#i am of course open to constructive dialogue on this topic | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

zensharks · 4 years ago

Text

𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧 - 𝙙𝙞𝙡𝙪𝙘 𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙧

you create more questions in his mind than he would like - and what does one do when they have a question? they find the solution.

ᴀ/ɴ: ohhhh boy this is the longest, most dialogue-y piece i’ve written - i am very open to constructive criticism ^^ enjoy!!

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ: none

ᴡᴄ: 2.2k

he has loved you for longer than he thought possible. every chaste glance between the two of you he thought would be the death of him only led to stronger feelings, more knots tying in his chest, and less rationality. diluc is a reasonable man. love is an unreasonable feeling. and it was because of this that his love for you was so confusing - how could you ever feel the same? was it possible for another to feel with the same intensity? was there another fire that burned as bright as his? as he attempted to answer these questions, he hoped to the archons that you were the answer.

one particularly cool evening, he was closing the tavern for the night when you appeared, peering through the crack in the doorframe. he was so invested in his cleanup that your presence went unnoticed as he placed bottles back in their correct spots on the shelves. you softly cleared your throat, diluc whipping his head towards the source of the alarmingly sudden noise. the rapid movement caused his hair to hit a bottle that sat precariously, knocking it into the ones nearby. he quickly steadied them on the shelf before turning his attention to you, straightening his posture and brushing his gloved hands against the front of his shirt.

“what brings you here? the tavern will be closing soon.”

“oh, um-” you replied, searching for an reason for your presence that did not include his name, “wine?”

slightly bemused by your reply that seemed to disregard what he had told you, he coughed lightly. “o-of course. you can have a seat here, if you��d like.”

despite the fact that it was now past the closing hours, diluc was glad to let you stay. he was aware that nothing would come from time alone with you, but whether it was to slightly give in to his feelings or the fact that he held on to a shred of hope that they were exchanged, he began to pour you a glass.

“dandelion wine,” you remarked.

“of course. you order this consistently, every time you visit.”

diluc wasn’t always working at the tavern, rather, he was often stuck in his business at the winery. how did he know your usual? did he check the tavern’s order history? the realization that he made an effort to know more about you brought a flush to your cheeks, that diluc did not take notice of as his attention was fixed on pouring your drink. he promptly slid it across the bar towards you with a nod that you exchanged back at him in silent thanks. this silence continued for a moment - a moment longer than you or diluc would have liked. it weighed the air down, creating a pressure that pushed harder and harder on your skull as you looked down at the bar below you-

“why are you at the tavern?” you suddenly spoke up, a little too loudly, making diluc’s brow furrow slightly.

“i’m not sure i understand.”

“i meant why are you working in the city today? you’re usually at the winery, so i got the picture that you’re quite busy”

“ah, yes. in truth, the winery can feel rather dull. the business of the tavern is a nice change of scenery,” diluc explained as he continued cleaning the counter behind the bar.

“that makes sense, i can imagine how the same view every day could get a little repetitive, even if it is quite a sight.”

“of course. i don’t take the winery’s scenic location for granted, but after seeing the same cliffs every morning it can feel ordinary, to an extent.”

“naturally,” you agreed, taking a sip of your wine. the taste had a sort of gentle sweetness to it that filled your mouth with warmth.

the two of you were usually well-versed in conversation, as you often found yourself spending far too many hours at the counter of the tavern on the days that diluc was present. your talks lasted throughout the day as customers came and went, ogling at the sight of the famously stoic master diluc laughing at your jokes and gazing fondly at you with a soft smile as you told him about your recent commissions from the guild.

on one of these days as you were explaining to diluc the many troubles that dragonspine has given you, kaeya decided to make his grand appearance. the sight of his adoptive brother so immersed in a discussion with another was greatly amusing to kaeya, resulting in it being the topic of his teasing for many days to come. this got on diluc’s nerves more than many of his other jokes, resenting the sound of kaeya’s voice bursting through the tavern doors. however, kaeya’s interest in your and diluc’s strange dynamic faded as he moved onto other topics; but the feelings that the two of you shared did not, which is exactly what brought you to the tavern at such an hour.

you traced your forefinger around the rim of your glass as the silence returned after your small-talk fizzled out, the both of you waiting for the other to say something. and to diluc’s own surprise, he was the first to speak.

“have you been in love before, [y/n]?”

the shock from this very straightforward question was apparent on both of your faces, diluc’s face contorting into confusion as to why he would dare to utter such a thing.

“i think so,” you replied steadily, “have you?”

“i think so,” he repeated, after a momentary pause. “it’s strange - love is said to be wonderful, but in all truth it’s quite uncomfortable.” his words were now at the mercy of the wind, the bewilderment at his own sentences remaining plastered across his face as he silently begged for the anemo archon’s mercy.

“how so?” you pushed, wanting him to continue. you knew the point, it was simple to understand, he was just waiting for your green light.

“it’s not easy to read. the others’ thoughts are crucial, yet there’s no way to determine if the feelings are exchanged or one-sided. then arises the issue that if, in fact, the interest is not mutual, then it was futile from the beginning.” as diluc rambled he vigorously scrubbed at the same spot on the counter which had been polished to perfection many minutes ago. you let out a soft laugh at his uneasiness, the sound causing butterflies to fly through his stomach and out of his throat. he longed to hear your laugh again.

at this point, it was clear to you that diluc had similar feelings towards you. he was under the impression that you were not conscious of the way he was always gently studying your expression on your visits to the tavern, and his now very strong uneasiness in your presence, but on quite the contrary you were well aware. each action of yours that brought down his professional and polished front was another answer to your question that, yes, diluc ragnvindr has feelings for you. on the other hand, the winery owner himself was very unsure of your stance. he was so engrossed in keeping a hold on his own behaviours that he barely noticed yours - the way that your gaze always lingered after he had looked away, the frequent and seemingly aimless visits to the winery when diluc was not present at the tavern, and of course, your unexpected appearance at the door tonight. you did not hide your feelings for the ragnvindr, rather, he did not take notice. for this reason, the idea that you could even slightly return his feelings was far out of reach, if not impossible.

“and if it’s not futile?” you questioned, teasingly. your reply made diluc go red in the face, and with nothing to hide the fire that lit before you he was made to simply endure it.

“that’s not probable,” he stated matter-of-factly as he forced himself to regain composure. the tone in his voice implied he already knew the answer, but he could not have been more wrong.

“don’t be so sure.”

diluc was stubborn, but not totally oblivious. he was able to pick up on hints, or at least the more direct ones. knowing this, you were direct. this had his mind running circles as your eyes seemed to look directly through him, straight to his heart - he has lived with his questions for so long, that the idea of finding the answer is terrifying. the storm that had amassed in his head barely manifested itself for you to see; only in the smallest of gestures like the repetitive and almost mechanical way that he tucked the same loose strand of hair behind his ear, even when it had already been put in its place. he simultaneously loathed and relished in the way that you danced around the answer, loving the chase yet dreading the end.

“and why shouldn’t i be?” he challenged, his voice painted with more annoyance than he intended. your expression stiffened.

“i think you know why.” as much as you enjoyed the nature of your conversation, the end goal was tugging on your sleeves as you drew nearer.

diluc then proceeded to do something he had previously thought impossible. he slung over his shoulder the towel that had now nearly polished a hole in the counter, moving around to the front of the bar where you were seated. he could feel the beat of his heart in his head, the pace quickening as you stood up from your barstool. despite your certainty in the situation you couldn’t help but feel a hint of nervousness as diluc stood in front of you, eyes looking down piercing directly into yours. moving as if it was second-nature, diluc took one of your hands in his, keeping his eyes locked on yours as he snaked his free arm around the middle of your back. you instinctually brought your empty hand to the back of his neck, the touch sending a chill down diluc’s spine.

as the two of you stood silently, chest to chest, keeping both of your stares fixed on the other, diluc spoke up, “you’re right,” he breathed. if it weren’t for your closeness, his words would have been inaudible. “can i?”

the second you began to nod your head you were pulled into a kiss, stealing away any breath left in your lungs. it was chaste, gentle but with purpose. his lips said what his words could not. he was the first to pull away, the way that you relaxed into his touch swiftly forcing him back into reality; he refused to meet your gaze, the contrast to his previous actions forcing a small laugh out of you. there it was - that sound that he loved, again.

“yes,” you laughed, “you can.” you let go of his hand to place both of yours on the sides of his head, bringing his eyes to meet yours. “i told you, you knew why.”

with neither you nor him able to think coherently, you remained still for a moment, eyes locked on each other’s. any onlookers could only assume that this is where you would remain forever, the look that you shared and the weight in the air making you both appear to be roots planted in the ground.

diluc could not help but smile at the irony in the timing of your remark, a bit of confidence returning. “did you know i play piano?”

“i did not,” you replied with exaggerated formality, tilting your head with a slight smirk.

“i have a piano at the winery, would y-”

“i’d like to hear,” you interrupted, letting your hands fall from where they rested on his face.

“it’s quite late,” diluc points out, of course needing to take all considerations into account.

“i’m assuming you have a couch?”

“we have plenty of unoccupied guest bedrooms.”

“oh my, luxurious!” you grinned, drawing a similar expression out of diluc as he reached for a ring of keys.

wordlessly, he led you out of the tavern, the slightest of smiles remaining on his face and a more obvious one on yours. he shot you one final glance before locking the door as you gave him an affirming nod.

when you first entered the tavern that night, neither diluc nor you expected for the evening to end with both of you having confessed months worth of feelings within half an hour of conversation. diluc especially was in quite a haze of disbelief, unsure of what to do with the masses of doubt that had accumulated being suddenly reduced to nothing. moreover, he had acted solely driven by emotions with not a hint of rationality; it was rare that diluc was led by emotion, but your presence was enough to quell any logic or reason that he had established.

diluc lives his life driven by questions remaining unanswered. the resolve is unnecessary, and often underwhelming at best. however tonight, as diluc led you back to the winery surrounded by the cool evening air, he came to a realization: perhaps questions exist to be answered - and perhaps the answer is worth chasing.

✦ 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥! 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯, 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵, 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 :)

#genshin #genshin impact #genshin fanfic #genshin impact fanfic #genshin headcanons #genshin x reader #diluc #genshin diluc #diluc x reader #diluc fanfic #diluc headcanons #diluc ragnvindr #dawn winery #mondstadt #diluc ragnvindr x reader #diluc ragnvindr fanfic

170 notes · View notes

ivy-loves-chocolate · 5 years ago

Note

'Ello! Same user here! I was wondering if you could make a part 2 to the story of my last request, one where the reader is confronted by her ex-friends at an event and Albert goes off on them how far she's coming compared to them along the reader getting the last laugh before Albert gets rid of the ex for good, if you don't mind!

Ofc I don’t mind. Sweet revenge is coming up next 😈. Anyways, i hope you’ll enjoy!

You are not alone Part 2 (Wesker x F!Reader)

•Link to Part 1

Warnings: none.

Wesker received an invitation to an event. The host was a man who introduced him to Miss Gionne and if it wasn’t for this big favour, Wesker wouldn’t go. In fact, he thought about getting some time off from his work since he felt overwhelmed with the incredible amount of tasks he needed to complete in order to finish Uroborus project. If this succeeded, it would be his biggest achievement in life, not to mention a reminder that he broke free from his chains and escaped his abuser. However, every brilliant mind needs a break from the activities to avoid burnout.

He talked with his lover about the party and she was excited to go with him. It would be the first time when they exposed their relationship publicly so she was nervous because Wesker is not an ordinary man, in contrary, his name is well known and people tremble when they hear it. Her image also impacted his.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you want to go?” Wesker noticed she was lost in her own thought.

“Yeah, but, I don’t think I fit. I’m not from your world. I’m just a normal virologist who graduated a normal college.”

Wesker remained silent for a second then he bursted out in laugh.

“Dear, you’re perfect the way you are. I don’t care about these social constructs, and if someone has something to say about your appearance I’ll make sure it will be the last thing they say.” He put his big thumb to his neck and drew a line. “Come on get dressed.” Before leaving the room he stoped in the doorframe and smirked. “I won’t tolerate delays.”

That being said, she had little time to prepare. These aristocrats must a lot of money to throw parties like this out of the blue. Fortunately she found a black gown without sleeves with an open back and trail which fit her body well, but it missed something. She kept searching until she found a golden snake accessory that can be wear on her back. It was beautiful and it would cover her whole exposed back. She remembered her ex saying that she doesn’t have a proper sense of style to wear that accessory but she got it anyway. Tonight she’s going to wear it and she’s going to be confident in her own skin.

The penthouse looked really expensive even if it was very crowded and you could barely see any furniture. However, when they arrive, with all the music and noise that was, everyone noticed them and they didn’t put any effort to hide the fact that they were starring at you. Their eyes were piercing your soul, unveiling any secret and details about you, stomping in into your life and violating your space. They were eating you alive.

The party followed its natural course after that. She recognised a few big names there, but they couldn’t compare to Albert. The only man who wore sunglasses indoor was the main star of the night, not like he didn’t enjoy it. He didn’t let go of her hand the whole night, a sign of him being proud to have such a woman beside him and probably he fell her being nervous. He introduced her to everyone he met and only spoke good words about her, how she help him a lot in his research and how fast she proved her worth to the company. The conversations were short as many people wanted to talk with him. She wondered how could he possibly memorise so many faces and names.

There was a group of people however who refused to take their eyes from you, which seemed pretty familiar to you for a reason. Then it hit her, they were a part form her life she tried to forget, that’s why she didn’t recognise them. She turned her head to Albert and like he was reading minds he glanced at the group. He researched her past life and those people look like the ones from the files. Her ex group of friends were in the same field as her, of course they would be there. He leaned to her ear.

“You’ve come far since then.” And placed a kiss on her forehead. He then placed a hand on her back and lead her to the other group of people introducing her in the same manner.

Of course her ex friends were of problematic nature. They followed her, undecided whether to start a conversation or not. She changed so much it was unbelievable.

Wesker went to talk in private with a woman. She seemed in her late 50s and she wear a simple white cocktail dress. The older woman gave her a warm smile before grabbing Wesker’s arm and leaving to talk. As soon as she was alone the problematic group decided to act. Shyly, one of her ex friends tapped her shoulder.

“Y/N?”

She turned around to meet their gaze. They remained the same and now she was able to see how much she truly evolved.

They engaged in an awfully long and boring dialogue in which they discussed about their lives. After they move on to compliment her dress, all of them asking about the snake from her back. She was right, none of them stepped higher from where she left them, nor in their career or mentally.

“How’s the new job? It is more profitable than the previous one? Who’s that man you’re with, do you know him?” They were so comfortable asking those questions like they were still friends, but the only difference is that now she sees strangers, strangers who are trying to enter her private life. She responded monosyllabically

One of them introduced the topic they’ve all been wanting so much.

“Have you spoke with, you know?”

“No, he tried to contact me but I never answered back.” She stated coldly.

“We’re sorry we didn’t believe you.” Said another voice from the group. “We’re realised lately how bad he was. He seemed so sweet it was hard for us to see the truth. Hope we can keep in contact.”

She couldn’t believe it how easily they approached her after all that happened. How they blamed her for being too sensitive, calling her names and ignored her whenever she needed support. She was trying so hard to hold her tears, not because she was sad, but angry. When she felt like she couldn’t take it anymore she felt a hand caressing her back.

“Is there any problem?”

The group was greeted by a tall man who didn’t seem to be in a mood for talking.

“N-no we were just...”

“I suggest you should get used to the idea of being rejected or else things will get ugly” he lowered his glasses on the bridge of his nose, revealing his bright red eyes. The group ran away in fear and got lost in the crowd.

After a while the people started to leave and the place was more clear. What was probably once a decent place to live turned into a mess, with broken glasses laying on the floor, flipped alcohol bottles and confetti. Wesker grabbed her hand and guided her outside saying he needs some air.

“Thanks for helping me out there. It was satisfying seeing them running away in fear.”

“I told you I’ll be there for you. I won’t let anyone stain your pride.”

“Cheers” they both clinked their champagne glasses.

Wesker put the glass aside and searched something in his coat’s jacket.

“I know you for a while now” he said as he seemed to find what he was searching for. “And I reached the conclusion that you’re everything I was looking for in a partner. You’re reliable, understanding and you don’t want me for my status like these idiots, you want me for who I am. You’re able to see behind these materialistic gains.”

He removed his sunglasses and now he was watching her with his amber eyes. He dropped on his knees while pulling the case of an engagement ring. When he opened the case she saw a gold ring with three stones, one big in the middle with two small beside it. It was the most beautiful ring she ever seen. The stones seemed to be pink diamonds.

“Will you marry me?”

Without hesitation she said yes. Wesker raised on his feet and they both engaged into a kiss. Her new start looks promising.

#Albert Wesker #albert wesker x reader #resident evil

95 notes · View notes

eyreguide · 5 years ago

Text

A recap of the Brontë2020 Virtual Conference

On Friday the very first virtual Brontë conference was held and included a program of various talks and presentations by people knowledgeable on many different aspects of the Brontës. And reader, I had a wonderful time.

This post is just a brief overview of the event, with some commentary on the different topics and comments that were discussed and that I found interesting. This conference was held as a way to help support the amazing Brontë Parsonage in Haworth as they are going through a difficult time with the impact of Covid-19. If you are able, please donate whatever you can to the Parsonage by visiting this site. Help them reach their goal!

I live in the United States so I wasn’t able to attend all the panels - I decided to make my first one the discussion with Sandy Welch (screenwriter of the 2006 Jane Eyre adaptation) which was 5 am my time! I was so excited to hear what Sandy had to say about writing Jane Eyre that I was wide awake by the time her panel started.

Special Guest: Sandy Welch

First off, I didn’t realize Welch had also written the screenplay for North and South (one of my absolute favorite period dramas!) so I was pretty much in awe of her talent, even though the 2006 Jane Eyre isn’t exactly my favorite. If you read through my reviews of all the adaptations here. I have a few issues with the scenes after the failed wedding where Jane and Rochester are on her bed. And also I felt like the dialogue and added scenes did not always feel true to the novel. But Welch talked about her approach to adapting Jane Eyre and I agreed with all of her comments. Jane is a modern woman in that she is making her own way in the world, and that her thoughts and prose in the book are direct and clear to the reader. And Welch was glad to give more time to the conversations between Jane and Rochester so that the humor and intelligence that connects them shines through. The emotions were allowed to develop and we can see how Rochester changes with Jane.

There was some discussion about the character of Rochester and how the audience needs to see that they deserve each other and are equals. So you see more of Rochester’s vulnerabilities and emotions in this adaptation. It’s important to remember too that Charlotte made Bertha irredeemable so that Rochester could not make his situation better, but he tried his best to take care of her.

A question from the audience did bring up that scene where Jane must say goodbye to Rochester and they end up on her bed - I was very keen to know what Welch would say. She acknowledged that it was a bold choice, but there is that sensuality in the book, and Rochester wants to “impress” himself on Jane, and throughout the novel, Jane is very passionate. It seemed natural to Welch to have that shown on screen. It’s a bit of artistic license that still doesn’t sit easily with me, but I am glad to know the thought process was grounded in trying to take a realistic approach to how that scene would develop.

Another question also asked about the addition of the twins and the doubles theme in the adaptation. Welch included that to give Jane an opportunity to participate in the conversation around her since she is intelligent and able to hold her own. And to show that not all of the people in Rochester’s party are horrible. It also gives a little foreshadowing to the call across the moors between Jane and Rochester near the end.

The last topic I want to mention is when someone asked what the difference was between approaching Margaret Hale’s character (from North and South) and Jane Eyre. Welch worked to make Margaret more sympathetic and Thornton a little less so, so that they were equals in the story - much like Jane and Rochester already are.

A Day in the Life of the Parsonage

I was very excited about this next panel, where Ann Dindsdale, the collections manager of the Parsonage, and Rebecca Yorke, the communications manager, talk about what it is like to manage the Parsonage day to day. It made me long to be able to work there myself! Just think how lovely it would be to be up early in the morning at the house, preparing for the visitors that day.

On my last visit to the Parsonage, I was able to take the VIP tour (which I talked about here) and I have to say seeing a glimpse of the place behind the scenes and led by a knowledgeable docent was amazing. They do wonderful work there!

The two talked about the work that goes into maintaining the house - especially during the month-long closure in January where they clean every book and check every piece of furniture! When asked how they decide what to display, Ann said she puts out “what she likes” (lucky!) but it was also good to rotate everything regularly.

The Parsonage feels it is important for guests to “engage with the Parsonage” - a wonderful way to describe how the guests are made to feel when they visit - as a part of the experience. And with social distancing right now due to the pandemic, visiting the Parsonage couldn’t be a more personal and intimate experience. I so wish I could make the trip across the pond right now and visit!

Author Roundtable: The Brontës, the 21st Century and Us

This was a fascinating panel with talented authors. I’ve read some of their books so I’ll link to my review of their work when possible. The panel was moderated by Rowan Coleman (The Vanished Bride) and included Finola Austin (Brontës’ Mistress), Syrie James (The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë), Sarah Shoemaker (Mr. Rochester), Julie Cohen (Spirited), Lucy Powrie (The Paper Hearts Society) and Nikita Gil (a well-known poet, although unfortunately I am unfamiliar with her work.

The conversation was dense and thought-provoking. The authors touched on many topics and ideas beginning with how each author felt about the Brontës’ work. Their books are about identity and who we are as people - we can live by their ideals, said Lucy. Sarah said that women are still not equal to men in how they are treated today and she loves how Jane does not hesitate to tell Rochester that she does not think him handsome - it’s an unconventional answer, the unexpected one, and it shows how they are opening up to each other and on their way to being equals. Syrie is fascinated by the almost mythical story they lived in their little place in the world. And how you can feel their rage against patriarchal societies in their work. Nikita pointed out that patriarchy erases the role of women, but the Brontës have endured in spite of that.

In their approach to writing stories that revolve around the Brontës and their work, they try to be as reverential as possible and stick to the facts because so much of their lives are known, and their stories can be very autobiographical.

Julie talked about how we read the Brontës to find out about ourselves. With Villette especially there is a sense with Lucy Snowe that she is hiding a part of herself from the reader and people can relate to that.

The talk ended with thoughts on publishing bias - how women may not need to publish under pseudonyms today, but there is still a bias against what a woman writes and against race, sexuality, and many other things. We as readers need to show that we are interested in reading about a variety of lives and experiences.

In Conversation with Adam Nagaitis

Adam Nagaitis played Branwell Brontë in the film To Walk Invisible and talked with the organizers about his role. They opened by asking him trivia questions about Branwell to see how much he remembered from his research. Adam mentioned that he is still in touch with the actresses who played his sisters which I think is wonderful. They seem to all have gotten along very well.

Adam read all the classic works on Branwell to prepare, but he also dived into documentaries on alcoholism and it’s gruesome realities to understand Branwell better. Branwell wasn’t mature enough to deal with the vicissitudes in his life - with his relationship with Lydia he was excessive and consumed. He thought that turned her off from him, and that started a cycle where he blamed himself for the failed relationship and his failures in his art.

Because he was always surrounded by the people who knew him best, he was always reminded of his failure. Adam’s approach was very sympathetic to Branwell and tried to understand him mentally. Adam also talked about how he felt Branwell was never free as an artist. He always needed to work for the family or money but he could have been a brilliant newspaper satirist - something that might have been more along with his interests since he made wonderful biting cartoons.

In Conversation with Sally Wainwright

The last panel of the conference was a talk with Sally Wainwright - the writer and director of the superb Brontë biopic To Walk Invisible. Sally was approached to write this back in 2010 but she didn’t have time until 2016 which coincided with Charlotte’s bicentenary. It was a tough shoot for her as she felt she didn’t get all the shots she wanted, but the set was fantastic. They recreated the Parsonage as accurately as they could, resulting in a place that is bleaker and more isolated than the actual Parsonage today.

Sally also mentioned something that I found interesting - that she felt like the “Victorian” speak that people use today in period dramas probably didn’t really exist. We have constructed people in our period drama adaptations to speak in a particular way. And that the inclusion of curse words in her program showed that the characters were very like us - of course Branwell would curse and say the F-word.

Her approach to adapting the story was always to show it as realistically as possible and she wanted to show how the family was an interdependent team. For people who felt that Branwell was featured too much in the story - it’s important to remember that he was the leader of their gang as children and that when they were older, living with an addict affected their work as can be seen in The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Wuthering Heights.

And speaking of Tenant of Wildfell Hall, apparently, Sally is working on a screenplay for the story, although it is on the backburner at the moment. She is having a hard time empathizing with Helen - especially because it is difficult today to empathize with a character who behaves in a certain way solely because of their religious beliefs. I do hope we get to see her adaptation of Anne’s work someday soon though!

#Brontes #Jane Eyre 2006 #Sandy Welch #Sally Wainwright #Adam Nagaitis #Jane Eyre #Wuthering Heights #Tenant of Wildfell Hall #To Walk Invisible

44 notes · View notes

interkomitet · 5 years ago

Text

Vladimir Putin chaired a meeting of the BRICS heads of state and government, held via videoconference

President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro, President of Russia Vladimir Putin, Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, President of China Xi Jinping and President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa exchanged views on the state and prospects of their five-sided cooperation, summed up the results of Russia’s Chairmanship of BRICS in 2020, discussed the most relevant issues on the international agenda, and compared notes in regard to the upcoming G20 summit to be held on November 21–22.

During the meeting, the leaders of the BRICS states heard reports from speakers who have been overseeing the work on each track of the association’s activity. Secretary of the Russian Security Council Nikolai Patrushev spoke about cooperation in the coronavirus pandemic response, in combating terrorism and cybercrime. President of the New Development Bank Marcos Troyjo cited the financial institution’s performance data and plans for next year. President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sergei Katyrin spoke about the Business Council events, while Chairman of VEB.RF Igor Shuvalov covered the BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism. The report by Chair of the Board of Directors of Global Rus Trade Anna Nesterova addressed the establishment of the BRICS Women’s Business Alliance.

As a result of the consultations, the sides adopted the Moscow Declaration, which reflects the five states’ consolidated approach to the further development of the association, as well as the Strategy for the BRICS Economic Partnership until 2025 and the BRICS Anti-Terrorism Strategy.

* * *

President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, friends, good afternoon.

I am happy to see you all and to welcome you at this summit.

Prime Minister Modi, Chairman Xi Jinping, President Ramaphosa, President Bolsonaro,

It is a pleasure to have this meeting with you today within the BRICS framework.

Before we get down to work, I would like to extend my birthday greetings to the President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr Ramaphosa, and wish him good health and every success in his endeavours in the interests of the friendly people of South Africa.

Friends,

The topic chosen for today’s meeting is quite broad and covers matters that deal with expanding the strategic partnership between the BRICS countries for the sake of global stability and security, as well as fostering innovative growth of our economies. As usual, we will also discuss current international and regional matters in view of the upcoming G20 Summit, which is to take place very soon, on November 21 and 22. We will compare notes on the key aspects of the G20 agenda.

If there are no objections, colleagues, I would like to declare the 12th BRICS Summit open.

In keeping with the established procedure, allow me to be the first speaker at this meeting as the head of the state that has the current BRICS Chairmanship.

Friends, I would like to once again sincerely welcome you all and express my satisfaction with the fact that during the Russian Chairmanship the BRICS countries have proactively expanded their cooperation with one another in all the key areas, including politics, the economy and humanitarian affairs, despite the special conditions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

We have held 130 events, including some 25 ministerial meetings. Unfortunately, but naturally in this situation, many of them had to take place online.

Of course, our current priority is to coordinate collective BRICS measures to combat the pandemic, improve collaboration between our epidemiological services and protect the lives and health of our citizens.

By the way, the subject of medical cooperation is nothing new for BRICS. In this context, we are in a better situation, relatively speaking, than some other countries. Let me remind you that the Ufa Declaration we adopted five years ago included an agreement to work together to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, including – I would like to emphasise this – novel coronaviruses. Pursuant to that agreement, the BRICS countries created an early warning system for infectious disease outbreaks, which we could use during the COVID-19 pandemic. The BRICS countries promptly responded to the disease outbreak and took practical measures to combat the pandemic.

I would like to point out that the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) has signed agreements with our Indian and Brazilian partners on clinical tests of the Sputnik V vaccine and with pharmaceutical companies in China and India on the production of this vaccine not only for our own use, but also for third countries.

I believe that this is very important. There are Russian vaccines, and they are effective and safe. The next task is to launch their large-scale production. This is not a problem, but it is a matter facing us now. Of course, it is very important to join forces for the large-scale manufacturing of this product for the general public.

Incidentally, we have registered a second coronavirus vaccine in Russia, EpiVacCorona, and the third one is in the works. As I have already mentioned, we are ready to cooperate with our BRICS partners in their manufacturing and use.

We also believe it important to accelerate the establishment of the BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Centre, as we agreed at the Johannesburg summit two years ago at the initiative of our South African friends.

This year the pandemic forced each of our countries to take emergency measures to support national industries, finance and the social sphere, to revive their economies and return them to a trajectory of sustainable growth. This is the goal of the Strategy for BRICS Economic Partnership for the period until 2025, prepared for this summit.

The New Development Bank is in great demand in the current situation. The Bank has reserved $10 billion to combat the pandemic, while its overall portfolio of investment projects now exceeds $20 billion. As many as 62 large projects are already being implemented in the BRICS countries. Incidentally, a regional branch of the bank will soon open in Moscow to implement lending programmes across the Eurasian space.

I would also like to remind you that the BRICS countries have a special insurance tool in case of a crisis in the financial markets: the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement, with a $100 billion fund.

The BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism is important in the parties’ cooperation on credit and investment policy; this year, they have agreed on the rules and principles of responsible financing of development institutions within its framework.

The five countries are enhancing cooperation in science, technology, and innovation. The BRICS Network University is up and running; the parties have held the BRICSMATH competition for schoolchildren this year, along with contests for young scientists and innovators and their research projects.

Intensive contacts have been underway between our academic and scientific centres. Their coverage is truly impressive – from ocean and polar research to astronomy and artificial intelligence. Experts from the five countries carry out joint energy research: reports have been prepared on the projected development of the fuel and energy sectors in the BRICS countries until 2040.

The parties continue exchanges on the cultural and humanitarian tracks. The BRICS Film Festival was held online, as we agreed earlier, colleagues. The first ever meeting of ministers of sport was held, and resulted in a Memorandum of cooperation in physical culture and sport. The dialogue between the authorities responsible for tourism in our countries has been launched.

Colleagues, we are still facing a challenging global and regional security environment. International terrorism and drug trafficking continue to pose serious threats, and cybercrime has greatly expanded its reach.

We are witnessing dangerous destabilising trends in the Middle East and North Africa. The armed conflicts in Libya and Yemen are continuing. There is still a lot to be done to bring about a political settlement in Syria, and the risks of escalation persist in Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, and in the Persian Gulf.

Furthermore, as you know, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict entered an acute phase in September. Russia went to great lengths to help stop the hostilities between our two friendly states and incite them to come to a compromise. Our mediation efforts paved the way to the November 9 agreement on a complete ceasefire and the deployment of a Russian peacekeeping force in Nagorno-Karabakh. All these provisions are set forth in the trilateral statement signed by the presidents of Russia and Azerbaijan, and the Prime Minister of Armenia.

Importantly, the parties have been complying with these agreements. Hostilities have stopped, and the situation is getting back to normal. This lays the groundwork for a lasting and comprehensive settlement that would be fair and would serve the interests of the peoples of both Armenia and Azerbaijan.

It is highly satisfying that the BRICS countries have been closely coordinating their efforts on current international and regional matters. A policy document, the BRICS Counter-Terrorism Strategy, has been drafted for this summit. The BRICS countries are expanding their cooperation on combating drug trafficking and corruption, as well as on international information security.

The BRICS High Representatives on National Security, heads of foreign ministries and our respective missions to the UN maintain regular contacts.

In the year of the 75th anniversary of Victory over Nazism in World War II, the BRICS countries have unanimously condemned the glorification of the Nazis and their henchmen and the attempts to revise the outcome of the war and to revive the ideology of aggression and intolerance.

Our countries consistently advocate constructive relations with other states, integration entities and international organisations, including in the proven BRICS Plus and BRICS Outreach formats. In our common opinion, this interaction should continue to build on the principles of respect for the UN Charter and the fundamental rules of international law such as sovereign equality of states, non-interference in internal affairs and peaceful settlement of disputes.

Colleagues, in connection with the G20 summit in Saudi Arabia on November 21–22, I would like to note that the BRICS countries’ approaches on most of the G20 agenda items are close or overlap. This concerns reforming key global institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organisation and the World Health Organisation.

With the BRICS countries’ direct contribution, a comprehensive package of G20 measures to overcome the impact of the pandemic has been put together. The main focus is on restoring global value chains and the openness of international trade. Russia’s initiative on the so-called green corridors free from wars and sanctions, primarily with regard to humanitarian supplies of food and medicine, is envisioned along the same lines.

Colleagues, in closing I would like to stress once again: Russia will always give priority attention to expanding cooperation between the BRICS states and strengthening our association’s positions in the international arena.

I would like to thank you for your friendly support and well-coordinated and effective interaction this year.

Thank you.

http://interkomitet.com/news-of-the-day/vladimir-putin-chaired-a-meeting-of-the-brics-heads-of-state-and-government-held-via-videoconference/

1 note · View note

bazz-b · 5 years ago

Text

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

My muse is: canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless /

Is your character popular in the fandom? YES / NO.

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK.

Is your character considered strong in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK.

Are they underrated? YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main story? YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main character? YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG.

Are they widely known in their world? YES / NO.

How’s their reputation? GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL.

How strictly do you follow canon? — There’s a lot of freedom when you write a character with as little screen time as Bazz-B. I adhere strongly to everything known about him, and embellish the rest as I can. Some canon facts are a bit contradicting so we make do with what we can.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals. — Bazz-B is what happens when you cross punk with a volcano. Wronged as a child, betrayed by his God, he began a 1000 year crusade to infiltrate a holy army and kill God. Along the way he takes names and kicks ass, while balancing the burden of his secret goal and cultural obligation to aid his kind.

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?). — The dude held a grudge for a 1000 years, pushed away the only person who cared about him, and then whined that he was betrayed. An ego bigger than his eccentric hair, he’s twice as obnoxious as he is loud.

What inspired you to rp your muse? — How dare you make me admit my secret shame.. When Bazz-B was first revealed in the manga, I snagged him in the group I was RPing in. Grimmjow was already so popular, and a lot of writers I looked up to were writing him, so there’s no way I was trying my hand at that. But this new fella reminded me of a Quincy Grimmjow. I WAS VERY WRONG AND I’M GLAD I WAS BUT THAT’S MY SHAMEFUL ORIGIN STORY.

What keeps your inspiration going? — I think it’s stupid how much I love Bazz-B. I went away for a while due to health reasons, but I never stopped loving him. Fleshing out everything that could have been, should have been, is and was-- any opportunity to talk about this man reignites my passion for him.

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice? YES / NO.

Do you frequently write headcanons? YES / NO. (not often enough)

Do you sometimes write drabbles? YES / NO. (Bazzard and Zorn’s All American Tour)

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day? YES / NO.

Are you confident in your portrayal? YES / NO.

Are you confident in your writing? YES / NO.

Are you a sensitive person? YES / NO. (IT DEPENDS? I’M NOT EASILY OFFENDED BUT I’M SOFT)

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal? — God okay I thrive off criticism. Genuinely, it doesn’t need to be positive. I prefer negative criticism. I’ll only ever improve if people tell me what I suck at. I can be better, help me pls.

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character? — I drool over that shit.

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why? — I'd definitely be interested. Headcanons, I think, pertain to each persons portrayal, so if someone disagrees they must believe it’s inherently out of character. I’d love to discuss that!

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it? — I’d love to discuss that EVEN MORE THAN HEADCANONS. If someone thinks Bazz-B should be behaving differently, or acting differently in scenarios, I’d love to listen to why. If anyone loves Bazz-B and has thoughts you come to me, you sit me down and I will listen so raptly you’ll think I’ve frozen in time.

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it? — To each their own! I know a lot of people aren’t a fan of Bazz-B, he’s very in your face, and I know a lot of the stoic characters are super popular. Wont make me love him any less.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors? — Oh God, please do. My biggest peeve is when I repeat words too often. Be my little microsoft word paperclip!!

Do you think you are easy going as a mun? — I think I’m terrible at continuing out of character conversations, as I’m always worried I’m bugging people, but other than that I am very easy. Unless you say “I wish to offend you” I’ll naturally assume you’re not trying to offend me. We all come across differently, I just assume everyone is here to have a good time.

That’s about it, congrats for filling out!

Tagged by: @hirako5hinji & @zombiequincy

#meme: answered #this was good fun oof

5 notes · View notes

jewish-privilege · 6 years ago

Link

"I cannot be anti-Semitic alone." That's the declaration captured on video of a performer at last month's Conflict Over Gaza conference, an event held at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and co-sponsored by several UNC entities and departments, including the Chancellor's Global Education Fund.

"Let's try it together," rapper Tamer Nafar tells the audience before his performance, inviting them to sing. "I need your help. I cannot be anti-Semitic alone." "Don't think of Rihanna when you sing this, don't think of Beyonce - think of Mel Gibson. I'm in love with a Jew/Oh/I fell in love with a Jew/Oh/Her skin is white and my skin is brown, she was going up up and I was going down." The raw video was taken by filmmaker Ami Horowitz and shared exclusively with the ABC11 I-Team. Horowitz, based in New York, posted that clip and other anti-Semitic exchanges he said he experienced while visiting the campus the weekend of March 22 on his YouTube page. "I heard there was a conference going on about the conflict in Gaza, and my initial assumption was that it was going to be a hate fest against Israel," Horowitz tells ABC11. "When I went there, that is what I found, but what I did not expect was for it to evolve into open anti-Semitism." "You expect these attitudes from Neo-Nazis and white nationalists, but you don't expect these attitudes in the halls of academia and the halls of Congress," he said. The conference, titled Conflict Over Gaza: People, Politics and Possibilities, was officially sponsored by the UNC Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies and the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies. The event's website lists more than 30 co-sponsors ranging from UNC School of Law to the Rotary Club of Raleigh. The three-day event's description explains that the conference "will shed much-needed light on the current realities in the Gaza Strip, giving participants a deeper understanding of the context of these realities and offering concrete options that can better the lives of Gazans. The conference also highlights Gazan culture-music, films, food, and art-to showcase the beauty that goes along with the challenges of life in the Gaza Strip." The Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies, moreover, says on its website that it "supports events that increase awareness of the history and cultures of the Middle East and Muslim civilizations, and values diverse perspectives that promote dialogue and understanding. Events listed here originate from a variety of campus units and community organizations. The listing of an event does not constitute endorsement of or agreement with the views presented therein." ...ABC11 reached out to UNC about the conference. Citing Horowitz's YouTube video, UNC Global sent the following statement: This video was produced by an individual who attended the "Conflict over Gaza" conference and recorded discussions with a number of attendees who were unaware he was taping their statements. The content was heavily edited, and the product as presented does not provide context as to the questions and the full, complete answers given. Moreover, we do not believe this video represents the spirit of scholarship at the event. The conference brought together internationally recognized scholars and professionals from NGOs, think tanks, and academia to address a range of topics about Gaza from different viewpoints. The sponsors supported the event as an educational opportunity, and this video misconstrued the breadth of discourse that took place during the panels. Our University is united by students, faculty, and staff from more than one hundred countries and represented by a diverse range of perspectives, traditions, and faiths. Diversity is an intrinsically vital part of shaping dialogue that can address complex issues, and we uphold a commitment to fostering a welcoming environment to people from all backgrounds. Conferences such as this are organized by scholars who have academic freedom to develop the programming and invite their selected speakers and performers. UNC Global supports faculty in hosting these conferences without endorsing the beliefs of speakers or performers. ABC11 again reached out to UNC Global, sending them the raw, unedited version of the performance. The organization referred ABC11 back to the original statement, with emphasis on the final paragraph. Late Thursday evening, Duke sent a response to ABC11. "We want to be very clear: antisemitism is one of the great scourges of modern life. Its resurgence, as demonstrated by the worldwide increase in hate crimes and incidents, is deeply troubling and should be of great concern to any civil society," said a joint statement from Duke University President Vincent E. Price and Provost Sally Kornbluth. "Whether it occurs on our campus, in our community, through graffiti, rallies or concerts, in conference rooms or courtrooms, we must all speak out forcefully against actions and statements that target and threaten members of our Jewish community. On our campus and beyond, the lines of politics, trust, activism and civility cannot become so blurred that we lose our commitment to mutual respect. We must guard against the danger that our passions obscure our common humanity, and we must remind ourselves that what injures any one of us injures us all." On Friday, UNC Interim Chancellor Kevin M. Guskiewicz issued the following statement: A performance during a recent conference held on our campus contained disturbing and hateful language. Like many members of our community, I am heartbroken and deeply offended that this performance happened. I stand steadfast against Anti-Semitism and hate in all its forms. The Carolina spirit is not about hateful language that divides us, but about civil discourse that advances ideas and knowledge. We must continue to aspire together to that ideal. Several members of the Triangle's Jewish Community sent letters to both UNC and Duke leaders critical of the conference and its roster of speakers. In a letter posted online, Hillel North Carolina writes: "North Carolina Hillel is disappointed that the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies' "Conflict Over Gaza" conference featured speakers who demonized Israel for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and included too few perspectives from scholars who could have provided balanced context and multiple viewpoints on this challenging subject. Organizers missed the opportunity to convene a rich, educational forum that the UNC and Duke communities deserve." Beth El Synagogue in Durham, meanwhile, wrote to administrators ahead of the event that "Beth El members have been troubled by the recent uptick in antisemitic acts which have occurred at Duke, UNC, and around the Durham-Chapel Hill area. In addition to this, while criticism of Israel is, of course, legitimate and important in a democratic society, portraying Israel only as an oppressor and Palestinians only as victims functions to demonize Israel, and neither leads to constructive dialogue nor advances rigorous academic thought." ...Unrelated to the conference, Guskiewicz on Wednesday alerted students and faculty that "university Libraries officials found several anti-Semitic posters on bookshelves and tables in Davis Library." "I am extremely disappointed and appalled that anyone would write these abhorrent messages and direct them toward members of our Jewish community," Guzkiewicz added. "This behavior conflicts with the University's long-standing commitment to fostering an environment where all students, faculty and staff can be free from harassment." Hillel North Carolina also wrote a letter to students that added more details to the posters: "The fliers include references to 'an evil Jewish plot,' and the missive, 'do everything you can to fight the silent covert Jewish attempt to enslave and kill good Americans.'"

275 notes · View notes

whetstonefires · 5 years ago

Note

hey for the 40 questions thing, 9, 10 and 28??

Okay first of all, massive props to you for sending a signed ask, that’s so rare, I did the hugest double take at your not being a Nonny. 😂💗 Anonymous asks are fine and all when people are being pleasant, but it’s always a little weird because my brain flips back and forth between treating all anon asks as being from the same faceless entity and being perfectly aware that the sender is a person, may or may not be the same person as any previous ask, and may even have a name I recognize. Internet gothic.

9) Which fic has been the hardest to write?

Oof. Quantifying that is...tricky, especially if I consider all my Cirque segments as separate fics. Disqualifying those, and everything that never made it to post-ready because it defeated me in the borning....

But A Walking Shadow is sort of Earth-3 adjacent but my battle with it is the battle with the compulsion to try to hew close to canon even after very deliberately tossing it out the window in chapter 1 on the grounds of ‘too goshdarn depressing, everyone is alive at all times.’ Stg the Titans death rate is so wild, after they got the go-ahead to start just making characters up they were allowed to kill people basically whenever, because nobody else needed them for anything.

And special mention should go to the 10k ‘chapter’ of my 5+1 AU collection fic that I finally posted just recently, after several years ago it decided that it wanted to be a full-length novel. But Self (I said) I Don’t Want To Develop An Entire Economy And Political History For The FFVII Setting So Cloud Can Make His Adopted Big Brother Be In Charge Of It! So that has kicked my ass pretty thoroughly. For about four years. 😂 I finally forced the opening (where Shinra collapses and small Sephiroth is abandoned in Nibelheim and Mrs. Strife finds him) to be done, and posted that.

But the thing is, neither of these would have expanded in the way they have and managed to destroy me so thoroughly were they not, in certain ways, extremely easy to write. So they seem like they can’t be the real correct responses.

So I guess the winner is that Red Hood And The Outlaws 10K fic I still owe to an anon whom I can’t consult about specs or anything because they made the request anonymously. Because I had to read Lobdell’s vol 2 run to fulfill the request and as some of you will recall, this process slaughtered me. I cannot with Lobdell. After great suffering I ran aground repeatedly on the shoals of Brainzarro.

NONNY IF YOU’RE STILL OUT THERE PLEASE CONTACT ME I’M VERY SORRY FOR BEING OVER A YEAR LATE, WE NEED TO TALK.

10) Which fic has been the easiest to write?

Ooh, this is hard to assess for similar reasons. Sometimes stuff that took less effort wasn’t actually easier as-such, as a task, I just chose not to do it as well or as thoroughly; does that count?

Chaptered stories are inherently harder, of course, but generally the reason my chapter fics got so long in the first place was they were extraordinarily easy to write, and a great deal of them happened without too much suffering on my part. Either because the premise posed no significant complexities, or because I found it perennially inspiring.

Eventually that sort of progress always hits a wall, though, at least if you’re me. And you have to do the Work part. (This is pretty universal afaik.) I have several one-shot AUs to which continuations have been requested and in many cases sketched or begun, but not finished or posted because in addition to fleshing out the worldbuilding I have to grapple with questions like how much further I can take this concept without abandoning the particular tone in which I told the first part, and whether the tone or perspective I used is in fact the chief draw and so there’s no point.

This I eventually determined to be the case for ‘the tune without the words,’ the one where Jim Gordon runs into post-Under The Hood Jason at a bar, thinks he’s a traumatized veteran, and tries to recruit him to the GCPD.

There’s a plot there about Police Officer Jason, and the batfam reactions and interpersonal drama and whether and when and how Jason would fuck it up, and the identity porn of Batman knowing that Officer Todd Peters is the Red Hood and finding that telling Jim and not telling Jim seem equally unconscionable...but it’s not the same story as that scene in the bar. It’s the story that happens next, because of it. So I cut the bar scene loose from its hypothetical plot and posted it and it’s been quite well-liked.

But it’s certainly not the easiest, even though most of what’s in the posted fic went together fairly readily iirc, because giving up on making the subsequent story happen was such a fight.

...

What is ‘easy?’ What is ‘a fic?’ Watch me perish yet again at the intersection of epistemology and ontology. There are no simple questions there is only doom.

28) Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

OKAY THIS IS A DIFFERENT DIFFICULT. At least I’m not being asked to pick my Most Favorite, I’m so bad at favorites, I have to deduce my own favorite tea from behavioral cues.

I’m in the for-me bizarre position that more than three people whose fic I really enjoy are like, friends of mine and might see this. I cannot say any of them, the ones excluded would be Excluded, which I cannot do. So strangers only! Semi-randomly selected from my catalogue of faves!

Okay, let’s see. First one...AO3 user elanor_pam. We technically share no fandoms but I read their stuff for some reason (someone’s AO3 bookmarks I’m sure) and they just. They have really good sentences. I wind up caring intensely about whatever the story is about even if I have literally no idea what it is. And dialogue that’s just that really sweet balance of stylized and naturalistic.

I’m following their fantasy webcomic The Path To Timbala, which is really good so far and also I’m doing the art historian/birdwatcher thing I do with like astolat where it’s like ‘hmm, yes, I recognize that theme/story element/aesthetic preference/pacing trick from [fanwork], how interesting to see it unfiltered through anyone else’s worldbuilding!’

Second. Mm. Slightly arbitrarily and on almost opposite grounds, Persephone_Kore, who hasn’t updated in like four years but contributed to a majority of my favorite fics in the Girl Genius fandom, which is not a crowded one, and wrote a couple others solo. Good combination of humor with pretty faithful characterization. Good rhythm in sentence composition, which allows for humorous asides without breaking narrative flow.

Third...hm, I’m gonna pick metisket for the distressing ability to drag my guts clear out on almost any topic. But especially fullmetal alchemist. Mostly I like that one AU where Al is dead and Ed is homicidally insane. But like, constructively.

None of these people are still writing fic and the webcomic just went on hiatus for six weeks, I am useless as a source of recs, have a nice day. 😂💞

#ask #ask meme #qu-ucks #fanfic #fanfic writing #webcomic #hoc est meum

5 notes · View notes

artemis-entreri · 6 years ago

Photo

[[ This post contains Part 2 of my review/analysis of the Forgotten Realms/Drizzt novel, Boundless, by R. A. Salvatore. As such, the entirety of this post’s content is OOC. ]]

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Generations: Book 2 | Legend of Drizzt #35 (#32 if not counting The Sellswords)

Publisher: Harper Collins (September 10, 2019)

My Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Additional Information: Artwork for the cover of Boundless and used above is originally done by Aleks Melnik. This post CONTAINS SPOILERS. Furthermore, this discussion concerns topics that I am very passionate about, and as such, at times I do use strong language. Read and expand the cut at your own discretion.

Contents:

I. Introduction

II. Positives II.1 Pure Positives II.2 Muddled Positives

III. Mediocre Writing Style (you are here) III.1 Bad Descriptions III.2 Salvatorisms III.3 Laborious “Action”

IV. Poor Characterization IV.1 “Maestro” IV.2 Lieutenant IV.3 Barbarian IV.4 “Hero” IV.5 Mother

V. World Breaks V.1 Blinders Against the Greater World V.2 Befuddlement of Earth and Toril V.3 Self-Inconsistency V.4 Dungeon Amateur V.5 Utter Nonsense

VI. Ego Stroking VI.1 The Ineffable Companions of the Hall VI.2 Me, Myself, and I

VII. World Breaks VII.1 No Homo VII.2 Disrespect of Women VII.3 Social-normalization VII.4 Eugenics

VIII. What’s Next VIII.1 Drizzt Ascends to Godhood VIII.2 Profane Redemption VIII.3 Passing the Torch VIII.4 Don’t Notice Me Senpai

Mediocre Writing Style

I admire some authors for their lyrical phrases, some for their poignant imagery, some for their rapid-fire dialogues, and with so many others, for their ability to show a true mastery of language. I have never felt this way about Salvatore's literature, which will probably never win any awards for its diction if it remains consistent to its current level of quality. Salvatore has his moments, which I've described in the previous section, but sadly, they range from being vastly to overwhelmingly dwarfed by the rote and tedious writing practices he employs. It doesn't help that in addition to the employment of unimaginative diction, Salvatore writes a lot of long and laborious scenes full of words that serve little more than to fill up space. There is so much telling instead of showing, a problem further compounded by the exhausting amount of poorly-chosen anecdotes which he relates that, despite being a nonstop action book, Boundless is very hard to pick back up after putting it down. And, of course, there's the repetition of the same themes, of the same kind of things happening to the same characters, that certainly doesn't help the predictability.

Bad Descriptions

For every good turn of phrase I mentioned earlier, there exists a score of bad ones. If I were to give examples of all of them, with the other things I'd like to discuss, this article would end up being as long as the novel itself, so I'll simply point out the most cringe-worthy ones.

The metaphor that takes the cake for the worst of the book is, "The horde had come, and now it pounced upon them misshapen humanoid forms, the wretched lesser demons known as manes, shambling out of the brush like an army of humans risen from the dead." Basically, what is happening here is that Salvatore pretty much wrote, "those demons came shambling out like zombies". It doesn't matter how much one dresses up a turd, the most one gets from the effort is a fancier-looking but just as stinky piece of excrement. Furthermore, the dressings that Salvatore uses in this example are flimsy and unsatisfactory in substance, with the vague adjective "wretched" that's as descriptive here as his customary usages of "magnificent"/"fine" and the tedious repetition in "humanoid" and "human". Additionally, it begs the question of why Salvatore specified an army of humans in a world in which the undead of all races would shamble, or, better yet, why not simply say "zombie", for a zombie is a prevalent and known theme in both the Realms and our world. It would've been one of the few ways Salvatore uses a shared concept without incurring a world break like he normally does.

A close second in the diction mediocrity contest is, "as if Yvonnel's breath, blowing them out, was that of a magical dragon, one designed specifically against the life force of a demon." Why a "magical dragon"? Are there non-magical dragons that breathe magic? Not that there exists a type of dragon in Forgotten Realms lore with a breath weapon that is specifically designed against the life force of a demon. However, as is par for his course, to counteract lore not agreeing with his lazy constructions, Salvatore doesn't bother to research an appropriate in-universe analogy. He completely invents one but doesn't actually develop it, not that doing so would be appropriate in this context, but the creation of it is wholly unnecessary for the sake of a poor analogy.

Another awful passage is, "with horrid creatures -- half drow and half spider -- all around the drow women and filtering back through the many shadows of the forest. Scores of these horrid mutants milled about..." It's bad enough to use the adjective "horrid" in an empty and vague way, but to do it twice in quick succession makes it seem like Salvatore doesn't know how to describe driders. By itself, a half-drow half-spider creature isn't inherently abominable. There's an increasingly large number of art pieces featuring dark elf arachnid centaurs, with beautiful humanoid faces and torsos attached to streamlined spider bodies that would even give arachnaphobes pause. What makes driders menacing, which Salvatore has described himself in the past, is that they're not these romanticized images of spider centaurs. Their humanoid torsos, rather than looking like they should belong to supermodels, are bloated and misshapen such that they're more reminiscent of the flesh beasts of nightmares. They have vicious mandibles protruding from their cheeks, sometimes multiple insectoid eyes, making their faces look more decidedly non-elven even with pointed ears. Admittedly, the physical appearance of driders has fluctuated through the D&D editions, but it's as though Salvatore couldn't be bothered to look up what their current iteration is. Maybe he did try and couldn't find a definitive answer, in which case he could've approached the drider's description in a more evocative way, for example by describing how the tips of their arachnid legs were sharp like swords digging into the earth, or perhaps by mentioning their aura of menace as they regarded the dwarves whom they towered over with hungry anticipation, as though the shorter folk were their cocooned victims waiting to be devoured. Or, even referencing how the driders came to be, the excruciating transformation process and fall out of favor with their goddess, both of which would've rendered them at least slightly unhinged.

Some descriptions consist of fewer words, but are just as bad. For instance, Jarlaxle's bracers are at one point described as "magical wrist pouch". This evokes an imagery of literal pouches hanging from around his wrists, dangling like a pair of testicles in the wind, testicles that shoot out magical daggers into Jarlaxle's hands. Another similar example doesn't contain an analogy but is just as bad is, "a smallish man dressed in finery worthy of a noble house. His face was clean-shaven, his hair cut short and neatly trimmed." This description is so ambiguous and features adjectives that have been applied so frequently to other characters that it could have easily been Artemis Entreri, except it is someone quite different (Kimmuriel Oblodra). Putting aside how jarring it is to use "man" to describe male drow, there's a world break here in that drow shouldn't need to be clean-shaven, as they can't really grow facial hair, but at least there's the nice detail that Kimmuriel is apparently short-haired, contrary to what many assume of him to have long hair. Nonetheless, what happened to the usage of the word "short"? Furthermore, why not just state a height for Kimmuriel and put it into his character bible? To be fair, I've speculated that Salvatore doesn't use character bibles, but it's never too late to start.

Salvatorisms

Boundless sees a return of what I've dubbed “Salvatorisms”, which are clichés and poor sentence structures that Salvatore abuses frequently. In Boundless, there's more than just those Salvatorisms dragging the narrative down. It's disappointing to see a professional author, especially one who'd been working in the field for over three decades, fail to follow a rule taught to amateur writers. Making the New York Times' Bestsellers' list does not make the usage of clichés, such as "merry band of misfits", acceptable. Especially considering how it's not even appropriate in the context that it's used for, namely, describing Bregan D'aerthe. Even though it's a priestess of Lolth who is considering the mercenary band this way, it's so incredibly unlikely that she'd think they were jolly, which the meaning of that cliché specifically includes.

In Boundless, we also see a return of the “how [character] [action]ed!” sentence construction, after a refreshingly complete lack of any in Timeless. This is one of Salvatore's favorite ways to tell and not show, for stating how a certain thing performs a certain feat doesn't, ironically, actually ever convey how that thing is done. There's a new overused Salvatorism to add to his cliché stable, namely, the “up went”, “down went”, and other similar ways to open a sentence. There's nothing wrong with these kinds of phrases when used sparingly and with variety. As it is, the flavor of the text is quite intolerable, seasoned as it is with an excess of one type of additive. By the same token, in a fight scene between Arathis Hune and Zaknafein, Zaknafein's superior prowess is indicated by the sentence, "Except Zaknafein wasn't there". This sort of device can be effective to convey surprise and the unexpected, again, when used sparingly, but unfortunately, it is yet another one of Salvatore's favorite writing practices. The sentence is hardly even a proper sentence, but is used as its own paragraph.

The telling and not showing approach in Boundless extends beyond the diction. On numerous occasions, it's almost as if Salvatore couldn't be bothered to actually demonstrate how something is true, but instead, just tells us that it's the way it is. One way that he does this is through the usage of rhetorical questions, for instance, "Could anything be more invasive and traumatizing than having your body stolen from your control and turned against you?" I'm not sure if any of his readers can actually answer that question from personal experience. It's almost as though Salvatore did that purposely to minimize the possibility of someone realizing that different strokes exist for different folks and that the most traumatizing scenario for one person could be very different from that of another person. That aside however, a question like this leaves little room for imagination, and is even a bit bullying, for it corners the readers into having to answer "no" even while the scenario painted prior to it was not powerful enough to solidify that impression.

Another way that Salvatore tells rather than shows is to use empty comparisons that lack a frame of reference. For instance, the reader is to understand Athrogate's strength and resolve through, "A lesser fighter would have fallen away in terror. A less sturdy person would have simply melted before the reeking horror." The problem with these statements is that they don't serve any purpose. They state the obvious, and are a poor attempt at being evocative. They have the same effect as simply stating that Athrogate stood his ground and didn't falter, except being more verbose and less effective.

It's not just word usage that's repetitive. Boundless sees a continuation of the theme of having the same sort of things happen to the same characters. It's as though each character is a designated target for certain motifs, with those motifs not being applicable to other characters. For instance, Entreri appears to be the go-to target for torture, and after being made the one with the repeated childhood sexual assault, the sexual victimization in Menzoberranzan, the victim of rape by a succubus in Neverwinter and the over seven decades of enslavement, I'm getting very sick of seeing him the victim of yet another long-term grueling experience. Meanwhile, Drizzt is as holier-than-thou and full of sanctimony as he was in Timeless, and it's not a flattering look for him. I'm not sure if Salvatore thinks it is, but it isn't so much character consistency as stubborn obnoxiousness. In Drizzt's journal entry, he writes, "I fear that Zaknafein's transformation will not come in time to earn friendship, even familial love, from Catti-brie or from our child, and in that instance, it will not be in time to earn the love of Drizzt Do'Urden." Drizzt then goes on to state, "But he is my family by blood, and she is my family by choice. I have come to learn that the latter is a stronger bond." While the message that's attempted to be conveyed here is a very important one, the validity of it is harmed by the context. It's very unfair for Zaknafein to be presented as though he were more akin to the other Do'Urdens instead of the unconditionally loving father who didn't hesitate to put himself in harm's way, including dying in excruciating and humiliating ways so that his son could have a chance at freedom. This is yet another scenario in which Salvatore creates unnecessary drama while ignoring facets of his story that have genuine dramatic potential. Zaknafein is not the type of character with whom Drizzt should have to choose between family by blood and family by choice, as he's already shown that Zaknafein is trying his best to adapt to the new world. It is true that there are few opportunities for Drizzt to flaunt his moral beacon in Boundless, but there's nothing wrong with that, and should've just been left as it is, but it's as though Salvatore can't write a Drizzt novel without Drizzt having to be sanctimonious and preachy. It was wholly unnecessary to villainize a non-villainous character to repeat some of the same old tired writing practices.

Also in the category of repetitive and tired themes, albeit one that doesn't further butcher the characters, is the catching of projectiles in one's cloak. This is a phenomenon that happens so frequently in the Drizzt books that had a reader no knowledge of the purpose of cloaks, they might think that their main purpose is to act as an anti-missile system. Cloaks originally became common because they protected the wearer from inclement weather while allowing access to the wearer's worn possessions. In D&D and other games, it became an additional equipment slot and as such, gained an practical value as well. A cloak without enhancing properties would actually serve as a detriment in a fight, acting as a loose and difficult to control extension of one's body that can be easily grabbed by the opponent, something that's accurately made a point of in The Incredibles. I suppose that there could exist a magical item like a Cloak of Missile Catching, but this isn't what any of Salvatore's characters ever wear. It's difficult to give Salvatore points for coming up with a creative use for what's basically an aesthetic item because it's just so impractical and unrealistic. It doesn't help that he repeats this motif so much that it approaches ego-stroking levels.

The second most major contributing factor to Boundless' tediousness is the obscenely large amount of recollections strewn throughout the book, making them overall more unsightly than the plastic polluting our modern day oceans. In the scenes set during the current timeline, almost at every turn we're given a history of what so-and-so is, or who so-and-so have associations with. These reviews, although brief, make up for their concision with their frequency. I can understand why Salvatore does this, for Timeless wasn't as standalone as he'd hoped, but his attempted method to rectify this fact in Boundless is more distracting than enlightening. Especially considering that much of the reviewed content is along the lines of, "Drizzt, trained in the ways of the monk by Grandmaster Kane", ergo, telling us how awesome Salvatore's protagonists are rather than shedding light into the significant events that shaped what is happening in the current book. When a significant event is mentioned, it is done so in such a cursory way that all a new reader would know is that something happened in the past that relates to what is happening presently, but otherwise it's like explaining different colors to someone who's never had vision before. For instance, "this was a trick Kimmuriel had used before, and very recently with Drizzt in Menzoberranzan, creating a telekinetic barrier that absorbed the power of every strike, magical or physical, holding it in stasis, ready for the magically armored person to release it back." This recap does manage to explain the relevant mechanic, however it also alludes to a very significant event, yet it's unclear what the purpose of it doing so is. The reference to what Drizzt did in Menzoberranzan doesn't say enough to allow anyone who hasn't read Hero to understand, but someone who's read Hero should remember the details of the climax of the book. So much of what Boundless presents is like this, retreads that make the novel tedious to read for those who have been reading, and probably only serve to further confuse those who haven't. Who is Salvatore writing for, then? Those who continue to throw money his way but never pay enough attention to what happens in his books to remember the climaxes? Are these the kinds of people that any author should point to as "proof" of their literary excellence?

Laborious "Action"

The one aspect that drives most of Boundless' tediousness is the sheer amount of long and boring action sequences that are wordy and not much of anything else. Salvatore's action scenes are more reminiscent of IKEA furniture assembly instructions than descriptive imagery, except that IKEA instructions are actually visual enough for one to use in constructing a pragmatic (and sturdy) physical object. Salvatore's action scenes are reminiscent of the type of smut in fanfiction that gives fanfiction a bad name, namely, cut and dried descriptions that are more like making a grocery list than painting a picture. At the very least, Salvatore's action scenes are not too anatomically ridiculous (yet), which makes them slightly better than the kind of fanfiction referenced.

An example of a grocery list action scene is as follows:

There's so much going wrong in this passage. The inconsistent specificity of each element makes the whole feel like an incongruous collection of parts. Jarlaxle hooking his fingers on a jag in the stone is clear enough, as is flipping over, and rolling his feet can be understood even if vague, but how all of that ties together is as clear as a chunk of obsidian. How Jarlaxle pulled himself around the base of a mound isn't articulated, other than that he did it while keeping his momentum, which is superfluous because any acrobatic maneuver would keep its momentum because momentum is what makes those maneuvers possible. It's like the only basic physics concept that Salvatore understands is gravity, because "he fell with gravity" is one of the few things he doesn't spell out in his action scenes. In any case, specifics like if Jarlaxle went left or right aren't what's needed, but rather, how about some evocative imagery like, "he snapped like a whip around the sharp turn"? I'm not saying that's the correct analogy to use, I honestly don't know, because I have no idea what's supposed to be going on in this passage. The same is true of what's said of Zaknafein, which while a bit better, is still painfully dry. Some of the stuff doesn't make sense, for instance, how did Zaknafein leap on the wide base of the stalagmite? The base of a stalagmite is that which the stone formation grows out of, inside the rock itself, does Salvatore mean that Zaknafein propelled himself off of the side of the stalagmite near its base? The rest of the sequence, it's unclear what Zaknafein is flipping over and running along. Is it still the same stalagmite, or a different stalagmite? All of that is just words words words, except, of course, the one thing that's clear enough: that Drizzt is awesome and so is his dad.

Another grocery list action scene is, "A glance left, a glance right, and off he sprinted, up the side of a stalagmite mound, leaping, spinning, somersaulting, to hit the ground in perfect balance and at a full run." What this scene brings to mind is more along the lines of a Driver's Ed course followed by the Sky Dancer toy from the 90s rather than the agile moves of an acrobat. Again, an excess number of words are used to little effect, and all that's conveyed is, "Zaknafein is awesome". I almost feel like he should be clad in skin-tight black leather and be wearing high-tech sunglasses.

Yet another example of writing that only conveys how awesome Salvatore's characters are is, "the barbarian came to realize that this foe was far more akin to Drizzt or Entreri than to what he'd expect from a pampered Waterdhavian lord. The man's sword worked in a blur, every movement sending it at Wulfgar in a different angle, sometimes a slash, sometimes a stab, sometimes a punch from the hilt." The first sentence in this passage, although not describing any action, tells us a lot more about Wulfgar's opponent than the second sentence, which does actively describe the man's actions, even to a new reader whom wouldn't know about Entreri's history and what makes him what he is. Furthermore, there's a stuttered nature to the second sentence, with the "blur" description disagreeing with the choppy rhythm of the specified attacks. Rather than a blur, the noble's attacks feel more like a predictable pattern of programmed thrusts from an automated training dummy.

Boundless wouldn't be the first Salvatore book in which I'd wondered if he'd confused himself with his writing. One example of what leads me to think so from this novel is:

What is even going on here? Did Salvatore switch Zaknafein and Jarlaxle's names by accident, intending for Zaknafein to be the one caught by surprise? Zaknafein's "don't wait for us!" suggests that he knows what's going on and has some level of confidence in the circumstances, yet as is demonstrated later in the passage, this is not the case. Indeed, later in the sequence (not shown), Jarlaxle is the one in control, deploying a back-up plan to guarantee their safety amidst the chaos. Yet, it's unlikely for Jarlaxle to scream, and Zaknafein to gasp, so perhaps Salvatore meant what he wrote. It's all too convoluted to tell, however. Further, while its a trifle nit-picky, wouldn't the command to "Let 'em fly, boys!" come before the quarrels were discharged? I mean, these are quarrels that do make things like stalactites explode, both powerfully AND beautifully, but dwarves have a lot of discipline.

Perhaps the most tedious action sequences are Zaknafein's extensive training montages, like the one in chapter four. It takes up literally forty percent of the chapter and proceeds in excruciatingly dry detail. The entirety of it is too long to quote here, but there are a lot of statements like, "hands across his belly to grab the hilts of his swords at his hips, right forearm over left", "he turned his right wrist as that sword came across bringing it vertical in its sweep, then shortening the cut, while the left went across perfectly horizontally, with full follow-through and even a step with the left foot in that direction", "he went to a series of same-hand, same-hip draws, where he brought forth the sword on his left hip with his left hand, right hand for the right", and so on. It's like Salvatore is writing The Dummy's Guide to Drow Swordfighting, as these sentences are more like step by step guide points than flowing combat moves. It's actually worse than that, because more than likely, these moves are more theatrical than actually practical, such that anyone who followed such a guide would indeed be a dummy, and quite a dead one at that if they expected to survive in drow society like that. And there's just so much of it, such that it begs the question of if Salvatore had a word count quota that he had to fill.

Finally, after a refreshing break away from it in Timeless, the standard Salvatore C-rated Hollywood stop motion fight scenes are back. Speaking to many members of the SCA and historical combat re-enacters and fencers, including ones who have read Salvatore's books, have taught me that most of the combat scenes, specifically concerning the usage of swords, are totally wrong. A consensus among the actual martial artists is that there's a lot of slashing when there should be stabbing, and the way that the characters conduct themselves in combat is more akin to sports than martial arts, being particularly evocative of hockey. It isn't surprising that Salvatore's inspiration comes from hockey, that is what he knows after all (more than swordsmanship and D&D anyway), but it seems that rather than improving his knowledge with research, he supplements it with popular themes in movies. Something like, "slowly they closed, though, until they were but a few strides away, when both, as if some silent understanding had passed between them, leaped into the air and roared" feels more like a transcription from a live action sequence, for in reality no purpose is served for two combatants to leap at each other roaring. It's a waste of energy, especially as the two have been aware of each other's prowess for a while and are not easily intimidated. If this scene was something that we were watching rather than reading, the sound effects might enhance the the drama, and while imagined sound effects can do the same for a written scene, something as bland as simply "roaring", just makes the whole scene banal.

#ooc #Boundless #legend of drizzt #Forgotten realms #R A Salvatore #book review #Generations Trilogy #Artemis Entreri #Jarlaxle Baenre #Kimmuriel Oblodra #Yvonnel Baenre #Arathis Hune #Drizzt Do'Urden #Catti-brie #Athrogate #drow #drider

5 notes · View notes

enigmaphenomenon · 7 years ago

Text

Jack pre-Borderlands 1 Speculation/Jack analysis

STRAP IN, KIDDOS! THIS IS GONNA BE A LONG ONE! REALLY LONG.

(Will be tagged long post for any mobile users)

I’ll be drawing my speculation from evidence presented in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel, Borderlands 2, and Tales from The Borderlands. Keep in mind this is just speculation.

Who was the man before the monster?

I’m talking about Pre-Borderlands 1 because while The Pre-Sequel shows a more sympathetic side of Jack than the villain in BL2 and TFTBL. Jack had already enslaved Angel by the time of Borderlands 1 and The Pre-Sequel, so this simple fact is something people haven’t ignored/can’t ignore when thinking about Jack in a non-villain light.

The first thing we’ll look at is the photo of Angel Jack keeps on his desk, even when he’s the CEO of Hyperion, even in TFTBL the framed photo remains on his desk.

She appears to be a very happy little girl, even throwing the peace sign. No tattoos are visible so this could be one of two things. The artist forgot to draw them, or her Siren powers had not yet been acquired/awakened. Or whatever, I don’t know how Siren powers work.

The Last of Us is made by an entirely different company but I want to compare this photo of Angel to the photo of Joel’s daughter.

Wide eyes, open smile that shows teeth, and throwing the peace sign, the same as Angel’s photo.

This seems to be a go-to pose for conveying happiness in photos. Angel was at one point a very happy little girl, this photo showing Angel’s happiness is something Jack always keeps on his desk even when he becomes the villain.

Now let’s talk about Jack’s romantic life.

We know that Jack had a wife who he had a daughter with, and so what sort of husband was Jack during this time?

Well, we have none other than Moxxi to turn to for answers.

When Jack dated Moxxi he had already lost his first wife and Angel was in containment, but what does Moxxi have to say about her relationship with Jack?

Moxxi says that Jack was a real charmer, he was always opening doors for her, telling her she was beautiful and would shoot anyone in the face for looking at her sideways. She then says he got clingy and that’s when she broke it off with him.

I don’t know what Moxxi’s definition of clingy is, but just imagine that if Jack was a gentleman to Moxxi imagine how he must have treated his first wife!

In Borderlands 2 when Moxxi destroys Jack’s Construction Site and he exclaims: “Moxxi, you BITCH!”

She laughs and says she hasn’t seen him that angry since they broke up. Yet despite that, Jack trusted Moxxi enough with his life post-breakup. When she takes part in the betrayal in the pre-sequel he is shocked and emphasizes that he trusted Moxxi.

Even with Moxxi’s betrayal, Jack doesn’t seem to carry the same amount of hatred he does for Roland and Lilith. Which you would think Moxxi’s betrayal would fill him with more rage than Roland and Lilith’s.

Which circles me back to Jack’s first wife. Some think that Jack murdered her and blamed it on Angel, and that he’s lying about Angel’s part in whatever happened to his first wife.

I honestly don’t think he did anything to his wife and blamed Angel for it.

Jack doesn’t kill his grandmother until he becomes Handsome Jack, even though that woman was horribly abusive to him. Jack doesn’t kill Moxxi despite her betrayal, Jack is incapable of NOT bragging about himself, and even with Angel turning against him he doesn’t kill her, but he begs for her life and says he’ll forgive her for helping the Vault Hunters.

Based on all of this, I would say that Jack was a genuinely loving husband and father. At some point.

Angel looks so happy in the photo, and Moxxi’s description of her time with Jack paints him as an affectionate man.

As an added note, Jack has had multiple female lovers, but only fathered one child with his first wife. Jack had a second wife who he didn’t have a child with (that we know of anyway) Moxxi has been married 3 times and has children but never married Jack nor had a child by him, and of course, there’s Nisha who he never married nor had a child with.

So, imagine Jack, finding a woman he proposes too...she says yes. A WEDDING!!! Imagine her breaking the news to him that she’s pregnant and he’ll be a father. Imagine him and his wife deciding on names for their first child together. (He named his diamond pony Butt-Stallion after “racking his brain” for a name, I’m sure the naming process was hilarious. Until “Angel” was finally decided on.)

Imagine him learning he will have a daughter. Imagine him while his wife is in labor.

There is no reason to assume he was not a loving and doting husband. And since Moxxi called him “clingy” I can easily imagine Jack being a control freak while his wife was pregnant.

“No, let me get that, honey!” for any little task, probably having her feel a little smothered and say she’s pregnant, not incapable, and for Jack to calm down a little bit.

Imagine Jack going out of his way to get whatever food she’s craving and being there to support her during whatever morning sickness she experiences.

Imagine Jack holding his baby girl in his arms for the very first time, or being spit-up on for the first time, attempting to change a diaper for the first time.

Based on Moxxi’s words and the photo of Angel on his desk, there’s no reason to assume Jack wasn’t a kind and caring father and husband.

He found a woman he loved and had a child with her, finally had a family of his own. He escaped his abusive past and most likely vowed to be a better parent to Angel than his grandmother was to him.

Again, bringing up a situation in a different game (might be a bad example to bring up a different game and company to illustrate my point but maybe it will help paint a clearer picture?)

Morrigan in Dragon Age has a son, and Morrigan’s mother Flemeth raised Morrigan in an abusive way and refuses to let Flemeth take her son away. Morrigan says: “I am many things, but I will not be the mother that you were to me.”

I don’t know what age Angel is in the photo nor the age she killed her mother at, but in Jack’s ECHO logs in BL2 there is one where he is introducing Angel to her “new home” (the containment thing) and she sounds like a young girl. So maybe it happened shortly after the picture on his desk was taken.

Another thing about Jack is his reluctance to talk about his wife and child, indicating it is a very sore subject and cuts a little too close to the bone.

In the Pre-Sequel before his descent into madness, Nakayama is creating the Jack AI and the player character asks Jack some questions.

One of the questions is for Jack to describe his childhood. He can casually and in a flippant tone speak about the abuse he suffered as a child.

He says he spent most of his time coding or getting smacked around, and that he had a pet cat that his grandma drowned when he didn’t make his bed. He then says “Usual stuff”

Some kids get spanked, others get a time-out, Jack got the Buzz Axe.

But when asked if he has a family such as a wife or children, he responds: “Next question!”

It is a great contrast compared to how he answers when asked about his childhood. He’s tight-lipped about his family, he won’t answer it at all.

Another ECHO log from BL2 shows that even his second wife is a touchy subject as he strangles a man to death for bringing up his wife.

Now let’s get back on topic, Jack’s life before his daughter had Siren powers and before his wife died.

In BL2 there is an ECHO log of Jack putting Angel in containment. She sounds scared and asks him where her mother is, Jack has growing impatience and tells her that he already told her, “She’s not coming back.”

Judging by the photo he keeps of her, some of his dialogue with her in the pre-sequel such as “Thanks, baby. Love ya!” and his dialogue during her death; as well as his interaction with Rhys in TFTBL it is very clear Jack loves Angel dearly. When Rhys inquires about the picture Jack gets a little awkward before saying that’s “My Angel” and that he doesn’t usually like people knowing about her, but figures it’s ok since he and Rhys are close. He also says he’d like to check up on her “if that’s cool.”

There’s no doubt in my mind that Jack loves Angel, and also no doubt that he never intended to do the horrible things he did to her. (Look at what he’s done to her and some of the things he’s said to her. Look at what he put her through. All the abuse she suffered at his hands.) Even if Jack never meant to hurt his daughter, he still did, he became an abuser just like his grandmother.

But we still have a lot to talk about and a lot to look at.

Jack finally had a family of his own and it was ripped away by his own daughter, who was just a little girl.

Jack mentions in both BL2 and TFTBL that Angel did something to her mother and it was after this he locked her up, kept her hidden from the world. He brings up that the Vault Hunter didn’t see what Angel did to her mother and uses this as his reason for locking her up.

He doesn’t seem to have any anger towards Angel after saying that she betrayed him, even saying that she didn’t have a choice. He also doesn’t say the vault hunters killed Angel, but that she killed herself. Which is true, Angel did want to die, she urges the Vault Hunter to end her life.

Jack also refused to shut down the Containment Core Angel at the behest of his second wife and co-workers. A malfunction led to dozens of staff being lost, yet he still refused. His refusal to do so led to his second wife to leave him.

Angel also seems unaware of what happened to her mother, indicating that Jack never told her what she did, or even telling her that she’s dead, only saying that she’s not coming back in the ECHO log.

It’s possible that Angel believes her father killed her mother. And maybe, he just lets her believe that so she doesn’t have to carry the guilt of it?

There’s no doubt some resentment in Jack’s heart for Angel for killing his wife. It’s something he carries with him, maybe it’s that resentment that allows him to do what he does to Angel.

Another example of this is presented in Life is Strange and it’s spinoff game Captain Spirit.

In Life is Strange, Chloe’s father is dead. He died in a car accident and Chloe says that her mother blames herself for it, because she needed a ride home. If Joyce had never called him to pick her up, he never would have taken the car that day, and thus, would never have gotten into the accident that killed him.

Chloe then admits that sometimes she even blames her mother. Even though Chloe knows it isn’t really Joyce’s fault, the blame and resentment are still there, even though Chloe loves her mother dearly.

In Captain Spirit, Chris is a 10-year-old boy whose mother died in a hit and run accident. Chris’ father while drunk says that if it weren’t for Chris, “she never would’ve taken the car that day.” After realizing what he just said, recoils and says he didn’t mean it, only for Chris’ to scream that he did mean it.

It may be the same case for Jack and Angel. He loves Angel, but if it weren’t for her, his wife would still be alive. Maybe it’s not something he voices, we don’t know if he ever told Angel, but it is definitely something he would feel.

Even if he knows that Angel was just a little girl who couldn’t control her powers and that it isn’t her fault, there is that part of Jack that feels like it is. The feeling can’t be stopped from being felt. He can reason with logic and tell himself she was just a little girl and an unfortunate accident happened, but none of that will stop the emotion from being felt.

He brings Angel’s containment up to the Vault Hunter and says “You didn’t see what she did to her mother.”

We don’t actually know what happened, we don’t know if Jack was there when it happened, or if he discovered her body later. We also don’t know if Angel suppressed the memory due to the trauma, or if using her power had made her lose consciousness thus never knowing what she had done.

Jack’s containment of her served as a way to protect her and others most likely, and perhaps part of it may have served, on a subconscious level, as a punishment for Angel.

I believe the picture Jack keeps of Angel on his desk is not one of her current self, is because the picture is frozen time. He can look at it and remember a happier time, remember a time before she was a Siren, remember when his little girl was happy and cheerful and when his wife was still alive.

In Life Is Strange, Chloe’s mother, Joyce, gives Chloe’s best friend a picture taken on the day of Chloe’s dad’s death right before he walked out the door and never came back. Joyce says that it’s the last time she saw her baby happy and vibrant, everything she isn’t now.

This could be the same thing for Jack and why he keeps that particular picture of Angel.

In the Pre-Sequel, near the end of the game, the picture on Jack’s desk is facedown which is a cool little detail.

But why is the photo facedown? Some say because he doesn’t want Nisha to know he has a daughter, other say it’s because of shame and is symbolic of Jack not wanting her to see what he is becoming.

I think it has to do with betrayal. I can’t pinpoint the exact moment in the game where the photo is placed face down (if anyone could find out for me that’d be great) but it seems to be face down after Jack is betrayed by Moxxi, Roland, and Lilith.

After the betrayal took place, maybe Jack couldn’t handle looking at the picture of Angel. I don’t know exactly what reason he had to place the photo face down.

We see how distraught he is at Moxxi’s betrayal and he’s turned into a jaded, cold-blooded killer.

Maybe he really didn’t want his daughter to see him that way, maybe the betrayal caused old wounds to re-open, such as the death of his wife at Angel’s hands so he can’t bear to look at her.

Maybe it’s Jack acknowledging that the man he was and the life he used to have is completely gone, so he places his reminder of it face down.

Maybe the sight of Angel’s happy smiling face grounds him and brings him back to reality, but Jack doesn’t want to be grounded right now. Maybe he wants to lose himself in the madness.

Maybe being called a power-hungry psychopath by someone he trusted (who also tried to kill him) struck a nerve and he put the photo of Angel face down as an apology for enslaving her. Maybe he felt guilty?

Maybe he put the photo face down because he imagined what his wife must have felt like when Angel killed her, or maybe Jack feels he betrayed Angel’s trust by locking her up? Or maybe it’s because he feels betrayed?

Maybe the fact that both Lilith and Angel are Sirens made him generalize all Sirens (similar to what he does with bandits and vault hunters)

I really can’t say why he put the photo face down, it could be a number of reasons. It’s a detail that can be easily missed, but it is there for a reason. It’s a subtle and intricate detail showing Jack’s mindset.

There’s always that possibility that it’s symbolic of “no going back” from the path he has chosen.

I’ll compare it to Joel’s photo from The Last of Us. Initially, Joel refuses to accept this photograph. Later on, the photo is presented to him again by Ellie where he finally accepts it. He takes a deep breath and says; “Well I guess no matter how hard you try, you can’t escape your past”

Obviously, Joel and Handsome Jack are completely different characters from completely different games, but hey...I need comparisons here to help paint this picture.

Joel is a character with very little moral boundaries left to cross. He’s a hardened survivor who lost his daughter in the first days of the outbreak and remembering how things used to be vs how they are now was painful.

There’s also the case of Chloe from Life Is Strange. In the prequel Before The Storm, she sees her father’s car in the junkyard mangled and distorted. She breaks down and writes this in her journal:

My dead dad's fucking car. The twisted, shattered, ugly reminder of what used to be my life.

I would put my money on Jack’s reasoning being similar to the above. That happy picture of Angel, that reminder of what his life used to be with a wife and daughter vs what it is now. Betrayal at the hands of people he trusted with his life. Just, all the betrayal he suffered even from an early age by his mother and grandmother.

In TFTBL we get a moment where Jack reflects on his life, stating that everyone he cared about ended up betraying him. But, maybe he deserved it.

Just to add, Jack is from the planet Tantalus. Why is that relevant? Well for those of you who don’t know, Tantalus is a Greek mythological figure famous for his eternal punishment.

He was made to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches, with the fruit ever eluding his grasp, and the water always receding before he could take a drink.

We can look at Jack’s life:

Jack’s father died and his mother abandoned him with his grandmother who smacked him around with a freaking Buzz Axe and drowned his cat because he didn’t make his bed one time.

Jack gets a family of his own with a beautiful wife and a beautiful baby girl named Angel and lived a seemingly happy life. (We only have context clues to go on we don’t actually know.)

His daughter turns out to be a Siren and kills his wife on accident. Angel can’t control her powers so he locks her away to keep her hidden from the world.

His daughter turns out to be really good with technology proving to be a great ally and aids him in his ambition.

He gets the Eye of the Destroyer integrated into Helios only for his ex-girlfriend he trusted with his life and Lilith and Roland to betray him and try to kill him. Lilith and Moxxi happy and gleeful about it.

He gets a vault relic punched into his face that permanently scars him.

He loses his daughter even before she dies. She turns against him and helps the people he hates foil his plan by causing her death. Angel just wanted it all to end, saying that Jack ended her life long ago, as far as Angel is concerned she’s already dead.

He does manage to awake The Warrior and accomplish his ambition but The Warrior is defeated, thus stopping his goal in its tracks.

He gets Helios back but Rhys crashes all of it into Pandora, so now that’s gone.

In the end, Jack lost it all. Rhys says as much in TFTBL:

But the tragedy and interesting part about Jack... he seems to be aware of all this in TFTBL, making my previous thought of him turning Angel’s picture face down because it’s a reminder of what his life used to be, and there’s no going back. From that moment, Jack just snowballs into the villain we know now.

More conversations with Rhys let us poke around in Jack’s mind a bit more. When he brings up how many people were on Helios, and asks Rhys what makes him think he’s the good guy in this scenario, Rhys responses and Jack’s reactions to them reveal a little more about our black-hearted villain.

After talking about all the lives on Helios, and how many co-workers Rhys ejected out an airlock, stopping at nothing to take Jack down.

And Jack’s response to Rhys saying “I guess I’ll have to live with that.” lacks “Whatever helps you sleep at night”

How many times Jack has told himself he has to live with something horrible he’s done? Or how many times he told himself he did what he had to? What exactly went through Jack’s head as Angel grew up, or as he began spiraling down into the villain we know?

Some things to keep in mind from the Pre-Sequel, while he already had Angel enslaved, we see he still has some humanity in him.

He was going to let the Meriff live, he wasn’t even going to retaliate against him for the betrayal.

Only for Jack to turn his back and the Meriff tries to shoot him.

Jack admits he doesn’t like killing after Felicity says she didn’t like killing the Scavs, and Jack does consider copying Felicity until finding out the copy would take too long and a shitload of lives would be lost. Then there are the scientists he airlocks that made Lilith get pretty butthurt, butthurt enough that she’d take out an entire space station with innocent people just to kill Jack, as well as the vault hunter you’re playing as whose just there on a job.

Anyway...Jack’s dialogue to the scientists he brings up being shot in the back.

Then again at the very end of the game, Jack mentions being shot in the back again when the player character brings up just avoiding the enemies and running straight to the vault.

We see first hand in the pre-sequel exactly how Jack falls into villainy and it’s clear the Meriff’s betrayal acted as a catalyst to his ruthless behavior, with Moxxi, Lilith, and Roland’s betrayal breaking him on top of everything he already experienced.

Though Handsome Jack is gone and most likely won’t be returning for BL3, and even if he somehow did, there’s no chance for redemption. Jack is too far gone to be brought back to the light. As I said before, there is no return from the path he has chosen.

Jack’s tale is a sad and tragic one. I do believe that he had good intentions, that he had pure motives, but he was blinded by rage and betrayal that he lost sight of what actually mattered, and didn’t realize the harm he was doing to the people he loved. Of course, Jack is not excused from the horrible things he has done but, it’s easy to see why he was filled with such bitterness and hate.

I would like to see Jack’s life before Angel got her powers. I’d like to see exactly what type of life he had, what type of husband and father he was.

This is long enough and I have so much more to say, but I’m going to end it here.

Jack, Butt Stallion says “Hello”

#handsome jack #handsome jack borderlands #jack borderlands #borderlands 2 #long post

157 notes · View notes

momestuck · 6 years ago

Text

Epilogues: Meat ch 18-27 [Epilogue 4]

So that happened.

In this chapter: a struggle over narration itself.

Dirk Strider has assumed control of the narration. Not unprecedented - Homestuck loves to put its narration in-voice for various characters - but in this case he’s making out that it was him all along, which has like, consequences I guess?

chapter 18

Dirk is narrating, and John actually notices sometimes - when Dirk uses words like ‘functional necessity’. But because Dirk has control over his internal monologue, the plot presses on.

It seems that just about the entire Furthest Ring has gone into the black hole, except for John maybe? Dirk narrates that John starts to blame himself for all this, and thereby decides not to go back to Earth C. He then directs John to find his dad’s wallet, floating in the void.

Despite what Dirk has said, he certainly has a different narrative voice to the preceding narration.

It’s notable that John seems to have some independence from Dirk’s narration. He can directly respond in dialogue to Dirk’s declarations, including to challenge them. Dirk’s power as narrator seems to be limited, not equivalent to the full powers of the ‘author’.

chapter 19

Dirk continues to narrate Jade giving an economic presentation to Roxy and Callie, on the subject of how Jane wants to basically recreate capitalist hierarchy, but on the new world, and that’s a pretty dreadful idea. She actually says the words “capitalist hierarchy”, and declares “none of that stuff works”... Homestuck’s politics seem to have changed, at least somewhat. (Perhaps due to Cephied’s influence..?)

Roxy is reluctant to get involved in politics, and concerned for Jane... and Dirk says something which I think will be important.

In the spirit of full disclosure, Roxy’s the only one left I haven’t been able to crack. Her mind remains a total enigma to me, just like it always has. If I had to guess, it’s her Void powers that make her invisible, even to increasingly omniscient parties such as myself. For all intents and purposes, it’s like her thoughts don’t exist. She’s the same person, as far as I can tell. She still wears her heart on her sleeve. But the bottom line remains: Roxy Lalonde is still utterly fucking inscrutable.

Anyway, then something else significant happens... Callie says they’re nonbinary.

CALLIOPE: yoU are absolUtely not an asshole!

CALLIOPE: i didn’t mind being called a girl. i still don’t really mind, it’s jUst not exactly... accUrate.

CALLIOPE: bUt i did take comfort in “being a girl” for a very long time. this is something i’ve only recently decided.

Roxy likewise says they’re enby too... this causes Dirk to have a bit of a meltdown.

I never would have guessed. Not that I’ve spent much time contemplating issues related to gender. I’m pretty secure in my expression of masculinity, and...

You know what? Fuck this. I don’t owe anyone an explanation of any sort on this topic. I’m confident with who I am, what I am, my gender, as well as my understanding of the concept. You want my honest opinion? It’s fucking fantastic. Good for them. Both of them, I mean, but also, both of them in a singular fashion, since each one can now individually be referred to by the conventionally plural word “them.” I’m ecstatic for this personal development they’ve embraced, for the people they are, the lack of gender they identify with, and the pronouns they prefer. I’ve got no problem with it whatsoever, and frankly, it’s fucking insulting anyone would ever imagine otherwise.

So yeah, I’m gonna allow it.

‘secure in his expression of masculinity’ was not the impression I had of Dirk personally, but I guess we’re going with this characterisation here.

For the rest of this chapter, Dirk keeps misgendering Roxy and Callie in narration - seemingly not deliberately, he swears and corrects himself shortly after.

There’s another interesting conversation where Calliope talks about how ideas of gender were, ‘circuitously’, transmitted to Calliope/Caliborn from watching Earth, and how these shaped Alternia (ok this one’s a little confusing because they didn’t make Alternia? though of course Doc Scratch did affect Alternia). So the system of gendered social relations is literally a “copy without an original” - Baudrillard was more right than he knew!

Anyway Dirk interrupts this discussion to narrate that Jade has a sudden vision of the black hole, and passes out...

chapter 20

Jade ‘wakes up’ in the furthest ring - was there a Dream Jade out here? i thought all the dream selves died but I don’t really remember anymore. Over here, she’s injured - she’s got a big piece of ‘the absence of a future’ skewering her.

Dirk narrates how she’s drawn towards the black hole - ‘the dead cherub is making her move’. At one point, his orange narration is interrupted by red text - the word ‘come’.

Of course, we now know that this dead Jade will fall into the Candy universe, where it will be inhabited by alt-Calliope. I am rather confused about how this came about though. Who’s this almost-dead Jade floating in the Furthest Ring? Why did Jade’s consciousness get shunted into her body?

chapter 21

Dave and Karkat are witnessing the first brood from the Mother Grub. Dave figures it’s kind of gross... and Karkat agrees after ribbing Dave a bit for being insensitive.

Anyway they’re here to try and win over Rose and Kanaya to the election campaign, only, they’re being predictably very Dave and Karkat about it, which is fun. Dirk’s narration is almost taking a backseat here... though occasionally stepping in to point to a trait of characterisation as why he’s going to win.

It’s nice to have Kanaya give some proper dialogue! She talks a bit about troll reproduction, the latent potential for fascism in both Jane and... Feferi. Which, fair.

Anyway Kanaya is rightly pissed about Jane’s plans for troll eugenics.

Dirk occasionally editorialises. Morality, he declares, is a cultural construct (complicatedly true so far as it goes) - it’s “pure ego” for them to think their morality will guide them to the “most effective” laws (that’s also a cultural construct you fucking idiot!)

Dave, continuing in his capacity to make everything as maximally awkward as possible, starts speculating about ectobiological ‘Rosemary babies’ (Kanaya has apparently not considered the term ‘Rosemary’ before, and declares that she hates it).

Kanaya gets concerned and calls Rose - and Dirk reminds us that she’s unconscious on his floor, and answers for her, but explains nothing. Because “John’s doing something important to the plot again” - and Dirk has to be there to narrate, I guess.

chapter 22

Keen to complete his full assumption of the role of ‘anime villain’, Dirk’s narration starts talking about breaking down the boundaries between people to become gods - to become ‘one god’.

Anyway, in this chapter, John bumps into Meenah’s ghost. She steals the Ring of Life that he previously took from Aranea while performing his current spate of retcons, and jumps into a ‘server’. (What did the servers do again? I don’t remember... ok apparently they’re just there in the Furthest Ring, as places people can store such things as wizard fiction and ~ATH programs on them...)

anyway it seems that Meenah can go through the door in the server somehow. presumably ending up in the Candy universe? idk. The wiki didn’t say a lot about what these servers do.

chapter 23

Not much narration, just dialogue. Kanaya arguing with Dirk, specifically. She’s not impressed by Dirk’s excuses (Dirk briefly interrupts to declare that she doesn’t really ‘understand’ Rose, even though she loves her) and sets out to retrieve Rose. Dirk keeps this a secret from Rose...

chapter 24

Minimum editorialising from Dirk this time. John floats around endlessly, and runs into... Terezi! Sure am glad to have her back :D

chapter 25

Dirk and Rose have an argument about... intimacy, identity, and other such philosophical things. Kirkegaard is name-dropped, and it comes out that Dirk (like me lol) gets most of his knowledge from Wikipedia, because obviously he grew up in a post-apocalyptic world...

ROSE: Who exactly were the academic cognoscenti of your era to determine which sources were deemed respectable?

DIRK: That would be me, obviously.

ROSE: Ok.

DIRK: I suppose you’re going to tell me you haven’t read enough Wikipedia articles on loads of scholarly shit to fancy yourself an elite academic by 25th century standards as well?

ROSE: No, I guess I have.

ROSE: I’d be one of the top intellectuals by that measure.

ROSE: A measure set by, I guess, literally one solitary self-absorbed teen boy for the express purpose of making himself feel clever.

DIRK: Absolutely correct.

They agree to have an ‘amateur philosophical debate’, which comes around to whether ‘free will’ exists. Oh boy. Dirk gets Rose to try to stand up, but then doesn’t ‘narratively allow’ it.

Dirk lectures her on the origin of her condition: the disappearance of boundaries in the ‘ultimate self’ amounts to an ‘unbundling’ of experiences (subjectivity, I guess) and the physical processes connecting to it. Dirk, supposedly, is strong enough to withstand this - so he offers to support Rose as she opens her ‘other eyes’, seeing what Dirk sees - presumably the ‘entire story’ that they’re in?

In this state, Rose is also able to see across into the Candy story. She describes both branches as a kind of ‘gross conceptual clumping’, comparing it to congealed sugar in a drink.

Dirk invites her to ascend - that she won’t be ‘her’ anymore, but ‘better’. This is described as an intimate process of perfect knowledge of the other person... and leads Dirk to start speaking possessively of Rose, his daughter in every respect, including ‘soul’.

Oh no Rose... this isn’t ideal :/

it’s funny, I have written before about such a ‘coming together’ of people, of ‘ascension’ in a similar sense, in my story ‘hacker’. but that wasn’t about assuming an ‘ultimate’, godlike form - the gestalt was a different person with different concerns, but not a ‘perfect’ person. here it’s a much more negative thing - a way for Dirk to take control over the ‘ultimate’ Rose.

chapter 26

Dirk’s narration seems to be perceptible, at least in some sense of inner monologue, to Jade. He’s trying to persuade her not to descend into the Black Hole (which, we now know to mean, the Candy universe) through his ‘metatexual’ messaging.

But he’s not succeeding. Alt-Calliope once again interrupts the narration at one point - and Dirk previously did not seem to recognise that it’s her doing it, but now he does.

In Dirk’s eyes, what he’s trying to prevent is a suicide. We know that going into the black hole is not suicide, but going to the Candy universe.

Notably when Dirk has the narration outright declare that something happens, that does not mean it takes effect in the way he describes. He is literally an unreliable narrator.

chapter 27

At this point, alt-Calliope and Dirk are outright fighting to contradict each other in the narration. (i’m gonna keep using ‘she’ pronouns for alt-Calliope, since to my understanding she’s a different person than Calliope)

alt-Calliope’s descriptions are adorably alien - referring to the ‘layers of flesh over her skull’ that maker her ‘expressive’, for example.

Apparently it’s not Jade occupying Jade’s body back on Earth C - the Meat!Earth C that is - but alt-Calliope. Alt-Calliope starts lecturing Dirk in the narration of the corrosive effect of his ‘megalomaniacal’ intentions. Somehow, she pretty much entirely shunts Dirk out of the narrator role. Dirk’s text - complaining rather than narrating - shrinks, and ultimately disappears.

There’s a fucking amazing moment when alt-Calliope gets Dirk going on a whole rant about katanas and how she’s supposedly metaphorically using them wrong.

But ultimately, what she’s going to do is just... ignore him. Or rather, talk about him like he isn’t in the room; use his metaphors, but do not allow him the dignity of response.

experiences such as the sensation of presiding over a vast, empty ocean. his ocean, which terminates with his horizon. it is a barrier, not real, but psychological, symbolic. no matter how much power he achieves as a man, he knows there are horizons he perceived as a boy which he may never cross. and yet i have crossed mine, with the express purpose of perpetually and eternally reminding him of his limits, and of enforcing them. limits, which like his vast, empty ocean, serve to remind him that he is phenomenologically, if not literally, alone. that he has experienced loneliness intimately and absolutely, just like i have. but unlike me, he is terrified by it. and i, unlike him, understand all too well that the children left alone are those who most despair at being ignored.

Epilogue 4, in summary

Damn. I can see why they call this the ‘meat’ route.

So.

Dirk has found some way to assert control of the narrative voice. In this capacity, he’s run roughshod over the various events trying to mechanically arrange them to achieve... some kind of end. But his carelessness in attending to the specific characterisations, instead of relating everything back to himself, somehow left him vulnerable to be excluded from the narration by alt-Calliope.

Whatever Dirk’s plan is, it seems to require... Jane and him to assume rulership of Earth C, and... what else? Well he wanted Jade to go into the Furthest Ring, but not to enter the black hole (because ultimately that allowed alt-Calliope to enter the narrative). He wanted John to do various ‘plot relevant’ things, like... presumably hand over the ring to Meenah, acquire the wallet, and meet Terezi.

Where’s all this going? Fuck knows lol!

We can try and talk about all the issues of identity, ‘free will’ and so forth towards the end, and the interesting attempt to connect that to gendered subjectivity, once we’ve taken in the story as a whole.

#momestuck

2 notes · View notes

michaelandy101-blog · 5 years ago

Text

The Hyperlink Constructing Webslog

New Post has been published on http://tiptopreview.com/the-link-building-webslog/

The Hyperlink Constructing Webslog

This isn’t the hyperlink constructing article you — or actually anybody — had been in all probability hoping for. It is not a step-by-step information to getting one of the best backlinks, it is not some record of sizzling suggestions or new alternatives, and it is not the announcement of some useful gizmo. What it’s, unashamedly, is a window into the brutal slog that’s outreach-based hyperlink constructing.

What are you able to anticipate?

1. YELLING IN CAPSLOCK.

2. Some suggestions and methods.

Three. Weeping and gnashing of enamel

Courtesy Some Ecards

All kidding apart, one of many few aphorisms I’ve come to consider is that sharing how we do issues as SEOs is nearly by no means an issue, as a result of 99% of individuals haven’t got the follow-through and assets to make it occur. I might like to be confirmed fallacious by the readers on Moz.

My aim right here is to present a practical understanding of the monotonous slog that’s white-hat, outreach-based hyperlink constructing. I occur to suppose that hyperlink constructing is an ideal counterexample to the “Pareto Principle”. In contrast to the Pareto Precept, which states that 80% of the impact comes from 20% of the trigger, I discover that until you place in 60-80% of the trouble, you will not see greater than 20% of the potential impact. The payoff comes when you’ve gotten outworked your opponents, and I promise you they’re placing in additional than 20%.

Courtesy Quotiss

The aim of this “Webslog” is to doc the weeks and months that go right into a hyperlink constructing marketing campaign, no less than so far as how I’m going in regards to the course of.

Courtesy Aaron Burden

Additionally, take a look at that beautiful fountain pen. I frickin’ love fountain pens.

I’ll try to replace this doc each week or so with progress stories, my motivation stage, the guidelines and methods I’ve employed over the previous few days, the complications, wins, and losses. By the top of this, I hope to have achieved one thing alongside the traces of a hyperlink constructing journal. It received’t be a blueprint for hyperlink constructing success, however hopefully it should mark on the map of your hyperlink constructing journey the issues to keep away from, one of the simplest ways to get by means of sure jams, and if you’re simply going to must robust it out.

Journal Entry Day One

Day one is nearly all the time one of the best day. It’s a preparation day. It is the day you purchase the gymnasium membership, buy a veritable ton of whey protein and protein shaker bottles, weigh your self — in all actuality you accomplish nothing, however really feel like you’ve gotten carried out a lot. Day one is essential as a result of it might probably present momentum and clear a route to success, however it additionally presents the issue of motivation being extremely disproportionate to success. It is seemingly that your first day would be the most discordant with respect to motivation and outcomes.

Rand does a terrific job explaining the connection between ROI and Effort:

Nonetheless, I feel the third part right here is motivation. Whereas it does largely observe the chart Rand gives, I feel there are some notable variations, the primary of which is that, within the first few days, your motivation will probably be excessive regardless of not having any outcomes. Your motivation will in all probability dip in a short time and grow to be parallel with the rest of the “effort” line on the graph, however you get the purpose.

Courtesy Drew Beamer

It is important to maintain your motivation up over the course of the “slog”, and the trick is to disconnect your motivation out of your ROI and fix it as an alternative to attainable targets which lead to ROI. It is a terribly troublesome factor to do.

Alright, so, Day One prep.

Venture description

For this challenge, I will be using a novel type of broken link building (Part 2). In case you’ve seen any of my link building presentations within the final 2-Three years, you’ll have caught a glimpse of a number of the strategies within the course of. Nonetheless, the hyperlink constructing technique actually is not essential for the sake of this challenge. All that issues for the sake of our dialogue within the technique is:

Outreach Primarily based (requires contacting different site owners).

Impartial with regard to Black/White hat (it might be carried out both method).

Requires Prospecting.

In the end brings Return on Funding by means of both promoting or an exit.

As well as, I will not be utilizing any aliases on this challenge. For as soon as, I am constructing one thing respectable sufficient that I do not thoughts my identify being related to it. I do nonetheless should be cautious (keep away from unfavorable search engine marketing, for instance) as it is a YMYL trade (well being associated). The location is already in existence, however with virtually no hyperlinks.

So, what are the returns on funding (or effort) that I will be monitoring and, importantly, will not be monitoring?

Courtesy financereference.com

1. Emails despatched to hyperlinks positioned relative to:

Topic line

Pitch electronic mail

Goal damaged hyperlink

2. Contact kinds crammed to hyperlinks positioned:

Topic line

Pitch electronic mail

Goal damaged hyperlink

Three. Anchor textual content utilized in hyperlinks positioned

four. Not monitoring:

Deliverability

Open charge

Reply charge

Area Authority of supply

I do know #four will sound like a cardinal sin to most of the skilled hyperlink builders studying this, however I am actually simply not taken with bothering a recipient who chooses to miss the e-mail. I am sure that the pace of emails despatched won’t influence deliverability, so the opposite statistics simply appear to be persevering with to ring the doorbell at somebody’s home till they’re compelled to reply. Positive, it’d work, however it additionally would possibly get you reported.

Preparation

There are a few steps I take each time I start a challenge like this.

1. Arrange electronic mail, clearly. I sometimes arrange russ@, information@, contact@, media@ and a catch all. I do not use Google. It simply appears, effectively, fallacious. I’ve had success with Zoho earlier than, though actually I simply want the e-mail so I usually go together with a CPANEL host after which add the MX records to Cloudflare.

2. Arrange a cellphone quantity for voice mail. I like Grasshopper, personally. This isn’t to enhance rankings (though I do put it on the location), it is to enhance conversion rates. Electronic mail messages with an actual cellphone quantity and actual electronic mail tackle from an actual individual, with the identical area promoted because the area within the electronic mail, simply appear to do higher when your challenge is actually above-board.

Three. Arrange SPF and DKIM information for higher deliverability.

four. Arrange various Google Docs sheets which can assist with a number of the prospecting and mail sending.

5. Arrange my emailer. I do know that is imprecise, however one of many issues I attempt to do is create hindrances to dishonest. There are some superior instruments on the market Pitchbox, BuzzStream, LinkProspector and extra, however I discover every very tempting to take shortcuts. I wish to ensure I pull the set off personally on each electronic mail that goes out. Environment friendly, no. Efficient, not likely. Secure, yeah.

Truthfully, that is about as a lot as I can do in sooner or later. I sit up for updating this repeatedly, ensure you observe @moz or @rjonesx on Twitter to get notified once we replace this journal.

Source link

#General

0 notes

glittergummicandypeach · 5 years ago

Text

“That’s offensive, harmful, and unhelpful”: The ethics of responding to arguments with allegations - ABC Religion & Ethics

There are many ways arguments can go wrong. Since the dawn of philosophy, scholars have fashioned lists of fallacies, probed suspect rhetorical devices, and teased out the troubling ways power interweaves with persuasion. These problematic properties can be wrong in a rational sense, making arguments invalid, and less likely to track truth. But they can also be wrong in an ethical sense. Argument can be deceitful, manipulative, coercive.

In the twenty-first century, there is a new challenge to argument — or rather, an old challenge gaining new life. These consist of allegations that an argument is “unhelpful,” “offensive,” “divisive,” or “harmful.” In a recently published article, I define these as “meta-argument allegations.” Such allegations consist of protestations that an arguer’s speech is wrongfully offensive or will trigger harmful consequences.

These protestations are “meta” in the sense that they do not concern the argument’s soundness. Irrespective of whether an argument is valid, its evidence important, or its conclusion true, the speech may be challenged because it is offensive, harmful, unhelpful, or divisive.

Want the best of Religion & Ethics delivered to your mailbox? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Newsletter Subscribe

The tendency to find opponents’ arguments offensive or harmful is hardly new. Separated by millennia, Plato and John Stuart Mill both remarked on the phenomenon. Socrates himself was put to death on the charge of corrupting the Athenian youth through his impious dialogues. Yet there has been a recent surge in claims about arguments’ offensiveness and harmfulness. Contemporary movements like “cancel culture” and “callout culture” routinely invoke issues of harm and safety, as do reactions to controversial publications and tweets.

Without doubt, these types of allegations are sometimes legitimate. We all have limits on what speech we will morally tolerate, some point where we must draw the line. Yet allegations of harm and offence have several worrying properties that might caution us about their widespread use.

Allegations of harm and offence defy easy resolution. Consider the allegation that an argument will cause harm. Outside the most obvious cases, a claim about worrying knock-on social consequences will be itself very much open to debate. Indeed, speculations about likely consequences are subject to their own forms of cognitive bias. Communication theorists use the term “third-person effect” to refer to the curious human tendency to overestimate the comparative effect that persuasive communications will have on others (but not them, of course). We tend to think, “I am unmoved by this transparently foolish argument, but others are bound to fall for it.”

In fact, there are problems even in cases where we have rock solid knowledge that an argument will create harm. For one thing, contrasting political, ethical, and religious perspectives will differently weigh the moral significance of the foreseen harms, each according to their own priorities. For another, harmful knock-on consequences will often involve third parties making decisions about how to respond to the speech. Opposing perspectives will have their own views on whether responsibility for the subsequent harm lies with the original speaker or with the decisions of these third parties. These are both issues where reasonable people can disagree.

Allegations of harm and offence thus introduce new lines of dispute that are unlikely to be easily resolved. This may give us reason to think that levelling such allegations may not be a straightforward, constructive intervention. But do these considerations give us any moral reason to pause?

In fact, there are serious ethical issues in play.

Allegations of harm and offence can breach the ethical norms of argument. These “norms of argument” are principles of action that respond to the moral dimensions of argument. Commonly invoked ethical principles of argument include: principles of openness (that opposing viewpoints can be aired and must be taken seriously); relevance (that discussions should introduce considerations relevant to resolving the issue under consideration); and non-coercion (the foregoing of ulterior tactics to pressure others to agree). Living up to these principles helps us respect others as rational, autonomous people. Rather than lecturing, demanding or commanding other people, principled argument treats others as our equals, acknowledging they are capable of changing their own minds, and capable of changing ours, on the basis of shared reasons.

Yet allegations of harm and offence can breach all three of these norms. The raising of an allegation can breach openness by preventing a newly aired viewpoint being considered on its merits. The allegation can violate relevance by introducing and prioritising an entirely new topic (about offence or harmfulness). And subsequent action based on the allegation (such as de-platforming, pressuring the speaker’s employment, or hounding them through attacks in social media) can amount to a violation of the prohibition on ulterior pressure. All three of these breaches threaten to bunt us out of a consensual interaction between equals, and into a more hierarchical context where one person lays down unilateral rules for the other.

These concerns about individual ethics have a social dimension. In an environment where levelling allegations becomes common, the possibility of constructive dialogue collapses. No side wants to engage with the other when this will just provide their opponents with an opportunity to say offensive and harmful things. Equally, no side wants to broach difficult topics when it is only a matter of time before the argument is utterly derailed, and the topic of conversation once again moves to heated allegations. Once this occurs, groups will tend to talk only to like-minded fellows, contributing to problems of political “bubbles,” groupthink, and group polarisation, where doubts and contrary views are never aired, and social dynamics lead to increasingly extreme positions.

I doubt most people who engage in political or public argument desire such an outcome. They do not want a halt to genuine debate between arguers holding different opinions. What they want, I suggest, is for debate to happen, but to take place on their terms, controlled by their views of what is offensive, and constrained by their views of what is harmful. But once we realise that the very differences that make people disagree on substantive policy will — except in the most obvious cases — also lead them to disagree on matters of offence and harm, we can appreciate that this wish is fanciful.

If we value the capacity, as individuals and as a society, to get together and talk about our disagreements, then we should avoid using those very disagreements as a reason not to talk to each other.

Hugh Breakey is Senior Research Fellow in moral philosophy at Griffith University’s Institute for Ethics, Governance and Law.

This content was originally published here.

0 notes

moderngirlinthedas · 8 years ago

Note

Why are there so many MGIT fics that have their MGITs paired with Solas? He's an emotionally abusive racist with a superiority complex, yet so many in the fandom find him attractive. He barely registers Dalish as elves so he wouldn't find human MGITs attractive or even consider them real people. So why do so many of you want to pair off with him? It wouldn't be a healthy relationship, even if you end up as an elf. Can you shed some light?

First, I want to say that I’m extremely sorry for how long it took me to answer this.

I had so many directions I wanted to take when answering your question, Anon (far too many, really). I started and stopped many times in a separate word doc, trying to address this in as complete a manner as I could.

But I had too much to say, real life responsibilities got in the way, and suddenly it had been so long that my brain went yikes and shoved it in the back of my thoughts, ever present but easier to skip over.

So I’m going to give this a new shot and hope that my tardiness hasn’t soured you on the whole Asking process because I do love answering questions and opening topics for discussion.

[Disclaimer: The following is an expression of my own opinion, based on my experiences and perception. I will try to present it in an unbiased manner, but I am human and entirely fallible.]

There are so many MGIT stories with Solas in the main pairing because, to put it simply, he is a fascinating character. (Note: I say fascinating, not morally infallible or intrinsically superior to the other characters).

He is an intelligent, compassionate character who offers a refreshing perspective toward mages, the Fade, and spirits. From the very beginning, he proves to be a font of knowledge for the Inquisitor. He appreciates inquisitiveness and self-examination in a way that is scarcely seen elsewhere.

And yet.

For all his open-mindedness, he can be exceedingly narrow in his views once he has reached a conclusion (i.e. the Dalish, other elves, etc.). He has made mistakes. Catastrophic ones. He believes the ends justify the means in his quest to “correct” his past mistakes. Worse still, he has the knowledge and power to deliver.

And this, all of this just makes him so fascinating. To see what could drive an intelligent, compassionate person to such terrible lengths, to see the limits of such compassion when “the Greater Good” is at stake.

His character is interesting and flawed, repentant even as he manipulates and schemes. A hero and a villain in turns.

But perhaps I’m getting sidetracked. This isn’t about proving why Solas is interesting or dissecting his flaws. That would be another post entirely. This is about why so many of the MGIT writers and their Modern Characters are interested in Solas.

So, let’s take a look at who Solas is:

someone who is from another time

someone who possesses and withholds knowledge about the world, magic, and etc.

someone who struggles with the relative ignorance of the people around him (ex: magic, spirits, ancient Elven society, etc.)

someone who struggles with feeling more “real” than the people around him

someone who attains a position of power/rank in the Inquisition as a valued source of knowledge

someone who uses hidden knowledge to alter events

Now, who else does this sound like?

The Modern Character in Thedas.

Think about it: this trope, particularly when anchored in the Inquisition timeline, tends to feature these key elements:

the Modern Character is from another world/time

the Modern Character has played the Dragon Age games and withholds knowledge about in-game events (and other characters)

the Modern Character struggles with the relative ignorance of the people around her (ex: racism, sexism, unsanitary practices, primitive technology)

the Modern Character struggles with feeling more “real” than the people around her, in the sense that she is often painfully aware that Dragon Age and the people therein are constructs of a game or potentially figments of her imagination in a coma-induced dream

the Modern Character attains a position of power/rank in the Inquisition, usually as the Inquisitor herself or as a valued adviser

the Modern Character uses their foreknowledge to alter events

Barring some exceptions, Foreknowledge and how one uses it, is one of the biggest themes in the Modern Character in Thedas trope.

Using foreknowledge to alter events, however good the intentions, is a form of manipulation. Every choice is but a ripple in a greater wave. Inaction is a choice in itself, so even if the Modern Character refrains from actively altering events, they can still be held accountable for “allowing” events to proceed unimpeded.

These are real struggles that both the Modern Character and Solas face as people who possess world-changing knowledge and the ability to spark change.

“When you can do the things that I can, but you don’t…and then the bad things happen, they happen because of you.” -Peter Parker

Does this ability always yield altruistic superheroes like Peter Parker here? No. With great power comes great responsibility, not necessarily good choices or a moral compass.

So why is this important?

Because with so much power, forced to hide their origins in a new world that fears and often hates the different, the magical, how alone would the Modern Character feel?

Who else could understand what it’s like to bear that kind of burden? Who else might be willing to even entertain the idea of another world/reality, much less accept someone so different?

Solas.

The Modern Character is playing chess on a whole other board than the rest of Thedas, but so is Solas.

It’s not the same, of course. But it’s enough. Enough to help the Modern Character not feel so alone.

And if that’s not enough, consider this: if you were stuck in another world, desperate to find a way home, who might just have the means to help you?

Phew. That was long-winded.

Now for your questions about attraction!

“He barely registers Dalish as elves so he wouldn’t find human MGITs attractive or even consider them real people. So why do so many of you want to pair off with him?”

It is my understanding that one of the main reasons (if not the only reason) Solas is both gender and race-gated in the game is due to time constraints. His romance was written in the span of a weekend, late in the development of the game. It is easier and less time consuming to write and animate a romance for one specific gender/race (i.e. female/elf), especially for a last minute addition.

There aren’t any moments during in-game dialogue wherein which Solas displays a genuine romantic or sexual preference for a particular gender or race. The flirt options simply aren’t there when the player isn’t a female elf.

This is important to note because this is not the case for the other characters’ romances. Both Dorian and Sera express a genuine romantic/sexual preference for one gender. You have the option to flirt with both Dorian and Cassandra as a female. They both turn you down. You have the option to flirt with both Sera and Cullen as a male. They both turn you down. Cullen, who is also race-gated, will turn down a female-dwarf.

So, in the absence of in-game dialogue that denotes an actual preference, it isn’t unreasonable to think he might not have one.

And thus, it is entirely possible that Solas would find a human from another world romantically and/or sexually attractive.

On the Subject of Realness:

Solas’s perception of “realness” is relative to the people of Thedas.

[And here we get a little meta]

He considers the people in the present canon to be less real, due to the fact that his actions in his original timeline (the canon’s past) had, in part, caused the current worldstate, which he views as not only a mistake, but a mistake he’s going to rectify.

The people of Thedas, in the present canon, are less real to him because he likely has plans to revert the world back to a previous state, thus erasing the people in the current timeline (much like the Inquisitor does with the Red Lyrium future in the “In Hushed Whispers” quest).

So! Since the Modern Character isn’t a native to Thedas, that perception of “unrealness” doesn’t really apply to them. In fact, in some ways, Solas might even perceive them as more real, if not just as real as himself.

“It wouldn’t be a healthy relationship, even if you end up as an elf.”

How healthy or unhealthy a relationship is depends entirely upon the characters themselves and the way they’re written/portrayed. There’s nothing intrinsically unhealthy about the pairing of the Modern Character and Solas.

Now, if Solas or the Modern Character are depicted as emotionally and/or physically abusive to the other, then you’d be right, it wouldn’t be a healthy relationship.

Not because of who they are, but because of their behavior.

So, to sum up–because I have rambled so much here, wow–

Why are there so many Modern Character/Solas stories?

because Solas is a fascinating, flawed character

because Solas’s experience makes him relatable to the Modern Character

because Solas could make a good ally for an Otherworlder

because arbitrary game mechanics shouldn’t dictate a character’s love life

because “realness” is relative

because the pairing of Solas and a human isn’t inherently unhealthy

And the bonus: Because the Solas romance was extremely popular among Dragon Age gamers, and many of those gamers set out to write a story

And there we have it. The end of a long-winded spiel from me.

I hope I kept things relatively objective. I appreciate dissecting characters’ motives and exploring their flaws, even when I love them.

You can love or hate Solas (or something in between) and still note his flaws…as well as recognize his more redeeming qualities.

And always remember: to love a character is not to condone all their actions.

#MGIT asks #modern girl in thedas #modern character in thedas #modlas

136 notes · View notes

xemidatwospirit · 8 years ago

Text

Exploring Identity through theatre: Yek Tunal Kuskatan & the Salvadoran identity

I’ve been performing for a large part of my life, and have been working as a professional actor (for voice overs, film, and theatre) in Washington, D.C. for several years. I’ve played various roles, many of which were stereotypes of brown or LGBTQIA+ people, and have overall been dissatisfied with the work available to me and my communities.

Some of the most satisfying work I’ve done has been working with youth audiences with topics on identity. In Seasons of Light with Smithsonian’s Discovery Theatre, I was able to explore my diverse background and share my cultures with hundreds of young people. The play dealt with holidays around the world that deal with darkness and light. I was able to explore my Sefardi heritage through the study of Hanukkah, my Native American heritage through the study of the Winter Solstice, and my Latinx heritage through the study of Las Posadas. In GALita and Wit’s End Puppets co-production Fábula Mayas/Maya Fables, I was able to explore my Central American Indigenous heritage through bilingual storytelling. I met so many young people with both of those projects; all of which impacted my desire to do this type work.

(Image: Tetsina Wittiwa/Zuni Winter Solstice in Seasons of Light.)

(Image: Xmucane & Xpiyacoc in Fábula Mayas/Maya Fables.) However, the piece I’ve worked on that hits closest to home is a play I wrote about Native American pride, El Salvador history, and Indigenous language revitalization. They play was born out of an emergency and I continue to work on it out of necessity for this type of work. We need plays about identity. We need plays about Native American people. We need plays about language revitalization. We need diverse plays and stories. This play has morphed quite a bit since it’s original incarnation, and will continue to grow the more I explore it. In this blog post, I will talk about my journey with my tri-lingual play for young audiences and how it can shaped the Salvadoran identity of nationals and the diaspora. Background on Native American Identity and Nawat language In Washington, D.C. (and across the United States) there is a misguided idea on what it means to be Salvadoran and Latinx. These ideas have often been perpetuated by Anglx people through discrimination and Latinx people through assimilation. The “Latino race” myth is heavily accepted as fact in many spaces, including arts circles, and Latinx theatre is often discussed through a homogenized lense; often a Mexican, Spanish, or Argentine position, more specifically through white, white-passing, and light-skin narratives. On occasion, African and Indigenous American identities are explored, but these are not as commonplace. Salvadoran identity is represented through war, gang violence, and undocumented migration. Though these aspects of Salvadoran history are legitimate and influence the Salvadoran identity, there is also so much more than that oversimplification. For accurate and positive representation, diverse community collaboration is required. It’s necessary for diverse artists to reclaim our identities from the mainstream art world.

I was born in a town called Mejicanos in the department of San Salvador in El Salvador, Central America. I migrated to the United States with my family when I was a young child. I’ve lived in the Northern Virginia area ever since. I enjoy languages. I studied American Sign Language in community college, and Nawat through Alan R. King’s independent study course. I am in no way tri-lingual, but I do have a life goal to be a polyglot and to aid in the revitalization of Native American languages.

When I began studying Nawat, I was both scared and excited. I was excited because I believe that heritage is so important, and language was part of that. I was also scared because I knew that if I got involved with Nawat revitalization circles, I would need to do my part as well. The responsibility scared me. It still does.

King’s Nawat course, and subsequently the “Salvaemos el idioma Nahuat” Facebook group, is available to everyone and anyone interested in helping revitalize this endangered language. The group strives to make visible the Elders who speak Nawat fluently and to inspire Salvadoran nationals and diaspora to remember our Native American heritage through language. There is also research on El Salvador history available online, particularly on Tim Lohrentz’s typepad.com page “The Indigenous History of El Salvador”.

Of course it is always best to get Indigenous history from Indigenous Elders and Leaders. I have been fortunate enough to develop relationships with some International Indigenous Salvadoran leaders, particularly Chief Leonel Chevez of the Maya-Lenca Nation, and Chief Margarito Esquino of ANIS (Asociación Nacional Indígena Salvadoreña), and have been able to learn more about my history through their teachings.

Phase 1: Timumachtikan Nawat In 2014, a friend of mine informed me of an arts opportunity available at the child care center he worked at. I contacted the center and was able schedule performances of a new work for youth audiences sometime in the summer. I wrote a play called The Cosmic Twins, based off of a story from the Popol Vuh, for six actors. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to keep all six of my actors for rehearsals so I had to come up with an alternative.

I was already studying Nawat at the time and decided that I wanted to do something about El Salvador and about Native American heritage. I decided that my play would be a one-persyn show featuring seven different characters, including historical figures from El Salvador. I named the show Timumachtikan Nawat! which means let’s learn Nawat. The story taught El Salvador history and Nawat vocabulary with song. I rehearsed it, reviewed my taped rehearsals in order to direct myself better, constructed simple puppets and props, and finally performed it at my friend’s child care center and at other locations in Northern Virginia. I was happy with the work I had done but my aspirations extend much higher. I lacked the two things that I needed to ensure my play’s success: community and funding. Still, I knew that with time, my little one-persxn play could become a young audience success story.

(Images: Atakat, Jose Feliciano Ama, and President Salvador Sanchez Ceren in Timumachtikan Nawat!)

Building a Native American Theatre Community in Washington, D.C. After my second production of Maya Fables with GALita and Wit’s End Puppets,we received much expected backlash from some artists of color. The production was called out for the use of red-face and for discriminating against Native American womyn and youth.

As a response, Miguel Amaguaña (mopino432), myself and the rest of the ensemble organized an open community forum entitled “In the beginning the Earth was empty…” A dialogue on Maya Fables and Imagining a Decolonial TYA Community. Our hope with the forum was to show accountability for the violence we perpetuated with Maya Fables and to initiate conversation about proper representation of Native American people in DC theatre.

(Image: Instagram advertisement for the open community forum)

From this forum, the group DC Native American Theatre Artists/Artistas Indígena de Teatro de DC was formed. The group is “comprised of Native American Artists from ethnic groups across the American continent, who work in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area” and the group “serves as a resource for Non-Native American Artists interested in collaborating with Native American Artists in the DC Metro Area”.

Phase 2: Yek Tunal Kuskatan With a new community behind me, I decided to begin working on my trilingual play again. I did two main rewrites: a 2-persyn show and then a 4-persyn show. I renamed the play Yek Tunal Kuskatan, which means ‘good day, El Salvador,” and I reached out to members of DC Native American Theatre Artists/Artistas Indígena de Teatro de DC to collaborate.

I remembered that a local company called Openstage features a monthly open mic for theatre new works, and decided to contact them to workshop Yek Tunal Kuskatan. We were able to book a workshop performance of a scene from the play.

With puppets borrowed from GALA Hispanic theatre and made by Wit’s End Puppets, we were able to bring two of Yek Tunal Kuskatan’s characters to life. We took ¡TUM TICA!: Una Historia de Musica y Familia’s Tito Puente and made Yek Tunal Kuskatan’s Abuela, and we took Fábula Mayas‘ Disobedient Child and made Yek Tunal Kuskatan’s Chepe. Simple costume changes created brand new identities for the gorgeous puppets.

(Images: puppets in their original costumes)

With dates set and puppets secured, Miguel Amaguaña, Tsaitami Duchicela (prettyherricane), and I began rehearsing the scene from Yek Tunal Kuskatan. The scene was originally for 4 actors, but since I was not able to secure a third puppet, I simply combined two roles into one.

(Images: Yek Tunal Kuskatan rehearsals)

We used rehearsals to study El Salvador history, puppetry, and self-production for theatre. We took promotional shots for the workshop and began advertising on social media. Through this collaboration, we developed a preview I am very proud of.

(Image: Promotional material for Yek Tunal Kuskatan)

When the performance day finally arrived, we performed the workshop to a full house of an adult audience. I also shared the video of the performance with subtitles in Spanish with the “Salvemos el idioma Nahuat” group. Both audiences gave the performance excellent feedback. I was very satisfied with the progress the play had made since its’ first incarnation.

Phase 3: The Future I don’t want things to end there! I’ve been applying for grants so that I can get funding for a full stage production in Washington, D.C. I also, along with Alberto Cruz, a member of Colectivo Tzuntecun Ejecat, a group that works with Nahuat-speaking Elders from Santo Domingo de Guzman, applied for a transnational grant that would allow us to collaborate and take the story to El Salvador. Hopefully, with the help of arts organizations, my dream of providing opportunities for Native American artists and audiences in El Salvador and the diaspora can come true.

Because of my film background, another interest of mine would be to find funding for a film production of Yek Tunal Kuskatan. A film version would allow the story to reach a much larger audience, especially considering the people who need this story the most are not located in Washington, D.C. Puppetry for film is not only beautiful, but is increasing in popularity, now more than ever! Combining both mediums of entertainment could result in some really gorgeous and educational work. A DC theatre company that centers Native American Queer and Trans folx, Teatro de la Septima Generacion/Seventh Generation Theatre is growing; slowly but surely.

No matter what funding I do or do not get, I will continue to work on Yek Tunal Kuskatan because this work is much too important for me and my community. I really hope that theatre and the Diaspora could really benefit from this story. I know that it has really helped me be proud of my heritage and to inspire others to do the same.

1 note · View note