I was going to make this week’s post a writing-focused one, mainly about creating worlds with magic/fantasy elements as a non-fantasy writer, but it’s been kind of draining week here in the US, and since I’m already late getting any kind of update out on schedule, I figured we’d shelve that for the next time. Instead, I’m going to talk briefly (one can only hope…) about some personal thoughts related to the recent presidential election, and because I know that’s heavy, round out this one with some levity—giving you my God’s Wife books/characters as headlines from the satirical publication The Onion. So, if you just want to read those, you can skip down to that part, but if you read the first part too, thank you for your time.

I usually try not to be too personal here: admittedly, partly for safety, but also because I presume that’s even less interesting to all of you than some of the more esoteric topics I talk about. However, you are equally aware that if it is somehow relevant, I haven’t refrained from mentioning personal details (that’s how a lot of you know about things like my WNY roots and my vendetta against Mark Twain). Those of you who have been here for most of the past four years might even remember back when I mentioned having a husband—which might be a surprise to later-comers who’ve heard me talk about trips with my wife. What I have not previously felt necessary to spell out to you, my audience of semi-strangers, is that those are the same person.

I met my wife in college and we’ve been married for sixteen years, thirteen of those years as a hetero-presenting couple. But in 2021, she came to me and admitted that she was struggling with gender dysphoria and thought she might be transgender. I am forever honored that she felt comfortable enough to tell me this, rather than fearing my reaction more than listening to her own heart. Despite never considering my own orientation as any except straight, unlike many women who have (validly) had trouble accepting this about a spouse they believed to be a man, I can honestly tell you that I didn’t experience even a moment of hesitation about staying in my marriage. For reasons we have struggled to articulate to each other, let alone anyone else, she and I were certain about the nature of our relationship absurdly early on in it. Three, maybe four months into dating, we knew that we were going to get married, but we put off getting engaged until it had been a year just for the optics, so people didn’t think we were rushing any more than they probably already did. And we’ve never looked back. When she told me that she had realized she was a woman, all I saw was the same person, the same soul I had fallen in love with, and I found it just didn’t matter (to me and my conception of self and our relationship; obviously it is important). I don’t think that makes me especially brave or empathetic, it’s just how this felt for me. Because I had never considered being in a same-sex relationship, because I didn’t think of myself as gay or bisexual, I don’t know if she and I would have found each other any other way than this. And the thought of being in the timeline where we aren’t together is horrifying to me. If we were meant to be, and I think we are, then this is who she was meant to be all along and this was always meant to happen this way. And if we as a species can be said to have a purpose in this world, I think love is the only purpose that truly elevates us, and I cannot see this love that is so incredibly extraordinary and mundane at the same time as cursed or sinful. I just cannot do it.

It is because of this fragile, precious love that I cannot simply brush off the very public, very vitriolic stance of the conservative collective in the US against transgender liberation as just political grandstanding, or just a private religious opinion. I do not live in a reliably progressive enough state for that—and it hurts knowing that I love Pittsburgh as much as I do, but recognizing that if the state government flips back to the Republicans, we might have to leave (and we are extremely fortunate that we even have that as an option). These politicians and organizations think my wife and our love are at best, a choice, and at worst, an abomination against God. They want to deny her access to transgender healthcare, they would like to keep her from existing in public authentically, and yes, some would genuinely like to kill her as a supposedly dangerous pervert. They and the very conservative synod of the Lutheran church that married us would also probably like to dissolve our marriage—if doing so didn’t involve having to acknowledge that my wife is “really” a woman. And even as a cis white woman, the most powerful of the underclass groups in our society, nothing has made me more aware of my power limitations than the helplessness I’ve felt when I realize that I might not be able to protect her from some, if not all, of these forces. Her being trans hasn’t put any stress on our relationship…but other people’s fear and hatred certainly have.

I don’t know if I have a particular point that I’m trying to make here, I would just like to give a glimpse to those of you who perhaps don’t know a transgendered person of what our lives are like, and that trans folks are just, you know, people. She has an office job and I write my weird little (big) books, and we are generally pretty boring. There are so many aspects of being transgender that even my wife, the person I’m closest to in the world, can’t explain to me, but that’s okay. I don’t have to understand everything, I just have to empathize and see it as a part of the wonderful spectrum of human experience. Like engaging with people of all other kinds of backgrounds, I see this as opportunity, not just to meet a more authentic (lighter, happier) version of the person I love, but to understand more about myself. What could be better?

Okay, that’s my bit. Now for some absolute (non-exhaustive) nonsense…

The God’s Wife: ‘I Would Be Absolutely Perfect For This,’ Report 1,400 People Looking At Same Job Posting
Arsinoë: Area Woman Not Listened To Again
Cleopatra: Wife Dropping Hints She Ready To Have Second Husband
Ptolemy: Nation’s Older Brothers Recommend Not Being Such A Little Bitch
Cleopatra/Ptolemy: Couple Decide They’re Better Off As Siblings
Ptah: Child Assumed He’d Probably Get Abducted By Guy Like This
Julius Caesar: Cool Guy Kept Up All Night By Intrusive Memories Of All The Times He Was Awesome
Mudjet: Weird, Area Woman Wasn’t Harassed Today
Kharmion: Maid Of Honor Specifically Selected For Ability To Take Emotional Beating
Apollodorus: Study Finds Expressing Anger In Unhealthy Ways Actually Incredibly Satisfying
Achillas: Man Tentatively Takes Shot At Bad-Mouthing Girlfriend’s Family For First Time
Cicero: Man Pledges To Be Better Listened To
Mark Antony: God Help Him, But Area Man Loves That Crazy Bitch
Augustus: Recently Divorced Man Understands Working Through Emotions Might Take 2 To 3 Days

Daughter of Eagles: Report: That Whole Side Of Family Just Like That
Aetia: I’m Just A Free Spirit Who Is Entirely Financially Dependent On Others
Girah: Nation Leery Of Very Odd Little Boy
Livia Drusilla: Stepmom Doesn’t Expect Kids To Call Her Stupid Bitch Right Away
Aetia/Augustus: Brother, Sister Have Pretty Good Chemistry
Augustus/Livia: Parents Can’t Believe How Bad Daughter Is At Being Raised By Them
Vergilius: Depression Symptom Checklist Speaking To Area Man As No Poem Ever Could
Horatius: Thank You Note Loses Thread By Second Sentence
Ovidius: Woman Confusingly Tells Area Man She’s Not Interested In Him
Propertius: Recovering Sex Addict Assures Friends They Can Still Fuck Around Him
Anni: Area Woman Judges Everything By Whether It's Cute
Antonia: Area Woman Said ‘Sorry’ 118 Times Yesterday
Lucius Calpurnius: Man Flirting With Girl At Party Can’t Wait To Be Informed She Has Boyfriend
Julia Augusti: Area Woman Didn't Say That; You Said That
Marcellus: Just A Quick Heads-Up, I’m Being Radicalized
Julia/Marcellus: Couple’s Shared Interests Stop At Being Straight
Tiberius: Unpopular Kid Having Trouble Fitting In At Home
Octavia: ‘I Don’t Love You Anymore And I’m Taking The Kids’ Talk Goes Surprisingly Well
Agrippa: Man Doesn’t Mind Long Commute Because It Gives Him Extra Time To Listen To Voice In Head Saying He Can’t Keep Living Like This
Domitius Ahenobarbus: Area Man Nervously Asks Girlfriend If She’ll Settle
Maecenas: Coin Collector Has Some Pretty Fucking Nice Coins
Terentia: Woman In Giddy Honeymoon Stage Of Hating Someone New

Children of Actium: Group Of Friends Engage In Passionate, Incoherent Discussion About Current Events
Aetia: Area Woman Morbidly Fit
Gaius: Man On Date Ready For Question About Siblings This Time
Dru: Report: Some People Actually Very Happy
Augustus: Aging Father Struggling To Keep Family’s Personal Failings Straight
Ovidius: Boss Wouldn’t Be Such A Jerk If He Knew About Negative Depiction In Employee’s Unpublished Novel
Julius Caesar: His Holiness Has Repeatedly Stated This Is Not A Cult
Livia Drusilla: Woman At Breaking Point In Marriage To Give Relationship Until End Of Her Life
Julia Augusti: Slightly Upset Woman Declared Insane
Tiberius: Study Finds All-Consuming Self-Pity Best Way To Win Back Ex-Partner
Antonia: Friend’s Facebook Status Hints At Fact That Being Wife A Prison From Which She Can Never Be Free
Claudia: Report: Your Father Probably Out With One Of His Whores Tonight
Claudius: Report: Friend Has Been Going By Middle Name This Whole Fucking Time
Julilla: Area Woman's Type Tall, Athletic Men Who Have Already Hurt Her
Livilla: Area Woman Thinking About Doing That Thing Where She’s Mean To Other Women She Meets For No Reason
Sejanus: Dating Profile Flatly States Man Looking For Someone He Can Control
Gnaeus Ahenobarbus: Grocery Store Bar Actually Has Great Little Happy Hour, Reports Man With A Serious Problem
Juba: Man Deftly Downplays His Neighborhood To Coworker Thinking Of Moving There
Cossus Lentulus: Middle-Aged Man In Gym Locker Room Puts Shirt On Before Underwear
Assur-Tahu: Seriously, Ladies, There Have Been Noise Complaints
Varus: Man Unaware All His Friends Think Of Him When They Want To Put Things Into Perspective

And as a bonus, a pretty good FoV list…

The Flight of Virtue: Nation Could Really Use A Few Days Where It Isn’t Gripped By Something
Theo: Stressed-Out 8-Year-Old Looks 12
Sally: Work Friend Accidentally Becomes Real Friend
Jean Lafitte: Middle Schooler Can’t Wait To See Which Teachers Got Breasts Over Summer Break
Aaron Burr: Report: Dad Proud Of You; He Won't Say It, But It's True
Thomas Jefferson: Man Under Mistaken Impression He His Own Harshest Critic
Gilbert de Lafayette: Man’s Ironclad Grasp Of Issue Can Withstand 2 Follow-Up Questions
Joseph Fouché: Area Man Will Always Remember This As The Summer He Lived Life Normally And Everyone Was Mad At Him
Mary Wollstonecraft: Woman Still Holding Onto Hope That Toxic Friendship Could Blossom Into A Toxic Relationship
Pierre Lafitte: Broad-Shouldered Man Could Carry 7, No, 9 Whole Parrots
Gilbert Imlay: Area Man Afraid Some Woman Might Come Out Of The Woodwork To Hold Him Accountable For Something
James Monroe: Man Wishes There Was Some Sort Of Sign He Could Put On His House To Let Visitors Know He Has Gone Fishing
Elizabeth Monroe: Woman Angered When Veiled Anger Expressed As Mock Anger Is Interpreted As Real Anger
Thomas Paine: Audience Member Has Perfect 9-Minute Question For Speaker
Paul Barras: Area Man Considers Self Ally To Women Unless They Threaten His Status In Literally Any Way
Joséphine de Beauharnais: Area Woman To Get By On Looks For Six More Years
Thérésa Tallin: Girlfriend Changes Man Into Someone She's Not Interested In
Napoleon: Man Always Self-Sabotaging By Working To The Best Of His Ability
Mme. Chauvinac: Town Hag Getting In Pretty Good Day Of Shaking Jangly Bell-Covered Stick While Pointing And Screaming ‘You Will Die!’
Angelica Church: Woman Relieved Soulmate Turned Out To Be In Same Socioeconomic Bracket
Maximilien Robespierre: Boss Encourages Employees To Take Short Mental Breakdowns For Every Hour Of Work
Lazare Carnot: Man Trying To Get Out Of Executioner Duty
Antoine Saint-Just: ‘They’ll Know What I Mean,’ Says Man Putting ‘Goofball’ In Tinder Profile After Forgetting Word For Psychopath
Auguste Robespierre: Report: Ground Still Least Desirable Surface For Breaking Fall
Lebas: Man Really Letting No One Have It During Exit Interview
The Committee of Public Safety: Majority Of Office’s Supplies Used To Apply For Different Job