Under a Starless Sky novel Chapter 81

Valkyries and the Amazon Women from Wonder Woman Lore may have been one and the same. There were several distinctions. They were bald, or with military styled haircuts. They were warriors first, and they weren’t going to be brought down by ‘hair pulling.’ Some wore wigs, and apparently the wigs were employed in a fighting style- someone grabs the wig, it comes off, and that surprise was used to the Valkyries’ advantaged. They did not wear the wigs to appease the expectation of men or make themselves feel good about their femininity; if they wore a wig at all, it was simply a ploy to placate other women into complacency.

These Valkyries were physically aggressive; their word ‘playful.’ Though they could populate the pages of any self-respecting, male serving, hard core anime- they were not the Earth’s ideal, stereotypical male oriented sex goddesses. They were playful in a confident way that also denoted their intelligence. They chose their partners. They chose the where, the when, and the how. They knew themselves. They did not fake orgasms. They could care less if the man was satisfied, which was a result of knowing their bodies first. It was their knowledge, their unwavering dedication to do what worked for them with the expectation that their partners would comply with their wants, which made them seem on the whole unreasonable- from the perspective of a culture that emphasized male pleasure first. They were not dainty. They were not snowflakes. They were champions.

The Valkyries weren’t there a month and Orton’s normal lament of not being able to have sex had flipped to there was no where he could go to avoid being molested. Both Shen and Loxy were amused. Loxy reminded Shen of a book he had read, ‘The Pleasure Gap: American Women and the Unfinished Sexual Revolution,’ by Katherine Rowland and how the Valkyries here modeled as the ideal, confident, non-traumatized woman. They were women that had been afforded the opportunity to explore sexuality from a non-economic, socially contrived artifact- women who could explore sexuality without body shame or fear. They arrived at their place of knowing at their own rate, likely- Shen and Loxy were speculating on this point- by a culture that had sexological body-workers, or sexual guides who facilitated self-knowledge through a somatic approach to sexual understanding. Someone who would take the time, options for hands on or not, by allowing a person to say ‘no,’ and honoring that, while at the same time exploring the ‘why’ about the no, while also exploring where the individual’s ‘yes’ lie.

The concept of a sexual guide, or a sexual surrogate, also brought into their conversations the ethic quandary. There was a vast need in origin for surrogates and guides, and the need for hands on approach to teaching- but the origin world was so heavily regulated, necessarily so because of the high potential for abuse, that any sort of work that approached this knowledge was taboo.

“I wonder if this is also an aspect of how the male has dominated sex,” Shen said. Even the movement of clothing could be a stimulant. Any visual cue that triggered a reaction, and there were lots of involuntary reaction throughout a man’s day, coupled with clothing that restricted or inspired direction, things just escalated in such a way that men either had to suppress or follow through. “Men just naturally fall to feeling on themselves because their equipment is so exposed, and so they figure out pretty fast what to do, and there is an assumption that all people can do this on their own.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Loxy said. “The reasons for origin’s situation is definitely more complicated than it needs to be, but one only needs to look at all the cultures through anthropological lens to realize there are many ways to address this.”

“Sexual healing,” Shen said. “Like what we have done, you has a Dakini practitioner.”

“We could practice here, I suppose, as the women were not victimized or damaged by the social constraint women are placed on our origin world, Then again, we have evidence the role as flipped; engaging a male would be seen as claiming property,” Loxy said. “What is a world like where the men are property and have no rights? Oh, the power plays that would ensue, men puffing up to impress. Well, here we are.”

“Does it seem to you as if everywhere we go, we’re learning about sex?” Shen asked.

“You’re not healed yet, either,” Loxy said.

“Because I refused to sleep in the barracks as a kid?” Shen asked.

“No. I honor that. Jon, I honor your ability to say no. I also appreciate you didn’t go to war over that point, as you recognized this is not origin. I do wonder if there was a way to have communicated that and remained a part of the society,” Loxy said. “You were alone for a long time.”

“How can I be alone when I have you?” Shen asked.

Loxy hugged him by causing his clothing to restrict.

Shen went for a walk beyond the castle wall. The Valkyries did not want him going alone and was redirected back inside. His wives were in agreement with their decision. Arne did not want him walking alone.

“I am never alone,” Shen reminded them.

“You can pace the inner walls then,” Jerica said.

Shen frowned. “Okay, I need to be alone to experience the company of trees.”

“You can take an escort of Valkyries,” Jerica said.

“We can be invisible to you,” one of the potential guards said. Her name was Imly.

“I will go with you,” Arne said. “But not invisible. I could use a walk with trees myself.”

“And I,” Orton said. “Please.”

“There has been no evidence of aggression,” Shen said. “I think I can go for a walk to visit my trees and my friend ghosts.”

“It takes a while for people to mobilize for war,” Imly said. “And even when they are ready, they will bid their time in order to keep the advantage of surprise. They are no doubt employing Seers to discover patterns.”

“And our psychic spies are watching them. Who cares?” Shen said.

“We care,” Ásdís said. “You can comply with our expectations, or go to your room.”

“So much for being a grown ass man,” Shen mumbled.

“What was that?” Jerica asked.

“I am not a child,” Shen said.

“Then act like it,” Jerica said.

So the walk was arranged through compromise. The price of living with folks, Loxy said in his private ear. ‘Yeah,’ Shen said. ‘I should have just been content living with you and the ghosts.’ ‘Are you kidding, I had you jumping through all sorts of hoops.’ ‘I like those hoops.’

Arne hit his arm. He had learned the signs. “You go to be alone, and yet you continue to converse with ghosts.”

“She is part of my process,” Shen said.

Arne nodded. He, too, had a process and inner dialogue. Aslog had noted the change in him. One of the biggest changes was that he no longer had a drive to explore the physical world and be gone- the inner worlds had become his preferred paths for wandering. He was home, physically, but still gone. Shen taught them ways to be more present with each other, and gentle ways to call him back that did not result in a startled response. Another difference was he resisted the Valkyries. He was content with life with Aslog and his inner world; his ‘no’ came with authority and the Valkyries honored that.