#secondly bc i think they should get paid for the degree to which this quote has gone viral/has been stolen

[snowstories]

[Image: quote reading 'As my friend Julian puts it, only half winkingly: "God blessed me by making me transsexual for the same reason God made wheat but not bread and fruit but not wine, so that humanity might share in the act of creation."' End description.]

that quote like “god gave us transness for the same reason he made grapes but not wine; yeast but no loaves — so we may partake in the divine act of creation”

[serenagaywaterford]

11) f) "and then… learns the hard way and is killed by their own ideas. (Literally or metaphorically.) She’s so interesting to watch because her pre-Gilead persona was quite a bit different, just in a different way than the other women." Right? What made me kinda sad for both Serena and Fred (I know!) is how their relationship crumbled under Gilead. They've basically swapped roles. Fred took advantage of Serena's fame and "accomplishments" and became the typical, patriarchal assh-- I meant

12) husband. All it took was some authority/power and... BOOM. His true colors were revealed. As for Serena, I find it quite ironic that for all her advocacy for "women must accept their biological destiny and stay at home" bs, she led the opposite of that life. She took equality for granted and had an education, a career and a marriage, all on her own timetable. Bonus? She was kinda bossy with Fred, which (ngl) I found cute, lol. (Btw, Serena is based on Phyllis Schlafly, right? Bc the

13) parallels are there.) A few moments before Serena gets shot, Fred looks at her like she's the sun. He's so proud of her and enamored. Oh, how the mighty have fallen! g) “I won’t forget your help”, I turned to my friend and was like, “Was that a threat?" LOL, when I first watched 2x10, I had a flashback of this "promise" and I was like, "Is this what you meant, BITCH?" Does she have Alzheimer's or what? h) "June has literally nothing else of her own that has any sort of privacy but Serena

14) gives her a box AND the key to lock it." Yeah, that's how I read that scene too, but still... i) "Which, is smart in a way, cos [Fred]’s so grossly obsessed with her that she can get away with virtually anything." Yeah. How he didn't hit her harder after that slap... A miracle. Ugh, and that quote he used about "all women"? YUCK. j) "I read some interview where the showrunners were saying the main line through S2 was June teaching Serena how to be a mother." I mean, yeah, that's definitely

16) another thing that connected them in S2. Motherhood. Which is weird. Bc Serena is delusional about Nicole being hers.

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It’s funny cos I don’t feel sad for Serena and Fred’s relationship cos I’m not convinced it was really based on genuine love, even in the beginning -- but maybe that’s just my own headcanon getting mixed up with canon lol. I mean, that sounds really dismissive cos clearly they were into each other, proud of each other, and really supported each other’s (asinine, dangerous) ideas. Like attracts like? I don’t fully trust that Fred was as docile as he looks even back then. I personally think he knew what he was doing the entire time and knew exactly what Serena can do for him. Like, his true colours were just repressed until, like you said, BOOM. He did the same with us as viewers/June in S1. I know I was like, “Hmm, this guy doesn’t seem THAT bad. Maybe he’s not all bad.” But nope. Jokes on me. Cos deep down he’s gross and just covers it up really well. I don’t believe he was the entire force behind Serena and I don’t believe he groomed her to any particularly high degree cos I have to admit, that Serena was awful all her on her own. She didn’t need Fred to have terrible ideas, especially like after she was shot and basically implied that Fred needs to go above the law and murder a bunch of people. How very Lady Macbeth of her.

(Yep. Schflay and Tammy Faye Bakker (in the book).)

>> “I had a flashback of this "promise" and I was like, "Is this what you meant, BITCH?" Does she have Alzheimer's or what?“

RIGHT?! I just........ gah. *SHUDDER*

>> “Ugh, and that quote he used about "all women"?”

Again, yes. It was just so gross. I hate him so much, lol. And I mean, it was some decent foreshadowing towards what he was about to do to his wife. It’s a hint that now, there’s no real boundary between women to him anymore. All of them are scum... except for his gross fetish for June. (Which doesn’t mean he doesn’t hate her just as much.)

I kinda love how delusional Serena is, and how June, by the end is just like, “Okay, you dumb bitch. Obviously this isn’t sinking in, so how about I appeal directly to this crazy delusion you have? I know I won’t win by fighting you on it, so let’s gently manipulate you instead.” I saw a lot of criticism of Serena about how she’s a shitty mother etc etc. and I’m like, “Really?”. Putting aside the baby-napping in order to achieve “motherhood”... It was shitty to keep June away and not let her wean (cos that is for the BABY’S WELLBEING, stupid Serena.) but otherwise, I didn’t see her being a bad mother. Sure, she got frustrated but that is completely normal? I saw a lot of outrage about how she dealt with Nicole’s colic-y crying... but I have to assume it’s from people who have never had babies for more than a few hours. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows 24-7. It’s stressful, frustrating, annoying, aggravating, etc. at times and it’s completely normal for new mothers to get overwhelmed and really fucking stressed out. It doesn’t mean they’re going to beat the shit out of their children. 

I saw one complaint that Serena has no patience and therefore will abuse her baby. And... like... Firstly, a new mother getting stressed af about a baby crying and being helpless/ignorant about how to stop it is not abnormal. Secondly, nobody--NOBODY--grows plants from seedlings without extreme patience (I should know. I tried and I’m super impatient and hated it and killed everything lol). Serena’s gardening takes incredible patience. So, imo, to say outright that she has zero patience is just patently false. Will that patience translate to a real human baby, well, that’s not clear but people really love just hating on Serena for absolutely everything. (Personally, I think her actual talents are purposely dismissed by fandom cos it doesn’t fit in. I can’t remember the episode (S1 probs) but there’s a painting/drawing she’s doing and I was like, “WTF? That’s awesome! What’s up with this multi-talented, artistic maniac?”) She’s an excellent writer, strong orator, talented artist and skilled gardener, and who knows what else. I think it irritates people that such a smart, skillful woman is so vile in some many other ways. It’s easier to dismiss someone if they have nothing of value to show for themselves.

But the breastfeeding bit was weird af and made me feel weird to see. (It reminded me of a Family Guy scene and that made it 10000 times worse lol. Mostly cos I hate Family Guy haha) But I think it needed to happen 100% for Serena to have the delusion broken down. Like, you are NOT her natural mother and YOU must accept this if you actually love “your” stolen daughter and want the best for her. 

And I think by the final scene with the 3 of them, June specifically appealed to Serena as a mother, not as an enemy or even a crazy lady. Letting Serena say goodbye was such a crazy level of trust in Serena. I’m not sure I would have, lol. It was a HUGE risk but it paid off. 

I think, by now, a lot of Serena’s extreme views can be shifted... but that one about Nicole being “her” daughter seems very much ingrained permanently, on an emotional level anyway. Rationally, I’m pretty sure she’s aware. (Maybe I’m wrong but it seems like, even for June, it’s just a given that Serena’s gonna believe that no matter what so why bother throwing a tantrum about it.)