#monarchy-verse

[hana-bobo-finch]

Bug fables feels so dystopian not because it’s literally set in a post apocalyptic world where humans are extinct but because Oh Dear the social bug societies (especially the hives) sound SO hellish. You’d better hope you have some extraordinary talent that can land you a special job because otherwise Off To The Amazon Factory You Go

[malkaleh]

I was pondering if Napoleon even exists in the Tudors OT3 verse (I have plotted out some kind of revolution in France (I think? It’s very vague)) and I went ‘but @bunniesandbeheadings though’ so uh, anyway.

(My vague plan was for a war around the same time but Napoleon and Wellington might be on the same side)

Also inspired by @mariedemedicis because I was reading a world building post 🩷

[wouldntbehim]

i will not explain the context and these are not great quality but i'm throwing them on here anyway bc i need to call out my best friend for enabling them

please direct all complaints to @liggytheauthoress cause i blame her for these existing

[heliosphere-underthesky]

Quick question: what are the roles of the moons in the series? I already know that our moon is earth's assistant/secretary and jupiter's moons are a army of knights but what about phobos and deimos, the saturnian moons, the uranian moons, and the moons of neptune?

Actually I'm not quite sure yet! But for now here's what I got:

Martian moons

Mars' personal assistants. They just help him get work done, and since Mars is one of the main planets who needs to report to the Emperor regularly, they help him out with it. Phobos is the more diligent of the two, often getting work done right away!

Saturnian moons

This is a bit tricky since there's a lot of them! Some of them are like personal assistants or fighters (probably the bigger moons), some of them tend to the moon memorials (aka his rings. they're said to be dead moons), some are guards of the Saturnian planet system.

Uranian moons

For now, they're in the same light as the Martian moons! Uranus seems to have a good relationship with his moons. The fact that he doesn't seem to be the friendliest and yet has established a healthy professional relationship with them is something Neptune wants for himself too.

Neptunian moons

Same as Uranus and Mars, except it's said that him taking Triton in as a moon damaged his confidence working with them though he tries his best (I have yet to find further readings on this with Triton being a captured KBO and the aftermath it caused on Neptune's past moons).

Not entirely sure where I'm going with all this yet, but the way I see it: Sun, Jupiter, and Saturn exert a lot of gravitational influence compared to the others in the solar system.

So in my story, Sun rules over them as the emperor, Jupiter gets to be his captain of the knights, and Saturn is an important figure that helps oversee the current system (I currently call him a duke).

The other planets are chosen to help the Emperor too, but they're not nearly as massive, so they probably have office or on-the-field kinds of jobs. Not nearly as heavy as being an emperor, knight, or a duke! Earth and Mars don't have particularly heavy roles, although they still have higher ranks than say, the dwarf planets or asteroids. Mercury and Venus can be considered (as messenger and Sun's adviser), but only because of their close proximity to the Sun.

While Pluto may not be a main planet anymore, Sun decided it was best for him to be the Prince of the Kuiper Belt. He may act mean and cynical, but he's the only one who's actually friends with all his moons. They're also personal assistants; Charon is likely his secretary. He still has a high position as the dwarf planet prince, although still lower than the planetary rank.

[just-mebs]

Having an original oc verse is exhausting bc i do NOT want to work on setting i just want to play with my dolls

[more-than-a-princess]

After a quick thank you to Anzu, Sonia was on her way. It was her fault, really, for not thinking when helping plan the event that surely Shinobu would have preferred a coffee to the sugary sodas and juices the rest of the girls enjoyed. Mahiru and Hiyoko would push for Shinobu to be made to feel different in all of the worst ways: at least in this one, something as innocuous as drink preferences, she could have helped her feel included. It wouldn't even have been that hard: in the refrigerator the Hope's Peak staff allowed her to have in her apartments, she kept a healthy stock of the canned coffees Shinobu enjoyed. When popped into a plastic bag from the convenience store or an eco tote from her own collection, she could pretend that she'd simply picked up a can on her last venture to the store as a kind gesture, and not something she had the foresight to keep on hand in her room. In case Shinobu ever stopped by on the way to visit Anzu. In case she ever needed a drink. Or anything else, for that matter.

She thought about telling Shinobu the truth, sometime before the Ji-yeon incident. But then everything happened and she thought better of it. Sonia's own preferences in coffee, as evident from their visit to the cafe Shinobu favored, likely made her friend uncomfortable enough: in the presence of real aficionados, she'd doused her own drinks in sugar and ice cream. There was much Sonia, by necessity, needed refined tastes in: but fried food and sugary coffee did not count, and she struggled with pretending that they did.

Still, she could at least apologize for the oversight and offer to treat her for her next can, if she felt so inclined to indulge. It had been awfully rude for her to leave her on her own anyway, but something needed to be done about her transphobic classmates who threatened to ruin the day. Not on Sonia's watch, at least, she thought with a decisive nod as she climbed the stairs.

And abruptly froze.

Just like she'd had every intention to mention Anzu in her defense to Mahiru, Sonia had every intention to call out to Shinobu in a combination of a greeting and apology. But unlike her confrontation with Mahiru, where her defense was filled with mentions of one friend and not the other, Sonia found herself without a voice at all. The corner she now cowered behind like a child offered just enough of a hiding place to not be immediately seen, but if she made even a hint of a sound, she'd be found out. And for once, she didn't know how to explain herself and didn't know what to ask.

What she did know was the way Shinobu's hand wove through Rui Aoyama's curls. The way she tilted her head just so, just enough for Rui Aoyama to caress her neck with every ounce of skill the Ultimate Host had surely built up from years of experience. The way Shinobu's cheeks flushed from the heat of their embrace and the way her lips had reddened from kisses that had started it all and, under Sonia's watch, soon continued with tender touches to Shinobu's face and the likely circumstances of the rest of the world fading away from the two girls. It didn't matter that it was a school stairwell with forgotten drinks: all that mattered, seemingly, as them.

Sonia clapped a hand over her mouth, halfway sliding down the wall she had to brace herself against to keep herself from collapsing to the ground. Behind her palm, her mouth struggled and strained to find what to say, what she felt. It wasn't Mahiru or Hiyoko's disgust at the affectionate display but something else: something that made her chest heave, her stomach twist and turn, with the immense need to vomit not out of repugnance but of something else.

Pain. From how much pleasure Shinobu took in it all, that Rui Aoyama seemingly had from being the one to give it, and how, despite the fact she was never supposed to be a factor of the equation, how much it hurt that she wasn't. Sonia never wanted to be the object of the Ultimate Host's affection or, perhaps more accurately, pursuit. But Shinobu...why did it have to be Shinobu? When upon seeing Rui Aoyama's lips upon hers, that Sonia wished she could be in the Ultimate Host's position instead? Kissing Shinobu with even more fervor, and having her friend relish in it?

That made her legs move, at least. Quietly yet swiftly, down the stairs and back into the main hallway of the lower floor where the pool resided. Her hand moved from her mouth to her chest, pressing firmly against where her heart beat rapidly, where she struggled to breathe. But the pressure she applied paled in comparison to the pressure upon her mind, her conscience: She wanted to kiss Shinobu Yaguchi, and the other girl did not, and would not ever, feel the same.

The bile rose up in her throat and, perhaps in the most selfish move she'd made in quite some time, Sonia had to get out. With a shaky breath to steady herself, she fixed her features into the most pleasant, unassuming expression she could before pushing open the double doors and striding to the chair she'd left the linen wrap dress she'd worn over her swimsuit. Putting her arms through the sleeves and tying the belt at the waist, she reached for both her bag and sandals before turning to a bewildered Chiaki and an apparently nonplussed Peko. "I apologize, but I must leave. Family emergency. At home," She explained, her words clipped as she swallowed the tears she wanted to shed. Not in front of everyone, she knew: how could she explain it otherwise, when she could barely understand it herself?

And while no one pressed her for more, Peko waited to speak after Sonia had disappeared through the double doors again. "That's unlike Nevermind-san. To be rude and leave without some sort of explanation."

"Mm," Chiaki agreed. She hadn't even noticed that she'd lost the level she'd been playing in the dungeon crawler game she'd been showing Peko only moments before. "Something's wrong. I'll check on her later."

Chiaki had correctly understood that Sonia had wanted to be alone. It had taken several tries with shaky hands to get her key into her dorm apartment's lock, before shoving the door open and, just as quickly, slamming it behind her. Sandals kicked off and bag hastily tossed aside, Sonia didn't make it to the bed. She didn't even make it to the sofa. Instead, she curled up on the floor between the low table and her TV cabinet and finally allowed herself to sob.

It didn't make sense, she thought as the mascara and eyeliner she'd worn rubbed away onto her hands. She wasn't gay.

She liked boys. She'd had boyfriends: two of them, in fact, in her lifetime. Both of whom had made indelible marks upon her very soul. She liked boys. She wasn't gay.

And yet, instead of embarrassment at catching Shinobu in her lover's embrace or revulsion at two women kissing, the only thought in her mind was how she wished it were her, Not Rui Aoyama. Her.

And that was terrifying. No horror movie turned her stomach the way that realization had. In principle, there was nothing wrong with being queer: she knew that. The various pride displays in Novoselic each June with the legalization of same-sex marriage in her country in the early 20th Century was proof.

But there was everything wrong with a member of the Novoselic Royal Family, and the heir to the throne at that, being queer.

Sonia half-ran, half-stumbled, to the bathroom where the melon soda and party snacks she'd been enjoying earlier that day resurfaced, right into the porcelain toilet bowl until all that was left was dry heaving. She could rid herself of the meal she'd had but not of her feelings. Coughing, Sonia pushed herself off the tile floor to steady herself in front of the sink. She looked like a mess: red eyes from crying and burst blood vessels, chapped lips, smudged makeup and that was only on the outside. Shaking her head, she washed her face and spent several minutes brushing her teeth and tongue to rid herself of the bacteria, but a clean mouth and skin couldn't fix the problem at hand.

"I am not gay," She stated to her reflection in the mirror. If she said it as easily as stating her birthdate or the closest branches of her family tree, certainly it was believable. "No one in the Novoselic Royal Family is, or is allowed to be, gay. I like boys. I have had relationships with boys." A pause, as she breathed in and out, squaring her shoulders for the next admission. "And I am not in love with Shinobu Yaguchi."

From the way her voice cracked as she stammered, it was the least convincing part of it all. Enough for Sonia to take the nearby washcloth she'd just used and throw it at the mirror, storming out of the bathroom before collapsing, face first, onto her mattress.

That was how, nearly four hours later, Chiaki had found her. One of the few people at Hope's Peak with a key to Sonia's rooms besides Sonia herself, she'd knocked twice before letting herself in, a takeaway tray with two bubble teas and a plastic bag balanced on her opposite hand and arm. "Sonia?" She asked gently, honorifics be damned: the last time she'd found her best friend like this was the day Gundham Tanaka had, inevitably, broken her heart. And even then Sonia had raised her head with gentle sobs: now, she simply lay there, curled in the center of her king-size mattress, unmoving. Exhausted. "I thought you might be hungry, or at least like something tasty to drink. I brought you brown sugar bubble tea, your favorite."

That got Sonia's attention as she shakily pushed herself up to a sitting position. And even Chiaki, who was so often impassive unless discussing video games, couldn't hide her widened eyes and aghast expression. Sonia Nevermind, so often the most cheerful and optimistic member of Class 77-B and her closest friend, looked completely and utterly defeated. "Thanks," She choked out, throat dry, but made no move to reach for the drink. Instead, Chiaki jammed the straw through the cup's seal and pushed it into Sonia's hand.

"Is everything ok at home, Sonia?" Chiaki asked, setting the plastic bag and her backpack on the throw rug beside Sonia's bed before taking a seat on the edge. "You looked really shaken up earlier." Admittedly, she'd checked the international news briefly while in line when buying the bubble tea: no breaking headlines had surfaced about Novoselic, which meant what upset her wasn't a royal issue.

Sonia didn't answer, her mouth opening to speak before closing it again.

"Did something happen with Yaguchi-san, from 77-A?"

Sonia's fist tightened around the plastic cup, causing milky tea to splatter all over her duvet. And to her surprise, Chiaki barely reacted at all, giving Sonia a sad, sympathetic look before putting a little distance between the two of them, in order to avoid the stain. "Chiaki..." She uttered, her voice hoarse as she looked at her, eyes welling up with tears.

"You left to look for her. Did you tell her how you feel? That you like her-"

"I am not gay, Chiaki," Sonia cut her off before she could finish that sentence. For fuck's sake, was she the last person on Earth to realize she was harboring romantic feelings for a woman? "I can't be gay. Not as the Princess of Novoselic, not in my family. It goes against the rules and line of succession."

"I can't say I understand that," Chiaki admitted, her voice wavering. This was uncharted territory for them: Chiaki had opened up about how she'd met a nice boy in the Reserve Course who played video games with her and Sonia had divulged, perhaps with too much detail, about her crush and subsequent relationship with Gundham. But romance with women...that was a topic neither of them had breached. At least not where it involved either of them, at least. "But being gay, or queer, I don't think you can choose whether you are or not. You just...are. Is she the first girl you have felt this way about?"

Sonia gave a nod. "I...did not know what it was I was feeling," She murmured. "Until I saw her kissing someone else. And then all I wanted was to be the person she was kissing instead."

"I'm not an expert in dating sims," Chiaki sighed. "But I know you can't progress in the game without communicating with the chosen love interest. You should talk to her-"

"No."

"But you can't clear the current level if you don't-"

"I said NO, Chiaki!" Sonia shouted, the most she'd raised her voice since the incident with Mahiru. But instead of being mad at her best friend, her anger was internalized, exploding only when provoked. "Nothing has to change. Nothing has to change if I don't say anything. For three reasons."

"Why then, Sonia?"

"For one," Sonia began, running a hand through her already-unruly hair. Alongside so many other things she needed: something to eat, a heart transplant, the ability to turn off her feelings, she needed a hairbrush. "No one in my family can be gay, or be involved in a homosexual relationship. Marriage, as defined in my family, is between a man and a woman. Beyond the societal uproar, I'd be forced to abdicate. And I cannot do that."

Chiaki debated mentioning that they were only high school students and that the idea of marriage was something a long way off for all of them. But she remembered how the Japanese and European media alike had hounded Gundham for months, to the point where it had been difficult just to go to school, take care of his mother, and look after his animals, and he had split from Sonia despite the fact his feelings for her were still as strong as the day they'd decided to date. And promptly thought better of it.

"Two, she clearly does not see me like that, considering she was kissing Aoyama Rui-san, who is probably my polar opposite in every way," Sonia continued, "And it is not necessary to rejected verbally when I already have seen indisputable evidence that she holds no romantic feelings for me."

Chiaki swallowed her words once again. She didn't follow Sonia's logic, but it seemed counterproductive to mention it.

"And three, if somehow she did agree to date me, you know what happens to her girlfriends. Everyone knows what happens!" Sonia cried, leaning back against the headboard. "She dates them once and then cuts them out of her life completely. Is it worth destroying a friendship, much less our lives if anyone finds out, to go on a single date? If things stay as they are, it'll pass. It has to pass, and no one needs to ever know."

That part, for what Chiaki knew of Shinobu Yaguchi, she couldn't refute. Dating gossip generally didn't interest her unless it was in the context of a video game, but the Ultimate Archer had a reputation no one could ignore. That, and her propensity to beat up men on campus, from male students to her own brother. But that wasn't the point. The point was, Sonia had begun to understand what Chiaki had concluded for weeks. That some of their classmates had either riddled out for themselves or couldn't ignore: Sonia was, at the very least, not strictly heterosexual and was in no shape to handle that realization about herself.

"I'm so sorry, Sonia,"

"I want her in my life, Chiaki. I need her in my life," Sonia replied, resolute. "It has to be like this: it's better than the alternative, and at least I'm the only one who has to get over it."

Chiaki nodded. She couldn't solve this for her, and not in a night. But at least she could do what she came to do, as she reached for the plastic bag by her backpack. "I brought some of the leftover chicken and onigiri, and some of the cookies. You didn't get to eat too much earlier, you really should eat a bit." It was a strange sensation, the tables turning on both girls: so often it was Sonia nagging Chiaki to eat after gaming for hours on end. "And if you want, I have the latest Mario Kart game. I know I promised to teach you some maneuvers for you to beat Liam-kun: he was really impressed when I visited last summer, right?"

Sonia sniffled, before slowly moving to sit in the tea-soaked spot on the duvet in order to hug her. "You're the best, you know that?" She mumbled into Chiaki's shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm your best friend," Chiaki agreed, returning the hug before grabbing her backpack, retrieving both the game cartridge and her custom controller. "You eat and I'll set it up on your Switch, ok? Eat at least two of the onigiri before we do a Grand Prix: we'll try the one with Boo's Cinema."

"It will begin to rain soon." At the edge of the pool, Harumi didn't have the wrappings that usually covered her eyes, but she still kept them closed. "And it will not stop for days. They have to engage the Kanda River underwater reservoir to keep it from flood." "Ah, is that so?" Ruka tapped her pen against her waterproof notepad. "Then what about... Blackened water / When the rising of waves brings / Inauspicious signs."

Anzu only half-listened. The background girls were probably overjoyed just to have her around - actually paying attention wasn't really necessary. No, she had other things on her mind. It was shitty of her, she knew, but on some level, she got why Shinobu got harassed. She was an athlete, even if she competed only with men, and she didn't exactly look like a typical girl in build or fashion. She didn't even have any interest in boys. But Anzu? She was a girl's girl through and through. What about her could really be objectionable? She and Shinobu weren't really that alike, aside from the obvious.

It wasn't a very kind thing to think, and it made her feel worse that being bullied in the first place, though, ever a peerless actress, she didn't let it show on her face. "Oh, Sonia-san," she said, putting on a sunny smile and scarfing down a couple of sweet treats, neglecting to introduce her classmates. There was that Anzu again - driven to excess in fun and food and fucking, without much going on in her head, not someone anyone should ever worry about. "Thanks, they're tasty." She gave a small wave once she'd finished eating. "Don't worry about Shinobu-chan. I doubt she'd ever think less of you for something like that." If only she knew. "But if you're looking for her, I think she went upstairs to get a drink a minute ago."

In a pathetic, lovesick way, Shinobu found she didn't enjoy being apart from Sonia - not when the other girl was downstairs, and it would only take a few moments to get back to her side. Wasn't that part of the problem, though? This sort of attachment was unhealthy even within the bounds of a relationship, and they were not in a relationship. In a way, it was good - not pleasant, but good - to be apart from her for a short while. Her gaze lingered too long on the curve of her bust, on her hips, and on her thighs - the latter of which she was still trying not to think about doing all sorts of unspeakable things to.

With a bit more force than necessary, the archer clapped at their cheeks as they rounded the stairwell corner. Perhaps it was new for her to have romantic feelings to such an extent, and perhaps it was new for her to be so aroused alongside them, but that was no reason to act like an animal. She neither wished to make Sonia uncomfortable, nor provide Miss Koizumi any additional ammunition. She'd simply have to find some way to deal with these feelings and quash them down, if it were impossible to get rid of them all together.

"Shinobu-chan?" Turning up towards the next flight of stairs, Shinobu could see Miss Aoyama standing at the top with a drink of her own in hand and a grin upon her face, a thin hoodie zipped up over her swimsuit. I really don't have time for your antics right now, Miss Aoyama. "Aww, did you miss me that much, that you had to come looking for me? You're rather un-kittenlike, Shinobu-chan, but maybe a puppy is mo-" Having begun to walk down the steps, either to meet Shinobu or to continue past her back towards the pool, Miss Aoyama slipped, her foot missing the step and knocking her off balance. The can of soda bounced against the wall, before slowly rolling step-by-step down the stairs.

Instinctively, Shinobu raised both arms, lightly bending her knees to brace as she caught her classmate. Still, Miss Aoyama slammed into her, knocking her back hard enough for Shinobu to smack her head against the wall, and for her glasses to fly from her face. "Dammit," they grunted, vision fuzzy. At first, the blurred shape of Miss Aoyama seemed to freeze, before kneeling down to grab the glasses, and then slowly fit them back over Shinobu's ears.

Miss Aoyama was incredibly close, her face only some short distance away. To Shinobu, she seemed in some amount of surprise, such that her usually obnoxious attitude wasn't on full display. "Thanks," she managed to say, weakly rubbing at the back of her head with a small smile. "Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't move out of the way and let me fall." Shinobu scoffed, rolling her eyes. "Just how heartless do you think I am, Miss Aoyama?"

At that, Miss Aoyama gave a quiet laugh. "Well, you did tell me that you were going to kill me last year. Or, do you say that to all the girls?" Again, Shinobu rolled her eyes. "I'm glad you're feeling in good spirits. A simple expression of gratitude will suffice, and now we can both move along." "Ah, I've got it," Miss Aoyama snapped her fingers. "You just want to kill me yourself. After all, you're not going to tell me it was just an act, are you?" She was still so close, loomed over as she was - a few centimeters taller than Shinobu, which was rather rare, especially among women.

Shinobu's glare was enough for the other girl to back off, just enough for Shinobu to step past her if she wanted. Though, instead, she stayed where she was. At least she wasn't thinking about Sonia to the point of insanity. In that sense, the longer she stayed near Miss Aoyama, in this conversation, the better. "You know, Shinobu-chan, I'd like to take you out on a date. Is the problem the host thing?" Shinobu knew that much - Miss Aoyama hadn't made a secret of it in the past.

What Shinobu hadn't known, though, was how quick her heart would beat with her classmate close like this, speaking in such a whisper. Surely it had to be the adrenaline from catching her, all the chaos. "I feel as though I've made my position clear, Miss Aoyama. What you do for work is your own business, one that I'd not seek to control, no. Rather, I'm uninterested in any partner who lacks the conviction to pursue me with solitary interest. So long as you have so many girlfriends at one time, I refuse to be a number."

That answer seemed to amuse Miss Aoyama, and Shinobu could guess at what. She didn't see much difference between the two of them, with Shinobu dating so many girls in quick succession. Thankfully, she didn't bring that up, and force Shinobu to illustrate plainly the differences as she saw them. "Well, I can accept that, even if I think we'd have pretty amazing chemistry. If you change your mind, you know where to find me." Again, Miss Aoyama chuckled. "Are you interested in a teaser? As a thank you?"

Her face was close to Shinobu's again, clearly emboldened by the fact that Shinobu hadn't pushed her away, or walked off. Under typical circumstances, Shinobu would have said something unkind and left. These, however, were not typical circumstances. The fact that she could feel heat on her face was proof enough of that. And, when she thought of it, Sonia and Miss Aoyama were rather dissimilar, weren't they? Where Sonia was thoughtful and considered, Miss Aoyama was brash and impulsive. Where Sonia was sincere, Miss Aoyama always seemed to be performing. Even if Sonia were gay, and interested in her, they couldn't imagine her propositioning them like this.

And yet, clearly Shinobu was having some sort of reaction to her classmate. "What the hell, sure." She wanted to stop thinking so much about Sonia - to not have her every thought consumed by things that made her feel disgusting and predatory for even thinking them. Miss Aoyama loved women - arguably too much - and still wanted her. Shinobu didn't have to concern herself with a straight woman who was too kind to ever love her back, or the words of people like Miss Koizumi. She could just invite Miss Aoyama to touch her, and kiss her, and let everything else melt away.

Rui's eyes searched her face slowly, no doubt looking for some hesitation or reluctance, or even some sort of trickery. There's nothing of the sort, Miss Aoyama, so if you aren't all talk, then go ahead and kiss me. And kiss her she did. Rui's hand was warm on her cheek, cradling her face and directing her movements with gentle care. It wasn't a sensation Shinobu was especially accustomed to, but she didn't dislike it. Rui was obviously experienced, and there was a comfort in letting someone else lead - not having to second guess herself or wonder what the other person thought of her, or what they saw her as.

"Shinobu-chan, I..." Rui's voice was uncharacteristically soft, and lacking in that swagger that Shinobu had come to expect. "...Tell me if you don't like something. I don't want you to have a bad time." "Ah..." That, too, was unexpected. The archer was thankful to have their glasses back, not that it helped understand anything in Rui's dark eyes, or the sharp angles of her face. "Mm." If nothing else, Rui was someone she could speak her mind to. Whatever expectations she had likely aligned more closely with Shinobu's true self than the fantasies of other interested parties.

She was a good kisser. Shinobu supposed she shouldn't have expected anything else, given how experienced they both were. One of Rui's hands stayed at Shinobu's cheek, lightly guiding her, while the other pressed at the wall to keep herself steady. Rui's tongue pushed into her mouth, and Shinobu felt a shiver run down her spine. It was electric, in a way few of her uncountable kisses had been, such that she found herself pushing herself forward, a hand rested on Rui's shoulder and a hand at her waist, to kiss her more, and more deeply.

After a short time that felt longer, Rui pulled back just long enough to breathe, before setting her lips upon Shinobu's neck. "Don't leave any marks. I'm serious," Shinobu murmured. She didn't want to explain this to Anzu, or her father. Rui made some sort of noise that Shinobu supposed meant she understood, before commencing with small kisses, bites, and licks. Another chill took her, and Shinobu could feel goosebumps on her arms and the back of her neck. Unsure of what quite to do in the position, so seldom did she experience it, she mirrored what other girls had so often done to her - sliding her fingers along the back of Rui's neck, before lightly tangling them in the loose curls of her hair and pulling her closer.

Somehow, Rui's leg had moved between Shinobu's own, her knee pressing faintly up against her. It felt good. Embarrassingly good. "Nn..." It took some amount of willpower not to allow herself to press back against it. Rui, too, seemed to have noticed, although what Shinobu expected was intended as a cocky smirk was tempered by the small bead of sweat on her forehead and the faint red painted across her face. Then, Rui placed her hands on either side of Shinobu's face, holding her like she was something to be cherished or treasured - and that was nice - before bringing their lips together again. They weren't even thinking about Sonia anymore.

[theauthorandtheartist]

I think that, in Hyrule, there would be some legislature specific to the heroes. Like, there would be some protections in the books so that the hero wouldn't get sued or arrested for doing his job or protecting himself. There would probably even be laws specifically to help him along. (Disclaimer, I know nothing about how laws are made in a monarchy, or how to word them in legalese).

I think one of them would just be titled The Hero's Duty Act (and you bet that gets made fun of by everybody). It would basically state that a dedicated Hero of Hyrule has the express permission and ability to take care of a major threat in any way he deems appropriate: whether that be by sealing or execution or some other fashion. That way, after the journey is over, no stilted goons can come after the hero in court for murder or unlawful imprisonment. Of course, there would be Hella stipulations for what counts as a "major threat," as well as conditions that need to be met in order to qualify as a Hero of Hyrule.

"Impeeding the Hero's Journey" would be a crime. Basically, if anyone knowingly and in their right mind tries to hinder or full-on stop the hero from completing his quest, they can be arrested. I'd imagine the punishment would scale with the level of offence (a fine for needlessly charging the hero more for potions (since he kinda HAS to buy them), jailtime for blocking his way or restraining him somehow, or execution if you actively try to murder the kid (and he doesn't get you first)). You bet there are lawyers trying to prove in court that their clients didn't know that the skinny twink in green swinging a sword around was the hero, or that they were totally mind controlled.

There would probably be some sort of national emergency price cap specifically for when the hero is questing. Like, usually a red potion would go for 60-80 rupees a pop, but when catastrophe strikes the merchants are required to lower the price to 20 rupees max in order accommodate the influx of injured people and make sure the hero can survive off of minish-gifts and dropped monster wallets. The fine for breaking this law would stack with the fine for Impeding the Hero's Journey because come on man, that's just a dick move; he's like ten.

Of course, there's an entire section of the "self-defense" defense completely dedicated towards the hero, and what does and does not count as self-defense when fighting hylian foes. It's basically the same as the regular self-defense laws, but with mind-control added in and with words specific to the hero. It's in the books pretty much exclusively to prevent grieving angry families from coming after the traumatized ten year old who just saved them.

None of those laws probably existed when the first few heroes were around, in fact, I'd imagine that most of them didn't get written into legislature until the Hero of Legend. I'd imagine that "Impeding the Hero's Journey" would be written in sometime around the Hero of the Four Sword era, as well as a few of the self-defense laws, but the Hero's Duty Act and the finer details of the mind control stuff wouldn't be penned until after the Hero of Legend dealt with Aganahim.

There would probably be more hero-specific laws, but I can't think of any at the moment. If anyone more versed in law wants to revise or add any to my list, feel free.

[muntitled]

Broken Telephones

Ex!Jake x Fem!Reader | Jay x Fem!Reader

Summary: Despite Jay priding himself on being a good friend, he's done denying himself what belongs to him.

Warnings: Language, Obsession, Jealousy, toxicity, Ex Boyfriend's Best Friend to Lovers, Smut +18 (mdni), Squirting, Manhandling Ownership kink, Semi-Public Sex, Exhibitionist Kink, Dubious Consent, Angry Sex, Threats, Dom/Sub Themes, Hard Dom!Jay

Based on this request by @penny44224 . This gets really toxic, sorry, also I couldn't leave my baby Jake out of this, hope you like it <3

“What kind of party is this anyway?” You grumble from the passenger seat, your heart sinking behind the glittery confines of your tight collared shirt. Something so tight and so painfully provocative would never have come out of your own closet. You had Jake and his obscene budget to thank for that.

“The normal kind,” he says, “with drinking and sex and smoke-” before he's allowed to continue his blissful rambling, you interrupt Jake with a raise of your hand.

“Need I remind you that I have asthma?” With a firm hand on the steering wheel, Jake's eyes roll into the back of his head.

“I can't go.” You continue, “That's a health risk.”

“You haven't had an asthma attack since you were 6,” he deadpans, “Do not piss me off,”

It was difficult to do much of anything with a pounding heart and a stomach flooded with molten anxiety. What do people do at parties anyway? You've watched enough low budget teen Netflix dramas to know… nothing good.

"I don't think you understand the words leaving my mouth," The dwindling daylight leaves your bones rattling with anxiety. You were supposed to be watching the sun setting over the river skyline from your dorm room. Your notes on autocracy in a Constitutional Monarchy, pending across the page in front of you, ready for submission Monday morning.

Instead, you find yourself arrested in a leather seat, in a shameless chequered miniskirt. Your exposed thighs are sticky with evening humidity. This is not how your evening was supposed to go.

"I need to be studying-"

You're battling fiercely with a Mr Morale tune oozing through the Jeep's speakers while your best friend remains blissfully unaware, rapping along as if your concerns were null and void.

Kendrick's voice was strong but yours was stronger. "Since I am an unwilling participant, this is technically kidnapping. You are illegally kidnapping me this very second. You are aware of that, yes?"

"Nonsense,” Jake chuckles, “I can't kidnap my ex girlfriend-” before you're able to rebut he quickly adds, “And I am aware that you're going to wake up one day realising your stupid ass wasted your college years studying." Jake shoots back while the chorus sails on without him. This was serious business if he took the time to ignore Kendrick's second verse. "I'm aware that in all our time in school you've done nothing but school. I'm also aware that I'm saving you from a life of complete and utter regret.” His big brown eyes narrow in the dark, and you are corralled into a shameful silence.

“Just don't try to sleep with me tonight-” you grumble under your breath.

“I'm a changed man,” he says, “I've only thought about fucking you only once this whole evening!”

“Oh god…” you shake your head slowly as the jeep assumes a safer speed in a residential enclosure. “These are rich people's palm trees, why am I seeing rich people's palm trees?"

"Because I got invited to an event that classifies the attendance of rich-people-palm-trees." His stoney visage cracks into a lazy, triumphant smirk.

“Rugby team.” Is all he says.

Your hand flies to the door handle, for what purpose specifically, remains an utter mystery. The car is still in motion so you did not have the intention of flinging the door open and hurling your body onto the biting tar underneath.

"Stop being so goddamn anxious all the time-”

“Jake, I don't even like Rugby-”

“No but you like me… and I like rugby… ergo…,” the car slows to a nauseating stop in the middle of a packed driveway.

"Let me rephrase that- Jake your friends hate me-"

"If this is about Jay again..."

"He's never liked me!" You huff, "Even when we were dating it's like he had it out for me or something!" Your shoulders are tense and Jake can't help but send a worried glance over. He ventures to lay his one hand on your thigh but stops himself, placing it instead on shoulder to rub out the knots there.

"You're making excuses. Jay hates everyone," he says, “I need you to forget about school for one night.” Jake's pep talk only succeeds in filling the void of your stomach with even more dread. “You think about dead politicians way too much for a 20 year old girl."

And that's how you end up in the backyard of a frat house as the third accessory of Jake and some unnamed girl. He has his arms wrapped around both your necks as he enters the party, like some glorified university replica of Hefner.

You know in this light, you appeared to be one of his girls, but the thought of weathering this party without Jake on standby filled you with unmistakable dread.

It was as if the soles of your feet were melting into the grass with each step you took towards the bonfire, even more so when you saw him already seated at the edge of a log, watching you approach with a smile that eases into an unimpressed frown. Jay's cup is held in mid-air as he watches you plop down beside him.

A single gold chain is tucked away behind a loose button up and suddenly, you wish to burrow into the ground underneath this log, away from the vulnerability of his gaze. You felt naked.

“You're not drinking.” Jongseong observes, glancing away from you and Jake's hand sliding over your hip bone.

“What’s in it?” You ask, eyes drifting over Jay's solo cup.

“Sugar, spice and everything nice,” he whispers back.

Beside you, Jake entertains the rest of his friends, his fingers rubbing unconsciously into your sides.

You don't seem at all impressed.

“What do you want me to say?” He asks with a slight deadpan, “That I put my love and affection into it? You're at frat house. This is probably 90% alcohol-”

“-And 10% mysterious drugs to roofie unsuspecting girls.” You conclude before making an elaborate show of pushing further into Jake's side. Jay doesn't like that one bit.

“If I wanted you to sleep with me,” his lips tickle your ear and you shiver, “I wouldn't need to get you high out of your mind to do it.”

Something in his words sounded vaguely like a promise.

“You'll just fall in line,” Jay said, “Like all the others.”

Before Jay could get another mind numbing word out, you're quickly standing from your post from beside Jake. “Coming here was a mistake. I'm Heading Home,”

Jake's hand tugs at yours as if prompting you to sit back down.

"Not after the game… C'mon, it'll be fun," you let Jake's words anchor you to the floor.

"Actually, Jake," Even under the moonlight you can spot a deep frown setting across his face, "I think I should go home. I've already had way too much to drink,"

"You've had 1 cup, my dear-”

"And a half," you clarify before shaking your head. ‘and your frjend is making me really fucking uncomfortable,’ you choose to leave those unspoken words unspoken.

You play with the string along the seam of your skirt, humming along to the Drake tune oozing out of the unseen speakers.

“Aww, you really don't wanna join our game?” Jay coos, looking up at you with an incriminating smirk as he clutches his heart as if you hurt him deeply.

“I'll pass.”

“Course you will,” he snickers. “Princess can't bear to stay away from her book too long, can she?’ It's that tone, that fucking that has you lowering

“What…” you swallow thickly, “What game?” you find yourself asking with a dignified huff as you plant your butt on the log in Between Jake and Jay once more. Your bones are rattling with unprocessed rage as Jake whispers, “broken telephone,”

He snickers, “just try to be as quiet as possible,- never thought I'd be saying those words to you of all people-” you sit at Jake's arm as the game begins with the first message travelling from Jungwon to Jungwon’s date. Unbeknownst to you, Jay has been zeroed in on your conversation with Jake all evening-his blood simmering at the sound of you and Jake whispering sweet nothings to each other like people who were still very much lovers.

His jaw clenched as he plants his steepled elbow on his knees, his hands hanging lazily in front of him as he tries to focus on playing the game and not the giggles exchanged between you and your supposed ex boyfriend.

Sunoo finally passes the message into Jay's right ear, a very clear and resounding- ‘there is nothing satanic about pineapple on pizza’- Jungwon’s attempt at absolution from an argument they had weeks ago. But instead of carrying this specific message over into your ear, subsequently bringing the game to a victorious end, he stops midway, watching your laugh aimed at the blackened night sky while Jake looks up at you with that expression that was very much not supposed to be reserved for ex's.

Jay decides to throw the game.

“Your turn,” Jay's voice is dripping in monotony, as if he couldn't be bothered to even talk to you, let alone play this game with you.

Your mouth falls open when he slithers his hand to the back of your neck, leading your head to his slightly parted lips until said lips are tickling your ear lobe. Your heart is sinking into the confines of your stomach and for the briefest moment, you fear the world might have stopped spinning as Jongseong carries his next words in your ear. Game be damned.

“First floor. Third door on the left.” His hand is still planted on the back of your neck as he whispers those words at you and you're immediately struck with the severity in his tone.

You weren't an idiot.

In fact you'd like to consider yourself quite smart.

You knew that whatever Jay confessed - or rather implied - was definitely not the contents of Jungwon’s intended message. A broken telephone indeed.

Still, coiling in your stomach is a confusing web of wired tension that needs to be snapped. All night, your banter with Jongseong had been laced with something far more frustrating, something you needed to get out of your system.

“U-Um I need to go to the bathroom-” you don't know why you're following his orders. You don't know why you're walking steadily towards what you know very well was probably Jongseong's room in the frat house- a lamb to the proverbial slaughter. All you know is that your heart speeds up just a little quicker when you hear him excusing himself from the group right behind you with; “I'm going for a smoke.”

Your mind is hazy with not only fear, but insane unmistakable lust as you make your way up the stairs, surfing between bodies as you make it onto the first floor landing. You can feel Jongseong's oppressive presence behind you. You can feel how anxious he is to get you alone.

And when you enter his room, there is almost no time to regret following orders because he has you pinned against the closed door. The sound of the party is muffled outside but all you're concerned with is Jongseong's palm cradling your throat, his hooded eyes holding something so incredibly angry within.

“What the fuck do I have to do to make you forget him?” His voice cracks as he mumbles drunkenly. You'd never seen someone as put together as Jay, appear so wayward, so driven by inhibitions.

His palm slithers tighter around your neck, too late for your brain to process that you need his hands off.

“You've been taunting me the whole night.”

“Jongseong, I don't know what-”

Your words bleed into a yelp as he pulls you in by the neck to connect your lips in a steering and sloppy kiss.

Once he gets even a tiny taste, all inhibitions are thrown out the window. Jongseong's cock hardens in his pants and he's utterly delicious with lust.

“You're such a slut, you know that?” He mumbles drunkenly, words meshing together, “Might as well have walked in with his fucking collar around your throat like he owned you-”

“Jongseong-” a gasp cracks your throat when Jay forces his hand underneath your skirt, immediately cupping your sex until you are arching your back against the door.

“Oh- fuck- Jongseong-”

A snicker slips from his alcohol stained lips as Jongseong drags you from the door to his window, overlooking the backyard.

“You want him to see what a slut you are for me?” Your tits press against the glass as Jongseong looms behind you, sliding your panties to the side before dipping his fingers into your soaked folds.

“I didn't-”

What you wanted to say before the weight of chasing your own lust overpowered your senses, is that you didn't know just how deep Jongseong's infatuation ran. You didn't even know he likes you.

“All he needs to do is turn around and look up, and he'll see you fucking yourself on my hand-” Jay's other hand reaches over to pull down your top, putting your breasts on absolute display. You're moaning wantonly into the air as you push yourself back into Jay's hand fucking into you and you feel like crying real tears.

“You're fucking soaked. Is that for me or for him?”

“Jongseong I'm gonna-” you're squirting all over his hand, your ass pressed against his front before the rest of the words could even leave your lips. Jongseong is utterly mystified by the sight of you arching backwards against him, body writhing as you come undone right there by his window.

“Fuck,” his voice cracks again, he's utterly pained. “You're gonna do that again, but on my cock this time-”

“Jongseong-” you barely made it a whisper before he's flinging you onto his bed. The springs creek underneath your back as he pulls you by the hips to the edge, manhandling you as if you were nothing but property.

“I saw you first, you know that, right?” Jay mumbles to himself as he drags his pants down to pull his aching cock out. “I saw you first and Jake-” he spits on his hand, jerking his cock above you, “That fucker knew I wanted you first but he hit on you anyway-” Before he can continue in anger, a low groan leaves his throat. “Fuck baby, open your legs just like that-” they snap open on command, you're not sure you're able to deny him anything in this state. And what a state it is: braids hanging around you like a halo, your shirt, a mess with your tits hanging out, all while Jay swipes your panties away to make way for his cock already leaking precum. It's like he didn't have time at all to undress you. He needed to be inside you so fucking badly.

“I'm gonna cum inside, I hope you know-” Jay's eyes roll back into his head as he eases his cock in, one hand pressed on the bed at the side of your head as he hovers over you, “You're squeezing my cock, for fuck's sake-” he ruts into you, creating a burst of friction that has your stomach coiling again-”

“Jongseong- baby-”

“Fucking Christ, don't call me that or I'm gonna cum-” he's soon fucking into you with the urgency and frustration that has been building since you and Jake announced your relationship.

It inked his veins and seeped into his habits, whereby he'd crane his neck back in every econ class, just to get a look at you in 10 minute intervals. He loved you and you just refused to see it.

Having you underneath him now, tits bouncing while he fucked you on his bed- it was all proving too much for Jongseong and you moan at the feeling of his cock twitching inside you.

“I'm gonna cum- fuck you're such a slut-”

He squishes your cheeks together, in a vaguely condescending display of power and kisses your forehead before muttering, “Tell me you're a slut for me and not him.” You clench around his cock at the vaguely animalistic quality in Jay’s voice as he squeezes the base of your throat, bringing you dangerously close to the edge.

“Jongseong-”

“Say ‘I'm Park Jongseong's slut-” say it babe and I'm gonna fucking cum,” you’re already slipping into your orgasm, the pressure in your cunt building into the unmistakable feeling of immense fullness.

You're gushing around his cock as you scream. “Your slut- Fuck! I'm Park Jongseong's slut-”

His nails dig into the skin around your neck and his eyes roll into the back of your neck.

“Oh my fucking god-” your squirt threatens to push his cock out but he fucks you through it, muttering, “My fucking girl,” over and over again to guide you both through the storm.

Once it's all over, you're panting with the weight of your actions hanging heavy between you. He's about to speak but you stop him first. “I didn't know.” You whispered. “If I'd known I would've never been with him. You have to believe that.”

Jongseong collapses beside you, pulling against his chest as his hands pat down your hair, “I believe you.” He says with finality.

[brights-place]

Ace and his U.M (Unique Magic)

Ace and his unique magic I think was actually not suprising to me because I was guessing and rambling to friends about the signs created about Ace and his future unique magic. One where he could be so OP and copy someone elses unique magic... WHICH WAS RIGHT ALONG WITH THAT PERSON WHO ALSO THOUGHT ACE IS U.M WAS COPYING BRO WAS ALSO A PROPHET LMAO!! anyways

It took 4 years to see his U.M so YAYY we finally got everybody's U.M so here am I to ramble about how Ace just whipped out a huge uno reverse card to whoever he's going to verse

So heres a ramble from me!! someone who rarely analyzes things but wanted to ramble anyways! Also this might not make sense because Im not good at explaining stuff that well I MAY WRITE BUT ANALYZING STUFF IS TOTALLY OUT OF MY LEAGUE UNLESS ITS SOMTH I CAN GRIND FOR HOURS ON I mean it goes for TWST but I can't word it right at all smh...

Ace is U.M was offically shown in Book 7-290 where he instantly went to help his friends in the fight with riddle.

In battle Ace himself admits his fear of failure by sharing the fact that he's afraid of failing everyone while the MC is there to reassure him along with the fact Grim encourages him by telling him that Ace can do it because we believe he can. Their support, their encouragement and reassurance is what brings Ace the strength to continue on thats what helped build up to his unique magic

“I’m going to take your special treat! Joker Snatch (Or translated to Give me your trump card) After ace has casted his U.M onto Riddle whats even funnier is he used RIDDLES own magic against him collaring his housewarden.

Ace and his unique magic is known as ‘Joker Snatch’ which gives the magic user the power to steal or copy their opponent's unique magic. Same abilities as Azul and Trey with the two’s U.M which is “Its a deal” and “Doodle Suite”

I wanted to explain about how we not only got hints of it but right on conversations from Ace about it even before he got it.

To start off first is Ace is name. Ace Trappola

Trappola is the name of an old Italian card game that stands out as the first one in which the ace is considered the highest-value card, and ranks above the king.

The change for this was because of changed following the French Revolution in the 1500 after which the Ace was promoted to the highest card in the deck-11- a symbolic nod to the overthrow of France's nobility and rise of the commoner a single number that outeanks it all.

Because ace was traditionally the lowest card in the deck until angry French proletariats overthrew their monarchy.

In games based on the superiority of one rank over another, such as most trick-taking games, the ace counts highest, outranking even the king. Which makes me focus on the Red Tyrant arc when Ace attacked Riddle not only once but TWICE for the males seat as housewarden and when Riddle overblotted. Correction Three times as we add Riddles Dream where they have to fight Riddle. Ace standing up to people in positions of authority who are objectively stronger than himself shows how an ACE is higher then any other rank no matter what because Ace is himself someone who may be in a group yet by itself/himself is strong on its own/

With the hints laid between chapters and vignettes the whole Unique magic was dangling right infront of our eyes ALSO SHOUT OUT TO THAT PERSON ON TIKTOK WHO GOT IT RIGHT BECAUSE I KNEW IT TOO I WAS SCREECHING!! Ahem

A conversation in Ace is dorm vignette shows with him talking with cater how he was able to 'steal' skills from others paying attention, along with the fact he’s good at mimicking people’s voices and it was repeatedly said that he’s good at copying stuff / is a fast learner. He is able to bend these things to his own will at the same time. In the same vignette we also see that Ace is impressive short-term memory is confirmed he is adept at mimicking those around him, or both. In his dorm vignette, Ace learns multiple things from Rook in order to get the missing hedgehogs back into heartslabyul along with the fact he was able to easily copy Vil is strutting in the Fairy Gala event after heckling and mocking jack. Another example is Ace able to copy his brother & fathers magic tricks. His older brother is his only sibling, seven years older, a former Heartslabyul student and NRC graduate.

With the fact Ace likes to do tricks infront of people like Deuce to scare them entertained by their shock of him doing things that they wouldn’t expect.

Ace explains that it was his brother who taught him how to lie convincingly and that he learned slight-of-hand by memorizing his brother’s motions since his brother refused to teach him directly, and Cater compliments him on being able to pick things up on his own and think so quickly on his feet.

Ace explains himself that “Most things, you can imitate if you see ‘em enough and pay enough attention.” another example and hint for his U.M Riddle also takes Ace is memorization telling him that he should do the same to memorize the Queen of Hearts’ Code which Ace denies quickly stating his way of memorization is different to memorizing the ones for the queen of hearts. These examples show how Ace is able to adapt to situations copy others in situations rembering the slightest bit of details even witnessing their unique magics only once but is able to get the hand of them easily yet his U.M could mean he has a higher chance of gaining blot.

Ace is such a good character I can't write anything that explains much well but I do wanna improve on that but Ace is a character was the first one we met who was able to stand up to people in higher positions with help of the [MC] pushing him even without a U.M dealing with overblots and now somebody who was helped by [MC] again who cheered him on to BEAT Riddle in a fight again but this time with a U.M The start and THE END was Ace being beside [MC] who pushed him forward in these situations and Ace being able to be vulnerable hits hard along with Deuce WHO HITS HARDER WITH HIS U.M WHEN THEY TOOK DOWN RIDDLE YEAHHHH. Anyways thanks for coming to my yap session It probs wasn't explained well but to wrap it up. Ace is unique magic was right there infront of us building up. How he's a quick thinker, a fast learner able to understand something, pick up a trait from someone else easily since he was younger that he was able to do it himself without being guided to do so and facing both times against riddle with the help of [MC] to push himself harder even when he thought he was going to fail the time when Riddle Overblotted, and when Riddle fought them using riddles own skill against him. Though we don't know the drawbacks caused by Ace is U.M like I said he could have higher chances of overblotting do certain Unique magic he uses from someone else cause his body harm and changes? like with Leona would he have cracks in his hands if he ever used it because of the sand? with cater if he duplicates himself would he get light headed because his body isn't used to it like cater's is? does he have scars from trying to use someone else is unique magic knowing the drawbacks but harm will still happen? will his body ache if he used fae of maleficence ? we don't know what could happen to ace with his unique magic and the drawbacks so for now its unkown. Ace is such a good character and I'm glad we got his Unquiet magic finally and I'm so happy to finally see it now that we got it all <33 ── .✦ Back to where I was tweakin

[jamiepaige]

Constant Companions Closeup #9: OBJECT OF AFFECTION

(also on spotify!)

O, wayward soul, I beg of thee an ear; Companionship, a Constant of desire, is all too fleeting. Would thee quell this fire? My love, do you know what you want to hear?

Welcome back to the Constant Companions Closeups - a series of in-depth dives into the songs off of my latest album, Constant Companions! Yesterday was some gay shit (Liaison) and today is some more gay shit (Object of Affection)

---

I'm usually pretty good about letting go of the things I make and letting them live imperfectly, but there is exactly one released song of mine that I've ever been actively unhappy with the final product of, that I haven't been able to let go of my displeasure with.

Honor Majesty, off of Autumn Every Day.

It's not that it's a bad song, or that it didn't have good ideas! In fact, I genuinely think it shares more with the music I make now than a lot of my older work does. Rather, it was incredibly rushed and full of uninspired choices I made for the sake of completing the song rather than making it the best version of itself, and it ultimately ended up falling incredibly flat relative to what I wanted it to be!

I really like the intersection of synthpop/electropop and fantasy. One of my favorite musicians ever is Baths, whose album Romaplasm is chock full of this exact thematic and sonic intersection, and it's so deeply inspiring to me that it still gets put on whenever I want to dream things up. I've always wanted to make things like that! Bubbly and fantastical, brimming with a sense of magic so pervasive it makes even the mundane seem mystic.

...Also I'm just a fantasy dork okay. I like wizards and shit. Sue me

I've been wanting to make a grandiose and fantastical story song for years, and my single attempt to do so felt like it missed the mark entirely. I did touch on fantasy a couple times on Bittersweet, but ultimately, when I started working on this album, I knew exactly what I wanted to take a second crack at.

---

The intended story in question here is fairly vague, but to sum it up as literally as possible:

A rebellious, disobedient, gender-questioning prince has mildly inconvenienced "his" royal lineage one too many times. Their solution is to invoke magicks widely regarded as heretical - what's a fantasy monarchy without some hypocrisy - to seal their "son's" soul within an automaton body, rendering "him" a perfect, subservient doll.

This doll is promptly spirited away under cover of darkness by a mage, and is granted free will once again. She experiences the crushing weight of newfound self-awareness and nearly spirals out of control, before realizing the mage who saved her is the same - a doll. It turns out being a magical-mechanical construct has its perks if you are TRANSGENDER. then they overthrow the monarchy and fuck nasty or whatever idk this is where the story gives way to things like "metaphor"

this is a song about artifice and being transgender

Seriously, though, I know that being an electronic-music-producing transgender lesbian with a thing about dolls or robots or whatever is a major endless-store-shelves-of-identical-buzz-lightyear-action-figures moment on my part, but dammit, I own a copy of Logic Pro and a genuine leather wizard hat, I inject estrogen into my stomach fat every Wednesday, and I think ball joints are cute. I'm posting this on Tumblr, for gods sake, I am unconcerned as an active choice

---

With the exception of Liaison, the entirety of Constant Companions utilizes only three unique vocal synth characters - ANRI, Gumi, and Teto. This trifecta was born organically from simply being the vocal synths I enjoy using the most, and in this song, I wanted to use all three of them almost like one single singer, freely shifting intonation based on the context. I messed with this idea before on Ballroom, my voice meshing and melting into Gumi V3's voice, but it felt especially appropriate for this context; Plus, I feel like there aren't a lot of examples of vocal synths being used/recontextualized in this way, and that's a shame in my opinion!!

I really want to do more story-driven songwriting like this in the future as well. Now that I'm a bonafide VocaloP I've been floating the idea of doing a song series with this trio... I'm mostly just worried I'll want to get too ambitious with it.

Off the top of my head, Object of Affection references at least eight other songs of mine - Honor Majesty is an obvious one, but it also directly samples parts of Autumn Every Day, and lyrically references genuinely just a bunch of things. I'm probably forgetting some, even!

I know I'm the Leitmotif Lover, but it's a lot even by my standards. However, this song's entire existence already served to satisfy a fairly self-indulgent desire, and these days, I don't deal in half measures. I think the final product serves as a lovely little look back at where I've come from, though, and perhaps even a little glimpse into the future!

That all being said, Object of Affection in some sense is also a love letter to a beloved part of my creative process - the voice memo. A lot of the audio I've provided with these posts have been recordings off my phone for good reason! Not only are the chops at the beginning of the song entirely comprised of edited recordings I got on my phone, but the sample at the very end happens to be from a particularly legendary recording, never before heard by the public...

Until now. I present to you an excerpt from "the worst beat on planet earth", featuring none other than unit.0.

That's about it for today!! If you have any questions, I'll gladly answer them below, but otherwise, I'll be back here tomorrow to talk about this album's title track laid askew - My Darling, My Companion!

[durnesque-esque]

Sorry wait can i ask about catholicism? (Pls feel free to ignore of youd rather not, no pressure)

The pope chooses a name? The last popes name wasnt actually Francis? Why??? I assume they pick a Saint name but like.... whats wrong with their own personal name?

Thanks, hope youre having a decent day.

Turtle i saw at work for tax <3

Hey there - yeah, kinda like Kings / Queens choose a regnant name, Popes choose a Papal name. Although, this may also be something you're unfamiliar with, given the last King and Queen of England have both chosen to use their own names as their regnal names. But Queen Elizabeth's father was Albert but adopted the name "George" as King - "to emphasise continuity with his father and restore confidence in the monarchy." In Catholicism, it's a tradition that developed after a few centuries and an oft-cited reason is that Jesus called the first "pope" a new name - "Peter" rather than his given name "Simon."

Bible verse: "Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah,[a] the Son of the living God.” 17 And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you, you are Peter,[b] and on this rock[c] I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it."

I throw quotes around the word "Pope" up there because Peter was a leader of early Christianity, but the tradition of the Papacy didn't really solidify until the 400s. The Catholic Church, however, draws the line of the Papacy to Peter through all the early Bishops of Rome - which remains the official role of the Pope. The Pope is the Bishop of Rome. Anyway, back to the point, the choosing of a new name symbolizes the beginning of the new role and Popes will choose their names to signify their intent and inspiration as new Pope. I don't know how familiar you are with Catholicism, but one sacrament of the Catholic Church is Confirmation wherein members of the Church become recognized as adults. As a part of this tradition, believers will choose a Saint that they draw inspiration from or feel represents a need in their life and will take the name of that Saint as their Confirmation name. Not one they'll use in real life, but they are called by that name during the Confirmation mass.

For example, as a wayward youth I was constantly losing things (whoot undiagnosed ADHD!), and St. Anthony is the Patron Saint of Lost Things, so my Confirmation name is Anthony. So again, Popes will pick a new name that signifies the beginning of their new life as Pope and that is usually significant to them personally and as a signifier of the kind of values they hold / ideals they aspire to. In this case, the previous Pope Leo - Pope Leo XIII (Pope from 1878 - 1903) was known for his modernism (of the time) and intellectualism. "In his famous 1891 encyclical Rerum novarum, Pope Leo outlined the rights of workers to a fair wage, safe working conditions, and the formation of trade unions, while affirming the rights to property and free enterprise, opposing both socialism and laissez-faire capitalism." He is also "particularly remembered for his belief that pastoral activity in political sociology was also a vital mission of the church as a vehicle of social justice and maintaining the rights and dignities of the human person." (same source as prev).

So we might hopefully anticipate then that Pope XIV (birth name: Robert Prevost) intends to focus on the well being of the poor and the rights of the working people of the world - which would be a continuation of Francis' general direction.

Pope Francis' name btw was originally Jorge Mario Bergoglio. He was the first pope to choose the name Francis. St. Francis was creator of the Franciscan order - an order known for its devotion to poverty, chastity, & obedience. I think we can see that Pope Francis was devoted to care for the poor - as much as any Pope can be.

Anyway, that was a crazy long answer, but hopefully informative. I should say here that I have not been a practicing Catholic in almost 10 years - haven't been religious in any meaningful way for almost as long - but I do have 2 theological degrees with a foci on Church history. So I'm not speaking out of my ass here. While I may no longer be a member of the Catholic Church, as an activist, I am deeply interested in the Papacy as an indicator of direction for the Catholic Church. Because, like it or not, it will be a driving force on the world stage. It is better for the world to have a good Pope than a rigid conservative Pope. I am optimistic - given his opening address and name choice - that Pope Leo XIV may be a better Pope than some of the options we were spared would have been.

In the Papacy, much like politics in general, a liberal is often followed by a conservative - to get a centrist with SOME liberal leanings, is a far better outcome than what we could have had. Imagine if we'd had another Ratzinger aka Pope Benedict?

Oh and cute turtle. <3

[sartcastix]

THE SANDWING AND SKYWING!!!! Littlefoot and Spire, respectively.

+ closeup of Littlefoot's homemade prosthetic! (I am in no way a prosthetic professional, so if anyone more educated than me that has suggestions on how to make it more realistic, I'm all ears.)

More info VVVV

Yes, Littlefoot's name is a bit insensitive, I think the other dragonets would try to nickname him because Littlefoot doesn't particularly like his name either.

(I was going to name him Camel before realizing that name was already taken in the wof-verse, so now I'm stuck. Name suggestions would be amazing)

"Littlefoot" (for now)

A sandwing hatched with a crippled leg, his mother named him that not out of ill-will but in a lighthearted way. His mother did not know it would haunt him for his entire dragonet-hood.

Littlefoot helps his father as a traveling merchant, making and selling dragon prosthetics to those who need them. Little was sent to Jade Mountain in hopes of a higher education.

Littlefoot is quick-witted and can play anything off as a joke, sometimes to other's dismay. He can persevere through anything without showing negative emotions and be a beam of encouragement for those who need it. He can be a dragon-pleaser, and will always help, even if he's exhausted.

Spire

A Skywing raised in solitude under her conspiracy-obsessed parents, who brainwashed her at a very early age. They are strictly against any form of monarchy and believe the world used to be one large continent full of scavengers. They idolize scavengers, believing them to be a superior intellect that dragons are unaware of.

Spire was sent to Jade Mountain while her parents went on an expedition to try and find the Lost City of Night.

Spire is very outspoken about her beliefs and will debate anyone who disagrees. She is competitive and brutally honest, hurting other dragons' feelings unintentionally through personal questions. Spire has an unquenchable curiosity and short temper. She has underlying feelings of constant paranoia.

[sapphiel]

Introducing The Menavlions, a band of rebels who spearheaded a rebellion against the Kingdom of Spades.

All are survivors of raids by the Spades Army and their Ace, and are taking care of refugees they have saved or escaped to them. They answer to no government and do not accept aid from the other Kingdoms, for they have a disdain for any form of royalty or authority due to their former experiences. They also have all donned new names, based on types of polearms.

(Detailed character explanations below the cut:)

Pike is the head the Menavlions, the one who started it all and considers themselves responsible for everyone else. Constantly angry, aggressive, and vengeful, but does show a soft side to his friends and the refugees. Having lost most of his family, he has become incredibly protective the Menavlion crew, people they now consider to be their new family, and he is more than willing to die for them. Trans male, he/him.

Fauchard, Pike's biological younger sibling, a youngin who's had aspirations to be a performer for the King and Queen, but ever since the latter's sudden reign of tyranny, and having one foot injured and ultimately amputated during their attempts of fleeing, those dreams were dashed and broken. But despite that, she is surprisingly optimistic and cheerful, serving as the light of inspiration and motivation for everyone else. But, she's no idiot. She simply believes that complaining about everything is not the way to go. Trans female, she/her.

Voulge, the self-titled rogue, has always excelled in sneaking about and knowing all the secret routes and hiding spots all over the kingdom, be they natural or self-made. Surprisingly (and disturbingly), they are very well-versed on human anatomy, especially weak points. They always act a bit devious and secretive, as if knowing more than they are letting on. Non-binary, they/them.

Sovnya, the tall towering wall of muscle, was a former soldier who joined because of a last minute change of heart. She actually had captured Pike, and was on the verge of killing him then and there, but after seeing his kept refugees, seeing starving children and elders, she felt a sudden flow of remorse, something she thought she had lost long ago. She's very quiet, almost mute, speaking only in short brief sentences. However, they almost always mean well, they just happen to be in a constant MASSIVE self conflict and doubt. She's also missing one arm after helping Pike and the others escape from Atrocitus. Has a Russian accent. She/her.

Corseque, a nervous wreck of a nurse who joined the cause after seeing too much pain and death, and thinking enough is enough. However, despite her medical expertise and knowledge, she is actually extremely squeamish to blood and gore, but what she couldn't stomach even less so was the suffering that happens around her. She has a fighting spirit, and is in a constant battle between her cowardice and her willpower. …sometimes though, you might find her having a breakdown… and even emptying the contents of her stomach from time to time in an unwilling vomit session. She/her.

Roncone, the Menavlion's spy, was, or is, a priest that tried to work for the King and Queen, but he seems to know something that the others don't, claiming it to be the reason behind his defiance to the monarchy. Powerless to do anything directly, he instead feeds crucial information to the Menavlions, be it plans for raids and attacks, the Ace of Spades' activity, or any civilians whose lives will be endangered and need saving. He/him.

Guisarme, an elderly man who's a skilled armorer, and once thought he was going to die then and there, but after being rescued by the Menavlions, he's since dedicated his life to their cause, and being a former blacksmith, he supplies them with much needed tools, weapons, and armor for any type of problem. He's a bit rustled at times, and may be hard to get the attention of due to his focus at work, sometimes resulting in a very startled response if pushed. He/him.

Trident, a fisherman who lost all of his beloved family, is the de facto chef for the rest of the group. Being rather jaded and traumatized from that whole ordeal, the food he makes tends to be bland and unenthusiastic, but no one can really complain as it's better than eating literally nothing but dirt and gravel. He sometimes apologizes for what he's made, but assures everyone that it's going to keep them going for a bit longer if need be. He/him.

[rwrbficrecs]

The Keepers by foux_dogue (book-verse)

@dot524: This oneshot was full of so many big-sister feelings from June. This is an AU in which Alex is hospitalized in an accident. June realizes that Alex and Henry have been in a secret relationship for a while and tries to help the rest of her family understand while she grapples with this new reality. TBH I want more to this little universe but I loved what we got in this story!

Cracked Heart by @absoluteaudacitywrites (book-verse)

@na-dineee: This canon variation had me completely hooked! Alex's world is rocked by a quite publicly breakup with his childhood sweetheart, Liam. Things take a turn for the better when he forms an unexpected bond with Prince Henry. Alex is portrayed as soft and vulnerable, while Henry provides endless patience and support. He also helps Alex discover new facets of himself. I wholeheartedly recommend! Bonus: the shorter follow-ups are a treat, too.

(Not) A Cinderella Story by @welcometololaland (book-verse)

@na-dineee: One of my comfort reads! Alex is a JSD student at NYU Law, Prince Henry officially lives in NY and is unofficially out. Also, Alex hates the monarchy, eat the rich and all that. When the two meet at an event, Henry's curiosity is piqued when he receives back the NDA that Alex (and all guests) had to sign, marked up thoroughly in red. The story is very fast-paced, super funny, a lot smutty, also touching - it's everything! And Junora are the icing on the cake!

Cold Cases, Lost Causes by @tintagel-or-cockleshells (book-verse)

@suseagull04: In a nutshell, this fic is RWRB meets mystery novels, and it's amazing! The mystery, the romance and the angst all make this one of my new favorites!

i want to mark my skin (it is paper thin) by violetbaudelairequagmire (book-verse)

@na-dineee: In this charming one-shot, Alex is a tattoo artist, Henry is still a prince - and he wants a tattoo. After being to Alex's studio once, he wants one more. And maybe one more? - Of course, oblivious Alex doesn't get who his new regular is, but the sparks start flying instantly. Rated M but feels more like E to me, this sweet story is an absolute delight to devour.

we broke all the pieces (still wanna play the game) by @theprinceandagcd (book-verse)

@heysweetheart-writes: I absolutely loved this best friends to lovers fic having drunken sex because they're both dumb and in love your honor, in every universe. It's funny and sweet and hot. Please give it a read!

Rule Number Nine by @clottedcreamfudge (book-verse)

@suseagull04: TZP works collide in this The Kissing Booth AU! This fic really has it all- friends to lovers, all the feels, and a little bit of angst, and it's all done in the same fast pace as the book, especially the banter between both Alex and Henry and June and Henry, which is amazing!

l'échappatoire by @anincompletelist (book-verse)

@14carrotghoul: This time loop fic is an amazing exploration of grief and Henry's character. Sucks you right in, breaks your heart, and patches it together with beautiful prose as a cherry on top!

check out our past Monthly Faves here ❤️

[nesiacha]

Reflection Post on Marie-Thérèse

I am not as well-versed in the subject of Marie-Thérèse of France as I am in other topics, as I have only encountered a few serious historians on the matter. My study of her has mainly been through the lens of André Castelot and Waresquiel (although I never had the chance to finish Hélène Becquet’s biography of Marie-Thérèse, having unfortunately lost the book). Furthermore, at some point, I will talk more about historical events than about Marie-Thérèse herself.

The more I read about her, the more I find myself torn between two feelings: compassion for whatshe went through as a child and a sense of contempt for her ultra-royalist views. She didn’t listen to her uncle, Louis XVIII, who, on the whole, was the wisest in the family, even though she remained loyal to him all her life. Instead, she leaned toward the political views of her other uncle, Charles X (who was a fool during his reign, trying to turn back French ideals without learning from the failures of Louis XVI). Some have claimed that, because Marie-Thérèse had a difficult character that her mother, MarieAntoinette, tried to correct, her flaws only worsened after she endured her trials. Personally, I don’t believe this. Let’s not forget that when she threw tantrums as a child, she was probably just testing her limits, like any other child (although I have no doubt that her parents and aunt taught her that absolute monarchy was the best system). In short, she witnessed the execution of her parents and her aunt (though let’s be honest, Louis XVI was solely responsible for his own demise, betraying the nation in his attempt to restore absolute monarchy. He accepted war, knowing that the soldiers had little chance of survival, allowed his wife to correspond with the enemy despite the little she knew, and, at the very least, we are dealing with a case of massive involuntary manslaughter. Even in the 21st century, a leader could be condemned to death for what Louis XVI did). Furthermore, as much as Marie-Antoinette was made a scapegoat for many of the regime’s ills, and Elisabeth too, I find it hard to sympathize with them, although I was against theirs executions with so little evidence. Regardless of what can be reproached to them, nothing could have been worse than what happened. She saw her brother forcibly separated from her, her mother, and her aunt (and on this point, I sympathize—there should never have been such a forced separation, regardless of how guilty her mother and aunt were), and he died not long after. Therefore, I believe that Marie-Thérèse of France, no matter how right the revolutionary government may have been and how wrong her family’s actions were, had the right to bear no grudge against them, especially since she was the only one in her family—along with her brother— who wasn’t guilty. She suffered simply because she was born into the wrong family, which loved her dearly, despite everything. In fact, I don’t fault her for having ultra-royalist views, because, first of all, everyone has the right to hold different political opinions, and second, as I’ve mentioned, she suffered from a young age, in a time when therapists didn’t exist. So imagine the damage… It is especially when she returned to France that I feel compelled to make some criticisms.

Of course, she wasn’t at the head of the Kingdom of France and didn’t make the decisions, but let’s not forget two things: she was on track to become the next queen consort (since she married LouisAntoine de Bourbon), and she approved of ultra-royalist ideas. First, when Louis XVIII returned to the throne for the second and final time, facing Bonaparte, Marie-Thérèse naturally wanted to erase all traces of Napoleon. This seems understandable, as a new regime was being established, and it needed to be clear that Bonaparte’s reign was over. Here’s an excerpt from André Castelot’s book: "All the walls of the palace, the furniture, the hardware, the lamps, are covered in imperial crowns and the cursed 'N'. Eagles soar on the ceiling, bees flutter on the draperies, and the carpets are covered with violets. Efforts were made with fervor to hunt down the bees, to turn the eagles into swans, and to change the 'N' into two 'L's back to back. But the task was considerable! The Count of Artois found that nothing was progressing. Urged by Madame, he came to complain bitterly to his brother, who shrugged. Had he not promised to pardon even the symbolic violets of the Empire?"

Now, here are two things that struck me. At a time when the situation in France was catastrophic, with foreign powers demanding terrifying compensation, not to mention the issues of the White Terror and the loss of territories, she advised (although Artois would have done this with or without her) focusing on real estate, rather than advising him to deal with much more urgent matters. Moreover, I feel like these works cost quite a bit of money, particularly in silverware. Again, this is in poor taste when considering the state of France’s finances.

She would quickly oppose, as I mentioned earlier, the fact that Louis XVIII was a bit more flexible than they were, although she should have listened to him. Nevertheless, it’s important to note that she deserves credit for remaining loyal to him.

This ultra-royalism that Marie-Thérèse supported would do a lot of harm to France. To begin with, it veered into mysticism, with some ridiculous aspects, such as the Thomas Martin case. This peasant, convinced that an archangel had sent him to the king to ask for a counter-revolutionary crusade, was even received by Louis XVIII. While the right (some insincerely) claimed that they were right, the left considered him a victim of hallucinations. The ultras, faced with what they saw as revolutionary individualism, advocated for a society based on divine right, where man has no rights but only duties toward God. There was a rejection of the concepts of liberty and equality, claiming that man would be happier accepting the place God had for him, rather than attempting to transform the world.

It goes without saying why this idea was a catastrophe.

Finally, the assassination of the Duke of Berry, made a martyr (who had been a worldly and libertine figure previously looked down upon by the ultras), ensured that the ultras succeeded in pushing out the liberal minister Decazes, leading to an even harsher regime. As a result, figures like Lafayette found themselves at the head of movements like the Carbonari, composed of Bonapartist nostalgics, republicans, and royalists loyal to Decazes. In 1820, the “French Bazaar” plot, aimed at a coup, was discovered and suppressed with moderation. Other uprisings were planned, particularly in the West. In 1822, there was the affair of the four sergeants of La Rochelle: these noncommissioned officers, accused of conspiring against the regime, were arrested and sentenced to death despite the lack of concrete acts (they had only had discussions about their opposition). Their execution turned them into martyrs for the liberal-royalist opposition, republicans, and Bonapartists.

Once again, Marie-Thérèse is clearly not the person responsible for this fiasco, and I don’t believe she wanted the death of these four sergeants. It wasn’t her who led France, and she wasn’t the minister. However, the fact that she supported this ultra-royalism, despite seeing the damage it was causing, shows that she didn’t realize ( or didn’t want to see) the the dangers of ultra politics.

It seems that she approved of the coronation ceremony of Charles X in Reims, which cost a vast sum of money—an imprudent reminder of the time of absolute monarchy and a justified anger from Parisians. There was even a law that Charles X enacted which pleased the ultras: the death penalty for sacrilege, which caused an outcry. Although this law was not adopted, the dangers of such a measure were clear. Another law was the one on the billion, compensating émigrés who had lost their properties sold as national goods during the revolution. Again, not only was this not a priority for rebuilding the country, but it also showed a condemnation of the revolution. Furthermore, this decision ultimately angered even the most meticulous ultras who simply wanted the restitution of their properties. The amount paid didn’t reach the billion, which might have frustrated the recipients, but it was still significant enough to further irritate the opposition.

Honestly, even some of the successes achieved by the minister Villele (who, although more reactionary than Decazes and detesting liberalism, didn’t want to strengthen the position of the ultras) under Charles X don’t make me want to praise him, especially regarding Haiti. Charles X would have liked to, but he knew it wasn’t possible to reconquer Haiti. He would, therefore, force this new country, under the threat of war (which Haiti knew must be avoided), to pay France 150 million gold francs as compensation. It wasn’t until the 20th century that this debt was paid, showing the financial difficulties Haiti had to face. This is dishonest, because if we look at the facts, it was really France that should have compensated Haiti, given the harm they had done, especially when Bonaparte attempted to restore slavery, as you can see in this post:https://www.tumblr.com/nesiacha/758502228409614336/here-we-come-about-a-shocking-act-by-french-army?source=share .

Then, Charles X would go even further into ultra-royalism by appointing Polignac. Upon taking office, Polignac’s government, seen as ultra-royalist, sparked strong liberal opposition. Polignac, though aware of the limitations of his actions, struggled to align his policy with the Constitutional Charter, leading to conflicts with the Chamber of Deputies. In March 1830, an address passed by 221 deputies clearly manifested their opposition to the king, who responded by dissolving the Chamber and organizing new elections. However, despite dubious maneuvers to influence the results, the liberals won an even greater victory, deepening the political crisis. Meanwhile, the economic situation worsened: a banking crisis, poor harvests, and rising unemployment weakened the population, while social and generational tensions heightened.

The frustrations of students, workers, and peasants fueled a climate of unrest conducive to revolt. Faced with this growing opposition, Charles X attempted a power grab in July 1830, imposing ordinances to dissolve the Chamber, strictly control the press, and reform the electoral system to favor the aristocracy. These measures provoked an immediate reaction: the press called for resistance, workers and students rose up, and barricades multiplied in Paris.

The incompetence of the government and the absence of military reinforcements (which shows Charles X’s narrowmindedness since his best fighters were sent to Algeria,Charles having waged this war of conquest in order to distract people from real political problems ) facilitated the insurgents’ victory, and they took control of the capital on July 29. Faced with this insurrection, Charles X withdrew his ordinances and attempted a government reshuffle, but it was already too late. On July 30, his regime was condemned, paving the way for a dynastic change and the July Monarchy.

What about Marie-Thérèse? She didn’t hesitate to support the ultra-royalism advocated by Charles X, against all common sense. She let her personal grudges take precedence over the good of France and its people, to whom she was destined to be queen consort. As I said earlier, her convictions could have been forgiven if she had chosen not to get involved in politics. But the moment she decided to participate, whether directly or indirectly, since she held the position of first lady of the court, she had the responsibility not to act on her grudges and to push aside her overly reactionary ideas for the good of her country and its people. Many people suffered as much as, if not more than, she did during the French Revolution, and they decided to fulfill what they considered their duty for the good of their country.

There are even leaders in history who suffered before being crowned and later worked with people who had directly or indirectly harmed them personally.

Yet they adopted the right attitude, surely they despised them in public, but they set aside their grudges for the good of their countries, which was the essential thing to do (although, to be fair, the monarchs I have in mind didn’t face cases of regicide themselves and were horrified by it, and were called to obey the sovereignty, even though Elizabeth I did ultimately have Mary Stuart executed after much hesitation—though that’s a complex story).

Marie-Thérèse didn’t do that. Yes, she was charitable, loyal and very courageous, but that’s not enough when you see that she supported policies that wasted money for nothing. Severe, atrocious measures came from those who supported the ultra-royalism she backed, and she saw how this affected grieving families (especially with the case of the four sergeants of La Rochelle), but she was too rigid to change her attitude, disconnected from reality, and stubborn.

In the end, she and her husband, Louis XIX, could only be king and queen for 20 minutes because they were too tied to ultra-royalism, which ended up being the best thing. We can only understand the general indifference when Charles X, his son, and Marie-Thérèse left once again.

However, far from me the idea that this woman was a bloodthirsty person—that’s not true. But it would be a good idea if one day there were a historically accurate series from 1789 to 1848 (without demonizing the government of Year II or over-glorifying Bonaparte, as we see nowadays). It would be so interesting to follow Marie-Thérèse’s journey from a joyful child to a sad teenager due to all the misfortunes she endured, and then to a stubborn ultra-royalist woman. That would be fascinating.

P.S. After some hesitation, I didn’t mention how the regicides who rallied to Bonaparte were exiled and suffered from that exile, as one might argue it was a necessary repression since they supported Bonaparte, who had ousted Louis XVIII from the throne. For the same reasons, I didn’t include the story of the so-called repression of the patriots in 1816. Sources :

Hélène Becquet

André Castelot

Antoine Resche

P.S : To see the complexity of the political scale (there is a short excerpt on the Restoration period here: https://www.tumblr.com/nesiacha/758891467906465792/mini-history-on-a-short-period-concerning?source=share)

[ohholydyke]

Hi! As an LGBTQ+ Christian, I'm genuinely really curious how you reconcile non-celibate homosexuality with Bible verses like Leviticus 18:22 and Romans 1:26-28? While I know alternative interpretations/translations are offered, taking into account context, I really struggle with why God would allow the more commonly accepted interpretations to be so widespread if they were wrong, so I'm super interested in your view on this (if you're okay to share?). <3

Of course! First of all let me start by acknowledging I am not a biblical scholar and am only human, so I encourage you to do your own research. Also, if any of my dating or analysis is factually wrong (like my manuscript analysis), I will be happy to address that if pointed out.

Allow me to take this step by step. This post ended up being super long so I’m going to break it up into three separate posts. Part I is Leviticus 18:22, part II will be on Romans 1:26-28 and part III will be on why I believe the widely held interpretations are so widespread if they are wrong, and why widespread theology and belief doesn’t necessarily mean correctness or truth. I’ll @ you and cross link these posts for access as I go.

Edit: Part II is now up

Part I: Leviticus 18:22

First off, external context:

The following text is from The New Catholic Bible: St Joseph Compact Size Edition (2019)

Modern critics agree that during the Babylonian Exile some priests (of the tribe of Levi) collected and made part of their final text the liturgical books that had taken shape in the course of time: a ritual for sacrifices, another for the investiture of priests, a set of norms for distinguishing clean from unclean; at some later point, they added the "Law of Holiness" (chs. 17-26). It is this body of material that makes up the Book of Leviticus. The various components are not all from the same period: some prescriptions date from the time of Moses and even earlier; in other instances the editors adapt ancient rites to their own present religious concerns. The Law of Holiness, which probably dates from the last years of the monarchy (end of the seventh century) reflects the viewpoints of the Jerusalem priesthood and stands in contrast to the viewpoints found in Deuteronomy, which was published during the same period.

All the laws systematized in Leviticus are regarded as expressing God's will. They impose on the chosen people a common religious behavior by which this people will show themselves to be the people of the Sinai covenant. The Lord has delivered his own from the land of Egypt and he now expects them to acknowledge his presence and render him the worship due to him.

Sacrifice, which takes numerous forms, is the essential act of worship. It signifies that the children of Israel hand over themselves and their possessions to him who is their supreme protector. It unites them to their God and, by winning his forgiveness, restores this union when sin has broken it. In short, through sacrifice God saves and sanctifies his people. Israel is a priestly people; the priests in their actions symbolize the worship of an entire people.

In addition to moral and liturgical precepts, Leviticus lists various, sometimes quite detailed regulations meant to decide which objects and things hinder a person from drawing near to what is sacred, even though no moral fault might be involved; it was thought that these objects had a baleful power. Like the neighboring peoples, the children of Israel had their prohibitions, but even through these taboos, which were standard in this ancient civilization, they came to know the holiness of God, which is so strongly asserted throughout this book and which came to pervade their entire existence.

Let’s do some close reading here. First of all, Leviticus as we have it was compiled and written during the Babylonian Exile, likely combining oral tradition, Jewish practice and written documents. This means that the text carries with it a long history of existing laws and reflection on customs and law/the priesthood. This isn’t to say that the text isn’t divinely inspired (a doctrine I personally affirm though you don’t have to), but because it was written through mortal men we can assume the limitations of humanity apply such as bias, cultural understanding (such as the way an American’s understanding of the date 9/11 is coded by the 2001 plane attacks as a modern day citizen), and imperfect dialectic and rhetoric skills. Once again, this doesn’t denigrate the text as much as just humbly acknowledge that as humans we are limited, and we must approach Scripture with that knowledge lest our arrogance overtake us into the sin of pride (which is similar to the issue a lot of Catholics take with Protestants defending strict sola scriptura). This means that we must approach the text with the understanding that Leviticus 18:22 was written after the law was given, traveling in the desert, the establishment of Israel as a kingdom and the Babylonian captivity and exile. That’s…a lot of time for potential interference between the law given by God and the text in our hands. It’s like playing a really long game of telephone: we’re probably really close, but there can be gaps and we should acknowledge that potential. So I can acknowledge that the verse was written by fallible men, with human limitations, quite some time and distance culturally and geographically from the original handing of the law at Sinai. Once again, this doesn’t denigrate Scripture and its worthiness, but is a necessary acknowledgement for humility and understanding within the text’s proper context.

Second of all, the above quote tells us that the laws are there to show that the Sinai people are different and set apart (more on this later). This gives us the motivation and intention of the text and the laws within them. Now, while we may certainly argue that the truths expressed in the law have worthiness in being continued (one of my favorite parts of Leviticus is the house code of Leviticus 14 which tells the priesthood how to deal with mold infections in a house and when it’s salvageable and when it needs to be destroyed/how to avoid getting sick from it with the means available to them in the desert and later on when they could actually build houses) it’s important to recognize that the law was given to the Jewish people in order to keep them alive in the desert and to separate them from Egypt and the Canaanites (Leviticus 18:3). Thus everything contained in the law is for one or both purposes, and should be evaluated in this way. The question becomes: what was the behavior being addressed in 18:22, and how did that keep them alive in the desert and/or separate them from the people around them? I’ll come back to this question later.

Notably, the point of being separated from people around them was twofold: the purpose was either to avoid being judged and looked down upon by other nations (by doing something they’d see as shameful or dishonorable) OR it was to set apart Jewish religion from other religious practices around (remember Leviticus is primarily aimed at priests and framed within a religious law (rather than secular) context). So 18:22 must be referring to behavior either condemned by other nations OR religious behavior normalized within other nations (a good comparison is the prohibitions of scarification and tattoos, as these were regularly performed by surrounding religious groups for ritual purposes. Notably, we no longer uphold such prohibitions as we are not Ancient Israel.)

As a quick side note the detail on describing houses of stone also emphasizes my above point about the text being written post Sinai and the desert exile (when they were more nomadic and largely in tent encampments).

Another aspect of note is when the quote above talks about “the various components are not all from the same period: some prescriptions date from the time of Moses and even earlier; in other instances the editors adapt ancient rites to their own present religious concerns.” This also affects our approach to the applicability of the text in our lives, and we must acknowledge that we don’t have the law dictated by God at Sinai (dated roughly 1313 BC), we have an inspired account by men written during the exile (dated roughly 425 BC to 328 BC). That’s a thousand year separation. Remember that game of telephone? So we have God’s dictated law, filtered through God’s inspired scripture a thousand years later by a divinely inspired yet still fallible and limited human being. And that’s just the original copy. The earliest manuscript of Leviticus we have, 4QExod-Lev of 4Q17, is a Dead Sea scroll that dates to 250 BC (so at least 78 years since the original), and that manuscript doesn’t even have 18:22. For that verse we have to go to 4Q23 which is dated sometime between 140 and 37 BC. So now we have our divinely dictated word of law being written by divinely inspired humans, then (since we only assert that the originals are divinely inspired, not copies or translations) being copied and translated into a not divinely inspired manuscript written approximately 1,173-1,276 years after the original law was dictated at Sinai, all by fallible humans. That’s a lot going on in our game of telephone before we even touch the question of translation, preservation, and the biblical canon.

That’s made even more complicated by the fact that 18:22 is part of the Law of Holiness, which “probably dates from the last years of the monarchy (end of the seventh century) [and] reflects the viewpoints of the Jerusalem priesthood [of the time] and stands in contrast to the viewpoints found in Deuteronomy, which was published during the same period.” Telephone game and human limitations.

Finally, for external context, we have the following part of the quote: “Leviticus lists various, sometimes quite detailed regulations meant to decide which objects and things hinder a person from drawing near to what is sacred, even though no moral fault might be involved; it was thought that these objects had a baleful power. Like the neighboring peoples, the children of Israel had their prohibitions, but even through these taboos, which were standard in this ancient civilization, they came to know the holiness of God” I want you to keep this in mind as we move into the next part of our verse analysis

Internal context:

Leviticus 18 is part of the Law of Holiness (or Holiness Code), which is unique for regarding all of Israel as holy (not just the priests or sacrifices) and mainly is the bit where God says that the Canaanites were doing certain practices and Israel needs to not do them. So we know 18:22 refers to something the Canaanites were doing, which satisfies the earlier question about the verse needing to help Israel survive in the desert and/or set them apart from other peoples. 18:3 specifies this by saying “you shall not do what is done in the land of Egypt where you lived, nor are you to do what is done in the land of Canaan where I am bringing you; you shall not walk in their statutes.”

Remember the earlier definition of “set apart”? Let’s come back to that. Option 1 is to avoid shame. Option 2 is to avoid religious practices to set Judaism apart. The word used in 18:22 is the infamous to’evah. Abomination. What does to’evah mean in its original context? Let’s look at other verses. In Genesis 43:32, it’s used to describe the way Egyptians believed it was a to’evah to eat bread with the Hebrews. In Genesis 46:34, it’s used to describe how Egyptians saw shepherds as to’evah. In Exodus 8:26, it talks about how the Egyptians saw certain Hebrew sacrifices as to’evah and that’s why Moses asked pharaoh to let them go out of Egypt to make sacrifices. In all these cases, option 1 (behavior detested by other nations) seems to be the best case. It’s notable that none of these things are morally bad in of themselves (the Bible itself discusses how shepherds, Egyptians and jews eating bread together, Jewish sacrifices are all fine) but instead are cultural taboos.

So let’s look at behaviors that were prohibited by surrounding nations:

First off the Hittites had laws against a father having intercourse with his son (I don’t know for sure if this means consensual or not because the term I came across is “violates” which could mean rape or it could mean defilement). It is accompanied by other anti incest laws similar to the rest of Leviticus 18. The scholar Harry Hoffner Jr notes that the Hittite law was because the partner was the man’s son, not because they were of the same sex. The following quote is by scholar Brian Gerig:

Table A, paragraph 20 deals with a physical act done, not just a rumor: “If a seignior [an Assyrian man] lay with his neighbor [another citizen], when they have prosecuted him (and) convicted him [the first citizen], they shall lie with him (and) turn him into a eunuch.”14 This describes a situation where a man has forced sex upon a local resident or business partner, who then has the option of bringing a charge against him. Noticeably, the perpetrator is punished while the victim is not; so the crime here is rape. Homosexuality itself is not condemned, nor looked upon as immoral or disordered. Anyone could visit a prostitute or lay with another male, as long as false rumors or forced sex were not involved with another Assyrian male. Still, both of these laws suggest that for a male to take the submissive woman’s role in same-sex intercourse was looked down upon as shameful and despised.

I’ll come back to the idea of a man in a submissive woman’s roles being looked down upon later. But for now, Brian Gerig continues on:

Pictorial and literary references in ancient Mesopotamia show acceptance of some forms of homosexuality, but wariness toward others. Anal intercourse was freely pictured in figurative art in the ancient cities of Uruk, Assur, Babylon, and Susa from the 3rd millennium B.C. on – and images show that it was practiced as part of religious ritual. Both Zimri-lin (king of Mari) and Hammurabi (king of Babylon) had male lovers, which the queen of Zimri-lin mentions matter-of-factly in a letter. The Almanac of Incantations contained prayers favoring on an equal basis the love of a man for a woman, of a woman for a man, and of a man for man.16 (Lesbian love is not mentioned, probably because of the low status of women in ancient times, when women were basically considered property, and adultery was considered a trespass against the husband’s property. A husband was free to fornicate, but a wife could be put to death for the same thing.17) The Summa alu, a manual used to predict the future, sought to do this in some cases on the basis of sexual acts, five of which are homosexual:

“If a man copulates with his equal from the rear, he becomes the leader among his peers and brothers.

If a man yearns to express his manhood while in prison and thus, like a male cult-prostitute, mating with men becomes his desire, he will experience evil.

If a man copulates with an assinnu [a male cult-prostitute], trouble will leave him

If a man copulates with a gerseqqu [a male courtier, or royal attendant], worry will possess him for a whole year but will then leave him.

If a man copulates with a house-born slave, a hard destiny will befall him.”18

The fact that different kinds of homoerotic pairing will occur is taken for granted. What mattered was the role and the status of a partner, especially the passive partner – and the anticipated ramifications in each case. To penetrate a male who was of equal status or a cult prostitute was thought to bring good fortune; but copulation with a royal attendant, a fellow prisoner, or a household slave was thought to probably spell trouble.19

Needless to say, none of these are about being queer as we understand that now. The closest one is the act of anal sex between men, used as a power and social dynamic: they are equals until anal penetration occurs, after which the penetrator is superior and a leader, and the nature of each case of homosexuality comes down to power dynamics and social class between men. This isn’t an act of a romantic and sexual relationship such as the gays have now. Notably, 18:22 reinforces this distinction by the addition “as one lies with a woman.” The prohibition isn’t against lying with another man, but against lying with him in a specific way. This separates 18:22 from the other verses in ch 18, in which incest is just flat out prohibited in all forms such as 18:7 (you shall not uncover the nakedness of your father or mother), onto 18:20. Similarly, 18:23 (beastiality) is a flat out prohibition rather than a specific font of an action. Only 18:22 stands out with the qualifier “as with a woman.” I would argue this is because of the above power and social dynamics of anal sex in the Ancient Near East. The woman was submissive and penetrated, for a man to receive anal penetration was for him to become a woman and thus degrade himself and be judged for it. That’s why Sodom and Gomorrah ought to be read as gang rape in an attempt to humiliate a foreigner (which is the interpretation that better aligns with Ezekiel 49-50: “Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it.” [Emphasis added]).

This is further emphasized by the fact that Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome both had similar views of anal sex, in which the bottom participant was seen as holding the role of a woman and/or an inferior (and thus denigrated) while the top was accepted (and in some cases seen as asserting his manliness and power in having anal intercourse as the penetrator). More on Rome’s views later.

So to summarize: to’evah suggests practices that are cultural taboos rather than inherently immoral acts. This lends itself to an interpretation of “being set apart from Canaanites” as avoiding behavior that would shame Israel in the eyes of the nations around it. Historical evidence does not suggest that queer relationships were an issue. Instead, the judged behavior was either actions that aren’t queer relationships OR an act based around power dynamics and social class hierarchy and humiliation that led to the social shame of one of the participants as “less of a man” and as an inferior. Obviously, that last one is not the case for modern queer relationships, which are not about power and social class dynamics in that way AND our society does not look down upon men who practice anal sex the same way the Ancient Near East did because we no longer have the same views of men and women and their sexual and social roles (excluding of course modern homophobia which is fueled by verse interpretations and thus out of the question here).

But let’s say I lost you with my interpretation of to’evah as social taboo. Maybe 18:22 was a matter of Israel avoiding behavior that surrounding nations allowed or celebrated religiously or socially (option 2 of being set apart). Let’s examine it again from that lens then:

Brian Gerig and many other Near East religious and cultural scholars highlight laws and cultural norms around homosexuality as taking two main forms outside of the ones already addressed above: pedastry and temple prostitution/religious erotic practices.

Pedastry is, of course, pedophilia. I think we can all agree that pedophilia is evil and also NOT WHAT QUEER RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN TWO CONSENTING ADULTS IS.

As for temple prostitution (of which Canaanite cultures did have quite a few instances of men and women who engaged in sex with worshipers as an act of religious devotion) and religious erotic practices (in which priests and priestesses engaged in erotic and sexual activities as offerings or devotion to their gods and spirits), this aligns more with the idea of “being set apart” = “not doing religious practices of surrounding nations” (remember the scarification example?). Once again, this is situationally limited (we as Christians no longer prohibit tattoos because we don’t do them religiously and are not Jewish so as to be set apart like Ancient Israel) and more importantly IS ALSO NOT WHAT MODERN QUEER RELATIONSHIPS AND SEX ARE ABOUT. A gay couple isn’t having sex as an offering to an ancient Mesopotamian deity or as a temple act with worshipers and parishioners for religious reasons (most of the time at least, idk what everyone does with their time but we’re not talking about that here).

I have one final nail in the coffin for Leviticus 18:22, and that’s about exegesis and application:

Supersessionism is bad and antisemetic. We’re not replacing Jewish people in the covenant and in being set apart from other nations by YHWH. Thus, we are not under the same category of having to be set apart from Egypt and Canaan like the Ancient Israelites were. You could argue the Holiness Code does not apply to modern day people as a result.

Part 2: Romans 1:26-28 and Part 3: Why the commonly held interpretations are widely spread if they are wrong to come shortly.