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waynewifey · 4 years ago

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Fading away. —

Pairing: Jason Grace x Roman!DaughterofPluto!Reader

Sumary: after moths of over working, a colapse makes you get into a coma and reflect on your feelings.

Warnings: coma, angst, Pluto as a caring dad, fluff at the end.

Words: +-3k.

A/N: This is my first Percy Jackson Franchise fanfiction, so take it easy on me. This is also my biggest and favourite one. I hope you like this! My requests are always open.

(Y/N) (L/N) had a good reason to hate Jason Grace. How could she not? Jason was so annoying, self centred, selfish, stubborn and worse of all? He dated Piper McLean. Piper was great, (Y/N) knew that and they seemed happy together. But, still, he chose Piper, not (Y/N), his girlfriend back at Camp Jupiter, who he totally forgot about. How come Percy remembered Annabeth but Jason wouldn't remember (Y/N)? And when he recovered his memory, he chose Piper. But she also loved him still, and seeing him hurt like a bullet going straight through her heart. She decided to spend a year at Half-Blood Camp to stay with her half-brother Nico Di Angelo when Gaea were defeated. She thought she could manage to see him almost every day, but she couldn't. So she started doing anything to get her mind occupied. Going on meaningless quests, travelling to New York randomly, volunteering for literally any service in the camp and barely sleeping — because sleeping meant dreams.

"It doesn't have to be like that, (Y/N)." Her brother gave her another shot of Nectar. The sunlight that entered Hades' cabin was leaving slowly as they talked, (Y/N) leaned on her bed watching her fingertips become solid again.

"I'll learn how to do it right and I promise I won't push myself too much, but I can't stop practicing." She avoided eye contact with Nico, feeling ashamed of herself. After all, she was supposed to be the one taking care of him, since she was older. She came back from a "quest" for her father, that was staying a weekend on the Underworld. She started using Shadow Travel to get there. The problem? She had no idea how hard it was, and she almost died every time. He sighted.

"I'm not talking about Shadow Travel. You should talk to Jason and sort this out. You're almost killing yourself everyday doing the craziest stuff just to keep your mind off him. He already broke up with Piper, what's stopping you now? I'm your brother and it pains me to see you suffering, I won't just sit and watch while you literally desapear." He got up and walked to the door. The (h/c) girl forced a smile so he believed she was fine. Nico left the cabin.

After hours reflecting and thinking, she heard the trumpets that announced the convocation to a game of Capture the Flag. Since she was feeling better, she changed her clothes and walked outside. The teams were: cabins 1, 4, 5, 9, 12, 14, 18, 21, 23, 27, 28, 29 vs. cabins 2, 6, 7, 10, 11, 13, 15, 16, 20, 24, 25, 26. They started the game. (Y/N) had to protect the boundary with a kid from Hipnos' cabin while a group attacked the opponent's flag and another protected their territory and their flag. Everything was going as planned, she hadn't seen anyone yet. Out of the sudden, she saw a blond guy running in their direction with a sword. Oh hell no, Jason Grace wouldn't attack her like that. But he did.

"What the hell?!" She screamed, reacting to the blade flying in her direction. Her teammate was asleep. She defended herself with her own sword and counterattacked. He invested against her leg, trying to make her fall. Her instincts took place, she jumped, attacked again and they started a meaningless battle. Jason looked the same as always. He was almost the same Jason that used to take her on cute dates in New Rome. But he fought like a greek. And that was when it hit her, he changed. The mixture of love and hate made her loose her senses for a bit, giving Jason the lead. He focused on her leg but hesitated to hit it, giving her time to get back on the fight. She knocked him to the floor, her foot on his chest and her blade on his neck, when she heard footsteps approaching quickly. Of course. It was a trap. She turned around and saw a son of Hebe holding her team's flag running, followed by two daughters of Hephaestus. She grabbed a knife from her belt and threw it to his leg, hitting exactly where she wanted. She then grabbed Jason's blade and Shadow Travelled. For a moment everything was fine, while she drowned into darkness, but then she couldn't get out. She saw her father's face mixed in the dark. He raised his hand and touched her face, than she was back at the forest. Realising not even a second had gone through, she attacked the — injured — boy and the two gigantic girls at the same time. She wasn't really expecting to defeat them, just trying to win some time so, hopefully, someone would come help her. The boy dropped the flag and got a small sword. The two girls had hammers... oh. The three of them attacked at the same time and she protected herself with Jason's sword, which flew away. She was out of hopes when a figure appeared beside her and started fighting them.

"What are you doing here?! You're not supposed to help me, we're enemies, remember?" She said, fighting Hebe's son.

"I guess you're welcome then." Jason replied smiling, fighting the hammers-girls. (Y/N) sighted in annoyance. Seconds later, her teammates came running from the enemies' territory with a flag and the three-people group surrendered. Everyone started screaming and celebrating. (Y/N)'s head hurt with the noise and she looked to her brother, feeling numb.

"Hey, can we talk?" Jason said, getting in front of her with a big smile. He was proud of himself for helping her? Of course he was. He was going to take all the credit for her team's win. The anger rose inside of her burning everything. She furrowed her eyebrows and with the last energy that remained in her body, she tried to Shadow Travel for the perhaps hundredth time that day.

She fell into the darkness while feeling her body desapear quickly. Her heart was very accelerated but then it stopped. She saw herself at the barks of Lete's river. I'm dead., she thought. The desperation started taking over. She remembered the face of all her friends. Her siblings, Hazel and Nico. Her mother. Her best friend Reyna. Camp Jupiter. New Rome. The Lar Vitellius. Lares? Lares! Maybe she could go back as a ghost! She would at least see her friends again.

"Didn't expect to see you this soon." A voice said with humor. She turned around, as always enlighten by her father's presence. But his face was sad. Not the everyday-sad-Pluto, but the my-daughter-just-died-sad-Pluto.

"Am I d-... dead?" The anxiety forbid her from crying in front of her father. The one she never knew and once she did, she didn't want to disappoint him.

"Yes and no. You see, my darling, there are things more powerful then death. Right now, your physical being is exhausted from travelling through darkness and light — which I told you not to, but we'll talk about this later, you have a decision to make. You're body is surrendering to Death out of hopelessness. But your soul, on the other hand, still fights for the heart beating in your chest. And your conscious, the controller of both body and soul, has to decide which one of them you'll support right now. As Lord of the Death that's all I can say to you. But as your father, I would like to say that we have a room for you in the castle, if you'd like that. And also, I feel obligated to show you what is happening on Earth." When he finished his words, an image formed in the air, sort of an Iris message, but no one saw them. (Y/N) saw herself laying on the grass, surrounded by some campers, Nico and Jason.

She was watching them from above. Jason put two fingers on her neck, trying to feel her pulse. She — the one in the Underworld — gasped as the blond boy whispered 'nothing'. She glanced at her father, who had a pained expression as he stared at Nico freaking out. Her brother had his hands on her chest and was murmuring something in greek. Then, he opened his eyes, filled with tears of desperation, and glanced at Jason, who didn't look any better. She wanted to scream and go back to up there, but her voice wouldn't come out of her throat.

"Half of her is already gone." Nico struggled to say. Everyone around gasped. "I can't Shadow Travel with her, it- it would k-kill the other half..."

"Let's take her to the Infirmary. Everything's gonna be fine. She'll be okay." Will Solace had appeared in the crowd and kneed down to take (Y/N) in the arms, being helped by the other two. As they walked, (Y/N) held herself in her arms, sobbing. She didn't want to die, not like that. The image faded away and Pluto hugged her. He never did that before. She left out all her emotions through the cry. Her father caressed her back and gently kissed the top of her head.

"Now you see, my child, what those on Earth are going through. You have a family up there. And if you'd ask me, Jason Grace is a good person, even being a son of my brother. You have a choice, so make it wisely." Pluto said, not backing away from the hug. She nodded and he immediately knew what her choice was. "You know I'd love to have you here with me, but I'd love even more to see you happy. Don't be reckless. And listen to your brother. You don't have to worry to come see me, I'll make sure to visit you during your recovery." As he said that, a white door appeared out of nowhere. "Here's your carpool." The girl started to walk to the door, when she heard Pluto say: "(Y/N) I lo-... Good luck." She smiled to him and went through into the door. It felt like eons in the nothingness. She felt so much pain all over her body. Then she gained conscience. She didn't knew how long it had passed. She also couldn't open her eyes or say anything, but she knew she was laying down something comfortable, a bed, perhaps. But she could hear perfectly well.

"... and I'm so sorry you had to die for me to gain the courage to say this. Please come back to us... Come back to me. Nico barely leaves this room and nor do I, Will had to force him to go eat. It's not the same without you, (Y/N/N), it really isn't." Jason's words gave her the urge to cry, but she couldn't. It was like her body had shutdown completely. She felt his warm hands on her cold ones and after that, a door was opened. Footsteps. Only one person. Jason didn't move. Someone sat down next to them.

"Dad- I mean, Hades said she will be okay." It was Nico's voice. He sounded extremely tired.

"Didn't he say that last month?" Grace was annoyed, but he didn't stop holding her hand.

"I know, I wish I could do more... I'm... I'm sorry Jason." The blond sighted.

"I should be the one to be saying that. I know there's nothing else to do. I'm sorry for putting the blame on you. It's just- if we've talked before, nothing of this would have happened. If only I was brave enough..." (Y/N) felt weak and her consciousness was back at nothing again. When she heard something again, it looked like a lot of time had passed by, but she wasn't sure at all. Jason's voice was happy as he told her his plans to the future.

"I realised you would like to work with me training the legion. You're obviously skilled and the payment is quite good. And I've heard they are planning to build a village here as well, but I don't know if you-..." Every time she tried to stay conscious, she felt weaker. 'Rest', her father's voice said inside of her head, so she let herself.

Some time...? A long time...? She didn't knew. But the next time she heard, she was way stronger. She waited until then, so she could stay longer and try to understand her emotions. She heard almost an entire day. Her friends entered and left cabin 13 — she found out that she was there. Some of them talked "to" her, some just sat there in silence. When alone, Nico talked a lot about Will Solace. (Y/N) smiled mentally. Then Jason entered. She could already recognise the sound he made walking. He sat beside her bed and held her hand, as usual.

"Hello, princess. You look better." She reunited all the strength she had storage and sent it all to her right hand. She softly squeezed Jason's hand, for a small portion of second, trying to say 'hi'. She felt exhausted. He gasped.

"She just squeezed my hand!" He screamed, laughing. Nico jumped out of his bed, laughing as well. They both stared at her, waiting for more. "You're there, right? I knew you were! It's been long months, but you're getting better. Don't work too hard. We'll see each other soon, don't worry." He kissed her forehead. After that, it was easy for her to let go and dive into her sleep again.

She was slowly getting better. She noticed her comas were smaller now, and she got stronger every time. She started communicating by squeezing people's hand. One time for 'yes' and two times for 'no'. But it still was exhausting. She met with her father a couple times through dreams, but it never lasted long. She was sick of it. She wanted to jump out of the bed and run through all the camp. She was alone with Jason, as he talked about the last time he went to Camp Jupiter, telling every change. She slowly forced herself to open her eyes. It wasn't for too long, just enough for her to see the big smile he had while talking, her favourite blond hair and how he gesticulated while speaking. By that time, her feelings were completely lined. She declined her childishness and stubbornness to accept the fact that she obviously loved him. Her lips were able to form a small smile. He hadn't noticed her yet. I can do this, she thought.

"J." She whispered for the first time in five months. Her eyes were already closed again. He gasped.

"Did you just say J? That's me! I'm here, i'm right here, love. Can you hear me?" She squeezed his hand one time. Yes. He chortled. "You're so strong. I miss you so much." He started softly crying. She squeezed his hand two times. No. Don't cry, she wanted to say. "Alright, 's fine, 's fine. Gods, you're coming back. I bet Aphrodite is watching us closely." He chuckled but suddenly stopped. "I forgot we haven't talked about that yet, i'm sorry. I don't wanna be intrusive, you know. It's just, by what Nico has told me, well, you still liked me." She squeezed two times. "That's... that's great, love. But don't worry about that just yet. You should take some rest now, my love."

Five days. She had woken up every single one of them, but only listening. No squeezes, no talking, no looking. Just storing strength. She knew she was close to fully waking up. She was already able to keep track of the days. It was a Sunday, the day she received the most visits. It should be morning, because she only heard Nico's snorting. She slowly opened her eyes. The same place. Different clothes. She wondered who had changed them. Perhaps Will did. She systematically moved her arms, pushing herself to sit. Her back was laying at wall. She took a deep breath. It was going fine. She wanted to wake Nico up, but she decided to wait to see if she would be able to actually stay awake. About an hour later, Nico woke up by himself. He yawned and turned to her bed. She looked at him with a big smile. He jumped out of bed.

"Holy shit, (Y/N)! You're up! How- Wait! I need to- Wait! Don't fall asleep, I'll be right back!" She blinked slowly to sign 'ok'. He was back moments running later with a bunch of teenagers in pyjamas. They all froze at the door, staring at her. Hazel, Frank, Annabeth, Percy, Jason and even Piper. Hazel was the first one to wake up from the trance. She ran to her sister and hugged (Y/N).

"Ouch." She managed to say, reacting to the tight hug that made her head hurt.

"Right, sorry! I forgot. Wait, you speak!" Hazel answered and laughed. All of the others joined in, amazed by her friend, and started talking, telling everything she had missed. (Y/N) couldn't speed properly, only a few words like 'hi', 'ow', 'miss' and 'food'. Later that day, Will came to check on her. He said everything looked just fine, but that she should rest.

"Hey." Zeus' son said, once they were alone.

"Hi."

"Gods, it's so good to finally hear you again. I've talked to myself for a long time." They giggled softly. (Y/N) wasn't showing any signs of it, but that day had been extremely tiring. Her entire body hurt but she couldn't give up just yet.

"I... heard." She whispered. "A bit." Her eyes tried to close but she opened them wide, fighting her own nature. Jason noticed that.

"Hey, no need to over do it.” He brushed her cheek with his thumb.

"Sleep... here." She begged, placing her hand beside her. He froze for a moment, embarrassed. And then, with a rubor across his face, he sat on the bed beside her. She laid her head on his chest and quickly fell asleep.

“Go to sleep, love. We have all the time in the world.”

#percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson #fluff imagine #percy jackson imagines #percy jackson fanfiction #jason grace #jason grace x reader #jasonissocutehelp #nico di angelo #nico di angelo x reader #daughter of hades #pls send requests

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ljf613 · 4 years ago

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Colonization & Imperialism in ATLA

One of the things I’ve noticed in fandom complaints about the ATLA comics-- namely, “The Promise”-- and subsequently, LOK’s worldbuilding, is the way the narrative handles colonization.

I see a lot about how what the Earth Kingdom chose to do with the former colonies is “none of Zuko’s (or Aang’s) business.” (I also see people talking about how Katara would never support colonialism, in any shape or form, no matter the circumstances.)

And I just.... don’t vibe with those ideas? At all?

Like, I definitely have problems with the comics-- especially “The Promise,” where all the drama centers around Miscommunications of Epic Proportions and could have been resolved in Part One if all the characters just sat down and listened to each other (not to mention that Aang would never have agreed to make that promise, nor would Zuko have asked it of him (Sokka would be a more obvious choice, but that’s a different discussion))-- but I never had any issues with their worldbuilding.

I love the idea of Yu Dao, and the fact that the narrative acknowledges that a new kind of world has new kinds of problems. It makes sense to me that we can’t always just “give back the land we took.” And I found the idea of the end solution being “give the people who live there their own country” really cool and empowering.

So I want to talk about why I feel this way. About what kind of real-world parallels can be made here. About some little-known bits of world-history that compare.

(Please note that for this meta I am only going to be discussing the relationship between Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. As far as I am aware-- and I could be wrong-- there is no real-world genocide quite comparible to what Sozin did to the Air Nomads, and most of the people alive in ATLA were not actually around for or involved in that. And the relationship the Fire Nation has with the Water Tribes-- and that the North and South have with each other-- is worth a whole separate analysis, and doesn’t deserve to just be shoved into this one.)

(Disclaimer: While this is in response to some of the interpretations I’ve seen on this site, it is not meant to discount or invalidate those fans’ views-- I’m just trying to show my take on it. I am a firm believer in the power of active discourse, and the value of looking at the same scenes through different lenses, rather than just getting one opinion and accepting it as Absolute Truth.)

The main thing I notice in general ATLA discourse-- and not just on this topic, but in any sort of meta about the Fire Nation, colonization, and global impact-- is that the fandom mostly compares the war and its after-affects to real-world Imperialism, the Age of Imperialism, New Imperialism, and Colonization.

And I understand why that is. In the grand scheme of world history, that era is still fairly recent, and we are still dealing with the afteraffects from it. It has shaped the Western World’s worldview on every level. (Not to mention that the Euro-centric way we’re taught history means that this piece of world history is the one we’re most exposed to, and so have the most understanding of and room to analyze/criticize.)

However, there are a few issues with sticking only to this perspective.

First off, the Age of Imperialism was a direct response to the Age of Exploration. This was the period of time when white Europeans sailed around the world acting as though they were discovering new places and pretending that there weren’t already existing civilizations there.

[ID: Two dots meme, edited so that Guy A says “i’ve discovered a NEW WORLD,” Guy B replies “you didn’t discover ****,” and Guy A insists “i’ve discovered it” / End ID.]

Now, I’ve mentioned this in passing, but the world of ATLA doesn’t appear to have had an Age of Exploration. There’s no vast “undiscovered” land masses, the four nations have always known about each other, and they all have a shared language.

The whole foundation for the Age of Imperialism was “oh, look, there are all these ‘unexplored’ lands with resources ripe for the picking (who cares about the indigenous people, they’re just simplistic savages who don’t know what’s best for them), let’s see which European country can grab the most land first.”

This was a race. This was sudden. This was Europeans coming in and taking over while viewing the natives as bothersome pests. This was about multiple major world powers competing over resources.

This was not 100 years of active warfare between a single conquering country and the very people they were trying to conquer.

The parallels don’t hold up.

Secondly, by focussing only on this one kind of historical narrative, we ignore any others.

I will admit that I have used the word “imperialism” in reference to the Fire Nation a time or two. However, upon further reflection, I realize I didn’t really mean imperialism, which is actually a fairly modern concept. What I feel the Fire Nation is really an example of is centralism and expansionism-- two ideaologies that have been a way of life for conquering empires throughout history.

(I am in no way qualified to explain the differences between these concepts-- I recommend doing your own research if you’re curious.)

The Persian Empire. The Greek Empire. The Roman Empire. The Byzantine Empire. The Mongolian Empire. The Russian Empire. The First French Empire.

You could take any of these (or numerous others) and make an interesting analysis between the similarities and differences between their behaviors and that of the Fire Nation. And maybe I’ll do that someday.

However, I started this to talk about Yu Dao and all of the other so-called colonies (I really feel like territories would be a better word, but, again, that’s a whole ’nother discussion), and I’d like to focus on that.

FYI, here’s a basic history refresher: If two countries are at war, and then they decide to end the war, neither country is required to return captured territories. They can make a treaty and agree to do so, but there is no obligation to. The Fire Nation didn’t just march in and say, “this is our land now”-- they fought for it. They captured that land. Just because the war is over doesn’t mean they need to just give it back.

Like it or not, that is the way the world operated for thousands of years, and so that is the interpretation I’m working with here.

In any case, “The Promise” actually presents this as a three-way conversation. There’s Zuko (and, by default, the Fire Nation), Kuei (and, by default, Ba Sing Se and the Earth Kingdom), and the people of Yu Dao themselves.

(My understanding of the Earth Kingdom’s style of government is that it’s made up of a large collection of different ethno-cultural regions who all answer to Ba Sing Se.)

I’ll let Sokka explain it:

[ID: Comic panel from Part Three of “The Promise.” Sokka and Katara are talking, both in obvious states of agitation, while Suki and Toph are looking at something in the background. Sokka is saying, “Let me see if I got this. The protestors and the Earth Kingdom Army want the colonials to go, the Fire Nation Army wants the colonials to stay, and the Yu Dao Resistance just want their city to be left alone?” Katara responds, “Yes!” / End ID.]

The people of Yu Dao don’t care about the war. They don’t even really care who’s in charge. They just want to be left alone.

This speaks to me on a very personal level, so I’m going to make another real-world comparison here:

My ancestors first came to America to escape from the poverty and opression they were experiencing in a place known as “White Russia”-- that is, Belarus. To be clear, I am not talking about the country “Belarus,” but the region, which includes the modern-day countries of Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia and Moldova, as well as parts of Poland and Russia.

I looked up White Russia, trying to find out how much information someone who didn’t grow up hearing stories about what it was like (that is, most of the people reading this,) might have. I didn’t find much. Most of what I found talked about political ideologies and such-- things that your average poor peasant, struggling just eke out a living, didn’t have much energy to care about. So let me paint a(n oversimplified) picture for you.

Imagine you’re a poor shoemaker in a small town on the Russian border. You spend your days hard at work, trying to earn a living to support your wife and nine children. You’ve never left the town you were born in. One day you get the news: Russia and Poland are fighting again. Your two oldest sons (ages 15 and 17) are forcibly drafted off to fight in the Russian army; you never see them again and have no way of knowing if they’re dead or alive (they’re probably dead). Poland wins-- this time. Congratulations, your town is now part of Poland.

Does suddenly being Polish make a difference to your life? Not in the slightest. Two or three years down the line, you’ll go back to being part of Russia again. This is the third or fourth time you’ve seen your town switch hands, and you can’t say you prefer one government over the other. It doesn’t really matter who’s in charge-- you’re still faced with crippling taxes, forced drafts, and various other forms of oppression. (It doesn’t help that you happen to be part of a persecuted minority.)

(This is why I have many ancestors who may never have left the town they were born in, and yet records show that they were born in one country, got married in another, and died in a third.)

This is the kind of worldview through which I am looking at Yu Dao. (Obviously, it’s not an exact parallel, but neither is the standard “colonizers vs oppressed natives” lens.)

My ancestors eventually got fed up with the treatment they were receiving from their respective governments, and left to build a new life, in a new place. But the citizens of Yu Dao don’t have anywhere to go. The only two real world powers in this story are the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom, neither of which has ever before expressed any true interest or concern in the actual people of Yu Dao.

The Earth Kingdom didn’t really care about the city before the war-- they were just another poor, struggling town, whose citizens were barely able to make ends meet. And while the Fire Nation may have helped the place grow into a bustling town, they also established a hierarchy that did not serve in the citizens’ best interests.

And so, in “The Promise,” these citizens’ frustrations come to a head. “Enough,” they say, “we don’t want to be used as a pawn in your games anymore.”

And Zuko and Kuei (and Aang) actually listen. They say “we need to start thinking about these people as people, not as symbols of one side or the other. It’s time to give them a say in their future.”

And a new country-- a new way of life-- is born.

(Is it perfect? Absolutely not. But it is constantly evolving and changing, trying to do better, be better. And that’s more than you can say about most of the other countries in this world.)

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finelythreadedsky · 4 years ago

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Hi! Your blog is super cool and your ideas on literature and parallels are absolutely fascinating, the way you think is so interesting! I was just scrolling, and had a quick question, mostly because it may affect how I view his work: why do we hate Catullus? (Genuinely curious bc it’s important to know if and when stuff is problematic)

not sure how to respond to this but “we” don’t hate catullus really. i don’t think. i’m personally not particularly fond of his poetry and i get the impression that he was, as a person, someone i would absolutely hate if i actually interacted with him (though notably i feel the same way about ovid, whose poetry i love but who i’m sure would also strike me as insufferable in person). but i also haven’t actually read any catullus in over five years, and i know other people on this site love his poetry. there are definitely a lot of themes and motifs he uses that i adore and have tracked across other works, so i do kind of hope i end up working more with him at some point in the future.

i think the catullus hate is due to the image he projects of himself and his relationship with lesbia in his poetry, which to a modern reader (especially a modern female reader) can come off as unhealthy and creepy and borderline abusive. but really in the end that’s an image that he selected and constructed, and we straight up have no idea whether it’s an accurate portrayal of what he and lesbia and their relationship were really like. how much of his poetry is exaggerated? how much of it comes out of a literary persona vs his genuine reactions and interactions? we don’t know exactly, but it is poetry, not social history. ultimately catullus hate is mostly a joking thing, compounded with the fact that i (currently) have no personal attachment to catullus’s poetry the way i do to, say, vergil or ovid or the greek tragedians. if i read literally anything on catullus 101 i would probably feel much more attached but i haven’t done that yet.

and i'm not sure that the language of “problematic” makes much sense in terms of ancient authors. we’re talking about the ancient world. pretty much everyone who was in enough of a position of power to be recorded in history or literature did things we find morally abhorrent. they all lived in, benefitted from, and contributed to a society that promoted and propagated slavery, imperialism, misogyny, and violence of many kinds, and we have little reason to believe that many of the authors we now read found fault with these things enough to fight against them. every ancient author is problematic. some of them more than others (like, say, aristotle’s defense of slavery or plato’s eugenics or the tangled mess that is ovid’s portrayal of sexual assault-- still thinking about that one), but all of them existed and thrived in a society whose values we now recognize as very out of touch with our own (or at least i hope so. everybody out there fetishizing sparta and roman imperial conquest can fuck off, they sucked).

maybe someone else has something to add about how we think about ancient authors and what it means for us that they were products of their time (open invitation in the replies!) but for me that’s an important part of reading them-- how does this text reflect the ideas of its time? how has the text been used in history since then? how is our thinking now different from the ideas recorded in the text? how can the text be used now by applying our current thinking to it? what potential does the text still hold for harm? what potential does it hold for healing? what else can we see in it if we read it differently? what parts of it are critical and essential, and which are not?

anyway people with real opinions on catullus please do share

#mine #ask #anonymous #today on: send me a relatively simple ask get multiple rambling paragraphs #Anonymous

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lo-lynx · 5 years ago

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Lost manhood: analysing the eunuch’s masculinity in A Song of Ice and Fire

Note: This is a partly rewritten paper that I wrote for a university course. I’m quite happy with it to be honest, and I thought more ASOIAF fans might enjoy it. I’ve attempted to make the language slightly more accessible and removed some of the parts of the explanations of the story because I here assume that people have read the novels. I’ve previously written a similar analysis about eunuchs in ASOIAF, but this one goes much deeper. So, hang on, this is quite a long one (puns not intended).

“No one loves a eunuch.” (Martin 2011a, 609). So states Varys the eunuch, in A Game of Thrones. The five (as of yet published) books in the A Song of Ice and Fire series tell a story of war, love, and power and are set in a mostly medieval world. A medieval world which also happens to contain dragons and magic. But as Shiloh Carroll writes in her analysis of medievalism in the novels: “(...) A Song of Ice and Fire examines contemporary concerns or anxieties while placing them in a far-distant past, allowing the reader to consider them at a distance.” (Carroll 2018, 7). This can, for instance, be seen in how George RR Martin has said that he believes that most people of the Middle Ages were not very different from people of today when it comes to love, sex, and sexuality (ibid, 83). While scholars and students of gender and sexuality would most likely disagree (see my previous text, or just later in this one), Martin’s statement seems in line with the idea of looking at contemporary concerns through another lens. Based on the novels, it is also clear that Martin has been influenced by several different historical and cultural contexts, from Celtic history to Mediterranean Mythology and beyond (ibid 109). Fans of the books have also compiled several more of Martin’s stated historical influences from Scottish history, to Alexander the Great, the Mongols, and the Vietnam war (glass_table_girl 2014).With this amalgamation of different historical perspectives, it is interesting to look at how one aspect of the power dynamics in this series is portrayed: namely gender power dynamics, and more specifically masculinity.

The world of A Song of Ice and Fire is a deeply patriarchal one, with most of the people in power being men (Carroll 2018, 56). But throughout the series, it is also clear that not all men in this world are equal, just as in our own. In this paper, I want to analyze how one of the men who are not as highly regarded in the series is portrayed, namely the eunuchVarys, mentioned above. (It should be noted that in this context, eunuch seems to mean someone who has had both their penis and testicles removed. On one occasion Varys mentions being cut “root and stem” (Martin 2011b, 584).) Varys holds the position of Master of Whispers in the Seven Kingdoms, a position that entails keeping a network of spies through the kingdom and beyond (Martin 2011a, 166). Because of this web of informants, he is also often called the Spider. The Seven Kingdoms encompasses the continent of Westeros and might be said to be a parallel to the United Kingdom of our world, or Europe generally (Carroll 2018, 109). Varys, however, comes from the city-state of Lys in the continent Essos. Essos seems to be inspired by different parts of Asia, and the Westerosi perspective on it is similar to the European perception of “the Orient” (Carroll 2018, 109). As both a foreigner, a eunuch, and a Master of Spies Varys is mistrusted by most characters in the novels (for example: Martin 2011a, 246). By a close reading of three different scenes where Varys is present, I want to analyze how his gender is perceived by other characters and what that can tell us about how masculinity is constructed in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire.

In analyzing Varys, I will use several theoretical perspectives that I will present here. Firstly, I will look at how eunuchs have been viewed in our world historically. Konstantinos P. Nikoloutsos writes that Greek writers of the classical period often viewed eunuchs with contempt (2008, 232). Oftentimes eunuchs were associated with Eastern cultures, such as Persia. They were generally seen as feminine, submissive, and sexually available yet also sexually passive. That might sound counterintuitive, but what it means is that according to the sexual conventions of the time, a eunuch could participate in intercourse but not be the active part. As Nikoloutus writes of the norms of sexuality during that time:

In fifth- and fourth-century Athenian literature, sex is discussed in connection with the issue of age, class, gender, and power. In our male-authored texts, sexual intercourse is perceived as an act that reflects (or should reflect) the hierarchical structure of society; as such, it involves a penetrator (i.e. an adult male citizen) and a penetrated other who could be a woman, a slave, a metic (i.e. a non-citizen resident), a prostitute, or a kinaidos (i.e. an effeminate man who preferred the passive role in sexual intercourse). According to the moralizing discourses of ancient Athenians, a freeborn man who wished to retain his claim to full masculine status should always seek to play the active/insertive role while having sex with other men. (Nikoloutus 2008, 230)

By being assigned the passive role in sexual intercourse the eunuch is therefore seen as less of a man. The eunuch could also be seen as a liminal figure, neither man nor woman, neither Western nor Eastern. In a way he inhabited a third gender space. By inhabiting this transgressive role, he was also able to move between female and male spaces (Llewellyn-Jones 2002, 37). This could make him useful at court, as he became privy to the intrigue of the private female sphere and could pass on that information to the public male sphere. Other authors have noted how in many societies, while eunuchs were useful figures at court, they were outsiders as well in the sense that they often had a different ethnicity (Tougher 2002, 149). For instance, in the late Roman empire eunuchs were not allowed to be created in the empire, but allowance was made for “importation of castrated barbarians” (ibid, 144). The eunuch is here constructed as something “other” than the own population, the “us” part of the “us vs them” equation. This association with what was consider the ethnic “other” (particularly the Eastern other) with femininity and sexual promiscuity and/or deviance has striking similarities with orientalism. The term orientalism describes how western cultures have traditionally described the people of “the Orient” as emasculated, lesser, savage, barbaric, sexually depraved, etc. (Carroll 2018, 107, 119 & 121). Dehumanization of people who are considered “other” can be seen with other groups of people who transgress societal borders as well, such as trans people. Susan Stryker writes that transsexual people are often seen as monstrous, similar to for instance Frankenstein’s monster (1994). Eva Hayward compares the trans experience with that of the spider, partly because they are both looked upon with both curiosity and distrust (2010). But she also writes that similarly to the spider’s web, transsexuality can be seen as a creating a home of one’s own body. Making a home where one is not intended to exist, but that becomes a home nonetheless.

In modern time the role of the penis in the construction of masculinity, that can be seen with eunuchs of more ancient times, persists. Anne Fausto-Sterling writes that even though medical professionals are often aware of the fact that it is possible for children to be born with sex characteristics that fall outside of the male/female binary, these so-called intersex children will often be “corrected” by surgery (1995, 130). It should be noted that a lot of activists oppose these types of surgeries (for example: Amnesty 2017). Fausto-Sterling further analyses how in medical literature a so-called normal penis is often considered crucial for boys (1995, 130). When a child is born, if that child’s penis is considered too small the penis will often be turned into a clitoris, and a vagina will be created. The child will then be raised as girl. The existence of a phallus that is large enough is seen as crucial for boyhood and manhood:

All this surgical activity goes on to ensure a congruous and certain sex of assignment and sex of rearing. During childhood, the medical literature insists, boys must have a phallus large enough to permit them to pee standing up, thus allowing them to “feel normal” when they play in little boys’ peeing contests. In adulthood, the penis must become large enough for vaginal penetration during intercourse. (...) At birth then, masculinity becomes a social phenomenon. For proper masculine socialization to occur, the little boy must have a sufficiently large penis. (Fausto-Sterling 1995, 131)

Here again, the existence of a penis is connected not only to masculinity but also sexuality. Having penetrative sex (and being the one penetrating) is linked to proper manhood. Similarly, Karioros and Allan write that the testicles are often linked to masculinity (for example by phrases like “grow a pair”), but also virility (2017). They also write that because of this, castration is often linked with a fear of losing one's masculinity. Here we can see a connection between masculinity, sexuality, and fatherhood as well. Other authors have also noted this link, for instance in regards to how the inability to father children might feel like a threat to one’s masculinity (Thorsby & Gill 2004).

The theme of sexuality and masculinity is one that Stephen Whitehead also writes about when he analyses masculine embodiment (2002). Whitehead writes that is that what is considered to male not just determined by biology but is also dependent on the discourse around sex/gender (ibid, 186). What he means by that is that how a “male body” should look and behave is not just innate, it depends on how expectations from society. Furthermore, the way that the masculine subject experiences their own body depends on what is generally expected of the male body, mainly for it be strong, tough and in control of physical space (ibid, 189). This can be seen as a contrast of the expected feminine embodiment, which is generally expected to be timid, careful, and restricted. Whitehead further describes how bodies (regardless of gender) are regulated through the panoptic gaze (ibid, 194). He borrows this term from Foucault to describe how we in modern society are constantly under surveillance, to the degree that we subconsciously regulate our own behavior. Whitehead then goes on to show how this panoptic gaze can be extra harsh on some bodies (such as for people of color), subverted by some (such as gay men), and be different during the lifespan. Regarding aging male bodies he writes that with age many cannot live up to the ideal of having a strong and active body, and many lose sexual confidence at this time as well (ibid, 200). Here we once again see the theme of connecting masculinity to an active sexuality.

The analysis of the scenes with Varys from A Song of Ice and Fire will be presented below in a thematic fashion, but for context I will provide a brief overview of them here. The first scene is from the first novel, A Game of Thrones, from the point of view of Catelyn Stark when she arrives in Kings Landing (Martin 2011a, 165-169). There she meets the Master of Coin Petyr Baelish as well as Varys himself. This is the first time Varys appears on page, even though he has been mentioned before. The second scene occurs later in the same book, from the point of view of Hand of the King Eddard “Ned” Stark who has been imprisoned, accused of treason (Martin 2011a, 608-613). Varys shows up in his cell, disguised as a gaoler, and they discuss the future. The third scene is in the next book, A Clash of Kings, where the new Hand of the King Tyrion Lannister and Varys discuss politics and power (Martin 2011b, 117-122). This scene is from Tyrion’s point of view.

In the first scene where the reader sees Varys he is described thusly:

The man who stepped through the door was plump, perfumed, powered, and as hairless as an egg. He wore a vest of woven gold thread over a loose gown of purple silk, and on his feet were pointed slippers of soft velvet. (...) His flesh was soft and moist, and his breath smelled of lilacs. (Martin 2011a, 167)

In the scene with Tyrion in A Clash with Kings he is described similarly, this time as having flowing lavender colored robes and smelling of lavender (Martin 2011b, 117). In both these occasions his appearance seems somewhat feminine, with flowing robes and flower scents. It is also interesting to note how his mannerisms are described. In the scene from A Game of Thrones it is described how he “giggled like a little girl” (Martin 2011a, 168). Later he handles a knife “with exaggerated delicacy” and when he still cuts himself on it, he lets out a squeal (ibid). In the scene from A Clash with Kings he is described first as “gliding into the hall”, and then he “tittered nervously” when questioned by Tyrion (Martin 2011b, 117). Later he is also described as giggling nervously (ibid, 121). Throughout this scene his reactions and speech generally seem exaggeratedly emotional, almost theatrical. One example is when Tyrion confronts him about not telling him about Tyrion’s sister’s involvement in the killing of the former king Robert’s bastard children:

‘Your own sweet sister,’ Varys said, so grief-stricken that he looked close to tears. ‘It is a hard thing to tell a man, my lord, I was fearful how you might take it. Can you forgive me?’ (Martin 2011b, 117)

His mannerisms throughout these two scenes seem careful, delicate, and emotional. This is somewhat of a contrast to how he is described in the scene with Eddard Stark from A Game of Thrones. Here some of the same language is present; Varys is described as speaking sadly and sighing (Martin 2011a, 609-610). But Eddard also notes how he seems blunter than usual. His appearance is the most different though, here he has disguised himself:

The eunuch’s plump cheeks were covered with a dark stubble of beard. Ned felt the course hair with his fingers. Varys had transformed himself into a grizzled turnkey, reeking of sweat and sour wine. (Martin 2011a, 609)

Here Eddard sees how Varys has changed himself from his usual plump and feminine self, into an unwashed gruff gaelor. Seeing this disguise might hint that Varys usual appearance, with his theatrics, is a disguise as well. I will return to this notion later.

From these scenes we can see that Varys usually seems to dress in a slightly feminine manner. His mannerisms seem feminine too, if one considers what Whitehead writes about feminine and masculine embodiment (2002, 189). Feminine embodiment is described there as timid and more restricted, while masculine embodiment is described as tough and in control of physical space. With his nervous tittering, exaggerated delicacy etc., Varys most definitely appears more feminine than masculine. All of this also seems in line with how eunuchs were described being feminine and submissive in antiquity (Nikoloutus 2008). Varys’ clothing is also interesting from this point of view; having a loose silk gown, a golden vest, and pointed slippers he fits in well with the idea of the eunuch from as an “Eastern” figure. This, of course, also makes sense since he comes from the continent of Essos that seems inspired by such real-life cultures. Based on his appearance one can then see how he is both perceived as feminine and “Eastern”, which was how eunuchs were seen in for example ancient Greece. However, it is also worth noting how this is similar to the orientalist view of men from “the Orient” as being emasculated/effeminate (Carroll 2018, 107).

Another way Varys can be considered to be emasculated is of course in regard to his lack of genitalia. In all of the scenes I am analyzing it is mentioned that he is a eunuch, which makes it seem like this is central in people’s perception of him (Martin 2011a, 166 & 609; Martin 2011b, 120). In the scene with Eddard, Varys says that he swears upon his lost manhood that he is telling the truth (Martin 2011a, 613). This is an interesting turn of phrase since it directly links the removal of his genitalia with masculinity. However, it is in the scene with Tyrion that this issue is discussed most thoroughly. Tyrion says:

‘People have called me halfman too, yet I think the gods have been kinder to me. I am small, my legs are twisted, and women do not look upon me with any great yearning… yet I’m still a man. Shae is not the first to grace my bed, and one day I may take a wife and sire a son. (...) You have no such hope to sustain you. Dwarfs are a jape of the gods… but men make eunuchs.’ (Martin 2011b, 120)

Here Tyrion explicitly links having a penis with being a man. He seems to specifically connect being a man to having sex with women and fathering children. This is in line with what Fausto-Sterling writes about how having a large enough penis is considered crucial for masculine socialization, partly so the man can have penetrative sex with women (1995). It is also similar to the view of Ancient Greece, where being the penetrator in sexual intercourse was very important for one’s masculinity. However, unlike those times it seems that in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire it also important for one’s sexual partner to specifically be a woman, not simply any person below oneself in social standing. One can also note how fatherhood seems important to masculinity, which Thorsby and Gill write about as well (2004). That losing one’s manhood means losing one’s masculinity makes sense in relation to Karioris and Allen’s article, where they write that the testicles is seen as the seat of masculinity (2017). They also note how the testicles are connected to virality. All in all, it seems clear that partly why the penis and testicles are important to masculinity both in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire and our own is because of their perceived necessity for (penetrative) heterosexual sex and fatherhood. For someone to be counted as a real man they apparently have to take part in those practices. This is why Tyrion claims that he is still a man, and that Varys is not. Tyrion’s comparison of himself and Varys is furthermore interesting in other ways. It is clear when Tyrion refers to himself as a “halfman” he believes that his disability is an obstacle to him completely inhabiting a masculine subject position. As Whitehead writes, masculine embodiment is often expected to mean toughness and being in control of physical space. Tyrion describes himself as small and with twisted legs, and one can assume that this makes harder for him to live up to those ideals. However, since he can still have heterosexual sex and father children, he counts himself as a man. This emphasizes how important sexuality and virality is in the construction of masculinity.

The last theme that I want to touch upon is how Varys seems to be mistrusted and ill liked. In Catelyn’s chapter in A Game of Thrones she reflects on how she does not trust him, and how Varys’ ability to find out information disconcerts her (Martin 2011a, 167-168). In Eddard’s chapter later in the novel Varys points out himself how “no one loves a eunuch” (ibid, 609). However, he then says that “A eunuch has no honor, and a spider does not enjoy the luxury of scruples, my lord.” (ibid 610). This provides somewhat of an insight into his political strategy, while also making it seem wise to mistrust him. In the chapter with Tyrion in A Clash of Kings Varys makes a similar statement: “Spiders and informers are seldom loved, my lord.” (Martin 2011b, 120.) So, as a eunuch and a spy Varys is mistrusted and unloved. That he occupies the role of a spy is interesting in relation to what Llewellyn-Jones writes about the role eunuchs historically could have at court (2002). Those eunuchs could move between the private (feminine) sphere and the public (masculine) sphere, and therefore inform those in powers of courtly intrigue. This seems similar to what Varys does. A reoccurring theme for him, then, seems to be the transgression of borders. From private/feminine to public/masculine spaces, from feminine to masculine embodiment, from East to West. Perhaps, similarly to how eunuchs were regarded with contempt in Ancient Greece because of their transgressive position, this explains part of the reason why Varys is disliked. The fact that he is called “the Spider” also hints to him not quite being considered human. This is similar to how both Stryker and Hayward describe the way trans people are often perceived (1994; 2010). Similarly to how Hayward describes how the spider is looked upon with both curiosity and disgust, this seems to be how Varys the spider is seen. Furthermore, similarly to Hayward’s description Varys seems to create a place for himself through his spider web. However, there are some complications to simply reading him as a trans character. For one, it is very unclear how Varys considers his gender himself, the reader only gets descriptions of him from other characters’ points of view. But while it is unclear how he identifies; the way other characters see him seems similar to attitudes trans people might face. His, in their eyes, unclear gender and sex makes him seem slippery and unlikable. This ties back to the idea of eunuchs being seen with contempt because of their liminal character.

Perhaps one strategy that Varys uses to counter the disadvantage of his position as a eunuch is to play into it. Earlier I noted that his feminine mannerisms seemed almost theatrical, and if he can disguise himself as a goalor, then perhaps his usual appearance is a disguise as well. As a spymaster he is most likely aware of how one’s every move might be watched, similarly to the panoptic gaze that Whitehead describes. This might have made him realize how important it is to control his own appearance etc. Varys might do something similar to how Whitehead writes that gay men might sometimes subvert the panoptic gaze on male bodies, by not conforming to the expectations of their embodiment (2002, 198). Varys seemingly conforms to the way eunuchs are expected to inhabit their bodies, but the reader cannot be sure if this is his “true” appearance or if he even has one. In this way he might be said to subvert the panoptic gaze by not simply conforming to the role of the effeminate and weak eunuch that his appearance might indicate but use this to his advantage. Furthermore, it seems useful for his position at court to both be able to move between different spaces with different disguises, and to use the idea of a eunuch as effeminate to seem less threatening in a patriarchal society.

In conclusion then, Varys is considered less of a man because of his lack of “manhood”. In a world where sexuality and virality is intimately connected to masculinity, his perceived lack of those makes him no true man. Furthermore, his appearance and mannerisms seem more feminine than masculine. This, however, might be a strategy of his to seem less threatening in his position of Master of Spies. As he says himself, eunuchs and informants are seldom loved, so it might be beneficial for him to play into the role of the weak effeminate eunuch. Perhaps this also makes him able to move between differently gendered spaces, similarly to the eunuchs of antiquity. However, being the effeminate eunuch also seems part of what makes people distrust him. Him inhabiting the liminal space between borders of gender/sexuality and ethnicity, both spatially and with his embodiment, makes people vary of him. Is he a man or woman? Western or Eastern? Neither? But by destabilizing such borders, he also makes them visible. When the characters deem him less of a man for appearing feminine and lacking the body parts that would make him a man, it becomes clearer what requirements there are to be a man. Those seem to include a certain amount of toughness, active sexuality, and virality. Lacking both the set of genitalia that is deemed necessary to perform those actions and having the gendered perceptions of his ethnicity working against him, Varys cannot be perceived as a true man. But ultimately, this says more about how the society he lives in views masculinity.

References

Amnesty International. (2017). “First, do no harm: ensuring the rights of children born intersex.” Accessed 1 December, 2019. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/campaigns/2017/05/intersex-rights/

Carroll, Shiloh. 2018. Medievalism in A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones. Cambridge: D.S. Brewer

glass_table_girl. 2014. “(Spoilers All) A List of Things that GRRM Has Cited as Influences or Sources of Enjoyment”. Reddit, August 31, 2014.

https://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/2f3wz9/spoilers_all_a_list_of_things_that_grrm_has_cited/

Fausto-Sterling, Anne. 1995. “How to build a man”, in Constructing Masculinity, eds. Berger, Maurice, Brian Wallis and Simon Watson, 127-134. New York: Routledge.

Hayward, Eva. 2010. “Spider city sex”, Women & Performance: a journal of feminist theory, 20(3):225-251

Karioris, Frank G. and Jonathan A. Allan. 2017. “Grow a Pair! Critically Analyzing Masculinity and the Testicles.” Journal of Men’s Studies, 24(3): 245-261.

Martin, George RR. 2011a. A Game of Thrones. London: Harper Voyager.

Martin, George RR. 2011b. A Clash of Kings. London: Harper Voyager.

Nikoloutsos, Konstantinos P. 2008. ”The Alexander Bromance: Male Desire and Gender Fluidity in Oliver Stone’s Historical Epic.” Helios, (35)2: 223-251

Llewellyn-Jones, Lloyd. 2002. “Eunuchs and the royal harem in Achaemenid Persia (559-331 BC)”, in Eunuchs in antiquity and beyond, ed. Tougher, Shaun, 19-50. Swansea: The Classical Press of Wales.

Stryker, Susan. 1994. “My words to Victor Frankenstein above the village of Chamounix: Performing transgender rage” GLQ 1(3): 237-254

Throsby, Karen & Rosalind Gill. 2004. ”It’s Different for Men: Masculinity and IVF.” Men and Masculinities, (6)4: 330-348

Tougher, Shaun. 2002. “In or out? Origins of court eunuchs.” in Eunuchs in antiquity and beyond, ed. Tougher, Shaun, 143-160. Swansea: The Classical Press of Wales.

Whitehead, Stephen M. 2002. Men and Masculinities, Cambridge and Malden: Polity.

#asoiaf #feminism #cw: sexism #cw: racism

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startellers-wings-of-fire-corner · 6 years ago

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Wings of Fire Music Inspiration

Hey everyone! Thought I’d pop back on for a quick little post. My process of writing head cannons and doing artwork are heavily inspired by music. I’m going to go ahead and list my playlists for each tribe and some others for plot-lines. Probably will reference them further on down the line. I’m sure many of you will not share my taste in music and that’s cool. But, in case any of you were curious or will be curious, here is all the music I use as inspiration for my works. And this is a quick post that I had a little time to do between my projects. I’m halfway done with two and soon will be able to get back to my regular artwork and writings. I will probably keep this up to date as more tracks are added.

I will link as many of these as I can to the actual songs on Youtube. If they are not linked, then there isn’t a video for it. You’ll have to find them on your own. :-(

If you are interested in my other projects (Steven Universe related, CGI and animation) follow me on my Stream of Distracted Thought blog.

Anyway, here is my playlists!

(Hope you like instrumental music!)

Wing of Fire Main Themes:

Wings of Fire by Dirk Elhert

Dragonland by Thomas Bergersen

Welcome to Your Fantasy by Future World Music

First Arc Main Theme:

We Are by Epic Music VN

Other First Arc Music:

Escape from the Summer Palace: Battle for Skyrim by Boris Mihajlovic

Clay: A Hero Will Rise by Future World Music

Starflight: Brave (Cover) By Peter Hollens

Sunny: I Won’t Give Up (Cover) By Peter Hollens

Sunny Also: The Hero in Your Heart by Thomas Bergersen

Glory: Heart of Fire by Valentin Wiest

The SandWing Queens: Rex Imperium by Immediate Music

The Abandoned Battlefield: Tears of War by Sub Pub Music

Second Arc Main Theme:

Dangerous by Two Steps from Hell

Other Second Arc Music:

Moonwatcher: Remember me Forever by Claudie Mackula

Peril: See the World Burn by Goran Dragas

Kinkajou: Ants vs. Bugs by Sub Pub Music

Due to their advanced nature in science and engineering, I wanted something that sounded big and sweeping for Ancient NightWings. I like a synthetic feel to the music to reflect this.

Ancient NightWings Theme:

Child of the Machine by Anitti Martkainen

Darkstalker and Clearsight:

Under Your Spell by The Birthday Massacre

Counterpane by The Birthday Massacre

Hear Me by Sons of Pythagoras

Tales of Moonlight by Valentin Wiest

Legend of the Night by Valentin Wiest

Buy the Stars by Marina and the Diamonds

I Remember by Les Friction

Prince Arctic and Foeslayer:

Rewrite the Stars by Zac Efron

Father the Lord by Max Music

Whiteout

Immanuel by Tony Anderson

My current NighWing head cannon is that they take after Roman/Greek culture. However, due to their widely perceived intelligence in science and engineering, I choose music that has metal instruments in them or what sounds like that. Even Moonwatcher’s and Deathbringer’s themes possess these sorts of sounds.

NightWing Theme (Current):

Styx Theater by Valentin Wiest

NightWing Assorted Music:

Escape the Volcano: Temen Oblak (Dark Clouds) by Christopher Tin

I See Fire by Ed Sheeran (But I prefer the cover by Peter Hollens)

Queen Battlewinner’s Theme: The Frail by Two Steps from Hell

Deathbringer’s Theme: Emperor’s Assassin by Two Steps from Hell

Due to their very rigid and inflexible culture, I associate IceWings with male chanting, giving the illusion of militaristic unity.

IceWing Theme:

Full Sail by Demented Sound Mafia

IceWing Assorted Music:

We are Lions by Chasing Mirrors

Land of Ice Creatures by Gothic Storm Music

I head cannon that SeaWings take after Polynesian culture. However, most of their music has a single singer or has a fantasy feel. And A Tale of Sea Dragons just fits magnificently well.

SeaWing Theme:

A Tale of Sea Dragons by Marcus Warner

SeaWing Assorted music:

Dharma by Chasing Mirrors

Ocean Palace by Anitti Martkainen

We Bring the Tides by Mitchell Broom

Lullaby of the Siren by Audiomachine

I head cannon that SandWings take after Aboriginal culture. Their music is both the hardest to find and the most interesting. Finding instrumental music with Digeridoos in it is rare.

SandWing Theme:

The Wild Tribe by Tartalo Music

SandWing Assorted Music:

Outback by Sub Pub Music

Tribal by Trevor Crookston

Middle East Rave by Freeplay Music

Tonestep by Adele & Zalem

I picture RainWings taking after the jungle tribes and people of the Congo in Africa. Because of this I have chosen music distinctly African. And theirs by far is some of my favorites.

RainWing Theme:

Iza Ngomso (Come Tomorrow) by Christopher Tin

Assorted RainWing Music:

Waloyo Yamoni (We Overcome the Wind) by Christopher Tin

Inspirational Africa by Matthew L. Fisher

As I’ve stated previously, I picture SkyWings taking after Celtic culture. So, the music I pick for them tends to be Celtic as well. I also associate them with a single, female voice. (Reflected in their mother goddess.)

SkyWing Theme:

A Warrior’s Fate by Anitti Martkainen

SkyWing Assorted Music:

Steel for Humans by Percival And Marcin Przybylowicz

Fierce Deity by Valentin Wiest

Rise of a Kingdom by BrunuhVille

Symphony of the Forest by Anitti Martkainen

Celtic Warrior by Damiano Baldoni

I head cannon that MudWings take after Native American Culture. (Though which tribal nation I’m not sure of yet.) Wooden flutes are the unifying feature that I look for in their music.

MudWing Theme:

Vale of a Thousand Rivers by Anitti Martkainen

MudWing Assorted Music:

Dear You by David Chappell

Awakening the Forest by Anitti Martkainen

Colors by J.T. Peterson

Arc Three:

Generalized Pantala Music:

Due to the wild nature of Pantala, I decided to go with unified chanting for all of the tribes.

General Arc Themes

Oracle by Kari Sigurdsson

One Million Voices by Thomas Bergersen

Pamtseo by Blakus (Breath of Evil’s Theme)

For the SilkWings, I wanted something that was sad, reflecting the enslavement of their tribe.

SilkWing Main Theme

Black Opium by Select Tracks (Likely to be the SilkWing main theme.)

The HiveWings are honestly the hardest tribe of the new arc to decide on music for. They are rather generic compared to the LeafWings and SilkWings when it comes to their tribe history and culture. So I chose a sweeping chanting song for their theme, reflecting their pride as the victorious tribe as well as keeping with the over all theme of the other tribes.

HiveWing Main Theme

Exile of the Mountain Queen by Matthijs Kieboom

LeafWing Main Theme

(Undecided)

Undone by Tommee Profitt (Sundew’s Theme)

#Wings of Fire #WOF #starteller's inspiration playlist #music playlist

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romancatholicreflections · 6 years ago

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25th December >> Sunday Homilies and Reflections on Today’s Mass Readings for Roman Catholics on the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ - Year C

(-To be celebrated on 24-25th December 2018-)

Gospel reading Luke 2:1-20

vs.1 Now at this time Caesar Augustus issued a decree for a census of the whole world to be taken. vs.2 This census – the first – took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria, vs.3 and everyone went to his own town to be registered. vs.4 So Joseph set out from the town of Nazareth in Galilee and travelled up to Judaea, to the town of David called Bethlehem, since he was of David’s House and line,vs.5 in order to be registered together with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. vs.6 While they were there the time came for her to have her child, vs.7 and she gave birth to a son, her first-born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them at the inn. vs.8 In the countryside close by there were shepherds who lived in the fields and took it in turns to watch their flocks during the night. vs.9 The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone round them. They were terrified, vs.10 but the angel said, “Do not be afraid. Listen, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. vs.11 Today in the town of David a saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. vs.12 And here is a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.” vs.13 And suddenly with the angel there was a great throng of the heavenly host, praising God and singing: vs.14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace to men who enjoy his favour.” vs.15 Now when the angels had gone from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” vs.16 So they hurried away and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. vs.17 When they saw the child they repeated what they had been told about him, vs.18 and everyone who heard it was astonished at what the shepherds had to say. vs.19 As for Mary, she treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. vs.20 And the shepherds went back glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen; it was exactly as they had been told.

The Gospel of the Lord

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We have three commentators available from whom you may wish to choose .

Michel DeVerteuil : A Trinidadian Holy Ghost Priest, director of the Centre of Biblical renewal . Thomas O’Loughlin: Professor of Historical Theology, University of Wales, Lampeter. Sean Goan: Studied scripture in Rome, Jerusalem and Chicago and teaches at Blackrock College and works with Le Chéile

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Michel de Verteuil Lectio Divina, The Year of Luke www.columba.ie

General Comments

This well-known story is very rich so we will focus on some aspects only, staying with Mary’s perspective, especially in verses 6 to 7, and 16 to 20.

In verses 6 and 7 Luke tells us that Mary gave birth “when the time came for her to have her child.” Contrary to the popular interpretation, he indicates no regret that there was no room in the inn. All happened as was foretold.

To understand the significance of verse 19, it is important to note that the Greek word which we translate as “things” is rhema, which means both “word” and “event”. Mary, through her interior attitude of respectful listening, turns the event into a sacred word.

Prayer Reflection “Nothing happens before its time.” … Trinidadian saying Lord, we pray for those who are involved in lofty projects and are becoming impatient: * parish youth leaders who are not getting co-operation; * a new party that has won no seats in the elections; * parents who are trying in vain to dialogue with their teenagers. Help them to remember Mary and how when the time came For her to have her child she gave birth to a son. She was at peace, felt no great concern that there was no room for them in the inn, Merely wrapped her child in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger.

Lord, these days we are all very busy. At work or in school we have to expend much effort to achieve success. At home we are bombarded with information from television and radio. We have time only for the sensational and we allow the ordinary events of life to come and go: • the signs of maturity in our children; • the life crises of those close to us; • new stirrings of resentment or of hope among ordinary people in our country. Even in our relationship with you we concentrate on the miraculous and the extraordinary, glorify and praise you because things turn out exactly as we were told they would. Mary teaches us on the contrary to see in every event a call to grow, a sacred word you speak to us, to be welcomed as a treasure and pondered in our hearts, reflected on and integrated into our consciousness. Lord, help us to be more like Mary.

“My cell will not be one of stone or wood, but of self-knowledge.” …St Catherine of Siena

Lord, we thank you for all the contemplatives in the world, those in enclosed convents, and those called, like Mary, to live in their families and in secular surroundings. While others chatter and repeat endlessly what they have been told, these, like Mary, know how to be silent, treasuring things and pondering them in their hearts.

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3. Thomas O’Loughlin, Liturgical Resources for Year C (Luke) www.columba.ie

Homily Notes

Christmas Vigil Mass

1. The homily today always seems to be inadequate: the festival is bubbling over with symbols of the season (holly, ivy, ‘Santa, and what not) and with people’s heightened emotions on the big day. Moreover, the mystery that one has to speak about is so much more than anything capable of being put into words that anything actually said seems paltry and trite. Yet the day still needs a word. l’he day needs to have its focus drawn to the mind as well as to the senses. And, there may be many there in the assembly today who will never hear the word from one end of the year to the other, and to them alone is owed the duty of preaching. The task is to take the theme of God-with-us and present it in such a way that (1) the homily can be followed using a framework already familiar to the audience; (2) that seems appropriately seasonal; and (3) that has a certain lightness suited to holiday time.

2. Here is a strategy that can produce a short homily that is easy to follow. The individuals who make up the congregation are asked to imagine where they stand in the array of people that are mentioned in the Bethlehem scene.

3. Do you imagine yourself as one of the people inside the inn? For this group the birth of Jesus is an irrelevance: it does not touch them and they show no interest. To them it was just an external knock on the door, and they just kept going on with what they were doing. Then as now, this is the majority of people.

4. Do you place yourself among the shepherds? Here are people who are open to wonder. They can accept good news. They are people who are already part of a faith tradition, they shared the practices, hopes, and fears of the people, but were also ready to respond with faith to the voice of God.

5. Do you imagine yourself as one of the wise ones, the kings, who came from the east? These are people who are dedicated to searching out the great human questions, but they are not just engaged in idle speculation: they set out and searched for the truth. They listened to the promptings of conscience; they did not come empty handed. These are dedicated searchers after the truth and conscientious doers of the good. All their talents they are placing in the service of God-withus.

6. Do you imagine yourself like Joseph: caring for the welfare of the church, working in the community, taking on special responsibilities towards the Word made flesh. He is helping to make the good news known, and prepared to response to the inner call of vocation.

7. Do you imagine yourself as sharing in the vocation of Mary? She first brought the Anointed One into the world; but it is through us that Jesus enters our world.

8. We are all at the birth scene: each of us is called upon to fulfill all these vocations in varying ways.

Christmas Day Mass

1. The homily today has to be simple, snappy, and seasonal. The reason for this is obvious: there are many in the gathering who are not frequent diners at the eucharistic table, and for virtually everyone there are lots of other things going through their minds such as what’s going to happen at lunch, keeping an eye on children with new toys, or how not to get annoyed with the in-laws.

2. So the homily has to have the inclusiveness of a ‘Thought for the Day’ on the radio, yet adequately identify the Christian solemnity we are celebrating. One way to do this is to focus on the Christ as the Prince of Peace.

3. Look at the coming of the Son of God: not in a show of force but in simplicity and poverty.

4. The majesty of God makes itself felt by sharing human weakness, limitation and suffering, not by making humans feel his majesty and power.

5. Fear and threats are marks of human relations at every level; the message of the angels to the shepherds is peace on earth, good will to men and women.

6. We celebrate the Prince of Peace. Are we willing to adopt the way of peace ourselves? We seek security and justice. Are we brave enough to be peacemakers?

7. We are celebrating God sharing his life with us in Jesus; we have gathered for the Lord to share his table with us; are we willing to share our lives and tables and riches with others: for that is how peace and justice are established?

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3. John Littleton, Journeying through the Year of Luke. www.columba.ie

Gospel Reflection

Christmas has finally Come. We rejoice that the Worn has become flesh, that God the Son has become human while remaining divine. There is no more waiting because the Messiah has arrived and now is the time liberation from our enslavement to sin. But this is n surprising since, in the Hebrew Scriptures ( Christians call the Old Testament), this arrival had been prophesied for many centuries before the birth of Christ.

The prophets taught that God would intervene dramatically in human history, redeeming his people by defeating the power of sin, thereby bringing an end to oppression and injustice (which are some of the consequences of sin), and by establishing freedom, peace and happiness. God would send the Saviour to rescue his people from their long-lasting trials and tribulations. As a result, the world and human life would never again be the same.

In Isaiah’s words the prophecy was definite: ‘For there is a child born for us, a son given to us and dominion is laid on his shoulders; and this is the name they give him: Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God, Eternal-Father, Prince-of-Peace. Wide is his dominion in a peace that has no end’ (Isaiah 9:5-7). This particular prophecy is one of the most important messianic prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures.

The prophecy was fulfilled at the Incarnation and the birth of Jesus. He is the ‘Son of the Most High’ (Luke 1:32) who was destined to be the Saviour of the world. He is the light that came into the world casting away the darkness of sin and cancelling human estrangement from God (see John 1:9).

We are the descendants, both historically and spiritually of the many generations of people who ‘walked in darkness’ (Isaiah 9:1) for centuries as they waited and prepared for the Messiah’s arrival. Sadly, we become lost in spiritual darkness whenever our lives are sinful. Our challenge at Christmas is to abandon sin and invite the light of Christ to shine in our lives.

When, with the light of God’s grace, we overcome the darkness of sin, we are able to contribute to the ending of oppression and injustice in our world. That is what Jesus meant when, during his public ministry thirty years after his birth, he advised his disciples: ‘Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on his righteousness, and all these other things will be given you as well’ (Matthew 6:33). Yet there is much disharmony and violence in our world. This is because countless numbers of people have not accepted Jesus as the Messiah and have not responded to his life- giving and redemptive message.

Christmas is a time for both giving and receiving gifts. The greatest gift that God gives us is sending his only Son among us to redeem us from the effects of sin. Christmas celebrates the reality that God is with us uniquely in and through Jesus Christ.

We are encouraged at Christmas to renew our hope in God because he has intervened spectacularly in history, particularly by becoming human, to save us from sin and death. Christmas is about life and light — the life offered us in Christ and his light which destroys the spiritual darkness of sin. We rejoice and are glad that he lives among us.

Meditation

Today in the town of David a saviour has been born to you;

he is Christ the Lord. (Luke 2:11)

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battlestar-royco · 6 years ago

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You’re obviously a huge fan of author’s with amazing world building and incredible character development (which everyone should be, but sadly is not) Do you have any favorite fantasy books/series that really encompass all that sjm fails to? (Also side note: it bothers me so much that her ideas have so much potential, but for some reason she takes every shortcut known to mankind, dammit someone replace Sarah with a clone that can actually write please)

Hm, I think what constitutes good worldbuilding and character development can be really subjective because everyone has different standards. For example, some antis would say that the entire T0G world is really inconsistent and shallow, but I think SJ/M’s ideas have a lot of potential. She could have gotten deep into the Ironteeth vs Crochan dichotomy, the history of Elena and the Galathyniuses, fleshed out kingdoms’ cultures, and introduced steadily creepier/more dangerous Wyrdgate creatures, just to name a few things. I think the AC0TAR world starts off weak and gets more nonsensical as it goes, but some people love the AC0TAR worldbuilding.

My standards for enjoyable/passable worldbuilding are if the magic system, history, cultures, politics, etc inform each other and don’t contradict themselves. For character I like when they have a good backstory, if they have the main character conflicts (vs character, vs society, vs self, etc), and if their behavior is interesting or empathetic. The best I can do is tell you the shows/books with worldbuilding and characters I’ve most enjoyed. I’m gonna put some sci-fi stuff on the list too because I’ve been way more into sci-fi ever since I got sick of SJ/M. I feel like most of these suggestions either have been or are currently in the mainstream, so a lot of this will be really redundant.

The Grishaverse: the magic system is pretty straightforward when introduced, and built upon throughout all the books. The kingdoms have different lore, governments, languages, cultural norms, clothing styles, etc.

Avatar/Legend of Korra: again, straightforward magic system that is an organic part of the natural world, culture, and politics. Technological advances and historical events from ATLA are relevant to LOK.

Percy Jackson: some demigod stuff explains unnatural phenomena in our world (ie the Sea of Monsters=Bermuda Triangle), many artifacts and cultural practices from Greek/Roman history come into play organically and are pivotal to the plot, the godly abilities correspond with demigod powers, the camp is super interesting and fun.

Harry Potter: honestly one of the most convincing worlds I’ve ever read. The Wizarding World has hundreds of spells, the setting of Hogwarts is so vivid and wonderful, there are a bunch of old Wizard families and artifacts, the Marauders’ history and the Wizarding War inform the current storyline, etc.

Sense8: every episode of s1 reveals another aspect of Sensate abilities, and s2 develops the secret networks and factions of Sensates. The concept is counterintuitive at first, but once you understand it, it’s really unique.

The Winner’s Curse (a problematic fave): there is no magic system, so the main worldbuilding relies on cultural tensions. We understand the different values, practices, clothing styles, artistic knowledge, and histories of the main three cultures.

AS0IAF: pretty much goes without saying at this point. You could write a book on the religions, myths, clothing, food, lifestyle, history, and more for this world.

Mistborn: the magic system is pretty heavily exposited, but very convincing once you get the hang of it.

The 100: a lot of different technology and clan wars are displayed throughout the series. Each clan has unique cultural values, practices, languages, dress codes, etc.

Battlestar Galactica (2004): the Cylon abilities are steadily developed throughout the 4 seasons and yet humans still don’t fully understand them until the very end. The tensions between the Cylons and the humans make perfect sense, and are pretty complicated. Their cultural values and aesthetics are visually reflected everywhere, from the shape of playing cards to costume insignia and coloring to spaceship design.

Dune: the environment, political tensions, technology, and magic all tie together incredibly.

As for characters, I won’t go into detail because it could get spoilery, but The 100 has some of the most interesting character development I’ve seen. Every character has gone through so much change and loss, and many friendship/family/romantic dynamics have done 180s, but the characters all maintain their core values/personalities from the beginning. Walter White and Jesse Pinkman’s arcs throughout Breaking Bad are also amazing. My favorite AS0IAF arcs are Sansa, Arya, and Jaime. I know these aren’t all fantasy, but I really haven’t been reading or watching much fantasy lately, so I just provided some general examples. Hope that answers your question!

#asks #worldbuilding

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scripttorture · 7 years ago

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If I understand correctly you've said that torture for information wasn't a thing until recently. If that's right, what do you make of the reference in Procopius's Secret History to someone refusing to divulge information despite being tortured? I understand that probably nothing in the Secret History actually happened but I don't think its age is in any doubt so it seems like it should be as reflective of that time's attitudes as modern fiction is of ours.

Gentle reminder that the blog is primarily for writing advice. I amgoing to answer this but it doesn’t seem linked to a story and I’m supposed tobe helping people with fiction. I appreciate that I’m probably the only placeyou can all freely ask questions about torture but that does get a bit muchsometimes and I’m always going to put questions on writing about torture first.

And this may get a little long.

My definition of ‘recently’ may not be the same as yours especially ifyou’re from the US, Canada or Australia. And that’s on me for not being clearabout my terms. But if I’m talking about history and I use the term ‘recent’ Icould mean anything within the last 400 years or so. Because I’m used to theidea of events back in 1000AD having a clear and obvious impact on our present.

And uh I have no idea what Procopius’Secret History is. Google informs me it’s Roman, that makes sense.

Two things about my theory here:

1) It’s my own theory based on myown reading and a more thorough academic analysis might well knock it topieces. I try to be clear when something is my opinion or my own theory.However informed it is, it doesn’t have the same weight as rigorous peerreviewed analysis. That’s a big part of why I’m answering this: I want all of you to question and factcheck me like any other source.

2) It’s about what people primarily see torture as ‘for’ ratherthan a statement that torture was alwaysused ‘for’ particular purposes at particular time periods. Torture certainlywas used in the context of interrogation and confession in societies that Idon’t think used torture primarily in those contexts.

The Romans (and Greeks) used torture in a judicial setting. But I stilldon’t think we can really claim it was the major ‘use’ of torture in theirsocieties because these societies were founded on slavery.

Torture was used in attemptsto extract information. However we are talking about societies in which asignificant proportion of the population were subjected to physical and sexualabuse on a daily basis. In the case of the Romans we’re talking about a societythat turned public murder and torture into mass entertainment.

Given how pervasive torture was in everyday life I don’t think the ideathat torture was mainly used ‘for’ information stands up. Not if we’re using modern definitions oftorture.

I think that in Roman and Ancient Greek societies torture was mostlyabout brutalising slaves and physically demarking the ‘difference’ between freecitizens and the enslaved.

And I’d contrast that with the attitude to torture that seems to havebeen present in Britain after theRoman Empire fell.

My interpretation is that the cultures that followed didn’t think oftorture as primarily a method of interrogation, a way of extracting confessionsor a way of terrorising people lower down their social hierarchy. I think theysaw torture primarily as a punishment, as something people were sentenced to.

It was still part of the judicial system but in a very different way. Ithink there was a much heavier emphasis on ideas about criminality, sin andsuffering as a form of redemption.

And while this use of torture as punishment did start to phase out in around the 1500-1600s many of them werestill on the books into the 1800s.

I think the 1400s and 1500s started to see a heavier emphasis on ideasof torture as a means of interrogation and forcing confession but again there’sstill a heavy emphasis on punishment.

There’s also a fair bit of religiously motivated torture which…I don’tfeel I’ve got a good enough grasp on the religions involved to really delvevery deeply into. I feel there were bigger political and internationalconnotations to this violence then ‘just’ terrorising and murdering minorities.

There was also a lot of torture in the military. Rejali actuallysuggests it was the military that started the shift towards ‘clean’(non-scarring) tortures in Europe that started happening around the 1700s. Thiswas very much torture as ‘discipline’.

I also think it’s useful in some contexts to distinguish the tortureEuropeans used against each other from the torture used against others in thecontext of Empire building. A lot ofpractices that were common in certain colonies were not common in Europe at thesame time.

And the primary motivation in a lot of colonies was (I believe) closerto Roman ideas about citizens vs barbarians and keeping people lower on thesocial hierarchy ‘down’ then it was to ideas about what made interrogationeffective.

That’s a very quick overview of torture in Europe (concentrating mostlyon Britain) and the ways I think attitudes to it (and use of it) changed overtime.

Essentially I don’t think that all historical societies looked attorture the way we do now. Different cultures justified the atrocities theycommitted in different ways and their beliefs about what violence couldactually accomplish didn’t necessarily match ours.

I think the pervasiveness and popularity of the idea that torture canproduce accurate information (not true) isa relatively new phenomena in Western countries. The idea that it’s the mainthing torture is ‘for’ and the regularity with which it turns up injustifications- these also seem to me like a much more recent thing.

In the same way we don’t now tend to give much weight to the idea thattorture could save someone from hell. Our justice systems rely more on prisonthen ritual mutilation.

Attitudes and cultures change over time. Emphasising modern attitudestowards torture doesn’t always fit in a story with a historical setting.

I hope that clears things up. :)

Disclaimer

#tw torture #historical torture #European torture #National styles #torture apologia #ways torture has changed with time #Anonymous

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avisalaencantadia · 7 years ago

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If you’ve followed me from the very start, you guys would notice that I’ve never published my own reviews or opinions over the show (except for some asks). This is because I prefer giving my opinions when a show is over. This gives my review some sense of finality.

But yeah... Anyway, just in case you want to read my rambles and opinions, feel free to click the “Keep reading” link below :) and yes the comic sans is intended

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I’ll be dividing my feedback on certain aspects and then I’ll say what the Enca team did good and bad there. Brace yourselves, this is a very long post :))

Story/Plot

The Good

Modernizing the existing Encantadia plot - If you’ve watched Encantadia since 2005, you would know most of the 2016′s version plot derives from the original. But what I really liked with Encantadia 2016′s plot is how it was adjusted to reflect current day sensibilities and moralities like with how Amihan still loved and treated Mira as her own daughter after learning the truth, not making Mila/Lira into an archetypal abused maid, Lira and Mira being best friends and literally #cousin goals instead of love rivals, Ybramihan with their realistic and slow burn romance, Alena breaking out of the “first love never dies” trope, and so much more.

Book 1 - Book 1 (Episode 1 - 148) is the best part of Encantadia 2016. To be very honest, I really wished that the requel just ended with Book 1. Book 1 is, for the most part, well written. I like how little backstories were added from the start, the story was pretty much cohesive, most of the plot deviations from the original were logical (the fall of Amihan and the banishment of Pirena were superb), and the mortal world was less shown than from the original. Speaking of the mortal world, please see below :)

Involvement of the mortal world - Perhaps one of the best things I really liked from the plot of the requel is how the setting of the mortal world was used more logically. What I really didn’t like about the original is how around 50% of the scenes (until Lira returns to Encantadia) was divided into Encantadia scenes and then mortal world scenes and I was like, “this is a show about Encantadia right??” In this version, Mila/Lira’s growth in the mortal realm was not extended (they really did great in doing away with the maid-and-master-romance plot for Lira), Danaya and Alena’s exiles to the human world are sensible, Encantados - like Enuo, Mira, Lilasari and Hitano - choosing to live in the mortal realm was interesting, and the concept of “taong ligaw” as well. Seriously, if you know your migration and trade theories well, it’s very very logical that some Encantados would choose to live away from their motherland because y’know, it ain’t exactly peaceful in Encantadia. Or like the Bandidos who choose to go to the mortal realm to dabble in some trade... although of course human slave trade is definitely not right.

The Bad

The plot being obviously dragged out - All popular Philippine dramas are victims of extension due to public demand and it isn’t a secret that Encantadia was extended until Mulawin vs Ravena was ready. While I totally understand that GMA wanted to capitalize on the ratings success of Encantadia, unfortunately, the plot really suffered and Book 2 (together with the “Finding Lira” arc) looked like it wasn’t thought of very well.

Plot handling - *ehem* You mean Book 2? *ehem* Ok, on paper, the premise of Encantadia is great. The problem is, most of the plot devices they introduced became too big for them to handle and the prime example was how they handled Book 2. Actually, Book 2 started well in showing what happened after Amihan’s death: 3 kingdoms flourishing, the threat of Etheria, the introduction of the 6 guardians-in-training, etc. But unfortunately, it fell apart: Lireo is great but why did it look that Ybrahim and Pirena were spending more time meddling with Lirean affairs than with Sapiro and Hathoria respectively? We all know that Etheria was a great kingdom but why didn’t they explore its history well and why did they make it fall again just to give way to Hagorn’s return? Oh and the 6 guardians in training? You know what? I really really loved it at first because it showed that not only royalty can become guardians but also normal Encantados (or a mortal like Pao Pao) as well. But after the massacre at Cassiopea’s island, all the remaining guardians-in-training became useless character scene fillers. Marami silang sinayang tbh...

Amihan-centric plot - For a show that used to highlight the four sisters, Book 1 revolved and highlighted mainly Amihan. From episode 1 until her death, we were made aware of Amihan’s significance due to Cassiopea’s prophecy and Hagorn’s obsession to kill her. If you watched the original series, you will see each Sang’gre was given enough air time and importance in the story. But since Amihan was given so much importance in the requel, this led to major plot issues when Kylie left the show. This was partially fixed in Book 2 where we see the three remaining Sang’gres united against Avria, Hagorn and Ether. However, it makes me wish they had an opportunity to do this with Amihan still alive. Which leads to...

Plot handling for actors who leave the show - For the requel we saw 2 major plot changes due to actors leaving the show: Kylie’s and Sunshine’s. Naturally, Kylie’s departure left a bigger hole in the plot and in our hearts than Sunshine’s. Of course I understand that the actors’ departures come from valid reasons (Kylie’s pregnancy and Sunshine’s schedule due to Ika-Anim na Utos) but I wish their character’s deaths and aftermaths were handled better, especially for Adhara. I had huge hopes for Adhara’s character only for her to die a very meh second death. No huge build up whatsoever nor any major revelations about her character. I’d really love to know the story they originally intended for Adhara. Was it taken over by Lilasari’s character? As for Amihan’s death, yes, it was handled very beautifully and logically but it’s the aftermath I had huge issues with. You can obviously see it in Book 2 :)

Worldbuilding and Lore

The good

Expansion of the existing Encantadia world and lore - In this requel, we were given a more solid Encantadia in terms geography: there’s a nice map and cultural distinctions between the different kingdoms were more apparent (I love the sigils and the aesthetic differences between the kingdoms). What I really love as well was the Nchan and Hathorka writing developed and explained to us. It gave us an excuse to write our names and words using these wonderful fictional but working scripts.

Limitations of the Sang’gres’ powers - Ok, some fans had issues with this but I really liked it when it was shown that the four Sang’gres only obtained special elemental powers when they have the gems in their possession. It was also a nice touch when they showed the Sang’gres not wearing their trademark warrior gears when the gems are not in their possession. This shows the Sang’gres do have weaknesses unlike their previous counterparts who can still manipulate their elements (albeit weaker) even without the gems. Because of this, it further emphasizes the gems’ importance: whoever obtains can become extremely powerful.

The deities backstories - In this requel, we get to find out there are actually 5 deities (bathala/bathaluman) instead of 3. It also showed that these deities are not all powerful and have weaknesses almost just like an average encantado. Instead of acting all-omnipotent (except Emre during Book 1), these deities acted a lot like the fickle and full-of-human-emotions Greek/Roman gods.

The bad

The fifth gem - I know a lot of people were asking about adding a new element but I did not like how they handled it. I mean, seriously, how can Cassiopea not know about its existence until the fall of Amihan? Was it because the one who obtained it was not an encantado but a batang ligaw? Speaking of batang ligaw, I did find it cute that the one who will first wield this gem is not an encantado but a little human boy. Paopao’s innocence highlights the fifth gem’s power, quintessence. However, what I highly disliked about the fifth gem is how it just became an accessory after Hagorn forced Paopao to give it to him. An extra gem to grab with no major significance unlike the four elemental gems and an alternative to the Earth gem for healing, that’s what it became. If only they let the grownup Paopao wield it again, then perhaps this gem could’ve become as significant as the others.

The deity involvement - While I first raved about adding the expansion of the deities and their backstories, I will rant about their incessant meddling (or the lack of it). For the first parts of Book 1, I liked how they maintained Emre is the Christian God-like deity, Arde is the guardian of Balaak (or hell) and Ether is the all-around mischievous meddler. I also found it cool at first that Arde and Ether both chose their champions (Adhara and Hagorn respectively) in their bid to regain power over Encantadia. However, I found it really annoying when their meddling became too much or when the encantados (*ehem* Avria *cough* Hagorn and to some extent, Lira) cannot do anything anymore except rely on their godly powers. Deus ex machina much? On the other hand, I generally thought the addition of Keros and Haliya was ok. I liked how Keros’ treachery brought about Emre’s downfall. Too bad he was killed even before he could have a total change of heart. I think it could’ve been cool if he aided Emre and gained followers after that. While Haliya was pretty useless, at least she still had some involvement in Emre and Cassiopea’s sidequest and to explain the origin of the double moon and Lilasari’s curse. It would’ve been cool if she did more. Anyway, long story short: I wish the deities meddled less and just maintained a certain distance from the encantados. Let the encantados do the work with some very occasional sprinkling of their divine blessings.

Adamya - Ok, so why was Adamya demoted from a kingdom to a protectorate territory of Lireo in the requel? I don’t get it why they made Adamya weaker than it is. Adamya had more relevance in the original series where the Diwatas usually seek refuge and get really sound advice from Imaw and his staff. However, in the requel, Imaw and the humanoid Adamyans (except the Gunikars and Nymfas) just stay with the Diwatas all the time. Is there really no desire in Imaw to return to his own homeland, see it flourish on its own and without the Sang’gres’ (especially Alena’s) help? It seems not because this is the vision of Memfes, the leader of the Gunikar tribe. While I had huge problems with him pursuing Alena, I just wished that his vision of a strong Adamya was shared by Imaw and its traditional denizens. I also wished that it was made clearer that the Gunikars and the Nymfas are technically Adamyans.

Characters and Relationships

Since Encantadia had a lot of characters, I will not be commenting on them all.

The good

Lira and Mira - Without any doubt, the Lira-Mira tandem proved to be one of the best things that happened to this requel. Like I’ve mentioned, I’m so glad they did away the love rivalry between the two cousins from the original series. It was utterly refreshing to see these two being close and doing their own adventures and shenanigans. One minor critique though, I just wished they had more character growth especially in Book 2 where they were promoted to Sang’gres.

Ybramihan - Ah, the pairing that launched a thousand ships in the requel. While I wasn’t a huge shipper myself, I really appreciated the slow burn romance between Amihan and Ybrahim. These are two leaders who are dealing with their own political and emotional issues yet still found themselves falling for each other. This mature and bittersweet kind of romance is a breath of fresh air in the sea of “pabebe” romances. I wonder if the Ybramihan endgame would still push through if Kylie did not leave the show.

Alena - Alena’s character started out as being really problematic. Lovestruck, pabebe, immature, shallow, weak - these are words I read from frustrated viewers on how they described Alena. I will also admit that I was really frustrated with Alena’s character because they made her so much weaker than her counterpart from the original series. However, thank Emre, the Encantadia crew seemed to our heard our prayers and wrote a strong and beautiful Alena in Book 2. Alena shows that despite all the hardships she suffered and endured, she learned from them and emerged a woman with the voice of reason and wisdom. I also think it was awesome that she didn’t rekindle her relationship with Ybrahim despite still having feelings for him. We really need to show less of this “first love as true love” trope and more of this “never wanted the crown but ended up as a deserving and independent queen” narrative. Alena’s character growth was one of the few things right in Book 2.

Hagorn - Hagorn is proof you can write multi-dimensional villains. Coupled with John Arcilla’s excellent acting, I think Hagorn was beautifully portrayed. Here, we saw a king who became consumed by his rage over the injustices he experienced: Mine-a breaking his heart, his father whom he idolized being killed and falsely believing Raquim (a friend turned enemy) to have done the deed, the once mighty Hathoria being cursed, Lilasari breaking his heart and Deshna hidden from him. While yes, all of his actions can be called evil but in its essence is Hagorn’s desire to be respected and loved. Pirena is indeed very similar to her father but the difference is Hagorn let anger harden his heart completely. Although one major critique I can give of him is... why must he be so damn overpowered?? I get it that antagonists need to be more powerful than the protagonists at first but as the series progress, why must Hagorn be always gaining powers all the time??

The bad

The Etherians - I was first excited about the news they were going to bring back the Etherians in the requel since I loved the Etheria arc from the original series. However, this excitement turned into frustration when we saw flat villains on our screen again. So we know Avria and the gang are power-thirsty encantados whom Ether revived because Hagorn was presumed to be dead. However, what was their story? What really happened in the Great Etherian War? Unlike in the original series’ Etheria, we find out the reason they antagonized the Diwatas was because of a prophecy that predicts their downfall. However, for the requel, nothing was explained except their desire for vengeance against the races that brought their first downfall. And that’s it. Added to the fact our beloved Sang’gres know nothing about their history which added to my eye-rolling moments.

Aquil - You may know me as an avid Danquil shipper but I highly disliked how they handled Aquil’s character for the requel. Gone was the Lirean mashna whose loyalty and dedication was at par with Danaya’s but was replaced by a lovestruck man whose character was mainly hinged on the stubborn Sang’gre. While we did see glimpses of Aquil’s loyalty to the Lirean crown but it was really lacking compared to the original. If Muros and the soldiers did not call Aquil “mashna”, I would think of him as a normal soldier who happens to be in love with Danaya. While yes, as a Danquil shipper I am satisfied with their scenes, but as a character he fell flat. And sorry Aquil, Muros made a better mashna. PS: I have no issues with Rocco’s acting. He did well. It’s the characterization I have issues with.

Ariana - Oh Ariana... So much has been said about Ariana but I’ll say this. On paper, the sarkosi/reincarnation concept was nice but it was the execution that fell flat. I will not touch upon Arra’s acting but there were so many plot holes that came along with Amihan’s reincarnation as Ariana. So when Ariana died and Amihan’s ivtre came in, why were Ariana’s memories retained? Where did Ariana’s ivtre go? It was answered in the finale since Ariana’s ivtre came along in the Devas bunch. But I thought the memories and consciousness of an encantado lie in their ivtre/spirit? I guess not. Also, the Ariana we saw is already the Sarkosi!Amihan version. Who is the real Ariana? Would the real Ariana still be chosen by the Air Gem as its next guardian? Will she still have feelings for Ybrahim without Amihan’s ivtre in her? So many questions about this tbh. I would’ve really preferred if they went with the typical reincarnation route where a newborn encantada will grow up discovering she was Amihan in her past life.

Production

The good

Special effects - While it still has room for improvement, I must say it has HUGELY improved since the original series! The transformation sequence, ivictus scenes and even the gem wielding scenes were very smooth. Just a bit more refinement especially in the rendering of creatures (ex. Arde’s dragon form, Ether’s snake form, etc.) and I truly believe we can be at par with other fantasy series.

Fight scenes - This is what I really loved in this requel. The fight scenes are quicker and smoother compared to the original. Kylie’s martial arts skills were in full display and were duly appreciated by the fans in return. Even Sanya’s arnis skills did not go unnoticed. I also appreciated the fact that even the actors who didn’t necessarily have martial arts skills refrained from using stunt doubles (for most part I guess). At least you can see their dedication in really embodying their characters.

Costumes for Book 1 - I may be one of the few people who’ll say this but I loved the warrior gear for this version. Yes, it may looked less detailed or bongga than the original but I think it suited this requel’s modern fantasy feel. It also enabled the actors to move more freely (thus better fight scenes). I also appreciated the fact the Sang’gres were not shown in highly sexualized scenes despite their costumes being revealing (thank you Direk Mark for not doing what male Western fantasy directors usually do). As for the gowns, I was in love with the Francis Libiran gowns. I just wish that kind of costume aesthetic was maintained throughout the whole series... (more on that later).

Kingdom throne room set design - I liked how unique each kingdom’s throne rooms looked like. From the airy Lirean throne room to the dark and ominous Hathorian throne room, it added to the emphasis of culture differences between each kingdoms.

Soundtrack - Who here is getting goosebumps when you hear the remixed Tadhana at the start of each episode? Or the ethnic chanting during burial scenes? I think the Encantadia crew did a good job in composing unique music to use for the requel. I’m also glad they didn’t seem to reuse music from existing teleseryes.

The bad

Too much studio filming - While I understand logistical constraints in shooting outside the studio but it contributed to the “fake” feel of the scenes. There were many scenes that could’ve been better if they were shot outdoors. There are times when the studio sets looked obviously fake.

Costumes for Book 2 - In Book 2, we saw a time skip and naturally, we saw costume changes. However, a lot of them looked awkwardly stitched or ill-fitting to the actors. The general aesthetic also changed and sometimes out of place. I understand not all costumes can be “Francis Libiran level” but I wish the costume aesthetic was given more attention by the production crew. We also saw costume recycling within the actors especially with Sanya wearing Marian’s Mine-a gown (not a new occurrence though since Diana also wore Dawn’s Mine-a gown).

Overall

While there are many things to left to be said, overall, the Encantadia requel still proved to be a general success. Not only did it manage to rekindle childhood fantasy emotions from the fans of the original series but had also brought in a new generation of fans.

Encantadia reinforced the notion of girl power and has once again showed us kickass and multi-dimensional women on TV. Encantadia also proved we can produce a successful fantasy series of our own aside from the ones Americans, Europeans or Koreans produce.

Do I want a Season 2? Of course but only if it can be better than the previous season with better commitment to the plot, character and actor handling :)

Avisala eshma to the whole Encantadia crew and to fellow fans who made the watching experience more colorful. If you managed to read the whole review, thank you as well. Feel free to leave comments or messages if you wish. I’ll be open to discussion :)

#encantadia #encantadia review #AE posts

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flower-of-the-desert · 7 years ago

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Ok now that I have my thoughts in order, some things from the new ep I want to talk about:

1) the reveal of Faust and Baira’s conenction to each other and to Revolver is very interesting. Also the fact that they are against Kogami’s plan and feel guilty over the things they have to do. I like this development and how it gives the characters human feelings and motivations instead of leaving them as one-note bad guys. Plus it’s understandable that in such a big organization there are those who doubt or dont agree with the leader’s ideas and want to stop him. I suspect the reason Revolver is so caught up with this plan (unless he is also just playing along in hopes of preventing whatever disaster his father is planning) is because of whatever personal tragedy he and his dad went through which is probably clouding his judgement. Or maybe he knows something we - and maybe other knights like Faust and Baira - dont know about the ignises and what they are capable of which might make their plan seem justifiable. Either way, really looking forward to see how things progress from here on out.

2) the convo between Emma and Aoi was a-fucking-mazing. Amen. I love how Emma tried to provoke/encourage Aoi to get back into fighting and how it touched on maybe the most important aspect of Aoi’s character so far - the existence and purpose of Blue Angel and Aoi’s struggle of what to do now that that purpose is fulfilled. Because just like she admitted Blue Angel was never about other people or pleasing other people, protecting/fighting for other people. Aoi created her avatar with one very specific and arguably selfish reason in mind - to get her brother to notice her. And now that that’s been accomplished, what is the point of continuing to be Blue Angel? I think that is what Aoi is struggling with right now (rather than simply being torn between doing what Akira asked of her - which I think is completely reasonable given the situation - vs going to fight) - she’s trying to find a new purpose for herself and Blue Angel, a new reason to fight. And if she cant find it, does it mean she should just stop being an idol? I think Emma was trying to get her to reflect on those things and finally make a decision one way or another - either commit herself 100% to this new battle or quit altogether. Because just as she said, if Aoi just keeps going the way she did before but without any true desirereason to fight, keeps fighting half-heartedly and isnt fully committed to the cause, she’ll just end up getting herself and others in trouble. And I believe this duel against Baira will help Aoi figure those things out and decide she wants to join the fight against the KOH for real. We already saw her deciding to defeat Baira so that other people wont suffer like she did which is pretty much the beginning of her new purpose to duel. To protect innocent people.

3) the new ending (apart from killing my shipper heart) has some interesting meta bits too - most notably for me are the Greek-looking (or Roman maybe? I’m no expert on the classical period so could be wrong either way) statues. Like I said in another post, I think very much confirms that Vrains will be using Greek mythology along with Revolver talking about Prometheus in his duel with Playmaker and the name Ignis having Greek/Latin?, if I remember correctly, origin. I cant wait to see where all of this will lead to. I love that each spin-off uses different mythologies so it creates the feeling of... connectedness? Like instead of each story being stranded and isolated in its own little part of the world and you’re left wondering so what was the rwst of the world dong during all of this, this way it’s like ah, so while Zork was blowing shit up in Egypt, Atlantis was dealing with brainwashing evil stones and up in the Norse countries they were dealing with Ragnarok and in North America some Earthbound Immortals were causing chaos, etc. And now we can add Greece to the list of places card games have fucked shit up. Nice. XD

#yugioh vrains #my vrains posts

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anobjectofdesire · 5 years ago

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selecting an object

Last week I went to the Oriental Museum to see the records on the four objects I am interested in. I really need to buckle down and select an object, so I’ve spent the day going over all my research to try to think of potential research directions for each of my objects. I am equally drawn to all of them, so I’m hoping that identifying different directions my research could take me will help me narrow down my choices. As I write this, I have no idea which object I will choose, but my hope is that by the end of this post I will be able to make my choice.

I wasn’t particularly interested in researching how each object came to be in the Oriental Museum, so although I did do some research on the Northumberland and Wellcome collections, I didn’t really consider any related potential research questions.

BEARDED MAN

From my initial research, I have found few similar examples of this type of figurine (from Naqada II). The Met has a couple in its collection, and UCL has a few, but otherwise I struggled to find much evidence of other collections having them online. Interestingly, the OM originally labelled this object as a female figurine because of the narrow waist and wide hips, so I looked around a bit to see why the object had been reclassified as a bearded man. It became clear very quickly - all the male figures have pointed chins, indicating a beard, and the thin waist was probably for practical purposes rather than to show gender. Other similar figurines have a notch near the feet, which - according the the OM records - have been found with the remains of a leather thong around them. The narrow waist is probably just the creator’s own take on the notch. I think I spent the most amount of time researching this object, mainly because I was enjoying playing detective I think!

Potential research directions:

Representations of humans in art from Naqaba II

Debate over the use of the object (amulet vs bottle stop vs magical/medical object)

Related: Problems in archaeology with ascertaining the purpose of an object

Development of human representations in Egyptian art

Related/continuation: Influence of human representations in Egyptian art on other art (i.e. Ancient Greek art)

HITTITE FIGURINE

Since I first learned about the Hittites in 2015, I have absolutely fallen in love with them - so it made sense that one of the objects I was drawn to was a Hittite figurine! She’s fantastic, and in my initial research I’ve discovered more about the religion of the Hittites, which I didn’t know much about as I’d previously focused on the political side of this civilisation. It was particularly interesting to read about how the Hittites adopted their gods, and equally how other civilisations adopted Hittite gods into their own religions. I obviously knew about the link between Greek and Roman gods, but had never realised that this kind of exchange was actually fairly common practice in the region at the time. I did get slightly side-tracked in reading about intercultural exchange, and I think if I choose this object then I will end up talking about that in some way in my podcast.

Potential research directions:

Portrayal of gods in Hittite art

Related: Use of art in Hittite culture

Related: Comparison of portrayal of Hittite gods with their contemporaries (i.e. Mesopotamians, Egyptians)

Hittite pantheon and their adoption from different cultures (i.e. Ishtar/Inanna)

Related: Intercultural exchange in the Bronze Age

Overall Hittite story (not so keen on this one but it is an option)

BARREL CYLINDER

My only proper encounter with barrel cylinders is the Cyrus Cylinder, which I had learned about through a friend I did classics with at school. At first, I was hesitant to even consider this item on my list - even though I knew I’d find it interesting, I wanted to pick something which was much older (no particular reason, I just wanted to). However, it quickly became clear to me that I had to include this item on my list. Language has been important to me my whole life: my family is bilingual and I am also studying two Middle Eastern languages. The use of language for political purposes has also cropped up several times in my IR modules, and I’ve recently been doing a lot of reading on discourse in the Middle East. I read a lot of classical texts, and reading poems or texts written thousands of years ago just... I don’t know how to describe it, but it feels weighty, and I feel far more connected to the ancient cultures I’ve studied when I read texts which were actually created by someone at the time.

Potential research directions:

Text / Nebudchadnezzar II’s building programme

Writing for political vs religious purposes

The use of barrel cylinders

Related: Use of barrel cylinders beyond building (link to Cyrus cylinder?)

FROGS

I absolutely adore these frogs. I can’t explain why, but I simply do. In terms of a research project, it would be very easy to do these, as there is SO much written about religion in Ancient Egypt, and the symbolism of frogs in Ancient Egypt.

Potential research directions:

Heket + Khnum

Symbolism of frogs in Ancient Egypt

Use of frog amulets in Ancient Egypt

Related: Use of amulets in Ancient Egypt

Related: Comparison between Ancient Egypt and contemporaries in the use of amulets

MY THOUGHTS

As much as I love the frogs, I worry I’d get bored researching them. I could probably produce a decent podcast on them fairly easily, but the process wouldn’t be particularly enjoyable for me (with the exception of filming: everyone has discouraged me from choosing these because they are really difficult to photograph, but I don’t care - I would love to be able to hold them!). The initial research I didn’t find particularly interesting, especially compared to the other objects... So, I think - even though it breaks my heart to leave these behind - I am going to remove the frogs from my list.

One down. Three objects remaining.

The bearded man. What a fascinating little thing. It looks almost alien! I loved being able to play detective in my hunt to find basic information about the object (the OM records provided me with little, sadly). However, I think that, much like the frogs, I won’t be able to sustain much of an interest in the research - although I am drawn to the object, I am simply not as interested in Ancient Egypt as I am in other civilisations in the MENA region. I have to be brutal, and so I am cutting the bearded man from the list.

Upon some reflection, I am also going to remove the Hittite figurine from my list. I’m extremely interested in learning more about Hittite religion and cultural exchange in the ancient world, but there is something about the figurine which leaves me feeling unsettled. I can’t quite explain it. I don’t think that I should pick an object I don’t absolutely love, even if the research could interest me. Although perhaps the discomfort I feel when looking at her should be taken as an indication that I am invested in her... No, I think it’s best if I remove her from consideration. It’s a shame, but I am just not as interested, and the mixed feelings I have about her don’t help. Maybe it’s something to do with her face? It almost looks like a bird’s face...

Which leaves me with the barrel cylinder.

That sounds slightly resigned, but I am excited. It isn’t the object I am most drawn to - the frogs just have a special place in my heart - but I am interested in the potential for research surrounding the link with writing, religion, and politics. I think it’s also the object that makes me feel the most connected to the people who made it - there’s just something about reading the words created by someone who lived thousands of years ago which makes me incredibly excited. It’s almost magical; the written word has always held more power to me than the spoken word ever has. I also think it’s going to allow me to connect with the Neo-Babylonians in a way which I don’t think I could with any of the cultures of the other objects. It’s a shame it’s now in storage as the OM prepares for the new exhibition...

This choice feels right.

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stormyrecords-blog · 7 years ago

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new arrivals 7-13-17

glenn jones plays this week on thursday night at trinosophes. also - this week is the first week of the east dearborn musical event - tunes at noon. full desription and schedule just below the list of this week's new arrivals. items in stock thursday - july 13th 2017 Love Theme: S/T LP $21.99If there's a single guiding motif to this debut recording from Love Theme, it's the melancholic throb of love learnt and love lost, a descent that tumbles and slips through the overall feeling of looking back. As intimately and carefully as its parts cohesively lament a narrative, it's the after-image that catches your breath, like a memory morphing as it is observed. Comprised of Alex Zhang Hungtai, of the now defunct project Dirty Beaches, along with Austin Milne, and Simon Frank, Love Theme is arranged from an improvised session with twin saxophones, synthesizer, percussion, drum machine, and voice. The aching wane of the saxophone arrangements frisk the propulsive aggro of the mixed percussion, forcing a melancholic halo upon the queasy stupor of the synthetic swing that closes each side of the record. It's a bizarre lust for life that's being divined from equal parts dislocation and invigoration, a potent remedy which perhaps Love Theme can call their own. Percolating and finding form over time, the record instinctively follows a travel narrative, moving across a series of landscapes, reflecting the innate experiences of the expressions and voices that were first collected in South London back in February 2015. Mitchell, Nicole : Mandorla CD $15.99"Mandorla Awakening II: Emerging Worlds is Nicole Mitchell's second album for Chicago-based FPE Records. Recorded in May of 2015 at Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art, it features her longtime collaborators Renee Baker (violin), Tomeka Reid (cello, banjo), Alex Wing (electric guitar, oud) and Jovia Armstrong (percussion), along with new members Tatsu Aoki (bass, shamisen, taiko) and Kojiro Umezaki (shakuhachi). Also in the mix is Chicago artist, scholar and poet Avery R Young, who brings her lyrics to life with visceral humanity. Composer and flutist Nicole Mitchell, once hailed by Chicago Reader music critic Peter Margasak as the 'greatest living flutist in jazz', continues the work begun when jazz visionary Sun Ra and his Arkestra first touched down on Planet Earth and told humanity that space (outer and inner) is indeed the place. As with contemporary Afrofuturist pioneers like cosmic jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington, post-everything beat maker Flying Lotus, R&B cyborg Janelle Monáe and dystopian noise-rappers Death Grips, she uses Afrofuturism as a platform to launch her own, unique vision. Her vast sound often encompasses contemporary classical, globally oriented fusion, gospel, spoken word, funk-inspired groove research and even brittle shards of avant-rock. Mandorla Awakening II collides dualities such as acoustic vs electric, country vs urban, simple vs complex, while also sounding through intercultural dialogue between Black, European and Pan-Asian improvisational languages. The outcome is a creative music suite that blurs musical styles into recognizable fragments that weave a unique sound fabric, where human emotion and the struggles of today swim." Baroncini/D'Amario: Music for Movement LP $32.99Sonor Music Editions present a reissue Angelo Baroncini and Bruno Battisti D'amario's Music For Movement, originally released in 1969. Another terrific jam and a very obscure Italian library record, originally released on Roman Record Company label, the label responsible for Droga (1972), Traffico (1972), and the Viaggio Attraverso I Problemi Dell'Uomo series. The music is signed by the great guitar players and composers Angelo Baroncini and Bruno Battisti D'Amario, D'Amario being the unmissable guitar man of maestro Ennio Morricone. Crazy early fuzz beats with fast western swings, experimental rock distractions, rhythmic movements, with totally insane acid guitar and sitar riffs and a huge underground psychedelic mood. A truly inspired and deep session recorded for some impossible TV synchronization purpose. Holy grail alert. Original sleazy stereo recording restored sound. Edition of 500 Watson, Chris: El Tren Fantasma CD $15.992017 repress. "Take the ghost train from Los Mochis to Veracruz and travel cross country, coast to coast, Pacific to Atlantic. Ride the rhythm of the rails on board the Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México (FNM) and the music of a journey that has now passed into history." --Chris Watson Kawai, Kenji: Ghost In The Shell OST LP $27.99We Release Whatever The Fuck We Want Records present the ﬁrst ever official vinyl pressing of the soundtrack for Mamoru Oshii's critically acclaimed and all around legendary science ﬁction anime ﬁlm Ghost In The Shell (1995), adapted from Masamune Shirow's groundbreaking manga series of the same name. The haunting score is composed by Kenji Kawai, one of Japan's most celebrated soundtrack composers alongside Joe Hisaishi and Ryuichi Sakamoto, whose work includes Hideo Nakata's Ring (1998) and Ring 2 (1999), Death Note (2006), Hong Kong ﬁlms Seven Swords by Tsui Hark (2005) and Ip Man by Wilson Yip (2008), and countless others. Kawai's compositions see ancient harmonies and percussions uncannily mesh with synthesized sounds of the modern world to convey a sumptuous balance between folklore tradition and futuristic outlook. For its iconic main theme "Making Of Cyborg", Kawai had a choir chant a wedding song in ancient Japanese following Bulgarian folk harmonies, setting the standard for a timeless and unparalleled soundtrack that admirably echoes the ﬁlm's musings on the nature of humanity in a technologically advanced world. Ghost In The Shell is widely considered one of the best anime ﬁlms of all time and its inﬂuence has been felt in the work of numerous movie directors, including James Cameron's Avatar (2009), the Wachowskis's The Matrix (1999), and Steven Spielberg's AI: Artiﬁcial Intelligence (2001). For fans of anime, manga, movie soundtracks, science ﬁction, ambient, folklore, Japan, Akira (1988), artiﬁcial intelligence, Midori Takada. Cut from the original master reels at Emil Berliner Studios (formerly the in-house recording department of renowned classical record label Deutsche Grammophon). Trost, Heather : Agistri LP $20.99LP version. "Heather Trost is best known for her work composing and performing as one half of A Hawk And A Hacksaw. She has also played with Neutral Milk Hotel, Beirut, Josephine Foster, and most recently Thor Harris of Swans. She has arranged and performed with the BBC Concert Orchestra, as well as conductor Andre De Ridder and his Stargaze Orchestra, and toured throughout the world. In 2014 she released her first solo project, a 7-inch on Ba Da Bing Records, followed in 2015 by Ourobouros, a limited edition cassette of expansive electronic ambient compositions influenced by Basil Kirchin, Terry Riley and Angelo Badalamenti on Cimiotti Recordings. These two projects propelled a full length album: named after a Greek Island, Agistri is a song cycle of freely formed pop songs touching upon soul, samba, and pop music of the '60s and '70s, with a subtle shade of psychedelia. Ambient and melancholic sounds interweave with Hammond organs and '70s Italian synthesizers, reflecting the desert landscapes of New Mexico, and the sparse shrubbery and turquoise water of the Aegean Sea and its islands. Bolstered by contributions from Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeremy Barnes on drums and bass, Deerhoof's John Dieterich on guitar, and Drake Hardin and Rosie Hutchinson of cult New Mexico band Mammal Eggs, Trost's talents as a songwriter and arranger explode on this wonderful, often surreal album." Wire #402: Aug 17 MAG/CD $10.50"Stuck to the cover of this month's issue: The Wire Tapper 44 CD, featuring 20 tracks by AGF + Werkstatt, Sarah Angliss, Paul Rooney, Susanna, Hear In Now, Bonaventure, and more. Meanwhile, inside the issue: Finland's postmodern metal masters Circle; New York underground hiphop veteran Scotty Hard; Anton Lukoszevieze, leader of UK chamber music ensemble Apartment House; a report on the electronic explorers and pop-punk mavericks of Sapporo's DIY microscene; and more." TUNES AT NOONevery thursday at 12 noon in dearborn city hall park at the corner of michigan ave and schaeferone hour of free music - bring your lunch and enjoy some fun in the sun!! 7/13 Dearborn School of MusicWe are a music school that offers private lessons on all instruments and all styles of music to students of all ages. We also have group lessons for preschoolers called "music for little mozarts." For the summer concert we have put together a rock band comprised of students and instructors that will be playing some classic rock and modern rock and punk rock songs. 7/20 Lac La BelleLocal musicians Jennie Knaggs & Nick Schillace create music that blends history with the present via accordion, mandolin, banjo, ukulele, harmonizing vocals, and fingerpicking resonator guitar. With their separate experiences learning folk and blues in Appalachia, American roots bind Lac La Belle’s compositions with a heavy thread. For this performance enjoy some of their favorite old time, bluegrass and western swing favorites, alongside their original tunes. 7/27 Detroit Pleasure SocietyDetroit Pleasure Society plays the traditional jazz of New Orleans with a fresh twist and raucous candor. 8/3 Libby DeCamp"Libby DeCamp makes dusty folk and American Roots-inspired music with a lyrical edge and a classic three-piece energy, delivered with a haunting vocal closeness that reaches listeners of all kinds. Sweetly soulful "Broken Folk." 8/10 Michael Malis TrioMichael Malis is a pianist and composer based in Detroit, MI. Malis bridges the gap between original composed, complex material and the spontaneity of improvisation. His trio (piano, bass, drums), featured on his latest album, has toured in the United States and Canada, and in September 2016, they performed at the Detroit International Jazz Festival. 8/17 Viands "Viands is a spontaneous collaboration between two auteurs of Detroit's underground music scene: Joel Peterson and David Shettler. The music they create is a deep, reflective and fearless alternate-reality keyboard meditation that draws on the pair's broad musical vision to explore new vistas.

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ininnsbruck · 6 years ago

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Amman.

As I’m spending my last day in Jordan, I have so many memories I never want to lose- so I’m writing them all here. I booked this trip to visit Jude on a whim. I didn’t even know Jude that well when I did it (hence why I believed she could have had the nerve to block me before I came...) I wasn’t nervous at all until I got on the plane from CDG to AMM. Suddenly, all the fears that western media have filled me with my past 22 years came to my head. I was honestly scared. My mom didn’t help, because she too had these fears but she made them vocal to me before I left.

However, I got over all of these fears as soon as I saw Jude and her mom. They picked me up at the airport, where we happened to see a huge welcome home to a couple who came to Jordan from Palestine (something else I’ve learned so much about here.) There was music and laughter, everyone was so happy. I automatically realized: the Middle East is not as scary as western media wants you to believe it is. That night, we ate Kebab and went home and I got some rest. The way they drive here is so insane, the lines on the road as well as stop signs are merely suggestions, it’s basically a free for all. As soon as the light changes, everyone blares on the horn to go. It’s pretty cultural in itself! After we got home, I slept about 10 hours, which was good because the next days were sure to be full of exhaustion.

The first full day in Amman, we went to the Citadel which stands on top of a hill and oversees all of Amman (almost.) It was Ancient Greek, and very well preserved. Afterwards, we ate ice cream, chugged water, and went to the Roman ampetheater. Those steps were so high, we only made it to the second tier. But at the ampetheater, there was a museum of traditional clothing and mosaics which was so cool. I love the traditional clothing they have here, it’s all embroidered and people still wear it. That was the coolest part- it’s not rare like a dirndl. Afterwards, it was time to cool down. We went to a coffee shop and we met up with Jude’s friend Jad. We sat there and talked for a while, then made our way to the streets and walked around a bit. The downtown life here is so different, there are so many shops and cafes (I guess it makes sense because alcohol is banned in Islam.) After we walked around, we met up with Jude’s other friend Abood and went to another cafe and watched the soccer game (I don’t recall who.) Then, we came home and went to sleep. Long day!

The second day in Amman was very relaxed. We went to visit Jude’s aunt and her grandparents. Jude’s aunt was so funny- and she’s also a chef and so of course she had the best food. Afterwards, we went to a travel agency and booked our day at the Dead Sea. Following, we went to another cafe and watched Egypt vs. Saudi Arabia. It was an intense game, and even though Egypt lost, it was still fun. Following the game, we went to the mall and shopped around. I scored 2 scarves and only spent 5jds! We also tried this sweet corn thing, which was so different. You get it at a candy shop, and it’s sweet corn, drenched in lemon juice, with 5 different spices. Then you eat it as dessert- Jude drank the juice leftover. It was crazy, but it was so amazing so get to try the authentic stuff more than just the stuff you see online. After the mall, we went to a cafe with Jude’s friend Badhi. We came home, ordered McDonalds, packed for the Dead Sea, and went to bed.

The third day, you guessed it: the Dead Sea! We woke up and got ready and took a car to the Holiday Inn at the Dead Sea. Temperatures there were 100-108 while we were there. We went out to the pool, laid out, swam, and enjoyed the weather. We laid out from like 2-6, then we went to the sea. First we did a mud mask, which is mud pulled from the floor of the Dead Sea, so it BURNED. We washed it off almost as soon as we put it on, then made our way to the water. Since we did the mud first, the water didn’t sting as bad, but it still stung prettttyyy bad. I still got to float, which was pretty cool. I honestly thought it wouldn’t work for me, but it did. We took some pictures, then made our way up to the pool again. After about another hour, we came up and showered and got ready for dinner. We went to a wing restaurant which I think made me kinda sick. We came back to the hotel, and Jude was so funny. She literally was gonna order room service after we just ate (well we did- we got cheesecake.) The rest of the night we quoted vines, it was a good time.

Day four, we woke up at 5:30 to see the sunset, which we couldn’t see from our hotel but we walked down anyways. I threw up on the way (AMAZING) then we fell back asleep (kinda) and woke up, checked out, and went to the pool. This sun did us dirty, we both got burned. For lunch we shared a salad and got so ~skinny~ After we left the Dead Sea, we drove to Mt. Nebo where I got to see what is rumored to be where Moses passed and where he received the promise to the Holy Land from God. It was an amazing sight, because you can see the edge of the Dead Sea, as well as Palestine. I prayed for my dad, which moved me to tears. But no sappy thoughts. After we were done at Mt. Nebo, we met Juliana and took a cab to Madaba, where we got a guard to open the church with the oldest Mosaic on the floor. Then, we saw Juliana’s old school and the church next to it (she attended catholic school.) We went into the ground and saw a well that was a couple thousand years old and still pulls water out of the ground. Then we climbed to the top of the tower in the church, where we saw all of Madaba from above. It was very cool! Then we ate dinner and went back to Amman. Didn’t have too much time to relax though, because next day we left for Petra and Wadi Rum!

Day five, we left for Petra at 5:30am (amazing- probs why I fell down the steps) and we got on a bus to Petra. It was about 4.5 hours, and when we got there, it was so hot. We walked down to the trail and before you know it, I fell and ripped my pants and cut up and bruised my legs. Made for an amazing rest of the day!! The walk down to Petra wasn’t bad, my makeup was still in tact and it was a bit shady. Petra was amazing, I rode a camel!!! We had lots of photo shoots. Then, on the way back, HOLY COW I DIED. It was uphill, sun full force. We ended up riding a horse the rest of the way up the hill. Jude and I died, but it was definitely worth the 8jds. The rest of the day, we went back on the bus to Wadi Rum. We arrived at camp, and automatically did a Jeep tour. It was amazing and so fun. I wish it felt a little more dangerous, but hey, it was great. Then, after we got back to camp, I took the most amazing shower of my life. It was cold water in a 90 degree bathroom. The water literally rinsed off brown, so gross. I think I will have sand in my adidas for the rest of their life cycle. After we showered, we ate dinner and spent the rest of the night playing cards. We went to stargaze on a big rock which was honestly so cool. We listened to mellow music and just had a lot of time for self reflection. It is probably one of my favorite memories of being here.. When it came time for bed, we started getting so slap happy. The tent literally had a zipper for a door, but it was so hot we left it open all night. It was the dirtiest place I’ve ever slept, but I survived! Dogs and coyotes woke me up in the morning, and I also saw baby scorpions. On that note- I was out.

Day six, we spent literally the entire day in the bus. We rode the bus to Aqaba, where we ate at a Pizza Hut for like two hours. We were laughing so much, like I cannot get over how much I laughed during that meal. A mix of us all being tired and delusional I think! We went to Chinatown after, which was cool because I got to shop some cheap stuff for couvenirs. The rest of the day, we drove back to Amman. I got to see the Red Sea, which showed the coast of Egypt and Palestine again. I swear it took 10 hours when it should’ve taken 5. By the time we all got back, every single one of us had such bad stomach problems. It was wonderful!

Day seven, we relaxed a bit and went out with Jude’s friends to a cafe. We ate waffles in the morning, which were so good but so sweet. We watched the soccer game, smoked hookah, and I got to try real Kenefe! So much better than the one I tried in Austria. It was authentic and so tasty. After, we came home and went to sleep. Still exhausted from the other travels.

Day eight, after Jude got back from work, we went to Jerash. It was so hot, but we got to see the entire place. Everything here is so well preserved and it is honestly amazing to get to experience. That was in the north, about 40 min from the Syrian border. Jude’s mom used to take Jude to Syria for lunch, which is so crazy in my opinion. It feels more than just a news story being here... We ate dinner at a nice restaurant, then drove back to Amman and went to sleep.

Day nine, the final day. We went to the coolest auto museum today— all about the cars of the royal family. Made me really miss my dad. They had so many cars, especially the ones with cool stories behind them (like the one the late King rode after he received cancer treatment.) Then, we went to this monument/ museum where the martyrs of Jordan are honored. It gave me such a sense of pride and respect for the Jordanian government and culture. They paid respect to so many people, especially those that have died recently. That was really awesome to see because so many people have died and they are all remembered and honored at that place. I cried SO much and I’m not even Arab! Then, we went home and ate an amazing dinner cooked by her mom. There was soup, rice, salad, chicken, and these really good potatoes. It was an awesome last meal. Then, the dreaded trip to the airport came. Lots of tears ran down my face, but I was ready to go home after I left Jude. Long journey ahead of me!

I am sad to leave, but trying to not think about it. I have grown to know Jude so well and I love her and her family. This trip filled me with a sort of happiness I never want to lose again. It also taught me how to see things for what they are, and not what the media wants me to think they are. Arabs are the kindest people I’ve ever met and I am so thankful to have had this experience. I have experienced luxury, the desert in the middle of nowhere, the green, the family, the culture, the language, and so much more. I would have never thought I’d love it here as much as I do, but I am so glad I decided to come here. I have earned a sister, as well as gained a new appreciation for middle eastern culture. I am so blessed. On my way back to Pittsburgh now, and it is definitely bittersweet.

(Delta up leaving my luggage in Pairs, and after a 9 hour layover it’s the last thing I wanted to deal with.) I was excited to share my souvenirs with everyone, and share my memories that will last forever.

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