#because the narrative lacked the courage of its convictions

[orchidego]

ao3 has taken me places I wouldn't even go to with a g*n

smoking on that dramione pack

( @ailenach asked me for a dramione rec list so that's what this post is, anyone else read at your own risk )

Compiler’s note - skip down to the list if you don’t need to know why/what exactly I like in fic!

aka my dramione ethos: The most compelling dynamic in a ship, for me, is when it comprises of two people giving each other the strength to be the people they need to be.

Before he can be loved, Draco must be redeemed. In a way, he’s awfully bad at being a blood supremacist (lacking real conviction). Draco’s Slytherin morality, at least as a teen, compels him only in the direction of protecting and preserving himself and his own; he doesn’t seem to have a morality outside of this. Everything else is borrowed from his fear and desire to conform to his loved ones’s expectations. Contrast with Hermione, who has an outsized sense of morality—she knows exactly what is good and right, and she throws herself into her causes with self-righteous conviction, headstrong and beautifully off-putting.

Draco, the boy who belonged everywhere, watched his fragile worldview turn to ash and became unmoored. Hermione, the girl who belonged nowhere, bent the world towards her through obstinate radiant willpower, and established herself. Two people who could, maybe, find a home in each other.

A Draco in love with Hermione might wrap his morality around her courage, might steady himself while in the service of her. A Hermione in love with Draco might be preserved by him, may be bolstered against burning out or being misunderstood or unseen. They’re both industrious with their respective tasks (she researches! he toils!), which lends itself to them having intellectual parity. They’re both kind of intense. Then there’s the general enemies to lovers appeal, the idea that at no point in time were these two characters ever indifferent towards each other. The banter potential alone…!

So this is some of the kind of exploration I like in fic, pressed in many different tones; ff is especially unique in that we can play around with the elements (AUs, contrived circumstances, tonal shifts, narrative beats) and be more experimental because the weight of canon grounds it.

My rec list:

Before I truly begin, I feel like I have to comment on it: I did ultimately enjoy Manacled. A "Voldemort wins" fic with a Handsmaid Tale twist; it has compelling structure, with a D/Hr dynamic suited to my tastes and what I find interesting about the characters. However, it's dark (mind the tags) and I’m still not certain if the content was handled as effectively as the author meant it to be, and so I don't think it's a universal recommendation despite its staggering popularity. If you do want to read this I would recommend downloading it because she's going to delete it off ao3 once the novelization of it comes out next year.

My quintessential dramione recommendation is, of course, The Disappearances of Draco Malfoy. It's a full Deathly Hallows rewrite where Draco goes Horcrux hunting with the trio and as far as I'm concerned, it's canon. Unlike every other fic on my list, I would recommend this to everyone. Written very closely in style to the books, I think it has universal appeal and it’s the perfect jumping off point for the pairing while being convincing. Sometimes I would find myself wishing that this was the direction the books had taken. PG-13, in terms of violence and sexual content, which I find significant enough to bring up since there’s usually a lot of sex in popular ff.

My favorite humor-based rec: Bad Omens. Written in the vein of Terry Pratchett. I would describe this as a "star-crossed morons" kind of story. It's literally perfect.

Remain Nameless. Caveat that this sort of trailed off for me once the central tension with the relationship was resolved but I think in terms of an adult redemption arc it was very sweetly done. Sometimes achingly tender.

The Fallout is probably my favorite “extended wartime” fic of all time. The intimacy in this makes me want to kms, in a good way. I'm linking to a downloadable pdf here since it's been removed off other sites.

Love in The Time of Zombie Apocalypse. Zombie outbreak AU. Strays from canon characterization but. Plot goes crazy. Complex character work. Hooked me all the way through.

Thirteenth Night. Post-war, Hermione assigned to monitor a memory-charmed Draco. Less epic than a lot of the other recs on this list because the scope of the world is small, but it’s quietly good.

This is just my plug for anything PacificRimbaud has ever written, but particularly the historical rom com Love and Other Historical Accidents, the raunchy and funny One and Done, and the tender romantic one-shot Les Pelerins.

BLOODY, SLUTTY, AND PATHETIC. Listen to me. Listen to me. The title sort of explains the tone and it carries entirely throughout. I am obsessed with this version of Draco. All men should be bloody slutty and pathetic. Post-war, ministry employee Hermione, marriage law AU (which tbh I don't tend to love usually, so this really is exceptional).

She Whom He Harbors. Ok before you read the summary/tags and judge me, yes, this is basically a "fuck or die" fic. I figured I needed to make the rec in case this is a vibe anyone is interested in pursuing. But it's not just gratuitous smut, I swear, there's a compelling plot here. Lot of orgasms. But there is a plot.

Brand New World. Epic in scope. Diverges in plot while they're still at Hogwarts. Great Draco redemption arc (which is important to me!)

The Gloriana Set. ThebeMoon is my personal queen of Hogwarts Eighth Year fics. I would also rec The Darkwood Wand, by the same author. Both very fun reads.

Things Without Remedy. Time travel! Adore the serious relationship build in this one.

Tea & Necromancy. Sort of an experimental tone. Equal parts funny and morbid.

Sucker Punch. Also would classify this as experimental; you'll know if you jive with the writing within a few paragraphs.

Choice and Chance. Absolutely delicious plot divergence at the point of Hermione's torture at Malfoy Manor. Involves multiverse elements.

Beyond Recall or Desire. If you like soulmate bonds!

Malfoy Shrugged. On the shorter side; just a great two-shot.

Tromp as Writ. While I'm recommending perfect one-shots.

Mindbound. This author has a series of very short works based on fairy tales. This one is my favorite but I'd recommend the others too.

Past / Present / Future. Barbara Kruger AND a perfect adult Draco characterization? J’adore.

My very last recommendation is something that is so important to me, but I'm separating it like this because it's a WIP whereas all the others are completed fics. Please don't let that deter you, if at all interested.

Lionheart. !!!!

What can I say about Lionheart, except that its author somehow resides in my brain and created something for me, specifically? I've really so rarely read fic that is so perfectly balanced in dialogue, character understanding, narrative arc, plotting, action—when I read this, I feel like how I felt at 11, reading Harry Potter. For real. It's a whole series rewrite, truly epic in scope, asking the question: what if Draco had been sorted into Gryffindor? Currently the storyline is complete as to book four, partially through book five, and being updated. The character work is especially stunning to me. This is the sweetest slowburn friendship-to-lovers of my dreams; obviously heavy on the friendship arc since we're not all the way through, and yet I find that my emotional investment in this is so heightened it doesn't even matter to me. I want to read thousands of words of this (luckily, it's already got 600k+ of those). Thank you greenTeacup, for my life.

I obviously have read more than this so if there are any specific tropes/interests/limitations you want a rec for, I'm open to give an opinion. Also I have my eye on a few fics that I just haven't read yet, so alas, this list is not perfectly complete. The next thing I want to read....Détraquée....

[whetstonefires]

Reverse Unpopular Opinion: Naruto

Hm! Only Positivity huh? I still don’t know why this is defined as Reverse Unpopular; some of my least popular opinions are already Thing Good.

Okay I actually really liked how Naruto (the manga, which I followed week to week for most of high school lol, hurrah for scanlators and rip mangafox) carried off the Big Twist about Itachi. The followthrough could have been better, as is the case with basically every element of the story, but the basic sell of Itachi’s real motives just landed really successfully, in my eyes.

There are a few reasons for that--mostly that it was the endpoint of quite a lot of direct buildup, of weird choices by Itachi that seemed just like his weird personality at a glance but which added together made foreshadowing, plus actual foreshadowing, followed by his absolutely bananas behavior during the climactic fraternal battle and the panel comp for his last words. Which really got me in the heart before I even had context.

But also that it snapped into place with a lot of the story’s strongest existing themes and tied them together in what looked at the time like the potential for a strong wicker sort of framework.

About the harm their society did its people and especially its children by molding them for war, and how seductively meaningful that shape could feel, going back to Haku. About cut-throat intra-clan bullshit going back to Neji.

About the weird emphasis placed on the concept of genius and its enforced advancement, going back to either the early Chuunin exam arc with Lee or earlier with Sasuke’s basic characterization. And about the fuckery that isolation wreaks on the psyche and how easy it is for authority figures to take advantage of vulnerable children, going back to literally the first chapter.

A lot of the time these twist-reveals that some baddie was Actually A Victim All Along are really unsatisfying, because they tend to diminish the horror of their crimes and even argue they were Justified.

With Itachi, the true story of the Uchiha Massacre was worse. Konoha’s government or a subset thereof (it was never clarified who was complicit) actively coercing a thirteen-year-old child into helping to kill his entire family and taking all the blame so they (that is Danzou) could avoid the potential repercussions of a civil war in the worst way possible while eliminating the Uchiha as internal political rivals is so much more deeply horrifying than a genius just snapping. Systemic rot is so, so much worse than individual violence.

(That’s why we as a society are encouraged to view crime as an individual thing, after all, and the prototypical criminal mind as the serial killer driven by nothing but deranged psychosexual needs.)

The fact that everything Itachi put Sasuke through was out of love and a desperate need to keep him alive, because Sasuke was who he loved most and the only thing he loved that he was allowed to save, that is so much more awful than it being out of hate. That that very love was cynically used to corral this child into leaving the corner he’d been backed into at an angle useful to others.

It’s obscene, but it pulls so many elements of the setting and characterization together.

And even though Itachi’s scheme technically went off exactly as planned, the narrative does not embrace it as in any way a good plan that reflected good judgment or even sanity. Which was nice.

The new version of What Really Happened is worse and it adds dimension to the past events being retconned rather than flattening them, which is cool and honestly difficult to pull off.

Also I love the premise of Itachi being, by nature, a very gentle person. Because that hasn’t stopped him from being a mass murdering serial killer, when the correct pressures were applied. He hates violence. He hates people being hurt.

No one ever cared what he wanted. And his family pressured him into a particularly violent and traumatic version of their murder career extra young for the prestige. And that was why, when more pressure came from different angles, he was already someone who could shut down his personal volition and kill whoever he was supposed to kill, no matter how much it hurt him.

They made him into a knife and he was turned against them. I go wild for that. It wasn’t right or fair and so many people died who weren’t directly at fault, but it is a closed circle. Which I find narratively satisfying.

-

Itachi also played interestingly against Gaara, the series’ previous benchmark for its recurring theme of Utterly Broken Boy, because he was walked a steady path down from Being At All Okay by the demands of the adults in his life, then took a really big hit, then just kept getting worse and worse without ever really snapping completely, but also without anybody ever even coming close to saving him.

While Gaara was betrayed by his family much harder and faster and in many ways more comprehensively, went completely insane when the big hit came, and then with Naruto’s help pulled himself together and ascended to a position of power, and began making things better and having positive sibling relationships.

Another thing that always struck me about the Real Itachi Backstory is that, because the breaking of him was conducted so much within the system--without kidnapping or sand demons talking in his head or social collapse or abandonment or even overt abuse or torture, unsanctioned wetworks divisions and insane cousins impersonating insane great-grandfathers notwithstanding--he makes it much easier to see the parallels between the way the ninja world eats its brightest stars alive very young, and the abusive expectations the real, contemporary school system tends to lay on high performers.

Fugaku’s abuse of Itachi is in some ways understated for fiction but also utterly deranged, in terms of the kind of gore and horror he pushed his genius child into confronting at such a young age. But it’s still sufficiently normalized within his society that it looks enough like a normal dad demanding outstanding academic achievement at all times to be really...the opposite of trippy. Strangely grounded for a relationship whose core  element is ‘refused to let son choose not to be a child soldier.’

I’m torn about the level of intentionality there.

Of course, salt incoming lol I can’t hold it back, praising this kind of thing in Naruto just brings attention to how the resolution of the story was unsatisfying, because it ultimately disengaged from all its major themes other than self-sacrifice and friendship being A Big Deal in order to bring a big finish and a firm conclusion.

Which...man looks like an even stupider decision in hindsight considering it now has a sequel. Hah.

[bookofmirth]

I would love your thoughts on Bryce 👀 seems like you have a lot

Yes I do 😭

Someone asked me this a couple of weeks ago and I have avoided the question because none of my thoughts about her are good. I was trying to get some distance and today is the day! No offense to anyone who likes her character, I completely respect that.

But to be frank, I don't like Bryce. Pretty much at all.

Bryce feels like she's trying really hard to be Aelin but lacks the courage of her convictions. Hell, Bryce lacks the convictions, too.

It really bums me out that I don't like Bryce because I have always loved sjm's main characters. Aelin? LOML. Feyre? I wish I could be that brave. Nesta? Would love to express myself. Lysandra? I too would like to cut a man someday.

But Bryce???? Ugh, Bryce.

I know what we are supposed to think about her. I know that Bryce is supposed to pretend to be a party girl so that people don't look at her too hard. But why can't they look? It's not like she's doing anything worthwhile that needs to be concealed. I appreciate that Bryce having a good time with her friends is valuable in its own right. I love that she has friends, and I love that she embraces her femininity. I love that we are supposed to take her seriously too, despite the things about her that are supposedly shallow.

But.... I don't take her seriously. She is shallow. I can't take her seriously when she is half human, and still doesn't understand why people would rebel. Not when her mother is treated like shit, and she still doesn't understand why people would rebel. Not when she watches what Hunt experiences being enslaved, when she is objectified and degraded for being human, when Sophie and Emile are hunted, and she is still like "*shrug* idk what those rebels are on about, they should really think about being Nice rebels."

REALLY????

I realize that this isn't just a Bryce problem, this is partly a narrative problem because humans are framed as being radical extremists who, while being constantly shit on, should definitely consider how to be nicer when they rebel. But Bryce should know better and she just... doesn't.

When she saved Emile, it felt so hollow. The sentiment behind it was admirable, the fact that he had value despite not having magic powers. I got verklempt. The fact that he had value because of the way that other people loved him was so poignant. But that whole thing felt like, again, Aelin Lite™️ because she was secretly doing things (which had no precedent but okay, we're just supposed to accept that Bryce is stealthy or whatever) and also shallow because she didn't think about the fact that Cormac also cared about Emile and was desperate to find him. She just... hid that from him, despite the fact that Emile has value in being loved for himself, Cormac loves Emile, and Bryce just doesn't make that connection???

I couldn't even remember, six weeks after reading hosab, what was driving Bryce in hosab. She doesn't seem to be doing anything out of any obligation or sense of morality or a personal goal or literally anything. She just keeps happening across stuff that Danika hid from her. I have zero idea what is driving Bryce, besides loving Hunt.

She just has no sense of the bigger picture, and I think that's what bothers me the most. She seems very very limited in her worldview, even when reasons for her to care are shoved all up in her face.

also I freaking hate her taste in clothes.

[firstagent]

Review: Digimon Adventure: (2020) Episode 61: A Place To Return To

In this episode, Takeru earns his merit badge by helping ElDoradimon cross a hill.

If the crests are all meant to represent attributes of each of the eight kids, that sure isn’t reflected in the kinds of stories we’re getting. While some of them are better at showcasing their traits than others, they’ve all fallen in the category of “needing additional power to stop the bad Digimon from doing bad things to not bad Digimon.” When you add in the variances among these bad Digimon, from evil spirits to possessed fanboys to not-really-all-that-bad pirates, it’s disappointing that the solution to all of them is still beating them into submission. That makes this story, slow and exhausting as it gets, an appreciated break from the norm, with no enemy other than physics and an outcome that still dials in on Takeru’s key attribute.

The most striking thing about this episode is that it doesn’t have an enemy at all. Or rather the enemy is a mountain if you’re into the whole “man vs. nature” brand of conflict. The fact that it’s anything other than some random antagonistic Digimon is eye-opening, to the point where you spend the entire episode waiting for someone (hey there Gravimon) to show up and try to kill everybody. That anticipation creates a sort of artificial suspense that carries you through until the end, when you realize the premise isn’t a buildup to anything. It’s just a long story about Takeru trying to do one good deed. Then it’s all kind of wholesome.

Wholesome doesn’t get far without substance, however, and along with Takeru’s unending need to get ElDoradimon over the mountain, there’s a quiet sociological examination going on with the other Digimon watching him. ElDoradimon wants to get over the mountain because his homeland or whatever is on the other side. The other Digimon in Leomon’s party don’t have homes at all anymore, refugees from Millenniumon’s destruction. Naturally more than a few of them are bitter about this. So is it worth going through the trouble of a cumbersome, maybe impossible task of helping somebody achieve the dream none of them will ever be able to realize? Not everyone’s on board immediately, and the fact that the show even takes time to ask the question deserves credit.

This is crystallized through Gravimon, a victim himself, one of the final holdouts, who even mocks the effort. Takeru wins him over with a surprising speech about how he’s in the same position. The low-hanging fruit here would have been talking about how he would like to go home at some point, a sentiment that nobody has brought up despite the length of their journey (and the fact that last we heard, this was all happening in real time!). Instead, Takeru brings up how the happy memories of his complete family will never happen again. That’s deep for an eight year old! For a series so afraid of diving into each kid’s story, it’s done an admirable job sneaking in genuine feelings over the Ishida divorce.

Takeru also gets a crest story that fully centers around hope without banging you over the head with it. After several dubious parables, Hikari and Koshiro’s certainly were about light and knowledge, but in a glaringly obvious way. Takeru’s show of hope comes in simply sticking to the belief that getting ElDoradimon up the mountain is actually possible. The task looks gargantuan, enough to make not only other Digimon, but the audience itself, question whether giving a single Digimon a spot of joy is really worth it. It’s honestly exhausting to watch. But he never wavers on this belief, and it’s that conviction that activates his power, wins over Gravimon, and leads to the miracle to make it work.

It’s not a shame that they resort to a miracle. Early on it felt like it needed one. The tragedy might be that even the most customized of stories all still amount to one of the kids digging deep and refusing to give up. Even without an actual enemy, it still requires a big show of force from a strong Digimon. It’s far too late for the show to redeem itself as far as character development or having a compelling narrative. It’s now in Hunters territory where the quality of an episode depends on its ability to tell a unique story on its own. Despite the format, we’ve only gotten a few in this arc. Its slow pace and lack of real action may not be the most exciting watch, but its success lies in doing things differently. With a show this banal, different is always appreciated.

My Grade: B

Loose Data:

It’s obvious why ElDoradimon was featured here, but his lack of vocabulary continues to make it hard to understand his thought process. He’s clearly relentless and he’s clearly happy to reach his goal, but everyone has to go off assumptions as to why.

This is now the second episode featuring the kids trying to make sure ElDoradimon gets from point A to point B without killing himself. A little strange that the emphasis with him remains his difficulty with elevation and not the fact that he’s a giant moving castle, the actual awesome thing that got him all the love in Savers.

He was first introduced on Cloud Continent. If we’re to believe this is his homeland, either this place is on Cloud or he made his way up there prior to the Devimon arc. Which means at some point, ElDoradimon somehow went from the lower continent all the way back up to Cloud. Now that’s what I want to watch.

Okay, A for effort and all, but I refuse to believe that Takeru and Patamon pushing ElDoradimon did a lick of good at the start.

Glad they started to work in ropes and pulleys and some sort of system to move him, but surely there had to be a smoother way to get to the other side of the mountain. Search for a pass or a river or swallows with string or something. You’d think it would cross somebody’s mind to consider possible smarter routes rather than straight over.

Boy, I’m already starting to cringe at how they’ll explain that the crest of courage could only be activated by Taichi bopping around from place to place helping his teammates out like original Sora in the Vamdemon arc. But man, that would have been the perfect framework for Yamato getting his crest of friendship.

See reviews of every Digimon episode at Digimon: System Restore! Support the site by joining our Patreon!

[nyerus]

His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince of XianLe -- Xie Lian

I wanted to do a little meta for Xie Lian to celebrate his birthday, about why he’s an incredible and unique character! One of my absolute faves. Happy Birthday Lianlian! ヽ(o´∀`)ﾉ♪♬

(Spoiler Warning!!!) (Also: massive length warning--get snacks!)

Xie Lian and The Hero’s Journey

One of the most interesting things about Xie Lian is that his personal arc starts near the end. Meaning that he is already nearly fully-realized by the time we meet him in book 1. He has only a few steps left in his classical Hero’s Journey, since TGCF starts in media res. A lot of his growth has been completed--which we witness more first-hand in books 2 and 4--so by the time we meet Xie Lian, he is already endured the most painful of his trials. It leaves him with the traits readers first pick up on: calm, confident, humble, and kind.

The main steps he has left to complete in his journey are the quintessential “atonement with the Father” and his “return home.” These stages of the Hero’s Journey are actually played somewhat straight in TGCF, and the former stage is actually the main plot of the novel. The stages are not meant to be literal, but metaphorical tools for literary analysis, as most books we read employ them in one way or another. TGCF does so as well, just out of order. So Xie Lian’s confrontation with Jun Wu (atonement), then getting his happy ending with Hua Cheng (return home) are the respective stages we see play out in the “present” narrative.

(However, he does have a “call to action stage” nestled within the present-time plotline. One can almost think of this as one Hero’s Journey nestled inside another.)

Xie Lian and The Heaven’s Will

The Heavens shook spectacularly when Xie Lian ascended. Each ascension, the Heavens greeted him with grandeur, even on what he considered his “fluke” of a second. And on his third ascension, the Heavens announced his return in a way that no one had ever seen before--by astonishing all its residents; bringing down the gilded palaces of other gods, and having the ancient clock sound off so fervently that it broke free of its hinges.

There is a lot of symbolism in this alone.

While Xie Lian’s narration (and the reactions of the other heavenly officials, including Ling Wen) paints his third ascension as a mix of comedic and tragic, we can interpret this scene differently. Xie Lian is the only one to have ascended thrice. He is the only one for whom the Heavens shook so powerfully. It isn’t because he’s a disgraced laughing stock--it’s because the Heaven know his true character, and his true strength.

(As an aside--see this post of mine about Heaven as an entity, separate from the Heavenly Capital and gods therein.)

It isn’t a big stretch to conclude that the Heavens show Xie Lian a particular amount of favoritism that it doesn’t to anyone else. One of the explanations for this could be that Xie Lian is the closest thing to the physical representation of the Heaven’s Will™.

This isn’t to say that Xie Lian is perfect. He isn’t, by any means. But he doesn’t have to be. Further thinking of the Heavens along the classic Taoist principles that TGCF draws from, the point is that Xie Lian tries. He works hard with what he has, embraces his fate and destiny, and makes the best of it as much as he can. Xie Lian himself doesn’t set out to be perfect. That is not his goal. His goal is to be a good person who is able to help people. He is morally upright, sincere, and humble. He seeks to maintain balance. These are treasured qualities.

Ultimately, he is human. He makes grievous mistakes, he makes bad decisions, and so on. But at the end of the day, Xie Lian lacks no conviction about his ideology. Even though he endured hell, and very nearly succumbed to darkness, there was always a part of him that held onto that notion that people were worth saving. Even at his worst, he still hesitated before causing harm. And when the man with the bamboo hat helped him--just a single gesture--it was enough for Xie Lian to rediscover that part of himself. His beliefs were re-affirmed, and he found the strength he needed to carry them.

The Heavens did not penalize Xie Lian for needing help. In fact, they rewarded him with ascension itself. When Xie Lian accepted his grief, he began to overcome it. He refused to fall into total despair--and while the actual nature of his second ascension are ambiguous, it’s probable that this is why he ascended. Not because he fought against Bai Wuxiang (because he wasn’t even the one to “win” that battle physically), but because he stood against him in the first place. Xie Lian’s grief, subsequent resolve, and decision to ultimately oppose everything Bai Wuxiang represented--THAT was his Heavenly Tribulation. And he passed with flying colors (much to Jun Wu’s intense fury).

[CONTINUED UNDER CUT DUE TO LENGTH.]

What it fundamentally comes down to, is that Xie Lian chooses to be compassionate. He does so even and especially in the face of adversity. Choosing to be kind when it is the hardest path of all is the mark of true courage and strength. It can’t be said it enough: Xie Lian very consciously makes the choice to do good even when it is hard for him. Even when he doesn’t want to. Because being a good and moral person doesn’t mean that you never have negative thoughts, and for sure Xie Lian gets frustrated and upse. It doesn’t mean you never make mistakes or never hurt people, because Xie Lian has done all those things before as well. After all, he is human, god or not. Things are not black-and-white, and never will be. But staying true to one’s ideals is what matters.

When Xie Lian made the decision to help Yong’An during the drought, for example, he knew it may be futile. He knew that he was breaking rules, going against what everyone else was saying. But he knew in his heart that it was the morally responsible thing to do. He is not the type of person to sit by quietly when there are people in need. He cannot see injustice and despair, and turn a blind eye to it. It also isn’t necessary (or even possible) for him to help literally everyone--as he learns the hard way. But doing what he can, where he can--that’s more than enough for Heaven to favor him. Because that’s the sign of someone who is genuinely compassionate and just.

So it’s no wonder that the Heavens favored him more than others. With a pure heart and strong sense of justice, while still being humble and patient--that’s all the Heavens need.

It’s even ironic that Xie Lian spoke out against the very “Heavens” themselves in book 2, at the height of his pride. But he was actually speaking out against the institution of heaven, and the overly-conservative beliefs that the gods (Heavenly Officials) held. Xie Lian has an extremely non-traditional view of looking at things.

His ideas go against the grain of what has been held true to the people of the world for centuries, but are actually in line with many modern philosophies--that one should not give much importance to idol worship, and instead focus on doing good deeds. That gods, being immortal ascended humans, should display the same humility and temperance; that they not hold themselves in higher regard or expect others to be subservient or fearful. This could very much be in line with what the Heaven’s will actually may be. Why the Heavens favor him so--because Xie Lian understands, in every sense, that gods are only human.

Xie Lian’s Character Growth

“I WON’T CHANGE! EVEN IF IT’S PAINFUL, I WON’T CHANGE. EVEN IF I DIE, I WON’T CHANGE. I WILL NEVER CHANGE!” (ch.239)

That’s the big thing about Xie Lian. It’s what sets him apart from many other characters. From the beginning to the end of his journey, his motivations and beliefs do not change. Only the nature of his motivations, and the basis of his beliefs change. That is to say, he believed that helping others was the right thing to do when he was 17 years old. 800 years later, he still feels this way. It’s just that he approaches the concept differently.

As a teenager, he was naive and coming from a place of high privilege. He was unable to understand the true plights of the common man, and his concepts of helping them--while still noble and morally just--were often somewhat patronizing. His heart was in the right place, but he was simply too young and too sheltered. He also fundamentally overestimated his own capability to help others, while underestimating the negative forces at play that would actively work against him. But 800 years later, Xie Lian has gone through hell and back. He knows better than anyone what it means to struggle, to suffer, to hope, to persevere. He still wants to help the common man, but now it comes from a place of understanding and humility. (The tragedy is, if he were allowed to grow up “normally,” he very much may have grown out of his naiveté and youthful arrogance anyway, after gaining more worldly experience. He was robbed of that chance.)

So Xie Lian chooses to be optimistic about life in general. He knows that he will get hurt by doing this. That people will take advantage of him. He knows, and yet, he continues to hold true to his principles. He neither asks nor expects people to thank him for it, or even understand him (as many people simply don’t). He does it because what other people think or even deserve is not his concern. It comes down to what he believes. That’s just the type of character he is--which is to say: fantastic.

TLDR; Xie Lian Best Boi!!!

[mediaevalmusereads]

Matrix. By Lauren Groff. New York: Riverhead Books, 2021.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Genre: historical fiction

Part of a Series? No

Summary: Cast out of the royal court by Eleanor of Aquitaine, deemed too coarse and rough-hewn for marriage or courtly life, seventeen-year-old Marie de France is sent to England to be the new prioress of an impoverished abbey, its nuns on the brink of starvation and beset by disease. At first taken aback by the severity of her new life, Marie finds focus and love in collective life with her singular and mercurial sisters. In this crucible, Marie steadily supplants her desire for family, for her homeland, for the passions of her youth with something new to her: devotion to her sisters, and a conviction in her own divine visions. Marie, born the last in a long line of women warriors and crusaders, is determined to chart a bold new course for the women she now leads and protects. But in a world that is shifting and corroding in frightening ways, one that can never reconcile itself with her existence, will the sheer force of Marie's vision be bulwark enough? Equally alive to the sacred and the profane, Matrix gathers currents of violence, sensuality, and religious ecstasy in a mesmerizing portrait of consuming passion, aberrant faith, and a woman that history moves both through and around. Lauren Groff's new novel, her first since Fates and Furies, is a defiant and timely exploration of the raw power of female creativity in a corrupted world.

***Full review under the cut.***

Content Warnings: blood, violence, gore, childbirth, threats of rape

Overview: As a medievalist, I’m admittedly a little picky when it comes to my historical fiction set in the Middle Ages, but because this book was about Marie de France, I decided to give it a go. While I do think that Groff is a talented writer, I ultimately felt let down by Matrix; when I think about Marie de France, I think of her lais and the magic she weaves into them (not literal magic, mind you, but things like the power of women, courtly love, lush atmosphere, etc). This book, by contrast, contained very few of the themes that make Marie’s work so memorable, to the point where the less you know about the real Marie de France, the better. Instead of exploring the mind of the woman who wrote such wonderful, magical tales, we get the story of a nun who brings an impoverished abbey to prosperity. It’s a fine story, don’t get me wrong - it’s just not one I’d associate with Marie de France. Honestly, I think Groff would have had more success writing about her own original character, taking inspiration from mystics like Julian of Norwich or Margery Kempe. Thus, this book only gets 3 stars from me.

Writing: Groff’s prose is beautifully crafted with evocative imagery that is also easy to read. Everything flows well and moves at a quick pace, so readers won’t feel bogged down by details such as the day-to-day work at the abbey or some such. This book also uses present tense to narrate the story, and while I’m not usually a fan of the present tense, I think Groff made it work. The narrative feels energetic and grounded, and I think it combined well with the technique of using run-on sentences from time to time to convey the feeling of being caught up in the moment or lost in thought.

Plot: The plot of this book mainly follows Marie de France as she is yanked from her life at the French court and placed in charged of a poor English abbey. We follow Marie as she rises through the ranks and brings the abbey to prosperity, all while wrangling unruly nuns and doing her best to convince Eleanor of Aquitaine to come for a visit.

I think I would have enjoyed this plot more if the protagonist were someone other than Marie de France. As I said in my intro, the story isn’t an exploration of the inner workings of the mind of a (female) medieval poet; rather, it’s a story about a woman obsessed with her own power and reputation within the Church. The lais themselves get only about 3 pages of mention, and it felt like none of the themes that we associate with Marie’s real-life lais made it into this novel. While I did appreciate the little nods to history here and there (for example, the description of one of the nuns sticking a paintbrush in her mouth and getting lapis lazuli in her teeth), there wasn’t enough in this book to made the story feel fresh or new. Perhaps Groff was working with the theory that Marie de France was Marie, Abbess of Shaftesbury, but even so, the lack of attention to the lais and how they’d complicate our expectations or assumptions about the life of a medieval nun was baffling to me. Personally, I think Groff would have had more success if the book was “about” Marie, Abbess of Shaftesbury, or about an original character, inspired by female mystics such as Julian of Norwich or Margery Kempe.

I also wasn’t enthusiastic about the way Groff chooses to present her “feminist utopia” of an abbey staffed with only women. Despite the desire for Marie to protect her nuns from male violence and power, not much work is put into describing the abbey as a haven. Instead, Marie imposes her own will onto others and replicates the power hierarchies that she is (supposedly) so desperate to escape. I think I would have liked this book better if the author could have looked for the ways in which abbey life could have been a solace to the women. For example, maybe the daily routine provides comfort for those struggling with the chaos of the outside world. Maybe the queer nuns finally find a place that feels safe for them to express their affection for other women. Anything that complicated our modern assumptions about medieval Christianity would have been welcome; instead, I felt like I got a lot of “barbaric Middle Ages.”

I guess I’m being harsh in that Marie explicitly says that she thinks women are only safeguarded by their reputations. Thus, all of her actions are in service to cultivating a particular image of herself and the abbey (imposing, impregnable, protected by magic, etc). I think this could have been more satisfying for me if A.) again, we weren’t reading a story about “Marie de France,” or B.) the novel was very self-conscious about the fact that Marie was manipulating the perspectives of others.

Characters: Marie, our main protagonist, is confusing and difficult to like. Originally, she’s too cool for school; she arrives at the abbey more than a little skeptical of Christianity, and she judges the other nuns around her rather harshly (even though some deserve it, but still - there was this “not like other girls” vibe that I didn’t like). The novel tells us that she was a child crusader, which seems odd for one not invested in Christianity, and then never really does anything with that except use it to instill fear in people who are uncomfortable with her “imposing” demeanor. After a few years, Marie becomes devout to the point where she’s having divine visions, like e medieval mystic. The switch felt fairly abrupt, and Marie’s ruthless pursuit of power and prosperity was admittedly a little tired at times. The only things I liked about her were her queerness and obsession with Eleanor of Aquitaine. Queerness is fairly commonplace, which is refreshing; even though Marie struggles with the idea of whether it is a sin or not to have carnal desires for other women, I did appreciate that wlw relationships were everywhere within the abbey, not just between Marie and a single other nun. Marie’s obsession with Eleanor was also interesting in that it bordered on erotic obsession and made manifest the pains unreciprocated love, mirroring courtly love in real medieval literature. I liked how Marie strove to please Eleanor in everything that she did, and loving the Queen from a distance put an interesting spin on courtly love between two women.

Eleanor, for her part, was intriguing because she was something of a mystery. We mainly saw her though Marie’s eyes, which meant that she was held up as a paragon - of beauty, of intelligence, of courage, etc. When we do finally see Eleanor in the flesh (so to speak), she doesn’t quite live up to Marie’s hype, and I liked the conflict between reality and the lover’s image of the beloved.

Most other characters blurred together for me. There are many nuns at the abbey, and most of them have quirks or jobs that make them unique. In that respect, I liked how Groff made each nun feel like an individual, and that they all came together to form a community. What I didn’t really like, however, was how they always seemed to be in conflict. Aside from a couple characters, it didn’t seem like any of the women had any close relationships; rather, I felt like the women were frequently in conflict or at least consistently incompatible in some way or another. If Groff really wanted to paint the abbey as some kind of haven or utopia, I think having more of the nuns find emotional intimacy with one another would have gone a long way. Even if some of the women didn’t get along, I would have liked to see more positive relationships rather than negative or impersonal ones.

TL;DR: Matrix is ultimately a compelling novel about running an abbey, but a poor imagining of real-life poet Marie de France. While there is much to admire about Groff’s prose and the book would have been a fine work of historical fiction if written about, say, the Abbess of Shaftesbury, the narrative is unfulfilling for those who are familiar with the lais of Marie de France, primarily because none of the core themes from the medieval poems play major roles in Groff’s novel.

[maxparkhurst]

Apprentice

October 23rd Alchemical Theories Maxinora Parkhurst

“Ouroboros. The concept of infinity. Foundation of all alchemical knowledge. Azeroth is composed of unifying properties which connect us all in a single narrative written by the same hand. It cycles. Spring turns to Fall. Oceans turn to deserts. And back again. Everything is evolving around us to become a better version of what it was yesterday. Purification. Lead, when no longer useful as lead, will turn to gold. That is its legacy. Its purpose. Its destiny. That is the Master Work.

I would like to know my own destiny. Where are these threads leading me? Am I part of something bigger than myself, or am I to be a grain of salt in the creation of an ocean? You’d think it’d be disheartening to be a single grain of salt. Insignificant and small. But without the one grain, and without the conjoined efforts of millions of grains, then the sea wouldn’t be what it is today. And with no ocean, there’d be no waves. And no waves means no motion.

See? Everything’s connected. Destiny written by the same hand. I don’t believe in fate. Fate means otherworldly elements are at play and we are subject to their mercy. There is no control in fate. But destiny is different. Destiny is opportunity. And the whole of the universe conspires for your success in achieving your destiny. You just have to listen.

You need to take action and listen.

Because there is no coincidence...”

Eight Years Ago

3212 Richmond Way Mariners Row, Boralus

Max reread the address over and over again until it floated on the backs of her eyelids like sunspots. Richmond Way. She didn’t need to  look up from her missive. She knew the route by heart. It was the same one she took every morning for the last four years. Those were brighter days. The nostalgia brought a smile to Max’s lips as she hooked a left at the tavern and slipped into its alley. Fourteen seemed a bit early to be reminiscing about “brighter days.”

But that’s what they were. At ten years old, the world looked bright and hopeful as she walked hand-in-hand with Papa. The air was crisp but Papa’s coat was warm. An electricity coursed through her tiny body as she stood beaming before the oak door. Little did she know that she was standing not at someone’s front stoop, but at a precarious precipice. And when the door opened on creaky hinges, she too opened herself to opportunity. She opened herself to…

Destiny, Max thought ruefully, dragging her gaze up from the letter.

The meaning of this door changed in a single season. Where once sat a source of vigor and pride- knowing each day she toiled was another day closer to the Master Work-, now lay an empty husk full of unrequited dreams. She pursed her lips and stole a glance down to the weighted satchel at her hip. It bulged with parcels and letters waiting to be delivered. This was her des-No. This was her job now. And this door was only a stop along the way.

A finger drummed against the missive in tandem to her beating heart. She didn’t have the courage to face the proprietor since placing her resignation. She didn’t want to be talked out of her decision. Slipping the letter under his door looked like a good option until it swung open.

Max bit back a yelp as she leapt back. She swallowed back her heart- which had crawled up into her throat- and dropped her gaze to the floor. A pair of well-loved loafers stood on the shop’s welcome mat. They looked the same as the last time she saw them all of six months ago. She addressed those loafers as she extended out the letter.

“Letter from the Harbor Master’s Office….” She licked her lips and took a steeling breath. Her jaw locked around the flood of emotions bearing down on her chest. “For you, Master Reynolds.” The name still tasted bittersweet. She barely choked it out.

Nimble fingers brushed against her own as the elderly Alchemist took up his letter. They lingered there a second longer than expected. It made Max’s heart twist itself in knots. She counted the seconds, waiting for the lecture. But it never came. She found herself, instead, pulling her gaze up to meet wrinkled eyes twinkling with unspoken wisdom.

She expected to find resentment in them. Her father paid good money for her apprenticeship, and even then she had to convince him she was a worthy disciple. In the hours they spent together each day, Master Reynolds taught Max the secrets of the world. Everything, she learned, is really just made up of smaller things. She learned how to deconstruct them into their basic components and put them back together in a different order to make something new. Master Reynolds was a reservoir of knowledge from which Max eagerly drank. It was all taking. And Reynolds, being a generous man, never weaned the stream. He cultivated her thirst and encouraged her curiosity. And she repaid him by quitting.

Writing out her resignation letter felt like betrayal. Every word stung as she fervently wrote by candle light.

Dear Master Reynolds,

It is with a heavy heart and sober mind that I formally resign as your apprentice.

Signed, M. Park

She kept it short.

The last she saw the shop was when she slid her resignation under the door well before dawn. She bolted out of the alley as soon as the letter slipped through the crevice and didn’t look back. He had every reason to resent his former apprentice. And as she stood before him, she searched for any hint of malice in those black eyes and was taken back by the lack thereof.

Master Reynold rested his hands on top of his cane and inclined his head back. He regarded Max with a disquiet smile. “It’s good to see you, Maxinora.” His gaze darted to the satchel at her hip. Amusement twinkled in his eyes. “You’re a courier now” -he said it more as a statement rather than a question- “Interesting.”

Max hid her satchel behind her back with a huff.

“Yes, sir. I work for the Harbor Master’s Office delivering mail. Ten copper an hour.”

Two bushy brows rose to meet each other as he breathed a gentle hum. “A fair wage,” he remarked.

Max curtly nodded. “Yes, sir,” - she turned to leave- “Am I dismissed?”

“How are you doing?” His eyes pinned her to the spot, much like they always had when she was an apprentice, and held her gaze.

“Fine…” she drawled, unable to break the spell his eyes cast.

They creased under the weight of a sad smile as he dared a step closer. He clapped a hand on her shoulder. It sent an electric shock down her spine. “You look tired…” Max obliged the statement with a nod. Tired didn’t begin to describe the pure exhaustion pressing against her eyes. She slept little since the funeral. Augustine kept her up most every night, crying into his pillow over nightmares. She’d stay awake and console him until he tired himself out. Sometimes that wouldn’t happen until almost dawn and her shifts started an hour afterwards. She started siphoning coffee from their Aunt’s stash just to stay awake.

Master Reynold’s seemed to sense all of this by her simple nod.

“Come inside.”

***

The scent of sulfur and dust made Max’s heart swell with nostalgia. Waves of comfort lapped at the edge of her tired mind as she sunk further in the overstuffed armchair. Its crushed velveteen reminded her of the time she stayed the night in Master Reynold’s parlor. She had spent the day toiling over her studies, nose buried in her books, when exhaustion finally hit. She passed out at her desk. The minutes that followed were murky. All she remembered was opening her eyes at the feeling of a warm blanket draped over her shoulders and the cold press of velveteen. Even now, its soft touch made her eyes heavy with sleep.

Half-lidded eyes tracked Master Reynolds' path through the parlor as he arrived from another room with a tea tray. He sat it down on the coffee table and he eased himself in an opposing chair. She slumped further into the chair, hugging herself to keep from shivering, and waited for him to say something. She was met with an eerie silence as their gazes drifted in tandem to the vacant fireplace. Another shiver ran down her back. Max frowned. She wished he’d light it. It was always so awfully cold in the shop.

“Are you mad at me for leaving?”

Her quiet voice broke the silence. The weakness in it made Max wince. Where was that conviction from a few minutes ago?

‘Why are you scared?’ she asked, looking to her shadow cowering in the corner. ‘He’s just an old man.’

Because his words hold weight.

And that was a fact she could not deny. His words held an immense weight over Max. The point was made all the more clear as she heard him stir and heave a sigh. 

“No.”

The single word made her heart skip a beat.

“Disappointed?’ she tried, dragging her gaze up.

Master Reynolds kept his eyes trained on the empty fireplace. “No.”

“Frustrated?”

Max recoiled as his gaze snapped back. Melancholy lurked in those endless black pools. “Saddened,” he remarked, shifting in his chair. His brows dropped in a furrow. “You had great potential, Maxinora. A sharp mind and an endless curiosity.” His shoulders buckled as he choked out another sigh. These words, she realized, were taking just as much of a physical toll from the elderly man as a mental one. “Those are qualities for a great alchemist. It’s a shame you’re wasting it.”

He waved a hand down to the tea sitting before them. “Please. Have a cup.”

Max shook her head with a grimace. “I don’t like tea.”

“Shame.”

Master Reynolds leaned forward on his cane and poured himself a steaming cup. Max caught him stealing a quick glance up at her before he settled back in his seat. Inklings of relief seeped into his weary smile when the first sip of tea touched his lips. He drank quietly, leaving Max to simmer in her emotions

Max watched the color drain from her knuckles as she curled her hands into fists. This was the exact thing she was trying to avoid. She knew this decision to be the right one, the best one,  and she didn’t want to be talked out of it.

“Someone has to take care of Augustine,” she blurted out.

“And that should be you?” he retorted. Max opened her mouth but he silenced her with an upheld palm. “Do you remember the first book I had you read?”

“Book of Mythos. Just a bunch of folk tales about the Old Ways. But tha-”

“And which did I have you analyze?” he continued, peering at Max over the lip of his mug with a lofted brow.

“Geohel and The Needle Point.”

“Good,” he hummed. Amusement glimmered in his eyes as he offered Max an encouraging smile. She ignored the butterflies it kicked up in her stomach. “And as you may recall, Geohel never found his needle-

“Because he was too focused on finding the point” they both said in unison.

Max deflated into the cushion and rolled her eyes. “I know this already.”

“But do you understand it?”

The question struck a nerve with Max. She tossed him a skeptical look. “What are you implying?”

Master Reynolds pushed himself up with a groan and shuffled to the one of the many bookcases lining the parlor. Max watched him from the corner of her eye. His brittle fingers traced the line of books, like a farmer scouring his field for the ripest fruit, before plucking volumes from their nests. “Your drive,” he remarked, “Is both your greatest quality and worst fault.” He stacked the volumes in an old shipment box. Max recognized it as a crate used for his orders of vials. She knew it well because she used to be the one to unpack them. Seeing an empty one now made her wonder if Master Reynolds had already found someone to take her place.

“It narrows your perspective. Makes you see with tunnel vision.” Master Reynolds continued to fill the box with books. When he looked satisfied with the mound of reading material, he moved on to the collection of antique equipment displayed along the mantle. An alembic, cucurbit, and a distillation chamber were all placed inside the box with care. “You need to learn to open your mind to other options, Maxinora. The world is not so black and white as you might think. One thing doesn’t mean the other. The world is made up of-”

“Cycles,” Max interjected, turning in her chair to catch a glimpse of her former mentor.

He smiled back. The pride shining in his eyes made her heart seize and sink into her stomach. “Yes,” he breathed, turning his gaze back onto the box, “Cycles. Azeroth is a wondrous world. Equal parts science to magic. Not one or the other.” He beckoned her to come hither. “Do you understand?” Max  rose from her seat and approached Master Reynolds. Her eyes were glued to the crate the whole time. “I think so…”

Master Reynolds solemnly nodded. “I don’t expect you to return to your apprenticeship. However, you may have this,” -he slid the crate closer- “To continue your studies are your own leisure.”

Max looked from the crate to Master Reynolds and back again. She eased the alembic out and turned it between her fingers. The crystal glistened in the dim light, reflecting back her beaming smile. My own alchemy equipment. She could barely contain the giddiness tingling in her fingertips; it was like electricity was coursing through her blood. She recognized this feeling. It was the same as the day she first stepped into the shop. She was standing on the cusp of destiny.

“As you venture forth,” she heard Master Reynolds say over her shoulder, “Never forget the First Law.” He clapped a hand on either of her shoulders. “To obtain anything, something of equal value must be lost.”

Max turned the alembic so the crystal caught his reflection. She balked at the grim expression he wore as he turned his gaze back to the empty fireplace.

“As it is written,” he breathed.

“... As it is written,” she echoed.

And so it was written.

[jamestaylorswift]

You're so mind-blowingly brilliant -- your posts never cease to make my day! I don't even have a tumblr account, but I check your page at least ten times/day, hoping for a new analysis. Reading your essay on "folklore"'s dreamscape felt like an acid trip in the best possible way. Please share your thoughts on the original "Cardigan" lyrics ASAP!

Thanks, anon! You’ve got me blushing like a damn fool over here 😊 You’re always welcome on this blog, lurking or otherwise!

Okay so this is more a line of reasoning that starts at the OG “cardigan,” not just lyric analysis. I’m not exactly sure how to organize all these thoughts so I’m just going to put them in the order that they came. Apologies if this is a mess. (And under a cut because I can’t shut up lmao)

To me, the OG “cardigan” is the antithesis of the song as we now know it. That got me thinking about how the core of the album might have been much different too.

The album-making process started with “my tears ricochet.” (I believe this song is from Karlie’s point of view, per the notes in the dreamscape essay.) I’m assuming Taylor didn’t edit this song much. She has implied in the past that a song is “written” when it takes musical form (i.e. lyrics literally get put to a track). The idea of a dead lover is also extremely compelling. She made “cardigan,” “seven,” and “peace” next.

It’s likely that these four songs represent folklore’s original ideological pillars. The common thread of Aaron’s three songs (both versions of “cardigan”) is the idea of age or maturity. “peace” and “seven” are age-related endpoints and “cardigan” is a midway point. “my tears ricochet” happens to be an endpoint (i.e. dying, as opposed to reaching an adult maturity).

From these songs, I extrapolate that Taylor wanted to explore emotional growth specifically by addressing Peter Pan and Wendy’s philosophical disagreement. (Also…veer off into gay childhood trauma.) “peace” is about the strongest argument anyone could make in favor of Wendy—growing up is necessary, especially in order to love and treat someone properly. (This song even argues for mutual maturity/understanding.) “my tears ricochet” is the fallout if two people end up fighting with each other, not for each other. OG “cardigan” comes down on Peter’s side—if given the choice to preserve youth or yield to age, one should prefer the former. The album was to transform an endorsement of Peter into an endorsement of Wendy.

The three songs done with Aaron were likely written to appear in the order they do today: “cardigan” as exposition, then “seven,” then “peace.” Observe that to chart a course hitting all four songs, Taylor has to align OG “cardigan” with “my tears ricochet.” “seven” can stand on its own, provided she pads it with enough storytelling. “peace” and “my tears ricochet” cannot both be endpoints of the story, especially because they are at odds with each other. The mutual understanding in “peace” is not at all consistent with the hatred and sadness in “my tears ricochet.” Thus, the track list requires the partial ordering of OG “cardigan,” then “my tears ricochet,” then (much later) “peace.”

Let’s talk about OG “cardigan.” The first verse paints the potrait of Karlie. “Vintage tee, brand new phone // high heels on cobblestones // when you are young they assume you know nothing” alludes to the glamor of modeling, plus its stereotype as the profession of being young, dumb, and beautiful. “Livin’ in a gold age // sneakin’ to my bird cage” reintroduces the tension of reputation, youth and freedom at odds with oppressive forces. “Laughin’ like a damn fool // breakin’ every damn rule” contrasts the characterization of Karlie in the verse. She instead has a marvelous time being hot, smart, and moderately evil. Through this contrast, Taylor suggests that the power of youth is the freedom to choose to ignore very serious problems (pseudo-escapism?). The OG outro full of zingers is Taylor’s perspective as someone who gets burned by the freedom of choice. Young Karlie leaves young Taylor because the high of reputation-era antics wears off. Then, old Taylor, still affected by this loss, also loses her mind in a reverse-“Don’t Blame Me” kinda way.

Word choice, to me, suggests that “cardigan” was originally conceived not as the Breakup Song of the Cenozoic Era but a narrative partner of “illicit affairs.” Karlie and Taylor are on the same team in OG “cardigan.” They have a marvelous time being hot, smart, and moderately evil and breaking all the damn rules together. “You know damn well // for you I would ruin myself” gets spit back in Taylor’s face and is that much more impactful. 

Karlie is justified in leaving because the moment dies. This phrase describes a relationship that mutually and/or slowly dwindles. Karlie makes a decision to leave and save herself, and indeed makes the better choice because she retains her wild and her sanity. Hence, Peter wins the argument.

It’s unclear when “exile” was written, but I think it was early on in the process because Taylor added bird noises to it. “exile” plus OG “cardigan”/“illicit affairs” illustrates two joint affairs, such as double bearding. Pronoun issues with the second verse of “cardigan” aside, Karlie’s eventual downfall (i.e. the emotional end of “illicit affairs”) is implied to be a result of Taylor…also cheating? Maybe it’s the whole Friends “we were on a break” thing. (IDK, I’ve never actually seen Friends.)

OG “cardigan,” “illicit affairs,” and “exile” were once closely affiliated. More pertinently, by the partial ordering, “illicit affairs” and “exile” were meant to explain how OG “cardigan” connects to “my tears ricochet.” Karlie leaves Taylor during their illicit affair; the affair ruins Karlie; Karlie dies and Taylor shows up at the funeral because she’s pissed; Karlie becomes a vengeful ghost and Taylor is also emotionally ruined forever. Scene.

But these are not the connections that Taylor put out into the world. Obviously we can never know precisely why. One thing that does stick out to me, though, is how hard it is to turn around and align with Wendy given the illicit affair narrative.

In “peace,” Taylor shows her own maturity by acknowledging that she was cowardly and dishonorable. For what? Karlie left her in OG “cardigan,” not the other way around. Taylor runs away with someone else in “exile” (“him”), ostensibly to enjoy a more stable relationship. Her playing the role of the angry funeralgoer in “my tears ricochet” is perfectly reasonable. Taylor was promised love and Karlie didn’t give her what she needed, so she moved on. Therefore, we should conclude that maturity is really…hanging onto someone who doesn’t stay? Having the courage to stay in an incredibly tenuous affair? Apparently, one also must be cheated on in order to mature. These are all strange conclusions.

Taylor illustrates Karlie’s maturity with a monologue of numerous promises—of pretty much everything except peace itself. The illicit affair narrative does strongly support the argument that maturity is learning how to stay true to one’s word. Yet its logical beginning is that one must cheat on another—plus be unfaithful to the person they are cheating with—in order to mature. (Karlie gets burned by the freedom of choice only when she later faces the consequences of the affair.) Also strange.

The illicit affair narrative as a primary emotional catalyst of the album generates even bigger inconsistencies.

“august” both humanizes the person cheated with and leaves them worse off than the cheater. “my tears ricochet” emphasizes the opposite: the one cheated with stays alive and becomes a very ugly person, but the cheater dies.

Arguably, both people should have anticipated the fallout of the (implied to be years-long) affair. “my tears ricochet” is internally inconsistent. “I didn’t have it in myself to go with grace” suggests Karlie died an unfortunate or unforeseen death, not an inevitable one. “You turned into your worst fears” suggests Taylor turned around and became a cheater too.

“invisible string” can support the argument that Taylor and Karlie were always bound to get back together after a breakup. Morally dubious underwriting of the initial affair notwithstanding, this song contradicts “mad woman.” Taylor wrote “mad woman” song shortly after “peace;” in it, she is staunchly against cheating. (She avoids morally dubious underwriting of illicit activity on the album by axing the OG “cardigan”/“illicit affairs”/“exile” narrative, then condemning cheating and seducing in “mad woman” and “illicit affairs,” respectively.)

Again, it is impossible to know when, why, or even exactly how the narrative of the album changed as Taylor was writing it. The dramatization I’ve provided of inconsistencies piling up is only one plausible explanation—and a convoluted one at that—for a change of artistic heart. Whatever the reason, I think it is significant that Taylor performed a volte face to never argue in favor of Peter in the first place.

The album version of “cardigan,” and indeed the entire love triangle, supports Wendy’s side of the argument. “cardigan” shows that James and Betty’s relationship was vibrant, joyous, thrilling, and tender, but above all, perfect. The tone of the song helps Taylor denounce James’ choice to leave Betty as cruel and unnecessary. It is James’ fault for leaving once the “thrill expired,” not Betty’s fault for believing James would stay after the honeymoon phase. “betty” reinforces James’ characterization as the ignorant fool too. Because the album necessarily pigeonholes the leaver in the role of the coward, Wendy wins the argument on the grounds of moral fiber.

(James technically ‘wins’ in “august” because the titular character is left devastated and alone. August embodies youth through hope and yearning. James’ lack of conviction kills that hope. Thus, youthful traits are always collateral damage of the entire maturing process. And, the narrative that pits the characters against each other ends with James, regarded as the paradigm youth, losing the most.)

Perhaps this is the best justification for the existence of the teenage love triangle. Introducing characters who are maturing in various ways still allows Taylor to explore emotional growth. Three separate but fixed perspectives act as a proxy for one person’s changing perspective. By aligning herself with each character at a different time in their life, she shows that maturity (e.g. realism, reliability, patience, etc.) always gives one the upper hand.

The love triangle’s main purpose is to illustrate the philosophy that permeates the rest of the album. folklore as we know it is Taylor’s memorial to all the things lost to youth. Maturity would have prevented so many losses. At the same time, it is impossible to mature without first being youthful, making mistakes, and feeling lost while doing so. This is Taylor’s singular but melancholic endorsement of Wendy. How sad, valuable, and necessary, she says of growing up.

Lest my point be misinterpreted as ‘we can confidently reverse-engineer Taylor’s artistic process,’ here are my main takeaways from the “cardigan” changes:

OG “cardigan” is sad and we should appreciate it as such. “I knew to love would be to lose my mind?” Please.

“cardigan,” as a midway point with respect to age, is the only ideologically ‘variable’ song of the original quartet. Furthermore, by placement and construction, “cardigan” is/was intended to be expository. Changing “cardigan” changes the course she charts through the album. Taking sadness out of one song and spreading it over a storytelling album really changes the meaning of that sadness.

Of the eponymous characters, it’s worth noting that Taylor is James, the leaver, whereas she is left in the OG “cardigan.” It’s utterly fascinating that Taylor chooses to embody ‘hanging on to youth’ angle. What we assume is a very deep, primal feeling is one she overemphasizes for narrative purposes. Consequently, dismissing the love triangle as (fix-it) fiction requires dismissing Taylor’s attachment to youth—being Peter. To that end, we might also need to dismiss the infamous “I never grew up, it’s getting so old” line from “The Archer.” Many others, too…

Red herring though it may be, the love triangle alters folklore’s underlying philosophy, hence the very essence of its melancholy. It seems rather unwise to ignore the love triangle or to reduce it to a cheesy storytelling device. Recognizing that Taylor endorses Wendy and only Wendy is, in my opinion, crucial for clarifying other nebulous ideas in folklore. (I know I sound like a broken record, but I really do think abstraction in the music requires abstraction in analysis. It’s really easy to fall into the habit of tying specific lyrics to people or events. Personally, I find richer and deeper connections by actively working against that habit. I’m not saying this is the only way to do analysis—on the contrary, I think all analysis is correct because it’s all subjective. Rather, I think people overlook the value of occasional abstraction, much to my distress. folklore analysis even seems to demand abstraction. Sue me for believing that things like the underlying philosophy of an album are important, I guess?)

Would you believe that there’s more to this change than what I’ve argued? I’m weary that this is answer is already not what you wanted, so I won’t bang on and quadruple its length. In conclusion: the Implications.

[lifeofresulullah]

The Life of The Prophet Muhammad(pbuh): The Battle of Tabuk and Afterwards

The Expedition of Tabuk: Part 3

The Islamic Army in Hijr

The Islamic army arrived at the place called Hijr. It was the eighth place of stop over.

Hijr, which was eight marhalas away from Madinah and which was on the way to Damascus, was the place where Thamud, the tribe of the Prophet Salih (pbuh), was destroyed through a cloud of dust sent by God Almighty after midnight.[42]

When the Prophet arrived there, he said, “Enter the houses of the people who were incurred by the wrath of God by crying and fearing that you could be incurred by wrath.”

The mujahids drew water from the well of Hijr and kneaded dough with it.

Thereupon, the Messenger of God said, “Do not drink the water of that well; do not make wudu it. Give the dough that you kneaded to the camels. Do not eat it.”

The Rain Prayer of the Prophet

There was a shortage of water in the Islamic army, which settled in Hijr. There was no water left in the water bottles of the mujahids. Hazrat Umar narrated that moment as follows:

“We were so thirsty that we thought our necks would break due to thirst. We looked for water among our things but could not find any and knelt down there. One of us slaughtered his camel and drank the water in its hump.”

The Rumors of the Munafiqs

Some of the munafiqs who were among Muslims used it as an opportunity to start a rumor: “If Muhammad were a real prophet, he would ask God for rain and make it rain as Hazrat Musa asked God for rain and made it rain for his tribe.”

When the Prophet heard these talks, he said, “They speak like that? I hope God will send you rain.”

Hazrat Umar went on narrating as follows:

“In the face of those hardships and troubles, Abu Bakr could not help saying to the Messenger of God (pbuh):

‘O Messenger of God! God will accept your prayer. Please pray for us’

The Messenger of God (pbuh) said, ‘Do you want it?’

Abu Bakr said, ‘Yes, o Messenger of God!’

Thereupon, the Messenger of God (pbuh) opened his hands and prayed. Before he finished his prayer, it got dark. First, it started to drizzle; then, it poured down. The mujahids filled their water containers.

When we left the place where we had settled, we saw that it had rained only where the army had stopped. There was not even a drop of rain outside that place.”

Thus, the Messenger of God received such grants and favors from God with only one prayer and request.

The Messenger of God received many miracles, grants and favors throughout his life. It is one of the proofs of his prophethood. The belief of the Muslims who saw those grants and favors strengthened and their ranks elevated.

Qaswa Gets Lost

During the expedition, Qaswa, the camel of the Messenger of God got lost.[48]The Companions looked for it for some time but could not find it.

The munafiqs used it as an opportunity to utter words that would disturb the Messenger of God. One of them, Zayd b. Lusayt said, “It is something to wonder. Muhammad says he is a prophet; he gives news from the sky but does not know where his camel is.”

When those mean words of the munafiq was reported to the Messenger of God, he said, “By God, I only know what God informs me; I cannot know anything else.” Then, he added, “Now God has told me that Qaswa is in the valley between this and that mountain; its halter is stuck in a tree. Go and bring it back to me at once.”

When the Companions went to the place described by the Messenger of God, they found the camel with its halter stuck in a tree just as the Prophet had said and took it to him.

The Messenger of God knew the unknown only when God Almighty informed him and told people about the unknown things. It was one of the miracles given to him by God.

All of the news related to the future that the Messenger of God told people as a result of being informed by God took place exactly as the Companions witnessed them.

The Islamic Army in Tabuk

Eventually, after a tiring travel under scorching heat and on scorching sand, the Islamic army arrived in Tabuk, which was the nineteenth place of stop over.

However, there was no Byzantine army or anybody else there. The Emperor of the East Rome gave up the attempt that he had made preparations for due to lack of courage in the last minute.

Abu Haythama Comes

Abu Haythama was a sincere Muslim. He stayed in Madinah and did not join the Islamic army just because of his negligence.

A few days after the Islamic army left Madinah, he returned home from work. He saw that his wives had cleaned the arbor and prepared cold sherbet. When he saw it, it dawned on him. He stood at the entrance of the arbor. He looked at the things that his wives had prepared for him and said, “Sub­hanal­lah! The Messenger of God (pbuh) is carrying his weapons on his back under the scorching sun, wind and heat and Abu Haythama is sitting in the shade with two beautiful women among material things.” Then, he turned to his wives and said, “By God, I will not enter the arbor of either of you unless I go and catch up with the Messenger of God (pbuh). Go and prepare some food for my journey at once.”

When Abu Haythama’s food was prepared, he set off from Madinah toward Tabuk. When the Islamic army, stopped in Tabuk, the mujahids saw a cavalryman coming.

They said, “Look, a cavalryman is coming.”

The Prophet said, “Is he Abu Haythama? I hope he is coming.”

When he approached, the Companions recognized him. They said, “O Messenger of God! By God, he is Abu Haythama.”

Abu Haythama went to the presence of the Messenger of God and greeted him.

The Messenger of God said, “Abu Haythama! You were almost destroyed.”

When he narrated what had happened, the Messenger of God prayed for him.

The Prophet’s Sermon in Tabuk

The Islamic army was waiting in Tabuk.

The Prophet stood up. He leaned against a date tree and made the following speech:

“Shall I tell you who is the best and worst person among people? The best person is the one who works in the way of God on his horse, camel or on his two feet. The worst person is the one who reads the Book of God but does not benefit from it.

Verily the most veracious discourse is the Book of God. The most trustworthy stronghold is the word of piety. The best of the religions is the religion of Ibrahim. The best of the precedents is the precedent of Muhammad. The noblest speech is the invocation of God. The finest of the narratives is this Quran. The best of the affairs is that which has been firmly resolved upon. The worst in religion are those things which are created without sanction. The best of the ways is one trodden by the Prophets. The noblest death is the death of a martyr. The most miserable blindness is the waywardness after guidance. The best of the actions is that which is beneficent. The best guidance is that which is put into practice. The worst blindness is the blindness of the heart.

 The upper hand (the hand that gives) is better than the lower hand (the hand that receives). The little that suffices is better than what is abundant and alluring. The worst apology is that which is tendered when death stares one in the face. The worst remorse is that which is felt on the day of Resurrection.

 Some men come to Friday prayer with hesitance and delay. And some of them remember God with reluctance. The tongue which is addicted to false expression is a bubbling spring of sins.

 The most valuable possession is the contentment of heart. The best provision is that of piety. The highest wisdom is fear of God, the Mighty and the Great. The best thing to be cherished in the hearts is faith and conviction; doubt is infidelity.

 Impatient wailing and fulsome laudation of the dead is an act of ignorance. Betrayal leads one to the fire of Hell. Drinking amounts to burning. Obscene poetry is the work of the devil. Wine is the mother of all evil. The worst thing eaten is one which belongs to the orphan. Blessed is he who receives admonition from others.

 Each one of you must resort to a place of four cubits (grave). Your affairs would be decided ultimately in the next life. The worst dream is false dream. Whatever is in store is near.

 To abuse a believer is transgression; raising arms against him is infidelity. To backbite him is a disobedience of God. Inviolability (and sacredness) of his property is like that of his blood.

 He who swears by God (falsely), in fact falsifies Him. He who pardons others is himself granted pardon. He who forgives others, is forgiven by God for his sins.

 He who represses anger, God rewards him. He who faces misfortunes with perseverance, God compensates him.

O God! Pardon me and my ummah! O God! Pardon me and my ummah! O God! Pardon me and my ummah!

  I seek the forgiveness of God for me and you.”

[olivertheuniverse]

After knocking on thousands of doors, the most consistent responses to the question “Are you planning to vote?” were some form of:

“I don’t do politics.”

“I don’t trust politicians.”

“I stopped paying attention.”

“My vote doesn’t matter.”

“Nothing is going to change.”

“I don’t have time.”

Voter turnout is low whichever way you slice it. In the last election, a higher percentage of people didn’t vote than voted for either Clinton or Trump. Add to that, the people most marginalized by politics are the ones voting the least. I hear voters being blamed - some say that it’s a privileged position not to vote. That’s backwards. Non-voters are disproportionately less privileged. Voters are disproportionately more privileged. That’s what the quantitative & qualitative data shows. From what I’ve personally gathered, it’s more of a privileged position to have blind faith in the integrity of a system that boldly oppresses the majority of its population day in & day out.

Nearly all voters know it’s morally bankrupt that we pay more taxes than Jeff Bezos, that the majority of our taxes go towards corporate subsidies, that our largest corporations paid nothing in taxes last year, that people are dying right now unable to afford healthcare while pharma & insurance CEOs take home millions in bonuses, that we're all stressed about getting sick or hurt because we don’t know if it'll bankrupt us, that we’re paid so little we’re forced to work multiple jobs, that our insurance depends on our employer, that our schools and neighborhoods are still economically segregated, that prisons have quotas & drive profits … the list of injustices goes on & on. We may not talk about these things, but we aren’t blind to them.

The truth is, people are sick & tired. We’re sick because we’re tired. We're tired of being overworked & underpaid, overcharged & underinsured. Tired of being gaslit by the media, politicians & corporations. Tired of trusting a system that betrays us time & time again. The people know it’s a rich man’s game & we’re too tired to play it anymore.

It‘s been increasingly discouraging watching in real-time the individual reports of voter disenfranchisement throughout the primary process. I’d previously listened to claims with a suspicious ear until I experienced it firsthand. It’s furthered my understanding of why people don’t vote. Voting can be a demoralizing process. We're consistently dealing with:

*5+ hour voting lines

*Last-minute polling location closures

*Insufficient voting booths & staff

*Unreliable counting & erroneous reporting methods

*Barriers to voting that disproportionately impact marginalized communities

*Last-minute rule changes

*Insufficient student voting resources

*Convicted felons not informed they can vote

...the list goes on...

This doesn’t include even larger contexts:

*The media’s role in ignoring this lack of democracy

*The mass media’s overwhelming role in spreading false narratives - legitimizing right-wing frameworks across liberal networks, labeling basic human rights as radical

*When we’re threatened with “choosing” between the “lesser of two evils”

So I’m not surprised when people don’t vote. I GET IT! I’ve watched & listened. I see what’s happening. Political theater is an insult to our intelligence. Democracy is an unfulfilled promise. We’ve been denied.

...so what do we do with all of this?

We cultivate curiosity.

We learn how to get curious & stay curious.

We can’t be expected to solve the issues of our times all by ourselves - but together with enough curiosity, we can solve anything.

Instead of blaming voters, why not get curious about voter disenfranchisement & the absence of democracy in the democratic process? Instead of abandoning our institutions, why not hold them accountable to its people rather than profits?

Curiosity is an antidote in these times.

Less answers, more questions.

A willingness to slow down & listen.

The humility to be “wrong” ... because we’re all wrong in some way about most things, and that’s totally fine because its not possible to know everything.

Don't be afraid to question every assumption. The questions are the answer. The questions unlock bigger questions.

This is our work. The courage to do this work is our most critical task in these times. Get comfortable in the discomfort of not knowing. Don’t turn away from the darkness. Allow it to teach you. Build faith & trust in the unknown. Turn the fear into passion. Get excited by all the potential available to us there.

This compassionate curiosity is what our future depends on.

Much love fam,

✊🏼🖤🔥

[themagnumnopus-blog]

You have delusions of persecution and worms in your brain

As promised to a friend. How bad could I possibly be?

A Prologue To More: Weep for you have failed.“I may not agree with you, but I will defend to the death your right to make an ass of yourself." - Oscar Wilde

You lack originality and you couldn't be funny if you tried.

At least between the two of us, even with worms in my head, I know something's there.

You're a fool without compare and I'll kick your derriere in any conversation you can bring. You are a whining little brat that is so flat you couldn't think of any way to fight what I say. You are vapid in the head without a thought behind or to your conviction, you have already proven that by using your own contradiction, your hypocrisy is plain and you failed to come at me with a brain. You simply have an addiction to your stupidity as anyone that reads this can see. You can't stand in a debate or even speculate that you can against me, because of your propensity to lie. If you think that you might win I beg you think again because I'm really quite a nice gal or guy. I mock and shame you. I unlike you do not seek to defame you. I simply state what I see, you must have a reason you're afraid of what I say. So I will say it louder and say it prouder because you try to take my voice away.

re·tard - delay or hold back in terms of progress, development, or accomplishment.

Now if you think you have a chance come forth to let us have a dance. If I'm really a fool I can't win but you've lost before you've started and I assert you're retarded and that you simply retard whatever argument you make. I do not seek to offend you but if you think that you can seek to quiet me, you simply seek to retard society. Well hey, what do you say? I say I'll take you any day and indeed will take you any time. Oh, yes. Let me wait. It's fine. I just get more time to strengthen my debate, I don't mind. Gather whatever you might, a fool's facts are my delight, they're so easy to debunk and I'll just cut your argument down chunk by chuck. For every inch in the arena, you think you'll take I will beat you back, yard by yard. With a club of facts, I'll beat you back all the way to denial and laugh all the while. You are simply an unarmed child.

I win.

Prove that I have "delusions of persecution" , whatever you might mean by that, prove that I am of a race or gender or sex that I have talked about, defended and furthermore prove me wrong. If it's a delusion it is self-evident in the real world that I'm wrong. Whatever you think I'm wrong about. Even if you prove that I am one of the groups I defended you've done nothing but waste your time. This isn't about me or you as a person it's about our ideas.

A quote I love and it fits perfectly here, it's been attributed to a lot of people but the contents are so exacting here it's hilarious. "Great Minds Discuss Ideas; Average Minds Discuss Events; Small Minds Discuss People." - Eleanor RooseveltFace Me in the Arena: A few thousand words about the ten that could not quiet me. Part One: The BallThere is a term for when a debate or conversation over ideas political or otherwise brakes down into name calling and attacks on character. It's commonly accepted that if you have to resort to name calling or attacks on the character of your opponent you have lost. You've attacked me like a coward and now I have sympathy from whoever sees that. Your small minded hateful message you tried to quite me with has now backfired. You have tied the knot, put it around your neck and I have just pushed you off. To beat me you now have to get back on my level and try to take me off whatever high ground I clearly occupied. Good luck. You have played me an easy win by not playing the game but attacking the player. This is your penalty. You lose.That is why I always stay civil and try to approach a conversation from a neutral and objective perspective. Never claim something you can't prove when it comes to political and real-world philosophical beliefs. If I say that the West has a problem with misandry, I promise I have a reason to believe so and that proof can be found, if I say that socialism is creating fascists, the same, if say that anti-white sentiment is creating anti-white extremists and in turn creating white supremacists, you darn dootally better believe I can more then likely prove it. Buuuuuuuuut now I don't have to, the burden is on you, you poor little cretin. You have attacked me. You now have to prove me wrong or be laughed at as an idiot. The best part is I know you can't or you would have A) tried to do so publicly or B) sent proof. As to what you're calling me names over, hilariously, I don't know. I don't know what your upset over. I don't need to now through by simple fact you have shot anything you say in the foot by attacking me like a petulant child with name calling and baseless accusations.You have given me the ball by failing your argument before you've even tried to make it. If you have no way to disprove my statements then you have to attack me, discredit me, try to make me be quiet? How weak is your point of view, your argument, your belief in what you have to say that you can't defend it? How weak is it that you're afraid to talk with someone who you claim has worms in their head. What? Are afraid to lose to some you clearly think is stupid?Part 2: Hy·poc·ri·sy I bet money you claim to be against bullies, against oppression, maybe you call yourself a good person and think that you have the right to say the above. You have said what you have to me because of a difference of opinion. I think that you are the worst kind of person because of this.“Of all the tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.  It may be better to live under robber barons than under the omnipotent moral busybodies.  The robber barons cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” - C. S. LewisYou have every right to say whatever you please, you really do in my opinion but I'll be damned if you have the right or think you have the right to try and keep people silent based on a difference of opinion. If you think I have a complex, it should be so self-evident that you have absolute proof and objective truth to the contrary, no matter what it is. I think you're projecting and have a victim complex, you are not the target of anyone least of all me. I don't care about you, your narrative or your emotional situation. What? Do you have a sob story? I'll give you a better one that I can prove. I'm here for the truth, willing to change my point of view for facts and proof. If you don't like it? Tough shit. I don't care. I will not be dissuaded by emotional pleas. If you have proof use it. Now is the time.I have never sent hate mail, I have never blocked anyone (not even the person that sent this), this is the first hate mail I've ever had sent to me and I state and stand by for a fact that I cannot be made afraid by pathetic cowards that can't even make a statement. I will gut you like this if you send anon hate to me. It will be public and I will laugh at you and everyone else that reads it will laugh at you. You have no power here or anywhere else, least of all over me. I am no one's enemy. If you come to me in good faith and as a human to another human for an honest conversation, public or private, I'm willing to talk and be friendly. You get what you put in with me.Part 3: I Laugh at Thee“Freedom of speech is not only the right to say as you please, it is also the right to have what you say contested, and where it does not accord with reason - refuted, or with sense - ridiculed.” - David Joseph Cribbin, father crowI and anyone else reading has watched your ten unprovable, undefendable, small-minded words be turned into thousands against you and is laughing with me at you right now. You look like a twit, I have made a twit of you and you deserve it. You have run into my arena an unarmed opponent and been gutted for it. I'm not sorry to anyone, most of all you. If you think that I can be refuted then do so. I have every right to offend you with what I say, though it is not my intention, the truth can be offensive sometimes and as a human, you need to learn how to deal with that. I am a human of liberty and...“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” - George OrwellPart 4: Why I Gut You.“The problem with today’s world is that everyone believes they have the right to express their opinion AND have others listen to it. The correct statement of individual rights is that everyone has the right to an opinion, but crucially, that opinion can be roundly ignored and even made fun of, particularly if it is demonstrably nonsense!” - Brian CoxI condemn in my harshest and most potent terms any and all people who prompt, advocate for or send messages like this to anyone regardless of what you think. Never hate or hate bomb anyone, ever, for any for any reason. Again ever. You give them absolute power and make yourself look like the villain, I have garnered sympathy and ran hundreds of words against this person already and I'm not even done yet, I'm lambasting and laughing at their poorly thought out insult to prove a point. They came to me so anything I do at this point is justified in the eyes of anyone looking at this. If you read this I'm sorry you misstepped and fell on a land mine face first. You came to me to get this.I make fun of you because your pitiful attempt at silencing me is in and of itself demonstrable nonsense and makes you look weak. Bullies are generally weak, using fear and work using crowd based courage and/or anonymity to strike at people that they can't actually fight and win or are not sure they can fight and win. I will never be silenced by cowards, my mind will be changed by humans that can prove what they believe and do not have to resort to childish small-minded attacks on character. Especially one so ill-founded. I will listen to anyone who wishes to speak with me as a person. BUT even to my attacker above, I still offer the hand freely, come talk to me, privet or public. Seriously. About whatever you have a problem with me over. We can sort it out. You had a reason to think this was okay, which it never is but I would actually love to hear it. Again I don't care if you apologize or not, that's not my concern. I beyond what you might think am just an honest person that honestly wants to talk, change minds and have us grow. Childish things like this hate message retard us as a society, as a people, as the human race.Part 5: I Pick My Battles“To a coward, courage always looks like stupidity.” - Bill MaherSome people may think I'm stupid for taking the stance I do on bullies and bullying, on hate. Just block people, just do this, just do that, etc. I don't care what other people do to shitty little bullies but are they going away? No, they aren't. They are going to bully someone else that might not be able to take it, until you challenge them, make them realize how they look and have everyone laugh at them. People generally don't like being mean to other people but they don't realize is that that doesn't stop cretins like this, challenge them. They think they are in the right. Prove them wrong.I'm a really nice person but in order to be worth the respect I offer freely, you have to treat me with the respect I deserve as a human. I have no problem putting down this type of person or putting myself out in the open while I do. Don't let these people threaten you, put them out in the open and laugh at them while you challenge them. Demand proof. If they had the proof they would use it but they don't and even if they did have proof of me or anyone else being specifically anything then they also have to prove that the bias they accuse you of exist. Refute the proof, provide counterproof and make counter accusations. I'll prove without reasonable doubt this person has a victim complex about the time they prove I have "delusions of persecution." For me, it just doesn't stick and I know it doesn't. I treat everyone with the same even-handed respect I expect. So instead of wasting hours trying to prove I fall into the groups, I talk about, to simply still be at square one again when I say 'Okay. Whatever. Now, prove me wrong.' Just make a statement and provide some level of proof. It's not personal. You don't need to make it personal.I never attack a person or people. Definitely not when I can fight an idea and this is exactly why. Even if you win in that respect and sway people to not like me based on character, that's not enough to win. You're costing yourself the war. You have won a battle that you and a fraction of a percent of people care about. If you win that battle and somehow prove I'm a card-carrying member of the kkk or some such nonsense. You've wasted time and energy that could have been used trying to beat my point and you still have to beat it. Call me a pedo, call me a Nazi, call me any insult, make any kind of accusation and I'll just say 'Prove it' and wait. Then if, well, when you can't I'll just call you a liar and you know you have to try and win that back. All before you even start to work on my end of the debate. I'm a smart person, I pick my battles and give no ground to anyone without cost. Without exacting, bloody, and hilarious cost. While people juggle narratives I trip them up with facts. Fight me in a fair and even exchange of political ideas and you might just prove a point. As far as your ten-word attempt goes, even if you prove I have a complex of my own and actually am stupid what you don't realize is . . . you now have to beat the idiot. I hope I've made it plain and painfully clear how hard that's going to be.Part 6: Here's The Close“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”  - United Nations, Universal Declaration of Human RightsI only seek to hold opinions without interference as I also seek to receive and impart information. I have done nothing in the above other than impart knowledge and nothing that could be constrained by the rules that govern the civil world. Welcome to humanity those who make it here, come and talk. Drop me a supportive message or a difference of opinion, I welcome all and if you're not comfortable talking to me directly simply drop a message in as an anon, I will never disable it or my asks. I will never block anyone. Just be prepared to talk civilly. If you don't like what I say, you are free to leave or personal preference on my end express distaste. I don't want to be stuck in an echo chamber like whoever sent me the hate mail and thought it was okay.If I can take ten off-handed words and stretch that into an almost three-thousand-word public chastisement. Only six words short actually. Now if I can do that, what do you think I can do to a bad argument? Again though we could just not. Anyone, as said, can come to me and talk with respect, invite some much-needed dialogue. Never know but in the end, it is your choice. Not mine.Last quote...“You can't expect someone to understand your journey, when they've hardly lived one of their own.” - Nikki Rowe, Once a Girl, Now a WomanYou don't know me but you could so I will offer in honesty and with respect. Join my journey going forward, let's talk. Door's open to anyone. :)

[lodelss]

Dallas Police Killed My Unarmed Son. Their Brutality is a Global Problem.

In 2013, I founded Mothers Against Police Brutality (MAPB) after my only son Clinton Allen was extra-judicially murdered by a Dallas police officer. Clinton was unarmed. He was just 25-years-old, and had grown from being a delightful and curious child into an avid reader who dreamed of becoming the fifth generation of our family to be a rancher. His dreams were extinguished with his life. He should be alive today.   The officer shot my son seven times, once at close range in the back. Clinton’s death at the hands of police is far from uncommon. Rather, it is something almost commonplace in communities of color, and the public outcry against police violence makes it clear that the nation is waking up to that tragic reality more and more.   Each year, thousands of people are killed by U.S. law enforcement. For the most part, no one says their names except for their own family and friends. Every so often a handful of these thousands who have been murdered are cherry-picked as being worthy of attention for a variety of reasons: the killing was caught on compelling video; it’s particularly vicious; or because the victim is especially sympathetic. The reality is that all people killed by law enforcement should have their names heard, and their stories told. Outside of the handful of cases that the public is aware of, the consistent loss of life at the hands of police is almost invisible. The lack of extensive media coverage of all police killings spreads the illusion worldwide that police brutality in the U.S. is an anomaly. We know that instead, it is the rule, and a source of fear, death, and anguish for communities of color in general and Black people in particular.   A common retort is that we are dealing with “a few bad apples” who happen to be spoiling the good name of the bunch. We are not. We are dealing with a police culture that is an orchard of poisoned trees, diseased at the root, bearing a relentless, deadly fruit which tears apart Black families like my own.    For each one of us who fights for our rights and lives, there is a law enforcement organization pushing back. Unjust laws and powerful police unions protect U.S. police officers. The number of police officers who kill Black people who actually face a jury is statistically insignificant. Furthermore, district attorneys are generally unwilling to prosecute; they are often too cozy with police institutions they count on to win convictions; and when campaigning for office, they seek the endorsement and funds of the local police union.   Finally, police killings are not always independently investigated — more often than not, it is police departments that investigate themselves. In the first hours after an officer kills one of us, they set the narrative and tone, which is typically picked up by the county prosecutor. The fact remains that in the U.S., a police officer can violate your human rights, even kill you, and 99 times out of 100, nothing will happen. No charges, no indictment, no trial, no conviction and often not even dismissal from the police force. Put simply, the problem of police brutality in America is systemic, racist, and must be addressed as such.   These factors have coalesced and worsened over time to enshrine a very dangerous police culture in the U.S. It is dangerous for people of color, particularly Black men and boys. But it is also a great danger to the future of democracy in the U.S. When police abuse their power and use their authority unjustly — which, after all, is the authority given to them by the public, by us — they break the social contract and leave it bleeding in the street.   They leave us bleeding in the street.   The people of every nation on this earth must summon the courage to resist police brutality, not only in the U.S., but in every country where the fatal results of an original betrayal of public trust exists. We need many specific policy changes, starting with ending qualified immunity, and proceed from there to setting a national standard for the use of deadly force that complies with international law.   Reducing funding to police departments and reinvesting those funds into Black and Brown communities are necessary steps to prevent further harm and to ensure that all people can live without fear of police violence.   Incredibly, today in America every law enforcement agency can claim its own standard for when they can kill a person as long as the officer says that he felt that “his life was in danger.” Unarmed suspect, shot in the back, driving away, running away? “Fearing for his life, the officer fired seven shots, killing the suspect.” No charges, no indictment, no trial, no conviction. It could only be more unbelievable if it weren’t true, but this is the reality of police brutality in the U.S.   On June 19, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted by consensus a watered-down resolution calling on the high commissioner to prepare a report on systemic racism and violations of international human rights law against Black people, to contribute to accountability and redress for victims. I very much hope that the report will be the first step in a series of meaningful international accountability measures to fully and independently investigate police killings in the U.S., and to provide effective remedy and compensation to victims and their families.   But beyond any specific policy change, we need people worldwide to demand an end to the routine extra-judicial killing of Black people by the police in America. In the name of my son, Clinton, and for all of our families: this must stop.

This article is based on Collette Flanagan’s statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Published July 13, 2020 at 09:17PM via ACLU https://ift.tt/32c0FGf

[nancydhooper]

Dallas Police Killed My Unarmed Son. Their Brutality is a Global Problem.

In 2013, I founded Mothers Against Police Brutality (MAPB) after my only son Clinton Allen was extra-judicially murdered by a Dallas police officer. Clinton was unarmed. He was just 25-years-old, and had grown from being a delightful and curious child into an avid reader who dreamed of becoming the fifth generation of our family to be a rancher. His dreams were extinguished with his life. He should be alive today.   The officer shot my son seven times, once at close range in the back. Clinton’s death at the hands of police is far from uncommon. Rather, it is something almost commonplace in communities of color, and the public outcry against police violence makes it clear that the nation is waking up to that tragic reality more and more.   Each year, thousands of people are killed by U.S. law enforcement. For the most part, no one says their names except for their own family and friends. Every so often a handful of these thousands who have been murdered are cherry-picked as being worthy of attention for a variety of reasons: the killing was caught on compelling video; it’s particularly vicious; or because the victim is especially sympathetic. The reality is that all people killed by law enforcement should have their names heard, and their stories told. Outside of the handful of cases that the public is aware of, the consistent loss of life at the hands of police is almost invisible. The lack of extensive media coverage of all police killings spreads the illusion worldwide that police brutality in the U.S. is an anomaly. We know that instead, it is the rule, and a source of fear, death, and anguish for communities of color in general and Black people in particular.   A common retort is that we are dealing with “a few bad apples” who happen to be spoiling the good name of the bunch. We are not. We are dealing with a police culture that is an orchard of poisoned trees, diseased at the root, bearing a relentless, deadly fruit which tears apart Black families like my own.    For each one of us who fights for our rights and lives, there is a law enforcement organization pushing back. Unjust laws and powerful police unions protect U.S. police officers. The number of police officers who kill Black people who actually face a jury is statistically insignificant. Furthermore, district attorneys are generally unwilling to prosecute; they are often too cozy with police institutions they count on to win convictions; and when campaigning for office, they seek the endorsement and funds of the local police union.   Finally, police killings are not always independently investigated — more often than not, it is police departments that investigate themselves. In the first hours after an officer kills one of us, they set the narrative and tone, which is typically picked up by the county prosecutor. The fact remains that in the U.S., a police officer can violate your human rights, even kill you, and 99 times out of 100, nothing will happen. No charges, no indictment, no trial, no conviction and often not even dismissal from the police force. Put simply, the problem of police brutality in America is systemic, racist, and must be addressed as such.   These factors have coalesced and worsened over time to enshrine a very dangerous police culture in the U.S. It is dangerous for people of color, particularly Black men and boys. But it is also a great danger to the future of democracy in the U.S. When police abuse their power and use their authority unjustly — which, after all, is the authority given to them by the public, by us — they break the social contract and leave it bleeding in the street.   They leave us bleeding in the street.   The people of every nation on this earth must summon the courage to resist police brutality, not only in the U.S., but in every country where the fatal results of an original betrayal of public trust exists. We need many specific policy changes, starting with ending qualified immunity, and proceed from there to setting a national standard for the use of deadly force that complies with international law.   Reducing funding to police departments and reinvesting those funds into Black and Brown communities are necessary steps to prevent further harm and to ensure that all people can live without fear of police violence.   Incredibly, today in America every law enforcement agency can claim its own standard for when they can kill a person as long as the officer says that he felt that “his life was in danger.” Unarmed suspect, shot in the back, driving away, running away? “Fearing for his life, the officer fired seven shots, killing the suspect.” No charges, no indictment, no trial, no conviction. It could only be more unbelievable if it weren’t true, but this is the reality of police brutality in the U.S.   On June 19, the United Nations Human Rights Council adopted by consensus a watered-down resolution calling on the high commissioner to prepare a report on systemic racism and violations of international human rights law against Black people, to contribute to accountability and redress for victims. I very much hope that the report will be the first step in a series of meaningful international accountability measures to fully and independently investigate police killings in the U.S., and to provide effective remedy and compensation to victims and their families.   But beyond any specific policy change, we need people worldwide to demand an end to the routine extra-judicial killing of Black people by the police in America. In the name of my son, Clinton, and for all of our families: this must stop.

This article is based on Collette Flanagan’s statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council.

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8247012 https://www.aclu.org/news/criminal-law-reform/dallas-police-killed-my-unarmed-son-their-brutality-is-a-global-problem via http://www.rssmix.com/

[dropping-a-toaster-in-the-bath]

All-Might, you’re my hero!

(Here I had to write an english composition about the usage of what a hero is in a media source and I decided to use BNHA, after rereading this, I realized how much i’m pleased with this and decided to let others see it rather than just my teacher.)

(Sorry for the text spacing, I’ll fix that later today)

It’s common knowledge that America has a strange fascination with super- heroes, in fact, this has been common knowledge since the 1920’s when the industrial boom of comics started taking off. Americans seemed to love the idea of a man in spandex with heroic ideals that people could relate with, a good samaritan but with special abilities that differentiated them from the average joe of expected kindness. A fictional being that they could look up to as a role model of what normal people wanted, to be able to showcase in the world around them, though they lacked the muscles and tight clothing to be able to showcase this kindness. Although, as time has gone on, the idea of a hero has been changing, and what defines a hero has also changed. According to Dictionary.com, a hero is defined as “a person noted for courageous acts or nobility of character.” This definition is a pretty good sum up of what a hero is usually thought of as. When someone thinks Superman, they usually think of the good deeds he has done, or the people he’s saved from danger. This is mostly what people think about when they think hero but, a show that doesn’t originate from America has become very popular in both countries and also wants to give its own unique and interesting take on idea of what really is and defines a hero.

“My Hero Academia” or “Boku no Hero Academia” (a manga written by esteemed mangaka Kohei Horikoshi) is replete with ideas and thoughts that really make his story stand out. From all the characters, to their convictions, their thoughts, their actions, and their goals in life, there isn’t any character in this story you can’t end up liking, they’re all extremely endearing. What is more interesting about these characters other than how real they feel, is how they all bring an interesting take on what a hero really is. Deku is the protagonist, a normal kid that lives in a world where essentially everyone is born with a special ability. Something unique that they can do that can be passed through their family line, creating a world where being abnormal is normal. The rare few with no quirks (special abilities as referred to in the story) – aka normal human beings – are considered the lesser and uncommon in this new generation of kids with natural abilities and talent. This creates an interesting dynamic now that the status quo has now been flipped on its head. In a world where everyone has amazing abilities, being a hero has no longer been looked down upon like in American hero comics, it’s normal. The government is now finally working with the heroes to take down villains, and people using their quirks to break the law. All-Might, the main role-model of Deku, is essentially Japanese Superman. He wears clothing that’s the same color scheme as Superman, constantly makes references to American culture and places (Ex: Detroit Smash being one of his special moves), and has the same moral code as Superman. Although, this is again, where My Hero Academia wants to differentiate itself from other run-of- the-mill superheroes stories. All-Might is not fully the big and muscular hero he appears to be on the cover, he may be very positive and in constant search of people to encourage and justice to deliver, but ever since he was injured and his power to strengthen himself

limited severely, he’s been lacking hope. All-Might is a hero because he wants to help and inspire others, although he can be quite down, his goal is to be the shining example that others can look up to, a protector of justice. This is quite in characteristic of Superman but the point is that All-Might is one of the normal exceptions from the others in the show as their reasoning differs greatly.

My Hero Academia’s writer Kohei Horikoshi is known for his special and unique twists on tried and true narratives, and My Hero Academia is another masterpiece of good writing and a unique twist on what we all know, love, and respect. MHA is a universe where nearly everyone has the ability to be a superhero, and being a superhero is even considered a well-paying job by the government. This leads to the interesting spin of less well-minded people and others with downright questionable morals having the ability to take a role that’s main point is protecting the innocent. All- Might is the normal example as he is the reflection of American traditions in superhero shows, almost a caricature of American superhero shows if you ask me. He is there to be the reference point to American viewers, and an example for native Japanese viewers, to give you a taste of our beliefs reflected in a character that is honestly done really well and respectfully. All-Might is mainly used as a “reference point” though because of all the characters the show wants to introduce to us. Endeavor (The World’s No.2 Superhero- only being surpassed by All-Might) is NOT a likable person, or even a respectable person at that other than the fact he is a hero, or employed as one, does not mean his morals match up to that of a hero. Endeavor is a disgusting child- neglecting, domestic abuser that forced a marriage with a woman he didn’t even know

just so he could mix his quirk with the woman’s to make his son the ultimate hero. A force so powerful with a quirk so strong that his son would have to surpass him in power no matter what, as after all of these years of playing second fiddle have angered him and he wants to at least have kin that surpass All-Might’s strength. Endeavor could even be considered a villain with the down-right evil actions he has committed but, he’s not. Although, he IS definitely without a doubt a horrendous person, he still commits himself to saving others as his career demands. He actually does seem to put effort into helping innocents from dangerous scenarios even though the man appears to be what makes a villain to its maximum force. Endeavor brings a strange twist to the idea of what being a hero is, just like the show itself does. Can you still be a hero even if you’ve down things that would be considered unforgivable, or scarring to others? Can you be registered a hero if your ideals are focused on the success and popularity of it rather than the safety of others? Well, don’t worry as these questions ARE answered by the show in a rather strong manner.

Heroes do NOT need to be good people, heroes CAN be disgusting scum with deplorable thoughts and actions or second-hand goals. Heroes NEED to be people that save others, regardless of how truly terrible they are on the inside, a HERO in My Hero Academia, is a person that’s willing to save others. This is actually a way more understandable view of what a hero really is when thought about deeply. Superman is well received because his deeds are simply done out of the kindness of his heart, and a deep rooted care to save the innocent from scenarios that are out of their control. Bakugou is a rude kid in which all his efforts are to beat All-Might to the top of the hero chain, but Bakugou is still aware of his requirement to protect others and defeat evil if he is to be that number one hero. We LIKE Superman because his heart is in the right place, but I feel the reason we LOVE him as a character so much is because of that fact that he’s even willing to go to such extents to save others. He has a personal life that is made a living hell by humanity’s constant dangers, yet still doesn’t lose faith in them or ever stop trying to save them. We’re thankful he even wants to do all this work to begin with rather than just siding with evil, but we never really think about what if Superman wasn’t so likable? What if Superman was a rude man that hated kids but still saved them? You wouldn’t like him, obviously, but you’d still thank him for saving your kid say a bus went out of control. Heroes are defined by their ACTIONS not their WORDS or THOUGHTS, or at least, in Kohei Horikoshi’s mind they are. It doesn’t matter if this person is hateful or rude, as long as they’re putting in the effort to do so much to save others, does it really matter what their second-hand goal is? A heroic deed is treasured in this world, not a heroic mind, the show also teaches us to judge people based on their actions while their thoughts as a side consideration. Endeavor is by no means a nice guy, All-Might is by no means the most hopeful man he appears to be, and Iida is by no means wanting to be a hero for other than indiscriminate family revenge, but they’re all taking the steps to save others. They are showing care to their work by saving others and won’t stop until that job is completed in a world abound of heroes that provide competition in saving others.

In the end, a hero is not simply steeped by their persona or their thoughts, rather the actions they take in making society better as a whole or in the savior of others. 

You can think hateful thoughts, and have rude misconceptions about others that are based on ignorance, but as long as you are doing what it takes to do the right thing, then you may be considered a hero on your own. Nobody is devoid of flaws, especially heroes, and the constant push of My Hero Academia to bring light to the flaws in desires in these heroes delivers a special grey area we really haven’t seen in American Superhero

shows. A land of neutrality where you start to question the idea of a hero as a whole, so as I end this with a Detroit smash, is a hero defined solely by their person? No, they definitely aren’t and heroes are more complex peole than just “a person noted for courageous acts or nobility of character.”

[krishnaprasad-blog]

If the English market is tough for serious players in Indian journalism, keeping the head above the water in the languages is a humongous challenge. So immense, so expensive, and so impossible is the task of attracting readers and viewers, and keeping them engaged with quality content, that nearly nobody is attempting to do it.

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a stand-out exception.

In an arena filled with itsy-bitsy, tits-and-ass, click-bait majors—madly chasing eyeballs with the fake, frothy and frivolous; and conning agencies, advertisers (and themselves) with eye-popping numbers of “uniques”—BBC is an isle of calm. Quietly doing what it does best—journalism—and leaving audiences informed and empowered.

Rupa Jha is head of BBC Languages in India, responsible for content in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati and Punjabi. Her mandate: to enhance the “strength, depth, range and quality” of all BBC multimedia output, words mostly alien to bottomline-obsessed managers, in a mad race to the bottom.

***

Q: How does BBC as an international broadcaster view the Indian language market?

Rupa Jha: The BBC has been working in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali for more than seven decades. It recently decided to expand its portfolio to realise the potential of a wider language market. Hence, the creation of BBC news services in Telugu, Punjabi, Gujarati and Marathi.

Obviously, the language market in India is extremely crowded, with more than 900 TV channels, thousands of websites and hundreds of radio stations, but it struck us that there was a place for a brand known for credibility, trust and a world view; a brand that could challenge the status quo and be a strong counterweight to the rising challenge of fake news and the “echo chamber” effect.

The four new languages services were launched in 2017, following a “digital-first” strategy supported by a partner-based TV presence. It was the biggest expansion of the BBC in India, since the 1940s.  We hired around 150 new staff and created a state-of-the-art production hub, making Delhi the second biggest BBC bureau after Nairobi.

The bureau also houses two new, ultra-modern TV studios, giving our new TV programmes a fresh look and presentation that stands out for high production values and distinctive story telling. We also have five satellite offices where small teams shoot, edit and produce local content at the state level.

***

BBC’s “news needs wheel”

Q: What does the Indian language viewer, listener, surfer look for from BBC’s various language services that she doesn’t get from established legacy players?

Rupa Jha: The regional market is dominated by hyper-local content. So the content strategy of the BBC in this market of languages is to make a differentiated offer and become a trusted window for people to understand the place of India in the world.

Original content is at the centre of this strategy with a special focus on serving underserved audiences such as the young and women.

We aim to drive audience growth by expanding our traditional appeal amongst “news connoisseurs” into a wider group of “news nibblers”.

Our research told us that local players tend to focus their news coverage mainly on the “what” and “when” but there is little effort being made to explain the “why”.  This helped us to develop a model we call our “news needs wheel”.

This showed that audiences wanted the BBC to provide perspective and context, together with stories that educate, inspire and offer solutions. We use this model not only to tell international stories but also to help develop narratives on the local by stepping back and looking at the big picture.

Based on our understanding of “news needs”, our content strategy is to decode national/regional stories for all language audiences and help generate an interest in news that is beyond hyperlocal.

***

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Q: What does BBC do in the languages that Indian media houses can’t, won’t, don’t? How does it approach Bharat?

Rupa Jha: We believe the BBC stands out for its values and principles. BBC editorial guidelines are the same for all operations, whether based in the UK or outside. The DNA of the organisation is our editorial values.

Trust is the foundation of the BBC.

“We are independent, impartial and honest.

“We are truthful and fair in all our dealings.

“We make decisions based on our values, stick by them and take responsibility for them.

“We behave with integrity and do what we say we’re going to do.

“We take pride in that and ensure that we don’t get seduced by a desire to be the first to break news, something that can easily cost your credibility.”

We acknowledge that the BBC in India is not the first port of call for people. Our assumption is that what they do want from us is analysis and explanation of an event.

We have a huge loyal audience in rural India and we ensure that we cater to that segment of society through our editorial agenda. Because of this we have a specific focus on marginalised communities, women, farmers and stories of human rights, development and justice.

A good example is presented by this current election period. We have been running a month of special output called “Reality Check” where the promises made by the political class and those in power is being assessed. We do regular fact-check stories, busting the fake news.

# We have also had special coverage around Muslims in India called “Being Muslim in India” and we cover stories around caste identity regularly.

# We had a season in Marathi called Ambedkar and Me, showcasing stories of successful Dalit entrepreneurs.

# We have featured stories of women from across the country, under the banner “BBCShe”, stories of choices men and women made called “His choice” and “Her choice”.

# We have also committed ourselves to deliver strong contextual coverage of Kashmir—for example, we had a series of stories from the region based around looking at violence through the eyes of children.

# We also have a special focus on tribal issues. Our recent coverage of Pulwama and aftermath is a case in point where we worked hard to ensure neutrality and balance in coverage based on facts.

***

Q: It used to be said that Indians looked at and listened to BBC for its credibility. Is that still the case after the growth of homegrown media? How do you achieve this? What are the tell-tale signs of a fake story for you?

Rupa Jha: Yes, of course. Credibility is the tag that has helped us grow in the market. We work hard on the training of all our full-time journalists and stringers to ensure they fully understand our editorial guidelines so that they understand the BBC way of reporting. This training is a continuous process and takes up a significant part of our budget.

We also have a very strong system of editorial checks and balances. All our language services cross-check and triangulate their stories, and also liaise with the London headquarters through a central planning desk which also ensures that there is a flow of news that is checked and verified. We have standing instructions not to run stories unless there are two independent sources or if we have our own direct sources.

On top of all the above principles and practices, we fact-check stories daily, mostly viral stories. We have also invested resources in a lot of “on-the-ground, eye-witness reporting” at a time when other Indian media have been reducing the amount they do.

***

Q: As the head of BBC languages in India, what does your work entail, how many people do you lead, how do you go about spotting and farming out stories, what kind of stories do you like, etc?

Rupa Jha: My job is to coordinate and oversee the whole of the BBC languages operation in India and to be a vital link to BBC HQ in London. I directly manage ten Service Leads and make sure staff across services in Delhi are properly managed, recruited and developed. As head, it is my task to ensure that there is a strong, creative culture across the bureau, that every member of staff understands clearly what we are doing and who we are doing it for.

My aim is to ensure all services provide a distinctive offering to the Indian market, with a focus on original and solutions-based journalism, mobile-first content, social media engagement and a mixture of news and near news content. I also have to make sure we are optimising our content on every platform and in each language.

We leverage our strength in international news to report Indian news with a global context, i.e. stories that will compare Indian issues to those in the rest of the world and global stories that are made relevant to an Indian audience. To attract new audiences to the BBC, the new services address diverse content needs of the youth and female audiences and deliver the quality, independent journalism that is lacking in this market.

***

Q: There are thousands studying journalism especially in the languages. What would you advise them about the way forward? How can they equip themselves to work for the BBC some day? Can they freelance for you?

Rupa Jha: I feel the language scene in journalism is flourishing. Digital is the way forward, so take the plunge. Whatever format you work in, understand that a good story is a good story. Understanding the eco-system where we operate is vital.

We don’t ONLY look for those who have a degree in journalism. For the BBC that’s not the only consideration because we feel if you are curious and passionate and can tell a good story, you can become a journalist.

It’s a fantastic profession which needs people with courage, imagination and conviction. They can surely freelance for us by sending their CV and work sample to us.

***

Photograph: courtesy Rupa Jha

Slides: courtesy WAN-IFRA

News connoisseurs to news nibblers: how BBC is approaching journalism in Indian languages with five words fast disappearing from our ‘bhasha’: trust, credibility, strength, depth, quality If the English market is tough for serious players in Indian journalism, keeping the head above the water in the languages is a humongous challenge. 1,663 more words

[donheisenberg]

Some Thoughts on Veep and Silicon Valley:

Sunday night saw the season finale of HBO’s premiere comedies, Veep and Silicon Valley. Now normally I would not write too extensively about straight-up sitcoms, not because they are somehow inferior it is just that 99% of the time there is less to say about the best comedies versus the best dramas. The recent seasons of Silicon Valley and Veep interested me though. I think the finales of the previous seasons left both shows in new places and the results of these ventures were often fascinating but also mixed.

Veep season 5 ended with Selina losing the presidency and season 3 of Silicon Valley ended with the season 1-3 version of Pied Piper imploding, leaving Richard and co to start from scratch. Both shows ripped-up there premises and while in the case of Silicon Valley you could argue that the struggles of Pied Piper were ostensibly the same as in the first three seasons, these were very different seasons of both shows.

Let’s start with Veep. From its beginning the show has had a very clear trajectory. By the end of its second season Selina new she would be president, by the end of its third season she was president and in its forth she had to fight an election, which she drew and the fifth saw her contest that result, ultimately to no avail as she lost the presidency.

At this point the trajectory of her character arc becomes far less certain. Season 6 exists in this uncertainty, reflecting Selina’s seemingly purposeless existence. Having said this the best episodes of season 6 Georgia and Blurb have the feel of all of Veep’s finest half hours, even if the season as a whole doesn’t. The inherent ambiguity and listlessness of season 6 should in theory have opened up new avenues for the show and for most of the season it sort of does, but the finale sees the show resort back to type.

Selina announces that she will be running for president again. Not only does this take a bit of a suspension of disbelief (there are any number of reasons that the previous 9 episodes made clear that would mean she could not really run) but it just lacks imagination. Yet at the same time it is true to Selina. In one of the episode’s flashbacks we see a drugged up Selina describe the poison and the sickness that exists in Washington, in another we see her walk in on her husband having an affair and use it to her political advantage and in the present we see her have to break up with her boyfriend, eliciting a rare moment of humanity from Selina as she cries her way out the building. All of which is to say that the tragedy of Selina is that the only thing that matters to her is the same thing that has made her life so empty and miserable.

In some ways it is tough to overly sympathize with Selina. Even by Veep standards season 6 underlined just what an unrepentant asshole she is. Continually she uses and abuses those who truly care about her, Gary and Catherine, because she does not really care about them, or at least there feelings are low on her priorities.

If Veep was not so funny it would be unwatchable at this point. There are characters here who are not hate-able but when it comes to the likes of Selina, Dan and Jonah humanity comes in short supply (for Jonah his friendship with Richard Splett makes him feel ever so slightly human and the constant abuse he suffer would also make you sympathize with him if he was not such a prick in his own right).

Talking of Jonah he became the unofficial co-lead in this massive cast. His run for president promises to be more interesting because for all of his many flaws Jonah has this knack for failing upwards and in many ways he became the perfect satire for Trump, without ever making a point of it. Having said that while the show negotiated the Trump size elephant in the room well this season, it will be tougher next year if they have Clinton-like Selina against Trump-like Jonah, but we’ll get there when we get there.

Earlier I described these two shows as straight-up comedies (distinguishing them from the many sad-coms that are coming to define peak TV currently) but what separates them from your standard sitcoms is the level of plot they each have. Sitcoms rely on formula and are in general immutable, on an episode to episode basis the dynamic never really changes. Silicon Valley and Veep both buck this trend and only to then abide by it.

Like Veep, the Silicon Valley finale sees things return to some stasis. The smart-fridge reveal is somewhat of a deus ex-machina moment but is so very brilliantly Silicon Valley in its clever vulgarity that it almost works, but it also goes to return the show back to somewhere more familiar. The arc of season four was about a Walter White like transformation for Richard Hendricks, but in the end the show knows it can only go so far with that.

If Selina Meyer has always been an asshole and only upped it by a couple notches this season, Richard is character who lost his conscience (only when all was seemingly lost he was able to regain it). Jared (to keep up the Breaking Bad analogy) the Jesse to Richard’s Walt, tries to be Richard’s conscience for most of the season but toward the end concedes that Richard has gone too far. By the end they are able to make up, but Richard still has plenty of atoning to do.

You could ague that both shows, in pressing the reset button, lacked the courage of their convictions. Veep threatened a life post-politics for Selina and Silicon Valley threatened a darker version of itself with a morally corrupt Richard but after a season both shows find a way back to somewhere far more familiar. Maybe the versions of the show just outlined would be awful or could only last a season but particularly in the case of Silicon Valley the show seems scared of becoming something other than what it has been for its first four seasons.

Having said all this both shows are still great joke machines. The absence of TJ Miller in future will hurt Silicon Valley laugh a minute ratio but it can still be a great comedy and Veep is simply one of the best written shows on TV. Its profanity/insults feel so imaginative and have this lyrical quality that regardless of character and narrative I’m always happy to watch it, its just that after so many seasons these show feel the threat of becoming stale more than ever before.