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[spoileralert]

12:34

Friday, May 4

Verizon

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[spoileralert]

[ That makes her grin. Oh, she knows how much he's looking forward to it. ]

So am I. Is this like a "don't you break my brother's heart" kind of phone call?

[heavensreader]

No, no - I mean maybe - I mean, I suppose he could be my brother now... [She's familiar with the concept of sworn brotherhood. It's actually quite alluring to think about.]

I only wanted to talk. Because he is a young man and you are a young lady and these are very serious matters. Courtship, I mean.

[spoileralert]

Very serious. [ There's a hint of a joke in her voice, but only a small one. ] Or not. It doesn't have to be, where I'm from, or where he's from. But it is, I think, with us.

[heavensreader]

[she knew it she knew courtship was happening]

So, Miss Stephanie - you really think he is suitable? For marriage?

[spoileralert]

For marriage? [ Okay she should have seen that coming with words like "courtship" being thrown around. ] I'm only 18 - we're way too young to be thinking about marriage.

[heavensreader]

[And silence. Deeply confused silence. Kesara knows that not all relations between the sexes are about marriage, but she's also fairly sure that she understood correctly, that Zach and Steph's relation is not of the other sort. And she has no idea, no idea what other options are available.]

That is not - I mean - that is young, but girls can marry at twelve, so - I mean - if you don't mean to marry then why are you courting?

[spoileralert]

It's not really... in my world, it's more normal when you're like, 25.

[ Oh gosh. How does she explain this. ]

It's... dating. It's like, practice for marriage. Only, you know, it's easier to break up if things don't work out well.

[heavensreader]

Twenty-five?! [Shock horror!]

That is more than twice my age. That's an old maid! Are you really going to wait for so long? What will you do until then, without a house to run, and children?

[spoileralert]

Go to school, get a good job? And fight crime, but that's just me.

[heavensreader]

Go to school, until they're twenty-five? Girls?

[She would never have believed it, if others haven't told her similar, astonishing things.]

Do you mean you've gone to the military? Or to the police?

[spoileralert]

More like 22, but yeah.

I'm outside of the law, actually.

[ ... ]

Which actually makes me less marriageable than Zach, I guess.

[heavensreader]

[What is this unending flow of shocking revelations.]

So you're - Miss Stephanie, you're like some kind of rogue heroine? I've never heard of any real ones.

[She has heard dozens of stories, though. Her delight is boundless. And of course she knows just what to say on that last question.]

They always marry in the end. A love match with a worthy hero!

[spoileralert]

Something like that. The term is "vigilante".

[ She grins shyly. ]

Well, I don't want to get too far ahead of myself. Zach is quite marriageable.

[heavensreader]

[Kesara does not know the meaning of getting ahead of herself. What she's discovered here is straight out of a fable. It is, as Zach might say, awesome.]

Oah, I think he's worthy. He's bold and mighty and his heart is true, and I think he must be very handsome when he's dressed properly. But you are the, the vigilante, so you must judge for yourself. Will you make him race you? Wrestle with you? Go hunt something dreadful to show his courage and wits?

[spoileralert]

[ Kes what ]

The challenge he faces is not a small one: He has to keep me happy, indefinitely.

[ Well she is a writer at heart. ]

[heavensreader]

[Kesara wrinkles her nose slightly in curiosity. She sees the attraction, but this is a newfangled notion.]

Are you very hard to keep happy, Miss Stephanie?

[spoileralert]

Depends on the guy. Men have a hard time treating women like real people sometimes. Good men and bad men.

[heavensreader]

Even when the women go to school, and fight crime? [She wasn't expecting that. What a letdown.]

[spoileralert]

Yeah, I know. But men are stupid.

cw internalised misogyny

[heavensreader]

Well, but many women aren't suited to doing these things. Men can't leave all women to fend for themselves when there are many who really cannot be expected to.

[spoileralert]

Only because that's the way they're taught. You get told you can't do a thing enough times, you start to believe it.

[heavensreader]

I've heard it's so, but... I know a lot of women, Miss Stephanie, and a lot of them aren't at all like the women here. They'd die if they were here, they'd die right quick!

[spoileralert]

They were raised to think differently, Kes. They believe they're helpless, so they are.

[heavensreader]

Well, if they were raised to think they were men - but even then, we're built different, aren't we? God - whichever gods - they made women so they can have children, and they're suited for it, well, most of them. I don't know if I am. But I am still young and it should change when I'm older, they say.

[spoileralert]

A little different, but they've found out that it doesn't amount to much.