#knhevent

anyone familar with my ao3 page is likely unsurprised that this is being posted and called for by me of all people, or that i have been making jokes about running a dubcon, or dubious consent, week and i am kind of just loading the gun about it at last because i have been hearing a number of discussions of consent in the knh fandom and community and just generally online lately that are upsetting me to a degree.

I personally love romantic and erotic fiction with less than perfect consent, because when it is done well, the consent and the ways in which it is upheld and the ways in which it is broken is interesting because you have to fully understand consent to engaging in writing this style of fiction. i also really enjoy dubcon because there are so many different flavours of it, only more so in knh because of the very real consent issues in every relationship in the series.

consent is not asking someone if they want to have sex and only continuing on if the give a very enthused yes. If that we're true the relationship of Lihua and the Emperor would be consensual but its not, because saying no could see her executed, but at the same time to call it rape feels disingenuous, they both want this (as far as we the audience can understand they both hold a care and affection for the other and enjoy the sex they have) but there are systems in place that prevent consent, the exact systems that cause that argument at the end of volume 7. Jinshi not asking Maomao to be in a relationship with him directly is a kindness, because if he asks and she says no, he could put serious consequences on her, and that's only if she could bring herself to say no.

In volume 1 Maomao makes a point to Jinshi that it is not a question of would he order her execution, its an the fact that he could, and i find that so relevant to the entire series and the way that just about every female character is defined by their relationship to sex work, either a courtesan, consort, or wife, or desperately trying to escape one of those three outcomes.

so i really encourage anyone in this fandom that has a draft or idea of any pairing or rating involving consent as it relates to these characters and their relationships with each other or the systems around them to post as such this week, especially those that engage in dubious and grey areas.

consent requires being informed - if there is information that would change either parties willingness to consent it is not consensual, for example if Maomao and Jinshi are involved before she knows that he is the prince that is likely not consensual, because we know that she doesn't want to be a consort or involved with politics at all let alone to that degree.

consent requires sobriety - if someone is only agreeing to a certain act under the influence of any substance that is not consensual. This does create grey areas because it is fluid and requires the discernment of would they agree to this without that influence, aphrodisiac fics are a great example, if the only reason these two characters are having sex is because of the aphrodisiac it stops mattering that they both want this, because they would not have initiated or agreed without the drug.

consent requires freedom - if there is the threat of a system that will punish a party for nonconsent, it is not consensual. this is a major part of knh and the rear palace especially but also the brothel. Shisui had no choice but to allow the Emperor to sleep with her, and the same is true of all his consorts that have been claimed. this is also where the coercion issues can arise, where we could say the Emperor is also not consenting to sex with Shisui, but not sleeping with her creates immense political and social pressure so he does, which is not consensual.

dubious consent is the involvement of consent and non consent, where lines get blurred and muddled and in my opinion where beautiful character study like fiction of a relationship can be interrogated and explored and i really want to encourage more people to think critically about the ways they are engaging with consent in general but also in the fic we write for this fandom