#the origins of international romanticism

[lafcadiosadventures]

So, there's this scene in Cousin Bette, which has a pretty striking line:

– On a marché, dit le vieillard en se retirant, et les morts vont vite à Paris !

(Honoré de Balzac, La cousine Bette, 1846)

“The world moves on,” said the old man, as he withdrew, “and the dead move quickly in Paris!”

(tr. James Waring) (given the implications, I would translate the first half of Vautrin's reply as “We have made our move”)

and I was like, critique of capitalism, etc etc. My friend @madmerchant said she was pretty sure she'd read something very similar in Dracula. Was Stoker referencing Vautrin? Was it a coincidence? There's a persistent shroud of the Fantastic surrounding Vautrin, it would not be surprising if someone would have thought of him as a vampire, or an immortal creature of some kind... however:

“You are early to-night, my friend.” The man stammered in reply:—“The English Herr was in a hurry,” to which the stranger replied:—“That is why, I suppose, you wished him to go on to Bukovina. You cannot deceive me, my friend; I know too much, and my horses are swift.” As he spoke he smiled, and the lamplight fell on a hard-looking mouth, with very red lips and sharp-looking teeth, as white as ivory. One of my companions whispered to another the line from Burger’s “Lenore”:— “Denn die Todten reiten schnell”— (“For the dead travel fast.”)

oooh. this lead to discovering that Lenore, is one of the cornerstones of Romanticism. So it wasn't that Stoker was referencing Vautrin's last incarnation, but rather, the same originary poem Balzac hismelf was referencing. The influence of the poem was huge, and epsecially the french went crazy over it. The first translation was published in the Journal des Débats in 1811, translated from English. The newspaper published it, not without adding the poem put in display "the most odious vices of the German School".

It was not until Mme de Saël (she of the North vs South temperaments fame) wrote an article trully valuing the work as the poetic masterpiece it was, that the fever for Lenore started to root on the young minds of a Certain Group of Artists-and their readers- in 1820. Madame de Saël had thrown the gauntlet:

"No french translation, be it prose or verse, could express all the nuances and detaild of the German original."

and one Gérard de Nerval picked it up, offering FIVE translations of his own throuout the years...

The poem collects a German folk story, and as soon as you read the summery you *know* why the more edgy Romantics were crazy about it. Like other German folk tales (as Der Erlkönig) it features a frenzied ride through the forests, and a lover that is not what he seems to be (he is DEATH. The RIde is A TRAP) Embroildled in the poem are some anti nobility aspects:

"(in Lenore, we hear) The powrful and pained voice of a Titan, tormented until death by the aristocracy. (...) In German language, 'Bürger' (the poet's name) is synonimous to citoyen"

(Heinrich Heine)

and a desire to revindicate the autochthonous, popular poetry from the lower classes -the Lenore poem is recolected from a popular song Bürger heard a young peasant singing- as the true voice of a nation:

It will remain eternally true that if we have no Volk, we shall have no public, no nationality, no literature of our own which shall live and work in us. Unless our literature is founded on our Volk, we shall write eternally for closet sages and disgusting critics out of whose mouths and stomachs we shall get back what we have given.

(Johann Gottfried Herder)

So, what I'm saying is, I must read Lenore, and also, it is very likely that that Vautrin line is a direct reference to that icon of the dawn of French Romanticism, something the then elders (cousin bette was published in 1846) would have remembered and understood...

[ronidrawzstuff]

meet my OC Nikki!

[fenrysmoonbeamswife]

I posted this in a reblog already but I feel like it needs its own post

The original post was about how people say that "Rhys didn't touch her below the waist" isn't a sound argument that he didn't SA Feyre because he showed he can manipulate the paint so that isn't proof that he didn't touch her.

I agree and my thoughts on it are also, even if he truly didn't go below her hips he still

• forced her to drink fairy wine (essentially drugging her due to the effects it has on humans) when she explicitly said no and pushed him away multiple times

• dressed her in pretty much nothing and paraded her around naked in front of everyone for absolutely no reason

– Please keep in mind when people make pretty fanart of this scene, they have to censor it for social media and they're romanticizing it. It isn't accurate. This was not romantic or girl boss, Feyre was essentially naked and it traumatized her

• had her dance naked on him in front of everyone for absolutely no reason—to the point that she vomited and he *checks notes* made her keep going

• forcibly kissed her

• spied on her through the tattoo he forced on her

And he still touched her. There are a lot of places you can touch someone above their hips/waist and if they don't want it, it's assault. And in this specific scenario, with these other instances of assault/abuse, it was sexual assault. It's not a debate.

Feyre had immense trauma from what he did to her and she even tries to bring it up but he makes it all about him (ironic that his fans do the same).

You Rhysand stans have a freak attack when someone tries to debate or invalidate Rhysand's SA (which is valid, so why is it okay to debate Feyre's when it is written right there on the page for you? If you genuinely and truly believe that Rhysand did not SA Feyre then I beg of you to check your internalized misogyny (and your literacy) because the "logic" you're using is the exact same logic that people who say Amarantha didn't SA Rhysand are using.

And if you can't even handle comprehending what happened UTM when it's spelled out for you then prepare yourself for this one:

Rhysand SA'd Feyre when they had unprotected sex because he knew the risks and she didn't

Oh and every time he has sex with her to shut her up/get his way is manipulation and is absolutely in the SA grey area because it's part of his emotional abuse towards her

[sapphicslaylist]

Slay The Princess Borrower Fic, Anyone?

Life has never been safe for a Borrower in a world governed by humans. Viewed as evil omens, any power-bearing “Fae” find themselves prey to black market circles where their fates are drawn to the highest bidder. And sometimes, the winners prefer to place them into the ring and hedge their bets even higher on a gladiatorial fight against something much, much worse.

As is the fate of a pair of escaped siblings, surviving in the woods by the skin of their teeth. But when evading their opponent proves too challenging, it may take deciding between trusting the owner of a nearby cabin or trying to outrun an enemy that can’t be killed.

But the tenants of that safe haven have one damning condition: they must reveal themselves to him first to be granted shelter. In order to make peace with the present, it may take unraveling the horrors of the past and the entwined destines between them all to save who still remains of all Borrowers, Cryptids, and Fae - and perhaps even the very forest itself.

When on Borrowed paths, some things cannot be returned.

Info on the series, its inspiration, and the intended message of the fic are under the cut! You do not need to know anything about Borrowers to understand the story; just think “Princess Tiny.”

Please take care of yourself while reading. Themes of Realistic PTSD, STP-Typical Violence, Internalized Ableism, and Childhood Trauma are all major factors in this work. While I can promise a kinder ending, much like Slay The Princess itself, have heart and see the horrors through. This is a love story about how to trust again.

Was very determined to have the first of these up in the fandom and it appears I managed to do so! For those unfamiliar with the Borrowers, the basic gist of the series is that they’re mouse-sized people who live underneath the floorboards and survive off of lost objects. The original series does depict their plight with humanity (“beans”) and survival of genocidal practices including extermination, imprisonment for entertainment, and otherwise dehumanizing aspects. Combined with the elements of Slay the Princess which often stand for feminine survival of abuse, these two themes clicked together nicely for a properly dark and heartfelt exploration of survival and recovery. All are properly researched and/or experienced, and maintain respect to victims.

I’ve often found myself dissatisfied by how quickly Borrower fics tend to have the beans & borrowers mingle, or how romanticized the brutalism is on people who stand as reference for marginalized communities. For this reason, this work is done as a depiction of their existence in contrast to these actions, and all trust build (handheld elements, interaction of free will, and other prominent soft tropes in this fic) are built up to vs gained immediately. Expect some slow burn and relationship conflict which will be resolved.

I do hope you enjoy it!

[term-repost]

Dissomei / Dissodic

[pt: dissomei / dissodic]

A term that is specific for people with BIID, psychosis, being an alter that differs from the body, atypical dysphoria, a general disconnect, etc . that causes them to have a disconnect in how they view their identity. This can also be for if your delusions or IRL attachments even that cause you to feel as if you are them exactly and have their same race/mental health issues/disabilities/etc.

This term is supportive of transitioning when it doesn't hurt others, yourself, appropriate, glorify, fetishize, or romanticize anything and is against it if it does (such as with race, ethnicity, culture, age, etc.)

Possible emoji combo: 🧠🚫🫀 The brain with the cross out and heart is to show how there is a disconnect between the two! A disconnect between internal and external.

tags: @dissodic-archive @radiomogai @obscurian

original coining post | simplified flag by kiruliom

originally coined by acetrappolaswife as arrisomei/arrisodic, new name was decided by the community via a poll (link).

[mooniedust]

Modern Aemond X Transreader Prompt

Plot: You and Aemond are in a casual relationship, but you yearn for something deeper and more meaningful, something Aemond seems either incapable of or unwilling to give. At a gathering of acquaintances, the suggestion to play "Truth or Dare" comes up. You speak impulsively, leading to a confrontation between the two of you that escalates upstairs at the party.

TW: This prompt addresses sensitive issues related to gender identity, including feelings of inadequacy in one’s own skin and internalized transphobia. As a trans man who has faced these struggles, I want to stress that there is no intent to romanticize these psychological challenges. If you’re experiencing something similar, please seek support/help. And remember, you are not alone, you are valid, and you are loved.

Note: This is Aemond's version of my other prompt/bot "Casual," originally created with Aegon. Many changes have been made to fit each character’s personality.

With all my heart,

Moon dust.

---

"I just don't get it. We do all these things together, so why does the word 'dating' seem so terrifyingly repulsive?" Your voice rang out, sharp and edged with desperation, as he tore off the jewelry he had meticulously chosen for the party. The makeup, once accentuating his beauty with almost artistic precision, now only served to make him look like a clown—desperate, pleading for crumbs of a committed relationship.

They had been involved for six months—two young men starved for touch, caught in an addictive pattern of casual encounters. Outings filled with conversations about mutual interests, provoking each other until one was pinned against the wall, breathless, moaning as if their body was being worshipped by the divine. You were at peace with this. Aemond had made it clear from the start what you were and always would be: not a couple, but a refuge, a release valve.

until you weren't anymore.

Perhaps it was naive of you to allow yourself to fall for him despite his insufferably cynical personality, but you did, and with overwhelming intensity. Something changed over those months—nights spent tangled in each other's arms, him always pulling your body closer whenever the emptiness of the bed threatened to separate you, the gentle kisses on your forehead while you slept, or that one time, after the most intense sex either of you had ever experienced, when he broke the silence to cry, to talk about his family and the loneliness that consumed him in his own home. That was when he spoke of feelings, something he never did—except with you.

It was a low blow.

Congratulations, you fell for the broken boy.

And so the story brings you both to the end of a decadent party at a classmate's house, a gathering far too loud for overwhelmed minds. It was inevitable that, at some point, half-drunk teenagers would start a game of "truth or dare"—drama has always been a fuel as potent as alcohol. Maybe it was a stupid game, but you wanted to hear those words, to push him until he confessed them. You wanted to hear so many unspoken truths. But you ruined everything. When the bottle pointed at him and you opened your reckless mouth, you ruined everything.

"Is it true what you said that night? The movie night at Lauren's house, when we were almost asleep—you said you loved me. Is that true?" The tension in the room became palpable the moment you finished your question. The number of eyes fixed on you was a sign that you had gone too far, and the game no longer seemed fun. Damn it. Fuck. Shit.

No one had to wait long for an answer before Aemond grabbed your hand to the muffled sound of Avril Lavigne's "Complicated." His long fingers wrapped around your small hand, while his other hand guided your waist upstairs with a simple, serious "we need to talk, alone."

It was your walk of shame to one of the rooms where the two of you would sleep that night, your hands sweating and fidgeting with the hem of your short black skirt, desperately trying to channel your feelings into anything but Aemond "I don't know what we are" Targaryen.

"It makes no sense to keep saying we're nothing. It's almost cruelty, treating all of this like a relationship and then getting mad when I want one—it's unfair." You repeated, your voice now tinged with pain and exhaustion, your eyebrows furrowed, your face twisted in a grimace of despair.

Waiting. Waiting. Waiting for what?

"Because we're not in a relationship. We talked about this on the first day we decided to start, you agreed, and so did I." Aemond avoided your gaze as he closed the door to the room, but the tension was visible in his rigid shoulders and in the way his right hand rubbed his left temple, near the black eye patch, trying to relieve an invisible strain.

"I've changed, Aemond. I'm everything you need. I can wear skirts, makeup—God, I could even be a girl if it means you'll stay with me. I can forget about this whole trans thing, maybe it's just in my head, yeah? Silly me. Just stay with me, please, You love me, we both know that. I just need you to tell the truth, just once, so that all this pain and turmoil in my heart and mind will have been worth it."

But they aren't worth it.

"Look, I'll say this because you're right about one thing: I love you, {{user}}." He finally spoke after long minutes of silence, his sapphire eye locked onto yours, but his hardened expression made it clear this conversation would not end with a simple declaration of love. "But I could never love you in the way you want. I don't want a relationship right now with you. It doesn't matter if you feel like a woman or a man—that's not the point. Just not now."

"But you could, maybe in the future. I could wait." Your voice was almost pitiful, a desperate plea. Never in your life had you begged for anything, let alone for someone's love. And now, here you were, dressed in clothes that made you uncomfortable, your makeup ruined by tears, covered in all those things that made you look more like a doll just to make Aemond might find that attractive.

Look like a girl.

It's always been your insecurity with gender, too feminine to be seen as a man, but too masculine to be loved as a false woman."

Silly boy.

Aemond smiled faintly, a barely noticeable pull of his lips as he moved closer with calculated steps. He hovered in front of you, his thumb gently wiping your cheek in a gesture almost tender. God, you were pathetic, even to him.

"I never could, either, and that would make the wait even more painful. Do you understand? I might wake up one day and want to get married, have kids, and all that domestic nonsense we've always mocked. How can I guarantee I'll feel the same way in four years? I don't want you to wait. I don't want you to change. No one who truly loves you should ask that of you. This is probably where I have to end the mess we've made." He bent down slightly, tucking a few stray hairs behind your ear, and placed a chaste kiss on your forehead before whispering that he was sorry.

Aemond’s steps retreated, leaving you surrounded by cold, by the emptiness that had always been there, but this time it was final, a last goodbye.

"Someone will love you. Someone will love the man you are. But that someone won't be me. I'm sorry."

Four weeks.

And Aemond was now officially and openly dating a girl.

[gothhabiba]

As the waves of Jewish immigration intensified and the desire (overt or covert) to become a replacement to the Arab-Palestinian people increased, the Zionist leadership advocated a policy of separation on all social, political and economic fronts. One of the most visible manifestations of this separation was the Zionist campaign for the purchasing of Jewish only goods, known in Hebrew as Totzeret Ha’aretz—literally “the produce of the land.” This resulted in a clear differentiation between the permeation of Arab-Palestinian culture into Jewish life and the barriers placed on social, economic and political integration and interaction. In the words of Zerubavel, “politically, the Zionists ignored the Arabs, but culturally, they romanticized and tried to imitate them.”

For example, Dafna Hirsch, in her biographic study of hummus, describes how it was initially considered part of the local Arab-Palestinian food culture and repertoire in the 1930s, worthy of adoption due to its nutritious value. However, in the 1950s, through the process of industrialisation, mass production and marketing, it was appropriated and nationalised, and its Arab origins were supressed. The Arab-Palestinian origins of the product were omitted and marginalized and its connection to Jewish and Jewish-Israeli traditions, especially to the Mizrahi-Jewish Diaspora, emphasized. For Jewish-Israelis, hummus became a national dish, the eating of which was part-and-parcel of daily life, either purchased from Jewish-Israeli food companies, such as Telma, or consumed at home or at Mizrahi-Jewish restaurants.

The hummus example in this regard is not unique; I will demonstrate these processes by deconstructing one of Israel’s most well known dishes, the Israeli salad. There might not be a more popular dish in Israel than the Israeli salad, sometimes also referred to as Salad Katsuts (chopped salad). The salad is based on chopped vegetables (normally tomatoes, cucumbers and onions) and fresh herbs (mostly parsley but sometimes also mint) and dressed with olive oil and lemon juice. A recent book, Fresh Flavours from Israel, by Jewish-Israelii food writer Janna Gur, states that “Israelis must have their salad at least once a day.” It is an accompaniment to every meal, whether eaten at home or outside. In fact, you would be hard pressed to have a meal anywhere in Israel without it. No Israeli cookbook from the 1960s onwards is truly complete without providing a recipe for it. This is true with regards to those written for Jewish-Israeli and foreign audiences. To the unsuspecting viewer, the Israeli salad is the epitome of Israeli food culture: it is fresh, simple, healthy and [symbolizes] the strong relationship the nation has with its agricultural produce. The salad, therefore, serves as both an internal and an external banal symbol of Jewish-Israeli identity.

What are the origins of the Israeli salad? Reading through literary accounts of growing up in Israel, the salad became a staple food product in the Kibbutzim canteens, from there it moved to the Israeli army’s mess halls and to Israeli homes. The fact that the salad is mentioned mostly as a chopped vegetable salad by Israeli authors describing living in Israel in the 1930s and 1940s demonstrates that it did not arrive with the wave of Jewish immigrants from North Africa and the Arab world after the state was established in 1948. It was also not prevalent in the diet of Central and Eastern European Jewish communities, from where most immigrants came. On the other hand, there are a number of accounts, mostly by travel writers, such as Masterman and Grant in the early-1900s and that of the Mary Eliza Rogers as far back as 1865, that describe the preparation and consumption of a chopped vegetable salad in Palestine. Rogers describes the salad as accompanying most meals served by the upper and governing classes in Palestine, at the time part of the Ottoman Empire. In other words, it is either that early Zionist immigrants to Palestine independently invented the salad, or, as I argue hereafter, they imitated, adopted and later appropriated and nationalised an existing local custom.

– Ronald Ranta, “Re-Arabizing Israeli Food Culture.” Food, Culture & Society 18(4):611-627 (December 2015). DOI: 10.1080/15528014.2015.1088192

[scarletlilyy]

Topic of Today: Pretentious feminism online and the slow development into internalized misogyny.

Popular terms/ideologies in Girl world I feel contributes to this!

1. Girl dinner

2. “I'm just a girl”

3. Girl Math

4. Pick me

5. Girls Girl

1. Girl Dinner: As defined by urban dictionary GIRL DINNER is a tik tok trend where girls eat random food which is comforting and or is a childhood food. Basically a combo of some random foods. Like every other trend it started off pretty innocent until it was repackaged as a means of promoting eating disorders. Extremely low cal food that lacks every bit of nutrition is romanticized with a cute pink bow.

2. "I'm just a girl": The phrase “I'm just a girl” was kind of a spin to “let boys be boys”, something we've all commonly heard in the past when a young man does something stupid but is still excused for it. I watched this video essay by Alisha not Alisha and in the comments someone quotes "You're not "healing your inner child" - you're regressing into ignorance.” and that's exactly how I feel about this trend.

"I'm just a girl" should be a fun quote to piss off men who hate traditionally feminine things, not a hoax to justify your shitty behaviour.

3. Girl Math: The third one has to be my least favorite, especially as someone who loves math. It just reinforces the whole dumb blonde ideology, infantilizes women and justifies bad financial decisions/overconsumption. The whole overconsumption issue is probably one of women's bigger issues. Like I saw multiple videos of where girls tried to use girl math to justify the ridiculous amounts they spend MONTHLY on clothes.

Yeah, let's not....

Trends like these easily turn into a marketing ploy for brands and we just end up spending money on useless shit cus the caught ur short ass attention span lmao.

4. Pick me: I feel like the term pick me became popular around the pandemic (I might just be too young lmao), so I'm just gonna start around there. At first it was to actually call out women who were in fact pick mes. A pick me is a girl who brings down other girls for male validation btw.

It's as simple as that.

It's not a girl who has different interests from other girls and a lot of people have failed to understand that. The entire point is not that pick me's have different interests from other girls, it's that they weaponize their "different" interests to gain attention from the opposite gender. So no, a girl who isn't so feminine or doesn't practice stereotypical feminine things isn't a pick me, neither is she trying to be "different".

The word has been really thrown around and 60% of the time it's just cus the accuser doesn't like the accused.

5. Girls Girl: A girls girl is the opposite of a pick me, a girl who supports other girls. But guess what my support is very much conditional!

Girls are humans.

Humans suck, they are capable of being bad ppl and making bad decisions. Aside from the basic support like providing menstrual products when In need or defending each other from misogyny, my support is conditional. That was originally the intention of the whole girls girl thing, understanding female struggles and supporting each other in those aspects.

Not dick riding each other and giving our unconditional love to people who don't deserve it. It has turned into a thing where women are immune to criticism from other women. And anytime a woman calls out another woman for something genuinely bad they aren't a “girls girl” or they are “hating like a man” .

Women, just like men aren't immune to criticism.

Overall, all these trends always start with the innocent intentions of enabling women to enjoy themselves. They slowly develop into toxic trends that do absolutely nothing for the feminists movement and allow for internalized misogyny. Trends like this will forever pop up, let us be careful with the media we consume. I'm talking about it because I've seen it in real life and it affects how women and especially young girls coexist with one another.

That's it,

Au Revoir.

[smute]

honestly the problem with booktok (and bookstagram) is not YA lit. it's not about people enjoying books that some might consider "low-brow" or whatever.

imo booktok is the culmination of several problems:

firstly, there's the homogeneity of algorithmic recommendations and the enormous influence those recommendations have on the publishing market. booktok recs tend to be of a very similar style and subject matter. they're easily digestible, easily bingeable titles that arent overly complex. booktok favors stories written by white women, often featuring characters with traumatic backstories and focusing on themes like overcoming adversity and the pursuit of romantic love. they are also usually very anglo-/americentric. none of this is necessarily bad, and none of it is by design, but it's not a coincidence either. it's the result of the constraints of short-form content on the one hand, and on the other, of an algorithm that amplifies, in broad strokes, the preferences of the core demographic of any given group of users.

secondly, it's about the commodification, not of reading, but of being Someone Who Reads Books (TM), which i think is just a particularly obvious symptom of online peer pressure and social-media-driven self-presentation. booktok doesn't encourage you to read, for example, sally rooney. it encourages the cultivation of one's own identity as someone who reads sally rooney. the problem here is not that sally rooney is a shit writer whose work has nothing of note to say. quite the opposite. sally rooney's work is relevant and interesting. in fact, it's being studied by scholars, and even if it wasn't, people can and should be allowed to enjoy some light reading, and yes, even Problematic (TM) fictional characters.

the real problem is the fact that the very nature of how booktok works actively discourages the critical discussion of the stories that it circulates. the problem is not millions of teenagers reading colleen hoover's slop (i love me some slop) – it's millions of teenagers encouraging each other to read and internalize – UNCRITICALLY – hoover's particularly romanticized depiction of abuse. tiktok's algorithm does not foster diversity of opinion. it doesn't foster diversity PERIOD. it doesn't foster slow, in-depth discussion. its only function is *make line go up* – line go up = clicks, views, engagement, money.

due to tiktok's popularity, booktok also has an enormous influence on marketing-related and (apparently, to some extent) editorial decision-making in the publishing industry. this is not just the fault of booktok, goodreads is part of the same problem. i mean, booktok has managed to turn colleen hoover's 'it ends with us' into a bestseller FIVE YEARS after it was originally published. it has also led to publishers dropping authors or DELAYING THE RELEASE of new titles after booktokers flooded the goodreads pages of unpublished books with one star reviews.

as i said, the underlying issue here is not unique to booktok. it's the same homogenization that plagues the movie industry, the tv industry, streaming services, etc. the publishing industry is just particularly vulnerable to such manipulations of public opinion. in the end, tiktok is not a social media app. it's an entertainment app and its content is focused on brevity. the biggest booktokers aren't simply avid readers. they don't post actual reviews of books they enjoyed. they're influencers who receive boxes of books from publishing houses to show off in haul videos like "have you guys heard of squarespace?" and that's it. the level of engagement with the texts themselves is like reading a blurb on the dustjacket, and unfortunately that is reflected in the selection of titles that become popular. if it can't be sold to you in 3 sentences, the algorithm will bury it.

[cadere-art]

Text from the image:

The Gichan are the product of a long history of conquest, fueled by their much coveted mountain passes and watersheds. The culture of the Kingdom of Gichan is highly syncretic. It owes its mores and traditions in varying parts to the underlying cultural substrate, to the Ghøwout Empire's centuries of rule, to the practices of their neighbors and to those of the new Gichan regime. To defend its precious lands, Gichan has a well-developped military with a strong core of professional soldiers, Gichan's regime is indissociable from its military: all noble families have a strong military background and it is customary for nobles of all rank to serve as officers for years or even decades.

Gichan was originally the name of a small nation in the mountains up the Cianji River, which became legendary for their unabating resistance in the face of the early Ghøwout Empire. When Ghøwout's northernmost province rebelled and seceded, it took on the name Gichan as a symbol of their resistance against imperial rule.

Gichan society is strongly divided between its military and peasant classes, but its peasants are far from powerless. Peasantry in Gichan is much revered : it is said to carry the nation on its strong back. as it works the fields and crafts the goods that feed and clothe the nation's soldiers. This romanticized potrayal often impedes serious understanding between local leaders and military lords, but fosters an attitude of gratitude towards the peasant's hard toil. In the harsh Gichan lands, a satisfied peasantry is seen as a priority.

Gican society is organized as chains of villages, each with their own village leaders, trading spouses and ressources up and down the mountains. They are ruled in a roughly feudal fashion, paying taxes in labour and goods to local military lords which themselves defer to higher lords up to the Gican royal court. Like in Ghøwout, religious specialists are excluded from this hierarchy: known as chui-chuøn (t. wild men), they are traditional healers and spiritual leaders often living in relative hermitage. In a set of practices long considered uncivilized by the Ghøwout, chui-chuøn wear numerous pelts and animal bones as a symbol of their otherworldly connections and hermitage. Uniquely, chui-chuøn do not wear tail brooches, as a way to signal that they are apart from society and clanship.

The Gichan use a modified Ghøwout script and many ghøwoutish loanwords, but most Gichan do not speak the Ghøwout tongue. They speak a variety of dialects, the most common of which is Tchougougch. Much of the peasantry is multilingual, having learned the language of a neighboring community within Gichan or of the many foreign traders using Gichan's mountain passes.

Gichan's territory has often been coveted and contested, much to the suffering of its locals. The revolution that broke Gichan apart from Ghøwout was strongly backed by the people, who felt Ghøwout had abandoned them in the face of the invading Senq Ha Empire. The Senq Ha had come from overseas and taken the Peninsular lands like a wildfire, and were now at their door, but Ghøwout, weakened by illnesses brought by the conquerors and internal strife, failed to mount a defense for Gichan in time, allowing much of it to be conquered. After this betrayal, the people of the passes, under the rule of two different empires, united and rebelled under the legendary name Gichan. They became the first province to secede from Ghøwout, initiating the Empire's long decline, and one of the first major setbacks of the Senq Ha in their invasion of Uanlikri.

[shinyfire-0]

The Opéra national de Paris, in collaboration with international artist JR, is taking advantage of restoration work at the Palais Garnier to dress the scaffolding with two successive installations. This initiative follows in the footsteps of JR, who has already metamorphosed iconic sites such as the Louvre and the Palazzo Farnese in Rome.

Act I - L'entrée de la caverne opens in September, inviting the public to discover the façade of the musical and choreographic temple, enhanced by an immense luminous cavern. Artistic and historical references abound, evoking both 19th-century Romanticism and the origins of ballet and opera. The journey takes us back to archaic Greece, where song and dance honored the deities in caves, the forerunners of modern theaters.

[leon6w5]

I've been thinking about this for a while, how to formulate an analysis without losing anything quite essential. Let's start saying: Ada is a character that I see as made to intrigue. I think that she mediates between what she believes to be good and bad, especially when it comes to all those characters she cares about and has some connection with.

Little is known about her, we don't know exactly about her past, we don't even know if her real name is Ada. But we're not here to somehow justify her actions, but rather to understand, without categorizing her as something, because not even she puts herself in those parameters.

It's hard to describe a character who is usually there as an extension of another, this closes the door to depth. Ada before the remakes was this type of personality that we didn't know — and still don't know much about — what was going on in her head, (the closest thing to her real feelings about everything that happened in Raccoon City was brought up in the original Resident Evil 2, a dialogue with Leon) a “fatal femme”, a mysterious woman who contrasted with the hero. — A tragic relationship. From Resident Evil 1/2 — here I'm talking about the original — to Resident Evil 6, there wasn't exactly a malleable construction of her character. Until Resident Evil Damnation, Ada had a connection with mercenaries. Which makes this “redemption” of Ada an act, let's say, imposed, but without a bridge to it. By this I mean that, even with Ada's campaign in RE6 and also the original Separate Ways, it was hard to see why she reflected on the things that happened because of the bioweapons, everything seemed to somehow revolve around the feelings she had for Leon. — And it's not that characters who had bad attitudes shouldn't have their redemption arc, but for Ada, it was a leap without ground, it was nebulous. Not only that, but it's as if there was an internal conflict within her — I think people are very wrong in assuming that Ada has (and needs to have) a side within the construction of her character and her mistakes. It's not wrong to question her attitudes, but it's not right to compare her in such a way as to see her as a villain — like Wesker and his romanticized dystopia. I think that the great chance of her story happens when she realizes the results of her work, when she becomes a survivor together with Leon, facing a reality that she had been dodging because of her (very objective) missions.

I say this because, as said at the beginning, not even Leon had his good moments. From Resident Evil 4 to Infinite Darkness, we see that, for example, he rather to keep Claire safe when exposed that Wilson (directly linked to the American government) were working for Tricell. He preferred to save an important person over saving others. This is a huge moral burden, which he may condemn, since he was unable to save Shen Mei — he was unable to expose what the government did in Raccoon City — and he didn't want to lose someone who is important to him. Not only that, but Leon submitted to working with the government after Adam Benford threatened Sherry's life after RE2 — under Simmons' supervision.

• Leon being threatened by Adam Benford

So here we see that Leon sank and became a hostage to his own convictions, in Vendetta he does this when they talk about Arias, for example, for him two wrongs don't make a right, and he even starts working with Patricio to obtain illicit information for the government's benefit.

I believe that liking Ada from the beginning means understanding that her past was just as erased from her own backstory. She is a lonely woman who uses her abilities to survive in a world of powerful people. Think about it here: when we talk about Ada and Leon, we are talking about different sides of the same coin — and I think that is why I find their strange relationship interesting — they are characters with very different visions that mix like paint, stain each other and create a color of their own. They are characters who, when placed in situations like those in Resident Evil, show themselves willing to do X or Y. It bothers me to realize that this speech about Ada about Leon's position towards her, mischaracterizes both characters. Leon is not wrong to question, to try to understand why she does the things she does, and she does not exactly need to verbalize that she regrets it when it is clear that she cares about Leon — about people around him, like Sherry — not only that, but she cares about the future of biological weapons. Perhaps a large part of the fanbase has become accommodated to this view of right and wrong — without nuances — because we sympathize with Leon, his motivations were beautiful and seemed right to him, not putting yourself in his shoes is also denying that he has changed. And all of this is intertwined with the subject, precisely because Leon, despite being hurt by Ada, puts himself in her position. This does not mean agreeing, but imagining her life in a way that allows us to see part of it, her experiences and ask ourselves why she does not allow herself to come out of her own mask. Emotions. Ada seems to have difficulty accessing her own emotions and lacks empathy for herself. She can't discern what she feels, as if she were forcing herself to feel things or hide them. I like the remakes for this expressiveness. Ada has difficulty saying what seems obvious, but she chooses to demonstrate it and is genuine in such a way that the details about her show how she is and acts.

• Ada sympathizes with Carla and sees herself in Carla’s situation. This dialogue I interpreted that Ada was talking about herself too.

The franchise also doesn't give us an immediate answer, because we don't know much about the characters themselves, but rather about how they shape themselves when faced with the choices they must make, the bonds they form with other characters, and the unethical situations of pharmaceutical companies, the government, and the dehumanization of humanity. Resident Evil is a game about political power.

It's interesting to see how, in the remakes, Ada's development becomes much more linear and coherent with some of her reflections — her pains and weaknesses —, even if briefly. Before that, it was unclear to see this internal conflict of the character; she is a personality that questions her mistakes, starts to question her real intentions with what she does, starts to understand that perhaps her own survival has cost other people's, and this becomes evident during Separate Ways, RE6, RE2OG/RE2R. She seems to realizes that after Raccoon City, her "connivance" and her work left her too oblivious to a reality that she seemed to understand — but not live in. She started to normalize what was happening to such an extent that she didn't think it was different when, for example, she met Leon —, the problems caused by bioterrorism made her insensitive. But before that, at the end of RE2R, it was already something that would be demonstrated for the RE4R.

I like how, apart from her strange relationship with Leon, they are parallel characters that are different. I mean, throughout the franchise, Leon has been losing his sense of morality — I want to point out here that with this characterization of Leon in the remake, we saw that he was a very idealistic character, with a moral compass already defined and having discovered what was happening shook him, not only that, but later in the games and CGI films Infinite Darkness/Vendetta/Damnation/Degeneration/Death Island already mentioned — he realizes that the American government is not so different from everything he condemns, but he is part of it now and Ada was trying to find hers.

I also think that this doubt about Ada's morality comes from some prejudices and an unfair villainization, Ada has a hard time keeping in touch with her own feelings, not because she despises them but because maybe she never had that contact; she is a shell of herself, trying to pinpoint her identity compass — of morality too. Ada is always unsure of what to do, especially when it comes to her traumas, and the perception that her work (its results) could harm her too.

• Ada exposes her feelings about what she's been through.

• Ada dialogues with Leon about her feelings in RE2OG

• Ada kept a picture of her with John, even knowing that she was using him to get information from Umbrella, Ada seemed genuinely felt something (not necessarily love/passion) for him.

I added this photo precisely because, despite working for Umbrella, John did not agree with the way the situation was going. I think this reflected on Ada, not an affection/feeling for him but a personal thought that the circumstances could have been different and the same thing about Leon. The scenario could have been different, but would they have been what they are? Would they have been what they are not?

And now a topic which bothers me bitterly not only for the old fanbase, but also the new one. There is a certain fetishization, as if Ada not only didn't want to repent but also continued in this role of getting what she wants through her seduction and her little games, a character who, in many quotes, was made to be the hero's romantic partner, the mysterious hot woman in red. We know that this is not true, Ada is a character who has shown herself to be reflective, alone and lost within an identity that no longer means anything to her. And here I want to say that the choice of Ada's VA to be Lily Gao, brings a much more beautiful and humanized vision of the character, precisely because she is a Chinese woman, giving more experience and more life to a character who spent much of her franchise being fetishized by a portion of the public or hated. I like how Lily Gao played Ada Wong (Welcome To Raccoon City and especially RE4R;SW) without exposing the character to sexualization. The voice, expressions and also body language were punctually placed in a way that showed the humanization and more realistic construction of Ada even in the underlying dialogues, even those in which there is a misinterpretation by the fanbase — like many saying about Ada being jealous of Ashley. Lily Gao in her interview with Moni from REDATABASE made a pointing out Ada's malleable, ambiguous and mysterious personality — much more about affection, understanding of the character, putting herself in her shoes, than her sensuality or objectification — covered by a fake femininity/empowerment.

When I talk about humanization, I'm not talking about being right like the heroes, but rather understanding that life is intrinsically linked to the parameters we give it. Bad attitudes do not mean that people are completely bad or good attitudes are completely good. Imagine that within a subjective perception, we, as human beings, are constantly trying to correct ourselves for things that happened, because we had bad attitudes and regretting it is showing humanity, it is showing empathy. Ada is not only an interesting character because she has ‘gray’ choices, but because she has human choices. It may be difficult to first think about how we should act in the situations in which she was exposed and the same for everyone else in the franchise. Knowing what is right and wrong in the Resident Evil universe is desperate, Leon himself is proof of that.

a/n: thank you so much for reading! if you liked it let me know your opinion!

[lunarmoonanons]

Fire and Salt chp 10

🌕 🌖 🌗 🌘 🌑 🌒 🌓 🌔 🌕  

The trial for succession takes places, and Viserys defends his daughter. 

🌕 🌖 🌗 🌘 🌑 🌒 🌓 🌔 🌕  

Masterlist 

The throne room was divided quite nicely by the sides of each faction. Blacks and greens. YN stood by her mother’s side, she felt the gaze of Aemond looking over her body and hair. She looked like a princess, a beautiful force of fury and grace. Her black dress hugged her form tightly and her hair framed her face as the strands of curls dangled from her goddess braids. YN glared at her uncle Vaemond, her hand held Rhaena’s; soon she turned violet eyes to stare down the hand who sat upon her grandfather’s seat. Though YN never cared about an “ugly iron chair” she did care about seeing someone who hungered for power sat atop a throne he had no right to. 

Otto droned on about the reasoning for gathering, and how he spoke for the king. YN briefly caught the eye of Aemond, who seemed relieved she did not glare at him. They barely gazed at each other for more than a second, silently asking the other if they could talk when this whole ordeal was over. Soon Vaemond stepped forth to talk and YN looked away from Aemond. 

“My Queen. My Lord Hand.” He seemed confident. Almost as if he knew that the hightowers were going to grant his request immediately. “The History of our noble houses extends beyond the Seven Kingdoms to the days of old Valyria.”

‘Oh for the love of the father do people never shut up about that kingdom.’ YN thought to herself. Valyria was gone, everyone clung to its memory and shackled themselves to the past because of it. A romanticized tale told over and over so that the original visage never stood true. YN looked back to Aemond, he was one of those who dreamed of Valyria. 

“For as long as House Targaryen has ruled the skies, House Velaryon has ruled the seas.” He continued. YN rubbed her thumb over Rhaena’s hand. Rhaena had always been a comfort to her. “When the doom fell on Valyria, our houses became the last of their kind. Our forebearers came to this new land, knowing that were they to fai, it would mean the end to their bloodlines and their name.”

‘Will there be a night of rest between now and the damned point.’ YN thought to herself. Turning her head to Baela and her grandmother. Baela offered her a smile, trying to communicate sympathy for YN’s mother who was the one truly on trial here. Rhaenys nodded comfort to her granddaughter but kept her focus ahead. 

“I have spent my entire life on Driftmark defending my brother’s seat. I am Lord Colrys’ closest kin, his own blood. The true, unimpeachable blood of house Velaryon runs through my veins.” There it was. The real point. He thought he had more claim to Driftmark then her brothers, than her or Baela or Rhaena. 

 “As it does in my sons and daughter, the offspring of Laenor Velaryon.” YN’s mother spoke up, YN placed her hand on Rhaenyra’s back in an effort to soothe her. “If you cared so much about your house’s blood, Ser Vaemond, you would not be so bold as to supplant its rightful heir. No you speak only for yourself and for your own ambition.”

Her mother was right, in YN’s mind. Her father called her brothers his sons, they were his heirs. Driftmark was to go to the next male child who could further the family line.  Even if Driftmark didn’t go to a male child, as it still would, Baela or YN had more claim than Vaemond did. They were also Velaryons direct from Colrys’ line.  

“You will have chance to make your own petition, Princess Rhnaeyra.” Queen Alicent interrupted. Her nosey holier than thou attitude dripping from her voice making YN gag internally. “Do Ser Vaemond the courtesy of allowing his to be heard.” Vaemond smirked his pissy smirk, giving YN more cause to glare at the greens across the room. 

“What do you know of Velaryon blood, Princess? I could cut my veins and show it to you and you still wouldn’t recognize it. You seem not to have a single instance of Velaryon blood in your children, save for a daughter.” He was smug and posturing. “This is about the future and survival of my house, not yours.” 

His house could survive through many of means, if he objected to Luc there was Baela, Rhaena, and even YN. Though she had always hoped she’d never run a house. Vaemond gave a glance to Lucerys, smug and annoying as if he knew a secret about Luc. 

“My Queen, my Lord Hand. This is a matter of blood, not ambition. I place the continuation of the survival of my house and my lone above all.I humbly put myself before you asd my brother’s successor… The Lord of Driftmark and Lord of the Tides.” He postured. 

YN placed a hand to Luc’s shoulder, comforting the increasingly anxious boy who shifted slightly on his feet. YN offered him comfort in this accusational trial against her mother. This was just about upending her mother’s right to the throne. Wrapped in a cloth of rights and succession they would deliver the blade of usurpation against YN’s mother, the true heir.  Her mother stepped forth, and YN took her place in holding Luc’s hand. She needed someone to ground her or she’d pulled out a knife and stab Vaemond in his smug face. 

“If I am to grace this farce with some answer, I will start by reminding the court that nearly 20 years ago, in this very-”

Her mother was interrupted by the sound of the doors opening. Everyone looked, and everyone saw the frail sight of her grandfather the king. He stood on a cane, though he did look fragile his air gave off the sight of a king who demanded his throne back. King Viserys of the land of Westeros was here to defend his daughter. 

The announcer spoke in a loud voice. “King Viserys of House Targaryen, the First of His Name, King of the Andals and the Rhoynar, and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm.”

YN felt tears sting in her eyes, but she held them back as she watched her beloved grandfather slowly make his way to his throne. Each step looked like agony, and she was scared he would stumble or fall. But he continued on. Everyone in the throne room watched as he made his way back to where he belonged. Otto quickly got off the throne to save face. Once her grandfather found his way back to the throne, he spoke. 

“I will sit the throne today.” He rasped out and tried to make his way back to the throne. Though it seemed too difficult for him to make his way up the steps, but he would shoo away the help of the kingsgaurd. 

In the end, it was Daemon who helped the king. Brother lifting brother up, family helping family. There was no malice, no revelry in one of them being so beat down. Hand in hand, Daemon lifted his brother to his rightful seat and placed the crown on his head. Giving him the power of the room and command of the throne. Viserys adjusted himself on his throne and readied himself to speak. 

“I must.. admit.. my confusion.” He breathed out, face heavy from the gold mask he wore. “I do not understand why petitions are being heard over a settled succession. The only one present… who might offer keener insight on Lord Colrys’ wishes is the Princess Rhaenys.” 

All eyes turned to the princess, the queen who never was. YN looked closely at her grandmother, hoping that she’d come to the aid of her mother and that her family would be united in this front. 

“Indeed, Your Grace.” Rhaenys spoke up, regal and dignified. She stepped forward to the center of the room. “It was ever my husband’s will that Driftmark pass through Ser Laenor to his trueborn son… Lucerys Velaryon. As he will further the house, YN will command the fleet to unite the family under him. His mind never changed. Nor did my support of him.” 

YN breathed out a sigh and went to hold Rhaena’s hand again. The girl smiled at her cousin and gave her hand a squeeze as their grandmother continued. 

“As a matter of fact, the Princess Rhaenyra has just informed me of her desire to marry her sons Jace and Luc to Lord Corlys’ other granddaughters, Baela and Rhaena.” YN smiled at Rhaena, squeezing her hand. “A proposal to which I heartily agree.” 

That caused a shift in the room. The Blacks stood tall once again, now that there was a future of marriage to unite the family and they stood stronger for it. The Greens seemed to shift into an uncomfortable stance, unhappy with how Rhaenys had turned her support to Rhaenyra. 

“Well… the matter is settled… save for one thing.” Viserys turned his tired eye to YN. His first grandchild, his only granddaughter who was the very image of a princess and a Targaryen before him. “The Princess YN has no match for her. I hear she is handed many offers to wed, but no answer. Princess YN, would you consider a match between you and the Prince Aemond?”

Now the room gaped their eyes to Aemond and YN. She held her gaze to her grandfather, as Aemond looked right to her. He begged her silently to say yes. To agree to a match and unite them finally as they should’ve been when they were young. Rhaenyra looked to her daughter who stepped forth with her head high. 

“I must confess, I have had many a offer that intrigues me more. A dornish noble, a house from the North, and even from Ser Vaemond’s own son.” YN laughed the last part out before regaining her composure. “I would like my family to be united once again. I will consider the match to Prince Aemond and return my answer within 2 fortnights.”

Viserys smiled at her, she and him seeming to communicate mentally. Her telling him that she would do what it took to make peace and unite them. Him offering his love and promise that he would accept her answer no matter what. YN did not look to Aemond who stared at her, the faintest smile twitching at the corners. YN was going to consider the match and she would do anything for Viserys so she would most likely agree to make peace with them all.

“Then the matter is finally settled.” Viserys commanded the room. “Again. I hereby reaffirm Prince Lucerys of House Velaryon as heir to Driftmsrk, the driftwood throne, and the next Lord of the Tides.”

The Blacks smiled at the reaffirmation. But Vaemond scored at the thought that this boy with no Velaryon blood would sit the Driftwood throne over his blood. The Viserys would make mockery of tradition and not see what was plain before him. 

“You break law..” Vaemond cut through the silence. “And centuries of tradition to install your daughter as heir. Yet you dare tell me… who deserves to inherit the name Velaryon. No. I will not allow it.”

“‘Allow it’?” Viserys mocked back, gasping out the words. “Do not forget yourself, Vaemond.”

That seemed to set Vaemond off on a trigger.

“THAT is no true Velaryon, and certainly no nephew of mine!” Vaemond shouted out, finger accusingly pointed at Lucerys. 

“Go to your chambers. You have said enough.” Rhaenyra demanded, trying to get this shouting man away from her children. 

“Lucerys is my true-born grandson. And you… are no more than the second son of Driftmsrk.” Viserys stated, affirming his decision as king. 

“You… may run your house as you see fit… but you will not decide the future of mine.” Vaemond stepped forth, angry at the turn of the trial. “My house survived the Doom and a thousand tribulations besides. And gods be damned… I will not see it ended on account of this-”

“Say it.” Daemon whispered, taunting the man who glared at them all. YN inched her fingers close to the knife she held at her waist, ready to defend whatever slander Vaemond spoke against her mother. 

The room was silent. Waiting for Vaemond to make the mistake. Everyone’s eyes looked at the man who grew angrier at the minute. Otto stood behind his daughter, her children stood around her waiting to see what would happen. YN kept a hand to her mother’s shoulder and the other close to the knife at her waist. She dared the man to say it, for she would take his eyes and tongue as punishment for speaking against her mother.

“Her children… are BASTARDS!” Vaemond shouted, his angry finally topping over and causing him to scream the forbidden words. Rhaenyra’s children stood ready to pounce on the man to kill him. Jace shook his head in anger and YN grabbed her knife ready to pull it out. “And she… is… a whore.”

That caused a commotion as the crowd gasped. YN pulled out her knife trying to rush forward to cut his eyes out, but she was stopped by Daemon who began to walk forward. Viserys pulled out his own dagger, anger in his eye and rage shook his hands. There was one punishment for slander such as that. 

“I… will have your tongue for that.” The king pointed the blade to the man who only stood smugly in the center of the room. 

But his smug expression did not last long. For once his head stared at Viserys, soon half of it was lopped off and fell to the floor. Daemon had cut his head in two, making the room gasp once again. YN froze at the sight of his half head on the ground. She had been accustomed to dead body’s but the way Daemon had removed Vaemond was so sudden and vicious she barely had a moment to breathe. YN ripped her eyes away from the bleeding corpse, blood rushing to her ears making her deaf to the following cries and words. She held Rhaena’s delicate hand in hers as her cousin began to grip it in shock at what her father had done. 

YN spared a look at Aemond who seemed to be smiling at the sight. Like he enjoyed seeing Daemon kill someone in front of him. Like it was a dream or a wish to be in the presence of such a violent man. YN couldn’t bear to see that disturbing smile, it reminded her of the smirk he gave when he came back from stealing Vaghar. 

The king began to groan, growing weary of standing so tall so long. He collapsed back on his throne, shocking Alicent and Rhaenyra. 

“Call the Maesters!” Alicent gasped and ran to him. 

“Father!” Rhaenyra spoke and ran to him as well. 

“Please, my love. You must take something for the pain.” Alicent pleaded and held the king up into her arms. She tried her best to support his weight with her body. 

“I will not cloud my mind. I must put things right.” He tried to dismiss her, but she held on. Rhaenyra stood at the foot of the throne waiting for her father. Viserys was led away by a guard and a maester. All Rhaenyra could do was watch. 

YN wanted to go forward and help her grandfather, but her cousin was still shaking and she needed to be there for her brothers and cousins. All of which had witnessed the man who had raised them kill a family member before their eyes. Even if he was a slanderous traitor. As she shooed her siblings and cousin away, a hand grabbed her arm, and she looked up to see Aemond staring into her eyes, 

“We need to talk. When can we?” Aemond asked, his eyes held no humor or mockery as they did before. 

“Later. After the feast tonight.” YN said. They did indeed need to talk, it had been six years since they did and they needed to finally talk about what they were going to do. Would YN accept him? Would Aemond understand why she chose not to be on speaking terms with him? Hopefully the air between them would finally be cleared.

[alicole-sideblog]

Where the Lancelot/Guinevere affair came from

Lancelot and Guinevere's affair first appears in the Old French text Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart (c. 1177–1181). Short plot overview: Guinevere is abducted, Lancelot goes on a quest to rescue her, and they have an affair.

We can be almost certain that Lancelot and Guinevere's affair really does originate here, and was not part of the preexisting Arthurian oral tradition. There's not much recorded about non-affair!Lancelot, but the slightly later Lanzelet (c. 1194) — which has Lancelot rescuing Guinevere, but no romance between the two — seems to represent the general Lancelot lore of the period.

In the 1170s, Marie, Countess of Champagne — firstborn of Eleanor of Aquitaine — wanted to read a fic where Lancelot and Queen Guinevere have an affair. Since she was a countess, she could commission a fic.

Her court poet, Chrétien de Troyes, wrote the story. The topic assigned to him — romanticizing adulterous love — doesn't seem to have been something he was entirely comfortable with, though.

Chrétien writes this prelude at the beginning of the story where he really stresses that this was Marie's idea, not his.

Since my lady of Champagne wishes me to undertake to write a romance, I shall very gladly do so, [...] I will say, however, that her command has more to do with this work than any thought or pains that I may expend upon it. Here Chrétien begins his book about the Knight of the Cart. The material and the treatment of it are given and furnished to him by the Countess, and he is simply trying to carry out her concern and intention.

For a story whose central plot is adultery, the topic of adultery goes curiously unremarked upon. Cuckolding your king is kind of a big deal, but Lancelot and Guinevere never talk about it, or muse on it in their internal monologues. They're not guilty or conflicted in the slightest.

For unknown reasons, Chrétien's clerk, Godefroi de Leigni, wrote the very end of the story instead of him.

The Lancelot/Guinevere affair was a hit. Later texts regarding the Arthurian mythos soon began including and reworking it.

Marie evidently thought this sort of adultery was sexy. In The Knight of the Cart, no one finds out about the affair and there are no consequences. Later writers were not down with Marie's original vision and thought that flagrantly cheating on your husband is a problem, actually. So in subsequent versions of the mythos, Lancelot and Guinevere's affair ends up kicking off the downfall of Camelot. But not in The Knight of the Cart.

[terrence-silver]

Give us some basic headcanons about Jack Blaylock, please? Anything that comes to mind? Why he's the way he is? What turns the gears inside his head? He's such a fascinating, mysterious character but there's so little content about him to enjoy.

---

Okay, random thoughts on Jack Blaylock and how he ticks:

Believes in reincarnation, fated soulmates and karma.

Is an US-expatriate born on Japanese soil who’s never actually been in America, yet maintains this weirdly idealized, fiercely patriotic image of it, all while for all intents and purposes, man’s technically infinitely more Japanese than American. 

Traveled all across Asia for, erhm, jobs, but he’s never actually been ‘home’.

As a result of this, he also romanticizes tradition and ‘the way things are meant to be / the way people are originally meant to live’ precisely because he was born and raised between two worlds and two very distinctive cultures, neither here, nor there, wanting to find his own place under the sun and go back to a simpler time when ‘everything made sense’.

He’s a hitman because he’s immensely talented at it and if he causes carnage and breaks laws with a general disregard for human life (winding up in jail and the newspaper at least once from what we’ve seen, going as far as changing his name...at least once too) he probably feels he at least isn’t doing all of this at ‘home’ and that half of the time whenever he assassinates some whistleblower, gangster, nosey investigative journalist or corrupt politician, he’s actually doing America a favor by ‘offing her enemies’ from afar and blaming it on someone else is need be, pshhh.

As such, man’s convinced he’s in a weird way…doing a necessary deed.

Jack might feel it’s infinitely better to arrange the termination of some politician promoting unfavorable international policies than have entire countries duke out disputes that came about from one rotten apple at a later date through actual warfare, sanctions, serious repercussions and millions of people dying, losing their jobs, ending up displaced and suffering the casualties when it’s just easier to simply off one dude and lop his head off, for example. He feels his profession is dirty, uncomfortable, taboo, not something everyone can stomach doing, but very much needed. People like him are not liked. People like him are on the margins of society. In the shadows, always hiding behind other professions and made-up identities, precisely the way he himself does. They don't get happy endings. They’re very much a requirement, though. Have been all throughout history. Where there’s civilization, there’s people who kill professionally. There's always been some Jack Blaylock out there one way or another. Or some Timothy Calloway.

And he will kill anyone and everyone in the most gruesome ways possible if the job demands it (exacerbated by his bigotry for certain groups, which, ironically, include the Japanese) --- and he can really make it into a scene if he wants to --- but in his own words, the one possible hard no he has is other Americans and mainly the women precisely because he has this ingrained patriotism and longing for a home he’s never actually experienced. Man has his own (hypocritical) preferences and biases he conflates with honor. A code of sorts.

Ultimately, Jack's oddly romantic and idealistic, yet somehow simultaneously fiercely realistic and even cynical. There's something bizarrely spiritual about him, I'd even dare say. He believes a better world is possible --- if not now, then in another life, cycles and cycles from now, and in the meantime, someone, namely people like him have to get their hands seriously dirty to make all of that possible for themselves and everyone else. So happens that sometimes a better world starts by unloading a round of bullets into someone standing in the way of it all.

It's preferable if you enjoy doing it along the way. If you're good at it.

He's both.

[otherkin-confessional]

I honestly don’t know what to do about wearing my identity with pride considering where it comes from. Its origins are nasty, right to the point that even if I never knew the term “alterhuman” existed, I wouldn’t call myself human out of the sheer failure I experienced to be internally humane.

I don’t even know if it could be trauma or a mental health issue because 1. It was less an an external issue and more of my brain just fucking morally rotting in a horrid way as a child and 2. I could never get anything diagnosed even if I wanted to because the adults in my life are convinced all that stuff is “attention seeking”

But I’m not sure how to talk about it properly in that case. I made a point to never, ever talk about it because I’ve become so used to it I didn’t even realize the problem until around 15 years later so I can’t even begin to know what the actual moral standard of it is.

No one talks about it, at least not unless it’s people romanticizing it. My kin type is linked immensely with these experiences and the discomfort and violent thought process that emerged from them. I’m not sure how I can discuss my kin without sugarcoating it, and at that point it’s not even my kin.

People on this site can’t even handle endels or zoanthropes half the months of the year, so I’m gonna have a hell of a time figuring this out.

🌌