#agnes is based off many girls from my high school

[yellowocaballero]

⭐️!

“Useless,” Agnes said haughtily. She beat the bone in a steady rhythm against the wall, almost in defiance of Gerry. Thump, thump, thump. “A spoiled child, an aimless teenager, a disaffected young adult. Gertrude bound her and her cult members fawned over her. Then she had some stupid crisis of faith, doubted herself and her journey, and abandoned everything. She was just a useless coward. I’m much better than she ever was. I’m stronger.”

“Dude, you’re going to break the Archivist’s rib -”

“It’s not enough to just not want to end the world,” Agnes said, and she realized for the first time that her head was crowding with the familiar smoke of her anger. She didn’t care, didn’t even try to tamp it down. Thump, thump, thump. “You have to want to save it. She had all of that power, the full flames of the desolation on her side. And she just walked away . She could have done something, could have - could have stopped Jon, stopped Jonah, done something . But she just decided that she wanted to keep living in the world, and she didn’t even fight to keep it. Adults are so - fucking - useless!”

Something splintered underneath her hands, cracked and shattered, and Agnes didn’t even care. She always destroyed whenever she was mad.

“She didn’t even try!” Agnes cried, and drove the rib further into the wall. Her hand punched through the thin drywall, widening the quickly growing hole, and with a cry of fury she whirled around and put her foot through it too. “Now we have to clean up after the grown-up’s mistakes, like fucking always, and it’s not fair! We aren’t the ones who killed the world! Why do we always have to save it!”

Agnes! Agnes! Agnes! She was so much fun writing in TCF I’m afraid she might be a mainstay in future works, lol. This right here is the second half of the capitalist discussion: Jon as the privileged content to live in luxury, Agnes as the privileged who’s fighting to change the system. (There should also be a voice from the people who are actually suffering, and to an extent that is Sasha - but those voices in the narrative is ultimately Martin and Basira, who really didn’t get enough screentime to talk about that due to just how much was happening that late in the story. I consider this a fault and a weakness in the story, and it’s something I’d change on revision). 

I joke with my friends a lot that Agnes is protagonist coded, along with Gerry, and she absolutely is. Agnes is explicitly the teen girl protagonist in the dystopian YA novel. She is Katniss Everdreen, she is Greta Thurnberg. She’s a super special flame princess messiah with cool superpowers and a legion of cultists, but with her sidekick brother she’s gonna CHANGE THE SYSTEM. Unfortunately this is not a YA novel, so her lamebrain adopted uncle and aunts don’t let her do anything cool. Believe it or not I turn characters into teenagers for a reason lol - Agnes and Gerry being young people is very crucial to their arcs, and it’s THOSE characters specifically who I find are extremely interesting as teenagers - because they are defined by legacy, family, and their futures. 

It’s interesting to me that Agnes would hate her past self. Like Gerry, Jon, and Daisy, she has a past self who feels very different from who she is now - but where Jon and Daisy are scared and actively avoid knowledge of their past selves, Agnes is bitter. She considers her past self part of the problem - that she saw the game was rigged, and she bowed out of the game instead of trying to fix it. Agnes is willing to look at what she did wrong and learn from her mistakes, unlike Jon and Daisy, but it’s because she considers these mistakes the mistakes of the previous generation. It wasn’t teen Agnes who fucked everything up, it was the adults - the cult members, the Avatars, humanity. The big point of her arc was the confrontation with Jude - because it was at that point that Agnes accepted that there was no reconciliation with Jude and her viewpoint, that she could not abide willful ignorance or malice. She didn’t get to kill Jude, but I wouldn’t have wanted her to - she just had to decide to reject her, and then see by what Jon did to her how violent the ideological differences are. 

It is a big part of Agnes that she does essentially want to be a normal person. But she’s been robbed of that. She’s not getting the American Dream (metaphorically), the cheap college, the affordable house, the white picket fence - the idiocy of the adults ruined that for her. There is no possibility of a normal life for her anymore. And it makes her very angry. And she knows just who to blame for it. 

Agnes is the white, upper middle class angry Gen Zer who is part of JSA and wants to be a civil rights lawyer because she physically can’t imagine not caring about other people. It’s never explicitly stated, but Agnes would probably care a lot less if she hadn’t met Gerry - who is part of the group suffering, even if Agnes protects him, and has experienced hardship too. Gerry, for his part, just wants to find his people and stick by his people and survive - but Gerry will always care about doing the right thing to, because that’s part of love for him. 

Agnes and Gerry are characterized very strongly by their love and compassion - for the world, for their family, and for each other. It’s alienated people around them, as seen with Jude, but they want to do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do. They just had no idea how, or no idea what taking action would mean - until they met Sasha, and then a lot happened very quickly. This care and compassion was very inspiring to Jon, who couldn’t really imagine just caring about something because it was the right thing to do. 

They’re good kids. I love them. Thanks for the ask!

#agnes is based off many girls from my high school #meanwhile? gerry? just vibing #my writing

[tikkisaram]

Poetic Patriarchy in Ireland — Part I: Poetry Against Women

It is no secret that poetry offers a plethora of positive effects, be they as extreme as bringing someone out of depression or as simple as putting a smile on their face. Poetry has done a world of good for me and I would not be devoting so much of my spare time to it if it did not. However, we must acknowledge the fact that on multiple occasions in the past, poetry has shaped our world in a decidedly negative way. This can be seen clearly in the history of Ireland and the rights of women there. This blessay will cover how poetry led to the oppression of Irish women and will additionally give an overview of the female poets in Irish history. It will thus answer the oft-asked question, namely — why is the vast majority of Ireland’s internationally-renowned poets male? In my research I have not been able to find an essay exploring this question; I am thus honored to be the first.

During Celtic times, Irish women had more or less equal rights with men. There were many famous female role models for young girls and boys to look up to; these included the legendary queen Méabh and pagan goddesses such as Mórrígan. Unfortunately, the poems that would have been told during this time period were never written down, so we do not know how women were portrayed in them. It is probable that they would have been portrayed positively, considering the equality of gender roles present in that society.

Literacy reached Ireland in the fifth century and came alongside Christianity. While Christianity is often critiqued for its portrayal of women, Christian women in Ireland then were just as strong as their male counterparts. St. Brigid of Kildare is one of the most important women in Irish history; she was a nun — a profession usually associated with conservative tradition. Yet the teachings of the bible didn’t restrict her from being strong and independent. In fact, St. Brigid was close friends with one of Ireland’s first poets - Dubthach maccu Lugair. Dubthach and the other poets of the time were overwhelmingly not sexist. One of the most notable works of early Irish poetry is the prosimetrum by Táin Bó Cuailnge. The first recensions in this beautifully written collection are in celebration of Queen Méabh; she is treated as an equal — if not a superior — to her husband. Other strong female characters follow her, including the sovereignty goddess Macha, the villainous Morrígan, and Gráinne, who shows great power in her taking control of her own sexuality. These are only some of the most notable women to feature in these poems; were I to list them all, it would take all day!

In those days, composing poetry was one of the most lucrative professions in Ireland. This was due to the many kings across Ireland employing personal poets, known as ollams. These ollams were required to have hundreds of original poetic stories ready upon request for the king. What a shame that so many of these doubtlessly great pieces of work have been lost forever! These poems celebrated Irish royals, Biblical figures and figures from Celtic Mythology, including the strong women from each of these sources. My favourite piece is the poetic narrative An Banshenchas, written in 1147 by Gilla Mo Dutu Úa Caiside. This is the ultimate piece of feminist writing from the bardic period of poetry; it celebrates many notable women, from what the author considered to be the beginning of time with God’s Eve up to 1030 with Gormlaith ingen Murchada, a queen who stood as a symbol between the relationship of the native people of Ireland and the Viking settlers. This is not a celebration of one type of woman — we see so many different personalities and characterisations, from the somewhat passive Miriam to the perseverant and powerful Étaín. There is truly a woman in this collection for anyone to relate to, which is a testament to the feminist nature of a poem written 990 years ago in supposedly sexist times!

The most prestigious position a poet could get in this period of time would be Ollamh Érenn, or the Chief Ollam of Ireland. They would sit next to the high king of the country and be commended by all. Out of all of the documented ones, a single woman held the title — Uallach ingen Muinecháin. Since she was the first famous Irish female poet, one would think that her work would be taught to all, yet none of it survives. Were it not for her obituary in the Annals of Innisfallen, this trailblazer would have been forgotten entirely.

But ollams were not the only type of poets around; they were in fact only one subset of the poetry grouping known as filid. The type of filid that is best known today is a bard. Bards were actually the lowest position a poet could take, but the word has become synonymous with poet in the context of Ancient Ireland. Ancient Irish poetry is commonly referred to as bardic poetry, even by many scholars, despite the term's inaccuracy. It is often stated that it is unknown if any of these bards were female (Walker, 1786). However, the previously mentioned Muinech and Sadhbh Ó Mailchonaire are two factual exceptions. As with Muinech, Ó Mailchonaire’s works has been lost and the most famous record of her is her obituary. (Unknown, 1447) There are also some other potential candidates as ancient Irish poets, although once again these women’s works do not survive to this day. Agnes Carkill was a poet who performed for King James IV of Scotland in 1512 and there is speculation that she hailed from the Antrim family, Mac Fhergail, which would have been her maiden name (Bourke, 2002). Walker who spent years researching bards, speculates that the Caoine was written by a woman; most scholars agree with this opinion. The Caoine is a weeping lament, which was performed by women at funerals; its practice has spread from Ireland as far as Libya and Egypt. It is best known today for being the origin of the banshee myth. Women were also associated with the poetic form amhráin, which is a poem that’s sung, a practice which became prominent in the 16th century. It is also possible that many of the anonymous poems were written by women, especially since many of these poems feature distict feminist undertones, such as the spectacular St. Brigid’s Prayer which has since been translated by Brendan Kennelly.

It is also worth mentioning fictional female poets who appeared in ancient Irish stories. One of the characters who appears in Acallam na Senórach, the longest surviving work of medieval Irish literature, is Créide. She is described as a fine poet who invites males to a hostel in order to judge their poems. Créide is one of the first fictional poetry critics, but unfortunately she is not celebrated to the extent that she deserves to be. The Daughter of úa Dulsaine appears in a story by Cormac mac Cuilennáin (who died in 908), where she is one of the most popular poets in Ireland and travels around the country and abroad to show off her poetic prowess. Some suggest that this account is based off a true story and mac Cuilennáin just added the fantasy elements (Nicholson, 2016).

Another feminist fact about Ancient Irish poetry is that what we know today was as alliteration was named after women. It was referred to as “brichtu ban, brechtaib ban”, which roughly translates as “charms of women”. (Stifter, 2016) This technique is found in almost all surviving bardic poetry from its inception to its end. I do find it odd that such a prevalent term was named after women’s ability to speak in an enchanting manner, and yet that this very same society supposedly would not let these women write their hypnotic words down.

Compared to other countries Ireland has quite a lot of surviving poetry, but it’s only a small selection of what was written at the time. Many recorded works of poetry were destroyed in 686 AD after the Saxons raided Ireland, and again in 798 AD when the Vikings settled. Their cultures were more sexist than that of the Celts and their prejudice might be another reason why there are so few works that are credited to a woman from this period. The Saxons and Vikings were not completely able to destroy Celtic culture and bardic poetry, however, despite their best efforts; the bardic tradition managed to continue for hundreds of years after their arrival.

Poetry in Ireland began to shift during its Tudor conquest between 1529 and 1603. Queen Elizabeth brought the first English poets over to Ireland as she was claiming land, one of the most famous examples being Sir Walter Raleigh. This sexist poet’s writings did not have much influence on the Emerald Isle; in fact, in Éirinn he is most notable for the assumption that he planted the first potato in Ireland, even though this is pure speculation and it is far more likely this was done by a Spanish man or woman. (McNeill, 1949)

After England conquered the country in 1601 and Hugh O’Neill surrendered, bardic schools began to shut down. One of Ireland’s most infamous literary controversies — the Contention of the Bards — occurred during this time period. The bards attacked each other through verse, and it brought the end to their influence on the country. Bards were now just known as poets and it was becoming rare for poetry to be one's full-time occupation. Since there were no more kings, poets had to adapt and find patronage from the English settlers. Most of these settlers wanted their poems in English, not Irish, and thus a shift in language began to occur. Many refused to take part in it as it interfered with their Catholic beliefs; those wealthy enough migrated to Catholic countries in continental Europe to study poetry in college. Unfortunately, no one would fund these poor Catholic writers, so almost all of their work has been lost. As Protestant England was an extremely sexist society (even when it was ruled by a queen, ironically), women were discouraged from becoming poets as well.

The harsh Penal Laws put in place in Ireland by England forbade the teaching of the Irish language and poetry to Catholics. To circumvent this people pretended (often unsuccessfully) to be Protestant, or else taught children in secret 'hedge schools'. Hedge schools kept the tradition of Irish poetry alive, but if people were caught teaching in them or being secret poets they were arrested and punished. In Cork in 1584, 71 men an 1 woman were arrested. She was named Mary-ny-Dononoghue and dubbed by the presentation to the jury as “she-barde” and “rhymer”.

Before we get into the bleak sexism, I’d like to bring up two notable female poets who existed in the 17th and 18th centuries: Mary Monck and Charlotte Brooke. Both women come from wealthy backgrounds and married rich men, so they were able to avoid punishment as a result. Monck was multilingual and spoke English, Latin, Italian and Spanish. Many of her works can be found in the 1775 collection Poems by Eminent Ladies, which is definitely worth a read. Unfortunately for some reason in this collection Monck is miscredited as Mrs. Monk! Brooke was homeschooled by her father, who was also a writer. She was interested in the Irish language and became bilingual through hours of study. She not only wrote poems, but translated them too; yet despite being just as talented as her male counterparts, if not more, she was never accorded the same respect as them. Her poetry is rich in storytelling and employs a multitude of techniques, including an effective application of the most obvious ones: rhyme, repetition and rhythm. Monck is also very skilled in her writing; we will discuss possible reasons for why they have been forgotten by history later.

We see the first signs of widespread sexist poems in Ireland during this time frame. Epithalamia made their way to Eirinn in the writings of Dáibhí Ó Bruadair. While epithalamia in theory do not have to be sexist, almost all of the ones written during these times treated the women as inferior to men. There is also the establishment of poetry circles that would only allow male members; the most notable of these was Seán Ó Tuama’s and Andrias MacRait’s Maigue Poets. (Joyce, 1961)

Aodhagán Ó Rathaille’s aisling was invented in this time period and it constitutes one of the most uncomfortable forms of poetry I have ever witnessed. Aislings are set in dreams where women appear to the poet; often the woman appearing in such a dream is an anthropomorphic depiction of Ireland. This poetic brought the Mother Ireland concept into popular culture. Filmmaker Pat Murphy summed up it best when describing Mother Ireland in an excellent 1991 documentary about that subject: “[Mother Ireland] is not a positive image, the associations I have with it are not positive ones, I actually think it’s a wrong thing to do – to call a country after a woman – because it gets into those kind of areas where a country is to be won, or penetrated, or ploughed. And it means that women aren’t seen for themselves”. (Crilly, 1991)

Unfortunately, the concept of Mother Ireland did not stop at one poem; it was featured in several of Ó Rathaille’s aislings, as well as aislings written by other men. The concept transcends the aisling form and poets such as Thomas Moore began writing poems about Mother Ireland. The most notable of his poems about this oppressive concept is The Origin of the Harp, which inspired an equally sexist painting by Daniel Maclise in the 19th century. Even Roisin Dubh, which was an innocent poem about a man being in love with a woman, was weaponised by Owen Roe Mac Ward and turned into a poem about Mother Ireland. It has been widely sung by masses since the 18th century, unknowingly (or not) oppressing millions of women.

Well Tikki Troops, that was a lot to take in for part one, was it not? I decided split this blessay into parts because I did not want to overwhelm you all! The next blessay will cover 19th century poetry up today; despite covering a much shorter period, there are more poems that exist in its time frame. How will Irishwomen combat this Mother Ireland archetype — or will they at all? How will the most famous Irish poets, including Becket, Joyce, Heaney, Wilde and Yeats fit into this narrative? You’ll find out next time! But be patient with me as I try to perfect part two. :^)

Bibliography

Bourke, A. (2002) The Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing. NYU Press.

Cahill, S. E. (1983) ‘Reexamining the acquisition of sex roles: A social interactionist approach’, Sex Roles, 9(1), pp. 1–15. doi: 10.1007/BF00303105.

Collins, G. and Wickham, J. (2004) ‘Inclusion or Exploitation? Irish Women Enter the Labour Force’, Gender, Work & Organization, 11(1), pp. 26–46. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-0432.2004.00219.x.

Conroy, A. and Dickinson, T. (2018) ‘Male adolescent suicidality: a literature review’, Mental Health Practice, 21(8), pp. 50–55. doi: 10.7748/mhp.2018.e1293.

Crilly, A. (1991) Mother Ireland [Documentary Film]. Aired on Channel 4, U.K.

Hanlon, N. (2015) ‘The Role of Men in Gender Equality_Eire Report’. doi: 10.13140/RG.2.1.2011.5369.

History of the Potato (no date). Available at: https://www.potato.ie/history-of-the-potato/ (Accessed: 20 March 2020).

Joyce, M. (1961) ‘The Poets of Maigue’. The Capuchin Article.

McNeill, W. H. (1949) ‘The Introduction of the Potato into Ireland’, The Journal of Modern History, 21(3), pp. 218–222.

Meaney, G. (1991) Gerardine Meaney Sex and nation : Women in Irish Culture and Politics. ARTIC PRESS.

Morrison, T. G., Speakman, C. and Ryan, T. A. (2009) ‘Irish university students’ support for the human rights of lesbian women and gay men’, Journal of Homosexuality, 56(3), pp. 387–400. doi: 10.1080/00918360902728871.

Nicholson, T. (2016) A Biography of Story, A Brief History of Humanity. Troubador Publishing Ltd.

Owens, R. C. O. (1984) Smashing Times: The Irish women’s suffrage movement 1889-1922. ARTIC PRESS.

Patterson, R. A. (2015) ‘Women of Ireland: Change Toward Social and Political Equalityin the 21st Century Irish Republic’. Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20151008154655/https://martindale.cc.lehigh.edu/sites/martindale.cc.lehigh.edu/files/Patterson.pdf (Accessed: 9 December 2019).

Stifter, D. (2016) ‘Metrical systems of Celtic traditions’, North-Western European Language Evolution 1983 & University Press of Southern Denmark, p. 58.

‘The Present Duty of Irishwomen: The Contribution of Irish Women as documented in the Archival Record’ (2016). Irish Archives Source.

Unknown (1447) ‘Annála Connacht’. Walker, J. (1786) Historical Memoirs of the Irish Bards. Dublin: Printed for author, by L. White.

#blessay #poetry #poetry analysis #feminism #ireland #pweek

[astranauticus]

Goddammit @onceuponanaromantic

On today’s edition of ‘Blue and Syl’s disaster AUs’, 

｡+ﾟ.。+ NORMAL CHILDHOOD TUA ｡+ﾟ.。+

General info

They all go to the same high school 

No-siblings AU except Ben and Klaus are still brothers bc I’m not splitting up my boys

Disaster ensues

Also warning I have no idea how American schools work and I go to a girls’ school and it kinda shows

Luther

School jock and you know it

probably into like. football or some shit. like the american one where body slamming is involved

Girls think he’s hot but god does he not know how to talk to girls

May or may not be dating Allison. nobody knows

Is secretly really into astronomy but shhhhh can’t have anyone thinking he’s *gasp*, a nerd

Allison

A queen

Idk how the whole popularity thing they always do in American TV works but you get the idea. She’s popular.

Probably doesn’t have as much control over her rumours so it’s more like. sometimes she suggests to teachers that they give her an extension on assignments and stuff and it works like, 70% of the time. she just assumes she’s really lucky

Sometimes she does the same thing to students when she gets frustrated enough

Darling of the theatre club

Perpetually jealous of Klaus’ makeup

Five

Insanely smart

In the science club and judges everyone

‘im judging you but not saying anything but the look on my face says you’re Wrong'

Simply doesn’t understand that other people aren’t as smart as he is like ‘why are all of you so stupid’ no you’re just too smart it’s just you Five 

Aro ace and responds to every romantic dramaTM ever with *aggressive eyerolling*

Breaks like 12 rules every day but never gets caught

It’s hard to get caught by teachers for anything when you can just teleport away from the teacher

The kind of kid who’d skip those god awful assembly talks by sitting in a toilet for an hour but instead he just teleports to the school roof and reads

Probably would pull off my personal ‘fuck the system’ dream of like.. escaping being caught for something by a teacher by running out of the school gates before the teacher could get at him

Ben

Klaus’ brother 

Ace

Parent hc: he and Klaus were adopted by Hazel and Agnes (because this is a fix-it AU and the commission doesn’t exist)

Mostly because you’d need parents with their level of bullshit tolerance to deal with both a. child who sees people who aren’t there b. child with eldritch tentacles coming out of his stomach

It’s okay he only uses the bentacles to like. grab stuff off high shelves

Quiet book kid

Diego’s closet key

Diego

Disaster bi

‘I don’t think that’s how physics works’ levels of good at sports

that’s actually not how physics works but shhhh

Insane baseball pitcher probably

Doesn’t get as many girls as Luther but he’s okay with it

He’s just trying to impress one specific girl

Yeah it’s Eudora

Had a brief crush on Ben and was literally too awkward to say anything so he just sort of sat around suffering for like a year (Ben never notices)

“Oh god he’s cute well guess I’ll die”

Klaus

He’s here and he’s queer

In some musical elective with Vanya

He plays piano

So for performances the boys were supposed to get suits and the girls get gowns but Klaus and Vanya took one look at their outfits, said ‘ew’ and decided to switch

Klaus redesigns the gown with like, 300% more glitter

Biggass crush on Dave, a senior 

Big history nerd but partly because he can use his powers to cheat on history exams

I feel like. Hazel and Agnes would actually figure out that he can actually see dead people cuz ‘hell, our other son can summon lovecraft horrors from another dimension, it’s safe to assume we can just take this stuff at face value at this point’

Figured out Diego’s crush on Ben because at some point he mentioned offhand ‘oh did you know crushes last 11 months on average’ and Diego blurts out ‘thANK GOD’

Vanya

Raised by single mom Grace bc hell yeah Grace

Ben and Klaus’ neighbour which is why they’re really close

G a y

Bonds with Five because ~physics nerds~

It helps that she can use her powers to like.. float to Five’s new hiding spots. Eventually he stops changing them because Vanya always finds him anyway so what’s the point

Violin legend

After she exchanged outfits with Klaus like her Suit Look became an instant hit

Eudora’s closet key

Other stuff

Five Vanya and Ben have this special Spot on the second floor of this old lecture hall in their school where they can sit around and read and talk about ‘nerd’ stuff without being disturbed

(based off personal experience cuz there’s this like lecture hall-ish room in our school with a second floor that nobody uses ever and the door is in this super ominous looking corner behind the library so no student in their right minds would go inside and explore out of curiosity or whatever. its great.)

Klaus would tag along because come on he’s always going where Ben’s going 

After he finds out about Diego’s crush he’d drag Diego along too partly just to watch him Suffer

From then on that place became the Disaster Queers club

Also yes Eudora and Dave’s in this AU

Bi Eudora who used to have a squish on Vanya bc come on her in a suit. badass.

Dave’s a senior who was very much het lagged until he saw Klaus performing and, well, the rest is history

Still very much in the closet afterwards (hc that his family isn’t... vv accepting) until Klaus introduced him to the rest of the Disaster Queers club like ‘cmon we’re all gay here’

Out of all the disasters, Dave was the only one with the guts to confess

He bought this bigass bouquet of flowers and gave them to Klaus after a recital to ask him out

Klaus’ response was to immediately burst into tears

Ben, freaking out: what did you do????!

Dave, confused: ask him out???

#tua #the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #luther hargreeves #allison hargreeves #diego hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #ben hargree #number five #vanya hargreeves #dave katz #eudora patch #well technically it would be ben and klaus rofa in this au but anyway #diego's crush on ben is almost entirely based off my crush on my classmate last year #so really me writing diego in this au is just me shaming my past self #five in this au is like... a combination of three of my science club seniors #an insanely smart one + an intensely judgmental one + an immensely dead insde one #the 'klaus cheats on history exams' idea is based off this convo i had with syl last year about like #students summoning the ghosts of dictators to ask them questions about their history notes #i think bc i was complaining about not knowing whether it was called the october or november revolution? #and syl suggesting just /asking stalin/

[catholicartistsnyc]

Meet: Melissa Maricich

MELISSA MARICICH is an NYC-based actress, singer, dancer, producer and writer, as well as a Catholic Artist Connection board member. (www.mmaricich.com or [email protected])

CATHOLIC ARTIST CONNECTION (CAC): What brought you to NYC, and where did you come from? How long have you been here, and why did you decide to move here? 

MELISSA MARICICH (MM): I was born and raised near Seattle, Washington. Specifically, a lovely spot called Maple Valley, where I grew up on multiple acres of countryside as one of nine kids. I started out as a dancer, but once my voice sort of "kicked-in" during high school I became involved in musical theatre which led to greater interest in acting and film. Because New York has both theatre and film I was encouraged to move here rather than LA initially. A couple of years after gaining experience in the professional scene in Seattle I did just that, and moved to New York to further my opportunities of work in the entertainment industry.

CAC: How do understand your vocation as a Catholic artist? Do you call yourself a Catholic artist?

MM: I want it to be very clear in my interactions with people that I am a Catholic, but I don't think my work could be termed "Catholic Art.” Our vocation as Catholics is to love and serve God and our neighbors, which we should do through our work, whatever that work may be; whether as postal workers or Hollywood / Broadway stars. I see my work as being a job (that I love to do), that often takes place in the secular arena, which is part of what gives me a greater opportunity to share the Good News of the Gospel.  Whatever our daily occupation may be, it should be a means by which we strive to serve and love. 

CAC: Where have you found support among your fellow artists for your Catholic faith?

MM: One of the beautiful things about life in New York is the hugely diverse places and ways one can make connections. I've met Catholic actors and artists in as many ways as the number of individuals I've connected with.  I've also hugely benefited from the Sheen Center and people I've met there - very particularly all the people I'm involved with for Catholic Artists Connection and Catholic Artists NYC... a perfectly "unbrazen" plug on my part, for the people making this very interview possible :)

CAC: How can the artistic world be more welcoming to artists of faith?

MM: The artistic world would have to make a decision to be humble enough, and open-minded enough, to entertain the thought that those with faith could have good reason for their beliefs. However we can only be responsible for ourselves and I think the artistic world will be more open to us once it is confronted with, and realizes, how many more of its members are people of faith than it currently suspects. That accomplishment rests in great part on our being more courageous, vocal and generous in sharing the Gospel. Of course, that definitely requires Prudence about the right time, place, and manner in which we share. (As an aside, I think that is a beautiful function the secular world unwittingly provides us with - opportunities to grow in virtue: particularly Prudence, Courage and Charity/)

CAC: Where in NYC do you regularly find spiritual fulfillment? Which parish(es) do you attend? 

MM: I've found a home and welcome at St. Joseph's Church in Greenwich Village. It has a vibrant community, with particular connections to NYU and the students there. It is served by wonderful Dominican priests. I've met performers through some of the parish ministries, even the Thomistic Institutes' talks and lectures there (which are hugely formative and inspiring I might add). I highly recommend signing up for the emails and updates for the Thomistic Institute events. I've not once been sorry I spent my time in attending them!

CAC: Where in NYC do you regularly find artistic fulfillment?

MM: A number of mentors, teachers and coaches are of course essential in this. It's fulfilling and satisfying to work with people who help you to be your best, who challenge you and help you to actualize your potential. I have a wonderful voice teacher (feel free to contact me if you are looking for one!). The Barrow Group (take Seth Barrish's class) and Jon Shears' "Take Action" Workshop (film work) are both wonderful resources. The Growing Studio and Max Theatrix are particularly helpful for musical theatre performers and making connections. The Growing Studio is how I was connected to my current agent. 

CAC: How have you found or built community as a Catholic artist living in NYC?

MM: I'd say the simplest description for how it has, and is continuing to happen for me, is simply by being open with the people I meet and by connecting as much in the moment with those who I come across as I possible. You'd truly be shocked at the strange way you can meet people in the business, and even other Catholic performers. Especially if you're simply willing to smile, say hello and introduce yourself. 

CAC: What is your daily spiritual practice?

MM: It can shift from time to time, but there are particular forms of prayer and different saints that tend to regularly be in the forefront. The Rosary - and with it Marian Consecration. St. Joseph, Francis of Assisi, Peter, Therese, Padre Pio, etc. etc. Whenever possible during the week daily Mass, and Adoration. And some kind of religious reading of which there's a large variety. Definitely anything Chesterton, or Lewis. Other recommended material is The Light of Christ, by Fr. Thomas Joseph White. A number of podcasts of which the most recent addition is Stacey Sumereau's "Called and Caffeinated". And Bishop Barron's "Word on Fire" is a staple.

CAC: What is your daily artistic practice? 

MM: They aren't ALL always daily simply due to constrictions of time, but, as much as I can I'll have hour-long voice practices a couple times a week, dance classes, reading on pertinent info for acting/material that is inspiring for production/writing ideas. 

CAC: What resources have you found helpful in securing housing/roommates?

MM: 80/20 Housing is quite the resource. For females, look into St. Agnes Residence or other women's residences. Unfortunately I don't know of the equivalent for guys... sorry fella's!

CAC: How can you find work in NYC? 

MM: If you are looking for a survival job, be willing to tell/mention it to random people you know or meet that you are looking for a job. I got my first hostessing job (glamorous, I know) because I mentioned in passing that I was looking for consistent work to a girl I was doing a temp-job with. She said, totally off-the-cuff "Oh, my roommate is leaving a place right now, and they are looking to fill it. I'll send them your resume." 

CAC: What other practical resources would you recommend to a Catholic artist living in NYC?

MM: Gingerb3ardMen Photography. Billy Bustamente Photography. Sean Turi Photography.

CAC: What are your top 3 pieces of advice for Catholic artists moving to NYC?

MM: Don't be afraid, and give yourself some grace and slack in expectations when you first arrive. (Of course don't slack in your devotion to doing what you know is necessary in pursuing excellence in your craft but DO cut yourself-slack in your expectations of immediate or worldly "success"). And make sure to get out of the city every now and then! Take the train up the Hudson or somewhere cute on Long Island. Get out of town every now and again. 

If you have recently arrived in this busy City, Welcome! Glad to have you here and look forward to meeting you soon!

#catholic #artist #catholic artist #catholic artists nyc #catholic artist connection #new york #new yorker #st. joseph's greenwich #church #thomistic institute #dominicans #barrow group #growing studio #max theatrix #80/20 housing #st. agnes residence #gingerb3ardmen #billy bustamente #sean turi #melissa maricich

[caricatlc]

BASICS –

full name: alice marisol romero

nicknames: none

birthdate: 4 august 2025

birthplace: plattsburgh, new york

ethnicity: columbian, cuban, and caucasian

nationality: american, english 

languages: english, spanish

accent: slight bronx accent

APPEARANCE –

hair color & style: dark brown, usually kept waist-length and wavy, with green tips after breaking up with nigel

eye color: dark brown

height: five feet five inches

build: thicc. muscular but also hyper-feminine

skin tone: olive skin that rarely burns and tans well

personal style: 

grunge lite. alice prefers to be comfortable above all else, so soft fabrics and denim are her go-tos. when she dates nigel she adopts a more instagram ho aesthetic to match his, but her heart isn’t really into bodycon dresses if she cant accessorize them with doc martens and a flannel. 

distinguishing marks: expressive face

tattoos: ‘esforzada’ on back of neck ( x ), ivy on left wrist ( x )

piercings: two piercings in both lobes, helix piercing in left ear, daith and industrial in right ear, belly button

FAMILY –

parents: noah romero and lia villace

parental relationships:

while seth is more gregarious, alice is a quiet reflection of noah. as a result, their relationship deals largely in companionable silence. he’s not one to gossip with but always good help for moral quandaries. he’s also more likely to catch alice in the middle of doing something wrong,  but mostly just offers gentle advice and hopes for the best. alice really hates to disappoint her father.

lia is a fun parent. alice almost always has fun with her mother, even if the interaction ends on a sour note. she can run a lot of day-to-day thoughts past her mother-- lia is kept mostly in the loop about the goings on in her daughter’s life. however, some compulsion leads alice to remain silent about her love life as it seems like it would be much easier to let her mother believe that everything is going fine.

siblings: rex, seth, and michael romero

sibling relationships:

when rex came into their lives, alice understood the difference between her twin and an actually older brother immediately. she enjoys spending time with rex, and ever since she was young she was always content to tag along with her ‘fun’ brother.

what can alice say about seth? they know each other better than anyone else, and speak almost exclusively in snark. but opposites don’t always attract, and their very big, drastically different personalities clash and erupt frequently. when times are good, though, they’re each other’s biggest hype-man as they snap another selfie.

michael is a strange one, but alice will always hold a tenderness for her little brother. she’s helped house dozens of wild animals and filmed a vine or two in her time. while she’s not keen on him bringing insects into the house it’d certainly be difficult for her to turn him down for anything.

birth order: only girl, younger twin, middle child

status in family:

alice likes to think that she’s practically invisible in her family. she’s not as rebellious as rex, or as obnoxious as seth, or as rambunctious as michael. but alice is a quiet ride-along for almost everyone in her family-- she really holds good relationships with everyone in the house. for the most part, it really seems like her parents and brother just want the best for her.

distant relations: bash romero, second cousin

pets:

wells and bilbo, the dogs, are always happy to see her, but she’s also conditioned them to remain quiet if they want a treat from her nightly comings and goings. felix, the cat, is a good companion on a gloomy day, with alice finding comfort in his rumbling, sleepy purr.

FRIENDS –

close friends:

alice has known ellie albright since birth. or even before that since ellie’s parents attended the same birthing classes as alice’s. the albrights returned to italy for a few years shortly after ellie’s birth but the two girls were paired up again before they could even tie their shoes. they’ve been best friends ever since. ellie brightens alice up to draw out a softer side than alice rarely presents alone. alice makes ellie more assertive, unafraid to stand up for her friend if she thinks ellie needs help.

it took rumi thatcher a bit longer to enter the picture, but she’s not going anywhere. rumi’s dead-pan sense of humor endeared her to alice immediately after she moved into town in the forth grade. ever the calm logician, rumi finds great amusement in tempering alice’s hot temper. they share a mutual love of nature that often leads them to dreamy afternoons surrounded by beautiful woods.

technically considered a cousin through brotherly love, dallas hong is probably the only boy that alice can completely get along with. he’s certainly the easiest to get along with out of her brother’s crew, with his laidback guy’s guy charm. while she’s annoyed at how tall he’s gotten as they age, she knows that his easygoing personality won’t ever change on her.

tensions:

adam hudson has been seth’s best friend for years, but his and alice’s interactions have always been tentative. he has a way of confronting her with the truth when she’s least likely to accept it. their relationship is hard to define, atleast on alice’s part.

alice and dapne newcomb used to be friends, much to the chagrin of ellie and rumi. the brash blonde wasn’t  always a good influence, and they tended to clash over their many differences in opinion. it wasn’t until alice supposedly ‘stole’ nigel chadwick-wembley from daphne that their relationship fractured completely. daphne is the root cause for much of the suffering alice experienced in high school, so she’s not at all keen to rekindle the friendship.

if there’s one person that alice could do without ever seeing again, it’s nigel chadwick-wembley. he was her first real boyfriend, but the supposed fairytale beginning led to nothing but trouble, even if alice did her best to keep anyone from finding out about the more controlling aspects of his personality. they were on-again off-again for so long, but alice finally broke it off for good and never looked back.

there’s nothing wrong with ruby robbins-- in fact, she’s perfect. alice has always felt like she was competing with the other girl, even if that’s hardly true. they share similar interests but ruby’s easygoing demeanor makes everything seem so effortless in a way that alice can’t help but envy. she does consider ruby a friend, though, and would do anything for her if she asked.

crushes:

so much of the tension in alice’s relationship with adam hudson stems entirely from their mutual attraction. when they were much younger she was aware of it but content to ignore it, but as they’ve grown older things have changed. alice finds herself at odds with his ill-suited girlfriend and with him over it. ever since she kissed him on christmas, the muddled emotions there have only gotten worse.

the first boy that ever had alice truly starstruck was leo robbins. the definition of a cool, older boy, leo’s appeal quickly passed but she remained impressed by his sense of style and teenage rebellion. in fact, alice was quick to take up his mantle selling weed to a few of their acquaintances when leo decided to move on from the business. 

as a friend:

alice is a friend like batman-- she’ll come if you send out the signal. anytime anywhere, alice will be by your side if you’d let her. she’s fiercely protective of them and will want to help them achieve their goals no matter how trivial. she can be too blunt at times, which tends to rub people the wrong way if it’s not quite what they want or expect to hear. but she’ll have your back until the end, without saying ‘i told you so’ to anyone but seth.

PERSONALITY –

positive traits: enterprising, candid, empathetic 

neutral traits: self-sufficient, meticulous, noncommittal

negative traits: volatile, withdrawn, self-involved

astrology sign: leo sun / gemini moon, the confidence man ( x )

mbti: istp-t, the virtuoso

theme songs: i’m not okay (i promise) by my chemical romance / agnes by glass animals

aesthetic:

dyeing your hair in the bathroom, guitar calluses, jumping off the porch roof, lilac bushes, the solitary silence of 4 am, soil between your fingers and toes

LIFESTYLE –

partying habits:

a stoner to the max, alice deals quite literally in weed, inheriting a small client base from leo robbins. when she first started dating nigel, alice found she didn’t mind the party scene. there’s always fun to be had, and she can handle her alcohol. she’s also not necessarily opposed to experimenting at parties-- if there’s a good time to be had, alice will try a sporadic drug or two without feeling particularly inclined to do these things later on her own.  

smoking habits:

directly inherited from her father, alice took up smoking as an act of teenage rebellion and favors menthol cigarettes. she finds it calming to smoke late at night when no one is around, or whenever she is overwhelmed by the situation at hand. finds it to be a handy tool to escape social situations if things aren’t going well.

eating habits:

growing up in a four-child household has definitely made alice a bit food aggressive. she eats when the opportunity presents itself but doesn’t pig out very often. snacks usually seem like a good idea, and alice is content to bring healthy options when she can. late-night meals are a staple in her diet. salty-sweet combinations are her usual favorite.

excercise habits:

alice has been practicing aikido and tae kwon do since she was young, and as a result has adopted a fair amount of exercise and weight training into her daily routine. mostly she just works to maintain equilibrium and not lose any muscle mass or physical ability, but if she’s feeling particularly stressed or upset she’ll throw herself into her workouts.

work ethic:

it’s alice’s belief that she can work hard and play hard, so long as she meets the deadlines set out for her. she’s got decent time management skills and works best with a loose schedule where she can make the decisions about what to do, when. when it comes to school work, alice is content to maintain her good grades in order to fly under the radar with her parents. 

sleeping habits:

when alice feels tired she can fall asleep anywhere, but her penchant for the peace of nighttime usually finds her awake well into the early mornings. she is a deep sleeper, but an agreeable one. sharing a bed with her is not a bad experience as she’ll typically move wherever she is prodded without much fuss. she usually prefers to sleep with a loose comforter and top sheet and will cocoon inside. waking up outside of her typical routine can be a challenge, but once alice wakes up she is awake for good.

ideal living space:

alice’s bedroom at home is well-lit and cozy, with an abundance of houseplants in any available spot of sunlight. her walls are filled with things she likes looking at: posters of her favorite bands, watercolor prints she and ellie made, and endless photos of herself and her friends. she usually takes time once a week to clean up, as she has a tendency to drop clothes or books wherever they lay as she moves onto something else.

quirks:

despite being a fan of all things spooky, jump scares always get her good. she’s usually the middle person in the haunted house group, and subsequently is always getting picked on. she will let you borrow anything she owns, but it’s of utmost importance that you ask first.

INTERESTS –

hobbies:

alice has been playing guitar and practicing martial arts since she was very small. her love for plants wasn’t fostered until later in life, but she prides herself on rehabilitating various wilted houseplants she happens upon. she loves a good smoke session and will make a whole event out of some rolling papers and a gram of fresh weed. she’s usually a pretty willing participant in any photoshoots that ellie cooks up.

best school subject:

science has always been a passion of alice’s. she’s a stem student through and through, excelling in maths and sciences from a very young age. through high school she took college level chemistry and biology courses.

worst school subject:

history always presented its challenges, but as alice grew older and her inability to learn much hands on coupled with the fact that most schooling was a little on the white supremacist side of the situation, alice tended to skip these classes as much as possible or spend as long as she could backtalking a teacher just trying to stick to curriculum. 

opinion of education:

alice doesn’t mind school itself-- college classes are perfectly designed to give alice all the free space she needed in a high school curriculum. but her not-so-stellar experience with the allegedly popular social scene made her more than ready to finally be free of high school.

career aspirations / achievements:

a perfect overlap of her loves of science and nature, alice dreams of becoming a bioengineer. she’s well on her way to it, quickly showing aptitude for higher-level stem courses from an early age.

favorite things:

her guitar, family breakfasts, american beauty, ellie & rumi, pop punk music, hand-rolled joints, ghost adventures,  her freshly-made bed, chocolate covered pretzels, restarting the bell jar,  when plants grow new leaves, her led zeppelin shirt ( x ), god of high school

boredom cure:

driving then walking, or just walking, as far as you can in silence, discovering a beautiful spot to watch the sun set, or rise, depending on when the urge strikes.

#character sheet #alice romero

[elianamontalvosblog]

A Woman’s Fight Against Dominance

In the novel ​Future Home of The Living God ​society is changing based off of the new government that goes by “The Church of the New Constitution”. What happened to separation of church and state? As we know in today's society many branches of the government are controlled by men. According to Drew Desilver, 24% of Congress is women leaving the other 76% to be men. The Church of the New Constitution is assumed to be created to take control of a virus

spreading causing still born babies and fatalities amongst women who give birth. This novel to me didn't portray men to be as aggressive and hostile towards women as some other works do. It was more of men and women being controlling towards pregnant women rather than just women in general. Pregnant women were ripped out of their homes and dragged through the streets where they would be brought to a “hospital” to be “taken care of”. Edrich illustrates the control men have against pregnant women with the scene “The police ignored him and started dragging his wife. She planted her feet in refusal. Her husband was a medium sized man, but suffused with anger and protective belligerence he seemed to grow larger...He grabbed the male officer and tried to wrestle the man down, but the police officer, more agile and trained, quickly flipped the man onto the ground and drew his gun.” (Pg.75 Edrich). When the women are taken away by these officers, they are transferred to a hospital.

Cedar, our main character of ​Future Home of The Living God,​ is found in her home pregnant so she is brought to the hospital to receive the “proper care” for her child until born. In the hospital the women are not to leave their beds. They are actually given a medication which makes the drowsy and unable to comprehend reality. Agnes, a character Cedar meets while in the hospital warns “Just wait until you flush your happy pill. Realities a bitch. A heavy bitch. Fuck. I'll be outta here though.” (Pg.128 Erdrich). Cedar learns the medication they are being given is controlling their bodies to be sleepy all the time, unaware of what the nurses are doing to the patience. This is where the resistance comes into play.

Agnes, the character who warned Cedar about the pill tries to plan her escape but fails horribly. The next day Cedar asks a receptionist if Agnes ever delivered her baby but the

receptionist replied, “They cornered her in the lobby, took her down. Knocked her out, solid. Agnes never made it to the delivery table”.

The result of the control forces Cedar to resist against these inhumane conditions. Agnes is quickly replaced by another pregnant lady who does not speak at first. Cedar learns later on that her name is Tia. Tia had stayed silent to protect herself stating “First law of capture. Never let them know you know their language.” (Pg 162 Erdrich). Cedar notices this mysterious lady was also tossing her pills and not taking them. Cedar observes that the woman is picking at her blanket. As Cedar watches she realizes the woman is waddling up string from the blankets to make a rope to escape. They both end up creating 20 foot rope. The rope has become so large they have to ride it in the heating vent. Orielee, a nurse working in the hospital, comes into Cedar and Tias room. She becomes suspicious of the heating vent and hints to opening it. This causes Tia to launch and attack Orielee. Tia takes Orielee’s body and flips it onto the floor. Tia then looks at Cedar asking for help. Cedar then gets on top of Orielee where Tia “keeps twisting with both fists, more, tighter, until Orielee’s eyes and tongue pop out and her face turns purple.” These woman felt like they had murder someone, because that someone was taking away their basic human rights.

The Handmaids Tales a​ lso portrays male over female dominance. A new law took place when birth rates dropped 60% in one month. In the show men are the ruler of the household and the government. In a household there is a husband, a wife, a servant, a driver and a handmaid. Each have certain duties and responsibilities they must abide to everyday for God. The husband goes by commander followed by their last name. The commander of the household is usually a man of status. The husbands duties are to love and provide a child to their wife. They do so by

having intercouse with a handmaid. The handmaids only duties are to bear children. The wives are infertle so when the handmaid has her baby, she is forced to give it up blessing the husband and wife with a child. The handmaid is then sent to another house to continue this cycle forever. The driver must earn his wife with status. The wives assigned to the drivers are young girls about the age of 15. Since the birth rates dropped, they use the younger children because they have a high rate of fertility.

June Osborn is the main character of the show. She is a handmaid and is forced to go by Offred. All of the handmaids newly given names begin with “of” and end in their commanders first name. Junes’s whole life is controlled by her household and even her friends. All handmaids are to walk in pairs everywhere. June believes they are enforced to do this to provide surveillance amongst each other. There are also men with guns are every house and every corner.

The ceremony is the name of intercourse. The ceremony is when the wife lies the handmaid on her back with her feet hanging off the edge of the bed. The wife then grabs the handmaids by her wrists and the handmaid is to stare up at the ceiling. The husband then comes into the room to rape (because its not consentual) June against her will and have her concieve a child.

When the handmaids become pregnant they lose even more control over their bodies. After giving birth, the babies are given to the wives and the handmaids are transported to conceive more. When June becomes pregnant with Commander Waterfords baby, Aunt Lydia and the entire household control June’s pregnancy. Aunt Lydia is the one who educated the girls to learn how to be handmaids. Aunt Lydia diets june, watches her bathe, and forces her to get

exercise. The wife also is to monitor Junes eating habits and exercise habits. There is no escape from the control, only attempts to resist.

There have been many times where June tried to escape, or resisted the new way of life. When June was first brought to the women's school for handmaids she tried to escape with her friend Morina. June and Morina try to escape on a train to Boston when June is caught by security for not having an ID. When she is returned to the school, Aunt lydia and other officials tie her up on a table and whip the bottom of her feet for trying to escape.

Offwaren, a handmaid June meets at the school, has her right eye taken out for “talking back”. Morina looks at June when Offwaren returns and says “we are a baby factory now, what do we need a left eye for? The control causes Offwaren to lose her sanity. After Offwaren has her baby she becomes attached, as any mother would. Offwaren tries to kill herself with the baby in her arms saying “I don’t wanna live in a world without my Charlette”. Her punishment for almost committing such a selfish act is to be stoned to death by the other handmaids. When the time comes for Offwaren to be stoned, the girls resist. The result of their resistance, they thought, was to be hanged. All the handmaids involved were brought to a hanging site where they had the ropes put around their necks and made to think they were going to die. Aunt Lydia spears them and says this is a “lesson to be learned”. The handmaids were then each individually tortured. Some had there flesh burned over a stove while others had their tongues ripped out.

Another friend of June, Offglen, stole an official vehicle, ran over and killed a guard. She was then captured and woke up in a hospital. When Offglen looked down she noticed they had cut her clitorus off as a punishment. Aunt Lydia knows Offglen used to be a lesbian but that is now forbidden and the term “gender trador” is used to catogorize LGBTQ. Offglen is then sent

to the colonies. The colonies where a nuclear bomb took place. A war had happened and is lightly touched upon in the TV show. The colonies are full of radiation that burns your flesh off. When you are sent to the colonies you are forced to work yourself to death digging holes to clean the radioactive chemicals.

The handmaids resisted yet again with the best attack yet, a bombing. There was a bombing in an official office where they seemed to be presenting the handmaids and the accomplishments made so far. June’s shopping partner Offglen #2 sets off a bomb at the Rachel and Leah Center which is basically the control office. Many official men, handmaids and even Offglen #2 die from the bombing. Mr.Waterford is injured in the bombing and is unable to work for a short period of time. While he is gone his wife and Offred tamper with the laws since he is in charge of creating them. Mr.Waterford finds out when he returns from home and severely whips his wife on the back while Offred is forced to watch.

Although these scenarios don’t seem likely, women are facing similar issues in contemporary society. You should be able to control anything you want to do with your body. Alabama thinks much differently. The official Alabama Law website states that abortions are infact, illegal. A lot of other states are considering illegalizing abortions as well. Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Georgia have pursued bills that would ban abortions as soon as a physician is able to detect a fetal heartbeat. The law does allow an abortion if the mothers life or the fetus’ life is at risk. The law does not permit any abortions for rape or incest. Under “The Alabama Human Life Protection Act”, preforming an abortion would be a felony due to “homicide purposes”. If the law is broken you will be cited for a Class A felony charge and serve up to life in prison. If you attemp an abortion you are cited with a Class C felony serving up to

10 years in prison. Women in 2019 are being punished for a choice they should be able to make with their body. When looking online at the officials of the Alabama government I noticed every single one of them were men. Men passed this law prohibiting a woman to be able to make a choice with her body. Men in 2019 are controlling women's rights just like the women in the dystopian fiction novels.

The dominance the males have over the females in these novels is the same dominance the government is trying to have upon women in our society. Women should become more aware of the control that is being put upon us. As the women do in these novels, we need to resist. We need to protest, we need to make people more aware of what could come to our state or even country. We are living in such a dangerous world of dominance and power. When given so much power how are you to please anyone? It is understandable and acceptable for people to disagree with abortions, but what about the victims of rape? What about mothers who are drug addicts who know they can’t mentally handle a child? What about victims of incest? What are we to do when dominance and power between men and women will always be a problem in contemporary society?

Citations

FindLaws Team. “Alabama Abortion Laws.” ​Findlaw​, Thomson Reuters, 15 May 2019, statelaws.findlaw.com/alabama-law/alabama-abortion-laws.html. Law, Tara. “Abortion Bill Details: Alabama, Georgia, Missouri Laws Explained.” ​Time​, Time, 18 May 2019, time.com/5591166/state-abortion-laws-explained/.

#liberal feminism #female #feminist #womanpower #beautiful woman #womans rights #being a woman #women #politics #dominance #male domination

[pizza-is-my-buziness]

@recordsofme this prompt is amazing and definitely Skimmons! Thank you, friend!

The thing about being a foster kid is that friendships really aren't a thing. She'd tried it a few times, back when she was new to the system, still reeling from her parents' death and young and optimistic. And for a while, things had been…well Daisy doesn't want to use the word 'great' considering the circumstances but they'd been doable, livable. She'd been with a nice elderly couple and they'd made sure that she went to school and she'd had a best friend and those things had been great. Maybe not school so much but her friend, definitely her best friend had been great.

But then she'd gotten older and so had the couple and it had been back to St. Agnes with her and Daisy's efforts to keep in touch with the elements of her old life had fallen apart. She'd started eighth grade and started a seemingly endless rotation through various foster situations. A rotation that has finally come to its end, thanks to the fact that she's freshly out of high school and living on a friend's couch until she can figure her current situation out.

And Daisy has a lot to time to consider her current situation, given the majority of her job involves sitting around and staring at people. When she'd been in life guard training, the leader of the class had made it seem like she'd be living a Baywatch situation every day and would be fishing kids out of the pool constantly but the most exciting part of her day is making Mack do the chemical tests and trying to figure out how to push him into the water.

So Daisy just sits around, tapping her foot against the base of her chair and making faces at Mack across the pool. He's as unflappable as he is immovable (seriously, Daisy is pretty sure she could launch herself at him and still not push him over the edge of the pool), unimpressed by even her most ridiculous faces. Despite the boredom and the amount of time she has to ponder the direction of her life, Daisy figures that life-guarding isn't a terrible way to spend her summer; most people want to lay out by the water all day and she's getting paid for it. More or less.

Plus she gets the blow her whistle every forty-five minutes and listen to the disappointed grumbling of children as they're forced out of the water. Sadistic? Maybe. But it's good for the little guys; give them a chance to get some Goldfish or something before going back to Marco Polo.

Daisy hops down from her chair, catching the water bottle that Mack tosses over to her. "Thanks."

"I need to check the pumps," Mack tells her. "You test the water."

He's gone before Daisy can even start complaining, which is just unfair. So Daisy shuffles into the employees only room to grab the required testing equipment and kneels down by the water, doing her civic lifeguard duty.

It doesn't take long before there's a flock of little kids gathered around, wanting to know what she's doing, why there are so many different colors, if they can help her. It's cute in an annoying kind of way, Daisy reasons and she can never resist the urge to explain to them what she's doing while she goes through the not exactly thrilling process.

One little girl in particular seems invested. "What's that one?" She asks, pointing to one bottles. "What about that one?" She doesn't give Daisy a chance to answer her previous question before her finger is already pointing to another one. "And that one?"

"Sarah," a voice chides before Daisy can even start to answer, "don't bother her. She's working."

Daisy looks up toward the speaker and holy shit it's like one of those perfect moments from a movie. The girl standing over her is backlit by the sun so she looks like an angel and her cheeks are covered with freckles and so are her shoulders and her nose is a little pink from the sun and she's wearing the world's most excellent bikini and her smile is brighter than the sun itself. Everything about her is sheer perfection.

Daisy realizes -probably a beat too late- that she's staring. "Uh…" She blinks, shaking her head. The kid, right, the kid. "She's fine, really-"

"Daisy?"

Okay, not what she was expecting. This perfect angel human knows her name? Maybe she's having some kind of heat stroke.

Daisy stands up so that she doesn't have to stare up at this girl anymore, studying her closely. Okay, now that she's not so blinded by her sheer perfection she can see some familiarities tugging in the back of her mind…

Especially when she's hit with that smile again. "It is you!"

That smile…that voice… Daisy feels herself start to grin. "Jemma? No way!"

Yes way, especially if the way Jemma steps up to give her a hug is any indication. Daisy hugs her back tightly and even though they're both taller and older, it reminds her of the last time she'd ever seen Jemma, that summer before eighth grade when she knew that she was going to be going back to St. Agnes and that, in all likelihood, she would never see her friend again. She hadn't had the heart to mention that to Jemma then, not when Jemma had been so sweetly adamant that they would stay best friends forever.

They haven't seen each other in years. And yet here they are now, hugging each other tightly like no time has gone by.

Though, you know, Daisy can't help but notice that time definitely has gone by. And it's been good to Jemma Simmons.

Obviously she's going to former best friend hell for thinking this.

"Hey," Daisy says when they finally step away from each other and she's still looking at Jemma with what she's sure is a dazed expression on her face. Hopefully it can be blamed on the surprise of being reunited with a long-lost friend and not the realization that said best friend is ridiculously pretty. "I can't believe it. What are you doing here?"

Jemma smiles at her and Daisy can still seem some of her old tells: how she still tucks her hair behind her ear when she's nervous. "I'm working as a nanny for the summer," she says, resting her hand on the head of the little girl who is more interested in the variety of pool chemicals than this conversation. "Sarah's family lives in this neighborhood. I take it you work here?"

She gestures towards Daisy and her formfitting black lifeguarding bathing suit and Daisy is pretty sure that the tips of her ears get a little pink but it could just be from the sun. "Oh, yeah." Daisy shrugs. "You know, living the dream."

Jemma is still smiling at her and Daisy is still feeling like she's dying a little bit inside. Did Jemma's smile always used to look like that? Did she always feel all warm and fuzzy inside when Jemma made eye contact with her? "I'm sorry," she says, waving her hand. "I just can't believe that I ran into you."

"I know what you mean," Daisy agrees with a nod. "It seems hard to believe. A small world."

"Well I guess that just means that we have to take advantage of the opportunity fate has given us," Jemma says and there's a bit of teasing in her tone, a mock seriousness that should not entertain Daisy as much as it does. "I know we're both working but what about tonight? Dinner? Coffee?"

Daisy nods before she even has to consider the offer. "Yeah. Yes. That would be great."

They make plans to meet up later that evening at a coffee shop in between where they're both living and then it's back to guarding lives -for both of them, though Daisy thinks that Jemma's job looks a little bit more entertaining. And yeah, she might be watching Jemma throughout the majority of her shift but can really blame her? Jemma is so much more interesting to watch than a pool where no one is drowning.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Mack gives her a hard time later when she goes home and digs through her finite amount of clothes for something that says 'reunited with an old friend' and accurately expresses how excited she is by this seemingly random occurrence. Mack doesn't seem to buy any of this. "Looks like someone getting ready for a date, to me." Daisy slams the bathroom door in his face, even though it's technically his apartment.

When Daisy gets to the coffee shop, Jemma is already waiting for her, sitting at a table on the outdoor patio. She's wearing shorts and a loose blouse and the sight of her brings a smile instantly to Daisy's face. This time it's a not a holy shit who is this perfect angel smile but a holy shit this person used to be my best friend ever type smile.

Jemma brightens when she sees her and again there's a hug. They get their drinks and return to the table, sitting close despite the extra space. "I've missed you, Daisy," Jemma says without preamble or insecurity. "I hated when we fell out of touch."

Daisy nods, holding onto her drink just for something to focus her attention on. Something to keep her from studying Jemma to continually ascertain that this is really happening. "Yeah…I guess that was mostly my fault…" She shrugs. "I kinda…you know…"

Jemma waves a hand. "Please don't apologize. I can't imagine how difficult things were," she says softly, her understanding gentle and sincere. "How have you been?"

Daisy tells her, mostly the truth. And she listens with rapt attention as Jemma fills her in on how she's spent their time apart, her exploits with school and the various challenges of academia. Daisy's stories aren't nearly as thrilling, not when it comes to exploits and accomplishments but she does have to admit that she loves the way that Jemma is watching her with rapt attention, her expression changing subtly to go along with what Daisy is saying. It's nice to feel important, to remember what it was like to have a friend who made her feel that way.

And honestly? "I'm sorry I pushed you away," Daisy admits softly when it seems like they've momentarily exhausted their conversational topics for the time being. Their drinks are sitting, ignored and half-empty, on the table and they're the only people still sitting out on the patio. No one from the coffee shop has come to chase them off yet and Daisy is grateful.

Jemma reaches forward and rests a hand on Daisy's knee. A simple gesture, a throwback from the time in their lives when touching was easy and came without strings or connotation.

"Please don't apologize," Jemma says softly. "We've found each other again, after all. Surely that has to matter."

Daisy nods because it does. It definitely does. "Yeah, true," she agrees with a nod. She wants to lean back in her chair but she doesn't want to move for fear of dislodging Jemma's hand. "You don't think too much time has passed? I mean, you think things can still be like they were?"

"Well, maybe not exactly," Jemma concedes and the smile on her face keeps Daisy from feeling a sense of dread at her statement. "We are older, after all, and I have to admit something…I don't play Pretty Ponies anymore."

Daisy laughs, covering her face with her hand. "No! Say it ain't so," she says, shaking her head. "How could you give up on Pretty Ponies? The best game ever!"

Jemma grins. "Well, it wasn't the same without someone to play with," she tells Daisy. "Though I suppose we could teach Sarah this summer while I'm babysitting-"

Daisy likes her use of the word 'we.' Even still she shakes her head. "Let her into the sacred Pretty Pony sisterhood? Never."

Jemma makes a face at her and Daisy feels her heart give a little leap. Definitely another difference in their friendship: the way she feels hyperaware of how she feels around Jemma.

Unfortunately, Jemma seems to notice too. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I…like what?" Daisy shrugs, going for nonchalant. She shifts in her seat and Jemma's hand finally slips off her knee. She looks at her, feeling strangely brave on this perfect summer night. "Like you're beautiful?"

Jemma smiles and looks down at her lap, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. An adorable, nervous gesture. "Well, you aren't so terrible yourself," Jemma replies, lifting her eyes to look back at Daisy. "When did that happen?" She teases.

"Hey, watch it, the nuns said I was just a late bloomer," Daisy retorts and she's pretty sure that her amused expression gives her away. "But Jesus loves me anyway."

Jemma rolls her eyes. "You're ridiculous."

Daisy nods thoughtfully. "Yeah, they said that too."

"Glad to see that hasn't changed," Jemma says.

Eventually they get thrown off the patio and Daisy offers to walk Jemma home because the night is still perfect and she's not exactly ready to turn around and head back to Mack's just yet. Jemma doesn't decline the offer, which lets Daisy know that maybe she's not the only one reluctant to bring the night to a close.

Even still, they finally reach Jemma's front door and it seems like Daisy's prayers that they be stuck in some sort of time loop where she gets to spend the rest of forever with Jemma on this perfect summer night have gone unanswered.

Jemma lingers even after she's pulled her keys from her bag. "I'll make sure to bring Sarah to the pool tomorrow," she tells Daisy. "It's important for kids to get enough sun and physical activity."

Daisy nods. "Yeah, very important," she agrees. "I'll be there. You know, guarding lives and stuff."

"I feel safer already."

Daisy leans in to kiss her. Jemma meets her halfway, like she's been waiting for Daisy to finally stop thinking about it and lean close enough. Obviously things with Jemma aren't the way they were when they were kids; it would be ridiculous to expect things to stay the same for so long. They've grown up, things have changed. And this particular change -Jemma's lips on hers, Jemma's hands on her hips and in her hair- is one that Daisy can definitely agree is a change for the better.

#skimmons #bioquake #AU #fic prompts! #aosficnet2