#realism is boring i just want unnecessary chaos

[raisethe-velvet]

looking for sims 4 mods is so weird bc everyone seems to be obsessed with romance mods and mods that make the game more realistic and whatnot, and then there's me looking for mods to make my sims live the most chaotic lives possible or just straight up kill people

[sabraeal]

We Seek That Which We Shall Not Find, Chapter 5

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4

Written for @ruleofexception’s birthday! I didn’t mean for Laxdo Arc to go on SO long in this fic, but HERE WE ARE. Hopefully in the next chapter we’ll be buttoning up this session (man, I am really dedicated to making this one seem six hours long, I guess. REALISM, you know)

“Are you seriously going to allow this?”

Shirayuki saw a bobcat once, back when she lived in the middle of nowhere and regularly had to shoo raccoons off the trash and hiss at fisher cats that roamed too far onto the property for comfort. She’d thought it was a cat, one of the big Maine Coons Mrs. Kino bred on the property catty-corner to theirs. She’d come close, thinking she might make kisses and lead it back to its grateful owner.

Too independent for their own damn good, Mrs Kino would laugh, shaking her head. Always trying to escape, like they can hunt kibble in the wilderness.

It took ten more steps than it should have for her to realize it was too big, too sleek for a Coon cat, but by then it’d seen her too, eyes shining gold in the dark.

She’d seen wild animals before -- loads of them, in fact, but this -- this was the first time she’d seen one look back with no fear. The cat only stared at her with a knowing sort of menace, the kind that said it knew full well she couldn’t do a single thing to it that it didn’t allow, and it could do a whole heck of a lot to her --

And she sees the same look now, just in blue, as Izana calmly flicks his gaze between her and Obi and pointedly turns to his brother. “I am afraid I have no idea to what you are referring. Your rest, perhaps?”

“No!” Zen throws a hand across the table, making a vague gesture toward Obi. “His -- his advances.”

“I thought we had already explored this avenue to its fullest,” Izana tells him, a thread of disappointment tying the sentiment up in a patronizing bow. “Obi is roleplaying. Unlike some of the other players here at this table.”

“But--!”

“Careful there,” Kiki drawls flatly, “if you try to get him to blanket ban flirting between characters, what are you going to do?”

His pale skin goes from parchment to pink, and, oh, looks like Kihal had been right about the, ah...purposefulness of Zen’s actions at least. “I didn’t say flirting, I meant, you know...”

“Brother.” Izana somehow manages to infuse the word with both the utmost derision and the most insincere pity. “I can’t make your character have more chemistry with Lynet.”

“I didn’t say that!” Zen yelps. “I’m just thinking about, you know, Shirayuki’s comfort.”

Izana blinks, slow and steady, just like that bobcat, no fear. “Did my ears deceived me, or did she not tell us mere hours ago that she did not mind Beaumains’ compliments?”

“Compliments is sort of understating--”

“Zen.” Kiki draws his complaint up short with only a word. “She’s fine with it. You are the one making it weird now.”

He huffs, twisting his head away, but doesn’t say anything.

Kiki’s mouth curls, and Shirayuki is sharply reminded of someone else at the table. “I mean, if you’re feeling left out, we could really make this game true to the myths, and I could--”

“No!”

“Well now that that is solved,” Izana drawls, his mouth curling into that unnerving half-smile of his, knitting his fingers together under his chin, “have we come to a decision?”

Weariness is a weight upon your back; it has been hours since the first twisted servitor emerged from the brush, hours since the last took its final breath, hours since you stopped for more than a breath and a bite to eat. The sun has long past set, but instead of the soft chirp of crickets as you pass, there is silence.

It is in this silence that you come upon it, your first sight of Laxdo.

Your heart clenches in your chest. It is same as it was so many years ago, when your father and the lord of this place had feasted together for seven nights, celebrating the joining of their houses. You had not yet been a woman, and the lord’s son had hardly been old enough to keep a knife at his belt, but still they had shook hands on it, had sat you both together and exclaimed over what a fine pair you would make.

Your would-be husband had burst into tears, snot running down his face with the force of them, and declared himself a bachelor forever. You had bore up better, but your own heart housed a similar sentiment.

Oh, how long ago that is now. You would have been married by now, had your fathers had their way, but when yours disappeared…

Ah, well, it would not have been the first of his plans to go by the wayside. Before or after.

As a child, Laxdo had seemed a glittering edifice of man’s triumph. Your own manor was not small, not by any means, but Laxdo was closer to court and thus its gardens manicured, its stones gleaming. It was larger than the Castle Perilous as well, and you had thought, in all the wisdom of a girl who had until that moment traveled hardly a day’s journey from home, that even Tintagel could not be so magnificent as this.

It shames you to think that you might never have known the thought to be false, had not all this happened. That you can find a silver lining to these terrible events, to the terror of your sister, sickens you. While you have this glorious adventure, she is trapped within the walls of your home, subject to the whims of the madman that has decamped in its halls.

“My lady.” Beaumains rides close at your side, closer now that it makes the prince glower at his back. From your other side, Bedwyr watches him, wary. It’s unnecessary; the only thing that shines in the demon’s eyes is concern. “Are you all right?”

“Just thinking,” you tell him, voice hardly above a murmur. “I was here, once before.”

“So close to Tintagel,” he hums, mouth quirking into one of his slanted smiles. “And yet you never went?”

“No.” You squirm in the saddle, and almost unbidden the words rise. “It was not as if lady of my birth would be enough to tempt a prince.”

Beaumains lets out a low whistle. “If only you had known.”

Your cheeks heat. “Hush. You know nothing. The prince is merely as he ought to be with a peer.”

You mislike the smirk he wears. “Is he now?”

Zen slaps a hand on the table, loud enough to startle Shirayuki half out of her chair. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Kiki's eyes roll heavenward. “Here we go.”

“I didn’t say anything, your highness,” Obi says, every word dripping with insincerity. “Just was having a conversation.”

“Technically,” Mitsuhide chimes in weakly, in a vain attempt to derail the mounting argument, “Arturius would be ‘your grace—‘”

“Yeah, but there was a whole lot you weren’t saying,” Zen snaps back, “with your words.”

Obi’s mouth splits into too-wide a grin. “Pretty sure that’s how conversation works, boss. You don’t say all the words, but just the ones you need to—“

“You were implying things,” Zen clarifies. “Mean things!”

“Oh my god,” Kiki groans. “Can you guys go out and measure your dicks somewhere else—?“

“And deny you the pleasure of watching, Princess Kiki?” Obi claps back.

She lets out a huff. “--so Izana can curse us already.”

“I’m wounded,” Izana demures. “We’ve been playing a whole three hours and I haven’t even cursed you once.”

“Plenty of time left.”

“Hm.” His mouth twitches at a corner. “Whatever have I done to earn such a reputation?”

It’s chaos as the three of them trip over themselves to respond; Shirayuki can hardly make out the individual complaints, but they seem many and varied.

Obi blinks. “Well, it seems like your reputation precedes you, your majesty.”

Izana gives him a sideways glare. “Anyway. I believe we were about to come up on the castle, Lady Lynet. If you would roll me some Perception…”

It is shocking to see Laxdo now, a crackled, torn painting of your memory. It had been famed for its beauty, paving stones and trees woven over its approach, but the trees are dead now, their roots tearing up the road beneath, making the path a tricky proposition with the horses.

Still, you nurse hope in your heart, thinking it cannot be so bad as it seems –

And then you come upon the place itself, that grand edifice that had set you into raptures as a young girl – and it is ruined, stones choked by climbing vines, the great archway a crumbled ruin.

“No,” you breathe. “It isn’t possible.”

It is not Beaumains who falls in behind you as you fly through Laxdo’s courtyards. No, it is Bedwyr, his solid presence a comfort at your back. You cannot bear to look at the ruin, not when its glory is so alive in your mind’s eyes. You feel as if it madness will take you if you dare to view the whole of its destruction; better for you to deny it, at least for now. Better to believe this is not the grand castle you remember, but instead some other place, a world topsy-turvey from your own. Just merely a twisted reflection of what you once knew.

It is your hands that fling open the grand doors, that reveal the cracked tile and torn tapestry of the hall beyond. Your breath catches in your throat, but you cannot – cannot let that break you. There is yet a job to do.

A hand sits heavy on your shoulder, comforting, and though you have known him bare days, you do not hesitate to lean into Bedwyr’s touch.

“It will be all right,” he tells you with so much more confidence than you could ever muster in the face of such wanton destruction. “Arturius will see to it that things are put to rights.”

Your mouth pulls thin, and you turn your head away, lest he see your discomfort. You do not want some prince to fix this, some man who has never seen the walls of Laxdo in their glory, who had only seen its white stone and felt it paled in comparison to his home. It should be someone who knows what this place means, who appreciates its beauty –

It should be you. But it cannot be. If you cannot save her own sister, what right do you have to believe you could save Laxdo as well.

The dwarf hobbles up behind you, hovering at your heels as if he might speak. He is breathless, however, panting, and you wait for him to gain it again before you ask, voice as tempered as any steel, “Where are the patients?”

Your gaze sweeps the halls as you wait, taking in each crack, each ruined tapestry. It chills you to stand here in the entrance of this great castle while its lord is not here to greet you.

“In the great hall,” he manages finally, each word punctuated with a gasp. “They are laid out before the fire.”

“All of them?” Bedwyr asks, surprise naked in his words.

“Yes.” The dwarf shifts from one foot to the other, as if the bottoms of them itched to stand upon. “I could not very well leave them where they fell.”

Bedwyr regards him with a curious light in his eyes, and you can tell he wishes to ask more, to ask the exact fashion in which this small man dragged knights in their armor across the whole of the castle but –

But you can take it no longer. Your feet are fleet as a hind’s beneath you, hurrying you down the halls as if the wind lightened your heels. Bedwyr follows, his long strides keeping him only a step behind you in your flight.

Your heart pounds madly in your chest. The great hall. It has been years since you graced these shining corridors, and a child’s view, even in memory, is far different than an adult’s. You cannot trust what your mind shows you, what a child might estimate, but even as you draw close to the doors your heart fills with dread, for – for –

The door pushes open beneath your fingers, and your greatest fears are confirmed. The great hall of Laxdo is enormous, and every inch of its floor is covered with ailing men.

“What happened here?” Your voice barely raises to a whisper, the breath thin in your lungs. It should be impossible for such a sickness to happen, for it to take everyone in this way.

The dwarf only looks at you, forlorn, holding your gaze as if he could will the answer into you if only he tried long enough. As if there is something so obvious that if you only considered for a moment longer, you might discover it.

In the end, he only shakes his head. He cannot speak of it, and you cannot divine it. Magic you may have, but prognostication is beyond you.

Heels clack sharply on the tile behind you. “Is your master so powerful that he may silence you, dwarf?” Morgaine asks, steel in her voice, words made to cut. “Or is it that you actively wish to hinder us?”

“N-no!” He waves his hands in supplication, cringing away from the knight. “I wish only to help, I merely…cannot. Not in this way. I am only allowed to say they are ill, that it is a plague that has come upon us. All else…” He shrugs helpless. “I am not my own, my lady.”

“I want to look at them,” Shirayuki says, staring at the map. It glitters under the lights, small colorful stones marking where each sick man lies. There’s hardly any squares between them, all of them packed into the hall on top of each other. “The men, I mean.”

Izana sweeps out a hand. “Go right ahead.”

“No, I mean--” She bites her lip, thoughtful. “Is there something I can do to keep from catching this? I’m no good to anyone sick.”

“Roll Fort real good?” Obi offers with a laugh. “Your Con is better than mine, at least.”

“Because you’re an idiot,” Kiki informs him. “Some people think actual health points are important.”

He waves her off, turning up his nose. “I’ll be fine. I just won’t go in there ever.”

Shirayuki ignores the dip in her stomach. She needs to be focused on saving these men, not worried about whether she’ll get her chance to flirt with him –

Beaumains. Whether Lynet will get her chance to flirt with Beaumains.

It’s different. Probably.

“Could I…tie a damp cloth around my face?” she asks, rubbing her hands over her skirt, if only so no one will see them tremble. “That’s – that’s what they used to do, right? Back in the day.”

Izana stares at her, eyes rounded with surprise. “That’s…an admirable idea. I would say that might help you, should you need to roll to resist the disease.”

“Should you,” Obi laughs. “Like he isn’t going to make you the second you step in that room.”

His mouth curls, amused. “We’ll see.”

The air is humid in the hall, cloying, and your impromptu mask only makes it more so as you wade further in. There is hardly room to walk; you must watch your feet as you place them, careful not to crush fingers or kick ankles or trod on unbound hair. Hands reach out to you as you pass, though they grow thinner the more you walk, every step bringing you closer to those who have been sick the longest and are now the worst afflicted.

Fingers brush your ankle, and you only just withhold a shriek, peering down to see the man’s eyes roll back in his head, to hear the pained groan that tears from his weakened chest. You have seen less miserable frescoes of Tartarus, compared to this sick room.

You stoop down, close to one – or really, three or four of the sick men. Cloths are pressed to every forehead, as if such a feeble gesture could ward off the worst of this sickness. A child might have tended them better.

Your gaze hooks on the two small feet that shift uncertainly on the other side of your patient. Ah, perhaps one has. Or at least, a man who only knew as much as a child.

“What do you think?”

You blink, surprised at the sudden deepness of his voice, and raise your head –

Bedwyr stands to your side, expectant. Ah yes, that would – that would make more sense. Though now you can’t help but wonder if your other companion’s voice is the same as it was when he was a man, or –

You shake your head. Now is not the time for such speculation. “I do not know what to think. Where is the healer in this place? A physician?”

The dwarf shakes his shaggy head, the muddle hazel of his eyes mournful. One of his stick-like arms lifts, pointing, but when you follow its path the press of bodies is so tight you cannot make out its mark –

Ah, but that is his point. It does not matter who the healer is now, if he is here. A man off his feet with sickness does them no good, especially if he suffers as much as these men.

“There’s nothing for it,” you decide, coming to settle on your knees. “We’ll just have to do what we can.”

“Is it a Heal check to do this?” Shirayuki asks, peering up at Izana. He watches her curiously, chin perched on the heel of his hand.

“It quite frankly depends.” His eyebrows give an inquisitive lift. “Are you trying to identify the disease? Do you mean to heal them?”

“Yes, both.” She holds up a hand, shaking her head. “I know that’s two rolls, but I mean – to heal them. It’s a Heal check?”

“You can cast Cure spells without one,” Mitsuhide tells her gently, as if she has not been doing that nearly this whole session after the servitors kept punching holes through him and Zen. “Just pick which level and roll that die.”

“I know that,” she replies, struggling for politeness. “I meant naturally. Is there a way to do it with Heal?”

“Yes…” Izana tilts his head. “I hate to give advice on how to play, but…you understand it won’t be as effective as any of your spells, don’t you?”

She nods. “I know. I just was thinking…most of my brewed potions have been used, and I won’t have spell slots to spare until tomorrow, so if I can heal them naturally…I could help everyone tonight. Or at least, a good number of them.”

He blinks, long and slow. “What interesting reasoning. Yes, please, two Heal checks.”

Fever. Chills. Sweating. Pain there must be, somewhere in the body, though none are able to speak of it. A loss of lucidity. You’ve seen these symptoms before, dozens of times at least, but in this they are all new, not a single of your remedies doing anything more lasting than leaving a stain on a jerkin.

“I don’t understand.” You sit back on your heels, meeting Bedwyr’s dark eyes. “Even if this is a sickness unlike any I have seen, these should be doing something to alleviate their pain. Lessening a fever, easing the mind…but I might do better pouring water down their throats than tisanes.”

A heavy hand lands upon your shoulder, and you lean into the warmth. “Take a rest, my lady. Let me see what Our Lord in Heaven might do, should I pray for his intercession.”

You press your lips together, nodding. There were things a devout man might do that you cannot, or at least – cannot right now.

“Try that, then,” you sigh, levering yourself to your feet. “If that does not work, I have yet potions that might.”

“I’m going to Lay On Hands,” Mitsuhide announces collecting dice into his hands. Four d6s would be spilling out of hers, but he hold them with room to spare, plastic rattling as he shakes them. They pour onto the table, three sixes and one two, and with a grin he turns to Izana –

“No effect,” he says simply, leaning back in his chair. “Anything else you’d like to try?”

“That’s magical healing,” Mitsuhide pushes, agog. “Anything should be able to be healed by it.”

“Provided they need hit points restored.” Izana taps his chin with a thoughtful finger. “A cure only works for the ailment it’s made for. Now, other options?”

Obi clears his throat. “If you don’t mind, we--” he gestures to Zen and Kiki – “have an idea of our own.”

A single step from the room and you drag down you mask, gasping for the cool air of the hall. You had not realized how stifling the heat in that room, not until you are outside it, free from its grasp. You bend double, panting. Bedwyr will need his own rest when you are through, otherwise he too will forget the feel of fresh air upon his face.

It is only after you have caught your breath that you hear it, whispers raised to hearing by the echoes of the empty hall. It strikes you that it has been hours since you arrive – Lord in Heaven, it must be morning now, though it is impossible to tell without the chapel to ring the hours – and you have not seen the prince and his sister, nor your usually ubiquitous shadow.

That draws you up short. He had said that he would not step foot in a plague room, not for all the gold of Croesus, though you had not expected him to keep his word. He did not seem the sort to be daunted for long.

But it is his voice you hear mixed in with the others, no louder that a mocking murmur. It would be beyond propriety to eavesdrop on what is clearly a private conversation. Still, you draw closer, eager to hear some news that is not this worsening sickness –

“That sounds like a good way to get ourselves killed.” Morgaine’s laconic drawl is strident when it strikes against stone, even for all its softness. “You cannot possibly be considering this.”

“What choice do we have?” Arturius returns, the hint of petulance made large by the empty halls. “We cannot simply stand around here and do nothing.”

You can practically hear Morgaine raising a brow. “Are you saying that Beaumains is right?”

The prince sputters. “N-no! I just mean…that perhaps…ah…”

“It’s all right, your grace.” Beaumains somehow suffuses the title so much sarcasm it drips with the speaking of it. “I understand. You think I have a good idea.”

“I never said that!” he spits out, and as you turn the corner, his cheeks are just as red as you suspected. “It’s only--”

“You’re leaving?”

“Isn’t this a-a thing? That you’re not supposed to do?” Shirayuki darts a look at Izana, then at Mitsuhide, trying to find some sort of support. “Splitting the party.”

“Well, I don’t mind,” Izana drawls, mouth curling.

“Of course you don’t,” Zen snaps. “It’s the best way to TPK.”

Shirayuki blinks. “TPK?”

“Total Party Kill,” Mitsuhide explains with a dubious look at Izana. “It’s when the entire party is wiped out--”

Kiki snorts. “I think she can guess from the name.”

“T-that’s my point though,” she presses. “If we split up, we’re weaker, aren’t we? So we should really stay together.”

“Oh, I see what this is.” Obi grins, and she can already feel her skin flushing three shades darker. He leans in and that’s just – worse. “Is Lynet nervous without her bodyguard?”

“N-no!” She squirms back from him, trying to look in his eyes without feeling like barbecue. “It’s-it’s just logical!”

Nothing to do with the fact that she can’t test out Kihal’s advice if Obi – Beaumains is off on his own side adventure.

“I’ll be right here, Shirayuki,” Mitsuhide assures her, too kind. “Nothing can get past a Fighter/Paladin like Bedwyr.”

“Except for anything with a Dex mod,” Kiki deadpans.

He flushes. “I’m working on it!”

“You see?” Izana gives her a smile that somehow seems far more genuine than the ones before. “You’ll be just fine. And I’m sure you have much more to concern yourself with…”

Nothing works.

You have exhausted every trick in your bag – the panacea, the strongest antitoxin you have brewed, even the best of your restoratives – not a single one of them does anything besides a brief return of color to the cheeks, but in an hour it is gone again, the men still teetering on the brink of death.

“What next?” Bedwyr asks, every word a strain. Even still he is more optimistic than you – or perhaps, with how much you have tried, more foolish.

You sit back on your heels, rubbing a hand over your face. “There is nothing left. I do not--”

Your hand stills over your mouth, and that is when you realize – “My mask.” Your breath pants out harshly. “We’ve forgotten our masks.”

“You’ve been in the hall for how long?” Izana asks, too pleased. “I’m going to need you both to make Will saves.”

Mistuhide heaves a sigh, fishing through his bag for a d20, but Shirayuki –

“A Will save?” she asks haltingly.

Izana’s face turns to her, a smooth mask. “Yes.”

“It’s a curse,” you mutter, getting to your feet.

Bedwyr shakes his head, as if he’s trying to clear it. “What?”

“It’s not a plague, it’s a curse.” You survey the room, victory so close you can taste it. “It’s a curse, and it’s coming from--”

“I just have to tell you I’m detecting magic, right?” she asks, casting Izana an uncertain look.

“Why, yes.” He sits forward in his seat, steepling his fingers. “That is all you would need to do.”

“Okay.” She bites down on her lip. “I cast detect magic.”

The room is thick with miasma, like fog on the moors, hovering over every man. Your breath catches, and it takes conscious effort to breathe again, knowing it is there, knowing it could enter you. It doesn’t come from the men; no, it’s coming from somewhere in the room. You squint, trying to find its source, noticing how it’s thinnest by the doors and thickest by the hearth –

The fire. O Lord, the fire.

You rock to your feet. “Douse it!”

Bedwyr stares up at you, uncomprehending.

“The fire!” you shout. “Douse it! It’s spreading the curse!”

[kaelajaluagposts-blog]

Maria Mikaela Angelika G. Jaluag              MM26               Film Language

                                                Midterms:                        Batch ‘81 Vs. Kakabakaba ka ba?

Introduction to Batch ‘81

Batch ‘81 is a film directed by Mike De Leon, a multi-awarding  cinematographer, scriptwriter and director. This movie is about how people from fraternities spend their time. The story would surround 7 students who joined Alpha Kappa Omega, and it would show the different challenges and tests that they had to do that would prove their loyalty to the said fraternity.

Synopsis of Maynila sa Kuko ng Liwanag

Batch ‘81 is a film about 7 students who wanted to join a fraternity, that would assure protection during their time in the university. Sid Lucero along with his friend, Arnie was to join Alpha Kappa Omega.  From there, they were tested by their leaders, the so-called “Masters” of the said fraternity. One of the first tests they experienced was to strip naked in front of women, but what they did not know, is that the women’s voices was only an audio recording, just to make it look and feel realistic. But that is not where they end their hazing, they were spanked repeatedly was hurt physically among the exams.

Just when a few of the newbies wanted to give up, Sid was trying to convince them that the pain and humiliation would all be worth it. But when his friend Arnie dropped out, he was annoyed and tried to make him come back, but he did not want to.

Then comes the challenge to test their loyalty and friendship, Arnie was strapped on an electric chair, to punish him for leaving the fraternity, each of the 7 newbies had to electrify him whenever he said a wrong answer. When it was Sid’s turn he did not hesitate to electrify his friend and was the longest to do so without flinching. But when a professor named Santi was about to take a turn, he refused to electrify Arnie and tries to wake him up and take his place. After showing such act the “Masters” were impressed and ordered Arnie to stop the act, there was no electric chair in the first place.

Fast forward to the climax of the film, Arnie was killed by the brother of his girlfriend, Tina, due to refusing to stay away from her. Therefore, Sid requested for back up from his fraternity, which caused a fight to the death among the 2 frats. Even though Alpha Kappa Omega one, they still lost a few members and friends, due to the unfair fight. After the pain they were brought to a clearing with a bonfire to finally signify that they are officially part of the brotherhood. And years later Sid Lucero and his fellow remaining members became the next “Masters” of Alpha Kappa Omega.

Likes and Dislikes

Likes:

Story

What I like about the story of Batch ‘81, Alpha Kappa Omega was how realistic it was. They did not try to sugarcoat the challenges one may experience and see during a hazing for the fraternity you are applying for, though not all fraternities or sororities have hazing, it is something that happens to real life. Due to many deaths, including the most recent one, the death of the University of Santo Thomas law student, Horacio Castillo III, which pushed the government to finally implement the Anti-Hazing law.

Impact

Since, I am more of an impact type of person. If the film impacted me greatly, I cannot think straight, I kept on going back to the movie’s plot, analyzing and making sense of everything that had happened. And in this case, like Maynila sa Kuko ng Liwanag of Lino Brocka, it impacted me emotionally and mentally, and the movie Batch ‘81 by Mike De Leon is no different. Due to it being a dark and depressing type of film, the plot was heavy enough to not forget. Mike De Leon did an excellent job when it comes to the impact factor of the film.

It was Engaging Enough

I seriously thought that the film would be boring, since the first few parts of the film were full of conversations between Sid Lucero and his friend Arnie. But Mike De Leon proved me wrong when the hazing started, it started growing worse as time passes by. Due to those tests, I was actually cringing because of the pain they were experiencing, or covering my eyes because of what was happening. The suspense interests me and how some of it made me feel anger, irritation, sadness or relief.

Dislikes:

Main Character’s Persistence  

Sid Lucero’s character was loyal to the frat, which was both admirable and stupid. To be honest from my point of view I can see why he did not want to leave, he could be so close to the prize and gave up, and he did not want that to happen. But in my opinion, yes he can stay, that is what he wants, fine. But when he was trying to persist in his other members and his friend, Arnie, to stay, I was annoyed. If he can make decisions for himself, why not let others make decisions for themselves. It’s their life, they do what they want with it, what risks they want to take, their limits and until where they can do something.

Unnecessary scenes

Like Maynila sa Kuko ng Liwanag, there were certain scenes that could be deemed unnecessary or were just fillers. Some of these scenes could be simplified more, to avoid averting the audience's attention to something else, rather than the movie itself.

Story Focus

What I do not like about the plot was how Sid was acting like someone who doesn't care about his friend’s life. But when Arnie’s death came, he was acting as if it was not his fault why Arnie had to stay. And the mere fact that he lied to Arnie’s mom, was another thing. The plot focused on Sid more than others due to his persistence and behavior, but what I would somehow like to see was to have at least some little focus to the other newbies. I cannot even remember the name of some of them. The only names I remember was Sid’s, Arnies’ and Santi’s, the three making some type of impact that led me to remember them.

Cheated Expectations

To be honest I was kind of expecting less, I actually thought that they would never be able to finish their hazing and officially join the brotherhood of the Alpha Kappa Omega fraternity. It kind of surprised me that they would actually graduate from their tests and become the nest “Masters” of the said fraternity. I was kind of expecting that Arnie would die eventually due to the threats of Tina’s brother, but when it was taking too long to occur I thought that, at least, one of the only sane person in the story was alive. Then Mike De Leon proved me wrong again when he killed of Arnie, by letting the opposing fraternity of Tina’s brother drown him to death in an abandoned building on the University grounds.

Deep Dive

The film Batch ‘81 Alpha Kappa Omega, was released in 1981 and just like Lino Brocka’s Maynila sa Kuko ng Liwanag and Insiang, is an Anti-Marcos film or Martial Law film. These types of films are subtle when it comes to representing and making the events and characters similar to what our fellow Filipinos were experiencing during Marcos’ Reign. I guess, since the majority of the people were against Marcos during his time of dictatorship, Mike De Leeon decided to make a film that would represent Martial Law firms, despite being a supporter of Marcos himself. This fact was what surprised me, I mean, why would a supporter of the late President Ferdinand Marcos would make a movie that would contradict his actions? I actually do not know the exact answer to that. But for the events that he portrayed in the scenes of the movie, Batch ‘81 was spot on, how Martial Law tends to treat the Filipinos before.

Just like the films of Lino Brocka, this somehow had the realistic effect, not only because of the truth of what could happen during a hazing, but how it could be applied today. Not only due to the fact that hazing can cause certain deaths to university students, but how it could possibly applied to our current President Rodrigo Duterte’s reign. 

With regards to the film theory just like Kakabakaba kaba, is a formalism type of film, not realism, despite the realistic situations that were occuring. So it is clear due to the high and low camera angles, editing and perspectives 

Technicals

It is understandable since it is an old film, like all other, the quality is not that good yet. Visuals sometimes are unclear, but clear enough to see what was going on in the film, but due to Batch ‘81’s frequent events during the night or inside the fraternity house, it could become dark and unidentifiable at times. Some of the audio are also hard to understand due to the base of the voices played in the film, but as I said I really cannot blame the movie for being in that kind of quality, due to it being a film in the 1980s.

Introduction to Kakabakaba ka ba

Kakabakaba ka ba?, is a musical, romantic-comedy film based on the social issue of drugs in the Philippines, how the Chinese and Japanese had influenced our country to such purchases. The plot surrounds 4 friends named Johnny, Melanie, Nonong and Nancy, how they were mixed up with a cassette tape that would put their lives in chaos between the Japanese and Chinene drug groups in the Philippines.

Synopsis of Kakabakaba ka ba

The film starts off with a Japanese man named Omota, attempted many times to pass the immigration in the Philippines to deliver drugs, but always fails due to being caught repeatedly. So when he attempted again he disguised  the drug as a cassette tape and dropped it to Johnny’s bag, for him to be able to finally pass through the airport gates. As he successfully did so, he followed Johnny continuously and even attempted to break-in, when Johnny was sith Melanie (the stewardess he met on the plane) and their other couple friends, Nonong and Nancy. 

After many attempts to get the tape and due to Johnny’s loving relationship to Melanie, Omota and his accomplice, broke into Melanie’s home to hold her hostage in exchange for the cassette tape. Though Melanie, managed to escape the grasp of the Japanese, she was then captured by the Chinese next. After Johnny made gave the ransom to the Chinese, the Japanese interfered which caused the cassette tape to be lost from both of their grasps. After the four friends escaped, they went to a friend to ask, what about the cassette tape, that makes it so special that two drug gangs had to fight for it.

After finding out about the drugs inside of the cassette tape, due to Nancy and Nonong tasting them, while Melanie and Johnny made love, they disguised themselves as priests and nuns, to go to a convent to find out about the Japanese hideout. As they spread out, Johnny and Melanie got captured, while Nancy and Nonong was able to hide in time. While Nonong went to investigate the hidden room where his two friends were taken, Nancy went to the police to report the crime, but was arrested instead with some crazy people in the cell. In order to go in the elevator to the secret room, they had to ring the bell according to tone and sequence. When he was able to go in, he was in the middle of some type of musical performance about the cassette, between the Japanese, Chinese, priests and nuns. Fast forward to the ending after the cops, Nancy brought,  reprimanding them for their crime after Johnny defeated Pinoy Master, the couples got married, and thus ending the story of kakabakaba ka ba.

Likes and Dislikes

Likes:

Humor

Actually I did not expect myself to laugh at any of the actions and jokes the characters were performing. But found myself entertained by the antics of the Japanese and Chinese Antagonists, though they were performed by Filipino Actors, Boboy Garovillo as Omoto and Armida Siguion-Reyna. The movie was hilarious, it was not as corny as the humour today, that’s a plus.

Art Concept

I love the art concept of the movie, especially on the last musical scene, the color palette that was used in the lighting provided during Pinoy Master’s performance on stage, the blue and red lighting was pleasing to the eye. It was surprising that they had a concept like that for an old film. It was not as bad as I thought it would be.

Musical Performance

When I heard about kakabakaba ka ba, I was told that it was a comedy musical, and after a few scenes, I thought, what is so musical about this movie? I see nothing. But after a while I began to understand and witness the musical aspect. Especially in the convent and hideout scene, When Mother Superior along with the nuns sang their angelus, I thought it would be one of those musical types of song from the film, the Sound of music, but it is more like a performance from the american movie, Sister Act. As for the theater performance of Pinoy Master, I loved the song, lighting and dancing of the whole group. Those types of performances could be turned into a theater play. Actually if remade, it could be made into a type of broadway for Filipinos.

Quality

For an old film, the quality was great, considering the fact that what we watched was not exactly the restored version of Mike De Leon’s movie, kakabakaba ka ba, it was still worth seeing, despite being such an old movie.

Impact

This film has impacted me because of the humor it presented and due to the social issue they were tackling in the film. Despite being a comedy film, it was low-key introducing the drug problem in our country. It is actually more interesting if the film is something most of the audience can relate to, and of course until today we can agree, that problems regarding drugs is still on going here in our country.

Application to today

To be honest, even though this was meant to be a film about drug trafficking. The issues that were portrayed in the film and can be applied and related to an issue today. It is actually disappointing how it could not be avoided or changed anymore, there would always be a few people who would still manufacture and distribute drugs here in the Philippines.

A much more recent issue regarding drug trade, relates to our current President Rodrigo Duterte’s War on Drug Act and consent to let the Chinese work, live and buy their own properties here, instead of fighting for our country he consented such immigrants in the Philippines. This act of his caused the increase of manufactured and distribution of drugs here. It is actually amazing how a film from the 80s managed to somehow still be applied to the current situation of the Filipinos.

 Dislikes:

Confusing Parts

Though I love the film by Mike De Leon, compared to the dark film of Batch ‘81. There were certain parts of the film wherein I felt confused and trying to figure out what happened. Because sometimes there were certain jumps from the film that left me to analyze what had happened.

Deep Dive

Mike De Leon’s film, Kakabakaba ka ba, as what was said before, was about the drug traffic from the 80s, which could also be applied today, with President Rodrigo Duterte’s War on Drug Act. But what most people miss, is that it somehow hints in a certain scene that it is also an Anti-Marcos Film just like Batch ‘81, but much more subtle than it. It could be seen on the scene, wherein Nancy was arrested rather than heard, in the Police department, There was a huge portrait of the late President Ferdinand Marcos, this may represent how the Martial Law works before. When people were speaking ill of Marcos or if they were accused, most were just killed off, or arrested, not giving them the chance to speak their mind. And Nancy’s companions in the cell may represent out fellow Filipinos before who were convicted to madness, some of them has gone crazy to whatever torture or convication was given to them.

On a much more artistic approach, the film just like Batch ‘81 leans toward the film theory of formalism, rather than realism. There was nothing realistic with regards to the events that were happening besides the Social issue that was being portrayed in the movie. But rather than that, the film Kakabakaba ka ba is wildly edited, has perspectives, unrealistic encounters, high and low camera angles and affects people’s emotions positively, due to the humor aspect of the movie.

Technicals

Visuals are clean and it could be a little shaky, but that is to be expected since we do not have good cameras before, not to mention stabilizers. The colors are bright and artistic, which was actually appealing and engaging for the audience to watch and enjoy, unlike Batch ‘81 which was full of gloomy colors, dark and violent plot lines, which fits made the film sp heavy to actually watch. The audio has little base, but it is also clear and can be understood.

Auteur Theory for both films

As what was said to the previous essays from Lino Brocka, the Auteur Theory, in the film of Mike De Leon, is no different from what I thought in the previous essay wherein the theory suggests that the director is the writer, the author of the whole film. He or She represents the quality of the film itself. But I say differently, for a whole film is a team effort. It is not like the director is the cameraman, music director, art director, writer or even the makeup artist, etc. He only directs them to make the film engaging ang pleasing to the eye. In the film Insiang, the actress, Hilda Koronel, did an excellent job portraying Insiang and Ligaya Paraiso in Maynila sa Kuko Liwanag, despite giving her a few scenes. 

The director does not define the quality of the film, for example, how I liked Kakabakaba ka ba rather than Batch ‘81, due to it light heartedness, despite having the same director. I agree with how the Auteur theory separates the film from the director, it makes much more sense. I really depends on how the story goes and how the movie was made by the team, not solely on the director himself, because there are good films and bad films, good directors and bad directors.