poses to especially him.

Criston becomes disillusioned with the world he knew. He did everything he was supposed to do - endeavor to improve his position in the world through the righteous means of being a knight - yet now, everything he worked for is potentially crumbling before him. He tries to rationalize her decision to take advantage of him - maybe she truly loves him and that is why she would not accept his refusal? But the reality is that she views him as a plaything. His whole life of work to achieve upward mobility and make a name for himself in the world, and on account of his race, class background, and relative position of powerlessness, he is simply used and treated like an object by royalty. What purpose does he truly serve, if it is not to be a sworn knight abiding his vows and serving the realm and the royal family? Criston's grasp on his identity and purpose waver. When interviewed by the queen, he confesses his guilt and asks for a quick death. He accepts that his life may be over and that everything he suffered through in his life meant nothing. At the princess's wedding, he is threatened by someone he perceives as attempting to expose what happened, which would result in a torturous death. He snaps, killing the man to silence him. Having taken this life, resigned to death himself, he retreats to the weirwood to commit suicide. But it is there that the queen appears to stop him, and in Alicent, he finds a renewed sense of identity and purpose. In Alicent, he can relate to being thoughtlessly used by members of the royal family. In Alicent, he can believe once again in the idea of being a knight serving a queen who saved his life when it would have been easier for her not to. In Alicent, and in her children, Criston renews his identity in knighthood and his purpose in protecting the royal family. This time, though, these royals are not just using him without consideration and will not take him and his sacrifices for granted. Criston once again buys into the mythologizing of knighthood and royalty, which gives him identity and purpose in the world once more.

At this point, I'll address that many viewers and readers see his dislike of Rhaenyra as evidence of him being a uniquely misogynist man in this world where gender is heavily stratified. While sexism does exist at large in this society, there is only evidence of Criston disliking one single woman who used him and then discarded him at great risk and harm to him personally. In this regard, him hating Rhaenyra is logical given their past. He does not seem to be more exceptionally sexist than any other character in this story, yet fans focus in on him in particular for this. The "why" of it all likely has to do with the framing of the show: the writers emphasize the perspective of the royals and those with the most power in this world, and from their perspective, anyone in proximity to these royals should be grateful for it, despite anything that happens, because they are the sympathetic main characters. This is especially true for someone like Criston who apparently should be happy that despite his low birth and inferior (in this world) racial identity, the princess still offered to have sex with him and this is the best thing he could hope to ever achieve in his life. Once again, the show hyper focuses on sexism in Westeros but does not explore other systems of power that exist in the world and/or their relations to one another and the result is a skewed view of how the world really functions and who actual holds power relative to who. This, combined with the shows insertion of certain 21st century politics into aspects of the show when realistically no such things existed in historical or fictional medieval feudalist monarchies, results in fans insisting Criston is an incel, showing fundamental misunderstanding of the world of Westeros and also apparently the term incel itself, as Criston is tied for the character with the most sex scenes so far at 3 separate scenes so clearly he is not involuntarily celibate.

Post time skip, decades pass and Criston continues to fulfill his roles as knight and protector of the royal family until finally the day comes when the king dies. Then, he works with the Green Council to take action to protect his faction of the royal family from the perceived threat of the other and becomes "Kingmaker" by personally crowning Aegon. Following the murder of Jaehaerys by Daemon and Rhaenyra in retaliation for the death of Lucerys, he advocates for stronger, strategic military action in the then inevitable war while Otto Hightower insists on sending more ravens. This results in Aegon making him Hand of the King instead. His plan with Aegon and Aemond to trap one of the Black's dragons allows the Greens to take Meleys out, but it also allows for Aegon to become injured and bedridden, necessitating that Aemond take over in his stead as Prince Regent and Protector of the Realm.

As for season 2 additions and changes from the source material, I always saw Criston's relationship with Alicent as one of courtly love, and so far in the show the motivations of each character regarding a sexual relationship have been confusing at best. How did it even start? When? What does it mean for their long term relationship and how it's grown? How does it impact each participant's view on the world and knighthood and royalty and honor and loyalty? The show seems to not care to explore any of this beyond trying to paint the two in a bad light. I could maybe buy a sexual relationship if it was well-developed, but there was basically no set up or narrative reason for its addition beyond making the characters look worse and deflecting blame from Blood and Cheese onto them. In the case of a developed romance or sexual relationship, I would say that Criston's relationship with Alicent has grown for over a decade into one of loyalty and trust, and a physical relationship might come from that once the king died, although some amount of moral conflict would likely still occur for each character.

As for the plan at Rook's Rest, it doesn't make much sense for Aegon to be left out of the loop, just as it doesn't make sense for Aemond to willingly sabotage his own side of the war by taking out Aegon and his dragon, especially over something like bullying when the stakes are so much higher than that at this point. If anything, the animosity between the brothers should be about how Aemond's actions indirectly lead to the death of Aegon's son (if the writers allowed Blood and Cheese to have any major impact on the story, but their goals are instead to minimize Team Black's involvement and lessen Team Green's reaction to it, so it remains obscured and in the background).

In general, I might be interested in the writers potentially wanting to explore in season 2 Criston's relationship with his vows and honor and even showing some hypocrisy while highlighting the conflict between his righteous ideals and less than righteous means of accomplishing his goals. However, it's clear that their intent with Criston and Team Green is to point fingers and label them as dysfunctional, morally reprehensible villains in contrast to a righteous Team Black and that's all they're interested in. There is no meaningful exploration of character or growth to be expected from Criston Cole. Unfortunately fan vitriol will continue to focus on Criston above other members of Team Green for the reasons listed above, and the writing will likely only continue to add to that.

[raincitygirl76]

Reblogging both for OP @bluedalahorse ‘s post about Felice and the addition by @heliza24

YRS3 Fandom Writers Room Challenge: Round #1!

Let’s pretend we’re in the writer’s room for season 3 together.

This is not a predictions post. Nor is it fully a wish list, at least not in the conventional sense. In fact, I want to pause a moment move away from trying to predict what’s going to happen in season 3 exactly, and instead think about ways that it could be written. The wish fulfillment part is that you get to be the writer. You may have an idea you think Lisa herself is unlikely to include in the story, but you’ve thought of a way it would work well in the show. Or you have an idea you’re pretty sure is going to happen, but you have IDEAS about how it could play out onscreen and you want to explain those.

I thought we could spend the next few weeks considering a character or two at a time, and sharing out about what those characters’ arcs could be, if we were the writers. For now I’m planning to leave out Simon, Wilhelm, and August, just because I see a lot of thoughts going around about them already. I may reconsider later.

I will be using the tag “yrs3 fandom writers room” for these posts.

Ground Rules

Dream big, have fun, and share your ideas!

Try to stay in a writer’s mindset rather than an audience member’s mindset. We’re not trying to find secret messages in foreshadowing so much as using it to build a new part of the story that we are pretending we have control over.

Don’t feel like your thoughts have to be complete or perfect. We’re in the fandom writer’s room together, so you can leave some questions open and invite others to weigh in.

Comment on what you like about others’ ideas. If you want to build on someone’s idea, be collaborative rather than combative. Ask questions!

If one of your storyline ideas involves a character encountering or dealing with something triggering (as sometimes happens in the YR universe) please tag appropriately or give a heads up about what’s coming next.

If you’re not a fan of the character(s) of the week and your opinion is that they shouldn’t get any screentime in season 3 at all, this challenge may not be for you. Scroll on by and let other folks participate.

The first Character of the Week is… our wonderful fave Felice!

This Week’s Prompt: Imagine you’re on the writing team for season 3 and you’re deciding how Felice’s arc is going to play out this season. What do you want to do with her character arc? Where do you want her to start and end the season? How do your ideas build on what came before? How can her story interact with the stories of other characters on the show, and deepen the themes of Young Royals?

Think about your answer, and then reblog and respond. You can just write your ideas out, you can make a fun slide show, or you can write a drabble series or whatever, you can come up with a few songs you want played for Felice’s part of the storyline—it’s your choice how you want to respond.

I’m putting my response below the cut. Can’t wait to hear everyone else’s thoughts too!

My thoughts for Felice’s arc:

Heads up for discussions of bullying and conflict in friendship groups.

Sadly, I don’t have any cute graphics this week, or any fanworks. But I do have thoughts.

My writerly thoughts for season 3 are that Felice should be driven by a desire for true, authentic, passionate friendships.

I’ve been reflecting on how in season 2, Felice decides that she’s going to attend the school dance with her Manor House friends group, and prioritize platonic friendships over romantic relationships with boys. At the end of season 2, however, we can see that her friend group is in the middle of a schism. Fredrika and Stella are attacking Sara, and Maddie is nowhere to be found. While Felice is pretty angry at Sara herself, and I imagine she’ll spend the beginning of season 3 not really wanting to take her back as a friend, I wonder if it could perhaps haunt her afterward to see how quickly Fredrika and Stella turned on Sara without having the full story of what happened.

After Wilhelm’s speech, the school will be under scrutiny, and I imagine the general mood at Hillerska is going to grow even more tense. I also imagine this could make students act out more, and for Fredrika and Stella, this could mean power plays and using their gossip powers for evil. Maybe they’re continuing to spread rumors about Sara that have no basis in reality—but really they could be gossiping about anyone. Felice feels increasingly more uncomfortable with it and tries to get them to stop, but either Stella or Fredrika is subtly trying to usurp her role as the group’s “leader” and the group’s power dynamic is shifting. Perhaps by midseason they go as far as turning on her and kicking her out of the friend group entirely.

Felice lets some of this slip to her mother over the phone, and her mother makes an offhand remark about being bullied by her own friend group back when she was at Hillerska. Mamma Ehrencrona quickly tries to laugh off her remark like it’s no big deal, but Felice can sense her mother is bothered by these memories, and realizes that part of her mother’s meddling in her own life stems from unprocessed traumas.  Felice’s mother is a bullied person who became a bully. It doesn’t really lead to a full-on reconciliation between Felice and her mom—there’s not enough time for that in six episodes, and Mamma Ehrencrona probably doesn’t need that redemption arc—it’s more a revelation that makes Felice see some of her mother’s behavior in context.

Meanwhile, Wilhelm and Simon are publicly together now. Naturally they’re spending a lot of time with one another, meaning Felice can’t hang out with Wilhelm as much, and when she does hang out with them, she feels a bit like a third wheel. The choir’s spreading rumors about how Wilhelm “dumped” Felice for Simon, which adds another layer of awkwardness. Initially I thought, perhaps Felice is frustrated that she can’t get Wilhelm alone so she can open up to him about the struggles in her Manor House friend group, but I feel like that might repeat some season 2 dynamics with Wille being a dumbass who doesn’t take Felice’s feelings into account. So I wonder if instead she could be trying to actively avoid telling him about the conflicts in her friend group, so as not to disrupt Wilhelm’s newfound couple bliss with Simon. This could lead to a midseason moment between Wilhelm and Felice where Wilhelm finds out how Felice’s friends are treating her and he’s like, “dude that’s fucked up, and next time someone treats you that way, tell me and don’t keep it to yourself, because I’m your friend and I want to do what I can to make things okay for you.” 

Alternately, Simon could be the one who discovers Felice’s friend struggles and is there for her, and this leads to a deepening of their friendship. (Perhaps they can also bond as students of color in a predominantly white school—we’ve seen moments where both have experienced microagressions, but I don’t know if we’ve seen characters of color discuss something like that openly yet.)

If I were on the YR writing team, I would also use this as a springboard for Felice questioning if she might be aromantic asexual. Six episodes isn’t really enough for her to have an entire coming out journey, but perhaps she’s reading up on LGBTQIA+ issues throughout the season so she can be more of an ally to Wilhelm. Maybe we get one scene toward the end of the season where she comes across the terms aromantic and asexual and reads about how the aspec communities value friendship, and something about that clicks with her. She’s like, I think I might be one or both of these. I’m going to read more about it. This might be a slight retcon of Felice’s feelings toward Wille, but eh. This idea could also use some workshopping, too, since right now it’s feeling a little Heartstopper. Any ideas on how to make it more YR-flavored?

I do feel strongly, though, that if I were writing Felice and she wasn’t going to end up with a love interest in season 3, that I’d want it to be because she is aroace. There is a repeated trend in television of Black characters as the people who don’t get to be reciprocated love interests (Princess Weekes has a video about it and you should definitely check it out!) and if Felice remains alloallo, she becomes part of that trend, regardless of how well-written she is. On the other hand, there’s also not a lot of Black aspec rep in media right now, so Felice being aroace would at least kind of push back at that trend a little bit.

Overall, I’d like Felice to begin the season worried about her friendships, and ends the season in a place where she can be more confident and knows who a few of her real friends are.

One final thought: Now that Felice has given up riding, I’d like her to either devote herself to choir more fully, or try out a new hobby each episode. (For the latter idea, this doesn’t always need to be a series of in-depth scenes, but something we can see her doing in her scenes with other characters. Like in one scene she’s learning to knit as she chats with Wille and Simon, in another scene she’s doing food photography at lunch, etc.) If Felice gets more into choir, this can be something that deepens her bond with Simon. Maybe they get to do a duet!

Some questions I have for the other writers in the writers room are: I’m not sure how I want Felice and Sara to reconcile yet, but I know I want it to happen. Are there ways Sara’s arc can complement this one? I also want Fredrika and Stella’s arcs to end in a place where they aren’t total villains—I don’t want them to be flattened into basic mean girls, and I think ending them in a space where we understand them would be good. I think we can work out a solution but what do you think it should be? Also, any ways we can use Maddie? She’s always the wild card of that friend group.

Let’s hear your thoughts! Chat with me, fandom writer’s room. Let’s write a season of TV together.

[heartbreakprincewille]

Masculinity In Young Royals

So, in honour of Ke Huy Quan and the team of Everything Everywhere All At Once sweeping the Oscars(been crying about it since morning), I was watching this BRILLIANT video essay(check it out it's so well thought out!) about Waymond(Ke's character) and this gave me thoughts about Young Royals as well, because hyperfixations go hand-in-hand, right? :)

Masculinity, and especially different portrayals and aspects of its prevalent notions is a theme brilliantly explored in the two seasons of Young Royals. I wanted to talk about some characters, and this list will progress from worse to better(not using the word perfect because nuance > perfection).

Note: The traits I will discuss further are not restricted to just a cis or male perspective, anyone can exhibit these traits, but since assertion of masculinity is a constant spectacle in Young Royals, I will associate some traits with it.

1. Vincent

Vincent, especially in S2, embodies the worst traits on the masculinity spectrum, and since his character is understandably not offered the privilege of nuance, he comes off as this typical, toxic, sort of "alpha-male" character, especially after he's elected as the prefect and Rowing Captain. He constantly bullies others, especially Simon, tries to enforce the hierarchy of privilege and class firstly through August and then by himself. As soon as he sees an opportunity shown by Wilhelm to take control in his hands, he doesn't take much time to betray his "friend", August(although August of all people getting betrayed is certainly irony at its best). He kinda reminds me of the Royal Court in some ways- their presence furthering the divide of tradition and social systems in their respective environments.

2. August

The only reason August is not placed higher than Vincent in this list is the privilege of nuance August is provided with throughout the story. This nuance is what sets him apart in the narrative, but is also the thing which dooms him as a character.

August is misogynistic, sexist, classist, obsessed with power and privilege and feels entitled to both of them, set to further the class divide just like Vincent. He stokes his ego like fire, and if someone tries to cross him, he does not hesitate to burn them with the flames, like Wilhelm exposing his money issues and August violating Wilhelm and Simon's privacy in return. He's manipulative, he's calculative, he knows how to scheme things in his favour(failed attempts, though) and he's just a walking red flag of a person. He also falls around the worse side of the spectrum of masculinity.

But, he is offered nuance by the narrative. In S1, it's in the form of familial and personal issues: his dad killing himself, financial problems, addiction issues and possible issues of body dysmorphia. In S2, through his relationship with Sara, we are shown a different side of him- a side that is capable of being vulnerable, capable of being soft, and this almost sparks this hope within the audience that maybe August can change a little, for the better.

But then he's offered a chance of power and his hamartia is revealed to the audience: his inability to change. The greatest tragedy (which is also its brilliance) with August's character is he cannot change for the better. Even if he tries to. He can have opprtunities to grow, but it will be a Herculean labour for him to take advantage of those opportunities and actually change. He is so deeply entrenched in his perceptions of toxic masculinity and power and lost in his conceited, privileged worldview that it's quite hard for him to see the light at the end of the tunnel. And it's what sets him apart in the narrative- despite all his nuance, he is still a terrible person at his core. The nuance is just what separates him from all his shallow and one-dimensional preceding antagonists of the past.

3. Nils

Nils brings a neutral perspective to the extreme hyper-masculine and cishet dynamics upheld by August and Vincent. He's revealed to be queer in S2, but chooses to be discreet about it- which gives him a chance to build solidarity with both his cishet peers(Vincent and August) as well as a fellow queer person (Wille). He's not dismissive of Wilhelm's queerness, but he believes it to be something "better behind close doors". He's one of the few people who actually acknowledges Wilhelm and Simon's relationship, but is also dismissive of it, mainly because of the difference in their social standings. He's devoid of the typical "heteronormative" traits associated with masculinity, especially in S2, but he still uphelds the toxic class hierarchy and privilege.

4. Simon

Simon is a quite interesting character to me on this list because he subverts these traits in a very unique way.

Usually canonically gay characters in media are often stereotyped to possess "feminine" traits, which is NOT a bad thing at all, BUT mostly the portrayal of such characters usually leans more towards the mockery of the "feminine" traits, rather than something which strengthens the queerness of that character.

Simon is actually very different from this famous rendition of gay characters- he's actually very masculine in his behaviour. He exhibits two typical masculine behaviours in general:

1. "Man Of The House", or taking the mantle of emotional(and sometimes financial) stability in a house in one's own hands. He often takes matters in his own hand, especially when Sara says or does something that disrupts the peace of their little family. It's interesting because despite being the youngest person in the family, Linda subconsciously lets him take the mantle on his shoulders, without realizing how heavy it can be. And consequenty, it brings us down to the second trait:

2. "Suppressing emotions", or avoiding being vulnerable in public spaces or with people one loves and trusts. Simon constantly shoves what he's feeling deep in his heart, he refuses to break open in front of people, in front of Wille(S2 E6 gun scene) and would go to lengths to maintain a facade of "everything's fine!" even if he's breaking inside. It makes sense because his backstory alludes to hesitation to open up to people and it can be possibly related to his familial trauma, but it's still interesting nevertheless because he shows incredible emotional maturity throughout the story, much more than his predecessors on this list. He's devoid of both the toxic traits of heteronormativity and elitist behaviour associated with "masculinity" in Young Royals, but he still possesses a different set of problems associated with orthodox masculinity.

5. Wilhelm

Wilhelm is, in my opinion, the closest example to what is emerging as the new definition of "masculinity" in the current media. Wilhelm, through his immense emotional journey and growth in the two seasons, subverts all the traits of masculinity displayed by his predecessors in the list with grace and humility.

He's not obsessed with upholding traditions and asserting heteronormativity like Vincent and August, he is quite indifferent to it in S1, the only "compulsion" he feels to do so is immediately after Erik's death in S1, which he quickly overcomes as well. His "revenge" attempts on August by pulling rank and exercising his privilege stems from a feeling of injustice and anger rather than something he enjoys or feels the need to practice at all.

August's hamartia is Wilhelm's strength. Wilhelm, unlike August, displays great capacity to change for the better, which he constantly does throughout the story. Love knocks on both of their doors as an opportunity to grow, to change for the better, and while Wilhelm embraces it, August slaps the door shut on its face.

Unlike Nils, neither Wilhelm's queerness was never given a chance to be discreet in the first place, nor he ever felt the need to do so. The idea of keeping his and Simon's relationship a secret was more of an idea subconsciously conceived by Kristina in Wilhelm's head rather than his own desire to be secretive.

Wilhelm even subverts the traits displayed by Simon in this regard- the position of the "Man Of The House" falls on him in the form of "Crown Prince of Sweden", and although he understandably struggles with the role initially, by the end of S2, he consciously embraces the role with grace and humility. Compared to Simon, Wilhelm wears his heart on his sleeve, he is not afraid to express his true emotions to the people he love and trusts, and even to strangers.

[skamenglishsubs]

The history of boarding schools

Way back in the intro post about Young Royals, I wrote about how boarding schools are used by the upper classes to educate and acculturate their own, and I talked about the house system and used Harry Potter as a reference.

I recently listened to an episode of The Rest Is History podcast, which also started with the angle of explaining Harry Potter, and delved into the history of English boarding schools, which is the inspiration and template for all European boarding schools, and ultimately also Hillerska.

One thing they mentioned which definitely applies to Harry Potter, and to some degree to Young Royals, is the literary genre of School Stories. These are all set at boarding schools, because the environment creates this isolated universe with its own rules and hierarchies that the protagonist student is shoved into and has to adapt to in order to survive, and Young Royals definitely has elements of that.

But the bulk of the podcast episode talks about how absolutely horrible these institutions were, and still are to some extent, and how they're used by the upper classes to shape their children. The hazing and submission and hierarchies fosters intense loyalty between the kids, but also instils a strong sense of social order that they then unleash on the rest of society once they've graduated.

[raincitygirl76]

Self-Reblogging because this post and its various additions should not be forgotten about, to my mind.

No, wait, because if Hillerska had enough money to give Sara a grant, why on god’s green earth did they not offer it to August before the break?

Like they knew he didn’t have money, they knew he was going to get kicked out, they had meetings about what to do, and they didn’t think to, I don’t know, tell him to apply for that grant? Or just give it to him?

WHAT WAS THE REASON?

Like I hate August so much, but those adults absolutely had it out for him. They magically found enough money to board a student a month after literally kicking him out of school?!

reason 5897 to hate the adults in this series.

[drakaripykiros130ac]

Time to debunk another TG bullshit related to how Otto pimped out his daughter : “Otto did what any lord would have done. He and Corlys are the same.”

It is bad enough that they constantly justify Alicent’s actions and praise her but to do that for Otto too, is going over the line.

You’re really going to compare this guy:

To this one?

Alrighty. Let’s begin.

I have noticed that TG fans have a hard time understanding that there is a hierarchy in relation to the Houses in Westeros. There are Great Houses which come before vassal ones, of course. But there is also something else: since the Targaryens are the rulers of Westeros, their closest ties are to other Valyrian Houses, namely House Velaryon and House Celtigar. They are kin. And even better, House Velaryon is as Corlys once put it “the greatest power in the Realm”.

Now, when I say that there is a hierarchy that also applies to those who have access to advantageous marriages. Up until the Dance, the royal bloodline has come through Targaryen Kings and Queens (Queen Aemma was also half Targaryen on her mother’s side) but also a Velaryon Queen, Alyssa Velaryon.

So, it is of course no surprise that Corlys Velaryon proposes his daughter, Laena to be the next Queen after Queen Aemma’s passing. With a short supply of Valyrian brides, Laena was the best option without a doubt. Corlys presented his daughter as a suitable candidate before the King, Council and Court. Everyone knew that Viserys was considering taking Laena Velaryon as his next wife. And Corlys had every right to make such a move because his daughter ticked all the boxes: she was Valyrian, daughter of the Lord of the Tides, with her came the Velaryon fleets, dragons and riches. Oh, and she was also the daughter of a Targaryen Princess. This marriage would have united the Valyrian Houses on the Iron Throne. There was only one problem: Laena was too young. Had she been like 4 years older, Viserys would have considered her. But it wouldn’t have been a problem if he had. She and Viserys could have had a marriage only for public display, until Laena had the respectable age. It wouldn’t be the first time such a marriage came to be.

Now, the Hightowers are a whole different story. As much they claim to be a force in the Reach, their ties to the Faith do not grant them the title of a Paramount House. The Paramount House of the Reach is House Tyrell.

Otto Hightower is a second son from a vassal House with nothing to his name. His daughter was in no way a suitable candidate for the King. That is why he didn’t dare do what Corlys did. He didn’t present Alicent as an option before the King, Court and Council because then everyone would see him for what he truly is: an opportunistic social-climber who wants more. So, he pimped his daughter out in secret by having her visit the King during the night, wearing her dead mother’s dresses. What Otto and Alicent did was shameful, and in no way near noble.

Corlys is the Lord of Driftmark, and presented his daughter Laena OPENLY to the King, Council and Court.

Otto, even as Hand, is a nobody. He does not have the privilege (or is even allowed) to publicly propose his low-ranked daughter as a candidate to be the future Queen. So as a greedy opportunist that he is, he pimped out his daughter to a grieving King during the night.

So no. What Otto did is not what any lord would have done. He is no lord, first of all. And secondly, other men of his ranking understand their place in the hierarchy and don’t scheme/plot the way the Hightowers constantly do.

He and Corlys are not the same. Corlys had the privilege, the blood and the necessary ranking to be able to proudly and openly present his daughter as a candidate. So why not? Especially since the bloodline had been continued through a Velaryon Queen once before.

Laena was to be considered first and then any daughter of the Lord of a Paramount House. But never the daughter of a second son of a vassal house.

Otto schemed in the most disgusting way possible to take away a privilege that is not normally granted to someone as low as him in ranking. He is a greedy opportunist who SECRETLY pimped his daughter out to the King for personal advantage.

What Corlys did was honorably and publicly present his daughter as the most suitable candidate before the King, Council and Court. What Otto did was shamefully pimp his daughter out in secret.

[merlincersei]

Merlin BBC UK TV Show - Opinion Piece Part 18 - Who's The Boss - Arthur Or Merlin ?

One of my favorite episode of TV series Community is the one where Abed takes a class on Who's The Boss?.

I thought it would make an excellent topic for Merlin because the dynamic Angela and Tony share is quite similar to Arthur and Merlin.

For those unfamiliar with Who's The Boss, here is a brief synopsis:

Tony takes a job as a live-in housekeeper for Angela Bower and her young son and moves in with his daughter. The title of the show refers to the role reversal of Tony and Angela. Angela is the breadwinner of the home, and Tony (although he is not her husband) stays at home and takes care of the household and provides guidance and support to the children. While there is banter and many hints of their feelings for each other, Tony and Angela do their best to avoid facing this aspect of their developing relationship. In the meantime, however, they learn to rely on each other frequently for emotional support. Despite Angela being the employer of Tony, the series always questions, who is really in charge of the household.

Power dynamics within the Merlin BBC TV Show:

Arthur is a royal and Merlin is his manservant. Considering the show is set in a medieval fantasy world where the social hierarchy is strictly defined, the question Who's The Boss should be a moot point.

However we see Merlin constantly banter with, berate, humiliate, interfere with, refuse, make demand of, advise, comfort, defy and mock Arthur.

These are actions, that are quite unbecoming of a mere servant and forces us to critically evaluate the power balance of their relationship.

______________________________________________________________

Lets implement the Professor's Episode - Conclusion Domination Index Plot model from the Community episode.

The basis of this model is simple. It states that a person gets the upper-hand by having the last word edge wise during the conclusion of every episode.

The basis of verification is as follows:

Season 1 Episode 1 : Concludes with Arthur expressing his displeasure of having Merlin be his manservant. Merlin is then summoned by Arthur to carry out a task. Arthur ends up getting the better of Merlin here.

Season 1 Episode 2 : Concludes with Arthur admitting his mistake to Merlin and rehiring him. Following which he promptly delegates Merlin a series of tasks to do. According to me, Arthur ends up getting the better of Merlin here again.

I have listed A for Arthur and M for Merlin in the table below.

In Season 1: Merlin gets the upper hand in 7 of 13 episodes i.e. 54%

In Season 2: Merlin gets the upper hand in 8 of 13 episodes i.e. 62%

In Season 3: Merlin gets the upper hand in 9 of 13 episodes i.e. 69%

In Season 4: Merlin gets the upper hand in 9 of 13 episodes i.e. 69%

In Season 5: Merlin gets the upper hand in 7 of 13 episodes i.e. 54%

In the Entire Series: Merlin gets the upper hand in 40 of 65 episodes i.e. 62 %

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So the answer to the eternal question Who's The Boss in the Merlin TV Show is..............................................................................................

ARTHUR PENDRAGON

This is due to the fact that the Professor's model fails to take into account defining plot points that occur in a series.

The entire model presented above is refuted by this one single scene between Arthur and Merlin.

Merlin despite being a powerful sorcerer agrees to becomes Arthur's servant ( reluctantly at first but devoutly by the end of the series)

Since Merlin is the main titular protagonist, we the audience are conditioned to see Merlin subvert traditional class roles and get the upper hand.

When that fails and Arthur gets the upper hand, there is a sense of subconscious discomfort. It would also explain why certain people in the fandom feel Merlin was mistreated by Arthur and that is true to a certain extent as Arthur in Season 5 Episode 13 apologizes to Merlin as to how he has treated him.

However Merlin gives it to Arthur as good as he gets and despite being in a position to leave anytime, continues to serve Arthur.

The underlying reason to their "codependent relationship" is better explored in my other post here:

BUT THE SIMPLEST ANSWER TO THE QUESTION RAISED IN THIS POST IS THAT ARTHUR IS THE BOSS AND THEREFORE LIKE ALL BOSSES HE IS A...

Mention in the replies below, who do you think was the boss?

[thatsmybook]

"A central proposition throughout the course is that human rights cannot be separated from politics. Indeed, we cannot understand either why human rights abuses happen or how and why human rights have the power to improve human welfare without examining the political contexts in which efforts to mitigate abuses take place. Human rights are inseparable from the political, even if they are designed to be outside of politics. We will wrestle with that central paradox." This is taken from the course description for The Politics of Human Rights at Berkley. Link

In Young Royals, Wille at various points says that he cannot speak on political issues, even in class discussions, in private with his boyfriend or in selecting a charity to support. He contradicts this in his famous speech in season 2. However in season 3, he reverts to using this adage whenever he is asked to take a stand on anything, or when Simon wants to take a stand in his social media. He is wrestling with the political paradox this season.

This is because he is trying to separate the private from the public like Erik did: have a boyfriend and be the Crown Prince. Yet, he himself has previously figured out how things are wrong at his school and takes a stand to make a change. He has chosen a boyfriend who when he first hears him speak, is politically engaged and who, throughout the third season is trying to open Wille to political, social and human rights violations that he should care about (because he has shown Simon previously through his speech that he does care). From Simon's need to demonstrate because of his class, Wille's privilege, to his sexuality, Simon is reminding Wille of their shared values of wanting to make changes and stand up for what is right.

Importantly, Wille stops trying to push back at the Royal Court when the consequences of his speech is a threat of closure to his school, and the deteriorating health of his mother and the Queen of his country. The very real threat that he may need to be the monarch soon makes him dampen his true stances on matters close to his heart in order to ease his life as CP and his mother's role.

Along with Simon, Vincent in seasons two and three, unendingly engages in political debate. Many don't see past the distasteful way that Vincent speaks to the actual content of his dialogue. He complains that upending the hierarchy of the third years over the first years at the lunch table, is leading to chaos, as the first years won't give way for use of the showers, seats in the common room etc. They no longer know their place and this is disturbing the peace at Hillerska. Throughout season three, he questions Simon's politics at every opportunity to force both Wille and Simon (and the audience) to question their political and social positions and reason with how they could possibly be compatible.

Through both Simon and Vincent, the show is telling us in season three, that Wille can not continue to ignore these issues and must stop being passive and take an active stance.

Felice too, is engaging in the politics of race and class and where they intersect, for the audience to understand the show's interest in political stances/ taking a stand on issues one cares about.

Young Royals wants its audience to understand that politics is intertwined with their lives. Caring about each other and our rights to exist as free people to love and make choices and thrive, is what politics is. Making a stand in some way is how we use our own agency to change our circumstances, if we are able to, and the lives of others around us.

All the unanswered social discussions and open arguments that Wilmon still have to address individually and as a couple are once again, an example of how politics works in our lives. It is never a one and done thing. It continuously needs to be addressed and fought for and discussed to gain a better life for ourselves and others. This includes Simon, Wille and August's mental health. August has just recently had an epiphany (with Simon's help) about what is going on with him since both his father and Erik died. Simon and Wille still have to contend with how the outside world (society and the political stances that govern it) have affected their mental well-being. Having 'voted' with their feet (they both have 'left' the monarchy's fixed hold on them), they are now free to assign headspace to new and emerging life battles. They have learned and grown from their experience this year, with a new understanding of what they are capable of going forward. All five characters have.

(As I write this, trans children's human rights have been decided on by the UK government and the High Court's decision to block access to fundamental health - puberty blockers. Link Yes lgbtqia+ human rights should not be political, but the paradox is that they are. )

[indianchindian]

Curly Hair in Young Royals

This is another Young Royals word dump that I constantly think about, and it is about Felice, who is my favorite character in the series. Felice is mixed-race girl with a Black father and a White mother, hence part of the racial minority in Hilleska. In the first season, she was obsessed with the idea of a façade of perfection, as shown when she posted a selfie of her and her horse Rousseau and captioned about having a great time at the stables, and that she has a good relationship with Rousseau while the opposite was true, as it was Sara who truly bonded with Rousseau. She was always shown posting selfies on her Instagram account. However, one thing I found interesting is her hair.

In the first season, Felice straightened her hair because she wanted to "look" perfect and fit in with her white counterparts (who have, I'd say, racial blindness). She would wake up really early just to straighten her naturally curly hair, and it took hours. Throughout the first season her hair was straight, and according to me, it didn't suit her enough. With straight hair, she didn't look very authentic, and that is the point. Her hair is a symbol of authenticity, and initially she didn't accept that she can have flaws, whether physically or personality-wise.

However, in the first episode, when Felice was throwing up in the back door of a party was when Sara met her, drunk. She asked Sara if her hair looks curly, to which Sara, being Sara, said that it did. This caused Felice to be anxious about her looks, and explained Sara about the amount of time it takes to straighten her hair. But Sara was unfazed, and instead complemented the way she looks in curly hair. In the third season, Felice stated to Sara in the last episode that this remark meant a lot to her. That was because she internally never liked herself in curly hair and wanted to fit into the crowd of majority white students.

However, in the second season, there is a change; Felice stopped straightening her hair, and it continued in the third season as well. It was during and after she became friends with Sara and Wille, and it indicates that she has come to terms with her flaws. With the curly hair, we see a more confident and supportive Felice, especially when she's around Sara and Wille, her closest best friends.

This continued in the third season as well. And that's where racial discrimination in subtle but also no subtle ways starts. Felice was cold out for her open hair, unlike her white counterparts. She stated that there's a clear hierarchy here and in the initiations, only for one of her friends to say that she's pretty. It's evident that her friends live in a racially blind environment. They never understood what Felice had to go through as a black girl because of their shared economic and social privileges. They never understood that she woke up an hour early so as to straighten her hair. It was maybe because of her growing friendship with Sara that she started to embrace her natural hair more. Her no longer straightening her hair signifies that she's close to becoming her authentic self.

The fact that she stated that Sara saying that her hair looks pretty when curly is already evident when she stopped straightening her hair. This remark by Sara was the first step to embracing herself and her identity. This is the reason why she missed Sara even though she was very angry and hurt by her actions with August, because she was the first true friend she had, and still deep inside was grateful for the kind of impact she made. This didn't cost her self-respect though.

The impact of her curly hair is more with her conversation with her father about his experiences at Hilleska being the only black student there, and for him the hierarchy was even more evident. Curly hair is seen in mostly African people, and considering the history of racial discrimination in Europe, her hair was seen as undesirable, which is why the headmistress would tell her to tie her hair up when it was opened. And this is the reason why she straightened her hair. However, I'm glad she stopped straightening her hair because curly hair really suits her :)

[amuhav]

1, 2, 3, 5, 13, 23 for E T H E T H

What memory would your OC rather just forget?

I think Eth is second only to Iskaeya when it comes to the privilege of not experiencing too many outright negative memories. He was born not that long after his mother's taking the throne, or not long into his parents' marriage. An only child long enough to have a loving childhood with both parents, with their full devotion, in which he watched and admired as they took a grieving and fractured kingdom and brought it back into the era of complacency it now enjoys. He's also very pragmatic, so he's not the type to believe in "forgetting" uncomfortable truths. To deal with the reality set before you. So even the eventual disillusionment of realising his parents aren't perfect, or the knowledge he will never be either of their favourites... those are things he's taken in stride.

What's something about your OC that people wouldn't expect just from looking at them?

I dunno, a lot of Eth is very on the surface lmao. He's as prideful as he appears, if not more so. He's logical, efficient, and unidealistic. He's extremely unromantic lmao. He has an immaculate level of control over his temper and it would take something monumental to provoke it. He doesn't suffer fools easily, nor incompetence. That said. He isn't quite as cold as he appears. He can be softer in the comfort of privacy, and he deeply cares about the future of his people. He's not a diehard traditionalist, in fact he abhors traditions that lay in the way of progress. And he's not purposely cruel. Contrary to Tay's assumptions, Eth doesn't actually hate either of his brothers, not really. They just... kinda both unfortunately fall into the categories of "fool" or "incompetent" sksksksk oop. If anything, he's actually harsher with Ailos, because he really finds him aggravating in personality and behaviour, and Eth has to constantly clear up his messes. Whereas he and Tay are so far removed from each other that Tay is almost nothing to him, except a thing he doesn't really know how to deal with. They're too far apart in age to have ever had a chance to connect while Tay was young, and too far apart in the social hierarchy to do so now. Kae won't let Eth or anybody else give Tay a purpose, and so to Eth, he just kind of... exists... troublesomely. Over there. Making problems for their parents. With not a whole lot he can do about it.

What is your OC's fatal flaw? Are they aware of this flaw?

Flaw? EXCUSE YOU?? FLAW?? the fucking AUDACITY. Eth is perfect, you monster. Okay. lmao. With that out of the way. As I said, he's very unidealistic and unromantic, especially on a personal level, and he doesn't really respect understand those who won't see things the same way. He sees his father as lacking a backbone in not standing his ground, but he also doesn't understand why Qariel "coddles" Tay either. He sees Ailos as hedonistic with no real interest in understanding why he acts the way he does, why he doesn't just grow out of it and settle down into an advantageous marriage, as should be expected of him. He thinks his mother was naïve in her "mistake" of refusing to arrange any marriages for her children, for promising them all self-determination in that regard. Though he recognises Kae's pathological need to keep Tay "safe" hasn't helped him, he still thinks Tay has never really tried to step up to his role as a royal, that he could do so if he had any strength of character. Eth is just... not much of a nuance guy when it comes to sentiment or sympathy. And he knows this about himself... I'm just not sure he sees it as a flaw lmao. But when any plans fall apart because people are fundamentally people and react with emotion and not logic, he often gets blindsided.

How far is your OC willing to go to get what they want?

Hm. He's never really had to want for anything. His ambition is to be a good king when his time comes, but he's patient and isn't the type to play dirty. He has principles he wouldn't betray simply to "win". Stemming from that unromantic and unsentimental personality, though, there are things he's willing to do or put aside for the sake of "the greater good" that others might not. Marry for politics and not for love, for example. And yet, as infuriating as he finds Ailos, however pesky Eilayna is, or even as much as a burden as he might see Tay as, he has no intention of seeing them hurt or disowned, and has in fact been doing all he can to stop that in Ailos' case. Like, he's not willing to screw innocent people over just to get ahead. At least, not in ways he would consider screwing them over...

If you met your OC, would the two of you get along?

LOL HELP. I don't even know if that would be an option. Eth would just walk past me like I was entirely non-existent, maybe a mote of dust at best. Like. MAYBE assuming I was worthy and important enough to be equal in his company... Honestly probably not lmao. I don't deal well with people who are either too uptight or too sure of their own superiority over everyone else, and I would either be too much of an awkward turtle to even have the courage to talk to him, or be far too chaotic and annoying for him lmao.

What emotion is the hardest for your OC to process? How about express?

wcif emotions. lmao. I half joke but... Eth doesn't really express many emotions outwardly, but he also doesn't really get all that emotional in general lol. He doesn't really get upset, nor angry just... annoyed and stressed and then gets on with it. He doesn't dwell on happiness, just the satisfaction of a job well done, or the enjoyment of personal pursuits. Though there was a time when he had to wonder if infant Tay might be a threat to him politically, he's not the type to dwell on jealousy either. He's not unfeeling. It's not that he struggles to process emotions, either, it's just that he handles them very logically, or simply doesn't acknowledge them. I suppose love? Eth doesn't really have much of an understanding of it, even though he was shown it unconditionally as a child. By his standards he does love his family, otherwise, he simply wouldn't care about them. It's just not something quantifiable he can put his finger on, nor something he consciously factors into his decisions.