#and how well the medium and the culture lend themselves to relationship models that would be considered 'non-traditional' in the west

[minecraftbookshelf]

To Walk A Mile In Each Others Shoes: The Ranchers

Summary: The soulbonds have consequences, and for some they are more welcome than others. Tango and Jimmy Edition

Characters: TangoTek & Solidarity Gaming

Word Count: 370

General Note: I'm posting these as separate one-shot style posts for each soulbond pair. They are all written but I have them queued up and spaced out. All posted will be on this blog under the tag "to walk a mile in each others shoes" and also on my AO3, which is linked on my pinned post.

-

Tango notices the itching first. A creeping sensation at his hairline and in-between his shoulder blades. At first he thinks its just sweat and dust, the normal byproducts of the work he and Jimmy are putting into building and populating their ranch. It takes him an embarrassing amount of time to realize that it isn't.

It's feathers. Sprouting in his hairline and down his back, fewer than Jimmy's, but in the same places, an unmistakable mirror of downy fluff and a few scattered emerging pinfeathers.

The itching gets worse and Jimmy shows him how to use pressure and cold to relieve it. Tango doesn't seem to have the ability to make the oil needed to keep them healthy, so Jimmy uses his own, flustered and rambling the whole time he shows Tango how to work it into the feathers.

They feel better after, though still itchy. An odd sensation of growth against his skin.

The pinfeathers never get the chance to open up.

(He never connects the dots, doesn't really register the weird sensations of deja vu, the vague sense of Knowing what is about to happen right before it does. And even if he had, he probably wouldn't have realized where they came from.)

-

Jimmy doesn't notice until the ranch burns.

He knows a lot of people would probably make a joke about his obliviousness there, but in his defense he doesn't usually stick his hands into fire.

Until the ranch burns and Tango is raging and Jimmy is trying to put out two fires at once, both of them more literal than advisable.

The ranch burns and Tango burns and Jimmy reaches into the flames and pulls him out and it doesn't so much as singe his skin.

One things avians and netherborn have in common, Jimmy learns, is that they are always cold. Hollow bones and Nether-nature equally out of place on the ground of the Overworld. But netherborn produce heat, warming the air around them. Jimmy can't get as hot as Tango, no shimmer over his hand no matter how hard he strains and stares, but Tango says its enough he can feel it.

They may not have many nights in the game, but at least they can keep each other warm.

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Team Ranchers || Team Box || Dessert Duo || The Boat Boys || The Homewreckers || Bad Math || Tilly Death Do Us Part

[babylon-crashing]

santa muerte: seeking the divine feminine

The changing of aeonic trends points at the unconscious embrace of a particular power or concept. What does that mean in the case of embracing the divine feminine? In most of nature, the male seeds the female of his species, enabling her to bear and raise her young. Feminine energy is thus often characterized as attractive and sexual, full of the creative fertile power that enables physical manifestation. It also encompasses the nurturing impulse, lending the wisdom and patience needed to raise the young of any species. When provoked, the female animal can be incredibly ferocious in defense of her young.

Of course, humans enjoy a greater role than animals, and in humans: the breadth of the divine feminine can be wholly explored. Often a Triple Goddess model is used, since the three different ages of the Goddess — maiden, mother and crone illustrate the different ages of a woman's natural life span and the roles most undertake in their lives.

These are not the only characteristics that the divine feminine embodies. Children usually learn the language and stories of their people at their mother's knee, and these teachings lay the foundations for how we relate to people and society as a whole.

As the creators and arbiters of these social connections, women also step into roles such as caregivers for the sick and for the elderly. When they themselves grow old, women become free to teach their grandchildren from the depths of their knowledge, or contemplate their own rebirth and renewal. When women pass on, they may take this depth of understanding with them.

Empathy and emotional intelligence are also both gifts of the divine feminine. These characteristics reduce conflict and maintain social cohesion, which can make the bonds formed between women incredibly strong. These strong social connections, coupled with the inborn desire to stay creative and a natural industriousness, created many lady merchants out of simple spinners and potters.

The underlying theme of all these characteristics is that feminine energy creates order out of chaos by giving chaos form and often by giving form in abundance. This is the idea behind goddesses of fertility, after all, who frequently found themselves associated with animals like pigs because they birth particularly large litters. The worship of the goddess Cybele from Neolithic Turkey is an excellent example. This mother goddess sprang into form from primordial chaos and then promptly gave birth to her own son and lover, Attis. With Attis's aid, Cybele gave birth to the rest of the gods and filled creation with her wonders. This concept is likewise echoed in the story of the Greek mother goddess, Gaia, whose own story is based on Cybele’s.

This ability to create from apparently nothing echoes in the other common functions of early goddesses that were revered worldwide. Many ancient goddesses were revered as the mistresses of the hearth and home, as well as the technical arts such as weaving and pottery that were often produced by women. These basic technologies made it possible for early tribes not only to clothe themselves, but also to store food for long periods. This capability freed them to develop the stories and traditions that laid the foundations of every society. Because mothers teach their children not only these skills but also the language and culture of their people, the divine feminine is also associated with wisdom and learning. This is another way in which the divine feminine also creates stability and growth out of chaos, and likewise why it is associated with earthly manifestation.

Many of the characteristics of the divine feminine — such as creative industry, empathy, and wisdom — are typically attributed to goddesses of form and fertility, such as Cybele and Freya. Their underlying concept is that they create out of nothing. Santa Muerte obviously takes a feminine form, but can she really be considered a particularly feminine figure given that death's principal power is to destroy?

While the female divine current is usually associated with creation and fertility, it also has an undeniable relationship with the force of death. The divine feminine current is recognized as the bearer of life and source of the earth's fertile abundance. It has likewise always been associated with the power of death. The animals that are born in the spring will be killed for meat that autumn, and the earth accepts the blood of their birth and slaughter both equally. The spilling of blood renews the earth's creative ability, preparing it for greener and more fertile crops in the coming spring.

The recognition of this ancient and powerful relationship dominated early human cultures. Some of the earliest recorded human rites were festivals dedicated to Cybele. These festivals featured soaking seeds in the blood of sacrificed animals to guarantee their strength and vigor. Male devotees of Cybele would even castrate themselves and bury their severed organs in the ground in an attempt to impregnate the earth itself. The idea that the earth was also the medium for human rebirth was likewise well established. This is also the reason some cultures buried their dead in a fetal position. Burying useful items such as food, clothing, weapons, and tools with the dead is also a common funerary practice. These grave goods were necessary for the dead s comfort and success in the next world.

Blood, birth, and death also have a special significance for people. In women, the relationship between blood, birth, and death is easily seen during their monthly menstrual cycles, a feature that is unique among humans. Childbirth itself is also a bloody and dangerous process. Birth trauma and puerperal infection have been leading causes of death for pregnant women even up until the 20th century. They remain a leading cause of death for women in poorer nations worldwide.

Numerous examples of birth and life arising from death and sacrifice exist within Aztec culture. The Aztec society was built on this fact. Without death, there could be no continuation of the cycles of birth and renewal, this idea was strongly represented in their mythology. One excellent example lies in the story of how the heavens and the earth were made. The Aztecs revered another goddess named Tlaltecuhtli, whose body made up the universe. Desiring to create a place for mankind, the other Aztec gods descended on her and tore her to pieces, stacking the parts together in such a way that made the earth and sky. The gods tried to console her that she would be fruitful and covered in trees and flowers, but she wept and refused to blossom. The gods resorted to drenching her in blood to appease her, and so repeated offerings of blood were thought to be the only way that the earth would remain in bloom.

The ancient Aztecs in particular recognized the struggle between life and death that played itself out during birth. Women giving birth were seen as brave warriors who were fighting the force of death itself. Those who survived childbirth were hailed as warriors. Those who died were revered as if they had been slain in battle. Their spirits were thought to be especially fierce and powerful. They were called mociuaquetzque (Nahuatl, “warrior in the shape of a woman”), and they were thought to guard the western passage into the underworld into which the sun was forced to descend every night. This was the precise same location that the goddess Mictecacihuatl ruled, according to the Aztec calendar.

Death and birth also have a very specific magical relationship. Without death, nothing new can be created. Decay feeds new life. Giving birth also plucks a person awaiting birth (or rebirth) out of the spirit world and gives him or her a body. Thus, goddesses of death become the gateway through which one passes at the end of life in order to be born into a new one. This makes goddesses of death just as necessary to turn the wheels of creation as the goddesses of life. The idea of creation requiring both birth and death is a common cultural concept.  

While the goddesses of death make excellent gatekeepers to the next life, would you want them present at a birth also? Many cultures went to great pains to bribe the gods and spirits of the dead to stay away from birthings because both mother and baby were at risk of being taken by them. In some cases, their attendance was required, though. For the Romans, the three Parcae, or Fates, attended the birth of every child to measure and cut the thread of his or her destiny. The goddess that cut the thread was normally called Parca Morta, but in the circumstances surrounding a birth, she was referred to as Parca Partula instead. We derive words such as postpartum from the same goddesses from whom we get words like mortuary.

The vast majority of Santa Muerte's origin stories give her a strong maternal foundation. This nature is seen clearly in her European roots where the goddess who cuts the threads of fate lends her name to the words surrounding birth. Mictecacihuatl was charged with protecting all the future infants of the next age of humanity. The Codex Borgia also groups her among a variety of goddesses who are shown breastfeeding their infants. The orishas with which she is typically grouped among the African ritual traditions, such as the fiery patroness of the cemeteries, Oya, also have strongly maternal characteristics. The followers of Santa Muerte recognize that death is present at all times and therefore welcome her at the births of their children. Because Santa Muerte is seen as fiercely maternal, many devotees routinely ask the Saint of Death to guard and guide their children.

Death alone might be characterized as a relentless and entropic force, giving neither credence nor care to anything that it destroys in its path. When death's capacity to destroy is tempered with feminine qualities, a far more selective form of death is created. This form is seen in Santa Muerte. Despite her having nearly limitless power to obstruct or destroy, her touch can be surprisingly gentle and selective. Because she is quite wise, she is able to empathize with the people with whom she interacts. This capacity inspires her to lean toward mercy and teaching instead of wanton destruction. Santa Muerte is less likely to viciously cull than she is to carefully prune, gently shaping the outcomes of people and their circumstances instead. Finally, the Saint of Death clears new ground so that life may flourish.

Some devotees find it useful to see Santa Muerte in terms of the common Triple Goddess model with which many magical practitioners are familiar. The most obvious association related her back to the crone because Santa Muerte is a patroness of death. Like other crones, Santa Muerte is well capable of teaching hidden wisdom and inspiring lasting spiritual transformations. She also encompasses the other two aspects of the Triple Goddess model. Santa Muerte can be easily viewed in terms of the Maiden. The reason is that Death creates the opportunity for change, allowing for new and fresh beginnings. This is a very Maidenly characteristic. Santa Muerte also famously lusts for love, beauty, and pleasure, which are things frequently attributed to the Maiden portion of the model. Finally, Santa Muerte is frequently seen as a gentle, nurturing, and empathetic character, all qualities that are commonly associated with the Mother aspect. Thus it is clear that Santa Muerte encompasses a full range of feminine characteristics in terms of the Triple Goddess model.

(Tracey Rollin. Santa Muerte: the history, rituals and magic of Our Lady of Holy Death, pages 59-66)

[soyosauce]

He, She, & It Underscores The Importance Of The Masculine And The Feminine Coexisting

“No one born now will experience the world of gentle air we could walk through on impulse, without protection, winds and rain that caressed our skin, deep thick woods, grass like green hair growing thick from the moist earth. We were killing the world, but it was not yet dead.”

It is no surprise that at the end of He, She & It, the author, Marge Piercy, acknowledges A Cyborg Manifesto. Written by Donna Haraway in 1985, is critical of traditional notions of feminism and hoped to empower writers to move past the conventional notions of gender, among other things. Never had this manifesto been more taken to heart and explored by an author until He, She, & It.

Shira lives in a corporate city with rigid structures and rules that stamp out that systemically gaslight her on every front of her life. Her work is undervalued on purpose. Divorce procedures for her and her husband favor him. In an act of contempt and malice, he takes their son. Left with nothing, Shira goes home to her mother and town entrenched in traditional Jewish to face old relationships and old pain she has been running from all her life.

“Information shouldn’t be a commodity. That’s obscene. Information plus theology plus political bias is how we sculpt our view of reality.”

At the same time, a cyborg, a man, is created in the town Tikvah she now goes back to, and her grandmother, Malkah, who raised Shira, helps to program Yod. Where other cyborgs crafted by a brilliant scientist have gone mad and failed, Yod seems to thrive because of the genius programming of Malkah; which instills femininity in the cyborg, bringing a balance to the programming.

As Yod is discovering himself for the first time and Shira is rediscovering herself in her roots, another story unravels: an old story, told by Malkah in the form of a story left for Yod in the town’s network (this books version of cyberspace). The story is of a rabbi in the 1600s living in Prague who has conceived of creating a golem that would protect the Jews from their oppressors. When Joseph is created, however, it becomes clear that he possesses a mind and a will. One which is constrained in the same manner as the ghetto limits the Jews who live there.

“I cannot always distinguish between myth and reality, because myth forms reality and we act out what we think we are’ we know on many levels truths that are irrational as well as reasoned or experimental. Our minds help create the world we think we inhabit.”

This story parallels the main story and has elements of Jewish folklore and cultural history that is both fascinating and works very well to show technology in this future world as a kind of foil for the unknown. As well as how the unknown is always dealt with. In the past and the future, the golem and cyborg encounter similar problems and similar growth that further lends context that becomes pertinent when the question of both man’s humanity.

Shira struggles with being a tool for the corporation as it becomes clear that her losing her son and her choice to return home may be a part of a larger game of factions. Yod struggles with being designed as a tool and a weapon when he views himself as a man, and it becomes clear to anyone that chooses to interact with him that as he learns, much like a child, it is not his functions that define him, but almost everything but them. And this same struggle is mirrored in the past with Joseph, of course. Which creates a growing tension in both stories.

“Everything felt…unregulated. How unstimulated her senses had been all those Y-S years. How cold and inert that corporate Shira seemed as she felt herself loosening.”

As both stories unravel, the characters embody the author's exploration of feminist ideas that are at the most interesting in Yod. The only reason Yod can have a steady mind at all is because Malkah has imprinted into him what a mother might. Where other models solely possessed the scientist’s objectives and personality that was ideal for their being able to protect the town and be an effective weapon, the humanity of the very thing he creates never occurs to him.

“A weapon should not be conscious. A Weapon should not have the capacity to suffer for what it does, to regret, to feel guilt…”

Nor would does it seem to in the case of Joseph. There is a horror in realizing that neither creator understands the importance of the femininity in a person. They appear blind when they look inward to themselves, unable to reach the self-awareness that the interactions they most cherish stem from interactions with their family; particularly the women in their lives, and how they soften from their self-destructive attitudes around them. Yet they choose to create another being and bind the person to themselves only. Where their children are given over to their mothers in other to be made proper men. Their inventions relegated to their task and work; their humanity continually denied. Is it any wonder that the cyborgs before Yod; before Malkah went mad?

“…an artificial person created as a tool is a painful contradiction.”

The women in the story do not exist only to embody these qualities and illicit this exploration. They all struggle themselves with their own notions of femininity. Shira with the cultural reprogramming from living in corporate society for so long. Malkah is almost the opposite of her, dwelling in masculine qualities and taking pride in going against the grain in her keen sense of sexuality that is predominate in every relationship she has ever formed. Each intuitively knows that a person needs masculine and feminine qualities. Or else be lost.

This exploration for the sense of self is never-ending, exemplified in the stories of the multi-generational, globally spanning women of the family; but also in every character. Cyberspace, a place for the mind to express its creativity, particularly in the case of problem-solving. Is similarly different from more masculine cyberpunk works. It is merely a medium, the inherent technophobia is not present at all. The thing to fear most, and fear you should, in He, She & It is always man and the systemic problems that comes with them. As long as the systems that run our lives embody the masculine, we are all doomed to a madness that serves only the creators.  

“Men so often try to be inhumanly powerful, efficient, unfeeling, to perform like a machine, it is ironic to watch a machine striving to be a male.”