Author's Afterword: Coda and Reprise

In a conversation with FrancesOsgood in 2014, we discovered that we had both seen a fantastic episode of Great Performances starring Kiri Te Kawana in the title role of Barbara Willis Sweete's film The Sorceress. One particular startling and highly evocative image in that film is the beautiful kidnapped prince, Ruggerio, being lifted onto a high polygonal pedestal as the Sorceress, Alcina, has him stripped of his mortal clothing by her magical servants and re-dressed, as the pedestal revolves, in clothing that matches Alcina's own. It is a frankly erotic moment, one that frames a woman's desire as active and powerful, and the man's receipt of that desire as passive and receptive, in a reversal of the usual order of sexual objectification and sexual desire.

As we talked about that imagery, I challenged FrancesOsgood to write a story centered around that image, one that could incorporate her considerable talent for poetry. She ran with the idea and efficiently published her excellent story "Seven," which you can find on this site.

As for me, I quickly grew jealous at having to watch all the fun but not participating myself. I banged out quite a few chapters, following Fanny's lead, but eventually became dissatisfied with the story I was telling. I abandoned the story, nearly finished, in 2014, and it languished until Nov. 2016, when I finally felt I had a clear vision and direction for what ended up being a rather gruesome tale. I understood in a rush in October 2016 that this is the story of Jareth's trial for rape. Witnesses testify, evidence is produced, and sentencing is carried out—not by an outsider, but by the accused himself.

This is the darkest piece of writing I've ever done. I'm not comfortable with it, but I found it very satisfying to write. When Sarah rocks the dybbuk-box to sleep, exhausted and crying, she is symbolically tending not Jareth but her own trauma. Trauma is a thing that victims have to tend, whether or not they want to. It takes so much of the victim's energy and substance, just like an infant child might, but without providing the compensating joys of motherhood. Eventually, though, the trauma grows up and leaves, only coming back to remind you it exists, sporadically taking over a small corner of your life like a college kid coming back for the holidays and doing a semester's worth of their laundry in your basement.

One of the oldest story themes in this fandom is sex and power. How not, when the movie drips with it? Very talented writers have taken up this idea and produced stories in which Jareth coerces Sarah into sex—she is often able to maintain her autonomy by finding pleasure in his attentions. And then there are the rare handful of stories where Sarah's rape is a premise, and the plot is about Sarah's revenge. Rape is wrong, but some of those power-inequity or BDSM stories are just so hot. Narratives informed by a political message are intellectually comforting, but propaganda can be as irritating as a dry hump. I didn't particularly plan to write either kind of story, but this is the story that happened, so I ran with it. There is a lot of rape in this story, most of it sexy. But there's also a victim who successfully brings justice to her rapist, and does so in a way that seems fair to her, and ultimately to the man she's condemned.

And then there's David Bowie. *drags on cigarette* Shit.

A few days after the initial shock of his death passed, I read accounts of how Bowie, ascending to the first heights of fame at 25, had deflowered the then-fifteen-year-old Lori Maddox. I was not entirely surprised. In Labyrinth, Bowie is 37 and Jennifer Connelly is a nubile 15, and the sexual tension between the two actors and the characters they play is the dynamo that has generated this fandom's enduring power. Still, it isn't easy to hear that an artist who's laid the foundation of your own art has (maybe probably definitely) done something truly awful. The only way for me to be at peace with Bowie's actions is to listen to Lori Maddox and what she says. Maddox speaks of her first sexual experience as beautiful, a wonderful memory that she'll treasure forever. Most fifteen-year-olds in Maddox's position aren't nearly so lucky. So Bowie dodged a bullet. Not a legal one; a moral one.

I don't have it in me to blindly worship my personal gods. David Bowie was an amazing artist. And also this: he was reckless with his sexuality in his youth, and he hurt people with it. One thing doesn't erase the other. There is, however, a balance. When I weigh his life, the good and the bad, I find the scales tip favor of pardoning him. You, of course, must make your own judgements in his case, and forgive, condemn, or punish as you believe appropriate. It only makes a difference to you; I don't think it matters to him anymore.

The following are the sources used to compose this story, listed in order of the inspiration they provided.

The Sorceress (1993): Directed by Barbara Willis Sweete, with music by Handel. The sorceress Alcina summons her guests to her underground, serpentine kingdom, and seduces Prince Ruggerio with her beautiful voice. I borrowed visual elements of this film, which can be found on YouTube, to set my stage inside the dybbuk-box.

"The Dybbuk-Box:" You can read about the real so-called "dybbuk-box" on Wikipedia. It should be noted that a "dybbuk" is a malicious ghost and not an inhuman demon or even a Lilith-demon as I've used here. However, in Jewish folklore, it is women who most often interact with dybbuks, facing them, consumed by them, defying them, and entering into a form of specifically feminine spiritual power by those interactions.

The Possession (2012): This horror movie uses the "dybbuk box" as a container for a malicious spirit. In the film, the dybbuk-box contains a mirror. According to the rabbi who assists the family in crisis, this is so the evil spirit must confront the face of its own evil, as part of its punishment. While the film doesn't capitalize on this idea, I found it useful to think of Jareth's purgatory as an endless mirror of his own bad deeds.

"The Devil's Dancefloor" and "Divorce Proceedings" by TheRealEatsShootsAndLeaves: These two short stories in the Labyrinth canon were inspirational to me. In the former, the audience is asked to question whether or not Jareth can be judged guilty of hurting Sarah, if it is Sarah's wish to be hurt. In the latter, Sarah gets some dark and gritty revenge on her abusive husband.

"The Witching Hour" by FrancesOsgood: I always go back to FrancesOsgood in a pinch. In this story, Jareth entraps and imprisons Sarah after she makes an unconscious wish. Terrible sorrow ensues.

"Toby's Wish" by HyborianQueen: More tasty Dark!Jareth. The story is so excellently constructed that I don't want to give anything away. However, one note that rang out to me when I was writing this story was an attempt to bind a rapacious and frightening Jareth by appealing to "his own good conscience." That's devastating.

The Babadook (2014): This horror movie, about a demon who, once summoned, can never be banished, is a metaphor for the grieving process and for healing from trauma. I liked the idea that trauma can never be fully exorcised, only quieted and tended. I lifted that idea for this story.

"The Return of the Thin White Duke" (2015) by Neil Gaiman, illustrations by Yoshitaka Amano: Gaiman writes the best fanfiction, I swear. In this story, the Thin White Duke (and one can easily read "Thin White Duke" for "Goblin King") is confronted by a dark lady who entraps him in her kingdom until he sings songs of truth for her. It sounds familiar, but it's probably a matter of coincidence what these two stories have in common. And if not, I owe Gaiman so much that I don't begrudge him a thing. Illustrations by Yoshitaka Amano: you will find one used as the cover image of this story.

The Good Place (2016): In this NBC comedy series, a truly awful woman is sent to Heaven due to clerical error. She is tutored in 'goodness' by a doctor of ethics and human morality. She most definitely does not want to go to The Bad Place. As a reviewer on the AV Club mentioned, though, one question we ought to ask is if it's right for finite and earthly evil to be paid out with infinite and eternal punishment. I've made Jareth's Hell finite and limited in this story as a result.

There are probably more influences than I can count any time I write, so forgive me if I've left out something obvious. And as per usual, thank you for your readership and the help and feedback you've given me. Goodnight.