#a) in a colony that treated him and the other workers like dirt

[therealslimscreamer]

sunkissed

genuinely thought i posted this but apparently not! adgguhuj. have more doodles under the cut

many doodles were created over the realization that. sage has Problems about eating

[lifblogs]

Banned Together Bingo 2020 | Offends Censor

Title: Unseeing Eyes Fandom: Supernatural Rating: Mature Pairing: Destiel Word Count: 1314 Summary: A colony of croats had been living out of range of Camp Chitaqua's patrols, and they attacked, taking Dean and his people by surprise. With many dead, and still more dying, Dean visits the hastily set up field hospital with Castiel to check on his people. WARNINGS: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Gore, Horror, Death

READ ON AO3

Why was it that no one ever talked about the smell? No one ever talked about the smell—the smell of injured and dying. It stank in ways that told the human brain something was wrong, told it to turn and walk the other way.

Dean and Castiel couldn’t do that. These were Dean’s people, and this—all this—was his fault. Even from half a mile away you could smell it, and you could hear the cries and moans.

The urge to hold his arm up against his face to ward off the stench came to Dean, but he knew that he had to get used to it. If he arrived at their field hospital like that, his people would be rightfully offended. Cas seemed to have the same idea. He trudged beside Dean on the beaten path, head down. They both walked on in solemn silence.

The field hospital wasn’t much. Just a large military-grade tent set up, with cots and bedding inside. They only had one doctor in camp, and after a great number of volunteers had stepped forward without him even asking, he’d sent Risa out to find another camp, and hopefully another doctor. They needed all the help they could get after they had been attacked by a large colony of croats that had been living nearby. They had been far enough away that patrols hadn’t picked them up.

Dean hadn’t wanted to send anyone out there, but Risa was quick-thinking, a survivalist, and good with a gun. The other volunteers he’d set to work as makeshift nurses.

Dean paused at the entrance to the hospital, and Cas, always able to read him since these past years of them being together, put a hand on his shoulder. His grip was tight and reassuring.

“Cas, how am I supposed to go in there?”

Even with so few words, they both knew what he meant. How was he supposed to see what his mistakes had caused? How was he supposed to look any of those people in the eye, people he’d as good as betrayed, and tell them they would be okay?

“You won’t be alone.”

Cas’ hand traveled down his arm and grasped his hand, intertwining their fingers. Dean brought his hand up to kiss his knuckles, and then squeezed.

Without another word, they walked into the field hospital.

Blood and sweat, and almost every type of bodily fluid stank up the stuffy air inside, and Dean had to hold his breath against a gag.

Ratty army-green cots were set up in rows and then when more were needed had been crammed into every available space. Some of his people had had to be put on pallets and bed rolls, or even just a stretch of grimy sheets or blankets.

All around him he saw horrors. He saw a woman with a broken leg getting bandaged, sobbing tearlessly because, as Chuck had informed him, they’d run out of morphine, and fentanyl. He saw a man being given non-prescription drugs in order to make him comfortable as he died, tight bandages holding his guts in. He saw children, covered in dirt and bloodied, tied down wherever they lay. They were supposed to have been safe, but the croats had branched off, and gone after the shed where they were being guarded by two of Dean’s men caught unawares, as if they could smell the living flesh. Now, Dean couldn’t cast out the infected children just yet.

They couldn’t mass execute them either, not while they were still more human than croat. These kids had relied upon him, had thought he was a safe haven. 

The infected adults had all been shot point blank in the head, but the kids… Some of them hadn’t even known they were sick, crying out for parents that were dead, asking over and over again why they were tied up. That had been hours ago.

Now they twitched, and moaned as the disease took hold, some just beginning to let out inhuman screams. Dean would have to act soon, and that hurt him more than the injuries he’d sustained and Cas had treated him for.

Dead were being carried out by volunteer workers, their faces grim and stoic, eyes glazed over.

God, the smell. The smell! He would rather have been overwhelmed by antiseptic, but they hadn’t had actual working hospitals in years.

“Hey!” Dean shouted, getting the attention of some of the healthy. “Get these tent flaps open! Our hurt deserve more respect than this. They need air!”

A few rushed to do as he’d ordered, and Chuck was making his way as quickly and carefully as he could over to Dean and Castiel. He had that clipboard in his hands. Always the clipboard.

“Report,” Dean ordered.

“Three new dead,” Chuck responded, going through the papers on his clipboard, “and looks like four are on the way.”

Dean nodded, and an immense pain began to build in his chest. It rose and rose and then became nothing.

“Supplies.”

Chuck rattled off what stores remained, and then, barely waiting for him to finish, Cas asked, voice gruff, “And the children?”

“The doctor… She thinks it’s almost time, sir.”

Dean nodded, pretending he was receiving information as simple and painless as a group needing to be sent out for more water.

“All right, well, get them outside. Get me some volunteers—those who can fire a gun, and are, uh… okay with doing this.”

“Dean, no one’s okay with doing that,” Chuck argued.

“Yeah, I know. I know.”

In minutes, Dean and Castiel were helping get the children out. Their hands had been carefully bound with what rope they could find. They were tied to quickly-erected wooden posts.

Five children. God, five children.

Dean’s hand shook as he took his pistol from the holster on his thigh, and Cas took his hand in his, steadying it. Dean looked at him, their eyes meeting, and a thousand, pained words passed between them. His lover, his best friend, his family, gently took the pearl grip.

“Let me do it.”

Dean shook his head. “Cas, you ca—”

“Look, it’ll hurt me less. I’m high. You aren’t.”

Dean grimaced at the reminder.

“You can aim?”

“Yes.”

With a heavy sigh, Dean let Cas take his gun. The other executioners were ready.

“All right! Line up! Safeties off.”

The children—no, the croats—were were crying, begging, knowing death was upon them. The infection had kicked in full swing, and now all they were doing was trying to preserve themselves.

“I want Mommy!” one of them begged. “Where’s my Mommy!”

“Daddy!” another cried.

Their cries only set off more broken sobs. Some of Dean’s people shifted their weight from foot to foot, guns lowering slightly.

“Hold strong,” Dean said. “We have to do this. Okay, on three. O-one—”

Dean couldn’t finish.

Cas took up the count, “—two—three!”

Five guns fired, hurting Dean’s ears. Five children slumped against posts, dead, blood trickling from single bullet holes.

Silently, Cas came over and tried to give Dean his gun back. Dean just stared at it, wondering if it would burn his hand.

His people knew what to do now, having already executed many. They took the bodies, and brought them through the woods, far enough away to hide the smell of burning flesh.

Tears stung in Dean’s eyes, and a tear was rolling down Castiel’s cheek.

“We had to,” Castiel said. He realized Dean couldn’t move, and put the gun back in his thigh holster. His touch remained, Castiel squeezing and kneading at his thigh. He then took Dean’s hand. “Come on.”

Cas led him away from all the death and hurt, bringing him to their cabin. They tried to make each other forget. But afterwards, as Dean lay naked, spooned by Castiel, all he saw were the unseeing eyes of those dead children.

[adoredontour]

every fic that left a lasting impression with me this year. sorted in order of when i read them!! 

buckle up lads, it’s a long one

nicotine by krisstylinson 32k

"We're two different types of people, Liam. He likes sex and drugs, I like theater and tea. Trust me, we'd never date." Except they would, they do, and neither of them plans on letting go anytime soon.

"Just because you can get me hard doesn't mean I like you," Louis whispered. The fact was, he didn't like Harry right now, not at all. Not even a bit.

"Yeah, yeah," Harry murmured, his breath fanning over Louis' cock as he spoke. "You done telling me how much you hate me so I can suck you off?"

like candy in my veins by littlelouishiccups 31k @littlelouishiccups

Basically the A/B/O, enemies to lovers, fake relationship, Christmas AU that nobody asked for

worth dying for by whoknows

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Louis says, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. In the center of the table, a set of three glossy photos stares up at him, mocking him.

“A security detail is non-negotiable, Louis, you know this,” his mum reminds him, tapping the middle photo with two fingers.

Louis doesn’t look back down at the pictures, gesturing towards them wildly, over-dramatically. “This is not a security detail!” he protests. “This is a lanky college student. In what world do you hire someone like this kid to protect me?”

damn your love, damn your lies by ifthat

“Of course you’d use your free time to go to the gym.”

“Your idea of the best way to spend your free time is annoying your neighbors,” he laughs, dimples carved into his cheeks like marble.

No, Louis likes to annoy Harry. Everyone else on this floor is just an unfortunate casualty.

“No one has complained except for you,” Louis informs him smartly. Which is actually a good thing. If someone other than Harry had complained to him long ago, he would have unfortunately had to stop.

you came into my life by disgruntledkittenface @disgruntledkittenface

When the Queer Eye cast and crew sweep into Louis’ small town and fire station to make over his best friend and coworker Liam, Louis’ carefully constructed walls start to fall down and he has to face his fears – and the only guy he’s ever been able to see a future with.

a thousand miles from comfort by littlelouishiccups 

In which Louis is a closeted gay actor and a recovering addict with a troubled past. Harry is the personal trainer who helps him get his life back in shape.

smaller than me by checkthemargins 

Harry's just finished his first year of uni on his way to becoming Dr. Harry Styles, Neurosurgeon. He's young, he has endless potential, three amazing best mates, a new love and the world at his fingertips. The fact that his new boyfriend may or may not be a sex-worker, of course, throws a wrench into the works. But it's not true. Really.

Probably.

It most definitely might not be entirely true. And that's all Harry needs to know.

escapade (i was late to the game shut up) by dolce_piccante

In the grand scheme of things, finding a date for a wedding should be no problem for Louis Tomlinson. He's rich. He's handsome. He's reasonably well behaved. But when the wedding is for his lifelong best friend (and former boyfriend), and is happening in under a month, finding a date for the ceremony and accompanying festivities becomes more of an adventure than he ever could have planned for.

soft hands, fast feet, can’t lose by dolce_piccante

American Uni AU. Harry Styles is a frat boy football star from the wealthy Styles Family athletic dynasty. A celebrity among football fans, he knows how to play, he knows how to party, and he knows how to fuck (all of which is well known among his legion of admirers).

Louis Tomlinson is a student and an athlete, but his similarities to Harry end there. Intelligent, focused, independent, and completely uninterested in Harry’s charms, Louis is an anomaly in a world ruled by football.

A bet about the pair, who might be more similar than they originally thought, brings them together. Shakespeare, ballet, Disney, football, library chats, running, accidental spooning, Daredevil and Domino’s Pizza all blend into one big friendship Frappucino, but who will win in the end?

oh glory by alivingfire @alivingfire

Harry Styles is Team Great Britain's newest swimmer, and has spent his whole life training for this moment, a chance at the gold medal in the Rio 2016 Olympics. All his training, hard work, and dedication to no distractions is tested when he's assigned to the same Rio apartment as Louis Tomlinson, British gymnast and Harry's childhood crush.

it’s all brand new because of you by supernope

AKA, Louis starts a new job as a summer camp counselor at the local aquarium and Harry is a biologist who really likes teaching people about the ocean.

this wicked game by cherrystreet @cherrystreet

An AU in which The Bachelor is gay, Louis is a contestant, Harry is the bachelor, everyone drinks a lot of champagne, the entire world gets to watch them fall in love, and no one plays by the rules.

do not go gentle by afirethatcannotdie @afirethatcannotdie

When Harry Styles starts his first day as a surgical intern, he expects a lot of things: to treat patients, to observe a surgery, to feel a bit overwhelmed. What he definitely doesn't expect, however, is that the handsome guy he kicked out of his bed this morning is also an intern.

A Grey’s Anatomy AU where tensions are high, Harry and Louis are hooking up in secret, and no one has time for love. Or do they?

to brim with fright by hereforlou @hereforlou

The only reason he’s here is because it’s tradition. And also, Harry said it’d be fun to make Liam wet himself in fear and Louis agreed. It’ll be hilarious. He’s not an insecure new transfer anymore, thank you very much. It took him no more than a week to insert himself into a group, to get invited to his first party, and to start crushing on someone—he’s not what anyone would call socially impaired. He doesn’t need validation.

have you coming back again by whoknows

It’s five o’clock in the morning. Louis has a lecture at half eight. He could be using this time to study or to do his readings or to go to the gym, but - well. He doesn’t have any exams coming up, he’s not going to his seminar today anyway and he hates the gym.

Instead he’s using this time to fuck with Harry Styles’ poor little brain.

Louis jogs across the street and jabs the key into the car door. It opens easily, not that he was expecting anything else. He copied the key for a reason, after all.

He’s got Harry’s schedule memorized, more because the guy keeps following him around than anything, so he doesn’t bother looking around before climbing behind the wheel and setting his bag on the passenger seat. It’s a Monday, which means that Harry doesn’t even get out of bed before noon unless he’s planning on harassing Louis.

i put a spell on you by bethaboo @bethaboolou

A BBC/Secret Santa mashup featuring Captain Niall, our intrepid weatherman/amateur matchmaker, rather clueless sports reporter Liam, charming political analyst Zayn, and cheeky entertainment reporter Louis. Harry is the new fashion correspondent who prefers to dress like a flamingo. And pining. There’s a lot of pining.

naked & proud by kiwikero 

In which Harry runs an organic store, not a nudist colony, and Louis doesn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed.

take me under the blue by objectlesson

Louis hasn’t even seen his legs yet. He doesn’t know how they work or how long they’ll be. Maybe they won’t suit the rest of Harry at all, and he’ll have to grow into them or something. It doesn’t matter; Louis has loved Harry for a year with scales, so he can’t imagine wonky legs putting a damper on his attraction.

He supposes he’ll just have to find out. In the meantime, he wonders how the fuck he got here, in his squelching wellies about to save the love of his life from the sea and take him to bed and bang him for the very first time.

It’s sort of a long story.

paint the sky with stars by kiwikero

the historically accurate Titanic AU with a happy ending.

truth be told i never was yours by justfortommo

(or the one where Louis and Harry have a complicated past, Louis is getting married to someone that’s not Harry, and the universe has decided to have a laugh and make Harry the wedding planner.) 

into the badlands

Louis is Q. Harry is a double-oh agent who thinks that making knock-knock jokes around foreign embassy delegates mid-mission is a good idea.

swim in the smoke by whoknows

“What about this, Captain?” Liam asks, nudging the boy kneeling between their feet with the toe of his boot. The boy hisses and swipes at him, slurring out something unintelligible around the makeshift gag Niall had to stuff in his mouth. He misses by a mile and tries again, just as ineffectively.

Harry looks down at him, at the way the sun streams over his face and shoulders, at the way the gag stretches his mouth, lips pink and chapped. He’s lithe and pretty, smudged all over with dirt. They had found him tied up below deck, mostly unconscious, next to a barrel full of gold. He’s clearly a prisoner, but there’s something familiar about him, something that niggles at Harry’s brain. Something he can’t quite put his finger on.

“Put him in my cabin,” Harry decides, turning back to deal with the rest of the loot. The boys screams out jumbled curse words at Harry’s back, muffled by the gag, and Harry can’t understand any of it.

resist everything except temptation by domesticharry @domestic-harry

The one where Louis is the commodore's son who is forced to become a part of Harry's crew when he is captured.

pray till i go blind by el_em_en_oh_pee 

Louis is (kind of) a preacher. Harry is (probably) a demon. Of course, nothing's as simple as that.

This is not a love story.

(your heartbeat) rang true inside my bones by flimsy @flimsi

Harry goes as Louis' date for a weekend wedding. He ends up taking the role a bit too seriously.

i love your demons (like devils can) by ariadne_odair

Harry didn’t plan to join the football team. She didn’t plan to sleep with the captain of the football team. She definitely didn’t plan to sleep with the closeted captain of the football team, who promptly acted as if nothing happened and left Harry a pathetic, pining mess.

alien roadtrip! by helloamhere @helloamhere

roadtrip with desert feelings, too much snack food, and empty motels. Harry is definitely absolutely not an alien. That would be ridiculous.

treat mothman with kindness by flowercrownfemme @lesbianiconharrystyles

In which Louis, Liam, Niall and Zayn are amateur cryptozoologists and Harry is the creature they find in the woods of a small north-western town. ft. lots of glitter and shrieking and a whole shed full of lesbian cats.

just me, you, and this box of matches by tomlinsunshine

Louis is fairly sure that his new neighbour is going to destroy him. And also their apartment building, and the dumpsters outside, and all the forests within a thirty mile radius. But. Mostly him.

close to nowhere by angelichl @angelichl

Louis and Harry are psychics who kind of hate each other. They go to Tennessee to investigate a haunting. 

magical soup by gloria_andrews

Slytherin prefect Louis Tomlinson's seventh year at Hogwarts takes an immediate turn for the worse when he's made to be potions partners with Harry Styles, Hufflepuff's resident heartthrob and class clown. Louis has always considered Styles to be a terrible show-off who coasts by on his charm and good looks, but the more they work together, the more he questions that idea. As term goes on, will Louis be able to admit to himself that he might actually like Harry Styles after all... and maybe, just maybe, as more than a friend?

sainted taints and velvet vices by toomanytears

A self-fulfilling Hogwarts AU in which Louis is new to seventh year and Harry is the resident devil-may-care Slytherin set to make his entire experience a living misery. Due to less than favourable circumstances they're forced to forge an unwilling, tentative relationship for their own survival. Repressed emotions, decidedly unromantic ballroom dancing, Triwizard Tournament tasks, creative jinxes and twilight flying above the Forbidden Forest ensue.

run like the devil by benzos

Supernatural AU. Louis hunts demons; Harry's the strangest demon he's ever met, and he keeps fucking meeting him.

be with me so happily by briamaria

[aka Louis is the director of the Styles Elephant Sanctuary and really doesn't want to babysit his funder's spoiled lay-about son for two months]

come together by bottomlinsons @bottomlinsons

Harry and Louis slept together three weeks ago, and haven't talked.

Their coming group project is gonna change that.

what this world is about by isntrio @bloubird

An eighties American high school AU; there are first times, football games, and feelings.

Alternatively titled: the beginning.

once upon a dream by thedeathchamber

Louis is psychic and gets caught in the middle of a murder investigation led by FBI Special Agent Harry Styles.

aka. the Medium/Criminal Minds-inspired AU no one ever asked for.

led by your beating heart by missandrogyny @missandrogyny

(Or: AU where Harry's in One Direction, Louis isn't, and they reconnect over a game of 'Call or Delete'.)

forever and always by jacaranda_bloom @jacaranda-bloom (again, thank you!!!!!!!)

OR the one where Harry’s neighbour is a crotchety old witch who hates vampires, Niall is the unsuspecting human who ends up inhabiting Harry’s body, and Louis is the caseworker who is assigned to swap them back. How it ends up a love story is anyone’s guess.

sail your sea, meet your storm by kiwikero

The strangers to enemies to friends to pining to lovers fic where Louis is cynical, Harry is charming, and they have seven days to get their shit together.

tangled up in you by missandrogyny

Harry blinks once. And blinks again. And says, his voice dangerous: “Niall, did you get me a mail-order bride?”

Because what the actual fuck. It kind of looks like Niall’s just purchased a person. For Harry.

Niall blinks back at him for a few moments, before throwing his head back and howling with laughter. Harry throws a pillow at him. Hard. “No, what the fuck, Harry.”

“A prostitute then?” Harry also doesn't want a prostitute.

“Of course not!”

“A stripper?”

“No!”

Damn, he’s running out of ideas. He settles for launching another pillow at Niall’s head. Niall bats it away easily, still laughing. “Stop!”

“What did you get me, then?!” Niall must hear the tinge of hysteria in his voice, because he’s pulling himself together, trying to stop himself from laughing.

There’s still a big grin on his face, though, when he says, “I got you a professional cuddler.”

A professional…what. “What?”

i’d burn this city down to show you the light by you_explode 

Harry's a sheltered rich kid and Louis's a punk with a heart of gold. They meet when Louis breaks into Harry's house, Harry obtains an instant and all-encompassing crush, and they spend the summer falling into a whirlwind romance.

sail your sea, meet your storm by kiwikero

Louis is thirty, single, and a bit of a workaholic. He's happy with his life, but then his mother decides to buy him tickets for a Singles Cruise. Appalled that his family thinks he can't handle his own love life, he steps aboard the ship determined to have a terrible time.

That is, of course, until a persistent brunet keeps offering him drinks.

The strangers to enemies to friends to pining to lovers fic where Louis is cynical, Harry is charming, and they have seven days to get their shit together.

bring out feelings in me i never show

“I really think you should stop reading,” Liam says, having moved to hover behind Louis’ back at some point. “I can already see the cogs turning in your head, Louis, and I don’t like this.”

“Shut up,” Louis waves him off and continues reading.

I can do these things, at your request: openly hit on other female guests while you act like you don’t notice; start instigative discussions about politics and/or religion; propose to you in front of everyone; pretend to be really drunk as the evening goes on (sorry I don’t drink, but I used to); start an actual, physical fight with a family member, either inside or on the front lawn for all the neighbors to see.

remember you well by fondleeds @fondleeds

“Um,” Harry starts. He looks out of place. Louis can’t really believe he’s seeing Harry like this, so unsettled, so unlike himself. He holds out his hands. “Should we–. Should I, um. Did you wanna, like, cuff me to the bed or something?”

Louis raises his eyebrows. “I don’t know. Do I need to?”

i love you most by stylinsoncity

friends with benefits has always been enough for louis. until, of course, it isn't.

ready to fall by whoknows

“Ninety and rising,” Nick says triumphantly, as though making Harry’s heartbeat pick up by thrusting an obscenely attractive person in front of his face is any kind of success. “Louis Tomlinson has just walked into our control room and suddenly our dear Harry Styles has lost all ability to speak. Could this be some kind of strange coincidence?”

“I hate you,” Harry hisses, forcing his eyes back into Nick’s direction, uncaring that the mic must have picked it up. “I thought we agreed that you were going to play fair.”

“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Nick denies, except he’s holding up a picture of Louis’ face now, sharp cheekbones prominent, soft lashes nearly sweeping against his cheeks as he looks down, and his fucking mouth –

“A hundred and two!” Nick crows, all but clapping his hands together in glee. “The highest it’s ever been!”

“To be fair, I did bend over the desk on purpose,” Louis’ voice comes crackling in the headphones. Harry practically breaks his neck whipping his head around at the sound of it, gaping at him through the glass panel. “You can’t really blame him for getting a little excited about that, can you?”

[ofhamlcts]

hi all!!! I’m Emily and I am absolutely thrilled to be here writing with you! I seriously cannot wait to begin plotting and writing and all of the angst we’re going to kill each other with! but for now, i’ll quit my rambling and start introducing the mess that is my child.

without further ado: larissa griffith aka hamlet

PINTEREST / APPLICATION 

I do not - and will never - expect you to read my long ass, rambly application because we are all adults with lives!!! below, i’ve summarised the most important information into short(er)  bullet points for your consumption! these should give you a good insight into who lar is as a character and serve as a launch pad for plotting!!!

(TW: Alcoholism and abuse)

larissa has strong roots in Britain's working class, going all the way back to the industrial revolution. traditionally miners, her entire family has a chip on their shoulder about Thatcher and that stand off with the miners, forcing them to turn abandon their traditions and livelihoods. instead, her mother was/is a careworker and her father was a factory worker. 

she grew up poor - dirt poor - but her mother forbade her from knowing it. instead, she enlisted lysander to conceal the truth; a kindness on both their parts. she encouraged the pair to “make their own magic” -  bus-trips to neighbouring towns to substitute for far-flung holidays, treasure hunts in charity shops instead of newly wrapped birthday treats, bargain hunting in supermarkets instead of gourmet dishes.

Lysander was at the centre of her childhood. Two years her senior, they were a two-pieced puzzle, complementary in their opposites. The boy with the bleeding heart, he was kindness personified; the first to befriend an outcast, accepting of people’s shortcomings, optimistic in his belief that the trajectory of life was up. Lysander was both best friend and brother, co-conspirator and protector.

Shit hit the fan after the 2008 financial crash. Her mother’s pay was frozen and her father was laid off. Faced with failure as a provider, husband and father - his identity eroded - he transformed into something else. He drank. A lot. At first, the drinking isn’t so bad.  Between one and five glasses, he’s a joy. He sings Christmas songs in July and dances like he’ll never have the chance to again. After that comes the bits Larissa never saw. Arguments between her parents - over money, unemployment and benefits - soon grow physical. At the end of the night, her father always begs for forgiveness and promises to never drink again. Her mother always forgives him. And he always breaks his word. Lysander ensured she never knew what was going on in their house.

He protected her in other ways too. when Larissa was eleven, her father came home drunk and demanded she go with him on a father-daughter road trip. lysander intervened, first attempting to reason with him. when that fails, he orders you out. child that she was, larissa wriggled free from her father’s trip and fled to lysander’s room, where she knew she’d always be safe. hours later, Lysander pulled back the covers, his face shaded in dried blood and hastily applied bandages. come on, he urged, it’s time to go on an adventure.

Adventure turned out to be two children and one shaken mother moving into their grandparents house thirty minutes outside of Edinburgh. Determined to ensure that abuse didn’t blight their future, she insisted on both siblings sitting and passing entrance exams and scholarship interviews for the leading private school. Both she and Lysander passed. But from the very beginning, it was clear that they were different from everyone else. The other students had double-barrelled surnames and parents who were titans of industry and the creme-de-la-creme of society. Possessed by their own self-worth, they were the very embodiment of entitlement. Larissa despised them instantly, taking their existence as proof of a fundamental ill in the universe. It wasn’t fair that they had so much when she had so little, or that their families continued to be whole.

Lysander saw things differently. Fire and water, sun and moon - she had always known there were fundamental differences between the two of them, but hadn’t thought they would ever drive them apart. Whilst Larissa spurned her new school, preferring to bury her head in her work and befriend the librarians, Lysander threw himself head first into his new life, choosing to see the opportunity and kindness in his new peers. Bit by bit, the gulf between them widened - until they led separate lives. It broke her heart. Larissa didn’t know what to do with her sorrow except unleash it upon Lysander, leading to their one and only argument. She accused him of looking down upon his family and of being ashamed of them. She even used the words class traitor

Fences were only mended between the two of them on account of Larissa finding out what had really happened between her mother and her father - and realising the truth of her own past. Once she understood what Lysander had done to protect her, Larissa bit her lip and swallowed her pride; knocking on his door to apologise. From that moment forward, she swore she would do whatever she could to repay him.

More than anything else, Larissa felt guilty that she hadn’t known about her father’s true nature. Remorseful that she hadn’t helped. Whilst her family told her not to chastise herself, pointing out she had only been a child - Larissa insisted on bearing a cross and atoning for her sins. From then on, she swore to repay the kindness shown to her by her mother and Lysander and dedicate her life to protecting society’s most vulnerable, single handedly correcting the injustices she witnessed, whether they be gender, racial or class.

Larissa entered Ashcroft with her fists curled, ready to go to war and burn the establishment to the ground if that was what it took to succeed. Mind already made up, she decided that Ashcroft was like every other university - dominated by white men, more obsessed with statistics than welfare and infected with rampant sexism.

Sure enough, she got to work immediately. Unable to bite her lip, Larissa called out every slight, intentional or otherwise. Headstrong and stubborn, once she has the bit between her teeth she’s restless in her pursuit. In her two-and-a-bit years at Ashcroft, she’s prosecuted several successful campaigns. From picking apart the English literature reading list for being too colonial, calling out Lecturers on their sexist bullshit and launching a petition to force Ashcroft to divest from fossil fuel investments, no cause escapes her attention. By far, her most ambitious campaign was in her first year, once she  discovered that Ashcroft’s cleaners - as agency workers - were being denied fair wages, holiday leave and sick pay. Outraged, she spearheaded a campaign to bring them ‘in-house’; the first person to arrive and the last person to leave the picket lines.

Larissa initially rejected Oberon Ashcroft’s invitation into the Imperium society. Invited after she stormed into his office and delivered a list of cleaners demands, she refused to join until he acceded to the cleaner’s demands. He did so immediately - trapping her in her own promises. 

Larissa’s dislike for Octavia was no big secret. Her brother’s taste in partners has always been poor - so whilst she wasn’t surprised he went for another blonde heiress, Larissa was disappointed; knowing that it could only end in heartbreak for her brother. Girls like Octavia did not end up with boys from families like hers. 

There’s no such thing as justice. That’s Larissa’s new motto; practically every other sentence out of her mouth since Lysander was arrested. Whilst her brother put - and continues to place - his father in the judicial system, she saw the writing on the wall from the beginning - suspecting that he was one small pawn in someone else’s game. There is no doubt in her mind that Lysander is innocent - nor has there ever been any. 

Larissa offered to lie on the stand for Lysander; offering him the alibi that would have seen him slip the noose around his neck. He forbid her, telling her to think of her career, her freedom, her life. He didn’t know that there wasn’t a life worth living without him in it. 

Besides, her life has changed beyond all recognition. Some of those changes are of her own making. Stricken by grief, she’s abandoned almost everyone and everyone who meant anything. Theresa was the first to fall by the wayside, abandoned without a moment’s thought. It’s too selfish to try to be happy whilst her brother rots. Academics go next - her grades slip letter by letter, until Headmaster Ashcroft writes sternly worded letters warning of a scholarship loss. She’s even lost interest in her causes; all injustices paling in comparison to the one committed against Lysander. In short, she’s turned against the world, half-gladly.

Coming back to Ashcroft was a bad idea, but she’ll never admit it. Her newly minted title of “sister of the murderer” is not an easy one to bear. Someone starts a rumour that she’ll be expelled from the Imperium Society. More people hope it’s true. Never apt at biting her tongue, she punches them - and half a dozen more - in the face. 

Larissa has tried to convince Lysander to fight back - to launch an appeal, do an interview with the media to tell his story - to do something, anything! Every time, his answer is the same. Sadly, he shakes his head.

Octavia comes in the space between dreams and nightmares. Her beauty has been snatched from her, drained with her life force. She finds this version of Octavia an easier one to stomach. Without facade, Larissa can stare directly into her soul. How is it that dead, Octavia feels more human to her? Younger too - before her eyes, Larissa sees Octavia as she must have once been - a little girl with all the fire of life inside of her. Any hate borne towards her in life softens into pity. Catching her glancing at a photo of her and Lysander, Larissa asks the one question that will shake the universe. Did he kill you? With only half a second to consider the weight of that question - and whether she wants to hear the answer, Octavia shakes her head. No.

Larissa makes Octavia a promise. She swears not to rest until she finds the person who did. Not for her, but for Lysander.

[redsrandomrants]

Let Me Tell You Why You're Wrong About Pink Diamond💎

**spoilers for the show Steven Universe if you aren't caught up**

A lot of people on social media have some very strong opinions on the character of Pink Diamond. It’s not really a secret that the Steven Universe fandom is rather toxic, which is why I usually I try to stay away, lest I contract idiocy, but I made the horrible mistake of watching one of the many, many, YouTube videos on her, and let's just say I have a lot of feelings.

First off, the impression people seem to have of Pink is that she was a selfish brat that used and manipulated everyone around her, faked a new identity to escape her Disney Princess life and responsibilities and was in general a horrible person. These people are wong. Don't listen to them. Listen to me. I have a blog. 

So, since apparently those geniuses have been watching an entirely different show, I, a scholar, shall provide you with evidence from the show to back up my claims instead of just spewing whatever unfiltered word vomit enters my brain. You might wanna buckle up, folks, when I rant I rant for hours.

Let us begin.

First, we will need to reconstruct what we know of Pink's timeline. The earliest glimpse we can get of her is in the episode "Jungle Moon".

-I want my own army! I want my own planet! I deserve it! I’m just as important as you!

Pink Diamond, Jungle Moon

Here is where the 'spoiled brat' idea was probably born. And I would agree with that... if this was the last we saw of Pink. But it isn't. This is, in story terms, Pink Diamond pre-character development. When you write a story, it's important that your characters grow and change over the course of the adventure. Otherwise it makes for a bad, boring story, because if the events didn't have an impact on the characters, how are they supposed to have an impact on the audience? Who wants to see an adventure that doesn't leave a mark and after it's done it's quickly forgotten as if it never was? It's nearly impossible to pull off a compelling story like that. Hence why characters start out with a problem or a character flaw that they need to overcome. Let me ask you this, can you see this tantrum-throwing version of Pink leading an army? Can you see her acting like that with Amethyst, Garnet or Pearl? With Greg? No, because by the time she met them, she was a different person. Would a selfish brat leave behind her cushy life? Didn't think so.

Back to the timeline, after Pink throws a fit that she is a Diamond too and wants to be a big girl now, after much pleading and begging and probably more tantrums, her sisters decide that she's mature enough to to handle it. It's possible that she demonstrated in some way that she was up to the task, but we have no proof of that at this point. The next bit of her we see, she's already overseeing progress on her very first colony -- Earth. It's not all that she imagined it to be, as we see her bored and she even remarks to her Pearl that she wished something more exciting will happen. Pre-character development Pearl at this point is brainwashed to be an obedient pawn, so she agrees and does anything her Diamond says.

- Could you imagine that running a colony would be this dull?  

- I could imagine it, if you would like me to, My Diamond.

-Pink and Pearl on the Moon Base, Now We’re Only Falling Apart

In this segment we see how Pearl accidentally gave Rose the idea to shapeshift into a Quartz and go to Earth to meet her soldiers. Now, at this point it's worth noting how nice Pink is to them. The newest episode at the time of this post is Familiar, where we see that Pink treated her Pebbles similarly (they try to hide from Steven until he says 'thank you', and only after that do they recognise him as Pink Diamond)

- Welcome to Earth!

- That is the first and nicest thing anyone has ever said to me.

Pink and a newly-emerged Amethyst soldier,  Now We’re Only Falling Apart

Pink and Pearl tour Earth, hugging trees and being hippies. And then something happens - Pink sees humans for the first time. It dawns on her that this planet already has life on it, and that completing this colony, this thing she's wanted for so, so long, would mean destroying that life. At this point we're already seeing some of that character development, but this is a call to action that really gets the ball rolling.

So, what did Pink do next? She decided to run away from her boring responsibilities, not caring about the destruction she was causing and what she was leaving behind, but only looking to selfishly disappear under a fake identity. No? You think that's a bit inconsistent with the gem that thanks little worker pebbles and was most excited not about conquering but about creating life, saddened by the fact she has to end the life already there? Well, you'd be right.

What Pink did next was go to her sisters, the other Diamonds, and say, “I don't want to complete this colony.” When the Diamonds, rightly so, pointed out that Pink had been badgering them for it and asked why she didn't want it anymore, Pink told the truth: there are humans and flowers and she doesn't want to destroy that. Naively, she sincerely thought that if she told her sisters this, they would agree that it's wrong, they would leave Earth alone and maybe only colonise uninhabited planets. But what did the other Diamonds say? We don't care about humans, they told her. You wanted this, now finish what you started! They scolded her, the way you scold a flippant child. Because, let's not forget, she is by far the youngest of the four. Those of you with older siblings, would they listen to you about something they've done longer than you? Imagine you've just now started a new activity, like let's say fencing. You go to your sisters who are both years older than you and you tell them you want to fence holding the rapier backwards and that they should do the same. The response you would get will fall somewhere between annoyed eyerolls and condescending remarks, possibly a derisive laugh or two. And guess what, that's exactly how the Diamonds reacted.

-Why did she have to rope us into all of this? Why couldn’t she just stop the colonization herself?

-She tried. When she told the other Diamonds she didn’t want to go through with the colony, they told her to finish what she started. When she told the other Diamonds she wanted to preserve life on Earth, they created the Zoo and threw a handful of humans in. She did everything she could as Pink Diamond, but her status meant nothing to Blue and Yellow.

-- Sapphire and Pearl, Now We’re Only Falling Apart

We need to remember that she was a Diamond, yes, but she didn’t have absolute power to do as she wanted in every single respect, especially given that this is her very first colony and she’s the baby of the family. No matter how much you grow up, to the adults in your life you will always be that kid that drew on the walls and pooped their diaper. But Pink didn’t give up, she kept making excuses after excuses, and when nothing worked, she decided to take a stand ‘as someone they couldn’t ignore’. Notice that she didn’t just tear down the kindergarten and break her toy like a petulant child. No, her first instinct was non-violent solutions.

-She was going to scare every gem off the planet.

Pearl, Now We’re Only Falling Apart

And that might have been where it ended. Buuuut…

-Everything changed when she saw your fusion. Before Garnet, Rose was only fighting for Earth. But Garnet changed everything; Rose wanted to fight for her, she wanted to fight for gems.

Pearl, Now We’re Only Falling Apart

But how, please tell me how, is any of that selfish? Pink didn’t want to be a fusion. At the beginning, this was about preserving life on Earth. Then it became about other gems. She didn't do any of this for herself -- she did it for them. She could see how brainwashed all the other gems were to love the Diamonds and serve them and do what they’re meant to do.

-Rose Quartz changed my life. I came to Earth thinking this was just another colony -- build another arena for important fighters to fight in, build another spire for important thinkers to think in. And then I met her. Just another Quartz soldier made right here in the dirt, but she was different. And she was different because she decided to be. She asked me what I wanted to build; I’d never heard that before. And gems never hear they can be anything other than what they are, but Rose opened our eyes.

Bismuth, Bismuth

Some people are salty that it turned out Rose Quartz wasn’t ‘just another soldier’ and that made her less special somehow. But what does it matter if she was a Quartz or a Diamond? She was still different. Was she like the other Diamonds? No. Was she like any other gem? No. So what does it matter? She still made the choice to be different, she still decided to fight for innocent life and for the right of other gems to choose, something no one, Diamond or otherwise, had ever done. She pretty much acts the same as Rose as she did as Pink, so why the hell does it matter?

And this is the point where we will take a slight detour and talk about Pearl. Pearl has now been demoted in public opinion for some reason because she’s ‘less of a rebel’, because now she's just following a Diamond like she’s supposed to. That’s what everyone says, right? But here’s the thing. Everyone is full of shit.

-Pearl.

-Yes?

-I’m going to stay and fight for this planet. You don't have to do this with me.

-But I want to!  

-I know you do. Please, please understand, if we lose, we’ll be killed. And if we win, we can never go home.

-Why would I ever want to go home if you’re here?

Rose and Pearl, Rose’s Scabbard

Pearl wasn’t just following Pink -- she was given a choice. Stay who you are, stay a maid, an object, go to one of the other Diamonds. I’m going to do this dangerous thing, but you don’t have to. Pearl joined the rebellion because she wanted to join, and she was given the choice of staying behind and being a servant, but she rejected it. Like with Bismuth, Pink asked her what she wanted to do. And notice how different she is now than Flashback!Pearl. She snaps at Peridot that she doesn't belong to anyone, she learned to sword fight and to build things and to do stuff that Pearls aren’t supposed to because she wanted to. She stayed with Pink because Pink is the epitome of sunshine and goodness, not because of some slave complex. Dobby the House Elf didn’t die for Harry Potter because of some slave-in-love-with-its-master crap, but because Harry showed him a kindness no one else had and Dobby wanted to help him, and fight for him, and ultimately die for him. Harry freed him, but he was still there, following him and helping him because he just wanted to. Are you seeing it now? Pearl was famous for throwing herself between Pink and attacking enemies, even though Pink told her not to do that.

-Why won’t you just let me do this for you, Rose?!

Pearl, Sworn to the Sword

-Did Rose make you feel like you were nothing?

-Hah! Rose made me feel like I was everything.

Connie and Pearl, Sworn to the Sword

Pink showed Pearl kindness that she’d never seen before, asked her what she wanted to do. That’s why Pearl follows her. Maybe there wasn’t a symbolic sock of freedom, but Pink told Pearl that she was free to do as she chose. And Pearl chose to fight.

Pearl is a renegade pearl, and she doesn't belong to anybody. Fight me.

And now let’s talk controversy -- the shattering.

Going back to the timeline, let’s recap.

Pink wants a colony of her own

Pink gets colony

Pink finds out running a colony is boring, but Pearl gives her the idea to sneak into the kindergarten in disguise

Pink sees humans and flowers and decides she wants to protect the planet

Pink talks to the Diamonds about stopping the colony, but gets shot down

Pink decides to take on the form of Rose Quartz and chase the gems off world.

Pink meets Garnet and decides she wants to fight for gems and their right to choose

Pink gathers more gems to her cause, such as Bismuth, and creates the Rebellion

While points 5-8 are going on, Pink continues making up excuses to stop or slow down colonisation. She knows that the Rebellion is outnumbered, that Homeworld can keep sending troops indefinitely and that they, unlike the rebels, aren’t afraid of shattering. Pink was very much against shattering, as it’s a permanent death for a gem, and as discussed previously she is a big poofy marshmallow. Pink tries, relentlessly, to get the colonisation stopped, even while she is leading the rebellion, and even tries to use this to make the other Diamonds back off. This goes as well as you’d expect.

- This is what you wanted. You begged us for a colony of your own, and now all you want to do is be rid of it! First there were too many organics, and then their cities were too difficult to dismantle, and now these Crystal Gems? We're tired of your excuses, Pink! This Rose Quartz can't hurt you. You can't be swayed by a few unruly gems. Enough! You must understand... you are a Diamond. Everyone on this planet is looking to you. You don't even have to do anything; just smile and wave. Show everyone you are unfazed by this little uprising. Your gems will fall into line, and these Crystal Gems will be no more. As long as you're there to rule, this colony will be completed.

Blue Diamond, Can’t Go Back

This is when the idea forms. Pink realises that as long as she is there to be the ruler, the other Diamonds won’t relent. But maybe, just maybe, if she were to disappear, Blue and Yellow would leave the colony unfinished and tend to their own.

- Blue and Yellow don’t care. They never have. This is Pink Diamond’s colony. We can end it all, right here, right now.

Rose, A Single Pale Rose

Please note again that Pink doesn’t command Pearl to play along, but instead asks her to participate. Also note that Pearl is no longer mindlessly agreeing, she is considering the danger and making her own choice. Pink believes that this is the only way to get the gems to leave, and she also chooses to present as Rose Quartz, because that’s who she feels she really is. Here is the thing. Diamonds, just like any other gem, are made for a purpose. Pink was supposed to be a conquerer or world, that was her job. But she didn’t want to be. She didn’t want to be treated like a Diamond (please refer to the scene on the Moon Base and her disdain for the robotic way Pearl addresses her). How is that any different than a Pearl choosing to fight or a Quartz soldier choosing not to? Rose Quartz or Pink Diamond, she rejected the role she’d been assigned and sought to make her own path in life. She wanted to be free, too, the same way she wanted that for all gems. 

Please note my choice of words, people. ‘Chooses to present’. ‘Role she’d been assigned’. ‘Trying to be someone she’s not’. Those are not coincidences.

-Mom lived in hiding by the name of Rose, with the friends she’d made and the form she chose

Steven, Reunited

With such big LGBT+ vibes in the show, it boggles my mind that people aren’t picking up on this. Is it because gems are genderless aliens? Is it because Rose is the same ‘gender’ as Pink?

Moving on to the final bits of Rose Quartz’s history (since this is the name she chose for herself, we’ll go with that from now on). Let’s see, what haven’t we addressed? Selfish, spoiled brat? Character development, we went over that. Manipulated and lied to everyone? Um, to do what, fight for their own freedom? Since she pretty clearly gives everyone she meets a choice, I’m gonna call bullshit on that one. And she always acted as herself while she was Rose, so she wasn’t pretending to be someone she wasn’t. Faked her death to escape her responsibilities? Nope, did that so the Diamonds would leave Earth (which worked btw). She’s a horrible person? Well sure, if by horrible you mean sweet and nice to everyone she meets, fighting for innocent life and for the rights of all gems, then yeah. She’s so horrible everyone loves her.

Had many secrets? Well, that one is kinda legit. She did have secrets, but she hid things for the greater good. Her being Pink Diamond? I’d imagine a lot of gems would have reacted like this butthurt fandom “Oh, so we never really rebelled? We were just following another Diamond this whole time? THIS WHOLE REBELLION IS A LIE!!” Except that it isn’t. Everyone made the choice to follow Rose, not because she was a Diamond, but because she inspired them. They did rebell on their own, and they were fighting of their own free will. They didn’t know that she was a Diamond, and that’s what really matters. But, well, we’ve seen what happens -- people jump to conclusions without stopping to think. So yeah, I get that. Bubbling Bismuth? Well, I mean… Bismuth did try to kill her. What else was she supposed to do? This is as close to prison as Rose can do, and obviously she wouldn’t shatter her or banish her so that she would fall into enemy hands. Rose kept Bismuth safe, along with her most treasured possessions, but knew she couldn't let her out. Why? Bismuth would still want to take the war to Homeworld. And Rose made a choice not to sully Bismuth’s good name and tell others of her betrayal and radical murdery ways. Not an easy choice, but it was the one she made. People were also kinda salty that her being Pink means that she never had to make the tough moral choice to kill an evil dictator, but here you go, imprisoning your crazy, extremist friend counts as a morally grey choice. 

Created Steven so that she didn’t have to face consequences and left him this mess to clean? What was her grand plan for him, why did she have him? Surely there is a great conspiracy behind this, right?? The machiavellian mind of  Pink Diamond at work???

- I don’t understand! Why is this the same as the video you guys made me? Who’s Nora?

- Nora is you! We had it down to two names: Steven if you were a boy and Nora if you were a girl.

- So then… would Nora have the magical destiny if I wasn’t here?

- Magical destiny? I dunno about that.

- But Mom did! She was trying to tell me something with my tape! She keeps leaving me puzzle pieces! Sooner or later, I’m going to understand what I’m for!

- Whoa, Steven, it’s okay! C’mere.

- … Am I supposed to be… Did she want me to be Nora?

- Steven, she just wanted you to be you. When you have a kid you have no idea who they’re gonna be; even Garnet couldn’t predict it. That’s what was so exciting to your mom, that life is full of so many possibilities and you would get to explore them for yourself. I mean, you could be Steven, or Nora, or anyone else. And you can always change your name! Hey, I did.

- So that’s it. I’m just… supposed to be her kid.

- Well… yeah. Is that okay?

- Yeah. I think I can handle that.

Steven and Greg, Lion 4: Alternate Ending

- I get it. I know you didn’t want me to deal with your problems. But you’re a part of me now. I have to deal with what you left behind.

Steven, Storm in the Room

[gilles-blaise-westminster]

Photography in London - Week 9

- Activities

ACTIVITY 1

Before cropping:

Bas Princen, Cooling Plant (Dubai) (2010)

Look carefully at the whole photo – notice everything that is depicted in it and how these different elements work together to create a narrative. What is the photograph of?

This photo shows a cooling plant in Dubai, with a bunch of workers in front of it. It plays on the very graphic lines of the cooling plant and the buildings in the background against the fluidity of the small mounts of dirt and dust and the workers.

I imagine that the people on the photo are either working in the building, or on a construction site that is not on the picture, maybe behind the photographer. I believe they are workers as they were the customary blue overalls that the profession usually wears. They appear to be on a break, maybe on their lunch break (which could be confirmed by their pose, the overall natural lighting and the tints of the sky).

What is the photograph about?

This photograph was created for an exhibition called “Cinq Villes”, for Rotterdam’s fourth international architecture biennale.

As mentioned above, the middle and background play off of the foreground, which gives off some very different vibes. The middle and background show graphic lines, modernity, geometry, solid colours, an urban environment. The foreground is dusty, and looks a lot like a desert. I see this high contrast between these two parts of the photograph as a critic of society, maybe of how the rich are always in the background whilst the poorer workers work on their comfort.

After cropping:

Bas Princen, Cooling Plant (Dubai) (2010)

What is the photograph of?

I decided to go for a very intense crop to change the whole mood of that picture, which I think I managed pretty well. This “new” photograph shows a man, all alone, sitting on the small part of nature that still is, contemplating a huge metal dark wall.

What is the photograph about?

In this photograph, the emphasis is really put on the man. He is the pop of colour in the middle of the image. It is really the first think the viewer should see. His pose feels very lonely, as if he was the last one on a devastated planet.

I really like how the black background shows a huge contrast with the foreground, in maybe all the ways possible: it is very dark (against the lightness of the dust and the blue), it is black (against the light beige and blue), it has very graphic lines, typical of metal sheets (against the fluidity of the nature in the foreground). It also takes the biggest part of the picture whilst still not being the main focus.

ACTIVITY 2

In the first picture with the children eating ice-cream, what is mostly to be noted are how similar they are, as if they were mirrored: the way the eat it, the colour of their tops, their facial expressions. The car in the foreground, the stuffed animal and the lighthouse (far in the background) are interesting as well. I like all the graphic lines in the image.

The second picture is remarkable in terms of colour: the red of the binoculars is reflected in the notebook and in the tail of the plane. The light-blue necklaces are also to be noted. It is hard to really analyse because of how crowded the background is.

I really like the third picture. The perspective is interesting, the contrasting colours are very nice (the more muted colours for the environment and the flashy reds and yellows on his clothes), etc. It’s like the model wears all the colours that his surroundings have. He is also waiting in a room with washing machines, suggesting that his clothes are being washed. It’s as if without the muted environment (the washing machines), the colours could not exist.

The last picture is quite perturbing. I don’t really know what is going on, but I am noting how staged it feels compared to the three pictures that came before. The models are posing, the flag in the background doesn’t feel natural at all. There’s a very clear perspective, as all the straight lines on the ground are pointing toward the upper-right corner of the picture.

Caption 1: “Legend”

This caption draws attention to the clothes, as it is what is written on the model’s t-shirt. This also adds a deeper meaning, as we start wondering about who the model is: is he a legend? Is his life one? Is the photograph one?

Caption 2: “Reflections”

This caption draws attention to the shine of the ground, of the washing machines (metal and glass), of the leather, and to the flash on the plastic sheets on the background wall. The way light reflects on it is very interesting and, when you look at it closely, fascinating. This caption is centred on the lighting.

Caption 3: “Candid Patience”

This caption reflects the model and what he’s doing. He is candidly waiting for his clothes. It is more literal than the two last ones but still not as literal as the one following.

Caption 4: “Young Man Waiting For His Clothes To Be Washed”

This style of caption is very different from the last ones, as it seems quite literal. However, who says that this is what is happening? I like it a lot.

Caption 1: “Industrial Pride”

This caption mainly focuses on the flag in the background and the overall environment. The word Pride today is often associated with the Pride parades, and the pride flag that goes with it. The poses the models have shows the pride, while everything around reflects this industrial point of view.

Caption 2: “Trains”

With this caption, I tried to focus on what’s going on around the picture instead of the picture itself. The clues we get from the composition are the chains, the opening on a huge building behind that white brick hall, there seems to be tracks on the ground. While I don’t know if this really is related to trains, it is what it makes me think of.

Caption 3: “Traffic”

This caption is a play on words. As mentioned above, I imagine this place to be a factory where trains are being built. If you focus on the window that should be open to the outside, we can note that it’s actually been covered in planks, as if the building had actually been abandoned. What the models are doing isn’t specified, but it might be illegal when you see the way the window was blocked out. Traffic then comes into mind, as it works for trains moving and for illegal business.

Caption 4: “Showroom”

This is a caption that should make you consider the environment differently. The lighting feels so fake and too good that it makes me think this might actually not really be a factory but more of a showroom, maybe just a shallow movie set with prompts.

- Deutsche Borse Prize, Photographer’s gallery

Mohamed Bourouissa, Free trade

What is the main message of this artist’s work?

Bourouissa is an artist that mainly wants to criticise colonialism and its effects on society. This reflects a lot with his own background, as he was born in 1978 in Algeria. He photographs about who he is, about people around him (may he know them or not). For example, he treated in one of his series the unemployment problem in Marseille (which is a city known for its big immigrant communities). He also made a series about friendship. All of these concrete examples all would not be if the French had not colonised Northern Africa, so I personally think it is to be considered as a consequence of colonialism.

How is this conveyed? (What techniques is s/he using?)

To get his message across, he uses several media: photography (of course), but also augmented reality, emphasising people being invisible to most. A very important aspect of his photographs are also the model’s insight and participation (which is a thing I personally value a lot). They are an integrant part of how the photograph will come out, and more than by simply being in them.

When one looks at the pictures he produces, the theme is very much about the consequences of colonialism and what came after it. To convey that, he goes for graphic lines, bold colours and strong lighting (may it be natural or artificial).

This is the most striking picture of Bourouissa that we have access on the website. First of all, the subject makes it very clear: it’s police abuse, an unfortunately common sin of our society. The important part of it is the victim, the guy sitting on the ground, as the focus of the image emphasises.

The story this image shows us is very hard and can be seen in its composition. This coloured guy on the ground is getting arrested, but the woman standing to him, on the right part of the frame, is clearly in a position of sadness, as if she had given up in front of so much injustice. It is to be noted that the policeman just next to the sitting guy is black, showing how some will fade in, while some won’t.

The colours are very beautiful. They are probably artificial. Coming from our point of view, a strong warm orangey-red light, and coming from the back, a cold light-yellow light. It shows how the warm side is the “home” side, and that the police are coming from the outside.

These contrasting lights are also reflected in the clothing (and their colours): the two civilians look like they were just taken out of bed, wearing very few and in light colours (grey). The policemen, on the other hand, wear black, combat boots, etc. This contrast is very important, really creating two different worlds, a warm home versus a cold outside.

Anton Kusters, The Blue Skies Project

What is the main message of this artist’s work?

In his series called “The Blue Skies Project”, Kusters wants to represent trauma the best way he can. This is a really heavy theme that is very difficult to represent, as trauma in itself is a very personal thing that is felt differently for each individual.

At the basis of his project lays the story of his grandfather. He nearly escaped deportation in 1943. Kusters though: what if he had been deported? What would he have felt? How would this have been like? Can I find those feelings myself today? Kusters then decided to go to Auschwitz to “investigate”, hoping to find answers, but all he found was the realisation that there were many more camps than Auschwitz: over a thousand, according to him. In order to really get that trauma, all would have to be visited.

How is this conveyed? (What techniques is s/he using?)

To really get that hard feeling, Kusters takes polaroid pictures of the blue sky in each camp. This is heavily symbolic. The polaroid in itself is a media that is very fragile, like the concept of trauma. The images are printed but time can (and probably will) make it disappear, in the same way what we remember of those camps and times is fading away. The subject of each of those polaroid is the blue sky, which is also very symbolic, as it never stays in place, as it is ever-changing. It shows how volatile the image of trauma is.

There are two more aspects to be discussed: the inscription on the polaroid pictures and the presentation overall. On each polaroid, Kusters insisted on blind stamping the number of victims and the coordinates of each camp. This is very contrasting with the principle of the polaroid itself: when blind stamping numbers (or any other thing) into a picture, the picture is marked forever and that information cannot be erased. It’s very interesting: the image of the sky will end up fading away, like our memories, but the number of victims and the exact location will never disappear. It’s like a reminder.

Finally, the presentation is very important. Ruben Samama was asked to compose a 13-year long generative audio piece “which recreates in sound and length the period between 1933 and 1945 when the camps were operational.” This plays a big part on how we can feel the exhibition. In Samama’s words, “It is history being played. […] In single sounds, and one sound being one victim, there is no hierarchy in trauma.” It really is adding one more layer to this already heavy exhibition.

I don’t think there is that much to say about the picture itself, as the work of Kusters is mostly symbolic. It is a simple representation of a blue sky. We can see that it looks typically like a polaroid picture, with a lighter centre and darker areas in the corners. This simplicity creates a real contrast with the heavy theme of the exhibition. We would not think of a blue sky to talk about trauma or genocide.

We get more information with what is underneath than with the image itself. It tells us that 25 people died in that camp. I looked up the coordinates, and they are of a city in the North of Poland (Gdansk), but I couldn’t find the camp associated with it.

The title of the series doesn’t say much: “The Blue Skies Project”. Indeed, that is what the polaroid pictures show, but it doesn’t say much more about the theme of the photographic series as a whole. It is very much needed to gather more information about it to really enjoy it and understand its depths, meaning that the exhibition text is 100% needed.

Mark Neville, Parade

What is the main message of this artist’s work?

With this series, British artist Mark Neville wants to show what life is in the area of Guingamp, in Brittany. He wants to show the real meaning of community and identity through community in this rural area of the North-East of France.

In the case of the little town of Guingamp, the sense of community is enhanced in many ways: the football team, the farming community, the Breton dancers, the baton twirlers, the beauty pageants, etc. It relates a lot to what Brittany really means: a little Britain. There’s an emphasis on the contrast between Brittany and Britain, also pushed forward by the fact the project started when the UK voted out of the EU. Neville thus shows his own sense of community (as he is British) through the mirroring of France.

He photographs animals and shows the complex relationships farmers develop with their cattle, as we all know that the end product is food. Agriculture is a recurring theme of Neville’s photographs. He insists on the importance of sustainability.

How is this conveyed? (What techniques is s/he using?)

There are two different kind of pictures: some look very documentary, unstaged, whilst others show a clear organisation and are staged.

All of his pictures show a person, sometimes accompanied by one or more animals, which helps in translating his point of view.

This picture sits in the more staged category of Neville’s work. It portrays a little girl, probably from a cheerleading team as her pompoms show. Behind her are many dogs, all of the same breed, with a pond. The little girl’s expression is very contrasting to her portrayal: her stare is quite empty, while her clothes are colourful, happy, she has bright blue eyes and blonde hair, but really her expression is almost lacking in a way.

The way the dogs come out behind her is quite weird and I can’t put my finger on how this picture was taken. At first, I thought of a collage, but it seems that there is some wooden installation floating on the pond behind her, which allows them to be almost floating in the air.

On this picture, Neville plays a lot on perspective. The little girl seems to be the point of emergence from where all the dogs come out.

Clare Stand, The Discrete Channel with Noise

What is the main message of this artist’s work?

This series is inspired by Eckhardt’s “Electronic Television” from 1936. She is interested in communication and what makes it possible today, mostly the modern means of communication and how the interpretation of a conversation can lead to many different outcomes.

How is this conveyed? (What techniques is s/he using?)

Her process to construct her series is quite precise. As she resided in France, she asked her husband (who lived in the UK) to pick images from her own archive and to draw a grid on it, cutting it into a lot of squares. Then, he had to put on each square a number from 1 to 10 that would represent a different tone of grey. When that was done, he was to give her the numbers in order on the phone.

This is one of the image Stand recreated after being on the phone with her husband. It is very interesting. First off, the choice of black and white (or grey) is a strategic choice, put up probably to make Stand and her husband’s work easier, but it is also a nod to her inspiration, Eckhardt’s “Electronic Television” (1936), as everything was in black and white at that time.

This image shows very well the complexities of communication. While we don’t know what the original image is like, some parts of it seem… wrong? The way her husband interpreted some “pixels” to be very light do not translate very well on Stand’s recreation of the image. It is as if they were out of place. We can definitely pick up the overall scene, a man sitting at his desk, maybe using a typewriter or a computer of some sort, but it is hard to know more – which completely validates Stand’s point.

In your view, which artist should win the competition? Why?

Personally, I think the winner should be Bourouissa, the first of the four artist I’ve treated. I comparison with the others, I really enjoy how he doesn’t overcomplicate his message. What he shows is instantly striking, whilst much more reflexion is needed for the others.

I also really like the participative aspect of his series, which is something I am also doing in my own photographic series.

- Personal photo

Show yourself (self-portrait)

This photo for me really what I would show as a definition of the word: contrast. I really wanted this picture to show as many contrasts as possible to illustrate a really important thing for me, which is showing your “true colours”, who you really are, and how that real internal person is often very different from the “public figure”.

To do that, I tried to show pain in my facial expression. I want to show on there how much it hurts to have to keep your inner persona a secret, how hard it is to keep for yourself something that you really want out in the world.

I used colours a lot to emphasise this contrast. The red jumper I am wearing represents the outer shell, vibrant and invincible to the world. However, when one looks at the face, you can see many blue highlights (that I achieved by holding my computer underneath my face with a blue plain image showing). As blue is on the opposite of the colour wheel to red, it adds one more contrast in the image.

The last contrast that I included in the image is done with the lighting. This photograph is shot next to my window, with the blinds closed, which produces a very homogenous diffused light. I decided to keep it on my back, and to have a very dark face in general, to again emphasise the contrast between the outer (the back) and the inner persona (the front).

The other two captions I have for this picture that change its meaning are:

“When You Hit Your Toe on the Table”

“Choking”

If I were to crop the picture to change the meaning, here’s what I would produce:

By cutting out the main subject that shows really what this picture was about and turning it sideways, this picture now shows something utterly different. The play with the white, the beige and the red are already very interesting as colours.

The subject could also be very different. This here could be captioned “A Day at the Beach”, and the viewer could see the sand, the blinding sun and maybe a bright red towel.

[sometimesrosy]

Into Eden, chapt 3; It Was Fake

Into Eden

rosymamacita

Chapter 3 READ On AO3

This mail order bride thing was an uneasy partnership. Keeping it just business should have made it easier. But Bellamy still thought she was a princess and he was somehow lower than her. A slave even. And everything was complicated by the fact that Clarke was very attracted to him. He was her husband. But he wasn't.

Maybe they could find some sort of balance where everyone got what they needed.

Fake. It was fake.

Clarke was worried that after only two weeks pretending to be a long term mated pair with her husband, whom she’d just met, JUST MET, she was having a hard time remembering that she wasn’t planning any happily ever after with him. She was having a hard time remembering that it wasn’t REAL.

It was horrible. It was unexpected. It was against her will. It was STUPID.

She kept trying to tell herself that. She kept reminding herself that it had only been a few weeks since she was with Lexa. Although when she thought about it, the tail end of her year long relationship with Lexa had not been all that loving, or happy, or connected. Lexa had never understood her grief over her father’s death and had wanted her to just get past it. Their relationship had started out passionate, needy even, but just gotten more political and resentful as time went on. Lexa didn’t like the time that Clarke’s career as a medical researcher took and thought she should quit. She called her naive when she disagreed. And when she’d said they should get married, she hadn’t even asked. She just declared it.

She liked that Clarke was the daughter of Chancellor Griffin from Alpha Station, with whom she she very much wanted to be allied. It would be advantageous for everyone. But Clarke disliked all the station politics and jockeying for power and alliance, always had. And she hated it more after her father was killed two years ago, for doing what was right, not what was political. It all made her wonder if Lexa ever really loved her at all, or if she’d just wanted her for her political power.

Clarke wasn’t even sure she believed in love anymore, that’s why this business arrangement had seemed so much better. No politics. No love. Just a marriage for convenience sake.

She tried to tell herself that at least they were honest and they had both agreed and they both knew that it was in name only. They were… business partners.

And, as he kept reminding her, she was the one in charge, so it wasn’t really a business PARTNERSHIP so much as she was the boss, and he was, kind of, her employee.

“You might call me a slave,” he said. She’d gaped at him. It was after a formal dinner and he threw off his tuxedo jacket in anger. He hadn’t liked sitting in that room of dignitaries and wealthy, smug colonists, pretending to be one of them, letting her hang onto his elbow and look up at him adoringly. Fake adoration. It wasn’t hard to stare at his beauty, but she was under no illusions. It was not love.

“You’re not a slave. We’re married. It’s a partnership.” No matter his beauty. And that wouldn’t influence her at all.

“You bought me. I’m a slave.” He glared at her darkly and damned if that didn’t make him more attractive. It was simply outrageous.

She wanted to yell at him, but he just kept stripping. First the tie that he’d been complaining about, then the shirt with all its complicated buttons. He was down to bare chest and starting on his pants when she turned around and hid her face in her own wardrobe. “We agreed to this. You agreed to this. We both wanted to get to Eden Colony,” she said, and her voice wasn’t strangled with lust or emotion or whatever. It was frustration. With him! Not her feelings. “We’re both getting something out of it. You get the free trip. I get to bypass the stupid rules.���

“Yeah, but you don’t get to bypass them, do you. We still have to be married.”

“In name only.”

“We still have to live together.”

“I’ve got the plans for our homestead. It’s required we share a dwelling, but I’m constructing a dwelling with two separate apartments. We’ll be more like neighbors, once we get out to the claim. And the nearest town is an hour away so there’s no one to call us on our separate living arrangements. We’ll be fine.”

“You have the resources to build a house with an extra apartment, all so that you don’t have to live with me?”

She didn’t know why the question made her heart skip. She pushed it aside. “I spent ALL my money, Bellamy. I was going to get what we needed. And I never intended to treat you like a slave, even before I met you. This is a mutually beneficial partnership. We’re sharing all the resources. We’ll be pulling our own weight on Eden colony. Together. Not me with all the money and you doing the labor. This is not me owning you. Please. You will own me as much as I own you. And we still have to have children. Together.”

He went silent then. The silence went on so long that she took her nightgown out of the wardrobe and clutched at it like it would protect her, like it would slow her rapidly beating heart, and turned slowly to look at him. All he wore was plain black briefs, ones she had actually bought for him. But she wouldn’t let herself look. “Not that—I mean— I’m a medical professional. We have a fully functional scientific module. The intention is for us to use it to raise livestock from our bank of frozen embryos, but I will also be able to fertilize my eggs with your— I mean— we have options is all I’m saying.”

He just looked at her. “We haven’t talked about this.”

“We’ve only known each other two weeks. It’s kind of personal.”

“It’s personal to both of us. This is about— us.”

“We— we have options, Bellamy.” She looked at him with as blank a face as she could manage. It seemed to be effective. He nodded, business like.

“I never asked. I assumed that, because you paid for a man to be your husband that you were attracted to men. I shouldn’t have assumed. Perhaps you just wanted a male for the farm. Or as a father. Not as a mate. Not in that way.”

She swallowed and did not look down at his bare chest and tight abs. But she couldn’t help but see anyway. “No.” She said shortly. “I am attracted to men and women both, no preference. Thanks for checking. I’m sorry I didn’t say. But like you said, we haven’t talked about this, and our sexual preferences and plans for impregnation weren’t exactly going to be part of the polite dinner conversation with the other wealthy colonists. We had more important stories to straighten out.”

He laughed and then moved to his wardrobe where he pulled out the cotton pajamas she’d bought for him. She liked them. They looked soft. He looked relaxed in them. He put them on and she could breathe deeply again, although her eyes kept returning to the suggestion of muscles underneath the shirt. It was good he had muscles. Good for breeding. Good for working their claim. He’d been a good choice for a husband, even if she’d picked him by chance. The marriage brokers she’d chosen had done their job well. She was sure they’d be able to work things out and it would stop being so awkward. Someday.

“So I assume you will be… carrying our child? Yourself? Or do they do human surrogates the way they do the livestock surrogates?”

Clarke choked on air. He smirked and clapped her on the back. “Sorry. Was that topic too sudden? I thought we were talking about it. Sexual preferences, I am also bisexual by the way, with a strong preference for women. And plans for impregnation. Were we not talking about it?”

She cleared her throat and shook her head. “No, I just— I hadn’t thought about carrying a child. I hadn’t thought of it. I mean, I knew I would have to have children, that it was the charter, but— the idea…” she looked up at him wide eyed, as if he could help her. How could he? The very thought. She pressed her nightgown into her stomach, imagining.

“I’m sorry,” he said. His eyebrows were drawn together in concern. “I was teasing you. A little. I shouldn’t have. We don’t have to talk about it. We’re not there yet.”

She gaped at him. How was he so sensitive? This man, who she’d learned had been nothing but a worker, then a guard, then a janitor in a factory on a dirt colony, a dome that manufactured synthetics. Nothing all that special. Just one colony in a hundred. He had calluses on his hands and he’d raised his sister after his mother died. Just a hard working man. They had nothing in common and they had to make up the story that they’d bonded over the net, on a webring about ancient earth mythology, strangely , an interest that they both shared in real life. He liked mythology. And human history. Inside his factory station skin, he was a man with a mind. And she was getting to like him more every day. She wasn’t ready to talk about having his baby yet. But it wasn’t going to get any easier if she waited.

“No. We should talk about it. It’s going to happen, one way or another. This is our last night cruising before they put us into cryo sleep for the the jump to hyper flight. I just hadn’t thought about how soon it would have to happen. I mean. If we’re going to free you from your contract as soon as possible, that means I should attempt impregnation was soon as we reach our claim. That’s, not counting the time we’ll be in cryo sleep,” she paused and realized the time frame. Her breath left her forcefully. “Two weeks from now.” She laughed and it sounded kind of panicked even to her own ears. “I should start adjusting to the concept. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that. I meant to be so prepared.”

“Woah, Clarke,” Bellamy said, putting his big hands on her shoulders and holding her down. She was glad for it. She felt like she might fly off into space. “Slow down. We don’t have to move so fast. There’s no time constraint for pregnancy and children in the charter agreement, is there?”

“No.” She shook her head and laughed a little and this time her laughter was tinged with tears. “Of course not. We could take as long as we wanted. If we reach the end of my fertility, they would have us requisition a surrogate, like you said. But that only is necessary in medical cases. I should be fertile through my forties. We have twenty years.”

“Then why are you saying it has to happen now. Can’t we get used to our claim? Get used to each other?”

She blinked up at him and the tears that threatened had the audacity to fall. She ducked her head, but he saw. “You’re not a slave Bellamy. I don’t want to keep you longer than you need. You’re free, okay? The definitions for marriage in the charter are very broad. Okay? You can live your life however…” she paused thinking about the tall and beautiful dark haired colonist that had been eyeing him at the dinner even though he’d been holding her hand. She’d seen him looking back at the woman. Clarke thought she was beautiful too but she hadn’t been looking at Clarke like she wanted to eat her up. “You can live your life however you want, okay, Bellamy? I’m not going to hold you to any antiquated notions of marriage. I’m the one who has to monitor my fertility and the genetic background of our offspring. I’m the one that can get pregnant. You can do what you want, just be careful.”

“Hold up. Are you telling me I can sleep around?”

She shrugged.

“But you have to be faithful to me? Even though we’re not a real couple?”

“Just in relationships where I might become pregnant. They don’t just want men and women on Eden, they want prime genetic material, and that’s us. That’s how we got accepted. They liked my money and connections, but you? You’re perfect. They want your genes populating Eden. You could probably even get some other women pregnant and they wouldn’t mind, as long as the child was registered and its background confirmed to guard against future inbreeding. It’s a worry on a colony with a small population and not much migration.”

He raised his hands. “No Clarke. No. I’m not doing this.”

“What? Uhm. You signed a contract. You have to. If we don’t have children they’ll take our claim and we will have to hire on to someone else’s or find a way back. Because we’ll have no credits left.”

He snorted. “No. That’s not what I meant. I signed a contract. That means we’re married. I don’t cheat. Okay? Maybe it wasn’t a love match, but to me, this marriage is real.”

“But the charter definition of marriage is broad—“

“Clarke. I don’t cheat. I’m not going to sleep around. And, for god sake. I’m not looking to get out of our marriage as soon as possible. If I’m building a stake with you, I’m building a stake. We’re doing this together. We’re partners. And there’s no way I would even think of leaving my children. We don’t have to rush to have children so I can be free. Please. So stop that.”

“I thought you said you were a slave?”

“I was pissed off. I got accosted in the corridor by some woman who seemed to think that because we came from different classes I must be a space spouse—“

Clarke gasped. “She knew?”

“Oh don’t worry. I sold my love for you. She now thinks our forbidden love is why we were so desperate to get away from your family’s connections.”

“Oh. That’s good. Alpha Station is full of incredible snobs. Why didn’t we think of that?”

“I did. I told Echo. We’ll have to use that story from now on. Especially since mail order brides have a reputation in the wealthy colonies of being, well, whores.”

Clarke felt her mouth fall open.

“Mmhm. Yeah. Apparently, it’s a rather common occurrence on colonies for space spouses to be thrown over when the colonists find a better candidate. I’m surprised your research didn’t look into the black market economies on the colonies. Even on Eden. There’s a thriving community of comfort women and men and Echo thought she’d get her bid on me in early.”

She stared at him and felt her anger rise. She clenched her hands and imagined the tall woman’s throat in her fingers. “I’m going to kill her.”

Bellamy laughed. “What?”

“I’m going to kill her,” she said, her voice lower. “How dare she treat you like that. I won’t stand for it. And you thinking you have take it? No. I’m going to kill her.” She began stalking towards the door.

He grabbed her arm and spun her around. She was standing very near him. “Woah. Calm down. It’s nothing new. This is the way the privileged treat us lowborns. We’re there to be used, as workers, as guinea pigs, for service, in one way or another. At least with you around, I’ve got some defenses and I don’t have to, I don’t know, fight my way out of it and get arrested or on the wrong side of the power structure, like what happened to me back on my factory colony.”

“That happened to you there, too?”

He shrugged like it was no big deal. “I might have said yes. I’ve done so before. But I never liked Shumway. I didn’t trust him. Why do you think I went from being a guard to being a janitor? I was on track to become an officer, even run for office some day. Factory is a democracy, not a hereditary monarchy like Alpha.”

“Alpha isn’t a hereditary monarchy, we have a council.”

“Who all come from the hereditary ruling class. And Polis? They only elect commanders from within a privileged gene pool. It’s a little more complex than just family lines, because they require a certain genetic marker, so one person who has it might be eligible to rule, but not their full blood sibling, or either parent, since it’s a recessive gene.”

Clare gaped at him in surprise. He caught and grinned at her. “Oh I studied, Clarke. Factory wasn’t moving me up in the world just because I’m pretty. I didn’t get bumped to the top of your space spouse list for my abs.”

Clarke couldn’t help but look down to where his soft shirt clung to his stomach. She cleared her throat. “Regardless. I won’t allow anyone to treat you like that. You’re not at their mercy. You’re mine.”

“I’m at your mercy, Clarke?” His grin slipped into a smirk, as if he’d caught her in something. “I thought I wasn’t your slave.”

Her nostrils flared. This man. “You are not my slave. I did not buy YOU, Bellamy, I bought your ticket and I cleared the bureaucracy so I didn’t have to deal with it. Fine. I used my wealth to make my life easier. And you were definitely the top of space spouse list and I used my damn money to get the best husband I could and that is you. I paid THEM for their services. Not your life. You’re not my slave. You’re not my property or my employee. Even though I have more money than you. Had. The money never meant anything to me anyway. This is our life now. Everything I have is yours. I’m your wife. You’re my husband.”

Silence filled their stateroom after her outburst and he stood there, watching her. His breath coming slowly. He was quiet so long she started to get nervous. Her fingers tangled in the nightgown she was still clutching in her hands.

“I got really lucky,” he finally said, almost reverently, “with you.” Their eyes locked. “I maybe didn’t think very closely about how this could have gone for me, how badly. Who I might have ended up with. Maybe I did think it didn’t matter, it would be the same on Eden as on Factory. I maybe thought you’d be like Shumway, or Echo. Or the rest of the privileged. I never even stopped to think that I might… like you.”

Clarke couldn’t breathe now. She was afraid that if she moved he would stop. And she could tell he had more to say. She wanted to know.

“I think…” he said. “I think we have a chance to be happy, Clarke.” He laughed like he couldn’t believe it. She bit her lip. “It wasn’t a love match. You found me on a list. Your proposition worked with my needs. I could have said no. But we fit together.” He ran his hand through his hair. “This marriage is real to me, Clarke. I’m all in. Are you?”

That was what she had been fighting all along. She didn’t need to anymore. She took a deep breath. “It’s real to me, too. I want to try for real, Bellamy. I’m in.”

He smiled at her. His eyes were so warm.

“Can I hug you Bellamy?”

He laughed. “Of course,” he said and didn’t wait for her to come to him. He wrapped his arms around her and she’d never felt so safe. Never. He was strong and kind and smart and she wasn’t quite sure how she’d gotten to be so lucky finding him the way she did, but she was and she wasn’t going to take it for granted. She tucked her nose into the crook of his neck and god he smelled so good.

He ran his hands up and down her back and they stood like that for a while.

“Just saying, Clarke,” he said after a while. “If I get a say in this impregnation thing—“

“Of course you do. You’re my husband. We’re family.” The word sent a bigger thrill through her.

She felt him nod against her hair. “Okay then, well I’d like to try to do it the old fashioned way.”

She tensed, because god she could push him down on that bed right now and get started. But he must have only felt the tension. He pulled away from her and held onto her shoulders again. So calming and grounding.

“But I want us to wait, and take it slow. Okay? To get to know each other, to get to know Eden, so when we’re ready to have a baby, to make a family like the charter said, we’ll really be ready. And we’ll know who we are to each other and how we work together and everything.”

She didn’t move. She just stared up at him, clutching her nightgown against her stomach so she didn’t reach out. Dammit.

This was real. It was real. But she had to restrain herself, because Bellamy wasn’t a whore, she hadn’t bought his services at all. He wasn’t her property, he wasn’t a slave and what he wanted mattered. And he wanted to wait.

She nodded and smiled. “Okay.” It was her politician’s smile. The one that hid her feelings. She didn’t think he knew her well enough to read it, but he narrowed his eyes at her. “That’s a good idea. We’ll take it all one step at a time and get to know each other and our claim. Great plan.”

He looked at her sideways.

She raised her eyebrows and her chin. “We’re going into cryo sleep tomorrow morning, but when we wake up, we have another two weeks on this ship until the colony, and I will damn sure make it known to Ms. Echo and all the rest of the predatory colonists that you are mine and they are not to touch you.”

He chuckled. “Possessive. Is that what marriage means to you?”

She shook her head. “No. Protective. No one treats my husband like a thing, because he’s wonderful.”

The grin slipped off of his face and he blinked at her. His lips parted like he was having trouble breathing. She tried to make him believe her just by force of will. He shook his head and a small smile quirked the corner of his mouth.

“Go get ready for bed, Clarke. Cryo sleep isn’t restful. They said we need a full night sleep to avoid disorientation upon waking.”

“Okay,” she said. She would let him have it. She had a lifetime to convince him he was wonderful. A lifetime. She turned back to her closet while he slid under the covers of the bed.

He wanted to go slow and get to know each other. She could respect that. No matter how she wanted to kiss him for real, not just a peck here and there for show with the other colonists and officials. She wouldn’t do anything with him that he didn’t want. That was for damn sure, knowing now how he felt about privilege. Knowing his concerns about slavery. The very thought that anything about their partnership— marriage— might make him feel like a whore? She couldn’t bear it.

She sent a glance towards him and he was settling into bed, getting comfortable. He’d already said how he enjoyed the luxury of the down pillows and was planning to swipe them and stuff them into his duffel. She ducked her head and held back a laugh.

She wouldn’t do anything he didn’t want. But what if he wanted to?

She peaked at him one more time and he wasn’t asleep. He was flipping through the pamphlet that prepared them for cryo sleep. He was there. She was here. They would be sharing the bed as they had the whole two weeks they’d been on the ship, but now their marriage was real, not just business.

Clarke pulled her shoulder back and unbuttoned her silky blouse. She did not retreat to the bathroom the way she usually did. She didn’t need to hide from her husband.The blouse slid off of her shoulders and she stowed it. She reached up and let her hair down. She hadn’t cut it in a while. It reached almost to the small of her back. She felt Bellamy’s eyes on her. She didn’t look back at him.

Instead, she pulled her hair around over her shoulder and reached around to release the hook on her bra. She sighed as she took it off and she thought maybe she heard him, drawing a breath. She did not turn around but she smiled to herself as she slipped her skirt down and then her panties.

They were married. It was real. She would take it slow. Oh she would.

Clarke took her long thick hair in her hand and pulled it up on top of her head, twisting it into a loose bun, still keeping her back to Bellamy. She turned slightly, so he could see the side of her breast, and then slowly donned her nightgown.

It covered her to her knees and even the neckline was high, but it was soft and draped over her curves, and she knew he’d been watching and he’d be thinking about what was underneath it. She put everything away like a good spacer, and then locked the wardrobe door.

When she finally turned around, he was watching her, his eyes dark and heavy. She smiled.

“Tomorrow is going to be a big day,” she said. “We’d better sleep.”

He cleared his throat and nodded and turned off the light as she slid under the sheets next to him.

It felt different now. Knowing that this was real. Knowing that this was her husband. Her family. That they were a unit, not just uneasy allies. Before her skin had tingled, knowing she shared a bed with a handsome man who she might some day have sex with. Tonight, it was different. The warmth had settled deeper, inside of her. Somewhere above her stomach. She might almost have said her heart. But she wasn’t going to get sucked in again like that.

She inched closer to him. She could feel his body heat.

“I’m glad we’re doing this together, Bellamy. I’m glad it’s you. I have hope for us.”

He began rubbing her arm. “Me too Clarke. Me too. I’m glad you’re my wife.”

She put a hand on his chest. “But if you screw me over,” her voice went gravelly, “I will destroy you.”

He laughed. The bright sound filled the stateroom and it sounded like joy. She could see the gleam of his broad smile in the ship running lights. “That’s my wife,” he said. So proud.

He pulled her all the way into him and wrapped his arms around her so she could cuddle into his broad chest, and it felt so good.

“That’s my wife,” he murmured again into her temple. Her tension simply drained right out of her. Worries, fears, anger, anxiety. Even that strange buzzing sexual tension.

She just felt at home, in his arms. As much as she wanted to kiss him and more, she thought that if this was what she was allowed to have right now, she could wait. Because this was good. So good.

[newstfionline]

The Central African Republic could be on the brink of a bloodbath

By Cassandra Vinograd, Washington Post, October 10, 2017

BRIA, Central African Republic--Inside a sprawling tent camp protected by a U.N. tank and a line of barbed wire, Jerry Zoumatchi cradled an ancient rifle.

He said he’d never touched a weapon until four months ago. But then rebels shot dead his father and his 17-year-old brother, sending him fleeing to this displaced-persons site in search of refuge, and revenge.

“I took up my gun to kill the [rebels] who killed my father and brother,” the 29-year-old said, fiddling with three bullets in his free hand. “I need to avenge the deaths.”

Zoumatchi’s thirst for vengeance led him to join a local “self-defense” militia, which gave him a firearm and a role in the newest chapter of a conflict that has left thousands dead in this former French colony. The violence has persisted for four years despite efforts by the United Nations, humanitarian groups and even Pope Francis to end the fighting.

Successful democratic elections early last year spurred hopes that the conflict might finally end. But clashes erupted again in November. Since then, hundreds have died and tens of thousands have been forced from their homes amid escalating violence between the dozen or so armed groups controlling some 80 percent of the Central African Republic. Attacks are taking on increasingly sectarian overtones.

U.N. officials have raised alarms about “early warning signs of genocide.” Diplomats and relief workers say this impoverished country of about 4.6 million runs the risk of an all-out civil war, which would compound the humanitarian crisis and create new security problems in a region already grappling with extremist groups such as Boko Haram.

The violence began when a predominantly Muslim coalition of rebels called the Seleka swept to power in 2013, after killing and burning their way through this majority Christian country. Mostly Christian groups known as the anti-balaka formed to fight back. Many of the armed groups subsequently splintered. The Seleka rulers were eventually replaced by an interim government, and a former prime minister, Faustin-Archange Touadera, became president last year in what many saw as a sign of progress.

Analysts say the latest violence is due in part to the new government’s failure to satisfy the armed groups’ demands for political representation and amnesty.

“To get what they want they need to increase the power of negotiation. And in order to increase the power of negotiations they need to represent a threat,” explained Nathalia Dukhan, an analyst at the Enough Project, a Washington-based research group focused on African conflicts. “They increased their capacity to harm.”

That hasn’t been hard to do in a country where the central government wields little power outside the capital, the army is ineffective and ill-equipped, and infrastructure such as roads is limited.

Ex-Seleka factions are now fighting one another--in some cases teaming up with their former opponents. Anti-balaka, frequently referred to as “self-defense” groups, have expanded.

The capital city of Bangui, guarded by U.N. peacekeepers, remains calm, but taxicab radios blare the growing list of hot spots across the country: Zemio, Batangafo, Obo. In addition to the internally displaced--who now number 600,000--about 500,000 people have fled to neighboring countries since 2013, according to the United Nations.

Areas previously spared high levels of violence now have become flash points, with the country’s southeast of particular concern. Some experts say the withdrawal this past spring of U.S. and Ugandan forces positioned in the area to search for Joseph Kony, the rebel leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, created a power vacuum--one armed groups are looking to fill.

“Armed groups have taken over the whole of the country,” said Joseph Inganji, the U.N. humanitarian agency’s chief of office for the Central African Republic.

There have been numerous failed attempts to broker peace, including a deal struck in June in Rome by representatives of the armed groups. Less than 24 hours later, new clashes killed dozens.

The mandate for the 12,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping force in the country expires in November, and Touadera is among those calling for a renewal and a troop increase. But peacekeepers are also in the crosshairs--10 have been killed this year. Civilian animosity toward peacekeepers has grown, exacerbated by a sexual-abuse scandal and allegations of inaction in the face of attacks.

More than half the population is in need of humanitarian assistance. But amid the surge in violence, access to aid has sharply deteriorated. Eleven aid workers have been killed since the start of the year--making it one of the most dangerous places in the world for humanitarian work. Aid compounds have been looted and attacked, prompting many organizations to pull back or limit their activities.

In some parts of the country, villagers are holed up in churches and hospitals, unable to venture out for fear of being killed. Food supplies in some places are running low.

Stephen O’Brien, who until recently served as the U.N. humanitarian chief, said after a visit in July to the Central African Republic that “the early warning signs of genocide are there,” with growing ethnically and religiously targeted attacks.

The sectarian tension is evident in Bria.

Just four months ago, fighting forced 40,000 civilians to flee their homes and set up makeshift shelters on the edge of a U.N. base.

“We Christians don’t want to have problems,” local anti-balaka leader Jethro Soukou said on a recent morning. “It’s the Muslims that make the problems.”

“They treat us like animals,” he said, voice nearing a shout. “When they’re out on their patrols and see one of us, they kill him in the street.”

Months ago, a rare machete tucked into a waistband was the only sign of weaponry in the camp. Today, men with guns slung over their backs roam the maze of tents.

Francoise Reneheta had only recently arrived from a small village near Bria. Voice scratchy from exhaustion, Reneheta said loud booms had shattered her morning 10 days earlier.

“I started to hear shots, weapons firing,” said the 25-year-old. She said she dropped the manioc she’d been preparing for breakfast, grabbed her children and ran.

Reneheta held no hopes of returning to her village; she had heard their house was torched along with others.

Not far down the red-dirt road there’s a main drag of shops where armed men--“the enemy”--stroll or laze under trees with AK-47s between their knees.

On a recent afternoon, Abdraman Djiabaladin, who guessed he was in his 80s, stacked broken branches in front of his house near the town’s center.

Three weeks earlier, he said, anti-balaka members had surrounded this neighborhood and opened fire.

“There were so many bullets that they broke the branches of the mango tree,” he said, adding that he survived by firing back.

He said he would not be driven from his home.

“We don’t have any enemies other than the anti-balaka,” he said. “I need to stay and fight.”

[dearwordspoetry]

Social Classes, Class Conflicts and Class Struggles Portrayed in A Bug’s Life Movie: 1998 by John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton

INTRODUCTION

           Humans are social-beings who live by experiencing a lot of events they may not know or expect. Through all the events humans experience, humans are going to be shaped inversely and they are going to differ from one another. The differences we usually see in daily life are strength and weakness, which are two of many possibilities that differ humans, and they are obviously going to take human-beings into some kind of a class classification. This class classification takes people into different social classes in which some are considered to have higher level and some with lower level. We cannot choose what social class we want to be, but the class itself chooses who will be in the social class. Since social classes are created, many conflicts will also happen among the classes. People may fight each other for having different opinions, having different ideology or even something much worse. From this, those who are in lower class may try to get into upper class, so that people will not look down on them.

           To bring a clearer example of how class classification takes people into different social classes, the writer will be providing a literary work of how social classes occur. The writer chooses a movie A Bug’s Life: 1998 by John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton, a movie about the life of ants and how they are dominated by a group of grasshoppers. A male ant finally begins to do something about the colony and wants to help the queen on solving the problem they are all facing. He then decides that he will go on a journey to look for some help from outsiders. In the movie, it shows how the ants are being powerfully ruled by the grasshoppers because they think that they are way weaker than the grasshoppers which have wings to fly and bigger bodies. The ants have been doing the same thing over and over again, even for years. They have to serve the grasshoppers because of the fear of getting killed by other bugs. The story doesn’t go well for the main character because everything that he does just seems so impossible to be done and no one cares about him. He then finally comes to a decision that they, ants, are strong and smart creature just like the grasshoppers are. Making a single change for the colony, from all his failures, to a bright future.

           To help the writer analyze this case deeper, the writer has chosen a relevant theory regarding to the topic. The theory is Marxism which is a theory invented by Karl Marx (1818-1883) and Friedrich Engels (1820-1895). From this theory the writer will discuss the theory further with using social class, base and superstructure, class conflict and class struggle. Social class is a group of people living together with the same social backgrounds. It deals with social backgrounds people have, so the more people live in a place, the bigger chance that social classes may differ from one another.  Base and superstructure is the simplest form of Marxist model of society according to Barry (2009). Base structure is the material means of production, distribution and exchange, while Superstructure is the cultural world of ideas, art, religion, law, etc. For class conflict, according to Schryer (1990, p. 20), the Marxist term ‘class conflict’ is reserved for those rare situations where a subordinate ethnic group is engaged in revolutionary struggle in a classical colonial situation. Class conflict occurs when there are higher and lower class, when the lower class struggles to get their level to be higher. And for the last, class struggle, according to Houtman (2003, p. 5), “Marx consequently views exploitation, labor conflicts, and class struggle as normal and inevitable side effects of capitalism.” So, class struggle is how people in lower class try to do something to get be considered to have the same level as the higher class (or at least almost on the same level).  From these theories, the writer will be able to find out what lies behind the movie (what kind of class classification is put into the movie). The last one is symbol which is an intrinsic literary device used to add more meanings to the work. According to DiYanni (2001, p. 95), “Symbols in fiction are simply objects, actions, or events that convey meaning.” The meaning that symbols give may contain deeper meaning which represent an object. Even small actions, utterances, and events can have deeper meaning that they are supposed to when there is symbol in them.

  ANALYSIS

I. Marxism

           Marxism signs that occur in this movie are the way the grasshoppers treat and give orders to the ant colony. The grasshoppers command the ants to collect food for them and then they are going to take a really big amount of food. This shows how grasshoppers have higher class than the ants and the ants are really afraid of grasshoppers. Grasshoppers have bigger bodies and the ants consider that grasshoppers are physically stronger than them. They obey and do what the grasshoppers want them to do. The other sign that occurs is classes among the ants themselves. The queen and her children, who are the princesses, seem to have higher level than the worker ants. The queen and her children have the power and right to command the other ants while the other ants have to obey the orders. The reason why the writer mentions that the queen and the princesses have higher class than the worker ants is because the queen and the princesses wear a crown-like flower on their heads. It’s something that can only be wore by only some specific characters. The crown-like flower itself symbolizes the power of the queen and the princesses as they have the power and right to rule. Among the worker ants, there are also ants (usually elders) seem to be in the middle level because they can give orders to the worker ants. Middle class and lower class ants also have their own symbols, as for middle class ants, some use something like a piece of paper to do some particular kind of jobs such as counting how many foods have been collected or to count how many ants who are back to the base after working. This shows that they still have to work, but they don’t do works like the worker ants do. For the worker ants, they use equipment while working, like collecting food, cutting pants, etc. This equipment symbolizes how they are on lower class because they have to work using the equipment for the others & queen.

II. Social Class

           In this movie, social classes are divided into two classes, upper and lower class. Even though there are only two classes, in the classes themselves, there are even more classes. Grasshoppers are in the upper class, with Hopper as the leader of the upper class. Hopper and his friends consider themselves to be in the upper class because they think that they are stronger than the ants whose work is to gather food and serve them with it. As a species of bug with strong physical structure and wings to fly, grasshoppers are really feared with many species of bugs. This makes them to enslave the ants, showing the gap of the classes they have.

           The lower class is the ants, in which they have to work and gather food for the grasshoppers. The ants are really afraid of the grasshoppers because they think grasshoppers are really scary and strong since there is a grasshopper who loses of control.  Hopper even does harms to his fellow grasshoppers in front of the ants and this makes the ants even more scared to grasshoppers. These lower class ants need to work for both the grasshoppers and themselves. They gather food before rainy season comes for the grasshoppers and for themselves. Even though the ants don’t think about being in a lower class, but this shows how the ants are being used as a tool by the grasshoppers. They are lowering their class without realizing because they don’t have the courage to fight back.

Picture 1 (00:11:52) “Let's just think about the logic, shall we? Think about it for a second. If it was up there, would I be coming down here, to your level, looking for it?” Hopper to Princess Atta.

           Picture 1 shows that Hopper considers himself to have a higher level than the ants. The phrase “…. would I be coming down here, to your level……” is the hint of how he thinks that he is in upper class while the ants are just his servants. He wants to show the ants that he is scary and the ants have to obey him no matter what, even the Queen.

Picture 2 (01:18:35) “You piece of dirt! No, I'm wrong. You're lower than dirt. You're an ant!” Hopper to Flik and other ants.

           Picture 2 also shows that Hopper lowers the ants’ class, he even says that they are lower than dirt. He thinks that the ants are weak and they are just servants for him, but they try to fight grasshoppers. This makes Hopper becomes very angry to find out that an ant wants to fight him. He says that idea is a very dangerous thing “Let this be a lesson to all you ants. Ideas are very dangerous things.” He states this because he thinks that ants can’t think like he does, so he tells the ants to be careful about ideas.

           In the lower class, where the ants live in, there are also 3 more classes that the writer finds out interesting. Upper, middle and lower class are also created here because they divide the works for the ants. For the upper class, there are the Queen and Princess Atta, which is later followed by Dot, Atta’s little sister. The Queen is the one who rules all the colony and gives orders about what to do and Princess Atta, who is getting trained to be the next Queen, does half of the jobs because she’s a bit nervous to take over everything. The Queen and Princess Atta have a crown-like flower on their heads and it shows that they are on a special pair of shoes because no one uses it unless them. For the middle class ants, there are some elders and common ants, but maybe they get the job from the Queen. They have the jobs to count how many foods have been collected and sometimes criticize or give orders to the other worker ants. For the lower class ants, who are the worker ants, their job is to collect food, repair any damaged things around their base and help on doing stuff. They are just basically normal ants, have nothing special, no wings and even no specific position. The amount of worker ants are so many and they spend their days collecting food for the Queen and grasshoppers. Flik, one of the worker ants, is the main character and the one who is willing to do something new to help the others, but always ends up with failures. He is also the only worker ant that may have uniqueness and speciality which the other worker ants don’t have. He later has like a higher class than the worker ants do.

Picture 3 (00:03:09)

Princess Atta & Her Mother, the Queen are being shaded by worker ants.Picture 3 shows the class of Princess Atta & her mother, the Queen. It shows that they are in upper class because the other worker ants shade for them while they can just walk without even thinking about the hot sun. Princess Atta and her mother are waiting for grasshoppers to come while the other worker ants do their jobs.

Picture 4 (00:15:39)

Princess Atta and middle class ants are having a session discussing about what Flik does to the offering stone. Picture 4 shows that there are ants out of the upper class with middle class. They are ants who help the Queen and Princess Atta do their jobs like giving orders to worker ants, give opinions about what to do, etc. They really do help the Queen and Princess Atta about many things going through the movie.

Picture 5 (00:04:35)

Flik cutting rice stalk to pick kernels using his new invention. Flik does a job as a worker ant to help gather food for grasshoppers. It shows that he is in lower class because his job is to collect food like the other worker ants. It’s shown in picture 5 that Flik is trying out his new invention and cutting the rice stalk.

III. Base and Superstructure

           Base and Superstructure in this movie take a really important role in the analysis because there will always be base and superstructure in every movie with Marxism. The writer believes that in this movie, the base and superstructure in this movie are the representation of human’s life. The writer assumes that the base of this movie is means of production, or in other word, how the ants work which shape the superstructure. Ants work collecting food and this makes the power occurs in the movie. In our real world, people who work for other people are considered to have a lower class than the people they work for. For the superstructure, it’s the power that maintains the base, which is means of production. Power in this movie is basically what someone needs to control a particular group, because with power people will have a false consciousness where they won’t be able to do anything, but to follow the orders of the one with power. In this movie, it’s showed that the grasshoppers with the advantage of having power to order the ants to do thing they want. The ants really have no courage to disobey the orders because they are afraid that the grasshoppers will do something to the them.

IV. Class Conflict

           If there are classes, of course conflicts can occurs anytime and anywhere, even in the same class, there may also be conflicts. Those who are on the higher level may tend to treat people who are on lower level in a bad way because they want to show how they are more dominant and better than people with lower level. This class conflict happens because of different point of views and also opinions from each character, no matter how peaceful the situation or the place they live at. In this movie, class conflict happens mostly between the grasshoppers and the main characters. The grasshoppers who are considered to have stronger power and bigger bodies always do and say whatever they want to say to the ants, even to the queen and princess. Between the ants, conflict happens among the queen, princess, some middle class ants and worker ants. Because of different goals and needs, it can’t be helped that even the ants do have class conflict.

The first class conflict that the writer believes is when Flick, the main character (worker ant) invents things, but the inventions always cause troubles. He is using his invention to cut off rice and he throws the branch of the rice carelessly and it hits Princess Atta twice. He then gets lectured by the Princess and some middle class ants that he needs to collect foods just like the other worker ants do. He tries to explain that he only wants to help out, so that they can collect foods faster, but he is forced to go and work before he can explain it.

Picture 6 (00:05:53) “Listen! The princess doesn't have time for this! You wanna help fill this thing? Get rid of that machine, get back in line and pick grain like everybody else!” a middle class ant to Flik.

It’s seen in picture 6 that Flik is being lectured by middle class ants and Princess Atta. He is previously cutting a rice stalk to help others collect food faster, but he carelessly throws the stalk recklessly and it hits Princess Atta twice. The middle class ants are very angry at him because he always causes troubles every time he wants to help. A middle ant even says to him to work properly like other worker ants.

           The second class conflict occurs when the grasshoppers arrives, right after the first class conflict occurs. They find out that their foods are missing and they go down to the ant base. The leader, Hopper then asks where is the food to Princess Atta because Princess Atta says she’s taking over her mother’s position as the Queen. Hopper tells Atta that it’s her fault because she’s the one in charge, not the worker ants’ fault (even though it’s Flick who accidentally make all the foods drop to a river. Hopper tells the Queen to get all the foods collected and the amount has to be doubled, while the ants have no time to collect the food because raining season is coming really soon and they haven’t collected foods for themselves as well.

Picture 7 (00:12:31)

Picture 7 is when the second class conflict occurs. Hopper is angry because the food that should be served for him is not there. He goes down and he blames that it’s Princess Atta’s fault for not being able to be a good leader. He then tells the Queen to have the food doubled and he will be back when the last leave falls. Princess Atta seems to be confused and worried about it because the food and time left are not enough.

           The third class conflict is when Flick brings his fellow bug friends (who are circus performers). He promises Princess Atta to bring a group of strong bugs to fight Hopper and his group, he leaves the island all by himself sacrificing his only life for the colony. When he asks the circus performers to help him out, he doesn’t tell that they will fight a group of grasshoppers. The circus performers just agree because they have no job to do because they are fired, so they think that Flick can give them a proper new job to do to earn money. When they arrive, they are welcomed with such a merry and loud shouts. Later then the circus performers are told that they are going to fight grasshoppers who have been enslaving the ants for years by Princess Atta. Knowing that they need to fight, they get upset because of Flick for not telling them from the first time. They ask Flick why and it’s all messed up because they don’t know how to do it while they are just circus performers. They finally come to a decision that they need to leave the island to look for another job that suits them more (because it doesn’t suit them at all). Flick implores the circus bugs to change their minds and help him out, but they still intend to leave. Leaving the island, they go flying and Flick jumps off to catch ­­­Slim’s feet. All other circus bugs try to make Flick get off from holding, but ends up landing near a bird’s nest.

Picture 8 (00:41:46)

           Picture 8 shows the conflict which occurs after circus bugs arrives to the ant island and they find out that they need to fight grasshoppers. They first think that it’s going to be a drama or something like that, but Flik doesn’t really tell the details so they don’t know about the job. They get mad at Flik for not telling them, it’s like lying to them that they need to work as fighting, not circus bugs.

           The last class conflict that occurs in the movie is when the colony finds out Flik is lying to them. When they are having fun, celebrating the bird, a patrolling ant sees something moving from the bush. He then blows a horn and all ants stand on their positions. A circus wagon comes in and the owner of the circus named P. T. asks whether the ants know his circus performers or not. Flik tries to hide it from the colony, but he can’t. The colony finds out that the bugs that they believe to be warriors are just circus performers. Everyone is so upset, Princess Atta orders Flik and the other to leave the colony. They are very upset for believing Flik and the circus bugs and they think they’ve been wasting time for not collecting any food for the grasshoppers.

Picture 9 (01:01:03)

Picture 9 is when class conflict occurs, when the colony finds out that the so-called bug warriors are actually circus bugs. The colony is so angry at Flik that he lies to everyone, especially Princess Atta who believes in Flik with all her heart. The Queen then tells everyone not to panic and pretend that nothing happens. She also orders Flik and the circus bugs to leave the island because she doesn’t want to see them anymore.

V. Class Struggle

           When classes are differed by the society, people from lower class may tend to try something out to make them to be on the same level as people from upper class are, this is called class struggle. When there is someone or some people who struggle doing something to raise one’s pride, class struggle occurs. In this movie, there are several class struggles that the writer believes are the obvious struggles in the movie. The class struggles in this movie are all about how to get freedom from grasshoppers who have been leading the ants by the noses, to get a new life to start over, to live a peaceful life on a small island.

           The first class struggle is when Flick leaves the island to look for help. He starts by packing up his things and leaves in the morning, right after the mess which is caused by grasshoppers. He goes right to a way which brings him somewhere, ends up seeing a big valley and it’s too dangerous if he just jumps. He has no wing and all he can do is just taking a dandelion and uses it as a mechanism to float in the air. To help his colony to get the freedom, not to be ruled by grasshoppers, he does something which is according to the Queen and middle class ants is considered to be really dangerous. There are so many big bugs out there and anything can happen to him, even death can approach him at any time when he is outside from the island. This is really how Flick struggles to obtain an equal social class between the ants and grasshoppers (even though the main purpose is only to get help from other bugs).

Picture 10 (00:19:17)

           Picture 9 is an example of class struggle which occurs in the movie, where Flik uses a dandelion to fly across the dry river. He is first told by two small ants that he is going to die for leaving the island, but it doesn’t make him to cancel the plan. He then just goes straight and uses a dandelion to fly. He does this to help his colony to fight the grasshoppers so that they can live a better and more peaceful lives.

           The other class struggle is how the ants and the circus bugs prepare props to fight. After the circus bugs decide that they’ll stay on the island and help the ants like making a big bird to scare the grasshoppers, fighting the grasshoppers, and so on. Flik tries so hard to save the colony from grasshoppers, especially when he hears out that the Queen is going to be killed by Hopper. They try out the bird that they make to scare the grasshoppers off, even though they fail at the end because the bird gets burned because of P. T. (circus owner where the circus bugs work before). After the bird gets burned, it falls onto the land and Hopper is totally angry about that. He asks to the ants whose idea it is and Flik bravely says that it’s his idea to scare the grasshoppers out. He then gets hit by a grasshopper, falls onto the ground because he can’t do anything due to the power difference. Hopper says that the ants need to do what he orders to be done because it’s ants’ job, to serve grasshoppers. Hopper also says that ants are also low level creature, they are even lower than dirt. Flik then replies that Hopper is wrong, the ants are great creatures and they can do many great things that Hopper can’t see. They can collect a big amount of foods for both grasshoppers and themselves while grasshoppers can only take. Flik states that by doing that, it simply shows who are weaker, it’s the grasshoppers who can only take foods without even doing anything. Hopper then gets even more angry, he slaps Flik and then he steps on Flik’s head, followed by a last blow, Princess Atta stops Hopper. Princess Atta then tells Hopper that nature has certain orders, whenever there is an ant colony, the ants will pick food, then they will keep the food, and grasshoppers leave. This cause all the ants rise and fight, making the grasshoppers leave.

Picture 11 (00:50:36) Making an imitation of bird.

Picture 12 (01:20:22) “You see, Hopper, nature has a certain order. The ants pick the food, the ants keep the food, and the grasshoppers leave!” Princess Atta to Hopper.

Picture 11 and 12 are when they struggle to fight for their lives. In picture 11, everyone gathers and make an imitation of bird together, this is Flik’s plan to scare Hopper and his fellow grasshoppers so that they will leave the island. It is not a simple and easy thing to do because it takes everyone’s involvements. In picture 12, it’s seen that Princess Atta is telling Hopper to leave after Hopper hits and slaps Flik for several times and he is trying to squish Flik. This makes everyone to move and take their position, fighting the grasshoppers.

 VI. Symbols

           Symbols in this movie are seen and believed to help the writer analyze and make the analysis stronger. There are some symbols that shows how there are social classes created in the movie. The symbols are crowns which are used by the Queen and Princess Atta, the Queen, Princess Atta and Dot’s wings, working equipment & activity of the worker ants, working equipment used by middle class ants, and the bird.

           Crowns used by the Queen and Princess Atta are just basically a symbol to show authority over the colony. They have the authority to control and give orders to the ants. The Queen’s crown has more value than Princess Atta’s since it’s used for the Queen only while Atta’s is just a simple crown for a princess. These crowns are only owned by the ants in the line of descent, so they are very special and give meaning to those who wear them. In other words, it shows the class that the Queen and Princess Atta are in, which is the highest of all of the ants, upper class.

 The wings of the Queen, Princess Atta, and Dot may seem to be ordinary ants’ wings, but it does have meaning behind it. These wings have almost similar function as the crowns, they are only owned by ants who are in the line of descent only, so not every ant has wings. This also shows the class of those 3, which is upper class among all the ants.

Picture 13

Picture 14

Picture 15

Picture 13 and14 shows the crowns of the Queen and Princess. They are the symbols of upper class ants in the movie where the one who wear them are only Queen and Princess. For picture 15, we can see that Princess Atta has a pair of wings which are owned by the ants whose line of descent is in the Queen’s line. So not everyone has the wings, which show the class classification of the ants.

             Working equipment and activity of the worker ants simply show that they are meant for lower class ants to do their jobs and it symbolizes the lower class. Working equipment such as the one Flik uses to cut the rice branch is the clue of the lower class and also the activity that worker ants do such as collecting foods, placing them on the altar and repairing damaged stuff. All of these things are done for everyone, which means worker ants work for all ants so they are in the lower class in the ant colony.

Picture 16 (01:24:23)

Picture 17 (00:02:00)

Picture 16 and 17 belongs to worker ants where worker ants do activity like picking up grains and cutting rice stalk to collect food. This is a simple symbol of upper class ants because their job is to serve the other ants and grasshoppers, which is collecting food and put them on the offering stone.

           Working equipment and activity of the middle class ants symbolize the class of them. They are not special ants, but they do have special jobs to do which are different from the other worker ants. They may only count how many foods have been collected, do a meeting about something related to the colony, and so on.

Picture 18 (00:15:39)

Picture 19 (00:03:22)

Picture 18 and 19 are job and equipment of middle class ants. Their job is to count how many foods collected and help the Queen or Princess to do jobs or even give opinions about something. They are basically the Queen’s right hand which take care of things going on when the Queen has already enough on her plate.

           The stone was firstly given to Dot by Flik when Dot says that she is not able to fly. The writer assumes that this stone is the symbol of courage and bravery which pushes Flik and Dot to help their colony because Flik becomes encouraged when Dot gives a stone to Flik. Dot finds it as a symbol of courage and bravery as well because Dot uses it to encourage Flik who has lost his hope.

Picture 20 (01:09:26) Dot giving a stone to Flik.

           The bird which is made by the ants and the circus bugs is the symbol of fear. The fear belongs to the grasshoppers, according to Flik, Hopper is really afraid of birds because birds eat grasshoppers. That’s why they make an imitation of a bird to scare the grasshoppers. The writer believes this bird is what grasshoppers fear the most because birds eat grasshoppers. It’s seen that when Flik and the others used the bird to scare the grasshoppers, all of the grasshoppers are in panic. It suddenly becomes a mess and because of this, the Queen who is going to be killed gets safe.

Picture 21 (00:52:00) The bird which is made by the ants and circus bugs to scare grasshoppers.

CONCLUSION

           This paper mainly talks about how different classes in a society may cause a lot of conflicts and how people with lower social status try to get their status to be the same as other people with higher social status. Marxism is used to analyze the movie to help the writer to find out the class classifications, social classes, class conflicts, and class struggles which happen in the movie. The writer also uses one intrinsic element which is symbolism to help the writer find the meaning behind how the classes are created. The writer believes that social status may lead people to what we call discrimination, like how grasshoppers treats the ants as if the ants are their servants. It is also cannot be denied that social classes are possible to avoid when there are many people from several social backgrounds living in the same place.

References  

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Houtman, D. (2003). Class and Politics in  Contemporary Social Science. Rotterdam: Transaction Pub.

Schryer, F. J. (1990). Ethnicity and Class  Conflict in Rural Mexico. Princeton: Princeton University Press.