Marked: Chapter 12
ZeldaQueen: In which there are classes and we learn that vampires are pretentious, straw feminist bitches
Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
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Chapter 12
ZeldaQueen: Zoey runs into her Vampire Sociology class and is pleased as punch to see that Damien is in there. You all will be relieved to hear that there really isn't any YOU MUST BE GAY from him here. He smiles and asks if Zoey's hanging in there alright and then Neferet comes in
"She was wearing a long black skirt slit up the side to show great stiletto boots, and a deep purple silk sweater. Over her left breast, embroidered in silver, was the image of a goddess with her arms upraised, hands cupping a crescent moon. Her black hair was pulled back into a thick braid. The series of delicate wavelike tattoos that framed her face made her look like an ancient warrior priestess"
ZeldaQueen: I have to wonder what sort of a teacher comes in for class dressed with a huge slit up the side of her skirt. Also, black hair? It was red before! I distinctly remember her trashing other types of redheads. Hold on, wait!
"Her hair was deep red-not that horrid carrottop orange-red or the washed-out blond-red, but a dark, glossy auburn that fell in heavy waves well past her shoulders"
ZeldaQueen: YOU CAN'T SAY IT WASN'T! Am I supposed to believe that she has magic hair that changes color to fit the situation?
So Neferet goes to the front of the room and says that they'll be learning all about the Amazons. Hooo boy, this ought to be good. First, she takes time to direct everyone's attention to Zoey, going on about how she's new and is Neferet's Speshul Student and everyone is to help her feel welcome. I have to ask, and this is an honest question, how often do they get new students here? I mean, I really have no idea how frequently people are Marked. Do they give this level of fanfare to every new student, or what?
As per Neferet's orders, Damien takes Zoey to some cubbies in the room. It turns out that these cubbies are their lockers, and first period will also serve as Zoey's homeroom. When she needs to get books or anything, she just has to go in and grab it. She notes that there's no lock on the cubbies and asks about the possibility of theft. Damien says that no one dares because the adult vampires will find out almost immediately. He then heavily hints that the punishment for stealing is very heavy, before they go back to their seats.
Zoey sits down for the reading, reflecting on how freaked out everyone is about being punished. She thinks back to her only time in detention, "Some turd boy told me to suck his cock. What was I supposed to do? Cry? Giggle? Pout? Umm . no…So instead I bitch-slapped him (although I prefer just using the word smacked), and I got detention for it". Zoey, dearest? It's kind of hard to agree that you're a well-behaved student, considering that your response to someone being an idiot to you is to smack him. I don't think a single teacher at my school would let that "what was I supposed to do?" excuse fly, because the answer is clear - walk away. Anyway, she said detention was just fine and she did her homework and started reading a Gossip Girls book. She wonders what the punishments are like at the House of Night.
As a spoiler, we never find out, leastwise not in this book.
By this point, Neferet starts up the lesson and asks what Amazon tradition is still practiced at the House of Night. Damien replies "The bow of respect, with our fist over our heart, comes from the Amazons, and so does the way we shake hands-by gripping forearms". Perhaps this is my mind being utterly bored by this thing, but all that I can think of right now is the Kickassia Salute
ZeldaQueen: Are we Nazis? Or are we Nazis?
Next, Neferet asks about preconceived notions that folks have of the Amazons. A blond vampire girl named Elizabeth says "The Amazons were heavily matriarchal, as are all vampyre societies", and Zoey goes on about how smart the girl sounds. Well damn, I must have been a genius in high school. What do Ms and Ms Cast think high school vocabularies are like?
Anyway, we're treading into Stupid Straw Territory now. Neferet says that Elizabeth's answer was great, but adds that there's another preconceived notion in conjunction with that. Damien says that people "especially humans" think that Amazons were man-haters. Ohhhh boy.
Neferet goes on about how just because a society's matriarchal doesn't mean it's anti-male, and that even Nyx had a consort, and they appreciate the Sons of Night and consider them "protectors and consorts".
Let's just pause right there for a moment.
First, lest I come across as bitchy and impossible to please, I would like to give Ms and Ms Cast props for not falling immediately into Sacred Feminine Evil Man territory. That being said, a few things.
The main issue here is very much the issue with Damien being gay - all we get are the Suethors getting up on a soap box and delivering a heavy-handed moral about how that isn't how it is here, and people who think such and such are bigots or wrong. Alright, so I understand that Ms and Ms Cast would want to try to cover ass with a matriarchal society. Couldn't they, you know, show us that men aren't hated? I mean, alright the lecture about vampire society being matriarchal was fine, and certainly explained the obsession with strong women. Okay. So show us the non-male hate.
Which is the other thing. We're told about how important the Sons of Night are and whatnot, except that we hear virtually nothing about them. There's only one who is given any sort of significance, and that's only because he's the love interest. Granted the Dark Daughters are bitches, but we're given all sorts of information about them and their history and their group's customs. So for all of the talk on how the Sons of Dark are just as loved and respected, they still are more or less ignored.
The same goes for the teachers. There are, to the extent of my knowledge, two male teachers. One is the fencing teacher and the other is the poetry teacher. All we hear about the poetry teacher is that it's so unusual for him to hold such a prestigious position in vampire society for his poetry, because he's male. The fencing teacher, you might note, fits perfectly in that "protector and consort" rule and thus no one goes on about how odd it is for him to be so skilled in his job.
This is especially interesting if you were to flip the genders and say "Oh, just because we're patriarchal doesn't mean that we don't value women! Far from it, we see women as important homemakers and wives!" and then treat it as unusual that a woman holds a position of importance.
Now, I'm sure one could argue "But that's the point of a matriarchal society, isn't it?" Except, it ties into a vampire beef of mine, which I first realized when reading one of Meyer's quotes about her vampires. It's the one where she tries to excuse them eating people. One of the things she brings up as to why most vampires aren't willing to stick with a "vegetarian" diet is that most are from the Days of Yore and aren't used to the idea of having enough food that they can be choosy about what they eat. That made me wonder, what is up with vampires that don't progress? Just because someone's from an old time and doesn't age doesn't mean their opinions and view of the world doesn't change.
The same goes for this. From what I understand, this vampire society has been matriarchal for centuries. As noted above, it could arguably be seen as a gender-flipped version of our own society. Except...look at today. Even if one argues that western civilization is still patriarchal at heart, women still have a very strong role in it. Women can hold public office or obtain prestigious titles be seen as something other than an accessory to men. So what, has nothing like that happened in vampire society?
And yes, I realize that the above could all just be nitpicking, but like I said, it just annoys me that the Cast ladies have to sit us down and tell us that the vampire society is just happy-happy-happy when it comes to gender roles. And I only can assume that they are happy, because never once in this book do we see any instance of a man wishing he could be seen as more than a "protector and consort".
*shakes head* Okay then. Sorry about that rant. We get the rest of class glossed over, except for Zoey to go on about how awesomesauce it was, and Neferet calls Zoey over. She asks if Zoey's doing fine and pats her head more or less and makes sure that Damien will walk her to Drama class (no, thank God, Damien does not take Drama). She also makes sure that Aphrodite invited Zoey to the Dark Daughters ritual and goes on about how it's such a classy group and such an honor to be invited already, blah, blah, blah. Also, Zoey remembers that she hasn't thought of her grandmother, mother, Heath, or any of her old friends since she got there. Yeah, keep that in mind for later.
We get more talk from Damien about how Omniscient and Mysterious the High Priestess and adult vampires in general are, before Stevie Rae catches up. The Casts showing off their Google-fu skills by having Zoey go on about how interesting it was that Amazon's cut off their right breast to keep it from getting in the way (what, wasn't that a silly human misconception?) and Stevie Rae gets all pouty over how flat-chested she is. Damien does to. Oy.
Onward to Drama class Zoey goes, and yes, the Texan-born teacher still has a heavy twang. Thankfully that's the only sort of stereotype she has going on, so yeah. Zoey sits next to the Elizabeth girl, because when in doubt, "It never hurts to sit next to a smart kid".
It turns out that they're all going to be picking monologues to perform, but first they're having a guest come in to perform a monologue from Othello for them (and of course Shakespeare was a vampire. Of course). And then the guest speaker comes in to reveal...
"the most gorgeous young lad I had ever seen. He was tall and had dark hair that did that adorably perfect Superman curl thing. His eyes were an amazing sapphire blue and…
Oh. Hell! Hell! Hell! It was the guy from the hall"
ZeldaQueen: Of course. I think everyone knew this was catching up sooner or later.
So the guy's name is Erik "Music Of The" Night and he won this huge monologue contest in London and played Tony in West Side Story. I would like to state for the record that a monologue from Othello and having the lead in a Romeo and Juliet adaptation is not a good way to foreshadow a relationship.
So Erik goes up to the front of the room and is actually very friendly and relaxed and starts giving tips on giving good monologue. And of course, we're beaten over the head with how he just keeps staring at Zoey and delivering the monologue from Act 1, Scene 3, where Othello and Desdemona announce that they're married to Desdemona's father. Zoey spends the entire time feeling all hot and dizzy and just as lightheaded as when she smelled Heath's blood before.
Erik goes to leave, though not before staring at Zoey some more, and everyone goes searching through all of the monologue books they've been provided with. Elizabeth turns to Zoey and immediately starts going on about how hot Erik is. Yes folks, that's all anyone talks about that guy. It really is a shame, because he is a pretty nice guy. But nope, all we get about Erik is how hawt he is. And now I'm so annoyed, I'm repeating myself. I'm sorry. Anyway, keep this all in mind for later.
Zoey asks if Erik has a girlfriend and Elizabeth goes on about how no he doesn't, though rumor had it that he and Aphrodite used to hook up. Elizabeth then formally introduces herself to Zoey and we get something interesting - apparently Elizabeth's real last name was "Titsworth", which she didn't want to keep, but she didn't know what new last name she wanted so she just goes by "Elizabeth" with no last name at all. Zoey mentally notes how many odd kids there are there, which is rich coming from little Miss "I've been blessed by a Goddess".
Elizabeth does nothing but harp on about how Erik was staring at Zoey, before mentioning how cool her colored-in Mark is. And the rest of the chapter is just Zoey going on about how she just couldn't understand why a guy like Erik would be into a chick like her and he probably was just staring at her Mark and did she really want a guy who was getting blown by Aphrodite and it probably means nothing and...yeah. I think we all know where this is going
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Onward to: Chapter 13
Back to: Chapter 11
Back to: Table of Contents
Projection Room Voices: Starting Media in 3...2...1...
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Chapter 12
ZeldaQueen: Zoey runs into her Vampire Sociology class and is pleased as punch to see that Damien is in there. You all will be relieved to hear that there really isn't any YOU MUST BE GAY from him here. He smiles and asks if Zoey's hanging in there alright and then Neferet comes in
"She was wearing a long black skirt slit up the side to show great stiletto boots, and a deep purple silk sweater. Over her left breast, embroidered in silver, was the image of a goddess with her arms upraised, hands cupping a crescent moon. Her black hair was pulled back into a thick braid. The series of delicate wavelike tattoos that framed her face made her look like an ancient warrior priestess"
ZeldaQueen: I have to wonder what sort of a teacher comes in for class dressed with a huge slit up the side of her skirt. Also, black hair? It was red before! I distinctly remember her trashing other types of redheads. Hold on, wait!
"Her hair was deep red-not that horrid carrottop orange-red or the washed-out blond-red, but a dark, glossy auburn that fell in heavy waves well past her shoulders"
ZeldaQueen: YOU CAN'T SAY IT WASN'T! Am I supposed to believe that she has magic hair that changes color to fit the situation?
So Neferet goes to the front of the room and says that they'll be learning all about the Amazons. Hooo boy, this ought to be good. First, she takes time to direct everyone's attention to Zoey, going on about how she's new and is Neferet's Speshul Student and everyone is to help her feel welcome. I have to ask, and this is an honest question, how often do they get new students here? I mean, I really have no idea how frequently people are Marked. Do they give this level of fanfare to every new student, or what?
As per Neferet's orders, Damien takes Zoey to some cubbies in the room. It turns out that these cubbies are their lockers, and first period will also serve as Zoey's homeroom. When she needs to get books or anything, she just has to go in and grab it. She notes that there's no lock on the cubbies and asks about the possibility of theft. Damien says that no one dares because the adult vampires will find out almost immediately. He then heavily hints that the punishment for stealing is very heavy, before they go back to their seats.
Zoey sits down for the reading, reflecting on how freaked out everyone is about being punished. She thinks back to her only time in detention, "Some turd boy told me to suck his cock. What was I supposed to do? Cry? Giggle? Pout? Umm . no…So instead I bitch-slapped him (although I prefer just using the word smacked), and I got detention for it". Zoey, dearest? It's kind of hard to agree that you're a well-behaved student, considering that your response to someone being an idiot to you is to smack him. I don't think a single teacher at my school would let that "what was I supposed to do?" excuse fly, because the answer is clear - walk away. Anyway, she said detention was just fine and she did her homework and started reading a Gossip Girls book. She wonders what the punishments are like at the House of Night.
As a spoiler, we never find out, leastwise not in this book.
By this point, Neferet starts up the lesson and asks what Amazon tradition is still practiced at the House of Night. Damien replies "The bow of respect, with our fist over our heart, comes from the Amazons, and so does the way we shake hands-by gripping forearms". Perhaps this is my mind being utterly bored by this thing, but all that I can think of right now is the Kickassia Salute
ZeldaQueen: Are we Nazis? Or are we Nazis?
Next, Neferet asks about preconceived notions that folks have of the Amazons. A blond vampire girl named Elizabeth says "The Amazons were heavily matriarchal, as are all vampyre societies", and Zoey goes on about how smart the girl sounds. Well damn, I must have been a genius in high school. What do Ms and Ms Cast think high school vocabularies are like?
Anyway, we're treading into Stupid Straw Territory now. Neferet says that Elizabeth's answer was great, but adds that there's another preconceived notion in conjunction with that. Damien says that people "especially humans" think that Amazons were man-haters. Ohhhh boy.
Neferet goes on about how just because a society's matriarchal doesn't mean it's anti-male, and that even Nyx had a consort, and they appreciate the Sons of Night and consider them "protectors and consorts".
Let's just pause right there for a moment.
First, lest I come across as bitchy and impossible to please, I would like to give Ms and Ms Cast props for not falling immediately into Sacred Feminine Evil Man territory. That being said, a few things.
The main issue here is very much the issue with Damien being gay - all we get are the Suethors getting up on a soap box and delivering a heavy-handed moral about how that isn't how it is here, and people who think such and such are bigots or wrong. Alright, so I understand that Ms and Ms Cast would want to try to cover ass with a matriarchal society. Couldn't they, you know, show us that men aren't hated? I mean, alright the lecture about vampire society being matriarchal was fine, and certainly explained the obsession with strong women. Okay. So show us the non-male hate.
Which is the other thing. We're told about how important the Sons of Night are and whatnot, except that we hear virtually nothing about them. There's only one who is given any sort of significance, and that's only because he's the love interest. Granted the Dark Daughters are bitches, but we're given all sorts of information about them and their history and their group's customs. So for all of the talk on how the Sons of Dark are just as loved and respected, they still are more or less ignored.
The same goes for the teachers. There are, to the extent of my knowledge, two male teachers. One is the fencing teacher and the other is the poetry teacher. All we hear about the poetry teacher is that it's so unusual for him to hold such a prestigious position in vampire society for his poetry, because he's male. The fencing teacher, you might note, fits perfectly in that "protector and consort" rule and thus no one goes on about how odd it is for him to be so skilled in his job.
This is especially interesting if you were to flip the genders and say "Oh, just because we're patriarchal doesn't mean that we don't value women! Far from it, we see women as important homemakers and wives!" and then treat it as unusual that a woman holds a position of importance.
Now, I'm sure one could argue "But that's the point of a matriarchal society, isn't it?" Except, it ties into a vampire beef of mine, which I first realized when reading one of Meyer's quotes about her vampires. It's the one where she tries to excuse them eating people. One of the things she brings up as to why most vampires aren't willing to stick with a "vegetarian" diet is that most are from the Days of Yore and aren't used to the idea of having enough food that they can be choosy about what they eat. That made me wonder, what is up with vampires that don't progress? Just because someone's from an old time and doesn't age doesn't mean their opinions and view of the world doesn't change.
The same goes for this. From what I understand, this vampire society has been matriarchal for centuries. As noted above, it could arguably be seen as a gender-flipped version of our own society. Except...look at today. Even if one argues that western civilization is still patriarchal at heart, women still have a very strong role in it. Women can hold public office or obtain prestigious titles be seen as something other than an accessory to men. So what, has nothing like that happened in vampire society?
And yes, I realize that the above could all just be nitpicking, but like I said, it just annoys me that the Cast ladies have to sit us down and tell us that the vampire society is just happy-happy-happy when it comes to gender roles. And I only can assume that they are happy, because never once in this book do we see any instance of a man wishing he could be seen as more than a "protector and consort".
*shakes head* Okay then. Sorry about that rant. We get the rest of class glossed over, except for Zoey to go on about how awesomesauce it was, and Neferet calls Zoey over. She asks if Zoey's doing fine and pats her head more or less and makes sure that Damien will walk her to Drama class (no, thank God, Damien does not take Drama). She also makes sure that Aphrodite invited Zoey to the Dark Daughters ritual and goes on about how it's such a classy group and such an honor to be invited already, blah, blah, blah. Also, Zoey remembers that she hasn't thought of her grandmother, mother, Heath, or any of her old friends since she got there. Yeah, keep that in mind for later.
We get more talk from Damien about how Omniscient and Mysterious the High Priestess and adult vampires in general are, before Stevie Rae catches up. The Casts showing off their Google-fu skills by having Zoey go on about how interesting it was that Amazon's cut off their right breast to keep it from getting in the way (what, wasn't that a silly human misconception?) and Stevie Rae gets all pouty over how flat-chested she is. Damien does to. Oy.
Onward to Drama class Zoey goes, and yes, the Texan-born teacher still has a heavy twang. Thankfully that's the only sort of stereotype she has going on, so yeah. Zoey sits next to the Elizabeth girl, because when in doubt, "It never hurts to sit next to a smart kid".
It turns out that they're all going to be picking monologues to perform, but first they're having a guest come in to perform a monologue from Othello for them (and of course Shakespeare was a vampire. Of course). And then the guest speaker comes in to reveal...
"the most gorgeous young lad I had ever seen. He was tall and had dark hair that did that adorably perfect Superman curl thing. His eyes were an amazing sapphire blue and…
Oh. Hell! Hell! Hell! It was the guy from the hall"
ZeldaQueen: Of course. I think everyone knew this was catching up sooner or later.
So the guy's name is Erik "Music Of The" Night and he won this huge monologue contest in London and played Tony in West Side Story. I would like to state for the record that a monologue from Othello and having the lead in a Romeo and Juliet adaptation is not a good way to foreshadow a relationship.
So Erik goes up to the front of the room and is actually very friendly and relaxed and starts giving tips on giving good monologue. And of course, we're beaten over the head with how he just keeps staring at Zoey and delivering the monologue from Act 1, Scene 3, where Othello and Desdemona announce that they're married to Desdemona's father. Zoey spends the entire time feeling all hot and dizzy and just as lightheaded as when she smelled Heath's blood before.
Erik goes to leave, though not before staring at Zoey some more, and everyone goes searching through all of the monologue books they've been provided with. Elizabeth turns to Zoey and immediately starts going on about how hot Erik is. Yes folks, that's all anyone talks about that guy. It really is a shame, because he is a pretty nice guy. But nope, all we get about Erik is how hawt he is. And now I'm so annoyed, I'm repeating myself. I'm sorry. Anyway, keep this all in mind for later.
Zoey asks if Erik has a girlfriend and Elizabeth goes on about how no he doesn't, though rumor had it that he and Aphrodite used to hook up. Elizabeth then formally introduces herself to Zoey and we get something interesting - apparently Elizabeth's real last name was "Titsworth", which she didn't want to keep, but she didn't know what new last name she wanted so she just goes by "Elizabeth" with no last name at all. Zoey mentally notes how many odd kids there are there, which is rich coming from little Miss "I've been blessed by a Goddess".
Elizabeth does nothing but harp on about how Erik was staring at Zoey, before mentioning how cool her colored-in Mark is. And the rest of the chapter is just Zoey going on about how she just couldn't understand why a guy like Erik would be into a chick like her and he probably was just staring at her Mark and did she really want a guy who was getting blown by Aphrodite and it probably means nothing and...yeah. I think we all know where this is going
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Onward to: Chapter 13
Back to: Chapter 11
Back to: Table of Contents