>>3684
Yeah, but when look at our world, it isn't much different. In 2010, a girl had to sue her own school to bring her girlfriend to prom. The courts sided with her, but the school got around it by having a *different* private prom for everyone else. (2010 Itawamba County School District prom controversy).

Remember, I wrote this in 2009

Also the anti-LGBT attitudes of only the last year or so, it got worse up to and around the SCOTUS ruling, but there is a pretty strong feelings on each side. My father-in-law still spends every Thanksgiving telling us that all "lesbos should have their cunts wired up and their tits ripped off". (Yeah, thanks 'dad').

As for the lack of bloody, sexy bits. Yeah... I was a slow writer then. :( Long ass setups.

>>3689
A lot of the reasons don't really come up in the novel, so I can talk about those. From the earlier chapters, Betty and her parents were at the Anvil Club. This was an exclusive club (Sonja didn't know about it except from what Betty said) that has a pretty high annual fee just to be a member (not to mention, requires sponsorship). It was based on some of those "exclusive" clubs people like. Plus, it is like places also described in my other story, Free Ranged (tsade.com/shadowed-earth/free-ranged/).

Interestingly, the Anvil Club in my world actually are closet cannibals. But that is for the higher echelons (e.g., not Betty but her mother) and some of the people who know the secret of Dolcett County (there is a bit in the novel about that). Living in Dolcett County requires you to bring in a certain number of "meat girls" (later), but many are happy only visiting for a considerably lower 'fee'.

There are political benefits of being aware of Dolcett County (this was intended to be other stories later). Now, given the high price of the club, the "high society" (or wanna-bes) are members of it. That includes Betty's mother and the principal. So, the principal will side with the woman in power over the outsider (Sonja's mother). Betty was also suspended, but it was a BS one (go to a spa, honey). Despite being a butcher, Meris' father is not part of the club but he does supply the "normal meat" for the place, which means he has a say in keeping those people happy if he wants to keep doing business with them.

So, between a general view of "lesbians bad", a private view of "lesbians make good eating" by those in power, distrust of strangers (you never know who is going to ruin the secret of Dolcett County which would ruin everything), politics outside of her observations (Betty's mother/principal being in the same club), all led to her punishment. The grounding was just a continuation of pressure that Sonja's mother got which Sonja was not privy to.

At least, that was my poor attempt at creating a rich world outside of the main character's point of view.