#and i think the power of CHOICE can't be undervalued

[lucky-clover-gazette]

extremely long essay-adjacent post about female representation in the captive prince

capri is interesting bc i dislike the lack of female characters, but knowing the way that people are treated in vere and akielos, i kinda feel relieved that we don’t see many women.

like idk, gender stuff is complicated. it is a double standard, that seeing female characters in the same positions as the men in these books would just feel different. given how women have been treated and continue to be treated in real life society, it’s almost escapist fantasy within itself to see this world where we don’t have to really look too hard at women being abused and oppressed. and in addition to real life, we get that in plenty of fiction already, written mostly by men, often in a way that feels condescending or fetishizing.

capri’s male-dominated cast comes at the expense of really seeing women on the page, but the few female characters do seem to be intentionally written in positions that don’t feel disempowering or misogynistic. vannes holds her position of authority through similar means to the powerful men, and she’s just as morally questionable as the rest—no exceptions are made. jokaste is authoritative simply by her characterization, and uses her femininity in as a tool to put herself in higher stations. like, that woman has a uterus and she knows how to use it to her advantage. and then there’s the vaskian women, like this entirely separate matriarchal warrior society, and we really only get a peek into whatever the hell they have going on.

we know, logically, that there are plenty of female slaves and pets and prostitutes, almost undoubtedly abused and undervalued wives of men in the nobility. the regent's court is male-dominated by choice. kastor, i would bet, is similarly misogynistic. the male characters we follow are explicit misogynists, gay and disinterested in women, or like legally forbidden from any heterosexual romance they might want to have. gender roles and sexual taboos run deep in this world. we know that women are out there, suffering, just like damen and erasmus and laurent. but pacat shows us women who are not suffering instead. and that, to me, is something.

but like, i think the instance of womanhood that’s most interesting to me in the series is actually the absence of it in laurent and damen’s lives. the characters and story we follow are so steeped in masculinity and patriarchy—but there are women in this world. they are up to things, and i think pacat has given their existence thought. i can't know her intentions for sure, but i sense that she might have made them absent in our protagonist’s lives for a reason.

becauseeeee who is the person to finally Beat the regent? a female character who you are meant to ignore, who appears to be a random bystander, but reveals herself to be mindful and caring. a woman who, just like damen and laurent in book 1, is relatively powerless in this society but left with very little to lose. loyse is the closest thing to like… a just kinda average woman we see in this entire series. she’s not partaking in the debauchery of veretian, akielion, or vaskian nobility. she’s not playing power games with her body or sexuality. she’s basically just, like, the normalest person in the room, full of people like fifteen feet deep in a pool of power struggles, sexual depravity, manipulation, politics, and war strategy. she has her head above water, at least after aimeric’s death. that isn’t a gendered quality by nature, and i hate the implication that women are more likely to be level-headed, good advocates or caretakers, etc… but i don’t think that’s what i’m trying to say here at all.

because loyse, like… isn’t a perfect mother. she either completely missed or knowingly enabled horrible things happening to her son because her husband wanted to social climb. i’m not sure if she knew, during aimeric’s childhood, exactly what was going on with guoin, the regent, and aimeric. it might say somewhere (i hope it does!) but my skimming yielded nothing. i think it would make the most sense if loyse only found out after aimeric’s death, like on the road with guion and the main characters. she clearly spoke to laurent about it at some point, and didn’t tell guion that she planned to testify against him. regardless of when she found out, she’s just over it all at the trial, and finally speaks her mind.

loyse being a woman doesn’t inherently make her more likely to be wise or compassionate than the main characters—but it’s more like, idk, being so far removed from the very male-centric story that we see, it allows a character like her to have the clarity to essentially defeat the final boss everyone else has been struggling to fight for three entire books. loyse really just said, “hi. fuck you all. my son is dead because my asshole husband made a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ with him as a bargaining chip. i’m not delusional, i know this is wrong, and im not going to shut up about it to appease this depraved and cowardly court. also the regent killed his brother, because i know you assholes don’t care about my son and never will.” and that is the first domino in the regent’s defeat.

so, like… what if damen and laurent had been written with loyses in their lives? women who weren’t there to have sex with them, in damen’s case? mothers and sisters and friends? what qualities could they have then developed in themselves, so much sooner than they do in the series?

if more of these characters were women—if more women were Involved In The Story, in general—would it have been as brutal or difficult as it was? could things have been better communicated, would social reform have happened sooner? would damen and laurent (especially laurent) have had the same experiences that so strongly define who they are? it’s a slippery slope to assign traits to gender, i know, but i think there is something to be said for the different ways men and women handle intellectual and emotional problems—especially if they’ve been socialized heavily based on their gender, which does seem to be the case for this world. if damen had a mother or a sister or a simply platonic female friend, do you think he would have more quickly realized some of his own ethical blind spots re: sex and consent? if laurent had a mother or sister or female friend, do you think he would have been protected from the regent, and given more opportunities to feel safe and unsexualized? if there were actual authoritative women in the venetian royal bloodline, would the regent have been able to take over, and make the court so male-dominated in the first place?

it’s like that meme, “x media (image of giant book), x media if character had a gun (very short book).” i think, fundamentally, that capri would not have been able to tell the same story if more female characters were involved. and to be clear—that is not an excuse to exclude female characters, because i fucking love female characters. it would almost certainly be a better series with more women thoughtfully involved, but the point is, it wouldn’t be the same. and i do admire that pacat seems to understand that there are differences between men and women, in many ways, and doesn’t just like… write a character she means to be a dude, and then genderswap. or write an character who’s in essence genderless, insert them into this very gendered society, and then spin a wheel to see what pronouns they use.

i’m not sure exactly what point i’m trying to make here, but i’ll leave two related excerpts for your consideration. actually, yes, i do know my point, and i’ll say it with conviction: simply thinking to put female characters in a story, does not make it a story with thoughtful female characters. and capri, as a series, is defined by its thoughtfulness to me. i cannot fully commit to the suggestion that its lack of female characters is inherently misogynistic, because i think that lack of female presence is a character within itself. and more than anything, it’s an ongoing flaw of fandoms in general, people in general, to either want women to be 1) absent, so they’re not in the way of the men’s stories or 2) simple and archetypical, to check a box for inclusion. but there are other options. i like those options more.

to truly want female representation in a misogynistic world is to want to see the complexity of womanhood, both in its presence and its absence. and i think if cs pacat ever decided to take on a female perspective, intentionally, as the main point of a piece of writing, it would be masterfully done. i would love to see her write women, but i want those women to truly be the main characters. and i never want to tell anyone what they should want to write about.

capri is what it is. and to its credit, i do believe that this series both considers and values the female perspective much more than the fandom seems to acknowledge. the real problem to me rests with fandom and the society it reflects, rather than the story or its author.

excerpt #1, from the summer palace by cs pacat, author of the captive prince series:

‘My mother planted these gardens,’ said Damen. His heart was pounding. ‘Do you like them? They’re ours now.’ Saying the word “ours” still felt daring. He could feel it mirrored in Laurent, the shy awkwardness of what was so dearly desired. ‘I like them,’ said Laurent. ‘I think they’re beautiful.’ Laurent’s fingers found his again, a small intimacy that had him overbrimming. ‘I don’t think about her often. Only when I come here.’ ‘You don’t take after her.’ ‘Oh?’ ‘Her statue in Ios is three feet tall.’ The corner of Damen’s mouth twitched. He knew the statue, on a plinth in the north hall. ‘There’s a statue of her here. Come and meet her.” It was part of the nonsense they were sharing, a whim, to show Laurent. He tugged; they came to an arched open garden. ‘I take it back, you’re just like her.’ Laurent said it looking up. The statue here was bigger. Damen was smiling; there was delight in seeing Laurent explore himself, a young man who was sweet, teasing, at times unexpectedly earnest. Having made the decision to let Damen in, Laurent had not gone back on it. When the walls went up, it was with Damen inside them. But when Laurent came to stand in front of the statue of his mother, the mood changed to something more serious, as if prince and statue were communicating with each other. Unlike in Patras, it wasn’t the custom in Akielos to paint statues. His mother Egeria looked out towards the sea with a marble face and marble eyes, even though she’d had dark hair and eyes like himself and his father. He saw her through Laurent’s eyes, the old-fashioned dress of marble, the curled hair, her high, classical brow and outraised arm. Damen realised that he didn’t know how tall his mother really was. He had never asked about it, and had never been told. Laurent made a formal Akielon gesture that matched his chiton and the gardens, but was different to his habitual Veretian manners. Damen felt his skin prickle with strangeness. It was part of Akielon courtship to seek permission from a parent. If things had been different, Damen might have knelt in the great hall in front of King Aleron, asking for the right to court his youngest son. It was not that way between them. All their family was dead. ‘I’ll take care of your son,’ said Laurent. ‘I’ll protect his kingdom as if it were my own. I’ll give my life for his people.’ Above them, the sun was high and bright, and encouraged a retreat to the shade line. The boughs of the trees around them were heavy with scent. Laurent said, ‘I won’t let him down. I promise you.’

and an excerpt from the captive prince fan wiki.

[windvexer]

And I'm still on that OC/AU thing because it's like,

"oh a little guy I made up in my normal headspace has Defined Things about him and continues to exist in this way no matter how silly AU scenarios I put him through, in fact imagining many little AUs can help me further define and understand what I have created,"

"but this very intense spiritually important spell I intentionally developed in my sacred ritual headspace is so weak and defenseless that it may be permanently broken or transformed if I think about it at all, even if a way that just indicates how serious I am about it working in its intended form."

Like if that's really where we're at then just start developing all your spells as if they're characters and they will become immortal and invincible.

[amrago]

About Me

Call me Queen because I'm too lazy to find another nickname for myself.

In my day- job, which sometimes it's a night-job too, I work in IT - cybersecurity.

I'm 27, European and a polyglot. Despite the fact that I've been writing for 15 years I yet have to write a complete novel that I can call that way without feeling any shame.

I write speculative fiction and romance. I haven't tried with erotica but i won't be sharing anything related here regardless.

This blog is about my writing (and use it as a motivator when I can) and serves as a collection of resources and prompts i might use in the future.

I unconsciously tend to write about my own experiences so here a list of themes, tropes and similar things I naturally tend to write about. I think this is better than a self-id list and more interesting. This is no particular order of importance or how much I use it and of course not everything is always included.

Bisexuality, especially WLW "ships";

Disability, mental illness and neurodivergency;

Feeling without a choice;

Community in a positive way*;

Underdogs;

Second (or even third, fourth chances);

Family and friends;

Some sort of war or big conflict;

Love;

Resilience and resistance...

I think there will be other things and I maybe will update the list as I go.

Anyway I'm always up for tag games etc. It might take me some time to get back because of my job (and ADHD).

I have to note that all my writing is original. I don't write or read fanfiction at the moment although I'm an avid reader.

WIPs:

Servant of Chaos -> Regency settled fantasy. Our MC is Rosaspina, 23 and demigod, grandson of Death and Destiny. He gets kicked out of magic university/institution, offically for a prank unofficially because his grades sucks. He was sent there because he had a clandestine relationship with the princess of the place he cames from and despite his parents being the general of the army and the first advisor he is not up enough the ladder for a marriage. Chaos offers him a job. Find the Death goddess so zombies stop ravaging a continent since she just disappeared. And why two of the most powerful entities ever existed decided to live in a castle with humans... And have a kid after the few millennia they have been alive and togheter. (Keep in mind that there is no racism or sexism in this world - the point is making a commentary on how much we undervalue people because they can't give you want you want in the way you expect them to. Yes MC is ADHD although it's never mentioned because at the time ADHD wasn't recognised yet. More details when I decide to create a wiki or something. )

Other things I'm working on:

What if? - Writing exercises ->That's the tag I use to publish the excerpt. I'm trying to learn how to write fiction in english and this helps.

[Placeholder for the prompt tag]

My writing -> Self-explanatory.

WIP -> Everything that has to do with my WIPs.

My tags to find references and writing tips are a mess. When I have some time (which I rarely do lol - the JOY of being an adult I guess) I will fix them in a way that makes sense.

That's everything for now!

(artwork by @mayasdigitalart - she deactivated)

[whoiwanttoday]

The SAG strike is upon us and thank god! I was worried for a while that writers would get no support and that would mean a hard road for them. This is tumblr so I am pretty sure I know what side of this most of you are on but if you are for some reason against these strikes I am here to tell you that you are wrong. I am pretty sure the biggest argument from the Blue Check Mark Crypto Bros will be something like, "I'd sure love to get paid to just make movies" or something that implies actors are spoiled and lazy. If that is your take first of all fuck you. No one is stopping you. Literally no one. Get in your car, go to Hollywood, try it if it seems like such an easy and sweet deal. But second of all, you aren't getting that money if they don't. Executives are. Why the fuck are you watching a movie and thinking, "I wish Reed Hastings was making more of this money". Its wild to me how badly people want to undervalue art and over value people who take up desk space. Also, though, actors don't always make that much. I had a teacher in College who would teach for 2 semesters than leave fro two semesters because he performed on Broadway. He was not a star, he was a regular working actor. He was also a wonderful teacher and really helped ignite a love of acting in me. Not the performing side but the intellectual part of me that loves to study things, I really started to appreciate the choices people made. But he taught to save up money so he could go do his main job, which didn't actually pay enough to live on. This is actually common of a lot of actors, it's just a normal middle class job. That's what the stars are fighting for, for them. This is a thing we should always commend. Matt Damon I see get shit sometimes but at the end of the day he is set for life, he doesn't need to cost himself money, he is to help those who need help. That's commendable. Finally, though, is the fact that these are some of the more powerful unions in the country. Right now the entire world is pushing back against labor. You have probably seen it in your job, despite the fact that retention is difficult, it's near impossible to fill some positions, and there are just more jobs than people, management is trying to reassert dominance by taking away privileges like work from home. They are doing this because their model is largely based on exploiting people. I have seen it in my past, jobs that swore we were a family and begged us to make sacrifices for the good of the company. We did. Then when things went bad they cut us adrift because we were not a family and they didn't care about us, they just were manipulating us to get extra, unpaid labor from us. I am sure you have seen this before. So if the biggest unions in the country can't get concessions we are all fucked. We need this strike as a symbol but also as a bellwether. The next few years will really matter. So I support the strike. Mainly, I support it because I consume a lot of movies and I want the artists who make them to be rewarded. It will cost the studios a ton of money but will cost me nothing, so I can't imagine not supporting it. There are literally over 100 years of movies to go back and watch if you get bored. Now is a great time. I suggest starting with Greta Gerwig's watchlist for Barbie. I have seen half the movies and they are great. Anyway, that's my way of saying I am posting Fan Bingbing who was at Paris Fashion week last week and looked amazing. See, we'll need to get used to this because no promos means no red carpets which means no new pictures for a while. But we have a lot of stuff in the background. I kept waiting for higher quality versions of these but this is what I have and you know what? She looks great. Today I want to fuck Fan Bingbing.

[mr-entj]

Hi mr entj, I started an internship in January and ends in August. I was told by my manager that they possibly want to extend it up until the end of the year but I recently graduated and I want a job. I am meeting with him this week and have emphasized I want a full time job. He is trying to make it happen but isn’t certain it will be possible until the end of the year. This company has a great reputation, but unfortunately I’m not sure there is a position available for me right now. I told him I want to discuss my future and I think they’re going to try to extend my stay and possibly give me a job by the end of the year. If they offer extending my internship instead of hiring me, should I ask for a higher pay for this internship and certainty of a future position by the end of the year? I know I’m really good at my job. We out performed in our intern project and everyone has pointed out my work. Nothing but great feedback. I was even asked to consider a leadership role. This possible extension is very frustrating. The other interns are in different departments but are already getting offered full time positions. Without sounding rude, they have not performed that well. It makes me feel undervalued and naturally, I can't help but compare myself especially since I have worked harder. I’m worried over extending will hurt my career. I am considering ending this internship in august but don’t have anything lined up yet. How should I approach this? thank you for all your help!

With rare exceptions, don't ever quit a job without having another job lined up. Unemployed people have a harder time finding a new job than already employed people due to bias among recruiters (and hiring managers).

Apply to other companies while waiting for your current internship to extend you a job. If you get another offer and your internship won't convert you, then leave. If you don't get another offer but your internship converts you, then your problem is solved.

For salary negotiations, interns who are converted to full-time employees rarely have negotiating power because they have no leverage. The best way to get leverage for salary negotiations is to get a competing offer or multiple competing offers. You can get these competing offers by applying to many other companies, securing offers, and using them as bargaining chips with your current internship's company.

Based on the offers you accumulate, make the choice that fits your career goals.

[seigar]

10 RuPaul's Drag Queens who deserve the crown by Seigar.

There is no doubt anymore that drag queens have become the new pop icons. Their faces are on the cover of all magazines, and their self-expressing underground personalities have brought the spirit of the old rock and punk stars back to the mainstream. This list shows ten drag queens that I think deserve the crown.

Photo by Dvsross.

1. Valentina is the embodiment of a beauty pageant. Her charisma and stylish sense have engaged all her fans into an absolute adoration and devotion towards her persona. Living her fantasy in her head possibly also brings some attractiveness to her. Hitchcock said: "The MacGuffin is the object around which the plot revolves". Her iconic mask moment is ironically the MacGuffin of the current situation we are living these days: "I'd like to keep it on, please".

Photo by MarcelU 12.

2. Roxxxy Andrews is the representation of the Latin diva, of Puerto Rican and Cuban-American ancestry, her slogan: thick and juicy made it to the top three in Season 5. Her controversial personality didn't help her to get the crown, but nobody can't deny her power on stage, her pageant beauty, and her faithful commitment to her drag persona. Her drag is genuine and with deeply felt emotions conveyed through a thrilling and strong character. Her lipsynch assassin moment in All Stars 5 put her back in the position that she deserves. "Roxxxy, you are a winner baby".

Photo Together Alone Cover Artwork.

3. Jujubee is the most constant queen ever! If someone deserves the crown is her! "Justice for Jujubee" should be a pop cause to vindicate. Being not once, not twice BUT THRICE in the top three: Season 2, All-Stars 1, and All-Stars 5, she deserves her crown, what part you don't understand?. Her freshness and spontaneity are her strengths. Can you imagine fighting so hard to be crowned three times, not to get it, and leaving with a beautiful smile on your face anyway and willing to come back and to do it again? You should be so proud Jujubee, my eternal love for you. Go and listen to her song "Don't wanna love" because you know what? the girl can also sing, her EPs are lovely and evoke a lonely pop diva in a small bar, a voice full of emotional power to sustain her myth. Long live The Queen.

Photo by Dvsross.

4. Alyssa Edwards is the perfect balance between the comedy and the beauty queen. Alysa has simultaneously mastered both types of drags to become one of the most omnipotent queens from RuPaul's Drag Race. She is so recognizable and unique that all the other queens can imitate her faces! Face, face, face. Her heroic lipsynchs are also among the best moments of the program. Alyssa has defied the maxim that one should either be a comedy or a beauty queen. Alyssa Edwards, baby, you are a winning material!

Photo Hot Couture cover artwork.

5. Manila Luzon is the representation of the loved queen. A diva that found her ways to get her people. I'm one of your fans Manila. I know you've got the potential and that you'd be surprisingly good for me. Manila is one of the most fascinating and charming personalities in the program. You can't just help it, you love her. Her instinctive moments serving face and body, her memorable readings of the other contestants, her attention to detail, and her risky concept of drag never afraid of being too campy made her one the most artistic and at the same time funniest drag queen ever!

Photo by Dvsross.

6. Vanessa Vanjie Mateo represents the personality queen. Her unique voice and her informal language are what we call a brand. Nowadays drag queens don't impersonate divas, they have become stars themselves. Vanjie is the clearest example. The well-connected Queen is also an example of a famous drag family. Her iconic Miss Vanjie moment was viral, #MissVanjie is now part of the Ru-story. About this, she told in an interview by Patrick Crowley for Billboard: "Fuck it. might as well have these bitches remember me." So I just started screaming at the top of my lungs "Miss Vanjie," over and over." Vanjie is all about magnetism, she can't imitate but herself. She even can thank herself! All about Miss Vanjie.

Photo Stomp Cover Artwork.

7. Eureka O'Hara is the drama queen. Eureka's always ready for some loud dramatization. When she's on stage like Damien Rice sings: "I can't take my eyes off you". She has proved also to be one of the most polished queens ever! Her makeup, hair, silhouette, and style are iconic! Adventurous in her fashion and characters' decisions, influential and proud, she can be simultaneously campy and modern. Impressively earnest Eureka is. Let's leave this clear, Tennessee Williams would have loved Eureka.

The photo was taken from her Facebook Profile (selfie).

8. Crystal Methyd is the kookiest queen. Different, crazy, unique, eerie, and extravagant, she loves her intricate costumes and arty makeup. Her choices are ahead of her time, I sometimes feel no everyone is ready for a queen like her. Crystal is surprising and risky. Her "I'm like a bird" moment is iconic but undervalued. No even RuPaul seemed to be prepared for her crown. It's common knowledge that Crystal is one of a kind. One of her charms is her sweetness and kindness as a person. She reminded me of Jinkx Monsoon's persona in that sense, her innocent smiles, and the way she looks when interacting with the other girls and the judges made us love her. Crystal, you are adorable, and you made the world's confinement a better experience during the whole season. Thanks!

Photo by Dvsross.

9. A'keria Chanel Davenport is one of the most beautiful pageant queens in RuPaul's Drag Race. All her runway looks are stunning, and her beauty queen's manners are just perfection! A'keria is absolutely flawless. She may be overlooked by hipsters, but you can't underestimate her polished aesthetic and her campy personality that make her an authentic threat. A'keria deserves her crown for providing the true link between the old and new pageants. Impeccable!

Photo by Daniel Dudek Corrigan.

10. Detox Icunt is the future of drag. Detox is one of the most powerful and strongest contestants in RuPaul's Drag Race. With her alien face and body, pop culture knowledge, and glam oddity, Detox has proved to be a professional of drag. Her runaway looks have elevated the concept of drag to the category of art. If I had to choose her moment, it will be her legendary look for the Season 5 final. She knows how to cause a commotion. Detox, you are a masterpiece.

Special mentions to the charismatic punk legend Adore Delano and the sensational Miz Cracker.

Seigar.

Instagram: @jseigar

---

This article was first published in print by Red Hot Monde Magazine. Photos have been taken from Wikipedia, crediting the photographers or taken from the music single artworks.

[daisyyyyy]

I was trying to reply to her comment then and there, but it wasn't getting uploaded for some reason. So here it is:

1.Radical feminists aren't sHaMiNg women and neither was I. I specifically mentioned that it is all the patriarchy's fault.

2. For your first sentence, no!! Just no. Being a feminist includes actually analysing things. The fact that make up is bad for your skin, health and self esteem is an irrefutable one. The fact that men benefit when women cake themselves with makeup (because men own makeup companies which monetize women's insecurities; because men benefit when insecure women undervalue themselves and hence overvalue the men in their lives; because men benefit from the (partly false) narrative that women are frivolous magpies fixing their makeup every hour, and so many more that I can't think of rn). And moreover, the fact that conforming to society's expectations of beauty and femininity makes women "happy" is BS!!! That slightly better treatment and fake confidence is just reward for subservience from the patriarchy!!! The appearance of a woman's body shouldn't influence her "happiness" at all!!!

3. These choices are "lesser" because they enforce and uphold the status quo!!! Aka male supremacy and male power!!!!

4. Women who obey the patriarchy do so because of female socialization, peer pressure, ideological isolation, fear of retaliation from the patriarchy (Women who don't wear makeup and shave are "unkempt" -> Discrimination by employers, therapists, society, etc) and so on!!! We have to teach each other that gender is our oppression and performing femininity upholds the patriarchy!!!!

(In case anyone was wondering, I am Daisy Gupta, from the Pinterest screenshots)