Can we talk about Fire

(And while I still retain possession of this book) (Also, spoilers, so don’t go on if you haven’t read the book) (No I’m serious about the spoiler don’t read this there’s a major spoiler in here)

Because I keep coming across too many people who don’t like the book for some varying reason of “but Fire doesn’t do any fighting that’s so boring” or “wow slutty mcsluts wow” or “ugh why does she have a guard around her she’s so pathetically weak”. And. You. Guys.

• With a woman of colour (which she is, confirmed in Bitterblue) I’m actually positively delighted she doesn’t go around punching people, not because there’s anything wrong with punching people, but because there’s this tired stereotype of women of colour not being intelligent and resorting to being physical and just all people of colour being violent in general, so it was a nice way to cut that out.
• That doesn’t mean she doesn’t know how to fight. I believe she knows archery, and even past that, she’s always fighting a constant mental battle with everyone around her and I can’t believe that can be easy. And she’s perfectly capable of protecting herself. She’s protected herself from a large number of men over the years and has experience doing so. She defends herself from the King. On two occasions. At least. Mentally and physically.
• Her guard isn’t there because she can’t protect herself (see last point). Her guard’s there because she doesn’t deserve to have to go around defending herself from men who can’t keep their hands (or arrows?) to themselves. The point there is when society’s all sorts of messed up and creates a misogynist world that teaches men they’re entitled to a woman, it’s society’s job to fix itself. And protect the people they’ve trampled over.
• Seriously, Fire has a million things better to do than have to be on super alert for every men with a weak mind that lusts for her. There’s a random creeper that can fog people’s minds and make them believe lies and corrupt nobles seeking power, I think she’s got better things to spend her time on.
• A woman doesn’t need to be able to go around sticking her sword in other people to be a strong female character or a strong female person in general.
• Femininity itself is not a bad thing. Her loving and wanting children isn’t a bad thing. Her talking about her period and the many various inconveniences (and pains) they cause her is not a bad thing. Her being beautiful is not a bad thing. Stop faulting her for being who she is. She is a feminine character, just as Graceling’s Katsa is not (not necessarily), they’re separate people. 
• The book’s also cuts against the “women are always kind and merciful and always loyal to families” crap too, have you all forgotten that she killed her own father. At the age of 16 something she realized if she didn’t then more innocent people would die because her father was a mind controlling sadistic corrupt power hungry rapist and needed to go. And she’s not a bad person for it.
• Her taking birth control, and then afterwards, sterilizing herself so there’s no more monster people to wreck havoc over the land like her father did isn’t  bad thing. Also her having sex for pleasure (or in her case, for comfort, which she talks about). Not a bad thing.
• I also in particular liked how she’s a woman of colour too because woc are always seen as sexual and sexually available for all men who’re attracted to them and the book was a huge “NO” right there.
• There’s more stuff I missed but that’s all for now.

Literary masquerade favorites

Last night, I went a literary masquerade hosted by my school’s English department and honors program. Here are the best characters I saw:

• Edgar Allan Poe
• Queequeg (Moby-Dick)
• Mr. Darcy
• Thing 1 and Thing 2
• Nancy Drew
• Tigger
• Marla (Fight Club)
• The Scarecrow, the Tinman, and the Cowardly Lion
• Violet Beauregarde (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)
• Don Quixote
• Pippi Longstocking
• Holly Golightly
• Madeline
• Tom Joad