i do it so it feels real.

not actually olivia's child, but her sister's

has always insisted he was a boy from the time he could talk, screamed whenever he had to wear a dress

initially, the family treated it as a mental illness, but at the age of 7, one of his many psychs noted that if he was still acting this way when he'd been like that the whole time, it was unlikely to go away

his grandfather, at this, proclaimed that if the child wanted to be a boy, they should do it right

a story was invented about his pretransition self being ill and sent off to some place in the alps to recover, and him being the son of a reckless family member who ran off with the drummer of a band at the age of 17

his grandparents chose his name and changed his documents with a hefty donation

he was immediately instructed on how to be the right type of boy; how to dress, how to express emotion, what skills to learn

sent to a boys' boarding school where he started smoking at the age of 10

when he hit puberty, his family sought out specialists until they found one who would put him on experimental estrogen suppression, making him part of a study

another donation put him on testosterone from 15, and he experienced the classic 'testosterone made me gay' thing

this prompted a massive breakdown and suicide attempt, because if he was interested in men openly, he would have to become a woman, and he couldn't go back to that

when he was 18, he was told he would undergo bottom surgery; he didn't really want to, but that was the way things must be done according to his doctors, so he went through with it anyway

it was a gruelling process, taking over a year and involving multiple complications, and he spent much of his time in hospital doing mail-in university classes

by the time he started going to hampden in person, he was indistinguishable from a short, slightly effeminate cis man

sex was never about physical pleasure for him, whenever he experimented in school he was always giving, never receiving; after surgery, he expected it to be easier, but with very little sensation, there wasn't much fun to be had

but he wanted to be wanted, so badly that it didn't matter whether he was enjoying it, and besides, isn't sex the only thing real men want?

RICHARD

- Girl Richard longs for androgynous mystique, but doesn’t quite have the confidence to commit. She has her hair down to her shoulders, and wears simple skirts and blouses, but is never really comfortable in them. Girl Henry and Girl Francis’s tendencies to wear men’s clothing is very inspirational to her, and the more time she spends with the Greek class, the more she starts to embrace androgyny.

- Grew up in a “women are better seen than heard” household, still has a hard time speaking up because of this. Her father is upset that she, as a woman, wanted to go to college at all.

- Thinks Ripley from Alien is “really cool.”

- Jealous of Girl Francis’s “boyish” frame. And maybe something more than jealous hmm…

- Kind of a “not like other girls” girl, judges other girls for wearing too much makeup etc.

- Obviously into Boy Camilla, but doesn’t think that the girl can ask out the guy, so doesn’t think she can do anything about it.

HENRY

- Girl Henry would have a very complicated relationship with her gender. Tends to see her woman-ness as an inherent weakness and tries to compensate through rigorous exercise, study, and stoic practices. This also complicates her relationship with her chronic pain.

- Because of this she can sometimes be a little sexist, and blames Girl Charles’s emotionality and concerns about killing Bunny on her being too feminine.

- Wears almost exclusively men’s clothes, also easier to find because she’s very tall, but has very very long hair (I may have stolen this from you @nahmann, hope that’s okay lol).

- Has very long lovely eyelashes.

- Gets evil period cramps (sorry Girl Henry).

- Her father is bitter that his only child and heir is a girl.

- Thinks that Boy Camilla won’t like her because she’s taller than him, but no worries because Boy Camilla is actually into this.

- People tend to be rude about the fact that she very rarely smiles.

FRANCIS

- Girl Francis has a 1940’s bob (or alternatively finger waves when it's shorter), and is generally very particular about her hair and stressed about it getting messed up.

- Wears matte dark red lipstick.

- Still wears pince-nez and very fancy suits, both with skirts and slacks. Also wears sleek fur coats sometimes, and the classic black great coat other times.

- Passionate about perfume, goes for smoky scents.

- Has a very strong love for Medea and Dido. This may or may not have to do with the fact that she’s been called “hysterical” a lot throughout her life.

- People tend to think of her as rather bitchy as she comes across as cold and stuck up at first.

- Gets very competitive because she hates to be underestimated, will argue relentlessly.

- Once laughed in a man’s face for telling her that she was “too pretty to smoke as much as she does.”

- Gets intense pregnancy anxiety even though she doesn’t sleep with men.

CAMILLA

- Boy Camilla is very stoic and reserved, friendly enough but lets his sister do most of the talking.

- People think it’s weird he hangs out with only girls.

- Feels very responsible for his sister, thinks of her as very fragile and vulnerable. As Francis suggests that Camilla would be more possessive of Charles if she could, Boy Camilla is very protective about Girl Charles dating, and tends to other boys have bad intentions with her. She also had a bit of a silent feud with Girl Francis over this.

- In spite of this, a lot of people assume that Girl Francis and Boy Camilla are dating, which they both find funny (and annoying).

- Likes that Girl Henry doesn’t expect him to take care of her, and in fact wants to take care of him.

- Still has that short shaggy haircut.

- Dresses pretty casually compared to the others.

CHARLES

- I imagine Girl Charles is very pretty and charming. She turns a lot of heads, and she relishes this although she brushes it off.

- Has the energy of a nymph, a very natural beauty, always wind-swept hair and flushed cheeks.

- Is considered a bit sporty as she likes to drive, spend time outside, ride horses

- Her “moodiness” is taken more seriously, but also looked down upon more. She is insecure about being “over emotional,” but also plays it up sometimes to get what she wants.

- Her passiveness of Boy Camilla comes across more as “I’m helpless without you, I need you to protect me, no one else can do it,” although it can quickly become more angry (and still violent) when pushed against.

- Has the kind of homoerotic girl friendship with Girl Francis where she will be extremely physical and complimentary (sit on her lap, hold her hand, tell her how pretty she looks), but gets really upset whenever it’s suggested that this could be misconstrued. Poor Girl Francis, this drives her crazy of course.

BUNNY

- Well, girl bunny would be a lot like his mother, I think…plays up melodrama for attention, loves to play the victim.

- Dresses hyperfeminine, not unlike Marion is described, but wears a lot of pearls and “subtle” fancy jewelry and perfume.

- Wears pale pink or orange-ish lipstick.

- Will use being a woman as an excuse for incompetence. Also as an excuse to get men to buy things for her ofc…

- Can cry on command and will.

In the consulship of whovius giveus ashittus, a plebeian tribune* proposed a law to stop setting poor people on fire to heat the homes of the senators. This sparked weeks of bloody fighting in the streets at the end of which the tribune was exploded badstyle and the law was unanimously voted down