#me unintentionally serving gender i suppose

[googledocsdyke]

Do you have any thoughts/recommended texts for Cas analysis? I genuinely love the dean gender studies and I just wanna know what people might apply to Cas.

yes absolutely!! while dean studies is my first love i also deeply love cas analysis (casnalysis?) and wanna strive to do more of it. here’s some stuff off the top of my head:

1. gender, sexuality, heavenly embodiment

this is much more theological and less psychological than dean’s whole Deal because there’s so much fascinating stuff around how the angels in general experience express and conceptualise gender (@autisticandroids has a good post about angel gender & lily sunder has some regrets) but for cas in particular there’s this fascinating kind of collective fandom agreement (which i DO also agree with) that cas’ own gender kind of is gay man, that he actively chose gay manhood, but also that he’s kind of..... lacking the Insane Genderishness that dean exhibits at all times, even though he actively chose to engage in male gendering and became so comfortable housed Within Jimmy that he, as some post i saw the other day that i can’t find anymore said, “became his own body” when jimmy died. 

like on the one hand there’s an almost-canonical transness to the whole process but it also never feels fully written-into because 1) the supernatural writers for all their insanity are sometimes very boring and *most* of the time only feel interested in narratively expressing angels As Their Vessels anyways and just like leaving convenient spaces around these questions (boldest thing they ever did was hot girl cas which i WISH i had the range to unpack) 2) there’s a vague inevitabilist shrug to the whole thing since they obviously weren’t gonna recast misha collins (though they HAVE tried to get rid of him) and 3) something amorphous about cas’ entire..... personhood? makes him Empty Of Gender as a contrast to dean’s Full Of Gender (i believe it was @deanwinchestergender who said this) and like is it just the juxtaposition to dean/jensen’s whole insane Deal? or something else? 

like he actively chooses the terms of his own embodiment and yet narratively it feels like a shrug. and we’re all like “well obviously even though he’s a celestial being he was always a gay man” and like WHY. i love it idk idk much to think about! and yeah just in general the theological questions of possession and cas genuinely Becoming a man as he iterates himself consciously towards humanity it almost feels like. by doing the most boring things possible with his gender they made it interesting? idk if that makes sense.

2. discipline, free will, metanarratives

cas is like a tool (“i am not a hammer, as you say”) held in constant discipline and surveillance by the system that enmeshes him and it’s really, really fascinating to watch the way the angels hold each other to conformity. especially pre-god they kind of produce each other as foucauldian disciplinary subjects (which i posted about here) in perpetual visibility through angel radio, generating their own and each other’s conformity rather than being directly ruled through like a single centralised source of power. only the spectre of a god. and obviously cas’ whole thing is that he has ALWAYS disobeyed and the narrative affords him this psychological interiority never given to the foucauldian subject, an internal will and desire for freedom in a way that fits more with the liberal subject (super roughly and not with the same pro-capitalist implications but he has this internal drive for self-liberation. 

and that’s also where the metanarrative comes in ofc! i think it was @dykecas who said that cas is a real person written by people who hate him, and there’s this crack in the narrative (mirroring the crack in his chassis) where cas gets in, over and over, despite all the order imposed by the show’s authorfathergod. like we’ve all seen the analysis about how it was Never supposed to be this way they DID try to fire misha collins in 2012 and yet this gay man literally cannot be stopped! i think actually his appearance in scoobynatural is a neat little distillation of this — he drops into this animated world originally with a singular purpose (Save Sam And Dean) the same way he dropped into lazarus rising with a single 3-episode arc (Save Dean). huge hammer behaviour. his “utility” diminishes within the narrative (he finds that he can’t fly in the scooby doo universe) and so he is no longer a tool/means to an end that salvation moves Through. and in the process (and huge creds to @lesbianyuugi for this) he does something ENTIRELY unrelated to his original cas-as-tool aim, and learns, like, the meaning of laughter from shaggy and scooby. WHICH brings me onto the third point

3. love, queer kinship, family-making

HE’S GAY AND HE’S A DAD! i feel like a lot of tumblr throws around the term “found family” in a very flat and tropey way (which is fine it’s cute and fun no matter what!) but like . GOD there’s so much specific stuff going on here. like the way that cas (unintentionally) obliterates the midwestern white christian nuclear family (made incarnate in the novaks) which like could be uniformly portrayed as an act of deep malice and villainy but instead grows to serve as a surrogate (if imperfect/complex, but DEEPLY loving) father figure for the gay daughter who has now escaped that nuclear family/seen it destroyed depending on how you read it? like he remasters the entire concept of fatherhood and it’s a very interesting (if DEEPLY) unintentional subversion of the homewrecking non-nuclear gay trope. cas is so good because his character arc doesn’t say “look, gay people can be normal and have perfect settled families just like you” it says “gay people DON’T have normal settled families actually and they are full of love anyways! or Because of the abnormalcy itself!) 

to cite ziz lesbianyuugi again he DOES queer fatherhood in his parenting of jack particularly because it really is one of the ONLY parent-child relationships in the show that breaks the incessant cycle of abuse and control and cold indifference perpetuated by the authorfathergod (a cycle reified in 15x20 lol). like god’s treatment of cas and his siblings mirrors john’s treatment of sam and dean (particularly dean) mirrors victor’s treatment of krissy and her crew mirrors dean’s later treatment of jack. there is a CONSTANT reiteration of the story of authorfathergod (often a father tightly entwined in biological kinship) treating a child as a mechanism or a tool or a means to an end. and cas looks at ALL that he has suffered and all that he is ever known and chooses constantly to reject it with every piece of love he expresses for his child. and not to sound like the kind of academic people make fun of on twitter but there is an INHERENT queerness to that. gay love will pierce through [the veil of death/the thick silence of abuse/the mechanism of godly control/hegemonic american masculinity] and save the day

anyways here are some very haphazard recs on everything above for further reading:

angels in america (tony kushner)

histrionics of the pulpit: trans tonalities of religious enthusiasm

the public universal friend: religious enthusiasm in revolutionary america

discipline and punish (michel foucault)

friendship as a way of life (michel foucault)

the genesis of blame (recommended by @pietacastiel who has GREAT theology content in general

all about love (bell hooks)

the chapter “when hated characters talk back” in anti-fandom: dislike and hate in the digital age (is actually explicitly about cas)

also cannot recommend enough following the ppl i tagged above!! most of the unlinked stuff is available through http://libgen.li/ and bookshop is a good alternative to amazon if ur american and want physical copies

[politesper-moved]

MEET THE MUSE

► Name ➔        ‶  kozumi  itsuki ,  at  your  service .  ″ ► Are you single ➔        ‶  yes ,  i’m  afraid  so .  though ,  i  don’t  mind  it  much .  ″ ► Are you happy ➔        ‶  of  course ,  why  type  of  question  is  that ?  ″ ► Are you angry? ➔        ‶  angry ?  goodness ,  no .  i  don’t  think  i  could  be  even  if  i  tried .  ″ ► Are your parents still married ➔        ‶  yes .  ″

NINE FACTS 

► Birth Place ➔        ‶  sakai ,  japan .  in  the  osaka  prefecture .  ″ ► Hair Color ➔        ‶  brown .  ″ ► Eye Color ➔        ‶  brown  as  well .  ″ ► Birthday ➔        ‶  may  4th .  ″ ► Mood ➔        ‶  hm ,  i’d  say  that  typically  my  mood  could  be  described  as  content .  ″ ► Gender ➔        ‶  male ,  thank  you .  ″ ► Summer or winter ➔        ‶  summer .  it  is  much  more  difficult  to  plan  activities  in  the  winter .  it’s  also  difficult  to  find  the  motivation  for  things  when  it’s  too  cold  out .  though ,  i  suppose  the  same  could  be  said  about  excessive  heat .  ″ ► Morning or afternoon ➔        ‶  i  find  myself  enjoying  the  calm  of  the  early  morning  more  and  more  as  of  late .  ″

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE 

► Are you in love ➔        ‶  yes ,  i  believe  so .  ″  he  chuckles ,  but  doesn’t  elaborate . ► Do you believe in love at first sight ➔        ‶  i’m  afraid  something  such  as  that ,  while  romantic  in  nature ,  is  very  unlikely  to  happen  in  real  life .  i  do  like  to  keep  an  open  mind ,  though ,  so  i  won’t  outright  deny  it .  ″ ► Who ended your last relationship ➔        ‶  i’ve  never  been  in  a  relationship  to  begin  with .  ″ ► Have you ever broken someone’s heart ➔        ‶  if  i  have ,  i  am  not  aware  of  it ,  and  would  like  to  apologize  to  the  person  i  hurt ,  albeit  unintentionally .  ″ ► Are you afraid of commitments ➔        ‶  i’ve  made  far  too  many  of  them  to  be  afraid  at  this  point .  though ,  in  the  realm  of  love  and  romance  i  believe  that  if  you’re  scare  to  commit  to  someone  then  perhaps  you  are  not  meant  to  be  in  a  relationship .  ″ ► Have you hugged someone within the last week? ➔        ‶  no ,  i  have  not .  ″ ► Have you ever had a secret admirer ➔        ‶  i  wouldn’t  know  about  secret ,  though  i  am  well  aware  of  some  girls  at  my  school  who  have  an  interest  in  me .  i’m  afraid  to  say  it  isn’t  requited .  i’d  hate  to  hurt  their  feelings .  ″ ► Have you ever broken your own heart? ➔        ‶  that’s  rather  personal ,  don’t  you  think ?  what  a  depressing  thing  to  ask .  ″

SIX CHOICES 

► Love or lust ➔        ‶  love ,  as  cliche  as  that  may  be .  ″ ► Lemonade or iced tea ➔        ‶  iced  tea .  ″ ► Cats or Dogs ➔        ‶  i’ve  become  rather  fond  of  our  feline  friends ,  though  dogs  also  have  plenty  of  positive  traits .  ″ ► A few best friends or many regular friends ➔        ‶  what’s  the  saying . . .  keep  your  friends  close  and  your  enemies  closer ?  haha ,  i’m  only  kidding ,  of  course .  forgive  me  if  that  was  in  poor  taste .  i  prefer  to  stick  with  a  few  close  friends .  having  many  regular  friends  feels  like  it  could  become  overwhelming .  ″ ► Wild night out or romantic night in ➔        ‶  personally  i  find  a  romantic  night  in  to  be  much  more  appealing .  if  only  for  the  idea  that  it  would  be  a  nice  and  quiet  evening  with  someone  i’m  close  with  and  comfortable  around .  ″ ► Day or night ➔        ‶  day ,  i’ve  begun  to  dread  the  night  more  and  more  lately .  though ,  it’s  nothing  of  concern .  perhaps  i  just  enjoy  the  positive  energy  that  sunlight  gives .  ″

FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS 

► Been caught sneaking out ➔        ‶  i  can’t  say  i’ve  ever  snuck  out  of  anywhere .  ″ ► Fallen down/up the stairs ➔        ‶  believe  it  or  not ,  i  have  tripped  once  or  twice  in  my  lifetime .  ″ ► Wanted something/someone so badly it hurt? ➔        ‶  what  a  sad  thing  to  ask  about . . .  i  suppose  i  could  say  that  i’ve  felt  something  like  this ,  yes .  ″ ► Wanted to disappear ➔        ‶  yet  another  depressing  query .  no ,  i’m  quite  opposed  to  the  idea  of  vanishing  off  the  face  of  the  earth .  though ,  i  would  be  lying  if  i  said  i  haven’t  thought  about  what  might  happen  if  i  did .  ″

FOUR PREFERENCES 

► Smile or eyes ➔        ‶  eyes  are  the  windows  to  the  soul ,  aren’t  they ?  ″ ► Shorter or Taller ➔        ‶  shorter ,  i  suppose .  ″ ► Intelligence or Attraction ➔        ‶  i  think  knowledge  is  more  powerful  than  anything ,  but  attraction  can  be  beneficial .  in  a  perfect  world ,  i  might  pick  both ,  but  as  of  right  now  i  stand  strongly  by  intelligence .  ″ ► Hook-up or Relationship ➔        ‶  i’d  prefer  a  relationship ,  a  hook - up  would  only  serve  to  make  me  melancholic .  ″

FAMILY 

► Do you and your family get along ➔        ‶  they’ve  been  very  supportive  of  me .  ″ ► Would you say you have a “messed up life” ➔        ‶  goodness ,  i  wouldn’t  say  that .  ″ ► Have you ever ran away from home ➔        ‶  nope ,  i’m  afraid  i  just  wouldn’t  have  the  guts  to  pull  it  off .  ″ ► Have you ever gotten kicked out ➔        ‶  i  wouldn’t  say  kicked  out ,  no .  that’s  far  to  harsh .  ″

FRIENDS 

► Do you secretly hate one of your friends ➔        ‶  why  would  you  ask  that ?  ″ ► Do you consider all of your friend’s good friends ➔        ‶  i  believe  they  are  all  wonderful  individuals  with  interesting  characters .  ″ ► Who is your best friend ➔        ‶  a  best  friend ?  i  hate  to  many  assumptions  about  other’s  opinions  of  me ,  but  if  i  had  to  pick  who  i  would  personally  view  as  my  best  friend  that  honor  would  go  to  kyon .  he’s  always  there  to  listen  to  me  as  well  as  lend  a  helping  hand  where  it  is  needed .  i  respect  him ---  and  regard  him  quite  highly .  in  fact ,  i  wish  i  could  be  more  like  him  in  some  aspects .  ″ ► Who knows everything about you ➔        ‶  who  knows  you  better  than  yourself ?  ″

Tagged by: @brigadeleadxr Tagging: @guiltycharge , @gothamdad​ , @adoranoia​ . @blueridae​ , & anyone else who wants to!

[msmoonlighter]

All About Freya Merrynight-Gunnulf

Name: Freya Merrynight-Gunnulf of the Seelie Queen’s Court Undercover Identity: Sage Wisteria Thorn of Seelie  Ethnicity/Nationality: If she were human? White? I mean she was born to a  viking dad so. But she’s mostly non-human. She’s a gentry faerie, meaning she looks almost totally human, save for a few little details such as pointed ears, unnaturally vibrant dark green and gold eyes, unnaturally bright red hair, ethereal beauty. She is however, 25% human and her father was a Norwegian Viking who was half fae. It’s a whole thing. Age: 27 in fae years, roughly 1000 n’ something in human years, but time works differently in Faerie Species: ¾ Faerie. Shows no signs of being any percent human because faerie blood is dominant when it hits the 3/4 mark. Half fae have a fifty fifty chance of coming out human or fae, but they still carry fae genes. Gender: Female Height/ Body type: 5’9, curvy hips, hourglass, kinda a va va va voom body type, y’know? I can’t draw her right. She looks regal, and queenly, and tall. She’s supposed to give off elegant and sensual vibes. Appearance: Long red hair in loose waves, vibrant and rich forrest green eyes. Has a powerful sort of air. Like a feminine, flirty, but powerful air. Like she knows she could absolutely demolish everyone around here in her highest heels and come out on top. A tattoo-like image of vines sprawling around her shoulder down her torso and to her leg. She hides it with a glamour when she’s in public. The glamour can be dismantled if she’s severely injured or if for some reason her magic is drained or she’s severely weakened.

Family:

Father: Artair Gunnulf (His name meaning “As strong as a bear”, the strongest warrior of his tribe. The son of a human Berserker and a faerie woman.)

Mother: Aoife Merrynight (Powerful fae sorceress, left Sage for dead in the middle of the forest and then wanted her back when her powers sparked to life. Manipulative and abusive. Very Mother Gothel-like. Sold her daughter’s very existence to Titania Queen of the Faeries. We do not stan.)

Job: Works as a third grade school teacher in Middleverse.  She’s been in Middleverse for a little more than a year, and for most of that time she was unemployed, focusing mostly on tracking down whoever Titania wanted her to. During the summer her best friend Storm convinced her to work as a lifeguard. Later on her link to Titania and the faerie realm, an elf named Opal informed her that she had landed her a job teaching third grade at a local elementary school. Freya schooled the children of Titania’s court so she was kind of qualified but there was still a lot of fake it till you make it bullshit at the beginning. She loves her kids though, and would literally take a bullet for each and every one of them. Her real job, however, is serving as Titania the Seelie Queen’s personal spy and assassin, tasked with keeping tabs on on the residents of Middleverse for signs of people working to overthrow Titania. She’s supposed to capture the people orchestrating the assassination/overthrowal attempt and bring them to Titania dead or alive, and get rid of anyone who stands in her way by any means. This job takes a toll on her as you can imagine, and her conscience is never quite comfortable with that tall order. She’s grown up a warrior, she’s grown accustomed to violence, but Titania is corrupt and wicked, and some of the people she’s been tasked with killing were entirely innocent by all logic. She wants out, but since she’s magically tethered to Titania, she can’t betray her. Hobbies: Gardening, exploring the forest, swordplay, wood carving, archery, writing bits of novels she never publishes, writing  poetry, reading, calligraphy, playing the violin, experimenting with nature magic, she enjoys surfing, puzzles and word games Personality: She gives me the Badass Female Spy Who Pulls Out A Tube of Lipstick and It Turns Out To Be A Knife/Taser/Lock pick/Laser and Can Run After a Bitch At Top Speed In Heels Vibe. If she were a super villain she’d be Poison Ivy hands down.  She’s extremely intelligent, quick-witted, and clever, and even for a fae she’s especially good at twisting words. She can lie, being part human, and that combined with her fae magic makes her a dangerous opponent, especially since no one can guess she’s part human and assume she can’t lie. While lying comes easy for her, she feels guilty when lying to people she cares for. Often she does it to hide her double life from them. She’s most certainly the mom friend, or at least the Vodka Aunt friend, but is probably the only sober person coming back from group outings. She doesn’t drink much, and when she does, it’s faerie wine or nothing. She loves nature with a passion and is going to start a greenhouse in the woods behind her house with the help of her coworker and friend Zoe. She tends to be reckless, and has a bit of a temper. She’s awfully flirtatious, and often it means nothing to her. However when she really is interested in someone, you can tell. Mostly because she’s rarely ever actually becomes interested in someone for more than just a fun time, and when she does the flirting kind of dies down and she starts to feel uneasy. She doesn’t like the idea of caring about too many people when her life is so dangerous. Freya has a rebellious streak and it often arises in the form of her going directly against Titania’s orders, knowing she’ll be punished for it, but needing to feel free for once.  She never tries to escape, but she’ll disobey in little ways. Ways that piss the queen off. She hates feeling as if she’s not in control of her own life, and that’s kind of ironic because she literally isn’t. Titania could order her to stick a knife in her own stomach and she’d have to. Freya craves adventure and adrenaline, and is always up for a challenge.  Before she became a teacher she was in this apathetic state of depression, and really just didn’t give a shit about anyone or anything especially not herself anymore. But her friends and the school kids changed her for the better because I’m all for wholesome character arcs where the jaded main character unintentionally adopts a bunch of kids and becomes a better person. It’s cliche. Sue me.

Backstory: She was born a little over a thousand years ago from the strange one night stand between a Viking Berserker named Artair Gunnulf and a faerie sorceress named Aoife Merrynight. Artair was the strongest warrior of his clan, and his name literally meant “As strong as a bear”. He himself was half fae on his mother’s side, but he never knew since his father never knew. His mother left them when he was around ten because Titania found out about the union and commanded she return. Aoife was a full gentry fae woman. Gentry look almost completely human save for a few features such as unnatural colored hair, eyes, skin, pointed ears, and strange markings. They’re similar to elves, but have a more powerful and dramatic sort of reputation. While elves are often tied to nature, gentry are tied to nothing but magic itself. Aoife was a sorceress, known in Titania’s court for being a huge kiss ass to the queen, and all in all a really low-down, selfish person. She was Titania’s most trusted advisor, and as such was allowed to do as she wished. So she went to the human world in search of some fun.

She thought Artair was a ruggedly handsome redhead piece of ass, and she was bored, and so she seduced him real quick and then left town. When she had their child she was disgusted. She didn’t want a half human baby. To her anyone who wasn’t fae was weak and useless to her. So she dumped the tiny baby in the middle of the human forest. Real lovely chick, I’m telling you. Now, as fate may have it, Artair was hunting in the forest that very same day, and a few hours into his hunt he heard a baby crying. He found this newborn baby in the middle of the forest and was like “Yo what the fuck who left their kid here? That’s messed up.” He instantly felt a fatherly connection to this baby, so he wrapped her up in his cloak and carried her home. Time works differently in faerie. A week in the human world could be a mere hour or a year in the faerie realm. Years had passed down on Earth, and Artair had married a woman named Gala, who he loved and adored. They adopted the baby and named her Freya after their favored goddess. Freya grew up happily in the human world. She was nicknamed Bear Cub because she often paraded around in her father’s bearskin cloak. She learned all about the gods of her people, she learned how to fight, how to use a sword and knives and became a great archer. She made friends and loved her father and mother. She might’ve been happy if her powers hadn’t surfaced when she turned fifteen. She started showing signs of possessing magic around thirteen, but one day shortly after her fifteenth birthday, her faerie side really burst forth. She was training with the other village youth when a boy she particularly disliked accidentally cut her thigh. She had been distracted by a flash of light from the woods, likely from a faerie performing some sort of ritual, and stumbled instead of blocking his swing. His sword was made with iron, and iron is poisonous to faeries so the gash hurt more than usual. The boy was elated that he’d managed to get a strike in, and kept coming at her. She tried to block him, but the pain in her leg was so harsh that she could barely focus. She staggered back until she fell to the ground. When she felt the intense pain of being cut, she cried out and some primal part of her raged to life. Her eyes lit up with a green light and the forest behind them began to rumble. Out of the trees came an abundance of animals. Wildcats, wolves, birds, snakes. With them came tree roots, and vines. They advanced to defend her, but there was no need. The others ran screaming back home. After the pain receded, the animals left and the flora slithered back into the forest. That’s how she earned the nickname Forest Shaker. That night as she was telling her parents what had happened, Aoife showed up. She told them that she was the girl’s mother and that she wanted to take her back to Faerie where she belonged. Of course Artair, Gala and Freya refused. Freya told Aoife that she was perfectly fine where she was. Artair told her she wasn’t going to take her anywhere and Gala informed her that she lost the right to be with Freya when she abandoned her in the forest.   When Aoife threatened violence, Artair beat her to the punch, and came at her with his golden sword. So of course Aoife killed them. And then she dragged Freya kicking and screaming into the forest before finally knocking her out and taking her to Faerie. Freya was raised as her mother’s prisoner almost. She was allowed to visit the human world only when Aoife needed things from there, and often could only stay for one or two human years. She was considered a dirty halfbreed by the other gentry faeries. While she felt more at home with the humans, they aged so quickly, and often she’d leave them and come back from Faerie only a year later to find things had completely changed. To make things worse, after her schooling was finished, and she started to become more and more rebellious, Aoife realized that Freya might try to escape one day. So she took Freya to Queen Titania of Seelie. She offered her own daughter as a servant to the queen, suggesting that because she was so skilled in battle, that she could be a valuable soldier. Titania accepted and Freya became a soldier for Seelie. Slowly she proved herself to be valuable, and as more unease in the kingdom arose, and enemies of the crown began to sprout, Titania appointed Freya as her personal assassin. Freya hated this so passionately that she tried to run away for good. She was caught, and dragged back to her mother and the queen. Aoife, fearing her daughter might actually end up managing to escape one day, suggested to the queen that she bind Freya to the throne with magic, so that she wouldn’t be able to leave without permission or betray her. Titania agreed and bound the curse physically by creating a swirling vine pattern on Freya’s skin. It burned like hellfire, but Freya could do nothing to stop it. Ever since she’s been forced to obey the queen’s commands, unable to break free. If she tried, the vines on her skin would burn agonizingly, stopping her from being able to think, much less act. She’s halfway between hope and giving up. But one day, she swears she’ll break the curse and do everything in her power to avenge her parents and take Titania down.

[tomeandflickcorner]

OUAT Episode Analysis- The Eighth Witch

Well, this episode was quite the ride.  Buckle up, folks, because we’ve got a wild one here.

We begin with the Parallel Enchanted Forest flashback, where we see Henry introducing the newborn Lucy to Regina, Wish Killian, Tiana and Jack, who is later revealed to be the Parallel E.F.’s version of Jack of Beanstalk fame.  Which was interesting, considering the Jack of Enchanted Forest Prime was a woman. Let’s hope the gender wasn’t the only difference between this version of Jack and Jacqueline, and that the giants that this version of Jack dealt with really were the bad guys, and not the real victims.  (Rest in peace, Anton’s Brothers.)

On a side note, it was rather jarring that they started off this episode with Lucy’s birth.  The last time we saw Henry and Parallel Ella in Pre-Curse Parallel E.F., they had only just kissed for the first time.  But now we’re suddenly fast forwarding to them becoming parents.  I just found that rather funny.  Like, is Henry that good of a kisser that his kisses result in instant pregnancy?  I hope not, because otherwise I’d feel really bad for Violet.  

Joking aside, I do find it slightly upsetting that the rest of Henry’s family wasn’t invited to the party. What about Snow, Charming, Emma and Killian Prime?  Did they not get notified that Henry’s first child was being born?  I realize the real life reason why they’re not there, but I still want to know the in-show reason for their absence.

However, Henry notices that Regina also isn’t present, but before they can really figure out what happened to her, Drizella suddenly appears, announcing her intention to cast the Dark Curse on Lucy’s eight birthday.  I do find it a bit strange that Drizella was going to wait that long before casting the curse, but I do have a theory that I’ll touch upon later.  Though I also found it surprising that this most likely means Lucy is actually eight in the Hyperion Heights scenes.  While I realize they’ve never specifically stated her age, I’d always figured she was ten.  I suppose it’s possible that the curse has simply lasted for two years, but even so.

Returning to the episode, Drizella’s threat is interrupted when it’s revealed she’s unknowingly triggered a bit of Blood Magic.  Apparently, Parallel Stepmother is actually helping Henry and company now, as she’s teamed up with them to stop Drizella from casting the Dark Curse.  I guess the fact that neither party wants to see Drizella cast the curse led to Parallel Stepmother burying the hatchet with the New Nevengers.  In any event, Parallel Stepmother’s surprise assistance results in Drizella getting turned into a stone statue, which obviously would prevent her from following through with her plans.  Because she can’t cast the Dark Curse if she’s encased in stone.

But then, we fast forward AGAIN to Lucy’s eight birthday party.  Where we see Tiana is now a queen.  Obviously, a lot has happened during the eight years they didn’t bother to show us. Tiana has apparently succeeded in her mission to overthrow the corrupted monarchy and has become the new ruler of the kingdom.  And even though the members of her team of Freedom Fighters no longer need to band together, they’ve all remained friends, and have come together to celebrate Lucy’s birthday.

Anyway, Lucy’s birthday party is suddenly interrupted when Gothel appears out of nowhere, effectively gate crashing the festivities.  She’s accompanied by a bunch of mysterious guys, all dressed in dark robes.  Upon arriving, Gothel reverses the spell that had turned Drizella into a stone statue.  The moment Drizella is returned to her flesh and blood state, she, Gothel and the robed figures all teleport off again.

Now, you’re probably wondering who these robed allies of Gothel are.  Throughout the episode, we learn that Gothel and the robed figures are part of some secret sect called the Coven of Eight, which I gather is a feared group of powerful Dark Witches.  Where did they come from?  I have no clue, considering this is, to my knowledge, the first time we’ve heard of them. But it appears that Drizella joined the Coven of Eight in order to cast the Dark Curse.  Which kinda makes sense.  If memory serves, we saw Regina’s first attempt at casting the Dark Curse back in episode 2 was assisted by a group of nameless background characters, including a blind hag and a gnome. Apparently, Drizella also needs assistance of other people to cast her version of the Dark Curse.

This brings me to my theory about why they apparently had to wait for Lucy to turn eight before casting the Dark Curse. Maybe the number eight is a magical number in this realm.  Kinda like how people in this world associate the number seven with good luck.  I admittedly know very little about arithmancy, but my quick research on the subject states the number eight is the number of success.  Maybe that has something to do with why they decided to wait eight years before making their move.  And maybe it’s no coincidence that the number of years they had to wait is identical to the number of witches that are supposed to be in this coven.

Regardless, the fact that Drizella is now at large again, and fully capable of following through with her threat to cast the Dark Curse, puts the New Nevengers on high alert.  They begin to take steps to prepare for a way to combat the revived threat to their peaceful lives.

Wish Killian heads off to meet up with Rumpelstiltskin.  Who has, for some reason, gotten that weird skin condition of his back.  But they’re not telling us why he’s back to being a walking disco ball.  Maybe they’ll tell that story in 7B.  Anyway, Wish Killian asks Rumpelstiltskin if there’s a way to stop the curse, but Rumpy Rumps insists there’s no way to stop it.  However, he does present Wish Killian with a carved elephant.  Possibly a reference to the whole saying about how an elephant never forgets.  According to Rumpelstiltskin, while this elephant totem won’t keep him from losing his memories, it will enable him and Alice to recognize each other as father and daughter.  Wish Killian is both skeptical and a bit taken aback that Rumpelstiltskin seems interested in helping him, which makes sense.  Even though this is Wish Killian and Rumpelstiltskin Prime, it seems they can’t completely forget the feud that existed between them in both realities.  (Guess this means Rumpelstiltskin knows fully well that Detective Rogers isn’t Killian Prime, after all.) But it turns out that Rumpelstiltskin is actually doing this as a favor for Alice, who has been in Rumpelstiltskin’s company for quite some time now.  According to Alice, she feels she owes it to Rumpelstiltskin, because, as she puts it, he gave up a lot for her.  Is this related to how Rumpelstiltskin went all ‘crockey’ again?  Once again, that’s something they’ve yet to fully explain.

The conversation between Wish Killain and Alice is really lovely, though.  Especially since it’s clear that the Curse of the Poisoned Heart is still in effect, and preventing them from getting too close to each other.  Plus, Alice might still feel guilty for unintentionally inflicting harm onto her father after Drizella gave her the bogus cure. After all, Killian Prime was notorious for feeling intense guilt over things that weren’t even necessarily his fault. It’s possible Wish Killian possessed a similar trait and passed it down to his daughter.  I do wonder, though, if this is the first time they’ve seen each other since that day.  I get the impression that they saw each other again at least once between then and now, but it probably wasn’t that often.  Before Wish Killian leaves to rejoin the others, their conversation shifts to someone else.  Alice begins to refer to someone else she dearly cares about, and she gives Wish Killian what appears to be a love letter, instructing him to deliver it to ‘her.’ Wish Killian promises that he will do so.  Before parting, Alice tells Wish Killian that she would have written a letter for him, but she knows he already knows how she feels about him.

Meanwhile, Regina heads off to some small farmhouse in the middle of the woods.  As she approaches the house, a few arrows fly by, narrowly missing her by inches.  Upon turning, she sees the archer is a young woman who is quickly identified as Baby Robyn, Robin Hood’s daughter, now fully grown.  Somehow, Zelena and Robyn have also wound up living in Parallel Enchanted Forest.  Once again, there’s no explanation as to why they left Storybooke.  Or why Robyn is a young adult now.

To properly explain why this is so weird, I have to discuss a plot point that’s revealed near the end of the episode.  The love letter Alice wanted Wish Killian to deliver turns out to be meant for Robyn. Because Alice and Robyn are in love. Again, we currently have no explanation to how they met.  But I don’t have any issues with this particular pairing.  And it’s rather cool that the daughter of Robin Hood and an alternate version of Killian Jones fell in love.  I’d always wanted to see more interaction between Robin and Killian, and I can’t help but wonder how they’d react to knowing Robin’s daughter ended up with Wish Killian’s daughter.  The thing that makes me scratch my head is that Alice was conceived around the time when the timelines for Enchanted Forest Prime and Wish World diverged. Which means Alice should be around Emma’s age.  And Emma was probably thirty when Robyn was born.  Which means Alice should be roughly thirty years older than Robyn, too.  But in this episode, Alice and Robyn appear to be around the same age.  To the episode’s credit, it does kinda acknowledge the whole aging issue, with Regina commenting on how Robyn grew up so quickly.  But Zelena just gives a hand wave explanation, stating that time didn’t pass by so quickly in their realm.  Which I guess is the show trying to say that time simply passes differently from one realm to the next.   (Though that doesn’t exactly explain why Henry and the others don’t appear to have aged a day, even though eight years have apparently gone by in Parallel Enchanted Forest.)  But random aging processes are just a common thing in this show.

Anyway, Regina and Zelena discuss the problem about Drizella, and the involvement of the Coven of Eight.  Turns out they’ve been trying to recruit Zelena, as their calling card coin had been left out on her porch.  This is something that might be confusing, as Zelena was supposed to have lost her magic at the end of S6.  But according to @fandom-oracle, it’s possible she managed to regain her magic after the Black Fairy was defeated, and that there was even a scene from the S6 finale that showed her using her magic to play with Baby Robyn, which ultimately ended up on the cutting room floor.  So I guess that’s as good an explanation as we can get.  So Regina suggests she and Zelena once again team up to try and combat the Coven of Eight together, in the hopes that doing so can prevent them from succeeding in casting the Dark Curse.

While all this is going on, Henry and Parallel Ella have been working on the question of how they’re going to protect their daughter from Drizella and her allies if Regina and Zelena can’t find a way to stop them.  Eventually, Henry comes to a decision that Parallel Ella has misgivings about, but she knows that it’s their best shot at keeping Lucy safe.  This plan brings us full circle with the scenes we got in the S6 finale.  Henry takes Lucy deep into the woods, where they find the Parallel E.F.’s equivalent of the magical tree that was used to create the magical wardrobe that sent Pinocchio and Baby Emma away before the original Dark Curse was cast.  Henry’s plan is to use the magic tree to get him and Lucy to safety, so they’d be able to work together to break the curse once it’s cast.  While Henry works on fashioning the new magic wardrobe, he entrusts Lucy to the care of Tiger Lily, who has finally made her appearance.  I like to think her appearance is the show’s way of showing that Henry maintained contact with everyone back in Storybrooke, and maybe even visited them on occasion. (To be honest, it would make him look like a huge jerk if it was any other way.  Imagine never returning home to visit your family, even after eight years have passed.)

Unfortunately, Henry’s task of building the wardrobe is interrupted when the Coven of Eight attacks.  As we saw in the S6 finale, Henry quickly makes his way back to Lucy, instructing her to get the Storybook to her mother and then stays behind to try and buy Lucy time to escape.  After Henry is captured, Tiger Lily escorts Lucy back to Tiana’s castle, where they inform everyone of Henry’s abduction.  While everyone’s first instinct is to organize a rescue mission, Parallel Ella ultimately decides that that’s what the Coven of Eight want, and that doing so will distract them from their main objective in stopping the Dark Curse from being cast.  They also know that Henry would not want them to risk everyone’s safety for his sake. So the New Nevengers set out to the place where Drizella, Gothel and the rest of the Coven of Eights are to cast the Dark Curse.  And once they arrive, it looks like they’ve succeeded in stopping the ritual, with Parallel Ella, Regina, Wish Killain and Parallel Stepmother subduing the witches. That is, until Drizella reveals the ace up her sleeve.  It turns out one of the cloaked figures standing among the Coven of Eight is actually Henry, who has been bound and gagged.  And once his identity is unveiled, it’s also revealed the Coven of Eight had poisoned him in such a way that Regina’s magic cannot cure him.  Drizella proceeds to tell Regina that this was the full extent of her plan.  In this version of the Dark Curse, you don’t need to actively crush someone’s heart. All you need is the magic of someone who already crushed the heart of the thing they loved most.  Which means that Regina, who had crushed her father’s heart to cast the original Dark Curse, can cast the curse anytime she wants.  As such, Drizella tells Regina that she has a choice to make.  She can either cast the Dark Curse now so Henry and everyone else will be transported into the Land Without Magic, where the effects of the poison inside Henry will be nullified, or she can do nothing and let Henry die.

So now we know what the Big Horrible Thing that’ll happen if the curse breaks will be.  Because the moment the curse breaks and everyone wakes up, the poison inside Henry will also reactivate.  No wonder Regina is feeling conflicted over breaking the curse in Hyperion Heights.  She knows that doing so would mean sacrificing Henry.  On the one hand, I do wonder if Regina contacted Emma in Storybrooke after Drizella woke her up a few episodes back.  After all, Henry is Emma’s son, too.  So she has a right to know that her son’s life is on the line.  On the other, I suppose it’s possible Regina knows that Emma would come in with guns blazing if she knew the current situation, and that might end up complicating matters a bit more.  So it’s probably a whole dammed if you do, dammed if you don’t sort of deal.  (Still, Emma has a right to know.  And maybe she would be able to come up with a possible solution to the problem.)

In the end, Regina decides to give into Drizella’s demands and casts the Dark Curse in order to save Henry’s life. And, because of Drizella’s grudge against her mother, she makes it so Parallel Stepmother/Victoria will go about thinking she was the one to cast the curse as part of her plan to resurrect Anastasia, not knowing that it was actually Drizella that was pulling the strings.  And, as the Dark Curse cloud consumes everyone in sight, we witness Alice and Robyn meeting up one final time before the curse takes hold, vowing that they’ll remember each other, even if they don’t.  As for Wish Killian, he ends up giving the elephant totem he’d gotten from Rumpelstiltskin to Parallel Ella.  Even though he desperately wants to have a chance to be with his daughter while under the curse, he knows that the curse would leave Lucy completely alone, unless he gave the elephant totem to Parallel Ella, thereby allowing them to maintain their relationship of mother and daughter.  Just like how he was unable to go through with his plan to take Killian Prime’s place in order to reunite with Alice upon finding out Killian Prime had a child of his own on the way, Wish Killian once again proved how unselfish he truly was, sacrificing his chance to be with Alice so Parallel Ella could be with her daughter.

That brings me to a current theory I’m seeing circulating around.  At present, the show is really making an effort to make it look as if Anastasia is The Guardian.  But what was the test that Gothel gave Blonde Rapunzel to see if she was The Guardian? It was to see if Blonde Rapunzel was pure enough to sacrifice her own happiness for the happiness of someone else. Well, Wish Killian has now passed that test twice.  His happiness is directly tied to the opportunity to be with Alice again.  And he has twice given up that chance so someone else wouldn’t be separated from their child.  Not only that, he had clearly earned the nickname of Eagle Scout while working for the police department in Hyperion Heights.  What if Wish Killian ends up being The Guardian?  If that’s what they’re going to ultimately end up doing, that would be quite an impressive twist.  Not to mention it would be fitting, considering it would be a version of Killian Jones who ultimately puts an end to the Dark One’s existence. (Plus, who was it who wielded Excalibur and came very close to forever destroying The Darkness?  That’s right, Killian Prime.)

Back in the Hyperion Heights storyline, Lucy is admitted to the hospital after passing out in Jacinda’s arms. And the woman is visibly distraught. Sabine, ever the best friend, is quick to provide support, suggesting that Jacinda call Nick and Henry to tell them what happened while she gets Rogers to start asking around to find out where Lucy might have been before she passed out.  Because maybe something happened to Lucy while she was out to explain her current state.  So Jacinda begins making phone calls, but Henry ends up unintentionally missing her call, and it takes him a while to reach her when he tries calling her back.

Speaking of Henry, we see that the reason why Regina dragged him off to San Francisco is because that’s where the curse sent Zelena.  Under her cursed memories, Zelena believes she’s a spin instructor called Kelly. The cursed memories have also led her to believe that she and her sister, Roni, had a falling out over Kelly’s daughter, who apparently ran off to Phuket, the place where Pinocchio/August was living when Emma first arrived in Storybrooke, because the daughter in question thought her Aunt Roni was cooler then her mother.  Or something like that.  Either way, because of her cursed memories, Zelena/Kelly is less than pleased to see her sister.

That’s when Henry finally gets in touch with Jacinda.  The instant he finds out that Lucy is lying unconscious in the hospital, Henry is adamant about going back, his subconscious paternal instincts kicking in.  Regina is visibly torn, deeply concerned about the well-being of her adopted granddaughter, but she knows that she can’t go back to Hyperion Heights without Zelena.  So after Henry heads off to the airport to get back to Seattle, Regina once again returns to the gym where Zelena/Kelly works.  She eventually convinces Zelena/Kelly to drink some whisky that was laced with some of Drizella’s memory potion.  At first, it looks as if the potion failed, but the effects of the memory potion kick in after a few seconds.  Not sure what was up with the delayed reaction.  Maybe the writers were trying to throw in some false tension.  

Anyway, once Zelena wakes up, she is nothing but happy to see Regina again.  However, she is still somewhat conflicted.  Much like Emma during the Lost Year, Zelena met someone while living in San Fransisco.  And it turns out that they’re getting married.  Zelena even has a wedding dress hanging up in her closet.  Obviously, this does put Zelena in a bit of a bind. Because she still loves this man, but she remembers she’s not Kelly but Zelena.  And she doesn’t want to deliberately lie to him, so she’s going to have to explain everything about the curse and all.  Personally, my first thought was if this guy Zelena was going to marry was legit or if he was going to be another Walsh character.  Because that would be quite the case of karma if it was the latter. Imagine Zelena going through the same thing Emma did because Zelena sent Walsh to keep her occupied during the Lost Year.  I suppose we’re just going to have to wait and see what this guy is like before passing judgement.  In any event, Zelena ultimately decides to go back to Hyperion Heights with Regina and resume the battle against Drizella and Gothel.  Because that’s what heroes do and all.  She can explain everything to her husband-to-be when she gets back from her mission.

As for Henry, he reunites with Jacinda by Lucy’s hospital bedside.  As they talk, Jacinda hands Henry a copy of the new Storybook, stating that Lucy always loved the book he wrote, and that maybe if he read it to her, it would help her regain consciousness.  If Henry had doubts about that, he didn’t let them show, and he proceeds to read to Lucy, skipping right to the part that chronicled the time when he ate the poisoned turnover, and Emma revived him with True Love’s Kiss.  As he finishes reading that passage, Henry admits to the unconscious Lucy that, if it’s possible that he was her father in some other version of reality, then he’s willing to believe it.  As he makes that statement, he kisses her forehead, much like Emma did at the end of S1.  But this time, there’s no rainbow arc.  Because Parallel Stepmother had succeeded in breaking Lucy’s spirit, and she stopped believing.  So that’s going to be a problem.  With Lucy unconscious, there’s no rational way to restore her sense of belief.  When Regina and Zelena hear that Henry’s TLK didn’t work, they find themselves faced with a fresh conundrum.  They know that they can simply break the curse with someone else’s TLK.  But they know that Henry will die if the curse breaks.  At the same time, if the curse doesn’t break, then Lucy will be the one to die.  I admit, that’s quite the dilemma.  But if Henry were awake, I’m sure he’d be perfectly willing to sacrifice his life to save Lucy.  Though I don’t want to think about what that would put Regina and Emma through.

Meanwhile, there’s a small scene with Rogers and Tilly.  While Rogers is out and about, trying to shed some light on what might have caused Lucy to pass out, he’s approached by Tilly.  Who can apparently touch him without triggering the effects of the Curse of the Poisoned Heart.  I guess being in the Land Without Magic also nullified that, too.  Anyway, Tilly has discovered something that she thinks would interest Rogers, and she quickly leads him by the hand to the back of that weird stone troll statue.  Behind the statue, they see some maintenance man in the process of cleaning up a bit of graffiti.  Only it’s not just a random bit of graffiti. It’s the same mark that was on Tattoo Guy’s arm. Except we can now recognize it as the emblem of the Coven of Eight. Meaning the evil witch troop is in Hyperion Heights somewhere.

And that brings us to the subplot with Rumpelstiltskin, Parallel Stepmother and Anastasia.  Rumpelstiltskin isn’t happy at the moment, as he wouldn’t have helped Parallel Stepmother get out of jail if he’d known she would go after Lucy. Though I was a bit confused why he suddenly seemed to care about Lucy’s well-being all of a sudden.  Yes, she’s technically his great-granddaughter and all, but when was the last time he gave a bat’s behind about his grandson, Henry? While there might have been a teeny tiny blip on the radar during the Frozen arc, when he tried to get the heart controlled Killian to help him abduct Henry and bring him out of Storybrooke while leaving everyone else behind to destroy themselves, Rumpelstiltskin has barely acknowledged his relationship to Henry since the return from Neverland.  But Parallel Stepmother reminds him that the signs point to Anastasia being The Guardian, which I suppose suggests that she can heal Lucy.  I’m not really sure what happens next, to be honest.  Rumpelstiltskin arranges a test for Anastasia by placing a few knives in front of her, including the Dark One’s Dagger, instructing her to pick which one is the magical artifact.  And Anastasia is instinctively able to determine that it’s a trick question. Because the real Dagger is hidden in a nearby cabinet.  But then it gets weird, because she can suddenly move the knives in front of her telepathically.  And when she gets upset, the lights go completely haywire.  Did Anastasia show any indication that she possessed the magical gene prior to this moment?  Granted, Emma was completely unaware of her magical potential before Cora tried to steal her heart at the end of 2A, and there were only subtle hints before that part. But Anastasia’s sudden magical powers seem to be displaying themselves more sporadically than they did with Emma. I’d have thought someone who has that much difficultly in controlling her magic would have had it spilling out in random bursts more often.

But there’s no time to really dwell on that, as this is when Gothel appears.  Anastasia instantly recoils, as something about Gothel doesn’t bode well for her.  But when she tries to run while Gothel incapacitates Rumpelstiltskin and Parallel Stepmother, Anastasia runs into Drizella.  Because Anastasia doesn’t know her sister is in league with Gothel and a coven of evil witches, Anastasia instantly trusts her younger sister and goes with her, finding out too late that Drizella was tricking her.  But then Gothel reveals that she was the one playing Drizella the whole time when she double-crosses the younger of the two sisters, shoving her into a well.  Turns out Gothel’s true plan was to recruit Anastasia into the Coven of Eight, because her supposed Guardian Magic will make the group unstoppable.

And that’s the note we’re left on before the Winter Hiatus begins.  Meaning we’re going to have to wait three months before finding out what happens next.  Obviously, I’m annoyed that they left off with Lucy still in a magical coma, with Henry, Parallel Ella, Wish Killian, Alice and Tiana still stuck with their cursed memories.  But now I know why they can’t just break the curse.  Henry’s life is on the line.  So there’s that, at least.

Also, we’re left with so many questions.  What exactly happened during that eight year jump between Lucy’s birth and the final days before the Dark Curse was cast?  And is there a specific in-show reason why Regina can’t call in the Original Nevengers for help?  I’m sure Emma and the others are all wondering why Henry hasn’t checked in with them lately. And is Anastasia really The Guardian, or is that a red herring?   I’m just really hoping A&E can wrap everything up reasonably enough in 7B.  Because as much as I am liking the storyline they gave Henry, and the plotline with Wish Killain and his relationship with Alice, even I can admit the show’s floundering now.  So I’ll be very surprised if they get renewed for an eighth season.

(Click here to read more Episode Analyses)

[redorblue]

A few reasons why Dory is an unorthodox heroine, too

Nothing re-read related, just a thought I had when I was supposed to be asleep last night. I think we’ve established, and KC says so too, that Cassie is a pretty unorthodox heroine in that she doesn’t start her journey as a professional badass with combat skills and perfect knowledge about her world and this calm, heroic attitude that doesn’t do screaming and crying and getting upset about broken nails because what a mundane thing to do. She sort of gets there and certainly grows with the obstacles she faces, but she’s still not the typical amazon you usually see when female protagonists fight their own battles. Dory on the other hand fits that trope a lot better, but if you leave aside the battle skills, she’s pretty unusual, too.

Normally when there’s a story about a fight between good and evil, with the whole world (in our case, worlds) at stake, the protagonists have something that sets them apart from everyone else, something that makes them the only people capable of turning things around and let the good side win against all odds after all. This key figure-trope, whether the character in question is female or male, represents itself either as the Chosen One by default, with something like a prophecy, a family relation or a superpower distinguishing them from everyone else; or they get into that key position by stumbling into it more or less unintentionally and then get elevated by the people around them. Cassie kinda fits both descriptions a bit: she has the family relation, therefore becomes eligible for the superpower, and things just happen after that (until she starts owning it, of course). And while Dory, through Mircea, has the family connection, too, it doesn’t really get her anywhere, besides not being murdered at a young age. It certainly doesn’t positively set her apart from everyone else and make her eligible for the position of the heroine.

From a purely human perspective, she obviously has some physical advantages like heightened senses and strength, but those only go so far as to level the playing field. They’re certainly nothing special in the supernatural world and don’t get her anywhere all by themselves, they just make sure that she has a fighting chance against other super-natural creatures. Plus she also doesn’t really have any resources from social connections to draw from since she mostly rejects her family and is rejected by everyone else herself. Everything she has, every capability, she’s worked for and earned with years of practice, which in turn makes it attainable for everyone (theoretically, if one has similar physical advantages). There’s no immanent reason for her to be the one who saves the day built into the story. From a narrative perspective, someone like Claire would be a much more obvious choice, with her marrying into the Fae court and being able to transform into a dragon and all that. That makes Dory an unusual hero/heroine just like Cassie, only in different ways.

This is getting longer than I expected, but I wanna elaborate a bit on the hero thing, so be warned that this could get a bit off topic. I’m a university student, and I’m an assistant to a professor who’s working on a project about heroes and the discourses that make them heroes. Of course that’s all very academic and in my opinion (don’t tell him that) only partially applicable to real life (I’m including fiction into that, by the way). But because of my work I’ve picked up a few theoretical aspects of what makes a hero which I think would be nice to test here, so I’m gonna use what is probably a once-in-a-lifetime experience and use what I learned there outside university. But as I’m not in university, I’ll take the liberty to stop gendering the word hero and simply use heroine for both genders, because why not.

So theory says that a heroine’s function is to connect the sacred and the mundane sphere. That sounds pretty abstract, but makes sense when you think about the ancient Greeks. Most heroic figures in Greek mythology are demigods, which makes them the connection between the sacred (the gods) and the mundane (humankind) in corporeal form. So according to theory, in order to be a heroine you need to incorporate both mundane and sacred aspects, not necessarily in your genes but in your skill set, your value system, your charisma, somewhere. And then you need to do something with what you’ve got in order for the sacred inside you to show, which in turn kicks off the discourse that makes sure you’re elevated to a superhuman position, and remembered after you died. This means that the heroine doesn’t need innate heroic features of some sort - she can also develop them on her journey - but she needs them to be noticed by someone and recognized as something special, which makes her more than human and therefore partly sacred. She can then serve as a role model for other people, but for her to be a heroine, she can’t have something that everybody else can achieve, too, with the right motivation and some time, because if her heroic quality was accessible to everyone, it would no longer be part of the sacred sphere. It would be mundane, and kinda boring, and in time this quality and with it the heroine would be forgotten.

See what I’m getting at? If you take this (very simplified and probably partly inaccurate) analysis as a foundation, Cassie is a much more typical heroine than Dory. Cassie has a skill that sets her apart from the vast majority of people in her world, and she’s the only one in her time who can wield her superpower to the extent she can. Yes, there’s the acolytes, but you’re not remembered for being the second best (and therefore not a heroine, because being remembered and recognized as such is a vital part of heroism), and yes, she had to work for it, but she had to hone her skills, not attain them in the first place. Other people who don’t have this sort of skill or parentage don’t even get the chance to try if they’re good at it. Which, coincidentally, are both of divine origin, which would make a researcher on heroism sob with joy because it fits the theory so well. Cassie is both literally and figuratively a link between the sacred and the mundane, and therefore in that respect a classic heroine.

You’ll notice that I’m not basing this on fighting skills but solely on extraordinary powers because they’re basically accessible to everybody. Pritkin for example can’t be considered a hero because he’s good at various combat techniques, but rather because of his extraordinary talent for magic, and maybe also because he tried on numerous occasions to sacrifice himself for Cassie, and one time succeeded, which is important. I’m saying maybe because an act of martyrdom as a qualification for heroism is controversial among researchers. Some say it requires extraordinary strength to do it and therefore partly sacralizes the heroine, while others contend that everybody can die, and depending on your mindset and circumstances it might not even be a hard decision to make, which makes it purely mundane and the martyr therefore not a heroine. My personal, unqualified opinion is that while it certainly requires admirable strength, especially in times of war dying for another person or being prepared to do so is not uncommon enough to qualify as heroic in the sense of sacred, so I’ll exclude acts of martyrdom as a qualification for being a typical heroine.

What’s left for Dory, then? She had her moment of attempted martyrdom, but it happens quite a lot in these books - we’d have to count in Cassie, Pritkin, Mircea, Marco, Rafe, Agnes and several guards, both vampires and mages, just to name a few, and one basic rule about heroism is that not everyone can be a heroine. Heroines must be rare for them to be extraordinary and part of the sacred world. Don’t get me wrong, I love Dory, but according to this theory she’s not a heroine because the only thing special about her are her combat skills, and those are not special enough to be considered heroic/of sacred origin. On top of this, she doesn’t even have the narrative pointing a sign at her that reads heroine, as I discussed way, way above. We’ll see how things evolve in the next Dory book when/if she learns how to integrate her two personas and use Dorina’s (much more extraordinary and therefore heroic) mental powers. But until then, if you look at our lead ladies from this perspective, Dory is at least as unorthodox a heroine as Cassie.

[thevividgreenmoss]

exactly ! like that’s the issue I had with it like I didn’t disagree with anything that was said about Gertrude’s character and the merits thereof or w/e (and everything that OP said in the second paragraph added in the reblog was on 100) but like the post as a whole had this particular type of framing that you see pretty often that never sits well with me...like it’s projecting a lot of stuff onto this image of someone who identifies with / is intrigued by Ophelia but hates Gertrude - which is a position I’ve literally never seen anyone take on here which obviously doesn’t mean that that viewpoint doesn’t exist, but it isn’t exactly endemic - and then psychoanalyzing this made up person based on the thoughts you’ve projected onto them in the first place ? Like it’s one thing to point out how ingrained biases/cultural values etc might lead people to more easily accept and embrace Ophelia, and how the same kinds of factors may contribute to Gertrude maybe not receiving a level of nuanced appreciation/attention/affection as an incredibly complex and resonant character herself, but it’s another to essentially make the case people’s affinity for one character coexists with and is actually inextricably tied to their distaste for another and is tied into their misguided perception of both characters and also of women & femininity & their own selves? Like pointing out that in certain ways people more easily identify with a conventionally attractive young woman that’s clearly and unambiguously a victim while they might not have the same level of concern and compassion or even just respect for an “old shifty morally grey woman that no one really likes” is a fair point of discussion - although like there’s an abundance of interest and appreciation of such women on this site so I really don’t get how that particular point can be made as part of an explanation of “the problem with tumblr” as tied to why tumblr hates Gertrude and therefore doesn’t view gender properly, when that literally is not a problem with tumblr so like it can’t exactly be a basis for the claims that follow from that point imo. Same with critiquing romanticization of “ultra white ultra feminized self destruction”, like by all means go for it but like it isn’t clear how that ties into preference of Ophelia vs Gertrude either like I don’t think either of them were strictly self-destructive since (as with all of the characters) they were to varying degrees trapped by and nudged along by circumstances outside of their control to the point that even Ophelia’s suicide arguably shouldn’t be seen (at least not exclusively) as an active act of self-destruction, and they’re both conventionally feminine in terms of appearance and role in society and like they’re both white so that’s irrelevant to any broader comparative point regarding the two characters and people’s reactions to them so like why bring that up at all...like it’s rhetorically dishonest to bring that up exclusively in association with one side of this supposed dichotomy imo like intentionally or unintentionally it just serves to obscure any meaningful or fair-minded consideration of the matter at hand by just like arbitrarily waving this red flag of Association with the Problematic Category of Whiteness over the position that’s being critiqued. 

Idk like there’s this whole style of discussion that we see where instead of criticizing & dissecting culture/media + people’s reception to it through a moral/political/aesthetic framework, you start out by making a claim or stating an opinion on the work in question and then extrapolating that out to show how that particular opinion leads to the morally/politically/aesthetically Correct position and alternate viewpoints fundamentally indicate an inability to arrive at that same Correct position and in fact lead you down this very particular flawed line of thinking. Which idk it’s a really condescending narrow-sighted unproductive way to approach things and like is usually based on things like drawing false distinctions and like asserting shit like people that are drawn to Ophelia tend to be repulsed by Gertrude and not only that but the reasons why they’re drawn to Ophelia are necessarily connected to the reasons why they don’t fuck with Gertrude and the presence of those factors (and again like I don’t think that any of the provided evidence ostensibly supporting the fact that those factors are even present within let alone malignantly influencing the attitudes of tumblr dot com’s Ophelia stan community are at all compelling), is evidence that this category of people have a fucked up attitude towards the way they see and relate to and even personally exist as women which like I’m not at all saying is what OP’s intention was, but like untangling their argument and following even it’s immediate implications through leads you in that exact direction.

Has anyone here actually seen a post hating Gertrude or even implying that she isn't an interesting/complex/relevant character like idgi...

[kaae2008]

Developing Kaae Decem for RP

Name: Kaae Decem Age: 30 Birthplace: Gridania Nameday: 27th Sun of the Sixth Umbral Moon Race: Miqo’te Gender: Female Racial clan: Seeker of the Moon Guardian Deity: Oschon, The Wanderer Family: Fena Decem - Mother, Deceased Vis'A Decem - Father, MIA

Brief Bio: I was born in Gridania as my mother passed on. My father is a carpenter, one of many who serve the guild in Gridania. I don't recall seeing my father smile, and old friends of his tell me that it died the day my mother passed on. As I grew older, my father spent more time in the carpentry shops and less time at home. By the time I was ten, I was being left on my own more often than not. And as many children are bound to do, I explored the world around me. And I found myself slipping through the hedges and walls of Gridania and into the shrouds. For years I spent hours slipping through the trees and sitting by the creeks. Daydreaming under sunbeams and admiring animals from afar. And when I would return home at night I would draw the things that I had seen.  

When I was fourteen an old friend of my mother's, A'dra Ofren from Ul'dah visited. And while she visited she found drawings that I sketched at night after returning from my time in the shroud. And before she left, she gave me a bag of pigments that my mother had given to her shortly before marrying my father. A'dra returned to visit the next month and with her she brought a twine bound book about painting. A'dra taught me how to mill pigments and mix the powders to create paint. And she gave me the book saying that I should read it and try my hand at painting. And then she departed, promising to return to see my progress. She would return every few months with a new book or a new package of pigments for me.  

When I turned sixteen I had a growth spurt and could no longer slip through the holes and gates as easily as I once did. And it became known that I was spending a lot of time outside of Gridania. I would take my paints and canvas and stray into the far corners of the shroud and sometimes not return till the next day when my paint had dried. The Wood Wailers were displeased that I continued to stay out and eventually approached my father with their concerns that I was causing mischief in the woods and would encure woodswrath if not stopped. And thus my father did return his attention upon me. And I found myself in a battle of wills with him that would continue till I turned 18.

When I turned eighteen my father urged me to apprentice at one of the guilds in the city so I could begin to develop a trade. But by this time I had developed a love for painting and had decided that I would be a painter. My father tried all he could to disuade me, but I was stubborn. And after a cruel fight, I packed some belongings and my paints and took a wagon away from Gridania. I would find out through a letter from a family friend that my father then sold the house and disappeared.

Since then I have traveled around Eorzea learning what I could about the arts and painting the world I find it.

Motivation: After the conflict with my father and his vanishing, I am filled with great regret. I never want to cause another person pain again. I want to only bring joy to people. And since painting brings me peace and joy, I will use my painting to show the people of Eorzea how beautiful life is.

My Personality: I suppose people would say I'm socially awkward. My imagination is vivid and sometimes I fail to stop myself from giggling at interesting things in my mind. Unfortunately... sometimes I end up giggling at really bad moments. I also have the embarrassing habit of using puns and jokes at terrible moments. I hate conflict and I also get flustered - and sometimes they just pop out as an attempt to soothe the tensions or distract from the fluster. It wouldn’t be so bad, except that I’ve done this to complete strangers!

I like small and cute things, and unintentionally stare at them for long periods of time. I am pretty sure I've freaked out a few of the Lalafell merchants I know. I am also easily distracted by colors and life! But this can cause me to loose focus if talking with others and it can seem like I'm ignoring them. I know its a problem and I'm trying to curb it.

I believe I have some depression and self depreciation issues. However I don't deal with them and try to ignore them. I feel guilt over how I left my father and a part of me blames myself for my mother's death.

I am realizing that I have been growing lonely as I grow older. And I find myself looking to others for companionship more than I used to. And though I may be quiet for the first several meetings as I get to know someone, when I am comfortable with them I find that I most enjoy having long quiet conversations or just sitting together and enjoying life around me.

[britaneebee-blog]

Let me just start off by saying – I’m going wild about this week’s topic. I suppose an online space of resistance is essentially any space that is actively resisting oppressive social forces. These spaces can be diverse and therefore hard to pin-point, because, essentially any space that has an overarching culture of resisting, or is self-proclaimed to be resisting, is a space of resistance. To make things even more complex – RESISTANCE IS MURKY! For me, when it gets down to the nitty gritty, gender accommodation (meaning accommodating to expected gender performances or gender norms) and resistance can be microscopic individual choices, or colossal macro choices or movements – and they can often look A LOT like each other. To contextualize my yarn ball of thoughts, take into account Lucy Watsons article How girls are finding empowerment through being sad online. This piece dives into Audrey Wollen’s reclaiming of sadness and distress by women, arguing the reverse of an essentialist viewpoint of women to be overly emotional, etc, but instead claiming that women allowing themselves to be sad and to be seen as sad is instead liberating (read: resistance instead of accommodation). Like, that’s a lot. Wollen, at one point calls out current feminism saying “I felt kind of alienated by contemporary feminism, because it demanded so much of me (self-love, great sex, economic success) that I just couldn’t give.” Help – it’s so relatable. This quote identifies a drawback of performing resistance online (or at all) in that acts of gender resistance can unintentionally create new standards, expectations, and norms that women may feel inclined to subscribe to – creating a true rock and a hard place dilemma.  To bring this all back down to earth (breathing heavy), a current space of resistance I am all up in is Pantsuit Nation. This space honestly kept me afloat from November 9th till early December. This secret facebook group is a cyber-community complete with storytelling, support, and organizing. That is not to say there are not downfalls. It is accessible only to those who are invited, meaning – ya gotta know somebody who knows somebody. Additionally, many members have called attention to its exclusion of POC and people who are non-able bodied in regards to its leadership (admins) and IRL events. This serves as an example of the perpetuation of oppression, even in a well-meaning space, only to further support there is more work to do.

[piccolina-mina]

But blackish isn't the first show to make the jewish character regressive, New Girl has Schmidt, Quantico made the jew character an evil IDF sympathiser, Luke Cage made the Jewish guy a Dr Mengele type figure, both ghostbusters + force awakens made their 'whiny entitled white boy gone evil' characters jewish. This is a pervasive problem- white enough to be seen as the Epitamy Of Privilege but not white enough to experience it. We voted Hillary, we got bomb threats against our kids pls understand

I DO understand and I don’t need a lecture on anti-semitism. I know it exists. I’ve seen it up close in person. I see how pervasive it is even though it’s not discussed as much as racism and homophobia tends to be discussed.

I said I understand that. Simon Asher was my favorite character and I was one of the most vocal when it came to the way they wrote him. The bullshit thing they did with his sexuality was appalling and just as fkd up when you take into consideration “evil gay” trope. The misguided attempt they made at wading into political issues with his time served overseas…the fact that Liam was CLEARLY the shadiest from the beginning…but Simon was vilified the entire season. Or how everyone’s poster boy was Caleb who was shady himself, or that Ryan lived despite being useless.

Regarding Blackish. As I said, I understood what was being said regarding her once it was pointed out. I didn’t think of that aspect mostly because it never crossed my mind that she was Jewish. It really didn’t. I had honest to God forgot.

But taking that in mind, I just don’t think it was something malicious, intentional, calculated…or anything related to that. It wasn’t like they had this entire storyline set up before they established her character and said “Let’s make her Jewish.” They didn’t. As frustrating as it is, and I genuinely get frustrations when it comes to the one token black character, or specifically black female character being regressive or falling into a trope. I get the hell out of that.

I didn’t say it wasn’t frustrating or annoying or dismiss the feelings regarding that. I just said that in this particular case, with this show, she happen to be the only white female character they COULD do it with, since she’s the only recurring ww character, particularly at Dre’s job, where they ALWAYS have these discussions.

In this case, the fact that she’s Jewish happened to be coincidence, not some deeply rooted prejudice that caused the writers to make her character and hers alone the Trump Supporter. Who else were they supposed to use if not her for the purpose of this episode?

The Johnsons neighbor? Maybe. Given her history on the show she probably IS a Trump supporter, but she’s not exactly a friendly acquaintance. They probably already figured she was a Trump supporter since she’s the resident female micro-agression racist of the show (playing into the trope you’re talking about would have had them actually and problematically putting Lucy in that role which really would have been fkd up but they didn’t). Also, it would have taken the issue outside of the work office (which was the entire point of facing and working with people every day…not to mention the office is where he has all of this discussions and gets diverse viewpoints from different genders, races, ages etc). Also they used her for the drunk white woman who would have had them arrested when the cops pulled them over in that other episode. So it was a no on Janine.

Other possible solution would have been making their less recurring rotating boss who Dre feels uncomfortable around, but she’s not a familiar enough character, they don’t actually know her, she doesn’t partake in their discussions, and thus it wouldn’t have the intended effect.

There was literally no other white woman but Lucy. There was no other plausible choice. I’m not saying it doesn’t suck. I’m saying that sometimes it simply happens no matter how hard you try to avoid falling into a trope or even a stereotype or coming off politically incorrect. Sometimes it just happens. And I’ve seen it happen, with black characters, women, lgbt characters, Asian, latinx, it just happens…

But to me, the regressive aspect of it comes in when intentionally or unintentionally a show leans into harmful tropes continuously and thoughtlessly when they don’t have to. And I just don’t think that was the case here. I’m really not being dismissive of the feelings regarding it. You’re going to feel what you’re going to feel and you’re more than entitled to. I’ve been there. But I’m also saying from the show’s standpoint I understand why it worked out the way it did. And I don't believe that this incident was something worth lumping them in with other shows who are tone deaf or anti-semitic. I just don't.

[radfemme12-blog]

From libfem to radfem

Hi, I'm a newborn radical feminist. I don't call myself a terf because it's a buzzword perpetuating hatred towards women (plus exclusivity doesn't always equal oppression like some trans activists claim it to be).

I'd been a terf-hater for a long time, 5 years or so. I proudly called myself an intersectional feminist (another misinterpreted buzzword). I still acknowledge intersectionality in my feminism, but intersectionality itself can't be ideological without any interpretation. It all boils down to the same old dichotomy of "libfem-radfem". I'm willing to think within the intersectional framework, but the output will be different for me.

I now have a few issues with intersectional feminism.

1) People who call themselves intersectionalists are egalitarian at best. Feminism is lost somewhere in between alloppressionsmatter and whatabouttranswomen. It's true that different kinds of oppression follow the same path and have the same formula of "power+prejudice". It's also true that experiencing several kinds of oppression creates a unique oppressed identity. But intersectional feminists are caught up in counting the curses, usually their individual curses - the more the merrier. Radfem however says (and no one listens) that sexism is the essential oppression. Why does homophobia exist? Because there are supposed to be a man and a woman in a romantic/sexual union. The oppressor and the oppressed. The hunter and the trophy. Homosexuality destroys the sex role dynamics. Homophobic people are sexist by extension. Race and class are harder to simplify in that way, they are considered "bases". Still, the source of violence is the same toxic machism and entitlement. The dynamic needs to be overthrown.

2) All about gender. No intersectional activist (not that I know of) has offered a useful analysis of what gender is. The choice of gender is seen as personal and subjective. But man, what does it mean to feel like a woman? Where is the feeling located? I feel like a woman, which means I was trained to serve a man from the day I was born, I was called crazy and hysterical when voicing my opinion, I was catcalled. Now anyone, literally anyone can call themselves a woman equating their experience to mine. Even if they don't look like what a woman is "supposed" to look like. Woman is just a word apparently. It's also getting harder to defy traditional gender roles without being labelled trans. I also have issues with the non binary identity. From my experience nb people are disproportionally female. It's understandable. I also wanna close my eyes and whisper "I'm not a woman anymore, please, I don't wanna live as a woman any longer". But it won't happen. I still have the same looks and physique considered fuckable, demonic, asking for it. I still have the same reproductive organs the government claims control over. This kind of escapism won't do me any good. For the outside world I won't be a genderfluid rainbow unicorn, I'll be a vagina-bearing bitch to be used and discarded. As long as we keep lying to ourselves about why we don't want to associate ourselves with the word "woman" we won't see any progress.

3) Changes, we wanna see changes. Radfem made changes. The Second Wave is the reason we are here in the first place. The greatest achievement of liberal feminism (the type of feminism that prefers to be called intersectional now) is popularising feminism. I really thought it was the best thing ever. Until the popular feminism became unintentionally self parodying. For me shit hit the fan when the "cotton ceiling" craze got visible. People who bully women into giving up boundaries and becoming sexually available for everybody can't call themselves feminists. Never. Intersectional lesbians who disagree with that cotton bullshit don't dare to speak up. Intersectional activists prefer to stick their tongue up their asses if they aren't busy coercing women into fucking a penis. Who defends lesbians from that shit again? Radfems. Fucking terfs who need to die, bigoted bitches. Thank you for standing up, it made me want to be one of you and I'm on my way.

[purplesaline]

Frost

An original piece from around 2002. Vastly different from what I tended to write which was usually very immediate and about intense emotion and connection whereas this was much more aloof and reserved. More distant. I thought that it lent itself well to the story, matching the emotional atmosphere with the physical atmosphere.  The ambiguous gender identity of the MC was characteristic of my writing during that period. Sometimes done purposefully, other times unintentionally. The MC’s bias against ‘intellectuals’ is their own and does not represent my own feelings.

It’s late December, or so the conventional calendars read. To be honest it feels more like January to me, but then my weather sense has always been off kilter from living in the south for too long. I judge winter by the first snow, which leaves me feeling deprived of a summer more often than not as we tend to get at least one or two short falls in July and August.

But no, it was late December and with every step I took I could hear the crunch of ice and snow beneath heavy arctic boots and could feel the moisture from my breath freeze on my face, an unpleasant feeling and the possible onslaught of frostbite unnerved me a little. The day had barely begun, sun still sitting low on the horizon with a ruddy orange glow that should have given the illusion of warmth, yet somehow in this bleak tundra it only served to make things feel even more empty and cold.

The few clouds that were in the sky were a crimson stain against the lightening blue, vivid colours framed above a stage of white that could have been beautiful in its own right if I’d been feeling more charitable towards the stuff. I did, however, find the thick ice shell coating everything in sight to be quite enchanting, a crystalline embryo that glittered in the early morning rays as if in some fantasy world where everything was made of precious gems.

“It’s pretty.” I’ve always been known for my understatements and stating things in such a small and simple manner tended to frustrate those I surrounded myself with.  Intellectuals spoke with the same heavy, cumbersome words they wrote with, defining each sight to the extent where one no longer even needed to see it. I preferred to let people see things for themselves and so treasured the simplicity with which I pointed them out. I would be lying though if I didn’t admit to the pleasure frustrating my colleagues brought me.

“What is?” My companion; overly serious, intellectual, and blind to any wonder of the world that didn’t have a sign above it stating and explaining its wonderfulness to mankind. I suppose the frustration I delighted in wreaking upon my colleagues was vengeance for the frustrations I suffered at their hands, specifically at the hands of the man currently claiming my mittened one tenderly in his own bare and calloused version.

“The Hoar frost. I like the way it catches the light.” I pointed it out to him as a child might point out a rainbow seen for the first time, the same naïve and innocent delight coating each of my words the way the frost coated the trees. I giggled while my companion looked around without really seeing anything, the sight of the frost bringing to mind an old cartoon of a caveman caught unaware of the ice age and frozen into a rather compromising position.

“Lady of the Night frost.” His words caused me to miss a step in momentary confusion and I felt myself tugged slightly forward as he continued to walk along the well-trod pathway, my hand still caught firmly in his.

“Lady of the what frost?” I was fairly certain that hoar frost was the correct term for the thick ice that encased everything, reminiscent of the way the rock candy experiment back in elementary school science coated the piece of string. I regained my balance and rhythmic motion, looking up at the face that hadn’t glanced back at me to see if I was all right.

“Lady of the Night frost. Hoar frost is no longer politically correct.” It took me a few moments to realize that despite his completely straight face and lack of any sort of teasing tone the man was cracking a joke. That was another thing that frustrated me about his kind, their overly dry sense of humor and the smug look they get when another person finally understands the joke.

“That’s ridiculous.” I was feeling particularly childlike this morning and my voice came out sounding sulky and petulant at taking so long to comprehend his jest. My companion merely smirked and let his long legs continue to propel him along the pathway at a pace that left me having to speed up my own steps to keep up. The man had no consideration.

“So is political correctness, with people spelling woman in such a way as to eliminate any form of spelling man and teachers being chastised for using the word ‘niggardly’ to describe a character in a book.” I nodded slowly as the words sank in, pondering the meaning behind them in silence as the morning journey continued. My companion apparently felt it unnecessary to further the conversation, lapsing into a silence that held much the same consistency as my own thoughtful musings.

“Why?” I had a tendency to tilt my head like a small bird when I asked a question. I’d been told it made me look endearing and adorable, neither classification pleased me but that was only because I disliked being classified to begin with.

“Politicians. That’s why it’s called ‘Politically’ correct.” I would have directed a withering gaze his way but it would have bounced off with little to no effect. He was speaking in his condescending, teasing tone again, which meant that he was only pretending I was an idiot that needed everything spelled out for them. I hoped he was pretending anyway, it was hard to tell beneath the superiority complex and overwhelming arrogance.

“Politicians get paid to make people happy.” He went on as if I had asked for further clarification, likely for the best since I didn’t think I could keep the exasperation out of my voice. I bit my tongue and looked down at my feet as we walked; linking my arm through his so I could sidle up a little closer to the heat he gave off while I half listened to his explanations.

“They actually can’t do anything to make them happy because society can’t make up their minds on what they want, and that would be far too much like work anyway, which we know politicians avoid. So instead they make up new ways of speaking that won’t offend anyone.”

I had to admit that it made some sort of sense, in a twisted intellectual way. It was so simplistic in its delivery that I wondered if I was rubbing off on him or if he was still too tired to dream up a convoluted explanation that would require hours of translation by dictionary.

“I suppose.” I said, and he went on to explain how the politicians always overdid everything, making themselves look pompous and ridiculous in the process but refusing to give up on what could get them re-elected. I’d already stopped listening to him, recalling an idle story my mother once told me about a pot and a kettle, once again focusing my attention on my surroundings.

“Lady of the Night frost.” I spoke into the silence he’d finally lapsed into. He’d been speaking to hear his own voice until he realized that I hadn’t been listening, which was likely why it had taken him so long to notice my inattention. For the first time that morning he looked down at me, a questioning gaze that asked in the lover’s secret code ‘What the hell are you on about now?’

I giggled in that childish way I had, amused and gleeful. “I like it.” I said, and he grinned at me then pulled me a little closer to his form as we continued on with our walk.

Thought I would toss something up while I’m working on the next installment of my Sanvers - One Night Stands fic. If there is interest I can put up some more work from my archives. I’ve got a few short stories, some flash fiction, and some truly angsty/emo/pretentious poetry from my teens and early 20′s. I’m sure not all of it is as bad as I remember ;) If you’d like to support my writing and/or photography consider donating to my ko-fi fund which is currently being used to help catch up on some bills accrued during a mental health lapse.

[hollywoodjuliorivas]

In less than two months we’ve moved from uncovering accusations of criminal behavior (Harvey Weinstein) to criminalizing behavior that we previously regarded as presumptuous and boorish (Glenn Thrush). In a climate in which sexual mores are transforming so rapidly, many men are asking: If I were wrongly accused, who would believe me? I know the answer that many women would give — are giving — is: Good. Be scared. We have been scared for forever. It’s your turn for some sleepless nights. They’ll say: If some innocent men go down in the effort to tear down the patriarchy, so be it. Emily Lindin, a columnist at Teen Vogue, summed up this view concisely last week on Twitter. “I’m actually not at all concerned about innocent men losing their jobs over false sexual assault/harassment allegations,” she wrote. “If some innocent men’s reputations have to take a hit in the process of undoing the patriarchy, that is a price I am absolutely willing to pay.” Ms. Lindin was widely criticized, but say this much for her: At least she had the guts to publicly articulate a view that so many women are sharing with one another in private. Countless innocent women have been robbed of justice, friends of mine insist, so why are we agonizing about the possibility of a few good men going down? Newsletter Sign UpContinue reading the main story Sign Up for the Opinion Today Newsletter Every weekday, get thought-provoking commentary from Op-Ed columnists, the Times editorial board and contributing writers from around the world. Sign Up You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. SEE SAMPLE MANAGE EMAIL PREFERENCES PRIVACY POLICY OPT OUT OR CONTACT US ANYTIME I think the worry is justified. And it’s not because I don’t get the impulse to burn it all down. It’s because I think that “believing all women” can rapidly be transmogrified into an ideological orthodoxy that will not serve women at all. If the past few weeks have shown us the unique horrors some women have faced, the answer to it can’t be a stringent new solidarity that further limits the definition of womanhood and lumps our highly diverse experiences together simply based on our gender. I don’t think that helps women. Or men. I believe that the “believe all women” vision of feminism unintentionally fetishizes women. Women are no longer human and flawed. They are Truth personified. They are above reproach. I believe that it’s condescending to think that women and their claims can’t stand up to interrogation and can’t handle skepticism. I believe that facts serve feminists far better than faith. That due process is better than mob rule. ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story Maybe it will happen tomorrow or maybe next week or maybe next month. But the Duke lacrosse moment, the Rolling Stone moment, will come. A woman’s accusation will turn out to be grossly exaggerated or flatly untrue. And if the governing principle of this movement is still an article of faith, many people will lose their religion. They will tear down all accusers as false prophets. And we will go back to a status quo in which the word of the Angelos is more sacred than the word of the Isabellas. There are limits to relying on “believe all women” as an organizing political principle. We are already starting to see them. Just yesterday The Washington Post reported that a woman named Jaime Phillips approached the paper with a story about Roy Moore. She claimed that in 1992, when she was 15 , he impregnated her and that he drove her to Mississippi to have an abortion. Not a lick of her story is true. It appears that Ms. Phillips was collaborating with Project Veritas, an organization that tries to expose mainstream media “bias” through undercover operations, and that the group’s intent was to embarrass The Post — and, ultimately, to discredit Mr. Moore’s other accusers. The mission failed spectacularly, thanks to the professionalism of The Post’s reporters, but it’s clear that Project Veritas was exploiting this moment. It’s also not hard to imagine how this episode might have played out if Ms. Phillips had announced her accusations on, say, Twitter. Or even if she’d taken her story to a less fastidious news organization. In this climate, it would have caught on like wild fire. That’s exactly what happened, at least in the right-wing media bubble, in the case of an Al Franken accuser, Melanie Morgan. There are now several women who have accused Senator Franken of groping, but in the days immediately after Leeann Tweeden’s original charge, Ms. Morgan, a radio host, claimed she was “stalked and harassed” by him after an appearance in 2000 on Bill Maher’s “Politically Incorrect.” The internet lit up with the fact that another woman had come forward to accuse Mr. Franken. Breitbart and Laura Ingraham and Rush Limbaugh seized on her story immediately. And no wonder. Melanie Morgan has praised Sean Hannity’s “tenacious search for the truth in the Roy Moore sex allegation story.” Melanie Morgan has said that Bill O’Reilly was fired for “dubious reasons.” Melanie Morgan is a birther. She also claims that Mr. Franken “scared the living hell out of me” … because he called her three times. Do you believe that Mr. Franken stalked Ms. Morgan? I don’t. ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story The zeal of “believe all women” can also lead down a strangely pedantic path, in which women are told how to properly understand their own pasts. The same year that Ms. Morgan claims Mr. Franken stalked her, Arianna Huffington did a photo shoot for The New York Post with the then-comedian, in which he is pictured grabbing her butt and her breast. Now those photos are being trotted out as evidence of his sexual predilections. An anonymous source from the shoot said: “Arianna was pushing his hands away. He was groping her. There was some fun attached to it, but she wasn’t enjoying it. She definitely told him to stop and pushed him away.” But Ms. Huffington says that’s not true. The notion that she was being assaulted, she tweeted, “trivializes sexual harassment because he was no more ‘groping’ me than I was ‘strangling’ him in the photo.” The disturbing assumption behind the blind item is that Ms. Huffington was necessarily the victim because of her gender. In fact, as she reports, she was in on the joke and grabbing Mr. Franken right back. Arianna Huffington isn’t an uncomplicated figure: She has been accused of overlooking sexual misconduct at her company. But do we not believe that she knows what happened to her? From time immemorial, men have been allowed to just be people while women have had to be women. I thought feminism was supposed to liberate us from this flattening of our identity. It’s supposed to allow us to just be people, too. What we owe all people, including women, is to listen to them and to respect them and to take them seriously. But we don’t owe anyone our unthinking belief. “Trust but verify” may not have the same ring as “believe all women.” But it’s a far better policy.