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-The Summer Palace -

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these were a hit on twitter so figure i’d share on tumblr dot com. context = everyone was making fun of a book that was marketed with this same format. enjoy the capri versions

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Something about the whole "Eming is born of Hua Cheng's desire to live and Rouye is born of Xie Lian's desire to die," and then how Xie Lian wears funeral colours and Hua Cheng wears wedding colours. God oriented towards death and stillness and self-denial. Ghost oriented towards life and hope and happiness.

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love at first sight, if Auguste did live.

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Red, White and Royal Blue (2023) + text posts

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My piece for the Bearer of Light zine

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captive prince as ao3 tags

Damen:

Laurent:

Nikandros:

Ancel gossiping:

Lazar:

Nicaise:

Aimeric and Jord:

Erasmus:

Like everyone’s dad in the whole series:

pacat:

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Thinking today about The Summer Palace and why Pacat chose the name ‘Lentos’ for its environs…

There’s something about a place of harmony and beauty, a sanctuary of flowers and shade in a place “wild” and “inhospitable”, that I am sure is meant to align with Damen and Laurent’s relationship. The harsh, tumultuous world of the conflict of Akielos and Vere surrounded them, and yet they carved out their own space with each other, of a true love, where they are in harmonious accord.

I was pondering why Lentos today, as we know that Pacat did enormous amounts of research and clearly thought carefully about names.

Lentos seems to encompass different layers of meaning. Perhaps from the Italian word ‘lento’ to mean slow (mirroring that chance to finally slow down and enjoy each other, and the gentle healing of the story). 

Or more likely, perhaps, it is a riff on the real Cretan village of Lentas, whose name is possibly derived from the Phoenician word ‘lavi’ to mean lion, or the Greek word ‘leontas’ (Λέοντας) to also mean ‘leo’ or ‘lion’. This resonates with Damen whose symbol that is and the idea of courage- courage to confront the past and to heal.

Or perhaps, as is asserted here, it from the Phoenician word for ‘white’, a symbolic colour in the story, of purity and of the washing away of ‘sins’ and the past.

Incidentally, Lentas was also famous for a temple of Asclepius, the god of medicine, and had “magnificently equipped hot springs” with “healing waters”, another alignment with the healing through water that occurs in the story (which I wrote more about here), which again is key to the story.

Finally, while researching, I also found a Victorian lexicon of the Greek language here, which also showed something interesting (whether true or not):

The first translation of ‘lentos’ here is to mean ‘august’ as in inspiring of or worth of respect, eminent, worshipful…and the derivation of Auguste’s name, a key component of Damen and Laurent’s shared past which needs to be healed. I can’t think this is just a coincidence, but if it is, it’s a delightful one.

I just love how these meanings combine and come together and how Pacat always has such enormous respect for us as readers, in doing her research and weaving together a narrative that wears its erudition so lightly. All of it works to show why Lentos was chosen as a name and how it becomes this locus for a meaningful healing between the Damen and Laurent.

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The holy trinity ✝️

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Happy Birthday, Babe.

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Our birthdays are just the celebration of all the years that came before and the welcoming of a new one. Happy Birthday Baz Pitch!

(And happy birthday to the woman who brought him to us, @rainbowrowell)

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** Permission to post it was granted by the artist Do not repost/edit the art without permission Please, support the artist on their page too **

Artist : ゆ

Source

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Not sure if this Griddlehark ever made it to tumblr 👀⚔️

Gideon’s wearing this shirt but she cut the sleeves off cus she’s gay.

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Why Pacat’s Captive Prince is so ✨captivating✨ and the role of fandom in an often monotoned life.

By way of warning *Spoiler Alert*

So it’s been a few months now since I went on a whim and decided to read my copy of Captive Prince which had been sitting on my bookshelf for years, along with many novels I have yet to delve into for leisure. 

Upon devouring the series, the accompanying short-story collection, and now being neck deep in both reading and writing Capri fanfics—I decided to take a step back, in order to reflect on the aspects which I believe made Pacat’s work so distinct, and ultimately fantastic:

The blend of third-person/the unreliable narrator: I think it was clear pretty early on, that Laurent knew who Damen was. Damianos was giving very much dumb jock energy and I will admit it was sometimes frustrating to read. I will say however, that his ignorance in this respect, is reflective of how black and white his thinking is. He held a “right is right” and “wrong is wrong” type of mentality, which is the stark opposite of Laurent, whose nature is cunning as a means of survival from the regent’s abuse. And as they say, opposites attract! Unreliable narrator was definitely a literary choice, one which I found to be effective. 

The world-building. Okay, the absolute debauchery that was thrown in our faces in book one was jarring—but I think there is something to be said about the function of shock and the depictions of pleasure. Veretians were described to do everything in extreme hedonistic extravagance, from sex-rings to mentions of public consummation, I’d argue that we as readers were made to feel just as shocked as Damen was when he was first faced with it all. Indulgences like sex, which is often done in private is brought to the forefront of this fictitious world. The hidden being made into a public spectacle in such a bold fashion has a sort of twisted appeal.

The idea of a homo-normative society. The way in which Veretian custom frowns upon the opposite sex coupling up because they’d produce bastards, and the encouragement of same-sex relations is a very interesting concept. “Bastards curse the line, and sour the milk, ruin the crops, and drag the sun out of the sky” (Prince’s Gambit, 168). IM—Our often homophobic society could never.

Illicitness/opposites attract: Damen and Laurent are polar opposites. Akielos and Vere are described as rival countries, so to have two people from warring lands fall in love, already aligns with the famed trope that predates the iconic Romeo and Juliet. Throw in a pleasure slave/master dynamic and also “my lover is my brother’s killer”—whew! The illicitness is shockingly off of the charts, which makes the story so so good. 

On the significance of re-reading—now, upon re-reading Prince’s Gambit and Kings Rising, I clocked several intricacies and notable details that I did not recognize nor fully appreciate the very first time I delved into the books:

Jokaste: ugh my girl Jo—Y’ALL KNOW HOW I FEEL. Pls, when you’ve finished here, go show my fics ‘Mirrored Reptiles’ and ‘Meet Me At The Clock’ some love on AO3. Shameless plug aside, Jokaste’s switch in Kings Rising, from antagonist who betrayed Damen in book one, to it being revealed that she in fact saved him from Kastor by sending him off to Vere is such an UNDERRATED function of hers! If it wasn’t for Jokaste, Damen and Laurent would never have met! Every scene she was in during Kings Rising were so damn powerful, she was basically Laurent but scarier because she was calm about it!

The lyrics of the songs described during the parties scenes which played along with the kithara. Kill me. The poetry, I just can’t. Too good. 

Laurent’s tactical manoeuvres while fighting against his uncle. Holy crap, everything from his negotiations with Vask and meeting Nikandros, I was so caught up with the romance that at first I missed the extent of the political complexities and the sheer treacheries at play. Laurent as a character is honestly so resilient. 

The ending. People tend to say it felt rushed and at first, I thought the same. But the second time I read it over, it absolutely makes sense. It’s a full circle moment for Laurent to have killed Kastor, it made equal what Damen did to Auguste. Damen being left to nearly bleed out on the floor of the baths is honestly very fitting, considering everything that transpired prior. We are reminded that this isn’t just a love story, it is a war-centred narrative, thus a dramatic ending such as was published is appropriate.

Trigger Warning: Mentions of R*pe & Sexual Assault

Finally, a note on the regent and sexual assault. Critics deem that this story condones rape, it is clear from the early parts of book one, that it does not. Damen is described to be sickened by the sexual activities of minors from the get-go. Rape is addressed, not condoned in this work. I would have closed its bounds and threw it out if the narrative was some bullshit romanticizing a minor and a grown ass man. The Regent is disgusting and got everything coming to him by the end of it all. As for the mention of aspects like sexual assault and slavery, though unfortunate, disgusting and utterly wrong to read about or to consider, these are the realities that span global history. Though I want to say that we’ve come far, I’d argue that the atrocities detailed in this work still happen to this day, though in discreet forms, which is honestly even more alarming. If anything, Captive Prince touches on larger problems that span far greater than the fictitious world Pacat presents. 

On fandom and fanfiction:

When I finished the trilogy and ate up the short stories, it still wasn’t enough. It’s been a long while since I’ve indulged in fanfiction, haven’t shipped a couple since Larry from One Direction y’all 😂. Life just got in the way. Though after speaking with my lovely cousin who has always been involved in some type of fandom, upon her suggestion I searched Captive Prince on AO3, and the rest is history. My god, I am astounded by the sheer talent that some writers possess, truly, there are folks out here thriving in their craft who need to be published in a professional capacity. Furthermore, for me to be able to write as a way to give back to the series that has meant so much to me, in a time of my life that I chose not to detail for anonymity’s sake—has honestly been so wonderful. Even though Captive Prince was published many years ago and I am late joiner of this fandom, the beauty of fanfic is that it stands the test of time and exists in order that people will always have free access, and enjoy the labour of love that writers extend by their own genuine volition.

What a joy it is to have discovered Captive Prince, in the year that Dark Rise is being released. 

In a rather monotoned life, to have fanfic is to have a glimmer of hope.♥️

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Please be informed that I have the anthem for Prince’s Gambit, chapter 19, and it goes something like this:

Hold me closer

Although you'll leave before the sunrise

Might be bleeding, but don't you mind, I'll be fine

Oh, it kills me

I found the right one at the wrong time

But until the sunrise

Hold tight, hold tight

And it’s from Sweden’s 2022 Eurovision entry?!

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on this beautiful end-of-summer morning, i'd like to discuss the importance of nicaise having to give up the sapphire earring.

sapphires are associated with royalty of course, but they are also used to calm the mind, ward off negative energies and help with depression and/or mental health instability.

sapphires can also represent loyalty, commitment and new love.

so with that being said, here i go analyzing all this shit AGAIN because i just can't stop...

when nicaise gave it to laurent in cp, he had already found the letter about the regent's treason as we find out in kr. so having to give it to laurent shows nicaise's loss of protection against negativity AND his loss of commitment to the regent, foreshadowing his death and the roll he ended up playing in the grand scheme of things.

"Nicaise held it away from himself as though it was made of something fetid." (cp, pge 242)

it's as if nicaise passing over this earring is equivalent to him passing up his commitment and his life to laurent.

Now, the next time we here of the earring is when laurent and damen go to meet the contact in nesson. of course on the surface level, laurent has the earring to disguise himself as a pet, but on an analysis level it could mean many things.

the sapphires could attract protection AND/OR foreshadow the protection that damen will supply laurent throughout pg.

"Damen opened his mouth. Closed it. He put his hand on the inn door, and pushed it open. Laurent followed him after a moment spent affixing the long hanging sapphires... to his own ear." (pg, pge 43)

but i personally think, from this quote, that it represents a new loyalty and commitment between damen and laurent, while foreshadowing the love they will eventually build between each other. i mean as damen is OPENING A DOOR, laurent is disguising himself with something that represents loyalty and commitment. he knows who damen is and is manipulating him with awarding him loyalty, BUT the disguise ends up turning into something real between them.

also that night in the inn, after the contact has left, it's the first time that laurent OPENS UP to damen when he expresses a small revelatory statement about damen's character.

"'What makes you think Kastor is the weaker man? You don't know him.' 'But I'm coming to know you,' saud Laurent." (pg, pge 50).

by this time the earring is gone, symbolizing that though laurent knows who he is and damen think laurent a snake, this is the first exchange of words where no manipulation and disguise exist, both men being vulnerable for the first time to each other.

and on that note, i hope this book fucked you up mentally as much as it did me BECAUSE I CANNOT STOP.