h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I would never encourage anyone to self harm. It's self destructive and fundamentally unhealthy. But sometimes it's better than the alternatives. Outright condemnation of a person who self harms will rarely help.

The characters, like lizardy and I, are queer. That's true of the characters in all fiction I have on here except for 'Game Play'. Except for 'I'm in love with...' none of them are specifically 'about' being queer. I don't see that as an issue, but I thought I'd make it clear.

Thanks.

Speckly Fish sez: The characters, like lizardy and I, are queer.

And so am I.

I have known a great deal of wonderful straight-marriage-WISHES-it-were-in-so-healthy-a-condition-good lesbian relationships, and a few really screwed up deeply dysfunctional lesbian relationships. Since I don't *know* these two characters in this piece, their loverhood doesn't necesarily imply sufficient personal knowledge to handle the situation, to me.



And, I am pondering, based on my experiences of these, whether the vampire in Rusalka really provided joy, or was the typical opportunistic parasite. It didn't leave the darkness, or the dionysian in any way. I still haven't decided how to word this, so I haven't commented on that piece yet. It is possible, I am so delighted by your clear otherwise appollonian style, that I can't let go and percieve the magic-realist shift in the intended light.

I suppose the ending is meant to act as a challenge to a certain set of preconceptions. The ambiguity and lack of judgement/condemnation are central to that.



(P.S. The Rusalka isn't a vampire, she's a Rusalka.)

Cathy from Wuthering Heights isn't viewed generally as a vampire, but:

She drains the living (Heathcliff),
Is around after she's dead,
Is seductive (at least, to Heathcliff),
Comes around only in the dark,
Waits at the window to be let in,
and remains uncorrupted years after death.

Rusalka are a new concept to me, so I only know what's in the story. Perhaps, there are other characteristics of Rusalka that are not listed in the story, but she reads like a vampire to me.

Like vampires Rusalki originate in slav folklore. Vampires are a form of revanant, reanimated dead, and are parasitic.

Rusalki are the *spirits* of the dead, much more akin to ghosts. There are substantial regional variations in myths about the rusalka, the ones I've used are among the more benign. In the case of this story, the rusala is the spirit of a girl drowned on her wedding night. I have also drawn on the fertility aspect of the myth. Rusalki are spirits that are linked to lakes and rivers, much as the bannik is the spirit of the bath house or the ovinnik the spirit of the barn. (actually the ovinnik is one of my favourites, it's a huge cat, invisible most of the time, all you see are its eyes which are like cracked coals, it doesn't like noise and will burn the barn down if it's annoyed. It also laughs its head off. Mostly benign but very mischevious.) Rusalki are also linked to silver birch.

The ending is a happy one. Unconventional, but happy for the protagonist. She chooses to be drowned and reborn as as a rusalka, knowing what she chooses, she is not coerced or forced and the rusalka is not acting as a parasite, she is acting in her role as a bringer of fertility and life.

Oh, for those who might be interseted, the name Lushka is particularly lesbian. During their 'elopement' Vita Sackville West and Violet Trefusis called each other Lushka and Mitya. I couldn't resist.

Hi Speckly and co,

I'd given this one a swerve when i had a look recently and saw the disclaimer; wasn't in a mood just then to be disturbed (by someone else, )

Having just been braver, i must say i think the writing is terrific. Very elegant use of words. The subject is of course rather dark, and difficult.

I'm not so sure i read it as 'condoning' or 'condemning'. The 'acceptance' at the end seems to be of the whole person, i guess, rather than the specific act. The relationship between the two characters isn't really made clear beyond the fact that clearly they love one another. Well, i spose that *is* pretty clear, but two people can love each other in many ways.

It's interesting the way the act of harm is not *really* there on the page, but comes through the emotions, feelings of the girl. Rather like effective horror coming from 'not seeing' the horror on screen, but a shadow or a scream.

An interesting and well-written piece of writing, thanks for sharing it.
spiff

Sounds like you read it just as I intended.