... No? There might be some traditional families that think girls should only date in their, ah, culture, but no, parents don't get to dictate who you date.
[ she pieces together the patchwork of her lessons: ] And that is because there are fewer titles. Fewer great houses. The calibre of the match means less...
The matches are about finding someone you want to spend the rest of your life with, not furthering your business or social advances. You marry someone you love.
[Well, that's how it should be. It wasn't always how it was. Some married because they got pregnant, others married for money... but the gist behind it was that marriages should be for affection, not gain.]
And if it doesn't work out? You get a divorce and find someone else.
Well, it's relationships. It's never simple. It's complicated and messy and hurtful and wonderful and... yeah. But, I mean, it's life. And it's a choice.
Of course not. [ lord baelish isn't here. but her true father is. and he doesn't even know... ] There are no advantageous matches to be made. Not here. Not for me.
... That's not what I meant. I meant he's not allowed here. If anyone starts trying to treat their kids like slaves or chattel, I'm pretty sure I know a few people who'll take issue with that.
I'm not a slave -- [ she actually manages to sound offended. however poorly the marriage system has seen her treated, she knows its advantages. ] It's not like that.
Sounds like it to me. Can you say no? Do you have a say at all in who you get married to? I mean, that's kind of pretty important, Alayne. That's your life. Yours. No one owns that but you.
[ joffrey. willas. tyrion. sweetrobin. harry the heir. five suitors or would-be betrotheds. one husband. and now, at least, she is spared valentino's attention from the unseelie court. none had been her clear choice, though she had once been so taken with the prospect of marrying joffrey.
what a stupid girl she'd been. all of stiles's chides and lessons melted to nothing in the wake of that memory: i have been such a stupid child.
she cannot meet his eyes. ] No marriage can stand if both have not consented to it. [ but there are ways of cajoling agreement out of a girl. her marriage to the imp had been announced so quickly, she'd barely had time to react. ]
... Uh huh. And how many girls where you're from will say no and it'll be listened to?
[He'd watched movies. He knew that feminism wasn't even a pipe dream if she was from a similar type world. Women were things and he hated that about humanity's past. Stiles loved women. Part of it was being a wannabe mama's boy and part was because he did respect them. They were also really nice to look at and generally smelled yummy.]
If the match is a good one, there is no reason to decline -- [ she doesn't answer. she skips around his argument, as if she isn't willing to even acknowledge its logic. if she does, then she will have to admit her own weakness. ]
[He could push it. He wanted to. That part of him that didn't like this part of her world wanted to show her how wrong it all was, but he could also tell that she was getting uncomfortable and he was trying not to be an asshole.]
It ought to be a comfort. We cannot always trust ourselves to make the best choices. The heart can make such errors in judgement. [ a pause. ] Just think on it, Stiles! Finding yourself married to the first person you ever thought you might want to court.
No. We cannot be trusted with such choices. [ not just women, then. all sons and daughters. ]
Which is why we have divorces. No one should be stuck with the first person they were with if they aren't compatible. Sticking it out is the wrong choice.
[Scott's parents showed him that. Rafael was better far, far away. Who cared that he'd changed and stopped drinking. Point was, he'd been an abusive alcoholic and he dared to try to pin that label on his dad. Fuck Rafael.]
I mean, you should try to find someone you want to be with forever, that's a given, but... sometimes forever isn't as long as you'd think. Sometimes it's a little forever and that forever ends and it's time to move on. People change.
They can with a lawyer. Both parties sign or one shows proof of obvious abuse or legitimate reasons for an annulment and BAM, there you go. No more marriage.
Uh, yeah. You guys don't have courts? Judges, lawyers, attorneys, whatever you want to call them. You get a divorce lawyer, they write up the forms, you both sign them, or in the case of an annulment, you sign them and then they process them and BAM. Not married.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
no subject
no subject
[Well, that's how it should be. It wasn't always how it was. Some married because they got pregnant, others married for money... but the gist behind it was that marriages should be for affection, not gain.]
And if it doesn't work out? You get a divorce and find someone else.
no subject
[ to her credit, she manages to not sound too interested in the topic. indeed, she nearly feigns boredom. ]
no subject
no subject
My father will choose my husband for me. [ she replies, indicating that choice exists. it simply isn't hers. ]
no subject
[Arms folded and a scowl on his face. Sorry, but autonomy was a thing with him and this was 'not cool'.]
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
what a stupid girl she'd been. all of stiles's chides and lessons melted to nothing in the wake of that memory: i have been such a stupid child.
she cannot meet his eyes. ] No marriage can stand if both have not consented to it. [ but there are ways of cajoling agreement out of a girl. her marriage to the imp had been announced so quickly, she'd barely had time to react. ]
no subject
[He'd watched movies. He knew that feminism wasn't even a pipe dream if she was from a similar type world. Women were things and he hated that about humanity's past. Stiles loved women. Part of it was being a wannabe mama's boy and part was because he did respect them. They were also really nice to look at and generally smelled yummy.]
no subject
no subject
Okay, well, at least there's that, right?
no subject
No. We cannot be trusted with such choices. [ not just women, then. all sons and daughters. ]
no subject
[Scott's parents showed him that. Rafael was better far, far away. Who cared that he'd changed and stopped drinking. Point was, he'd been an abusive alcoholic and he dared to try to pin that label on his dad. Fuck Rafael.]
I mean, you should try to find someone you want to be with forever, that's a given, but... sometimes forever isn't as long as you'd think. Sometimes it's a little forever and that forever ends and it's time to move on. People change.
no subject
Marriages can't just be ended. Not without the proper permissions.
no subject
no subject
[ what are these creatures, she wonders. and can they be found here? ]
no subject
no subject
[ and the high septon lives in the lion's den, as far as she is concerned. ]
no subject
no subject
no subject
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)