#laura the polite naive one
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Smth smth kid au
#hellsing#alucard#sir integra#seras victoria#pip bernadotte#laura chastel#hellsing oc#my oc#my art#babycard au#kinda?#vlad is here#vlad the brooding asshole#seras the punisher#laura the polite naive one#pip the crybaby#and integra the normal one (who killed her uncle)
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It’s really not, though. Sebald and Cusk are boring! Autofiction is boring! Knausgaard? Boring! I read 20 pages of an Annie Ernaux book and do you know what? It was boring! Thin anhedonic slices of life rendered in stilted translationese? No thanks! Why not make up a crazy and symbolic story and dramatize it in incendiary language, the way non-boring writers like Cormac McCarthy and Toni Morrison do? And when did this dour Germanism become a model for Anglophone writers, we heirs of Shakespeare and Dickens, of Melville and Faulkner?
The objection is not to autobiographical inspiration, or to the everyday as subject matter. The objection is to the tepid self-hatred that regards representation—the inventive recreation of the world in words—as naive, with a pointed implication of political regress. Realists “belong to the 20th century”—as if anything as important as aesthetics or ethics could be decided by a glance at the calendar. The realists, when you read them, are never as naive as reputed—Stendhal and George Eliot, practically postmodernists back in the 19th century, both liked to invent pastiche epigraphs to the chapters of their novels—nor did the first wave of modernists think they were. Joyce revered Defoe, Ibsen, Tolstoy. Woolf called Tolstoy “the greatest of all novelists,” she proclaimed Middlemarch “the only English novel written for grown-up people,” and she finally pronounced, “Our quarrel is not with the classics.”
Ironically, I suspect this whole faulty way of thinking got carried out of the misguided Euro-radical tradition into English by one of my own teachers, Colin MacCabe. His cohort of British academic renegades, the self-styled “Class of ’68,” translating the French who translated the Germans, pressed the Brechtian aesthetics of Barthes and Althusser onto radical academe, with the most notorious effect felt in film studies via Laura Mulvey’s Platonic censure of cinematic pleasure.
According to this theory, an artwork that does not immediately and self-punitively announce itself as an artwork à la Brecht’s alienation effect is politically suspect, because it attempts with its “reality effect” (per Barthes) to fool the people with the bourgeois illusion of unmediated representation. The people, however, still need guidance, just not from artists, whose only real job in this regime is artfully to abolish themselves. Artists place themselves under the mandate of political commissars, who alone may legitimately govern the polis because they alone possess the correct theory to do so.
Marxism, as we’ve seen here already, is not what it appears to be. Rather than leaping into the revolutionary future, it is a throwback to Plato’s Republic. It empowers the ancient and immemorial clerisy, now guised as tribunes of the oppressed, to seize back power from the middle classes who made modernity, very much including its independent writers, themselves no longer dependent on church and state. None of which is to say that literature automatically benefits from the market—this can put debilitating pressures of its own on the arts—only that the alternatives are, if anything, worse. The market may ignore or seduce you, but church and state can kill you.
Brigid Brophy, in an amusingly severe LRB review of MacCabe’s pioneering poststructuralist monograph on Joyce, cannily intuited something of this caste-atavism inhering in the “Class of ’68” project:
Indeed, for a critic who purports to think in political terms and who cites the ‘traditional Marxist definition of a practice’ when he discusses the activity of writing, he is weak on economic relationships. He doesn’t mention the respect in which Joyce was truly a counter-revolutionary: he reversed the tendency, which had been increasing from the 17th century on, for writers to depend not on private patronage but on the public. It is at least worth considering the effect on a writer’s writing of the source of his income. Perhaps some 20th-century writers have striven to express themselves comprehensibly enough for a mass public, and others to write incomprehensibly enough to satisfy the avant-garde expectations of a patron. After all, it might really just not have done, in the eyes of Joyce’s financial supports (a Rockefeller daughter and Harriet Weaver), had Joyce’s imagination eventually come up with an indubitable masterpiece but a masterpiece on the lines of, say, Treasure Island.
But why go to Brophy? By the beginning of the 21st century, MacCabe himself publicly conceded that
what came with this position was the full panoply of Leninism, and in particular the notion of the party as the union of theory and practice, which would transform and liberate the world. It is no part of my purpose today to analyze Leninism; suffice it to say that it is now my opinion that it was the most disastrous and evil of the fruits of German idealist philosophy and that its contribution to history—from its slaughter of the most advanced and progressive capitalist class in Europe, to the formation of fascist parties in both imitation and opposition to Bolshevism, to its perversion of Third World liberation struggles according to the tenets of Stalinism—was overwhelmingly negative.
And Sebald, we should remember, himself belonged to “the class of ’68,” began as a Marxist academic, and likely understood his own work in exactly these terms. Which is why such work is, as I exclaimed at the outset, boring. They aren’t stories, they aren’t poems, they aren’t songs, they aren’t dreams. They’re sermons.
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hmmm
obvioously ive got no idea whats about to happen. but sorry. im on tom zareks side in so much of this. kind of rolling my eyes a bit at the show itself in some senses. bc again. idk what happens. sigh. but its obvious that zareks being pitched, by the show, as someone to be "against" - not to be so reductive about it, but yeah.
bc frankly like... everything hes saying? no offence. i completely fucking agree with. am i being insane. am i. someone else soundboard me here. bc, like please- a terrorist, sure, they keep overstating that but... also one from saggitaron, an extremely exploited colony, and thats what he was fighting for in the first place
and not to mention that everything he's advocated for, thus far... i agree with. the prisoners being used, like slaves- dont "its a hard choice, but one we have to make" me, bc its still wrong to have to fucking earn your freedom, jesus christ. even if, yes, humanity is on the god damn line.
AND we never see the actual civillians in the damn show-and thats sth thats actually frustrated me, thus far. but hes ALSO right about them. is now maybe the best time for total change? arguable. but like- also sorry but im onboard with dismantling whatever fucking system is in-place, if that system is presumabaly analogous to our own. hes right. i mean im kind of fuckin confused, bc again theyre not showing us much- but theres no money?? and some people are still living "as wealthy" whilst some are still labouring? sorry??? but yeah- fuckin yeah that needs to be addressed
like it would ANYWAY. the inequality would ANYWAY ofc. but like if theyre seriously having to build a new livelihood here then fuckin... GOD i dont know i dont think its mad or irrational to be pushing for that
AND no matter the results... whilst i do kind of yield, and recognise in a time of crisis a strong leader is kind of important, and shes made good decisions, its STILL not crazy to want fucking elections. i dont know. call me crazy lol im in the uk and we havent had the chance to choose a damn leader for a hot second. but like laura wasnt... anywhere near qualified to be the president. she wasnt elected by anyone, for anything, and calling for a damn vote isnt some extremist madness.
and i guess you can say this is all naive- that hes only advocating for this, to be in power himself- but... so is laura? like shes holding onto her position so she can do what she thinks is right; so she can exercise power. fucking SHRUG. whats the damn difference there? and shes the one with the upperhand right now. and dont get me wrong- i like laura and the decisions shes made genereally speaking but again... a) not crazy to want an elected leader and b) not crazy to question how shes handling civilian side of things bc we barely see that at all
and i think thats where i am eyerolling HARD at this show bc again idk. i EXPECTED this. but again. being reductive, but also its hard not to be because like- zareks being depicted as the antagonistic force here, and laura as the rational one, as one of our protags and its like... i dont MIND a difference of opinion playing out in front of me, you know, nor do i need my own political inclinations to align wholly with a show BUT... my point is its kinda exhausting the way they do kind of act like what zarek is saying is crazy and the show itself isnt challenging laura herself on THESE issues in particular when its justified. like they do with other hard decisions shes made but with some of this really not so much
and another thing was like similarly... they narratively justified it, by having that guy get apprehended as an assassin in the end, but also like... lee was making me suck my teeth this episode and groan. like seriously. stepping in and strongarming civillians in full on cop mode. i dont fucking like it dude. like when those two ppl were having a disagreement, and he sided against one guy despite the fact they had exhibited the same level of aggression with each other, bc that guy aligned with his own beliefs, and then exercised his power to threaten the other guy- yeah sorry again to be that guy but like... be for realll lee. and again i wouldnt be MAD that hed do that, in terms of a character decision, but again its like- obviously its in framing, yeah?
and this whole thing yes- WELL IT IS ALL VERY SILLY OF ME TO GET TOO IRRITATED, I MEAN PLEASE. THEYRE THE FUCKING MILITARY. THE ENTIRE MAIN CAST IS THE MILITARY. im not going into this expecting my own opinions to always be resonant here - and i wouldnt wiht any show. thats as equally braindead to expect that. but nonetheless man. its still one of those things im gonna bitch and moan about when it grates me in a particularly annoying way LOL bc like again. shru
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Okay, so Laura Bailey came for my whole brain last night when she confirmed that a character she plays, Tohru Honda, has played a pivotal part in her life and subconsciously in building Jester and I want to talk about it. Because I’ve been noticing this for a while and there is so much to mine in the parallels of the two characters.
So, what is Fruits Basket, who is Tohru Honda, and what the hell do they have to do with Jester Lavorre? Literally speaking, Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya follows the story of Tohru Honda, a recently orphaned teenager, who is taken in by the cursed Sohma clan. Thematically speaking, Fruits Basket is about cycles of grief, trauma, abuse, the coping mechanisms we build to deal with those cycles and overcoming and moving past said cycles. Growth and change underline every character arc in the story. Fruits Basket is a dark but ultimately, supremely kind story and nowhere is that more apparent than its leading lady.
Tohru Honda is...well, ordinary. She struggles in most of her classes, she has good friends, she does her best to take care of herself and not burden those around her, she’s nervous about her future and doesn’t know what she wants it to look like. She is ditzy but insightful, polite, and friendly almost to the point of weaponization. She grew up in a working-class single parent household after her father died young and holds her mother on a very high pedestal for all the sacrifices she made and support she gave Tohru.
Where Tohru Honda is extraordinary, as Laura alluded to in Talks, is in her kindness, optimism, and her compassion for all those around her. “Doubting others is easy, anyone can do it. I want you to be the kind of person who can believe in others,” Kyoko tells her young daughter and Tohru takes this message to heart. It is this simple belief, that people should be believed in, and Tohru’s insistent kindness that drive her character and her arc. Tohru does not try to fix people or make them better people, she accepts them as they are and they in turn gain the strength to grow and be better people. Now, to be clear here, Tohru is not naive. She has endured a lot of heartache and grief in her life and does so over the course of the tale. But the narrative makes it clear, over and over again, that Tohru chooses kindness and chooses to be optimistic. She is never once punished by the story for those choices. Takaya draws a very careful line for Tohru; her arc is not about shedding “childlike” kindness and optimism but is instead about staying true to herself while coming to terms with her own trauma and moving forward into the future with her loved ones.
By now, I hope most critters can spot the through lines between Tohru and Jester and where Laura’s head is at regarding Jester’s arc. Like Tohru, Jester is afraid of being abandoned and alone. Like her, Jester hides these fears and others under a mask of hope and kindness. Like her, Jester also deeply believes in said hope and kindness, and creates a space where she and her friends can just be and grow. Like her, Jester extends as much compassion and kindness to the world around her as humanly possible. Like her, Jester is also stuck, scared of moving forward with her life but unable to go back to the way things were when she was hidden away in the chateau.
Laura is telling a very Fruits Basket story with Jester and Matt is happily playing along with her. Jester will not be sacrificing or losing her morals or outlook to the cruel world around her. She will continue to inspire others around her just by being herself. She will also take more steps towards leaning on other characters and being supported in turn (we’re already seeing minor versions play out with most of the Nein and major versions with Fjord and Caleb). She will allow herself open vulnerability and doubt with worry of judgement or betraying her beliefs. Even getting Molly back or dragging Lucien into the light are on the table here, that is the transformative power we are dealing with. There will be pain, there will be doubt, yes. Ultimately, Jester’s compassion will win the day, especially once she learns to grant some to herself.
#my meta#cr spoilers#jester lavorre#talks machina#one of these days i'm going to commission someone to make a foolish traveler gifset#with jester and caduceus as the traveler#y'all are missing out#go watch laura bailey be amazeballs#tohru is her iconic role people#she is so good in the 2019 reboot#tohru is why i could never get behind the idea#that jester needed to learn how the world works#or to be punished for her love#and to hear laura confirm that tohru changed the way she looks at life#as fruits basket does#it was just so damn validating
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mid-year book freak out tag
thank you @bloody-wonder for giving me an excuse to share my book thoughts!
1. Best Book You’ve Read So Far in 2021?
It’s gotta be The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood; I hear “feminist period novel about mentally ill woman unable to cope in upper-class society” and I am THERE! It’s like [Stefon voice] This book has EVERYTHING: repressed women, a decaying old house, a complex relationship of two sisters, a pulpy sci-fi story-within-a-story-within-a-story, criticism of capitalism and reactionary attitudes and politics, commentary on how conservative society shuns those it perceives to be “other” and a threat to the social order (poor people, socialists, “unconventional” women). It is EXTREMELY my shit.
2. Best Sequel You’ve Read So Far in 2021?
The only one I've read is Siege and Storm, so Siege and Storm! Shadow and Bone was captivating, if a little simplistic, but the sequel really fleshes out the characters, setting, and themes. It’s great to see Alina take a more active role, and I love the exploration of sainthood.
3. New Release You Haven’t Read Yet, But Want To?
I’m really curious about Michelle Zauner’s memoir Crying in H Mart. Same with Axiom’s End, which I haven’t really been seeking out, but it’s been resting on my list since I like a lot of Lindsay Ellis’ stuff.
4. Most Anticipated Release For Second Half of 2021?
5. Biggest Disappointment?
The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood. I’ve been getting into Atwood, and I have a soft spot for female-centric retellings of myths, so this was on my list for a long time. It’s not bad; it’s decent as a character study and offers some good perspective on the hanged slave women from The Odyssey, but overall it came off as...bitter? And not in a good way. It’s reasonable to include commentary on how bad things were for women in ancient times, but after a while I’m just like “But there had to be a time when Penelope was happy, right?” But the biggest failing has to be the treatment of Helen. Why a story focused on bringing literary justice to silenced women also characterizes Helen of Troy as a manipulative, arrogant bitch who single-handedly ignited the Trojan War because she enjoys fucking people over, I’ll never know. Ironic that in the opening chapter, Penelope bemoans being used as a yardstick with which to judge other women, and then the book proceeds to do exactly that with her and Helen. Can’t let Penelope have a positive relationship with another woman! There could be some form of unreliable narrator at play, but there’s not much indication that that’s the case here. Even Homer had a more nuanced portrayal of Helen than this!
6. Biggest Surprise?
I suppose The Red Tent. I picked it up at a Goodwill because of my aforementioned interest in female-centric retellings. It’s not amazing, but I wasn’t really expecting it to emotionally affect me like it did. You spend so much time setting up Dinah’s family and this supportive community of woman within a patriarchal society, only to have Dinah abandon it all after getting betrayed by her father and (most of) her brothers. Hearing about how her family fell apart after she left and she never got to see her mothers again really gets to me. The book has flaws for sure - neither of Dinah’s romances are developed very well, and some of its themes can come off as gender essentialist - but I think it’s a nice exploration of female labor and traditions that too often get ignored.
7. Favorite New Author?
The only relatively new author I’ve been reading is Leigh Bardugo, soooooo... honestly I don’t know what I can say that hasn’t already been said, I got into the series pretty late. Great world-building, witty dialogue, a familiar type of story with enough interesting ideas to make it feel fresh. Check out Shadow and Bone if you get the chance. Sound of the summer.
8. Newest Fictional Crush?
You would think it would be Nikolai Lantsov since I just finished reading Siege and Storm and he seems to be the fan favorite... but nah, not yet. He’s fun, but he doesn’t hit me in that way (Though very sexy of him to just casually proposition Alina and Mal for a royal polycule, a la Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot; would love an AU where they accept his offer). However, I would let Zoya murder me. Every time Zoya is not in a scene I am asking “Where’s Zoya?” Also shout out to Alina, just because I would treat her better than all the men in her life!
9. Newest Favorite Character?
Gonna try to do this without spoiling too much, but Laura Chase in The Blind Assassin really resonated with me. Her personality reminds me a lot of myself, especially as an an autistic person, like the way she has her own way of thinking that makes perfect sense to her, but makes other people see her as odd and naive. I love how she’s set up in-universe as this Sylvia Plath-esque tragic heroine, with Iris spending the rest of the book interrogating and deconstructing, and in a way, reconstructing this image of her. Atwood you’re insane for this. I forgive you for the Helen thing now.
10. Book That Made You Cry?
I never got as far as crying, but the part in The Goldfinch where [spoilers incoming] the art heist goes wrong and Theo is alone in the hotel room and he’s spiraling and considering suicide and finally dreams of his mom… all that was too much for me and I had to put the book down for the night. This guy just can’t catch a fucking break.
11. Book That Made You Happy?
fucidjdjdj I didn’t read any happy books this year. Shadow and Bone and Siege and Storm because I read them really fast unlike my usual months-long reading schedule.
12. Favorite Book Adaptation You Saw?
Predictably, Shadow and Bone. I basically bought and read the book less than a week before the show came out because I thought it looked interesting and wanted in on the hype (mostly because Jessie is cute 🥰). Honestly, the show improves a lot on the first book; the multiple storylines make it more dynamic and complex, the actors really help to make the characters feel more fleshed out, and Alina and Inej interacted for like three scenes, introducing an unexpected but thematically rich ship.
13. Favorite Review You’ve Written This Year?
14. Most Beautiful Book You’ve Bought So Far This Year?
I impulse-bought this book of Romantic poetry at Barnes and Noble just because it was pretty and I had a gift card
15. What Books Do You Need To Read By The End Of The Year?
Besides finishing The Grisha Trilogy/Six of Crows duology/Zoya’s duology that I forgot the name of….I don’t know. I’m not a reader that plans in advance. I acquire books, finish whatever I’m currently reading, look through my stacks deciding what to read next, spend an hour doing so because I can’t decide if I’m in the mood for any of them, and either force myself to read one or buy/borrow a new one.
I’m tagging @betweenironyandsilver, @illuminaticns, @borispavlikovskys, @chdarling, @sctine, @mightyaubs, @excuseforadrink, and @trckstergods, if you wanna! Or anyone who wants to yell about books.
#sophia says shit#tagged as me#sorry for taking so long I write slow and am on vacation#but thank you! I don’t get many excuses to talk about books!
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August 13 marks half a millennium since the fall of the Aztec Empire, and dozens of new books are casting doubt on the version of history written by the victors.
History is not only what happened, but what we are told happened.
Of course, that does not mean that history is subjective, because some facts are undeniable:
Hernán Cortés reached the shores of Veracruz, Mexico in 1519. But to understand the conquest of Mexico, we need to look at who was narrating it, as the angle or the sources they choose can tell us more about that moment than the facts themselves. “History is a consequence of power,” wrote Trouillot. “The most important task is not to determine what history is, but how it works.”
In the last two years, publishing houses in the country have produced dozens of new volumes questioning the credibility of the powerful storytellers who saw 1521 as a set victory of the Spanish over the Mesoamerican indigenous people. The full story of that battle, they say, was more complex.
“Every source is first and foremost a fact within its social, spatial and temporal context,” writes Luis Fernando Granados, a historian at Mexico’s Universidad Veracruzana, in his new book Relación de 1520 (or Record of 1520). He is critical of Hernán Cortés, considered the master storyteller of his time. In the book, Granados questions the credibility of the letters that the conquistador sent to the Spanish crown between 1519 and 1526, and that for centuries were taken as official accounts. Granados points out that there is no original manuscript from Cortés, but rather a transcription made years later by a scribe. There were letters written by several people, but these were political documents to the queen rather than a careful historical account. “If we stop considering them as the master version of Mexico’s past, that could have as refreshing an effect on the historiographical as on the purely historical,” he said. (Granados died in July of this year.)
One of the most interesting books on Cortés’ lack of credibility is entitled: ¿Quién conquistó México? (or Who Conquered Mexico?), by historian Federico Navarrete, and published by Debate books in 2019. This book poses different answers to the question of who conquered Mexico, and states: “The idea of the absolute victory of the Spaniards in 1521 is nothing more than a partial and self-serving version, invented by Hern��n Cortés himself, to extol and exaggerate his own role in the events,” the book adds.
Another narrator whose words were taken as gospel was Bernal Díaz del Castillo, conquistador and author of La Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España (or The True History of the Conquest of Nueva España”), whom Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes called Mexico’s “first novelist.” In 2019, the Taurus publishing house translated into Spanish When Montezuma Met Cortés: The True Story of the Meeting that Changed History, a work by US historian Matthew Restall dissecting official narratives, which begins by casting doubt on Díaz del Castillo’s credibility regarding Aztecan emperor Moctezuma and Cortés. The Aztec leader was neither cowardly nor naive, and Hernán Cortés was not a brilliant Spanish strategist, the book asserts.
“We have abandoned the term conquest, in the singular, and instead prefer the term conquests plural, in order to emphasize that the defeat of [the capital of the Aztec Empire] Tenochtitlan was only the beginning of a historical step,” writes historian Martín Ríos Saloma of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He has compiled essays by the best researchers in Mexico and Spain in his work Conquistas (or Conquests) released this year. His book makes an effort to search for the narrators whose past has been silenced, including “the voices of indigenous actors, of women, of the army captains, of the Castilian soldiers.” To ignore them, he believes, is to offer “a simplistic, Manichean and isolated vision of the historical processes happening in the world at that time.”
One of these silenced voices opens El quinto sol (or The Fifth Sun) by Camilla Townsend, translated into Spanish by the Grano de Sal publishing house this year. Chimalpahin, an indigenous historian who worked in a church, wrote in the evenings during his spare time to try and save the memory of his ancestors. To revisit writings like his, set down a century after 1521, is to deconstruct false narratives, Townsend says, offering the example of the exaggerated myth of Aztec human sacrifice. “The Aztecs were conquered, but they also saved themselves,” the author notes, “by writing down everything they could remember of their peoples’ history so that it would not be lost forever.”
The list of new publications in this year of commemoration can seem endless. Mexican historian Pedro Salmerón rejects the term conquest in La batalla por Tenochtitlan (or The Battle for Tenochtitlan). “The war was much more prolonged, the resistance was far greater and long-lasting and, in fact, it has not ended,” he stresses. Enrique Semo, in La conquista, catástrofe de los pueblos originarios (or The Conquest, Catastrophe of the Original Peoples) is more interested in the history of a new capitalist system present in Mesoamerica than in the date of 1521 itself. “Instead of eliminating or displacing the indigenous people in order to make use of empty spaces, the imperative was to reduce them to manageable groups,” he says.
Novelists and graphic novelists have also done their part as the anniversary approaches. The Planeta group published several novels this year focused on women. Montezuma’s daughter features in La otra Isabel (or The Other Isabel) by Laura Martínez-Belli.
#mexico#history#mexican history#spain#indigenous#aztec#hernan cortes#montezuma#Tenochtitlan#🇲🇽#books
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Boxer's "end"
synopsis:
What if Boxer was a lie? What if Boxer hadn't died? What would his story be? Boxer represents the working class, and he emphasizes the following features: dedication, loyalty, and a huge capacity for labor. Besides, he shows a very naive side that does not recognize political corruption.But what if the whole story of Boxer's death was planned in detail, and he actually used it as a cover to flee the farm? Imagine that he finally realized all the complications that were on the farm and realized that the animals were living under an authoritarian regime, and decided to run away, to look for a better life. That is what our story is going to be about.
Boxer's end:
"Everything started in one night when I couldn’t sleep. I was lost in my thoughts and feeling very anxious. “What am I working so hard for?” This question was jumping around in my head. I was confused. “Because I'm the one that works the most I should be the most favored”. This thought wouldn’t let me relax and relax was all I needed after a long day at work. “What was happening to me?”
“That’s not fair, and would I allow this nonsense?” I had to do something. I was exhausted. My muscles throbbed and my paws were very sore. I knew I couldn’t take it anymore, so finally I had an idea.
The next day, I put on the disguise of the strong boxer who never tires and went to work in the windmill. Suddenly, I collapsed while pulling a stone for the windmill. Well at least that's what I made them believe.The other animals rushed to tell Squealer, while Benjamin and Clover stayed near their friend. I miss them, especially Clover. The pigs announced that they would arrange to take me to a human hospital to recuperate, but when the cart arrived, Benjamin read the writing on the cart’s sideboards and announced that I was being sent to a glue maker to be slaughtered. The animals panic and begin crying out to me that I must escape. So I did it, I escaped.
I have to admit that it wasn’t easy, but I managed to make an agreement with the doctor at the hospital. I asked him to pretend I had died, at first he didn't agree but I managed to be very convincing. Well, I had to promise him that I would pay him back later. Still, I believe it was worth it.
I went from the hospital to the next road and walked for hours until I saw your farm sign. I took a deep breath and realized I didn’t have a plan. “What did I do?” My muscles were tired and I was starving. I had no other option but to enter the farm. I had luck.
Well, thank you for welcoming me, thank you for giving me food and thank you for listening to my story. We horses have to support each other. I got tired of staying quiet and following orders from others. I don’t know exactly what made up mymade up my mind but I am glad. And I will be even more grateful if you will join me and help me. First, I need to pay back that doctor, and then we will fight for our worker’s rights.
Horse neighs
Carolina Lima and Laura Lauand
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THE ROTH FAMILY
Based on the series Succession, this is a request for THE ROTHS, the family behind the shadowy MORPHOS CORP. If the Impact of 1999 is the blood in the water, then the Roth family are the sharks that followed. Arriving from Washington D.C. for the feast, they established the Genesis research facility in 2000 and have been using it for the last 21 years to explore the depths of the Novum Stretch as well as to conduct top secret experiments on how the Stretch affects plants, animals, and people.
Their company, Morphos Corp, was originally established in 1971 by family patriarch Charles Roth. Since its inception, Morphos has had a diverse portfolio dealing in government contracting (military, weapons, security) and pharmaceuticals. Their research on the Stretch is their latest power grab, as they secretly seek to monetize/weaponize their findings. Click here for more on the Morphos subplot.
The TL;DR of them is this: they’re rich, they’re ruthless, and they won’t leave until they get what they’ve come for. Even as the Backburns’ and town hall’s disdain for them grows, Arkney and Bellmore have become severely dependent on the money, jobs, and prestige Morphos and the Roths have brought to the area, and the Roths know and leverage this. The patriarch has dictated that each of his children fan out and insinuate themselves in different parts of Arkney and Bellmore society to increase the family’s presence and hold on the area.
If you’re interested in playing any of the available roles in this request, please reach out to any of the admins on Discord, once our server is open! Note that it is not necessary to have seen the show to participate, though it’s highly recommended for the vibes! See the group pin board for even more vibes.
Full blurbs for the roles can be found below!
THE LOGAN
Charles Roth, 80
Written by Mady
THE LOGAN is no other than the founder and CEO of Morphos, Charles Roth. Charles may have come from some relative privilege but he has taken whatever wealth he was born with and tripped it, then did it again and again. After joining the military, he started his own business, Morphos.. The Morphos corporation has grown and with it his own, and the Roths at large, prominence. He is a ruthless man, cruel when necessary, manipulative, clever and driven above all else. He puts his business and family name above all else and is willing to kill for what he wants. Not the forgiving type, he's a formidable father, boss and possessive leader of the Roth family.
FC: Donald Sutherland
THE MARCIA
50-70
Reserved for Hobie
Third wife of Charles Roth, THE MARCIA is not to be underestimated. Having gained her own wealth in pharmaceuticals, she and Charles met through business and they were attracted to one another's power, wealth, and intelligence. MARCIA is unsympathetic, and at times antagonist, with Charles' children. Appreciating a man that has worked for what he has, she thinks of his adult children as spoiled, ungrateful, leeches on their father's hard earned legacy. The two have been married for ten years and she's fiercely loyal but more than capable of looking out for herself in this nest of vipers.
FC: Charlotte Rampling
THE CONNOR
42-50
Open
While the oldest of the four Roth siblings, THE CONNER doesn’t exactly act like it. He’s prone to frequent flights of fancy and, though he thinks himself highly effective, he mostly is anything but. He has the least influence on family and company dealings and occasionally has to be asked to cease and desist for the sake of preserving the Roth’s and Morphos’ reputation. THE CONNER is also Charles’ son from his first marriage and, as such, does not share a mother with his younger brothers and sister. What he’s doing now (read: his next big likely-to-be-doomed venture) is up to the player.
Suggested FCs: Alexander Skarsgård (pictured), Michael Shannon, Jon Hamm, Hugh Dancy, Bill Hader, Matt Bomer
THE KENDALL
Jasper Roth, 40
Written by Vive
As THE KENDALL, Jasper is the hapless, over-achieving, by-the-books second son who once had Big Dreams™ of taking over as Morphos’ CEO upon his father’s retirement. However, that all went out the window five months ago when he found his then-lover was using him to get kompromat on the company and Jasper went to his dad for “help” (read: because of this, his then-lover was killed). His guilt, shame, heartbreak, and captivity to Charles’ whims has turned him into an increasingly run-down version of his former golden boy self, and he has been coping with a return to drug use.
FC: Daniel Brühl
THE ROMAN
Remy Roth, 35
Written by Grim
As THE ROMAN, Remy has had a nice life coasting off of his family's name and their overall success. Spending a lot of his time partying, schmoozing, and generally just testing people's nerves with his sass, the time has come for him to pull his weight for once. Remy's easy-going nature is nothing when compared to his work ethic, a hidden gem that has driven him to impressive social heights. So now he's learning he's much more than just the family name and is working on 'coolifying' the town, in his eldest brother's words. A entrepreneur and restaurateur, he's already established a local brunch eatery and is working on starting a nightclub to breathe some real fun into an otherwise dismal town.
FC: Daniel Radcliffe
THE SHIV
Anthea Roth, 33
Written by Lina
The youngest of the four siblings but, arguably, the most put-together and capable one. THE SHIV has always had a hand grasping her father's sleeve, seeking his approval and admiration at the cost of her own independence. She's swallowed down dreams of travel and creative exploration in favor of being the Good Girl, and she's chiseled down her softness to a sharp point; twisting her empathy into a tool for finding weak spots in her opposition. Engaged to THE TOM but she chose him with her family in mind rather than her own heart. Commitment is hard without real attachment and she's seeing someone else, someone local, on the side.
She once worked for Morphos but has recently carved out a piece of the Town Hall, working as a Communications Advisor for the Mayor's Office. She handles their optics and engagements with the towns – all behind-the-scenes, of course. THE LOGAN expects her to report back and keep him apprised of the inner workings of local politics, and she's happy to do so.
FC: Elizabeth Debicki
THE TOM
30-35
Open
Appearances have always mattered to THE TOM — how he feels about himself is refracted in how others perceive him. He's caught up in the heights of wealth and status, believing that it's the secret to a good life. He comes from an upper class background, not anywhere close to Roth-level affluence but enough to be disconnected from the “real world”. Engaged to THE SHIV and while he loves her, that love is compounded with greed, insecurity and desperation.
Often lashes out at those “under” him, like COUSIN GREG, to assert himself and take back control. He has secured a position on the Morphos PR & Legal team, some would say through special treatment and they certainly aren’t wrong. Up to you if he’s fit for the job, or if he’s coasting by on his fiancées name.
Suggested FCs: Trevante Rhodes (pictured), Jon Kortajarena, Alfonso Herrera, Ben Barnes, Aldis Hodge, Manny Montana
THE COUSIN GREG
21-27
Open
The COUSIN GREG is the son of Charles Roth’s estranged sister. Very much green in all regards, they have (clumsily) insinuated themselves in the family’s business to secure a job and have been #trying to do what they must to keep that job. At first glance, COUSIN GREG isn’t much—they are naive, overly optimistic, and do not share the family’s ruthless instincts. However, they are not to be underestimated, as they are in fact listening, learning, and biding their time to make their own moves. Is basically the glorified assistant to THE TOM.
Gender is open and character can be biracial.
Suggested FCs: Charles Melton (pictured), Zazie Beetz, Jordan Fisher, Sasha Lane, Sean Teale, Laura Harrier, Xavier Dolan, Noami Scott, Gavin Leatherwood, Ashley Moore
THE GERRI
55-65
Open
THE GERRI has been working for the Roths for several decades and is currently serving as Morphos’ Director of PR & Legal. They are very much loyal to Charles Roth and the company, and work as his general counsel on all matters of decision-making. Loyalty aside, however, THE GERRI has been around the block and knows how the game works. They are not above making their own allegiances with those that suit their purposes and are astute in hedging their bets to ensure they land on the winning side no matter what. Vaguely a warped parent-ish figure to the Roth children, with some wine aunt vibes.
Suggested FCs: Viola Davis (pictured), Carla Gugino, Angela Bassett, Salma Hayek, Marisa Tomei, Monica Bellucci, Demi Moore
THE RAVA
34-40
Open
THE RAVA is married to THE KENDALL and has been around the family for several years. Though she loves and cares about Jasper and vice versa, their marriage has largely become one of convenience. Beyond this, the details of her life are open and discussable with Jasper’s player (vive). They could be separated or approaching divorce, she could be cool with his affair or not or not know, they could have kids that she mostly raises or not, etc.
Suggested FCs: Oona Chaplin (pictured), Sofia Boutella, Hannah John-Kamen, Alexa Davalos
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dynasty live watching: an incoherent post so that i’m not spoiling people on the twitter tl (i doubt any of this will be chronological or coherent enough to actually contain spoilers but better safe than sorry!)
oh my god the “previously on” - i forgot abt fallon and evan....
Theyre at a FUNERAL??? this was actually predicted but oh my god. if its steven i am going to be so mad. what an unfitting end to the- WAIT WHAT SIX MONTHS? what was that font;;;;:; whes sueiwjwk
copper arch🥵🥵🥵
this is cute. this is cute i like faloon pretty women so true
BYE I FORGOT ABT THIS VASE
fallon is genuinely such a bad person this is so bizarre,,,, i think she needs to calm down about oiterally everything ever
“This wedding is our chance to break the cycle of craziness” babe ur literally the one making the cycle of craziness
w. was that an ikmenn of liam getting his head off
JEFF MY BELOVED HE LOOKS STUNNING IN THAT OUTFIT. WHYS ALEXIS HERW “POWER COUPLE” YOU WERID MANIPULATIVE PERSON GET AWAY FROM HIM LOL
alexis is up to no good. bad bad jpeg. why do they write her dialogue like this
adam is acted so well lmao he’s the most unhinged person to ever exist *screams*
ohhh dominique, i don’t remember much abt her 😭😭😭 this woman she’s with is beautiful
ITS LAGGING????? i cannot Believe tjis
~rebrand~ ok girlboss!!!!!!!!! can we ship this businesswoman i dont recall her name with fallon???? id like that i think
too many plotlines have happened in too many minutes, i’m already forgettint things that have happened... isn’t blake supposed to be in prisoj? no? Ok: sure
adam is constantly doing this expression that is like 👁👁👁👁👁👁👁👁👁 HI SAM HI SAM HI SAM BEAUTIFUL MAN I LOVE HIM WHOS THIS MAN
raf is so stunning ughhhh i’m loving the costumes this season, everyone looks great! is this man a sam love interest? nervous? that is kinda cute. i miss stevej though. sadness. so many emotions
UHHHH hi alexis sure ig ur here
~OMENS~ babe that’s a tad dramatic don’t you think?????????? “Ignore the lore at your own peril” alright
WHOS THAT? WHOS THAT? OH HER OK
bye everything is going wrong for this......:..:::... *rubs hands together evilly* that will certainly be entertaining
credit scene!!! such a beautiful cast! where’s anders, oh how i miss him... i miss monica too wasn’t she supposed to be BACK🤔🤔🤔🧐🧐🤨🤨
its a commercial break... havent had to watch the show with these for so long😑😑😑. getting american ads is so funny bc the vast majority of them are Not at all relevant... at all
BACK TO DYNASTY!!!!!! was that a slinky? huh? oh ok that’s why the marriage is happening at the manor. #whenyouonlyhaveoneset oh hi ok monica so shes not going to be here?????😑😔😳
WHY IS SHE GETTING A CAR I FEEL LIKE THATS FORESHAWDOIWIJG FOR UMMMMM.... NOT GOOD THINGS ..... ITS LAGGING AGAIN 🤨
blake having dinner... ok hi cristal,,,,; is the priest subplot back? that was a weird one
adam???? how on earth does adam work his way into everything? NEXT GUEST? HUH? are you cheating on your wife? HI CULHANE! HI!
“straight people are exhausting” i mean yes, objectively, absolutely, but culhane is #notstraight .... idk how i feel about sam and this man. also what? huh? staying here? ok cool ig
OHHHHH he got married i see i see
“Haven’t you milked the carrington cow already” but....... she is literally the person who deserves the stuff..... k......... i don’t like dominique but she was given the short end of the stick also blake stop manipulating people just bc they tell u the truth😶😶😶😶😶😶😶
frustrated that we haven’t seen fallon in any non-wedding related stuff yet i always liked her more ~dramatic~ plots . like she’s a sweetheart but i do want her to evolve beyond thsi. idk if that makes sense. ok bye
“A relative’s happy marriage” uh???? we live in a society😔📈
who is father lynch<3333 oh he is in the hospital that’s not great oh adam upset that’s new /s
y is kirby dressed like an elf. god bless.
ughhhh i just think adam is not good for kirby. he’s not good in general. so true . what is he up to. ads again hhhhhhhhhh💯
omg we are back!!!!! blake wear the suit!! hi liz!!! i’ve seen pictures of this outfit, it looks nice. “I really want things to work out with liam” now that would be great but you’re in a soap opera so the chances of that are .... I DONT EVEN ONOW IF U CAN WEATHER ANYTHING W CRISTAL...)))))!$$ NOT NECESSARILY THE BEET CHOICE????
~technically it wasn’t cancelled~ alright love i feel as though you’re not telling the full truth here. ok his name is ryan . we know that now . cool . this relationship is awkward but it could be sweet
what the Fuck is dominique talking about this is so creepy😭😭😭 please do not market lingerie to ur niece 🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂 why does no one in this show know how to be polite
“You want me to stake my personal assets” i’m sure this would be meaningful if i knew anything about finance????? WAIT WAIT WIAT WAIT WAIT DHE REHEARING THE SAM DONS G THE SONG ALEXIS DONT INTERRUPT HER SINGING THE SONG🧐😔😔😔🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🥰🥰🤬😤😤😤😤😤😤
~duplicitous sham~ that’s quite a juicy phrase ms fallon. alexis i dislike your marriage. and you in fact. yes x . “We were just like any other newlyweds” except the newlywed factor........:
anders. oh my god i adore him so much. he reminds me of my grandfather . YES adam is dangerous. anders i love you so much. be my grandfather figure. top 10 cool old dudes of all time.
liz is so beautiful how am i suppised to “Focus” on the “storyline” kirby just went 🥰🥰 also hi culhane ily babe
“My father’s convinced adam is pure evil” you see, that is......... trueeeee...........:.::: im sorry culhane ily love
this dialogue unfortunately does not flow all that well LOL . people dont think up things like this on the fly “my love is like that boutineer” sir i guarantee that metaphors r not going to save ur relationship... HI sam. so true. hi ily. samhane? culsam? 😳😳
DONT STEAL ANDERS SPOT OH HI JEFF YOU LOOK STUNNING.......... BEAUTIFUL BOY ....... HI!!!! ~you are the only family you’ve ever needed~ shit none of this wouldve happened if the Carringtons werent so greedy ij the first place
~true love has many faces~ how many anti liam omens can they sneak in into the episode 😭😭😭😭 hi laura whats up
the poor waiters at this establishment...... why does laura look like a rlly young version of my grandma........: huh.... wont think abt it /... alexis bad mom.jpeg
“I don’t want to miss my sons special day” ok bye i don’t #care she’s kind of rude
fallon trying to avoid future drama is confusing to me as that used to be her ENTIRE THING? HUH??? everyones talking to their moms today what the heck do that many people talk to their moms???
jeff hiiiii <333 that maroon suit!!!!! love!!!!!
Dont hurt anders you strange little evil man!!!!!!!!!!! (Adam, for reference)
fallon likes to ~e n u n c i a t e~ her dialogue. Drama Teachers Love Her
FIRBY SCENE! WELL THEY R TALKINF! UWU ! UWU ! smiles:) smiiiiiles:) the height difference i cannot do this😑😊😊😊🕯🕯🕯 BYE
BueirHWIIDWJDIWIFJWIFJWJJFWJFJWJDJWJDJWIFJWJFJWJDKWJDJWDJJWHDWHDHWHEHWHDHWJDJWJRJWJEJWJDJQUEUWJEJWJEJW CRIES SOBS SCREAMS THIS OS SO FUCKING FUNNY
Kirby you dumbass😭😭😭😭😭 ALEXIS WUDIWNDJW JEFF CAN YOU NOT HEF FCANKREMTIWN WHY IS THIS DIALOGUE IM SCREAMIGNRJFJD
kirby babe you are the kist imorjri WHQT? HUH? when all the characters have the maturity of a 13 yr old <33333 DID THE SHOW JUST END?????? OK.... DAMN.... they were really 2 minutes away from the end and remembered that things are supposed to happen in tv show episodes.... i cannot tell whether it os over actually?????? huh??? going to keep watching because it would be so embarrassing if i missed a few minutes oh yeah theres more
IM SORRY WHYBARE THESE PEOPLE SO STUPID. every single one of them. ih my god l. ohhhh my god . “I never meant to hurt you” you cheated on him. both of them are bad people. 🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨 kirby darling what were you thinking . this dress on kirby is STUNNING ugh, she’s so charming . adam Shut the fuck up. He hasn’t said anything but shut the fuck up. OH MY GOD ADAM SHUT THE FUCK UP. OH MY GOD I HATE ADAM SO MUXH. OH MY GOD HOW IS HE THE WORST PERSON TO EVER LIVE 😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😑😶😶😶😶😶😶😶😶😶 HES SO EVIL
“I didn’t want to tell you because i didnt want you to think of me as a monster” why did you do that stuff then bro . Kirby you SHOULDNT trust someone after they say that? How naive? Huh ?
omg hello jeffs grandma!!!!! she deserves better than every shitshow in this family... god🤨 dominique being a good person? i like to see that. she seems so genuine. ok this is nice . wait... SAFE? 😳😳😳😳 💴 💵 #money i miss monica
why do they never have sufficient lifhting in WAIT..... HER?????? #dumbofass HI JEFF <33333333 HI you can scam and whatever ur allowed to i support u
ooohhhh GORGEOUS fallon outfit
“Such a fail” IS THIS 2012 . CRINE HEIDJWJFIWNDWJDNWKFJW ENJDJSDJWJNDJWJD they keep saying folklore and im thinking its some sort of reference to the album and i get confused. wheres scheming fallon. need scheming fallon. do a scheme. do it
“We are that lucky couple” press x to doubt .... wait who is this🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔 this seems cincerning im cocnentwd why did it zoom in on this random man
#how many ads are there you ask?#too many#i never watch things live#this is .... a lot#american cell service is so cheap#cruella de vil ad😭#how does the cw app work#more ads ig#i dont have the attention span to remember what happened before the ads
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The Literary Forms in Philippine Literature
by: Christine F. Godinez-Ortega
The diversity and richness of Philippine literature evolved side by side with the country's history. This can best be appreciated in the context of the country's pre-colonial cultural traditions and the socio-political histories of its colonial and contemporary traditions.
The average Filipino's unfamiliarity with his indigenous literature was largely due to what has been impressed upon him: that his country was "discovered" and, hence, Philippine "history" started only in 1521.
So successful were the efforts of colonialists to blot out the memory of the country's largely oral past that present-day Filipino writers, artists and journalists are trying to correct this inequity by recognizing the country's wealth of ethnic traditions and disseminating them in schools and in the mass media.
The rousings of nationalistic pride in the 1960s and 1970s also helped bring about this change of attitude among a new breed of Filipinos concerned about the "Filipino identity."
Pre-Colonial Times
Owing to the works of our own archaeologists, ethnologists and anthropologists, we are able to know more and better judge information about our pre-colonial times set against a bulk of material about early Filipinos as recorded by Spanish, Chinese, Arabic and other chroniclers of the past.
Pre-colonial inhabitants of our islands showcase a rich past through their folk speeches, folk songs, folk narratives and indigenous rituals and mimetic dances that affirm our ties with our Southeast Asian neighbors.
The most seminal of these folk speeches is the riddle which is tigmo in Cebuano, bugtong in Tagalog, paktakon in Ilongo and patototdon in Bicol. Central to the riddle is the talinghaga or metaphor because it "reveals subtle resemblances between two unlike objects" and one's power of observation and wit are put to the test. While some riddles are ingenious, others verge on the obscene or are sex-related.
The proverbs or aphorisms express norms or codes of behavior, community beliefs or they instill values by offering nuggets of wisdom in short, rhyming verse.
The extended form, tanaga, a mono-riming heptasyllabic quatrain expressing insights and lessons on life is "more emotionally charged than the terse proverb and thus has affinities with the folk lyric." Some examples are the basahanon or extended didactic sayings from Bukidnon and the daraida and daragilon from Panay.
The folk song, a form of folk lyric which expresses the hopes and aspirations, the people's lifestyles as well as their loves. These are often repetitive and sonorous, didactic and naive as in the children's songs or Ida-ida (Maguindanao), tulang pambata (Tagalog) or cansiones para abbing (Ibanag).
A few examples are the lullabyes or Ili-ili (Ilongo); love songs like the panawagon and balitao (Ilongo); harana or serenade (Cebuano); the bayok (Maranao); the seven-syllable per line poem, ambahan of the Mangyans that are about human relationships, social entertainment and also serve as a tool for teaching the young; work songs that depict the livelihood of the people often sung to go with the movement of workers such as the kalusan (Ivatan), soliranin (Tagalog rowing song) or the mambayu, a Kalinga rice-pounding song; the verbal jousts/games like the duplo popular during wakes.
Other folk songs are the drinking songs sung during carousals like the tagay (Cebuano and Waray); dirges and lamentations extolling the deeds of the dead like the kanogon (Cebuano) or the Annako (Bontoc).
A type of narrative song or kissa among the Tausug of Mindanao, the parang sabil, uses for its subject matter the exploits of historical and legendary heroes. It tells of a Muslim hero who seeks death at the hands of non-Muslims.
The folk narratives, i.e. epics and folk tales are varied, exotic and magical. They explain how the world was created, how certain animals possess certain characteristics, why some places have waterfalls, volcanoes, mountains, flora or fauna and, in the case of legends, an explanation of the origins of things. Fables are about animals and these teach moral lessons.
Our country's epics are considered ethno-epics because unlike, say, Germany's Niebelunginlied, our epics are not national for they are "histories" of varied groups that consider themselves "nations."
The epics come in various names: Guman (Subanon); Darangen (Maranao); Hudhud (Ifugao); and Ulahingan (Manobo). These epics revolve around supernatural events or heroic deeds and they embody or validate the beliefs and customs and ideals of a community. These are sung or chanted to the accompaniment of indigenous musical instruments and dancing performed during harvests, weddings or funerals by chanters. The chanters who were taught by their ancestors are considered "treasures" and/or repositories of wisdom in their communities.
Examples of these epics are the Lam-ang (Ilocano); Hinilawod (Sulod); Kudaman (Palawan); Darangen (Maranao); Ulahingan (Livunganen-Arumanen Manobo); Mangovayt Buhong na Langit (The Maiden of the Buhong Sky from Tuwaang--Manobo); Ag Tobig neg
Keboklagan (Subanon); and Tudbulol (T'boli).
The Spanish Colonial Tradition
While it is true that Spain subjugated the Philippines for more mundane reasons, this former European power contributed much in the shaping and recording of our literature. Religion and institutions that represented European civilization enriched the languages in the lowlands, introduced theater which we would come to know as komedya, the sinakulo, the sarswela, the playlets and the drama. Spain also brought to the country, though at a much later time, liberal ideas and an internationalism that influenced our own Filipino intellectuals and writers for them to understand the meanings of "liberty and freedom."
Literature in this period may be classified as religious prose and poetry and secular prose and poetry.
Religious lyrics written by ladino poets or those versed in both Spanish and Tagalog were included in early catechism and were used to teach Filipinos the Spanish language. Fernando Bagonbanta's "Salamat nang walang hanga/gracias de sin sempiternas" (Unending thanks) is a fine example that is found in the Memorial de la vida cristiana en lengua tagala (Guidelines for the Christian life in the Tagalog language) published in 1605.
Another form of religious lyrics are the meditative verses like the dalit appended to novenas and catechisms. It has no fixed meter nor rime scheme although a number are written in octosyllabic quatrains and have a solemn tone and spiritual subject matter.
But among the religious poetry of the day, it is the pasyon in octosyllabic quintillas that became entrenched in the Filipino's commemoration of Christ's agony and resurrection at Calvary. Gaspar Aquino de Belen's "Ang Mahal na Passion ni Jesu Christong Panginoon natin na tola" (Holy Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Verse) put out in 1704 is the country's earliest known pasyon.
Other known pasyons chanted during the Lenten season are in Ilocano, Pangasinan, Ibanag, Cebuano, Bicol, Ilongo and Waray.
Aside from religious poetry, there were various kinds of prose narratives written to prescribe proper decorum. Like the pasyon, these prose narratives were also used for proselitization. Some forms are: dialogo (dialogue), Manual de Urbanidad (conduct book); ejemplo (exemplum) and tratado (tratado). The most well-known are Modesto de Castro's "Pagsusulatan ng Dalawang Binibini na si Urbana at si Feliza" (Correspondence between the Two Maidens Urbana and Feliza) in 1864 and Joaquin Tuason's "Ang Bagong Robinson" (The New Robinson) in 1879, an adaptation of Daniel Defoe's novel.
Secular works appeared alongside historical and economic changes, the emergence of an opulent class and the middle class who could avail of a European education. This Filipino elite could now read printed works that used to be the exclusive domain of the missionaries.
The most notable of the secular lyrics followed the conventions of a romantic tradition: the languishing but loyal lover, the elusive, often heartless beloved, the rival. The leading poets were Jose Corazon de Jesus (Huseng Sisiw) and Francisco Balagtas. Some secular poets who wrote in this same tradition were Leona Florentino, Jacinto Kawili, Isabelo de los Reyes and Rafael Gandioco.
Another popular secular poetry is the metrical romance, the awit and korido in Tagalog. The awit is set in dodecasyllabic quatrains while the korido is in octosyllabic quatrains. These are colorful tales of chivalry from European sources made for singing and chanting such as Gonzalo de Cordoba (Gonzalo of Cordoba) and Ibong Adarna (Adarna Bird). There are numerous metrical romances in Tagalog, Bicol, Ilongo, Pampango, Ilocano and in Pangasinan. The awit as a popular poetic genre reached new heights in Balagtas' "Florante at Laura" (ca. 1838-1861), the most famous of the country's metrical romances.
Again, the winds of change began to blow in 19th century Philippines. Filipino intellectuals educated in Europe called ilustrados began to write about the downside of colonization. This, coupled with the simmering calls for reforms by the masses gathered a formidable force of writers like Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. del Pilar, Mariano Ponce, Emilio Jacinto and Andres Bonifacio.
This led to the formation of the Propaganda Movement where prose works such as the political essays and Rizal's two political novels, Noli Me Tangere and the El filibusterismo helped usher in the Philippine revolution resulting in the downfall of the Spanish regime, and, at the same time planted the seeds of a national consciousness among Filipinos.
But if Rizal's novels are political, the novel Ninay (1885) by Pedro Paterno is largely cultural and is considered the first Filipino novel. Although Paterno's Ninay gave impetus to other novelists like Jesus Balmori and Antonio M. Abad to continue writing in Spanish, this did not flourish.
Other Filipino writers published the essay and short fiction in Spanish in La Vanguardia, El Debate, Renacimiento Filipino, and Nueva Era. The more notable essayists and fictionists were Claro M. Recto, Teodoro M. Kalaw, Epifanio de los Reyes, Vicente Sotto, Trinidad Pardo de Tavera, Rafael Palma, Enrique Laygo (Caretas or Masks, 1925) and Balmori who mastered the prosa romantica or romantic prose.
But the introduction of English as medium of instruction in the Philippines hastened the demise of Spanish so that by the 1930s, English writing had overtaken Spanish writing. During the language's death throes, however, writing in the romantic tradition, from the awit and korido, would continue in the novels of Magdalena Jalandoni. But patriotic writing continued under the new colonialists. These appeared in the vernacular poems and modern adaptations of works during the Spanish period and which further maintained the Spanish tradition.
The American Colonial Period
A new set of colonizers brought about new changes in Philippine literature. New literary forms such as free verse [in poetry], the modern short story and the critical essay were introduced. American influence was deeply entrenched with the firm establishment of English as the medium of instruction in all schools and with literary modernism that highlighted the writer's individuality and cultivated consciousness of craft, sometimes at the expense of social consciousness.
The poet, and later, National Artist for Literature, Jose Garcia Villa used free verse and espoused the dictum, "Art for art's sake" to the chagrin of other writers more concerned with the utilitarian aspect of literature. Another maverick in poetry who used free verse and talked about illicit love in her poetry was Angela Manalang Gloria, a woman poet described as ahead of her time. Despite the threat of censorship by the new dispensation, more writers turned up "seditious works" and popular writing in the native languages bloomed through the weekly outlets like Liwayway and Bisaya.
The Balagtas tradition persisted until the poet Alejandro G. Abadilla advocated modernism in poetry. Abadilla later influenced young poets who wrote modern verses in the 1960s such as Virgilio S. Almario, Pedro I. Ricarte and Rolando S. Tinio.
While the early Filipino poets grappled with the verities of the new language, Filipinos seemed to have taken easily to the modern short story as published in the Philippines Free Press, the College Folio and Philippines Herald. Paz Marquez Benitez's "Dead Stars" published in 1925 was the first successful short story in English written by a Filipino. Later on, Arturo B. Rotor and Manuel E. Arguilla showed exceptional skills with the short story.
Alongside this development, writers in the vernaculars continued to write in the provinces. Others like Lope K. Santos, Valeriano Hernandez Peña and Patricio Mariano were writing minimal narratives similar to the early Tagalog short fiction called dali or pasingaw (sketch).
The romantic tradition was fused with American pop culture or European influences in the adaptations of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan by F. P. Boquecosa who also penned Ang Palad ni Pepe after Charles Dicken's David Copperfield even as the realist tradition was kept alive in the novels by Lope K. Santos and Faustino Aguilar, among others.
It should be noted that if there was a dearth of the Filipino novel in English, the novel in the vernaculars continued to be written and serialized in weekly magazines like Liwayway, Bisaya, Hiligaynon and Bannawag.
The essay in English became a potent medium from the 1920's to the present. Some leading essayists were journalists like Carlos P. Romulo, Jorge Bocobo, Pura Santillan Castrence, etc. who wrote formal to humorous to informal essays for the delectation by Filipinos.
Among those who wrote criticism developed during the American period were Ignacio Manlapaz, Leopoldo Yabes and I.V. Mallari. But it was Salvador P. Lopez's criticism that grabbed attention when he won the Commonwealth Literay Award for the essay in 1940 with his "Literature and Society." This essay posited that art must have substance and that Villa's adherence to "Art for Art's Sake" is decadent.
The last throes of American colonialism saw the flourishing of Philippine literature in English at the same time, with the introduction of the New Critical aesthetics, made writers pay close attention to craft and "indirectly engendered a disparaging attitude" towards vernacular writings -- a tension that would recur in the contemporary period.
The Contemporary Period
The flowering of Philippine literature in the various languages continue especially with the appearance of new publications after the Martial Law years and the resurgence of committed literature in the 1960s and the 1970s.
Filipino writers continue to write poetry, short stories, novellas, novels and essays whether these are socially committed, gender/ethnic related or are personal in intention or not.
Of course the Filipino writer has become more conscious of his art with the proliferation of writers workshops here and abroad and the bulk of literature available to him via the mass media including the internet. The various literary awards such as the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, the Philippines Free Press, Philippine Graphic, Home Life and Panorama literary awards encourage him to compete with his peers and hope that his creative efforts will be rewarded in the long run.
With the new requirement by the Commission on Higher Education of teaching of Philippine Literature in all tertiary schools in the country emphasizing the teaching of the vernacular literature or literatures of the regions, the audience for Filipino writers is virtually assured. And, perhaps, a national literature finding its niche among the literatures of the world will not be far behind.
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So today.. well this evening I’ve got to watch Critical Role’s one shot on YouTube which featured Taryon Darrinton (don’t worry, I shall keep spoilers to a minimum). OK, Tary is considered to be my second favourite character in campaign one (Tal’dori) and first made his appearance in Episode 85: A Bards Lament when Scanlan left Vox Machina, Sam Regal introduced his new character Taryon Darrinton and when first impressions count I hated him at first because he is chavenistic while the other members of Vox Machina hated him for being as Keyleth quoted “a spoiled rich kid who ‘buys his own toys’ with his Dad’s money and is an alter ego of Percival Fredrickstain Von Muscal Klawolsky De Rolo III.” Percy stated “It was looking at a dark mirror” (I think it does depend on which side of the mirror you standing). But as Episode 86: Curious Tides I started to like Taryon the moment his mask slipped off and ‘ugly cried’ in front of Vox Machina when his Father threatened to take away everything from him because Tary spends most of his time tinkering on his automaton Doty and enjoys reading fantasy novels (and having his heads above the clouds wanting to be a ‘hero’) Taryon left Vox Machina at Episode 101: when he wanted to start a new venture in his home in Wildmount called the Darrinton Brigade.
Taryon Darrinton (played by Sam Regal) so 10 years later after the Tal’dori campaign, Tary traded in his frilly collar for an undercut and that’s not all that was traded in the process (the rules changed for him when he was an Alchemist when the first Unearthed Arcana Artificer was released and with the Eberron book officially released Tary is now a Battle Master) Tary is still the same person *cough* with Botox *cough* we all know and love and still flamboyant and naive.
The Owlbear (played by Talisan Jaffe) If you heard Owlbear’s voice right now, imagine it as a very angry/grumpy Caduceus Clay. But Talisan stated he trying to aim to sound like Batman (but in the end it was more LEGO Batman Movie). The Owlbear is a Totem Barbarian but I couldn’t put my finger on what archtype of Rouge he was.
Farriwen Breeze (played by Laura Bailey) an Air Genasi... to be honest I thought Farriwen was an Eladrin at first glance but when Laura stated she was an Air Genasi, it blew my mind.
Hazel Copperpot (played by Marisha Ray) A Dwarf Lore Bard has to be my absolute FAVOURITE character in the Darrinton Brigade one shot! I ignored the fact that she was dressed as a ‘one-man band’ but what blew me away more was “You know... I like Hazel’s voice... she sounds like she has a face for one of those old timey commentators on the radio.” Soon as Hazel whipped out a device that projected an insert from Taryon’s books from one of those a wax/vinyl tubes... *OH MY GOD! SHE HAS A FACE FOR RADIO! I LOVE HAZEL! Plus I enjoyed the friction between her and Doty.
*On a side note, you see, I have a D&D character (who happens to be an artificer) who would love to have to have that sort of invention in his room where he can listen to The Trails and Tribulations of Tary Darrinton as a guilty pleasure.
Damian Vadoma (played by Ashley Johnson) a half elf fighter (I wasn’t sure what her archtype was, but I have learnt that she was playing a Rune Knight from Unearthed Arcana, shoutout for weareunderthesameskies for pointing it out for me.) but I always seem to like Ashley playing as a tomboy. I was fooled by how Damian looked because of the tattoos, I personally though that she was playing a thug but deep down was really polite to Tary’s Mother. Plus I never saw a Dex-Based fighter in action before.
Buddy (played by Liam O’Brian) an Ogre Fighter, I thought that Liam wanted to play something from Mordenkienen’s Tome of Foes because there is this monster that looks exactly like Buddy that can carry 2 small creatures on their ‘backpack’ like halflings, goblins, gnomes and kobolds. Liam kept being in character for the whole one shot by sounding like Ludo from Jim Henson’s The Labryinth.
Macaroni Samsonite (played by Travis Willingham) a Halfling War Cleric (shoutout for zephycrowthone for pointing it out) but not sure what deity he worships though, so I won’t set foot of the pantheons as although not the typical brick and mortar religions we commonly have on D&D, his get up seems quite tribalistic. Travis pretty much sounded like the the voice of the male gnome from World of Warcraft. Macaroni has a very strong relationship with Buddy “Hey Lady! Get your OWN ogre!
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SUNGLOW.
NAME. Saffira Citrine Flint
AGE. 26
GENDER/PRONOUNS. Cis female, she/her
DISTRICT. One
CLASSIFICATION. Human
OCCUPATION. Socialite
FACECLAIM. Laura Harrier
ABOUT.
You are meant to be perfect. At least -- that’s what everyone around you tells you. You wake up wrapped up around silk sheets and you’re used to slipping your feet into priceless leather shoes. You suppose, when you think about it, that much of your life has been like this -- and for so long, you haven’t thought to question it. But lately, the blissful routine has started to feel tedious, and you find yourself poking your head in here and there to try to find something for you to do. You understand that it’s your duty to be a model citizen, to be the face for all the good things about Metropolis, but you can’t help but wonder if you might be good at anything else. And you may be naive, but you are no fool - you know that the world is a much bigger place than what you see within the walls of District 1 -- and that there may be something much bigger within you than what you’ve been taught to be.
CONNECTIONS.
➽ MOONBEAM: The two of you were adopted together, and since then, they’ve been your other half even though you may not share blood. But these last few years, all you seem to do is argue with Moonbeam over every little thing -- your views, your choices, even the clothes you wear. It’s frightening to think about the fact they might leave you, and the District, behind and move on, but you don’t know how to stop them.
➽ PSYCHE: There is a certain image you are meant to maintain, and ever since you were young, you were discouraged from going out to the busier areas of the city too often. But during your last visit, you ran into someone fascinating, someone you haven’t been able to get out of your head since. You’ve written messages to Psyche, sent through your personal aide, but you’ve yet to hear back.
➽ BONES: Your parents have made it crystal clear that they expect you to end up with a human family -- they don’t have to spell it out for you to understand what their expectations are. Unfortunately, this means they’ve tried to set you up with Bones on more than one occasion. You try to be as polite as possible when you do meet for your weekly tea, but it’s really not your fault that you find them rather, well, dull.
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MONARCH // ELIZABETH MITCHELL
Beth has made her opinion of Cesare clear and, frankly, he doesn’t hold it against her. When Cesare first pitched the exemplar initiative, when it all slowly became a reality he stepped into the role of Commander, not a friend. He never planned to care as much as he did about the team and if Beth can’t see that, it’s something he long resigned himself to live with.
By pitting herself against Babydoll, Beth unfortunately knocked herself down a peg in Price’s eyes. If he had to choose, he prefers Zia’s company over Beth’s. He hopes Monarch is not aware of this because he knows how poorly she would take that realisation.
THE CREATURE // TANGO
Guilt is the overwhelming emotion when faced with The Creature.
Cesare lies to himself that he never replied to Tango’s letters or never tried to help free him from his isolation because it meant risking any future Exemplar projects. He knows it’s a load of shit. He didn’t try to help Tango out of his own selfishness.
Cesare would like to make amends with Tango, even though he’s currently trying his best to make Tango believe he did nothing wrong.
BABYDOLL // ZIA ANYA DEWAN
Cesare has a soft spot for vain creatures, it seems. He’s often a confidante for Zia, he figured out early on the easiest and best way he could support Zia was to leave his office door open. He always had tea and coffee ready to sit and let her vent and if it were a particularly dire day, he’d pull out the harder stuff.
Zia never asked much about Cesare, she tried, but he was so swift at shutting down any inquiries that it was natural for this relationship to be very one-sided.
They’re probably closer than Price is with the other exemplars, purely because a lot of their time spent together has been, essentially, gossiping over drinks.
CAPTAIN KICK // WILL RIVKIN
The Captain of the team is, of course, held to higher expectations than any of the other teammates. Will was perfect for the role and he still is. The high expectations put upon Will are, to be a cliched pushy parent/teacher/etc., because Cesare knows Will is perfectly capable.
He knows their current relationship is contentious and honestly wishes they could be cordial, and maybe if he dares to be so bold, even call him a friend. This seems less likely with ever passing minute.
MORTICIAN // DAMIEN VALENTINE
Damien’s too smart for his own good. Cesare always felt Damien was more attuned to what was happening than any of the other members, a certain level of cynicism that helped him see through most people.
During this reunion, Cesare now finds himself more concerned for Damien than before. The fact the man now has a child to go home to him has Mortician no longer so low in the pecking order in his mind, even if he hasn’t gone through as much officially.
Secretly, Cesare thinks if he were not a part of the initiative, if he were a mere civilian and able to appreciate the Exemplars as a fan, Mortician would have been his favourite.
STARSCREECH // ALEC OWERSUN
At first Cesare paid extra care and attention to Alec, particularly in regard to coaching him with his social communication skills.
There is an undercurrent of fear to Cesare’s relationship with Alec. An alien that can experience a seemingly entire range of human emotions, is constantly confounded by said emotions, and has a scream that could destroying everything around him? Cesare’s frankly nervous of Alec one day spilling a drink and yelling at it so much he accidentally destroys an entire city.
Once, Cesare accidentally stumbled into joining Alec for drinks because their paths crossed years after the Initiative was shut down and he asked so earnestly and normally for a catch up over drinks that... it happened. It was a pleasant evening.
DRUID // BENJAMIN KITZLER
Benji is one of his favourite team members. They spend more time together on missions themselves and that proximity definitely helped form a closer bond.
Cesare’s own removed and at times cold demeanour isn’t met with the same hostility by Benji, something he greatly appreciates.
TALLAHASSEE // ADELAIDE VENTURE
Adelaide is certainly an interesting one. While Cesare could never relate to her on a personal level, she’s the epitome of what he expected from a team of superheroes. He remembers her audition, the wildness and natural unbridled, nearly feral energy she had.
He was worried that she might have calmed down. He had images of Addy in a dowdy jumper politely declining the invitation. He’s glad that’s not what he found but he’s wary of her gun-ho attitude coming from a less sustainable source this second time around.
GECKO // LAURA SMITH
Laura in his mind is incredibly childlike, he has found himself slipping into almost a parental role. Although a slightly distant parental figure could best explain their relationship.
Cesare is naturally manipulative in most, if not all, his relationships but not in a malicious way. At least, he has no malicious intent. This is rarely ever an issue for him especially when it comes to Laura. She was naive and clueless the first time round with the Exemplars and honestly, Cesare hasn’t realised she’s changed.
He misreads her awkwardness and reserved nature as being more similar to his own quiet nature as a conscious choice rather than Laura still being a little lost and slowly becoming aware of Cesare’s minor manipulations.
[ GRAPHIC TEMPLATE. ]
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via Politics – FiveThirtyEight
Former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential campaign is being haunted by the ghosts of 2016.
In the days following the emergence of allegations that President Trump tried to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into investigating the former vice president, the Biden campaign has sought to take control of the media narrative. But the parallels between what’s happening now and the controversy over former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s use of a personal email server while she served as secretary of state are increasingly clear.
The allegations that Clinton violated laws by sending and receiving classified information through her personal server dogged her campaign and dominated media coverage throughout the 2016 election cycle. The Biden campaign has insisted that the same will not happen to it, telling Politico last week, “We learned.”
Putting distance between Biden and the Ukraine story in the public’s imagination is a tall order, though. Despite the Biden campaign’s best efforts at triaging fallout, members of the Trump administration and others are still calling for investigations into Biden and his son Hunter for their connections to Ukraine. Longtime Clinton adviser Philippe Reines told Politico that the damage is already done, arguing that the connection between Biden and the Ukraine situation has been firmly established. “You can’t say the words ‘Trump’ and ‘Ukraine’ without seeing ‘Biden’ and ‘Ukraine,’” he said.
And the data we have so far seems to bear that out. The Ukraine scandal has thrust Biden squarely into the center of the media spotlight — he saw a huge uptick in 15-second cable news clips last week, getting more mentions than all of the other 2020 Democratic candidates combined. While Biden has tried to steer the media toward asking the “right questions,” Trump has worked to point attention right back at Biden and his son. And as you can see in the chart below, whether viewers heard about the Ukraine story in the context of Biden or Trump may have depended on where they got their news.
Initially, when the Wall Street Journal published its Sept. 20 story detailing a phone call in which Trump allegedly pressured the Ukranian president eight different times to investigate Biden’s son, there were more than twice as many mentions of “Ukraine” on MSNBC than on Fox News. CNN devoted more airtime to the story, too, but as you can see in the chart above, this quickly changed: By the time House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the opening of an official impeachment inquiry four days later, the networks were mentioning “Ukraine” at about the same frequency, albeit in different contexts. Recently, MSNBC and CNN have both discussed the Ukraine story in the context of Trump, while Fox News remained more focused on Biden.
We also examined the top one- or two-word keywords in the 15-second clips that mentioned “Ukraine” to better understand the substance of each network’s media coverage. And as you can see in the table below, the narratives were pretty different — CNN’s coverage was much more likely to focus on the breaking news aspect of the story (the phrase “breaking news” was actually the third most likely to be used by CNN in conjunction with “Ukraine” versus other networks). Fox News focused more on “Hillary Clinton” and “Hunter Biden,” while MSNBC focused heavily on “Donald Trump.”
What the networks are talking about on the Ukraine scandal
Top 20 keywords used by each network in 15-second cable news clips that also mention “Ukraine,” from Sept. 18–28, 2019
CNN Fox News MSNBC president investigate gas company foreign policy breaking news laura national security did president business dealings notes investigate joe ukraine controversy ukraine scandal zelensky ukraine hunter biden dig dirt pressured ukraine hillary clinton washington post course did son hunter donald trump did ask millions dollars july 25th president asked steve ukraine help said president china sort inspector general witch hunt personal lawyer biden course adam schiff dirt joe president zelensky energy trump administration investigate biden quid pro putin ukraine investigate pro quo ambassador ukraine ukraine look media state department asked ukraine ukraine prosecutor people like white house gas policy committees dealings ukraine basically actually didn’t justice department donald
We used a multinomial Naive Bayes classifier to estimate, for each word, the probability of being used on each network. The 20 most predictive words for each network (i.e. the ones that most distinguish each network’s coverage) are shown here. We excluded filler words such as “a” and “the” as well as the names of the networks themselves, and words that appeared less than 50 times overall.
Fox News has discussed Hunter Biden’s ties to a gas company in Ukraine — as well his ties to China — more than the other outlets. It frequently mentioned “Hillary Clinton,” and the idea that she, too, might have shadowy connections to Ukraine. Fox also used the phrase “quid pro quo” more often than the other networks, with most coverage pointing out that Trump did not explicitly ask for a “quid pro quo” or promise Zelensky foreign assistance for Ukrainian cooperation.
Meanwhile, MSNBC has centered its media narrative on Trump and the possibility of presidential wrongdoing. It repeatedly described Trump’s request to Zelensky to investigate Biden as “digging up dirt.”1 In total, the phrase was used 38 different times on MSNBC, 27 times on CNN and just seven times on Fox News. MSNBC also emphasized the role of Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, more than the other networks, often referring to him by his role rather than his name.
As accusations that Trump used the power of the presidency to seek dirt on his political rival ricochet through the media, the news cycles have been moving fast. Though there remain a lot of unanswered questions, like whether the House will actually move to vote on articles of impeachment, one thing should be abundantly clear: there is a media tug-of-war brewing between Biden and Trump, and each of them is working hard to pin the Ukraine controversy on the other. How the public thinks about Trump or Biden may depend largely on who can wrest control of the media narrative. But if the networks diverge in their coverage, there may be more than one media narrative to win.
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STATS
Full name: Laura Smith
Codename: Gecko
Age: 39
Gender: Cis female
Pronouns: she/her
Species: Mutant (made)
Alignment: Neutral good.
Threat Level: 4.
FC: Jamie Chung
Availability: Taken (Established)
ABOUT
Gecko was a mutant raised in a lab. Their ability to blend into their environment and become nearly imperceptible made them a valuable resource for espionage. They joined the team of heroes and found that they didn’t fit in well. But they didn’t mind being the butt of jokes if it meant being part of a family. They liked being a hero and being treated like something worth admiring, but they didn’t like the pain and loss that came with it. When they retired they moved on to work for the same bureau, but shifted focus to protect the rights of other mutants like themselves.
FIGHTING STYLE
Gecko is known for their stealth attack. With the ability to essentially go invisible Gecko is able to blend in with their environment, sneak up on their target, and then attack. Their weapons of choice are two small daggers, one in either hand. The daggers are coated in an alien poison which first enters the blood stream and then causes organic material to break down, essentially corroding from the inside out. Their opponents become a pile of dust within minutes. Like most of their team members they also have a backup handgun in case their primary weapon is disarmed.
PERSONALITY
analytical, helpful, polite
reserved, naive, gullible
CONNECTIONS
PRICE - Gecko thinks of Commander Price like family, almost like a parent in a strange way. They look up to Price and seek out their superior for wisdom and reassurance. During their time in Exemplar, Price was Gecko’s rock. But after the team disbanded Gecko began to doubt Price’s loyalty. Now they wonder if they’ve been admiring the wrong person this whole time. They don’t want to be let down.
THE CREATURE - Gecko loves The Creature. They are a wonderful companion that has taught Gecko many things about what it is to be alive and to relish having a organic body. The Creature taught them about barbecue sauce and rock music. Gecko feels like The Creature and them have a lot in common, especially when it comes to their fascination with human inventions.
DRUID - No one can deny that Gecko and Druid are kindred souls. They have the same interests and express themselves in similar ways. Gecko thinks of Druid as their best friend thought they aren’t sure Druid feels the same way since Druid doesn’t express feelings often. But Gecko hopes that Druid like Gecko to that same degree that Gecko likes Druid.
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About Roslin and Baltar’s trial
I’ve been thinking about Roslin’s reasons behind putting Baltar on trial, because I’ve seen many different opinions on that and whether she was right or wrong. The show itself suggests a few times that she’s doing it for revenge, while her fans are taking her side. I think as always on BSG, the truth is more complicated than that.
To preface this, I am in the unique position because I am a big fan of both characters. Roslin is my favourite female character and Baltar is my favourite male character on the show. Watching their separate stories is so much fun to me and when they have scenes together is always a special delight. I love seeing how their paths cross, how they run in parallel, how they are foils to each other, everything about them is interesting. There is a symmetry to them as they exchange their roles in the show which I deeply enjoy and appreciate. They’re both very human characters, flawed, imperfect, but striving to be better. I don’t see Roslin as some paragon of virtue because she’s clearly not and never was. She made too many awful decisions for that, but she’s made quite a lot of good calls too. A lot of her ruthlessness comes from a sense of vulnerability. She can’t afford to show kindness or mercy to the enemy and potential threats have to be dealt with or the humankind won’t survive. That’s her M.O. She’s an iron lady, not some bleeding heart of a naive schoolteacher.
Season 3 of the show is all about New Caprica. Even when the characters are lightyears away from that planet, they still carry it and what happened there in their hearts. New Caprica tainted them all and left wounds they all spent the rest of the season healing. But there is one wound left for the last - Gaius Baltar. He is the symbol of New Caprica. He gave people the promised land but it turned into a living nightmare. He was a shitty president even before the Cylons came, so it was easy to place all the blame for NC squarely on his shoulders. However, it wasn’t as if he was voted in and people followed him there, rather it was the other way around - people wanted to go to NC, so they voted for him. People trusted Baltar because he was a genius scientist, because he claimed he cared, because he was an attractive political alternative to Roslin. Humanity made a bad choice, but it is easier for them to erase the physical reminder of that mistake than admit to it. Hence the ubiquitous hatred for Baltar in the Fleet.
But Roslin’s not just an average citizen, she’s much closer to Baltar. Of course she regrets not going through with stealing the election. She had a chance to prevent all this tragedy from happening and she didn’t. She chose the higher road in the end, to be the better person and she let Baltar win. Her own nobility doomed humanity. That’s a bitter pill to swallow. It must haunt her. And I think it certainly informs her ruthless decisions in S3, like ordering the Cylon genocide. NC taught her that morals can and should be sacrificed for the sake of survival. She doesn’t want to make that same mistake again.
S3 features a fascinating reversal of roles between Roslin and Baltar. It starts with him as the puppet president and her a powerless schoolteacher. Their first scene together is when he visits her in detention center where she’s held. The show never makes it clear whether Roslin was tortured and how (I suspect food and/or sleep deprivation), but she knows others were. Regardless, she is a victim of the occupation, unjustly imprisoned. Her name is on a death list, signed by Gaius Baltar.
There are many things Laura Roslin is and I believe that one of those is vengeful. She remembers everything good or bad, and she also holds grudges. One of those grudges is for Cylons who she has a certain propensity to airlock. Not unfounded of course. That combined with her regret for not stealing the election and her belief that Baltar is a traitor and traitors should be killed is a deadly combination for Gaius.
The graphic demonstration of Roslin’s grudge against Baltar is the entire episode 3x13 Taking a Break from All Your Worries. The tables have turned, the reversal of roles is complete, but what’s done is the same thing. Roslin’s doing to Baltar what was done to her. From the very beginning of the episode we have Baltar in prison, making the noose. It’s night but the guard wakes him up when he nods off. That’s the start of torture - sleep deprivation. Then Roslin’s first visit to his cell is a purposeful replication of his visit to her cell on NC. Through the episode, she continues with various methods of torture, to interrogate him and get the admission of guilt that she so desperately wants from him - which will justify what is done to him illegally. Which will validate her despicable actions against him, because he would admit to actually deserve them. But just like Roslin did not give Gaius the information or cooperation he wanted on New Caprica, Gaius doesn’t give in to her brutal methods here. Another similarity between them is that he didn’t wish her to suffer on NC and her crying when she has him tortured. Torture horrifies both of them and I think for Roslin that was a moment when she became horrified at herself and what she was doing. No Cylon was making her do this. Her conscience woke up and it couldn’t be silenced. (Still, Gaeta got only a slap on the wrist for murder attempt on the prisoner. Interesting how Roslin’s justice works when she can better empathize with Gaeta for wanting to kill Baltar, than with Gaius who she’s deliberately putting through the exact same things she’s personally gone through. As if she can transfer her own horrors to him and finally be free of NC.)
The last on her list of things to reenact is the death warrant. Adama offers to have Gaius quietly disappeared, just like Roslin was supposed to be killed back on NC. Out of sight, out of mind. But Roslin decides to give Baltar the trial for several reasons. I think the most important one is that she wants him dead for being a traitor but she also wants the moral high ground. His torture already made her too close to being like the enemy. When Baltar is tried and found guilty - and in her belief he cannot not be found guilty - he will be legally sentenced. She will not have his blood on her hands. She will not kill him just because she has the power and means to, not as a whimsy of the President. He has to be objectively judged and sentenced to death that he deserves for his own actions. Roslin fully believes her own judgment of Baltar is correct and objective. She refuses to acknowledge her own subjectivity when it concerns him. That’s why she allows the trial - because she is convinced it will go the way she wants it and Baltar will be sentenced to death. The last factor of why she decides to put him on trial is that she’s wanted to do this since she learned about his involvement with Six before the attack. She couldn’t have done it before because the only proof she had was a memory that resurfaced when she was dying and heavily medicated. It would’ve been just her word against his. But occupation of NC gives her all the reason and proof to finally convict him for his crimes. It’s tangible, real, it didn’t happen only to her. Everyone was there, everyone suffered. She has the public with her on this.
As an aside, it’s pretty hypocritical that Zarek gets away scot free. The man was the political mastermind behind Baltar’s presidential campaign, but because he got lucky and Cylons didn’t shoot him when he refused to cooperate and then he was with Roslin on the death list, he gets a free pass from her. A lot of help he was, rotting in a cell for the whole occupation. But now he’s her pal, he gave her back the presidential seat so all is cool between them. Even more hypocritical that Roslin banned Zarek’s secret tribunal killing collaborators right and left, but for Baltar she recreates it and makes it public for everyone to watch/listen to on radio.
It’s almost funny how Baltar makes Roslin lose her cool, how easily angry he can get her. She’s completely unobjective when it comes to him. He writes a book and she’s frothing mad. She imprisons a man because he read that book. She jokes about burning the book. She humiliates Baltar to make him stop writing, she lies to make him feel small, powerless, unheard. That’s how deep her grudge against him goes. If Adama is the equivalent of Zeus, Roslin fits the characteristics of Hera to a T.
One thing I really love about the show is that in the end, it doesn’t present the ideal solution to the issue of Baltar’s trial and punishment. I’d say that the actual message is that of mercy, but there’s no whitewashing his character. Baltar during and after the trial is shown at his smarmiest, but the justice is blind. It doesn’t care about likeability of the accused, it cares about evidence.
Was Roslin right or wrong? Was it right that Baltar was exonerated? What would be a just punishment for him? That’s left for the viewers to ponder about. In my opinion, the majority of S3 already showed Baltar’s punishment. Let’s not pretend that he was having a picnic when everyone else was suffering. He’s been imprisoned, horrifically tortured TWICE, he’s been almost killed multiple times, he tried to commit suicide. He had little to no control over his life, all he could do was to cling to it. His own guilt and self-loathing poisoned him and his love with Caprica Six. He’s lost everyone he cared for and became the most hated man in the universe. He was betrayed by Gaeta. And Baltar’s informal punishment isn’t going to go away just because he was freed by the court. Season 4 barely started and already someone attempted to murder him.
I spent hours writing this meta, so sorry if I rambled too much. I’ve just got a lot of feelings and opinions about the trial, Roslin and Gaius.
#bsg#laura roslin#gaius baltar#meta#3x13 taking a break from all your worries#3x19 crossroads part 1#3x20 crossroads part 2#3x16 dirty hands
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