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[tajmutthall]

top 3 laurent is 3 seconds away from turning damianos into bottomianos scenes from the books?

HELLO DEAR ANON!!! 💖💖💖 I normally don’t have the poster’s temperament but this is a topic I hold dear to my heart and have decided I am willing to investigate.

What I have discovered is that it all starts with the fact that Laurent has two eyes…

NUMBER THREE: POST-ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT MEETING

Laurent has escaped a high adrenaline situation and is now seated slouched on the throne, a powerful aphrodisiac in his system, gazing at Damen so intensely that Damen starts wondering if Laurent is checking him out: 

I do believe Damen’s slut senses were warning him that Laurent wanted to take him right there on the floor. The circumstantial evidence is pretty damning that Damen barely escaped Laurent’s clutches in this scene with his First Night intact. 

NUMBER TWO: RAVENEL

Laurent at last has his mortal enemy exactly where he wants him, in a four-poster bed with soft-lit candles romantically arranged around them. He sets up the ideal conditions to ravish Damen asking him to hold still and goes wild: 

We all know how matters progress. It is fair to say that I believe when a man climbs on top of another man and starts humping him into the sheets his thoughts have taken him in a certain direction… 

By this point in the story Laurent also reveals his true romantic predilections. He wanted to hold Damen’s hands and call it making love. 

NUMBER ONE: MELLOS

It couldn’t be any other moment but their last night together in Mellos. 

I can't add much to this one because it's self-evident how much they want each other. Laurent thinks he's going to die. He spends their night together trying to have as much as he can with Damen. It really is the ultimate almost moment for them which brings me to…

BONUS: TOP ONE MOMENT BOTTOMIANOS WAS DOOMED

Laurent was twenty years old, madly in love and preparing to die for the love of his life. He lasted two seconds after Damen said that to him. RIP.

[tajmutthall]

“I will. At some point. What's that sound?”

He could hear it even in the slave baths, muffled but audible, the sound ringing out from the highest peak, a peal of notes, proclaiming a new King.

“Bells,” said Damen.

[tajmutthall]

It's funny how both Laurent and Damianos came from women who had difficulty getting pregnant and giving birth, that is, the boys have been fighting for their lives since before the fights actually started 😅

[tajmutthall]

"Hello, lover."

I made the mistake with this one to change the lighting half way through the painting which always messes with the values and colors, but oh well. Sometimes a painting doesn't go the way you want to and then you got to let it go. But I still like the overall comp and all that, so you get to see it, haha. Maybe I manage to be a bit clearer in terms of values with that extra painting that I have planned for this scene, because this scene is just too good to only get one.

[tajmutthall]

captive prince trilogy(in a nutshell): so it all started when main character number one killed second main character's brother. it's very important to the plot and their personalities and their relationship

every captive prince fanfic: wrong! the brother lives

[tajmutthall]

He said, "Damianos."

Before Damen could tell him to rise, he heard it again, echoed in another voice, and then another. It was passing over the gathered men in the courtyard, his name in tones of shock and of awe. The steward beside Nikandros was kneeling. And then four of the men in the front ranks. And then more, dozens of men, rank after rank of soldiers.

And as Damen looked out, the army was dropping to its knees, until the courtyard was a sea of bowed heads, and silence replaced the murmur of voices, the words spoken over and over again.

"He lives. The King's son lives. Damianos."

[tajmutthall]

Laurent: See this? This is my "I don't care" face.

Damen: That's your normal face.

[tajmutthall]

The Summer Palace, A Captive Prince Short Story, C.S Pacat

capri quotes 10/10

[tajmutthall]

hi i think i saw in the tags of a post that you would like to talk about damen in relation to the romantic hero. please do talk about damen

i love your storiea a lot btw

YES okay yesssss ALRIGHT thank you so much for prompting me. I get nervous about just making analysis posts without someone asking me something, because I feel like people aren't interested in what I have to say. But that doesn't matter, thank you for asking, anon!

So I say some things about Damen as a romantic hero in this post here but I really wanted to elaborate. Just to be clear, I'm not saying Romantic hero (literary archetype), but romantic hero as in, hero in the romance genre; a type of love interest.

The first thing to pick apart is the genre of the trilogy. In terms of genre, they are definitively (despite what some people say) romance books. Specifically, they are what we call open door romances, being that sexual content appears on page (as opposed to closed door romances, in which sexual content is allusive or happens off page). The political/war plot points do not negate them being romances, and they aren't 'better' than other romances because of the external plot. I feel like there's a lot of defensiveness about these books being 'not just romances,' but honestly, backhanded compliments like that reveal nothing but a lack of genre awareness. But that's another rant lmfao ignore that.

The really interesting thing is that the narrative setup has the markers of erotica, as opposed to romance. The distinction is really important in terms of genre function and categorisation. Erotica is concerned with telling a story that focuses on sexual themes; romance centres on the development of a romantic relationship between two people. Book 1 of the trilogy is largely constructed and developed as an exploration/indulgence of slave kink for the gratification of the reader. This recent post beautifully explains a concept which the OP has coined a fantastic term for: when the kink which the story is indulging is not acknowledged by the characters. OP marks the distinction between diegetic (for the characters) and non-diegetic (for the readers) kink and BDSM, borrowing terms typically used for music in film: to reiterate, Book 1 functions largely as slave kink erotica for the gratification of the reader. It isn't an endorsement of actual historical Greek/Roman slavery; it's erotica written for adults who know how to distinguish between fantasy and reality and that kinks aren't a reflection of a person's morals. It's play, and the characters are all dolls putting on a scene for the reader's enjoyment.

But the books don't—can't—stay within those genre confines, and it's because of Damen. He's quite simply too dimensional.

The first way that Damen contravenes the genre is that he introduces the notion of consent (to clarify, consent has little to no function in non-diegetic erotica). He tries to contain his internal horror as he witnesses the staged rape performed by pets for the courtiers; he argues for the Akielon slaves, on the grounds that mistreating them is an abuse of the consent they have given. Damen's personal morals and worldview serve to expose what makes the entertainments and performance of kink in Vere so grotesque: the consent is forced, or coerced. There is no true choice. It is Damen's morality, this deep-rooted concern for the acquiescence and pleasure of both (all) participants in sex, that shift the genre which Damen exists in from erotica to romance. It is Damen's morality which gives the seduction legs to play out across three books (each book clocking in at under 80k, for perspective).

So we are firmly in the (open door) romance genre, and it's because of Damen. Damen is the Main Character, which means the other role that needs to be filled is the Love Interest. Something key to remember about the romance genre and its history is that it is predominantly heterosexual, and it is predominantly female-focused. The genre also, crucially, serves fantasy fulfillment. It is a uniquely escapist genre in a way that no other genre is, because escapism is the primary intention of a romance book. This is also why so many famed or recognisable romance books feature that "I'm just a girl" protagonist: she's plain, she's not exceptional, she doesn't know she's beautiful, she has been waiting for the right guy, she's got hidden potential—she could be the reader, right? She could be any reader within the target demographic. The real reason why, historically, people were reading romance books was for the Love Interest.

The LI is (or perhaps it's more accurate to say 'was') more often than not an archetype of appealing masculinity. He would doubtlessly be physically imposing—other men simply can't compare—but would only use his power to defend or pleasure the MC. He would be focused on her satisfaction, would be willing to sacrifice everything for her, would see her in a way that no one else would or could. He would court her, but make his intent clear, and be overcome with sexual desire for her (but of course, deferential to her pleasure as well). If he uses force, she likes it because she trusts him, and she has likely had traumatic experiences with other men that he is careful of. Prior to him, she was trapped; through loving her, he frees her.

Does it all sound a bit familiar?

I said in the other post that Damen assumes the role of "romancer," making Laurent the "romancee." In a typical romance novel structure, the reader would be putting themselves into Laurent's position, the character who the romancer/Love Interest's attention is directed towards. We see the romancer/romancee dynamic play out in the way that Damen "makes love" to Laurent with words, saying all the romantic things which come to him; in the way he leaps to Laurent's physical defense, particularly when Laurent's physical autonomy is compromised; in the way he always checks for comfort and consent in a way that Laurent is able to respond to. Even though their first sexual encounter is technically initiated by Laurent, it is only due to Damen's ongoing courtship (although that scene almost warrants a whole other long-winded post oh my god).

This is all what makes Damen such a singular and compelling main character: not only does he force the genre of his story to change, but he transforms the role that he should archetypically play as the MC. He also, however, transforms the role of the romantic hero, once again because of how dimensional he is. I pick apart that dimensionality a bit in this post, but his layers and humanity and everything that go into making Damen a sympathetic character are what makes him such a good romantic hero, which in itself is sort of a paradox: he carries self doubt, and is decidedly not the hypermasculine brute which he is perceived to be, and as such is a more nuanced and rounded character than the typical romance book LI has been historically. He functions as a deliberate subversion of those tropes, and it is his roles as both MC and romantic hero that allow the readers to see the ways in which Laurent also deliberately subverts the romance tropes within which his character fits.

It is very interesting to me to think about one thematic angle of the books being "shades of grey," as in, a directive to resist black-and-white thinking and to dig deeper into motivation and reason. I've said elsewhere that this is the lesson that Laurent learns just as much as it is the lesson which Damen learns, and applies just as much on a structural level: the reader is invited to recognise the tropes and archetypes which they may find familiar from other erotica and other romance fiction, but they are then positioned to dig deeper and see what lies underneath those initial impressions.

I think I'll have to leave it there, because my eyes are getting blurry and my brain is getting really foggy, and I've sort of lost my train of thought so I really hope this makes some sort of sense lmao. But if there's anything else you want to ask, or anything you need me to clarify, please reach out again! As you can see, I have a lot to say about Damen's character <3

(But also, please read my current WIP a storm that took everything because it is all about being in Damen's head and what's going on in there I love him to bits)

[tajmutthall]

It makes me laugh how you have to always clarify that you post 'official' arts when it comes to Lamen

Sorry....

Please!!!!

If I post an art from CaPri is always going to be official arts, I would never steal an art piece made by fans and make people believe I made it.

Being a book I treat these covers and things like these as the stills you would use from TV Shows

[tajmutthall]

Dear ones, we can complain all we want about Veretian clothes. Damen can complain all he wants, but the fact is he probably looks hot in all those tight ties 🥴🥵😳

[tajmutthall]

Laurent: I would kiss you if I could...

Damen: what's stopping you?... do it

College party modernAU @cspacat

[tajmutthall]

[tajmutthall]

Do you ever think about the fact that Laurent wasn't by nature inhumane or cold but he had to be that way cause the one he trusted when he needed him the most betrayed him and abused him in the worst way possible and he never felt safe anymore until his mortal enemy was the only one able to make him feel safe and feel free to be who he actually was and then just cry?

[tajmutthall]

My latest @guardian books cartoon.

[tajmutthall]

In an au where Auguste and Damen are friends, you can’t tell me Damen that would be sneaking looks at Auguste’s younger brother and NOT get his ass whooped for it

[tajmutthall]

“bet lamen’s favorite position is missionary” well yes because how else is damen going to put laurent in a mating press