#Apostle Town

[rachelspoetrycorner]

Apostle Town (1996) by Anne Carson

In Episode 196, Rachel brings a more enigmatic and mystifying poem than usual.

Rachel: They asked Anne Carson, "Your work extends our idea of poetry. Do you have a personal definition of what poetry is?" And she said, "If prose is a house, poetry is a man on fire running quite fast through it." [...] She's just very mysterious. It's like, the kind of person, or a, if after a reading, she disappeared while exiting the stage, you would be like, "Yeah."

Griffin: Yeah. That's right.

Rachel: That's right.

Griffin: "Where's my wallet?"

Rachel: [laughs]

Griffin: "What the fuck?"

This is definetly one of those poems where I basically still have no idea what it's about; and that's exactly what's great about it. If you'd like to hear more wild Anne Carson quotes, you can do so here: That’s Stinkin’ Thinkin’, from 4:20 - 15:15

[seaxdevil]

Tag Dump: Relationships

[chels-talks-and-trips]

Camps Bay, Cape Town, South Africa 🤙🏼🇿🇦

[meowstix]

i go to do a thing. i think about things. i end up rotating the desert apostles in my mind again

[shanguye]

Azure Deck at 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa, Cape Town

[lesbianlovewonderland]

Azure Deck at 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa, Cape Town

[voidandradiance]

ANDOR: Ahem. I have heard that the greatest persuasion is nothing more than telling the truth, so I speak in the voice given me by my mother, Freya. I make no grand overtones or guttural whispers for dramatic effect. 

(MARKET VENDOR: More flavours! Come and drink away your sorrows!)

ANDOR: I am only Andor. My voice trembles.

(MARKET VENDOR: More flavours! Come and drink away your sorrows!)

ANDOR: I have come to ask my father a question. Will you listen? Father, I know you're listening too.

LIEUTENANT AL: Prince Andor!

ANDOR: Haven't you noticed? Do these wings look like the product of some frivolous magic? Whom do you suppose the statue at the bridge represents? Not Mianite. I am an acolyte of the wounded goddess; I always have been. We worship Ianite.

LIEUTENANT AL: I have found evidence of a rebellion against Mianite! And I will have to arrest you, Prince, for leading this rebellion!

[With each syllable from Andor's lips grows a surrounding gust of wind, which halts the Lieutenant's advance, despite his best efforts to subdue the awakening acolyte.]

KING HELGRIND, now named APOSTLE HELGRIND: ANDOR!!!

ANDOR: While you have governed this port city and allocated its resources to the glorification of your "one true god," I-

APOSTLE HELGRIND, interrupting: You no longer have a place in this town! During my time away, the truth of the one true god has only become clearer.

ANDOR, speaking louder: I have been chiseling Ianite's likeness into your stones and penning her mantras into your paper. Her teachings have been with me all these years, guiding me towards a day of peace and unity-

LIEUTENANT AL: You will never…!

ANDOR, now shouting: -while you have winced at the thought of our hope and stooped over the corpses of the lost.

APOSTLE HELGRIND: Lieutenant, seize Andor and take him to our Lord.

ANDOR: If you had but journeyed with me! I am at the threshold. Soon, Ianite will rise! And my mother and sister's spirits will rise with her.

APOSTLE HELGRIND: Lieutenant!

LIEUTENANT AL: I- AM- TRYING!

ANDOR: I hear your voice, father. I hear your anger. 

APOSTLE HELGRIND: ENOUGH OF THIS NONSENSE.

ANDOR: Do what you will with me. But first, know this. If your god is just and blameless, with flawless integrity, then fear not. Your battle is already won. But if there is the smallest fracture in Mianite's armor… then the crevice will widen. The shell will corrode. And Mianite's sins and yours will seep through. All the false glory you have built will be wiped in preparation for this world's restoration and rebirth. I do not know why you begrudge Ianite, for our family's death, nor why you hide your wounds, father. But I do know that healing is available to you. It is the greatest gift anyone can receive, greater than a shield, greater than a sword. 

LIEUTENANT AL: Andor!

ANDOR: Greater than your perfect, made-up world. If it is your wish, see this to its end. Do everything in your power to create the world you so crave. I cannot stay your hand. I raise no sword. I wear no armor. I have only this boomerang, given by a true friend. You could stop this. We could go to the docks, and throw it, just like old times with Mom. We could. I invite you.

[ANDOR collapses from exhaustion. The protecting wind subsides, and he is immediately seized by LIEUTENANT AL.]

[seaponyluna]

Azure Deck at 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa, Cape Town

[avatarfanzine]

Azure Deck at 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa, Cape Town

[e--u--r--o--p--a]

Azure Deck at 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa, Cape Town

[rabbitcruiser]

Puritans settled in Salem on September 6, 1628, which became part of Massachusetts Bay Colony. 

[bonomovesinmysteriousways]

Azure Deck at 12 Apostles Hotel and Spa, Cape Town

[asha-mage]

okay but imagine, fucking imagine for a moment that you are a youth pastor, and you're trying really hard not be weird about it either in the ‘you know what’s poggers? Jesus’ way or the ‘has to make everything a secret bible lesson way’ but you still believe in god and it’s important to you as a person, so you still do youth preaching and charity and stuff but also you get high and party on the weekends with your bros.

And then one day you and your buddies hear some weird stuff is happening out in the boonies so you decide to drive out and investigate, figuring you'll either end up in a horror movie or find a killer rave. And you get their (maybe already a little buzzed) and it seems like it's leaning to option 1. zombies are terrorizing the countryside, people are crying out for help, and you figure you've got nothing to loose and isn’t it kinda your christian duty to help out anyways? heck maybe the zombies are allergic to crosses like vampires? who knows.

So you and your friends dive head first into trying to kill zombies and save who you can. But then one of your buddies breaks horror movie protocol 101 and wanders off for a bit and your pretty sure he’s been eaten, but then he comes back he's not a zombie but he’s got JESUS CHRIST SON OF GOD following him and you are still a little buzzed  but not THAT buzzed  and oh my god that’s JESUS. you are knee deep in zombie guts, and their are innocent towns folk crying out for help, and nothing in your Youth Pastor Training Course prepared you for any of  this, but that’s JESUS CHRIST shyly introducing himself, and you didn’t start the day expecting to be a new apostle but that sure SEEMS TO BE WHERE IT’S HEADED NOW, and also your friends are delighting in your crisis of faith and also Jesus just pulled out a sword and set about hacking up zombies.

Anyways Pandero is a delightful character.

[half-a-life]

The Prague astronomical clock is a medieval astronomical clock attached to the Old Town Hall in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.

The clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest clock still in operation.

The clock mechanism has three main components – the astronomical dial, representing the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky and displaying various astronomical details; statues of various Catholic saints stand on either side of the clock; "The Walk of the Apostles", an hourly show of moving Apostle figures and other sculptures, notably a figure of a skeleton that represents Death, striking the time; and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months. According to local legend, the city will suffer if the clock is neglected and its good operation is placed in jeopardy; a ghost, mounted on the clock, was supposed to nod its head in confirmation. According to the legend, the only hope was represented by a boy born on New Year's night.

Prague astronomical clock

Old Town Hall

Prague, Czech Republic 🇨🇿

[originalaccountname]

In your Murase Lives ADA!Chuuya AU, Dazai still joins the ADA eventually right? After he loses both Ango and Oda (like how Chuuya left when he only had Dazai left, but Dazai seemed to be better with his new friends).

How do they react to that? Does Chuuya help Dazai join? Do they acknowledge that they knew each other before (well, I feel everyone could tell)? Is Chuuya happy he left? Or is he mixed about them working together again? Is Dazai feeling mixed up because Chuuya left him (but now after Odasaku he understands it better)?

I was trying to think of this had been mentioned in your comics on them but I didn’t think it’d been mentioned except in the intervening years Dazai had to deal with Mori’s complaining about Chuuya’s defection.

I talked about it a little bit in this post:

If Oda dies the same way… it’s a fun question. Dazai would leave, Dazai would still refuse to work for the government, so his options are limited. I can’t imagine Chuuya leaving at 16, join the ADA, and the mafia not knowing a thing about it? So what would Dazai do? Chuuya left and joined a group and now that group is his only option in Yokohama. If he wants to join them, he’ll still have to wait two years for his records to be erased and hidden. And he knows Chuuya is gonna be there, and he knows him!! How frustrating and stressful is that wait going to be? I’d like Chuuya to be gone when Dazai first joins, so Entrance Exam can still take place in a similar way. Maybe he accompanied Ranpo on his contract out of town? I do wonder if he’d confront Dazai publicly or in private… I’m still not sure how much he told the ADA about his own origins.

To expand on that, Entrance Exam the novel is quite different from the anime. Ranpo is on an investigation in Kyushu until the finale of Kunikida and Dazai's investigation to find and stop the Azure Messenger/Apostle. Ranpo shows up in person in time to deduce where the bomb was located (and Dazai tests his "ability" by pinching his hair at this moment). It's a key moment for Dazai because it's the moment he decides the ADA is the real deal and they just might be what he's looking for (this exam went both ways).

oh no this is gonna be long and turn into an improvised analysis of Entrance Exam

So, that's the thing: Dazai was very much testing the ADA for the entirety of his entrance exam. He was figuring out clues and coming to conclusions much faster than Kunikida was, but he wouldn't tell him outright: he was artfully slipping half-clues into his conversations with Kunikida to see if he would pick up on them. And he did! Which made him a good potential partner! Because Dazai didn't expect the ADA to be on his level, but wanted them to be able to work with him. And then there was Ranpo who very much was on his level and Dazai fanboy'd about it.

so. my AU.

It's funny, since Dazai joins at 20, and Chuuya left at 16 (almost 17), that they still get their 4-year gap. Except! this time the roles are reversed and Chuuya wasn't quite concerned about hiding (that's a whole other subject). I can't imagine Dazai watching Chuuya "betray" (leave) the PM on his own without consequences only to join some do-gooders not too long after and not get curious. Wanting to study him under a microscope and all.

So Dazai would have some knowledge from observing the ADA and Chuuya from a distance. Basic stuff like what they do and roughly who works there. I would expect canon Dazai to have had similar knowledge before his entrance exam, but who knows.

There was probably something reassuring in Chuuya seemingly having found a place in the light after everything he went through. But it would also a good excuse for comparison and self-depreciation. Fortunately, Dazai is motivated by Oda's words and a never-ending need to one-up Chuuya. Imagine the embarrassment if he gave up on his best chance of helping people because he was afraid of facing Chuuya.

Now, Let's say Chuuya was accompanying Ranpo on that investigation out of town. When they get back, it's to a crisis, and a Dazai who has been there for a while.

Ranpo was the one to figure out Chuuya's past in this AU, he knows about his (short) time in the mafia, but Dazai and his ability were a well-kept secret of the PM. Chuuya wouldn't spoil that: he didn't leave out of hatred for the mafia, he left out of grief and because he had that opportunity. It would probably take Ranpo 3 seconds to connect the missing dots once Dazai is revealed: singularity -> can't stop it -> has been used 3 times -> still alive -> something to stop him -> nullification -> Dazai.

Everything hinges on Ranpo and what he knows of this new recruit before meeting him: Fukuzawa and Kunikida are suspicious of Dazai being sent to infiltrate them, Fukuzawa is willing to kill Dazai over these suspicions, Chuuya would recognize Dazai instantly and also get suspicious and, depending on his reaction, seal his fate.

FORTUNATELY we know Fukuzawa talked to Ranpo beforehand and canonically Ranpo took one good look at Dazai and decided he was fine. So I say Ranpo kept Chuuya distracted for the rest of that day. Kunikida still fake-shot Dazai, they still got the airplane back up (hush about Chuuya who could have caught it), Dazai still made an excellent impression on Kunikida, and everything went as smoothly.

Which would bring their confrontation to afterwards. The big finale with Sasaki happens a few days later, but Dazai vanishes during that time, presumably to investigate and corner her. That does leave us with the perfect opportunity for Dazai and Chuuya to cross paths (Chuuya would have heard Dazai's name at some point) and confront each other. I did mention Chuuya had a bit of a dark justice/vigilantism phase during his time with Murase before the ADA, and Dazai's objective at that moment is to bring an end to Sasaki by his own means, as the justice system would never be able to reach her, so... 🤝

Another fun thing about Entrance Exam is that Kunikida is always just on the verge of figuring out what Dazai's deal is, but Dazai keeps being stupid and annoying exactly during those moments, so Kunikida throws his doubts out the window along with Dazai every time.

In short, Ranpo would know Dazai and Chuuya used to know each other, skk would have their confrontation in private and shake hands over doing what the system can't handle, and Fukuzawa and Yosano might be able to connect the dots themselves after a while of watching them, but keep it silent.

Our beloved Kunikida came in too late to know Chuuya's backstory and had a similar instant annoyance and teamwork chemistry with Dazai that Chuuya seems to be also experiencing, so to him this is just Dazai weirdness. Any subsequent addition to the ADA would have no reason to question them.

[uesp]

"Wow, not a big tourist town huh?"

--A joke told by Rosalind Frenrick, the first arrival in the Clockwork City after roughly 100 years. The Clockwork Apostles did not laugh at this joke, or any other joke she knew.