#capri meta

[barbitone]

I recently saw some top/bottom discourse for Laurent/Damen, and it made me wonder if anyone wanted to chat about Berenger/Ancel

I’ll start 😂😂😂

First- to the texts!

We know that generally pets are expected to bottom-

The exception seeming to be during performances, where by necessity someone has to top.

In Pet Ancel tops and the other pet does not protest, because he thinks bottoming would make him more desirable to the audience. This appears to be correct-

Now, Ancel gets the upper hand by calling out Lord Rouart and implying he would top him. He does this to be blatantly provocative and to stand out

We see that Rouart is both turned on and humiliated, implying that being topped by a pet would not be part of the norm, and would be humiliating. But also a turn on? Perhaps because it is taboo, or perhaps he’s just into Ancel’s sheer audacity. Like someone else we know. lol.

After this, Rouart probably goes on to bid for Ancel’s contract, though I expect the appeal of this would be to put Ancel in his place, though of course we don’t know for sure. Ultimately he does not win, which leads us to Berenger.

Berenger obvs does not fuck Ancel right away (or at all) and we see at one point Ancel assumes that this is because Berenger expects Ancel to want to top like he did in the ring and he’s not into that.

So on the one hand we have confirmation that Ancel expects to bottom and that is what he is used to. On the other hand, his assumption that Berenger was worried Ancel would want to top means that this arrangement isn’t entirely unthinkable. Which leads me to think that while rare and probably not entirely socially acceptable, it is an option for pets to top their masters.

But of course all this tells us exactly zero about either of their actual preferences!! Berenger is a black box, meanwhile the main thing Ancel is thinking during sex is whether or not and who is watching.

He mentions briefly that it feels good to fuck Rouart’s pet, but then goes on to focus entirely on how much everyone is paying attention to him.

When he kisses Berenger he has feelings about it, but also no idea what those feelings are.

Ancel: what is this emotion? No clue

And then of course there is The Incident in the Garden, which no one enjoyed. It’s the first time that Ancel acknowledges that he is NOT into this, and in fact he seems to be on the verge of admitting to himself that he’s not really into ANY of this-

-before distracting himself with how much attention he’s getting (or in the case of Laurent, not getting). And then he just goes ahead and lies about how great it was.

So anyway, that’s the end of the receipts, and now on to the speculation.

As far as Berenger goes, I feel like he’s game for pretty much anything. Being a Lord, he was raised with safety, security, and privilege. I think it’s unlikely that he has any sexual trauma that would influence his sexual preferences. He was raised in Vere, where they have a pretty open attitude towards sex. Obvs he’d be expected to top due to his social status (especially in an interaction with a pet), but I also think he’d be fine with bottoming too, or at least doing other sexual acts that don't include anal at all. He’s very concerned with consent and I think that extends naturally to specific sex acts. He wouldn’t fuck Ancel if he suspects that Ancel isn’t really into that.

Ancel is a little more complicated though, because as the text has made clear, he doesn't know what he likes other than having the attention of powerful people and getting expensive gifts. The only sexual activity he is shown to have enjoyed is, briefly, fucking Rouart's pet and later kissing Berenger. But even with the kiss he doesn't register it as enjoyment, exactly, but more like an unfamiliar feeling that could have more to do with just liking Berenger- seeing Berenger as an individual instead of just a generic "powerful client." I think he'd need to go through a journey to figure it all out.

He'd probably start out bottoming because that's what he's used to. His self worth seems to be wrapped up in pleasing others, and so he would be more comfortable bottoming because he's "good" at it. I can see him being a very active bottom, mostly as a way to maintain some control over the situation in order to give the best performance. Would he particularly enjoy it? With Berenger, maybe. But ultimately he'd be more concerned with the performance rather than his own pleasure.

But as he gets more comfortable, I can see him topping. We know he enjoys the physical sensation, at least. And I can see him also enjoying being in control of the situation and trying to please his partner. And really we can stop here, but i think there's a stage three XD

Back to bottoming! But this time, pillow princess mode. I think the ultimate Ancel sex-evolution would be to just lay back and let Berenger pleasure him. The final form of getting in touch with his sexuality for his own pleasure. We know he likes getting pampered and spoiled, and we know Berenger likes spoiling him. A true match made in heaven imo XD

So in answer to “who tops” I think realistically they take turns. Is that a cop out? 😂 What do you all think?

[lamenrising]

I feel like people that call Damen dumb for not figuring out what happened between the Regent and Laurent need to understand that he did know. The hints are carefully placed throughout the books. Pacat mentions that Damen is written like this for a purpose. He's not stupid. He can deduce that something happened to Laurent but he doesn't push. Even when his thoughts head towards a darker path he immediately blocks it out of his mind because just the thought of it is so unthinkable for him. What makes it more clear to me is when the Regent reveals what happened and Damen, without hesitation goes berserk and doesn't hesitate to try and kill him.

It is so important that Damen is written this way because he never tries to intrude or push Laurent to reveal what happened, even though he has an idea already. He is very conscious of Laurent's privacy and will never get him to do something he's not comfortable with. I'm aware people think Damen is a bit stupid or naive when it comes to trusting people. Given how he was in denial for a long time about Kastor's betrayal but I want people to understand that this is a cardinal part of his character. In my opinion, it is the trait that Laurent fell in love with the most. His determination and readiness to give his whole heart for the people he cherishes the most.

One more thing, Laurent always acknowledges how intelligent and cunning Damen is, he trusts Damen's feedback more than anyone else's. Laurent, in my opinion suspects that Damen already has an idea of what happened. In Kings Rising, when Laurent confesses to Damen that 'there has only been one other person', we can see Damen starting to realise. Anyway, I feel like I went a bit off topic but I just wanted to say that Damen is intentionally written like this. He is very perceptive and has a good read on people. He knows that Laurent has suffered abuse in the past but he has no intention of invading his privacy and is instead, content to never mention it until Laurent himself is ready to tell him. Even if Laurent is never ready Damen would not push him. Damen fell in love with Laurent not because of his trauma but because he came to know him as a person. Nothing will ever change that.

[queenegeria]

the fact that damen and auguste's one meeting went the way it did when you know they would have liked each other otherwise hits especially hard when you remember that both of their last few months as princes went the same.

both of them were 25 year old crown princes grieving their dying parents (for auguste it was his mother and for damen it was his father). both of them were living through changing political landscapes without knowing the danger and both of them were on the brink of a war they couldn't see yet.

[deripmaver]

i know we talk a lot about laurent being overwhelmed and outmaneuvered by his uncle throughout the series but i really truly adore the scene in captive prince where he shows up to the patran delegation’s feast and throws his uncle’s exact words back at him when he tries to tell laurent he shouldn’t be there

‘Nephew. You were not invited to these discussions.’ ‘And yet, here I am. It’s very irritating, isn’t it?’ said Laurent. The Regent said, ‘This is serious business between men. It’s no time for childish games.’ ‘I seem to recall being told to take on more responsibility,’ said Laurent. ‘It happened in public, with a great deal of ceremony. If you don’t remember it, check your ledgers. You came out of it richer by two estates and enough revenue to choke every horse in the stables.’ ‘If I thought you were here to take on responsibility, I’d welcome you to the table with open arms. You have no interest in trade negotiations. You’ve never applied yourself seriously to anything in your life.’ ‘Haven’t I? Well, then it’s nothing serious, uncle. You have no cause to worry.’ (Captive Prince, Chapter 7)

look at my little meow meow lmfao. he’s clearly very intelligent and calculating, he’s just starting from such a terrible position and against a man who knows EXACTLY how to press on his trigger points and make him act out of anger and not logic, probably bc he knows laurent has the potential to out-think him 👀

[capricule]

this is my 69th post

[willowofoz]

Do you ever think about Laurent in Captive Prince, after Damen ran away? Like, he had to stand there and face his uncle, with all that unspoken knowledge between them. They both knew that the Regent had Laurent drugged, and intended to have him raped and killed. And even though the Regent wasn't aware, Laurent knew he was fighting for his enemy's life and that the Regent was enjoying it and hoping it would completely break Laurent's heart later. He had to look at his uncle's stupid face and know the man intended to break him in every way imaginable. AND he had to stand there while still under the influence of what he was drugged with. How terrified and vulnerable did he have to feel? No one can say my boi ain't brave.

[covertius-fic]

Sometimes I wonder how fandom looked at two cultures - one of which has a broad normalization and acceptance of non-sexual public nudity, especially during prescribed activities like swimming, public bathing, and certain sports, but considers sex acts to be private (a value system shared by many real-world cultures, particularly those in warm climates), and the other one where you have to where a jacket in the middle of fucking summer because only pets and barbarians show skin, but it’s perfectly normal to engage in public sex acts as long as only your fly is open - and decided that the first one was the ridiculous place full of dumb, prudish hypocrites who should be laughed at all the time for their weird values.

Seriously, how?

[barbitone]

I wholeheartedly love Berenger’s ugly brown jacket. It is such a perfect encapsulation of his character.

Like sure, he’s unfashionable and has shit taste in clothes. He’s a provincial Lord who gets down and dirty with the peasants doing dirty peasant shit.

He has at least one ugly brown jacket for every day of the week-

Because he’s got 6 in his closet while he’s out traveling for 2 weeks, where presumably he has a few more in his luggage.

Maybe he has a bit of the ‘tism. Maybe he just really cares that little about his appearance and reputation.

Or maybe it’s a deliberate statement.

Here we have the implication that the jacket is a way of showing allegiance- red for the regent, blue for the prince.

Berenger is using the brown to refuse to show his allegiance. My impression from reading the books is that the Regent’s faction is significantly stronger than Laurent’s. When the power imbalance is so large, there’s less room to stay neutral on the sidelines.

So by refusing to explicitly state his allegiance to the Regent, Berenger is implicitly stating his allegiance for Laurent while keeping some plausible deniability.

An Akielon would probably consider this cowardly. I think a Veretian would consider it brave. Like he isn’t saying it outright but he is being kinda obvious about it, at least as far as the Veretians are concerned.

If I’m wrong, and the Regent and Laurent’s factions are more evenly matched, then the brown jacket can be seen as an attempt to seem outside the game. It’s the jacket equivalent of “playing dumb” about the whole conflict.

But at the end of the day everyone still knows. The Regent knows Berenger is working with Laurent, he just doesn’t know to what extent or what he’s offered. Even Ancel knows, and he seems to be willfully ignorant towards anything that doesn’t directly serve him.

So yes, the jacket is ugly and practical but it’s also political in a way that seems quite brave imo. And it’s likely a big “fuck you” to the Regent.