#full of corrupt politicians for decades now | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

aquilaofarkham · 7 months

Text

Dying Has Never Frightened Us: Intergenerational Trauma, Healing, & the Burden of Legacy in Castlevania

An analytical and interpretation essay that discusses how the concept of family legacy and duty can lead to intergenerational trauma in the Castlevania franchise. Focuses primarily on the Belmont who found strength from his pain by honouring his family’s legacy no matter how heavy it felt or the burden that came with it and the Belmont who found his own strength from the ones he loved and who loved him in return.

☽ Read the full piece here or click the read more for the text only version ☽

THE BURNING NEED FOR RETRIBUTION: INTRODUCTION

The world has trauma. It is deep, collective, spanning its roots over centuries and territories dating back to when the borders of today never existed, and it has largely gone untreated—but not undiscussed.

From children’s cartoons to award winning dramas, trauma has become one of the most common topics for media to discuss, depict, and dissect. It makes sense given the sort of physical and mental gauntlet which society has been through in the past five years. Sometimes even in just the past twenty-four hours. From an uptick in disasters stemming from climate change, the rise of publicised policy brutality, genocide as a result of settler colonisation, new developments coming to light after decades of denial regarding the residential school system in Canada, and of course a global pandemic which is still making ripples. Then there is the recent examination of generational trauma which differs from culture to culture. The open wounds we’ve already left and will be leaving for future age groups.

Seeing how fiction reflects reality and vice versa, it isn’t any wonder that movies, television shows, and video games find ways of processing this worldwide sensation of frustrated ennui along with the need to find answers as to how regular citizens can fix things, including ourselves, when politicians and world leaders cannot. When reality cannot provide satisfying resolutions, when we are left confused and even angrier than before due to the apparent shortcomings of institutions meant to provide relief towards the average person, it’s natural to look towards specific media. Whether for coping mechanisms, validation for this collective and personal trauma, or simply for cathartic release so the emotions don’t have to remain bottled up.

Castlevania , both its original 2017 series and the most recent entry of Castlevania: Nocturne (as well as the video games which the show is inspired by), is no stranger to this popular trend of storytelling and characterisation. Yet this trend also comes with its own controversy. When done with a deft writer’s hand and a layer of empathetic critical thinking, trauma in fiction and how we heal from its intergenerational effects can be a powerful tool in raising awareness in regards to something left forgotten by the larger public or it can allow viewers to look inwards at themselves. Done poorly or with a lack of empathy and taste, then the floodgates open.

But beyond the usual discourse surrounding trauma in fiction (how to portray a “realistic” panic attack, what makes a “good” victim, the problematic connotations of forgiving one’s abuser, etc.), Castlevania has its own things to say about the lingering effects of grief, guilt, and pain over the course of thirty-two episodes (now a fourty episode runtime with the inclusion of Castlevania: Nocturne season one). The series—particularly the first which ran from 2017 to 2021—has now gained a reputation for being one of the darker animated ventures tackling themes of religious corruption, abuse, sexual manipulation, and injustice among many others. The value and thoughtfulness of each depicted theme ranges from being genuinely compelling to delving into mere shock value yet the series is also known for its uplifting ending and cathartic release from such dark themes.

One could write entire dissertations on each complicated character and their developments. From Dracula’s suicidal tendencies as a result of unchecked grief to Isaac’s conflicted redemptive journey beginning with his unflinching loyalty to the king of vampires and ending with him forging down his own path in life. How characters such as Carmilla, consumed by her inner agonies and burning hatred towards the world to the bitter end, was left isolated from her sisters until she was forced to choose the terms of her own death, while others like Alucard, Sypha, and to an extent Hector rose above their individual torments in favour of hope and survival. However, this examination will focus on the series’ titular family of vampire hunters. Namely, the Belmont who found strength from his pain by honouring his family’s legacy no matter how heavy it felt or the burden that came with it and the Belmont who found his own strength from the ones he loved and who loved him in return.

Note: this essay will delve into speculations and purely interpretative hypotheses stemming from the author’s own opinions in regards to how they personally read the presented text. It will also discuss heavy spoilers for the majority of Castlevania games and the first season of Castlevania: Nocturne.

—

WHAT A HORRIBLE NIGHT FOR A CURSE: THE CYCLE OF TRAGEDY IN THE CASTLEVANIA GAMES

This examination begins in the exact same place as the show began with its inspirations and references: the original video games developed and distributed by Konami Group Corporations. It’s easy to get swept up in the notion that because of the technological limitations with video games at the time, the Castlevania games are devoid of story or characterization. Yet even the most bare bones of a story found in the games can still have something to say about the burden of legacy and how trauma left unconfronted has the possibility of tearing down that legacy. The most prominent example being Castlevania: Symphony of the Night , arguably the first game to begin delving into a deeper story and character driven narrative. It follows the events of Castlevania: Rondo of Blood , a game which portrayed its protagonist Richter Belmont as a force of nature in the face of evil, always knowing what to do, what to say, and emerging victorious without so much as breaking a sweat (or candelabra).

In keeping with the time of its release and the landscape of popular media particularly in Japan, Rondo of Blood feels like a traditional 1990s action anime complete with brightly coloured cutscenes and character designs reminiscent of Rumiko Takahashi and Rui Araizumi (despite the usual classic horror elements present in every Castlevania game). This is most evident with Maria Renard, the second playable protagonist who attacks with her own arsenal of magical animals and even has her own upbeat theme music during the credits when players complete the main story in “Maria mode”. Richter also shares many similar personality traits with his counterpart, namely his optimism in the face of danger and the confidence that he will be the hero of this narrative.

Of course all this changed in the direct follow-up to Rondo of Blood , the aforementioned Symphony of the Night . Arguably the new staple of future Castlevania games to come, not only did it change the gameplay and aesthetic, it changed the very core of the characters as well. The game even begins with the same ending as Rondo of Blood where Richter fights and defeats Dracula with the help of Maria. Then during the opening crawl, we discover that during a time skip, Richter has vanished and Maria is searching for him. Surely this will be nothing less than a heroic rescue and the most powerful Belmont of his century will be restored to his rightful pedestal.

Yet for the first half of Symphony of the Night , the player is faced with a sobering realisation—the villain we’re supposed to be fighting, the one responsible for conjuring Dracula’s castle back into existence, is Richter himself. No longer the hero we’ve come to adore and look up to from the previous game. Of course, the player along with new protagonist Alucard both know that something isn’t right; perhaps Richter isn’t in his sound mind or some nefarious force is possessing him to commit evil deeds. But unless the player solves the right puzzles and find the right in-game items, Symphony ends with Alucard putting down Richter like a rabid dog. However, this ending can be avoided and a whole second half of the game is revealed.

Richter’s canonical ending is left ambiguous at best, tragic at worst. He laments over his moment of weakness, claiming the events of the game were his fault despite Alucard’s insistence that confronting Dracula was always going to be inevitable. Still, the tragedy of Richter’s fate and how he is portrayed in Symphony of the Night comes much later, when it’s implied the Belmonts are no longer capable of wielding the fabled Vampire Killer, a leather whip imbued with supernatural properties that has been passed down generation after generation. One mistake and misjudgment left the Belmont legacy in a perpetual long lasting limbo with the titular hunters themselves seemingly disappearing from history as well, leaving others such as the Order of Ecclesia to pick up the fight against Dracula’s eventual resurgence. It isn’t until the height of World War II (the setting of Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin ) when the whip’s true potential is finally set free thanks to the actions of Jonathan Morris, a distant relative of the infamous vampire slaying family. However, the only way in which Jonathan can reawaken the Vampire Killer is by defeating a manifestation of the person who last wielded it and also whom the whip abandoned nearly two hundred years prior—Richter Belmont.

Yet players and fans don’t get to see it in the hands of another Belmont until the events of 1999 when Julius Belmont defeats the latest incarnation of Dracula and seals his castle away in a solar eclipse. Even then, he loses his memory until thirty years pass and he’s forced to do battle with Soma Cruz, an innocent transfer student who is also the reincarnation of Dracula. If the protagonist of Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow succeeds in defeating the cosmic threat that has awakened his supposed “evil” destiny, then Julius can finally lay down the Vampire Killer in peace (until the sequel Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow , of course). If not, the game ends with Julius keeping his promise to Soma should he lose sight of his human side and let Dracula be reborn once again. In a scene that directly mirrors the beginning of Symphony , Julius enters the castle throne room, Soma throws down his wine goblet, and the screen goes black. The cycle continues anew. Julius has upheld the duty of his family name but at what cost.

The theme of tragedy getting passed down through different generations, permeating from person to person even with those who are not Belmonts, is a staple of later Castlevania games following Symphony of the Night . In some instances, pain and trauma is what jumpstarts the story moving forward. Castlevania: Curse of Darkness begins with its protagonist Hector in a direct parallel to Dracula swearing revenge on the one responsible for the murder of his wife; an ultimatum that follows him every step of the way, fuelling his rage and determination up until the penultimate moment when his goal is within reach. Yet even then he cries out, claiming this “murderous impulse” isn’t truly him—it’s the result of an outside force he himself once aided before defecting before the events of the game.

Something similar occurs in Castlevania: Lords of Shadow , an alternative reimagining of the franchise that while still a topic of division amongst most die hard fans has also seen a resurgence of popularity and reevaluation. It begins with Gabriel Belmont grieving over the death of his own wife (a trope which is unfortunately common amongst the majority of Castlevania titles). This is a wound that follows him throughout his journey until an even more painful and shattering twist regarding Marie Belmont’s demise is revealed to Gabriel later in the game.

However, there is one example from the games that stands above the rest in regards to the sort of damage which generational trauma as a result of familial duty and legacy, upheld to an almost religious degree, can inflict. So much so that even a declaration of retribution can evolve into a generational curse.

—

HUNT THE NIGHT: LEON BELMONT & THE MYTH OF FREE WILL

The Castlevania timeline didn’t always have a set beginning. An inciting incident by which all future stories, characters, and inevitable calamities could base themselves off of. Rather it changed from game to game until a definitive origin was settled in 2003 with the release of Castlevania: Lament of Innocence . For at least two games, the starting point was supposed to be with Simon Belmont, making his way through a labyrinth of dark forests and cursed towns, before finally traversing the ever changing fortress in Transylvania to defeat Dracula. He even went as far as to gather the remains and resurrect the eponymous lord of his own choice just to rid himself of another curse entirely.

Castlevania protagonists are always cursed by something. Whether it be the cause of Dracula’s influence, their own actions as seen in Lords of Shadow , a curse of the flesh like how Simon had to tackle his own ailment in Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest , or something else just as common as Dracula’s curse: the burden of honouring a family duty.

A basic yet iconic 1986 entry followed by a sequel that had potential especially with the first appearance of the now famous “Bloody Tears” track but suffered from a rather confusing and lacklustre end product. Then suddenly the starting point for the franchise timeline changed drastically. Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse despite the numerical inclusion in its title stands as more of a prequel, detailing the exploits of the Belmont who came before Simon. Not much was altered in the grand scheme of things; the titular vampire hunter still essentially slays Dracula with the help of three other playable characters, said final boss having been driven mad and more violent than ever by humanity’s slight against him. However, not only were the methods by which Dracula is defeated changed but players were given more insight into the sort of burden placed upon the Belmont family name.

When the story of Dracula’s Curse begins, protagonist Trevor Belmont isn’t revered as a legend or hero but rather a blight on larger society who the people only turn to as a last ditch effort against rising evil. The regular god-fearing people of Wallachia now fear the Belmonts and their power (it is also implied that some still feared the barbarian-esque Simon despite his legendary status) so the family is excommunicated. Trevor is forced to enlist three other outcasts—or simply two other fighters, depending on which version of the story you examine—in order to carry out the family business. Even when the rest of the world has shunned them and there are plenty of others just as capable of stopping the forces of evil, a Belmont still has a destiny to fulfil.

Yet once a series has gone on for long enough, things within the established canon are bound to change—again and again. Whether through re-examination in order to line it up better with present day morals and sensibilities, or through good old fashioned retconning in favour of something more interesting, more thought out, or less convoluted. Other times, it’s simply because either the creator or viewers wanted it to happen. In 1997, this occurred with the release of Castlevania Legends on the GameBoy, a prequel to Dracula’s Curse that was meant to serve as the actual origin for the Belmonts, Dracula, and even his son Alucard. Instead of Trevor, the very first Belmont to fight Dracula is now his mother, Sonia Belmont, seventeen years old and already burdened with the glorious purpose of her bloodline.

Sonia is undoubtedly the protagonist of her own story with agency and drive. However, the game ends with a stark reminder of why the Belmonts have a place in the Castlevania universe. The last we see of Sonia in Legends is in the form of an epilogue where she holds her newborn child and states that one day when he’s grown, he will “be praised by all the people as a hero”. Despite her triumph over Dracula—a monumental feat itself—it seems that her purpose in the end (the purpose of most Belmonts other than to forever fight evil in fact) was to merely continue the bloodline so that descendants can carry out a promise made centuries before by another Belmont—someone that neither Simon, Trevor, Julius, or Richter ever knew.

The inevitability of sudden retcons within long-running media was not as kind to Legends as it was to Dracula’s Curse . Because of how the in-game events conflicted with subsequent entries (for example the implication that Trevor is actually the son of Alucard, thus further tying the Belmonts to Dracula through blood as well as duty), both Legends and Sonia were completely removed from the canon timeline. This is merely one reason why the next attempt at creating the definitive origin for the franchise, now a cult favourite among certain subsections of the fan community, was regarded with some animosity. However, twenty years after its release, Castlevania: Lament of Innocence is considered by many as an underrated entry. It is certainly the darker title where both the hero and villain stumble through their own hardships yet neither emerges completely victorious by the end.

The opening narration crawl of Lament of Innocence describes the lives of Leon Belmont and Mathias Cronqvist. They spend most of their lives as reflections of each other; one grows into more of a fighter while the second is coveted for his intellect and ambition. Both are valorous, honourable, and products of their own respective plights. Despite his service to the church, Leon is soon systematically stripped of everything save for the clothes on his back because he wouldn’t follow their orders blindly. While Mathias is forced to watch as an uncaring god (the very same god he serves) takes away a figure of pure virtue and love. This figure, Elisabeta Cronqvist who appears to be a splitting image of Dracula’s next deceased wife Lisa Tepes, was the last remaining tie Mathias still had to whatever bit of morality he still feels, which he eventually throws away when deciding to drag his only friend and everything he holds dear into hell alongside him.

The difference is how both men react to those personal horrors and how they let it govern their pasts, presents, and futures not just for themselves but for others who follow after the dust has supposedly settled. Two men, two best friends turned hateful enemies because of an interlinked tragedy. Not only that, but also because of their perspectives, morals, and the way they view a world that is unkind to them. Both were spurred by the death of loved ones, both used it as a conduit, or rather a catalyst for the radically opposing directions in which their choices take them and their families. Leon chooses to struggle onwards towards a world free from darkness and horror despite his pain. Mathias chooses to revel in that very same darkness and pain with a fire that would burn for aeons. In the end, one thing is absolute. A single thing the two men can agree upon as they flee down adverse paths: one of them will destroy the other.

Yet the timeline of Castlevania proves that this choice comes at a great cost for the Belmonts in particular. By the end of Lament of Innocence , Mathias has revealed himself to be the great manipulator pulling the strings behind the scenes. Due to the immense grief he felt over losing Elisabeta to a presumably common illness made untreatable because of the time period’s medical limitations (coupled with his own arrogance and narcissism), Mathias finally becomes Dracula. Dominion over death and even god by has been achieved by doing what Leon’s righteously moral mind cannot comprehend: transforming himself into an immortal creature driven by bloodlust. All he had to do was lie, cheat, and cruelly outsmart everyone else around him. That of course includes Leon as Mathias’ manipulation tactics were also the cause of the mercy killing of Sara Tarantoul, Leon’s fiance, to stop her from turning into a vampire herself. After watching his former friend escape before the sun can rise and disposing of Dracula’s constant right hand man Death, Leon finally feels his anger over such a betrayal boil over. He gives one final message to Mathias, now the new king of the vampires: “This whip and my kinsmen will destroy you someday. From this day on, the Belmont Clan will hunt the night.”

This is how Castlevania: Lament of Innocence ends. Unlike other entries like Symphony of the Night, Aria of Sorrow, or Harmony of Dissonance , there is no good, neutral, or bad ending that can be achieved if the player is aware of certain secrets and tricks. There is only one for Leon and Mathias. The inclusion of multiple endings in some Castlevania games versus a singular set ending in others may seem like a small coincidental narrative choice in conjunction with evolving gameplay, but it matters in the case of Lament of Innocence. From the moment Leon enters the castle to rescue his fiance, the wheel has already started turning and his fate is sealed. Mathias has already won and Sara, along with future Belmonts, are already doomed. And Leon’s ultimatum made in the heat of the moment would go on to have repercussions centuries later. “Hunting the night” gave the Belmonts purpose but it also burdened them with that exact purpose. While Dracula deals in curses, so does the Belmont family—a curse of duty that gets passed down throughout the bloodline.

Leon Belmont was of course never malicious or cruel like Mathias was. He never wanted to deliberately curse his family because he suffered and so should they. His choice was made out of anger and retribution. Still, it goes on to affect Simon, Sonia, Julius, and others in drastic yet different ways. Yet in the case of specific Belmonts like Trevor and Richter, we see how this family legacy can have varied consequences in far more detail through the introduction of animation and serialised writing into the Castlevania franchise.

—

SOMETHING BETTER THAN A PILE OF RUINS: TREVOR BELMONT & STRENGTH FROM LEGACY

If there’s one thing that Castlevania makes abundantly clear with its four season runtime, it is that trauma does not inherently make people better or more virtuous. We of course see this from the games with Mathias and his personal crusade against god which leads to the complete dissolvement of his closest friendship. Or with Hector and the rage he feels towards his wife’s murderer, who also happens to be his former comrade under Dracula’s employment. Even Leon’s promise to both his friend, now his most despised enemy, and future descendants can also be an example of how gut reactions to pain, grief, and betrayal can have damaging consequences in the long run. This particular dissection of trauma when it affects a survivor negatively and in almost life-altering ways while still giving them a chance at achieving their own method of healing is most apparent with the animated representation of Trevor Belmont.

At its core, the first season of Castlevania airing in July of 2017 with four episodes in total is inspired by the events of Dracula’s Curse with the following seasons taking more from Curse of Darkness along with original story elements. It begins with the brutal execution of Lisa Tepes after she is falsely accused of being a witch. Shortly afterwards, Dracula declares war on all of humanity in an explosion of grief-riddled vengeance (a declaration that is not dissimilar to Mathias’ cursing of god after Elisabeta’s admittedly more natural death). Hundreds of civilians are slaughtered in the capital city Targoviste and hoards of night creatures descend upon more townships across Wallachia.

This would be the perfect opportunity for a Belmont to stand up and fight back except there is one problem: the Belmonts have been eradicated from this world on false grounds of black magic and aiding the vampire lords instead of hunting them—much like how Lisa was slandered and paid the price with her own life.

The only Belmont left surviving is Trevor himself and his introduction does not paint him in the most optimistic or even heroic light. In the midst of being excommunicated by the church, he’s been wandering aimlessly for the past few years while languishing in whatever tavern he stumbles upon. In one particular bar Trevor finds himself in, he overhears the other patrons cursing the Belmonts and blaming them for Dracula’s siege upon humanity. He tries to stay out of it and not bring too much attention to himself until one glance at the family emblem stitched into his shirt breast is enough to ignite an all out skirmish.

Trevor hides his true identity not because he’s ashamed of it, but for his own safety and self preservation. In fact, the opinion he holds of his family is the total opposite from disdain for the sort of legacy they have saddled him with even in death. He reacts strongly to false accusations directed towards the Belmonts, angrily correcting the bar patrons by stating that his family fought monsters. However, he quickly realises he’s said too much and tries saving face by once again detaching himself from possibly being connected to the aforementioned Belmonts.

It’s only when Trevor is backed into a corner and is fresh out of snappy drunk retorts (thanks to a few hard hits to his nether regions) does he finally admit to his real lineage. As mentioned earlier, Trevor finds himself caught up in the first real brawl of the series not because of the pride he feels in himself but the immense pride he feels for his bloodline. All the while, he’s given up trying to hide what he is—a Belmont—and what he was born to do—fight fucking vampires.

Every time Trevor has the opportunity to bring up his bloodline whether in a fight or in conversation, it’s usually spoken with some bravado and weight even when he’s inebriated. However, when visiting the ruins of the Belmont ancestral home in season two and thus directly confronted with what little remains of his family legacy, Trevor loses all that previous bluster and becomes far more contemplative. He doesn’t reveal much of what it was like to actually live as a Belmont, only that it was “fine” and “no one was lonely in this house”. Even when staring up at the portrait of Leon Belmont, he says nothing and instead firmly grips the very weapons which his ancestor must have also wielded.

It’s clear that Trevor feels no shame, bitterness, or lack of respect towards his family history despite the hardships that have come with it. Still, it’s difficult for him to truly accept the duty of being a Belmont and Trevor continually struggles with it over the course of two full seasons. Upon arriving at the ruined city of Gresit which is under constant threat of night creature attacks, Trevor doesn’t seem particularly concerned with the people’s plight or with helping them. He inquires about what’s been happening by speaking with a few local merchants but it’s only in order for him to gain a better picture of the situation that Gresit finds itself in. Otherwise, he’s simply passing through on his way to another tavern, fist fight, sleeping spot, or all three. Until he puts aside his own needs for self-protection in favour of saving an elder Speaker (a fictionalised group of nomads original to the Castlevania show who have made it their mission to help less fortunate communities and pass on their histories via oral tradition) from a potential hate crime committed by two supposed men of the cloth.

This moment acts as a representation of the first chip in Trevor’s carefully maintained armour. During the bar fight, he claimed over and over again that he was a Belmont in both skill and purpose. However, Trevor hasn’t done much to prove such a proclamation. Because of his ennui and poor coping mechanisms due to lingering trauma, he’s been all talk and not a lot of action—until this point. At first he tells himself to walk away, this sort of confrontation doesn’t concern him. Then he remembers where he comes from and uses the very same family heirloom to help someone physically weaker than himself.

Yet when he accompanies the elder back to where the other Speakers have found shelter from the monsters repeatedly demanding their heads as well as future night creature attacks, Trevor’s metaphorical walls are erected back up. He won’t take any part in this eradication of humanity whether as a victim or perpetrator and especially not to stop it. The people of Wallachia made their choice in the unjust murder of Dracula’s innocent wife, they made their choice when they decided to massacre what was left of his family, and the church made their choice when they decided to fight Dracula’s armies themselves without the Belmonts. Why should he lift a finger (or whip) to save the masses?

Despite this nihilistic attitude, Trevor proves to be a poor defeatist. He still desperately wants to protect the Speakers and warns them of an oncoming pogrom planned for them. A massive hate crime fueled by superstition and facilitated by the corrupt Bishop of Gresit which will supposedly save the city from night creature ambushes (this can be interpreted as a direct allegory meant to comment on how minority groups such as Jewish and Romani communities were used as scapegoats during the Mediaeval period). However, the Speakers refuse to budge and decide to face the angry and misled crowds head-on. They instead tell Trevor to leave in their place which, in a burst of frustration, spurs him to finally act like a member of his clan should.

What follows next is one of the most defining moments of the series for Trevor, cementing his place as a Belmont. Another corrupt member of the church demands to know what he could possibly stand to gain from fighting back considering his downtrodden state and the fact that he’s entirely outnumbered. Trevor’s answer is simple: nothing. The Belmonts don’t protect everyday people for any great reward or because of any strong personal ties. They do it because it’s their duty and the right thing to do. Trevor even mirrors something which the elder Speaker told him; a family mantra that encompasses the very purpose of the Belmonts, dating back to Leon: “It’s not the dying that frightens us. It’s never having stood up and fought for you.”

Trevor’s healing journey does not end at this moment. He still has moments of hesitation where someone like Alucard has to forcibly remind him of his place as Belmont, saying he needs to choose whether he’s really the last of a long line of hunters or a drunkard. This leads to a fight sequence that nearly spans the length of an entire episode where Trevor further proves himself by taking on at least three different creatures all with varying degrees of strength, skill, and fortitude. Episode six of season two is the ideal example of not only Trevor’s determination but also his quick thinking. Moments such as him wrapping his cloak around his hand so that it doesn’t get cut while his sword slices through the throat of a minotaur or using a set of sticks to beat against an adversary when his whip is knocked away. Being a Belmont means using one’s intellect (no matter how unconventional it may seem) as well as one’s muscles.

There is also another albeit less violent instance at the start of season three where he still feels the need to hide his surname while in an unfamiliar village. Then there is the revelation that malicious stories about the Belmonts and their supposed demise still circulate amongst rural Wallachian communities. Yet despite coming from a family of old killers (a term Trevor uses before facing off against Death in the final season) his family name remains his strength and the weight of both the Vampire Killer and Morningstar whip keep him grounded rather than burden him. The Belmont name carries such weight throughout the series that by the end, there is strong consideration from Alucard of naming a new township nestled in the shadow of Dracula’s castle after that family.

Trevor deals with his pain and trauma quietly, almost numbing it with the assistance of alcohol and dodging the harder questions regarding what his family was really like. He still finds strength in remembering what the Belmonts are here for despite the tribulations that come with the family name. Hardships that continue and evolve nearly three hundred years later.

—

THE THINGS THAT MAKE ME WHO I AM: RICHTER BELMONT & STRENGTH FROM LOVE

Depending on what sort of mood you might find the author of this essay in, their favourite Castlevania game will vary. At the moment, it’s a three way tie between Symphony of the Night for its artistry, Lament of Innocence for its story and characterisation, and Aria of Sorrow for its evolved gameplay. However, one personal decision remains relatively consistent no matter the mood or time of day: Richter Belmont is the author’s favourite Belmont and the inclusion of him in the latest animated adaptation Castlevania: Nocturne has only cemented that fact.

It makes sense from both a narrative and marketing standpoint as to why we’ve suddenly gone from the events of Dracula’s Curse/Curse of Darkness depicted in the previous series all the way three hundred years later to Rondo of Blood . Narratively, Richter and his companion Maria Renard already have a direct link to Alucard through the events of Symphony , which Nocturne will most likely cover and be inspired by in its second season. Marketing wise while also appealing to the largest demographic possible (even those less familiar with the games), amongst more recurring characters like Dracula and Alucard, Richter is arguably one of the most recognisable Castlevania figures right down to his design.

Certain traits and visual motifs of other Belmonts have changed drastically over the years and with each iteration. Meanwhile, from Rondo and Symphony , to Harmony of Despair and the mobile game Grimoire of Souls , to finally Nocturne and the inclusion of Richter as a playable character in the fighting game Super Smash Bros Ultimate , specific elements of Richter never waver. This includes his blue colour scheme, his tousled brown hair, and his iconic white headband. All of which carry over in the first season of Nocturne which not only expands upon Richter’s character first established in Rondo of Blood but also further examines said character.

For example, Richter’s true introduction directly following the downer cold opening is without a doubt the farest cry from Trevor’s. While Trevor’s first scene acted as a sobering depiction of what happens when physically/mentally damaging coping mechanisms mix with unacknowledged grief, Richter’s first fight gets the audience’s blood pumping, complete with a triumphant musical score and a showcase of his skill with the Vampire Killer. Richter is cocky, but not reckless. He’s sarcastic, but not sullen like Trevor was. Because of his upbringing after the death of his mother, filled with positive affirmations, he values the wellbeing of others along with their fighting experience. Yet his confidence does not overshadow his acknowledgement of the family burden. Richter is well aware of how heavy the Belmont legacy and duty can weigh upon an individual’s shoulders along with how closely it can tie itself around a person’s life and their death—a reminder as well as memory which haunts him for nine years.

When Nocturne begins, its first major fight sequence takes place between Richter’s mother Julia Belmont (an original character for the show) and the vampire Olrox, an enemy taken from Symphony of the Night now reimagined as a seductive, complex Indigenous vampire on his own path towards vengeance against the very person who took away the one he loved most in this world—just one of many thematic parallels to the first series, this time referencing Dracula’s motives and justification for his grief. Just when it seems like Julia has the upper hand thanks to her magical prowess, Olrox transforms and ends her life in a swift yet brutal manner. All of which happens right before ten-year-old Richter’s eyes.

Julia was simply doing her duty as a vampire hunter and her life as a Belmont ended the same as most of her ancestors did: in battle while fighting for the life of another. Why then did it hurt Richter most of all? Why does it haunt him well into his early adult years? And why was it seemingly more so than how Trevor’s trauma haunted him? There are two probable answers to this, one being that Richter was only a child, directly confronted by the cause for his mother’s sudden and graphic death with no way of fighting back despite being a Belmont.

In the case of Trevor, although he was a few years older than Richter when his entire family and ancestral home were burned in front of his eyes presumably by the same people they were supposed to be defending, the circumstances which followed them afterwards are vastly different. For nine years Richter was surrounded by those who loved and cared for him whereas Trevor only had himself and the hoards of average Wallachians who hated him because of superstitious rumours and the church’s condemnation. Trevor had over a decade’s worth of experience in becoming desensitised to his pain and trauma, masking it beneath self deprecation and numbing it with alcohol. He wasn’t even aware of the fact that he was a deeply sad and lonely individual until Sypha pointed it out to him.

Despite his bravado and brighter personality than his ancestor, Richter is also an incredibly sad, hurt person who suffers somewhat from tunnel vision. He obviously has empathy and wants to protect people from monsters, vampires, and the like. More so than Trevor did during his introduction before his moment of self-made rehabilitation. However, he doesn’t seem to care much about the revolution itself or what it stands for. He attends Maria’s rally meetings but he doesn’t take active part in them, opting to stay back and keep a watch out for any vampire ambushes. He admits that he doesn’t really listen to Maria’s speeches about liberty, equality, and fraternity. And in the most prominent example of his disillusionment with fighting for a larger righteous cause, when given a revolutionary’s headband, he shoves it into his pocket and mumbles about how tired he is of everything.

This could be interpreted as defeatist if Richter wasn’t already trying so hard to uphold his family duty and maintain a level head. He needs to have a sense of control and almost achieves it until Olrox so casually confronts him in the middle of a battle which Richter and his friends seemed to be winning until they’re forced to flee close behind him. When Richter runs away and emotionally breaks down the moment he’s finally alone, it isn’t because he’s weak or cowardly. On a surface level, it was due to his fear and panic over not being able to face his mother’s killer (someone who has proven to be much, much stronger and more powerful than any Belmont). Yet it was also a form of harsh admission to himself. He couldn’t maintain that aforementioned sense of control and perhaps he never will, not where he is right now at least.

It isn’t until he’s reunited with his grandfather Juste Belmont (long thought to have died, leaving Richter as the final Belmont) that this negative mindset brought on by unresolved trauma begins to shift. In many ways, Juste is another callback to what happened with Trevor. He suffered an immense tragedy in the past and has since spent his entire life drifting from tavern to tavern, avoiding his own grandson and instead leaving him in the care of people far more capable of raising him and instilling better morals within the youngest Belmont.

Other mentor-esque characters appear in Nocturne such as Tera who raised Richter alongside her biological daughter Maria. There is also Cecile, the leader of a Maroon group which Annette joins after escaping slavery. Despite their individual pains, these two women maintain the hope that humanity can be changed and the evils of the world can be defeated. Meanwhile, Juste has thoroughly lost his own hope. He reveals to Richter that “evil will always win” because of how it permeates everything and is far stronger than any Belmont, even the most magically inclined members. No matter how many Draculas, Carmillas, or Lord Ruthvens are defeated, it will always find a way to creep back to the surface whether through the upper class of France or through the very colonisation that nearly wiped out Olrox’s people or enslaved Annette’s family.

One of the first things that Juste says to Richter directly references the sheer weight of the Belmont legacy, all of which culminates within the whip itself. This can also be a reference to the Vampire Killer carrying a living soul as Leon Belmont was only able to awaken its true power by sacrificing Sara Tarantoul. The whip has both a metaphorical and literal weight which the Belmonts must come to terms with.

Yet for Richter, family is maintained not through blood ties, which can easily die out or be abandoned because of generational trauma, but through the people we find and attach ourselves to. Under the immediate threat of losing his found family, all of Richter’s pain and anguish explodes when his magical powers violently return to him in one of the most visually impressive and cathartic moments of Nocturne season one, complete with an orchestral and operatic rendition of “Divine Bloodlines” taken straight from Rondo of Blood as he ties the same headband he nearly discarded earlier around his head. Then once the dust settles and Richter is asked by Juste how he managed to tap back into that great power, he simply responds with the most obvious answer he can come up with: there are people who love him and he loves them in return.

This is reiterated when Richter is reunited with Annette and describes the same revelation when she asks how he was able to regain his magic. Not just a mental revelation but for Richter, it was a physical sensation as well. Just when he believed he had lost everything, something reminded him of all the things worth protecting in his life and all the pain he’s had to endure.

Richter finally donning his iconic white headband is symbolic of not only his decision to actively join the French Revolution but also his revelation that the love he feels for Maria, Annette, and Tera is his own righteous cause. That, to him, is worth defending just as much if not more than the concept of a centuries old curse turned legacy.

—

SLAVES TO OUR FAMILIES' WISHES: CONCLUSION

Richter, both his game depiction and his recent Nocturne iteration, acts as a reflection and subversion of what a Belmont is along with what that family duty means to different members. Trevor found healing from his trauma through his duty. Richter found his healing through love. Of course Trevor loved Sypha and Alucard in his own way, but throughout the entire first series, from the moment he removed his cloak at the end of season one to standing up against Death in the finale, his driving motivation was always to preserve his family’s legacy despite his own shortcomings. The Belmonts were all but gone and Trevor had been exiled, excommunicated, and turned into a societal pariah. Had he given into despair and continued with his vagabond ways, who else would wield the Morningstar, the Vampire Killer, or any of the knowledge cultivated by previous Belmont generations?

But for Richter, family legacy is more of a nebulous concept. It gets mentioned in conversations and we see its varying effects on individuals, but even when Richter is reunited with Juste, the immediate priorities of his found family takes the place of his blood family. This, according to him, makes him a Belmont.

It is also important to consider that we are still only on the first season of Castlevania: Nocturne with season two having been renewed and in production merely a week after its initial premiere. With the reveal of Alucard as a last minute cliffhanger in the penultimate episode, it will be interesting to see how his own characterisation as well as his close tie with both the Belmonts and his own family burden will further develop especially after three hundred years within the show’s timeline. One of the biggest possibilities is that in contrast with his youthful brashness and instability that was the crux of his character in the first series, Alucard might serve as a sort of mentor figure or perhaps his own generational pain will bond him further to Richter and Maria, more so than he was in Symphony of the Night . Then there is the question of whether Richter in the midst of the apparent losses he suffered during the finale of season one will follow down the same path that his video game counterpart did.

In 2020, the author wrote another Castlevania -centric essay which detailed the visual, thematic, and aesthetical shifts of the franchise from its inception during the 1980s all the way to the 2017 adaptation through focusing on how these changes affected Alucard. By the end of that essay, it was mentioned that despite the show being renewed for at least one more season, the overall future of Castlevania remained unknown. This is still the case for now.

Though one can make educated assumptions and theories, there’s no way of knowing what sort of direction season two of Nocturne will take with its themes and characters. This is doubly true for the games themselves. Despite the anticipated releases of the Silent HIll 2 and Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater remakes, as of now Konami has not revealed any official decisions to remake, rerelease, or produce new Castlevania titles. One can hope that due to the success of both shows along with the anticipation for Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid remakes that something new will be in store for Castlevania in the near future.

Castlevania , both its games and animation adaptations, prove that there is a place in this world for every kind of story. In the last episode of season one airing in July 2017, Alucard states what could very well be the thesis of the entire franchise: “We are all, in the end, slaves to our families’ wishes”. Yet even if we cannot escape the narrative we’ve been latched onto or, for dramatic purposes, cursed with, there are ways in which we can combat it and forge our own healing process.

—

MEDIA REFERENCED

Castlevania (1986)

Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest (1987)

Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse (1989)

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (1993)

Castlevania Legends (1997)

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (1997)

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (2003)

Castlevania: Lament of Innocence (2003)

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (2005)

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (2011)

Castlevania (2017—2021)

Castlevania: Nocturne (2023—)

#castlevania #castlevania netflix #castlevania nocturne #trevor belmont #richter belmont #leon belmont #castlevania symphony of the night #my writing #god its been so long since i wrote an actual essay pls be gentle with me.....

374 notes · View notes

not-a-font · 2 years

Text

So I've just recently watched Arcane, and it's an absolute banger of a show. 10/10 would recommend.

A part of why I think it's good it because it's doesn't really have heros and villains in the conventional sense. All the "villainous" characters have clear motivations, and the narrative highlights the ways they justify their own actions in a way that frames them as understandable even if they are undeniably wrong.

That is... With two not-so-notable exceptions.

These two assholes, whose names I completely forgot and had to look up.

These two are some of the few characters framed as completely and totally unsympathetic. This is very intentional because each one is meant to exemplify what exactly is wrong with the place they help lord over.

For Piltover, the story presents it as an elitist society full of decadence that doesn't care for anything except for it's own economic expansion.

Of the main characters that could exemplify this, there's Jayce, who's actually a pretty decent guy who wants to use science to improve lives but gets stuck in the politics of it all. There's also Mel, who at first seems to be the very pinnacle of an ambitious corrupt politician, only for the story to juxtapose her with her war mongering mother and have her start a relationship with Jayce, which rounds her character and also paints her as sympathetic.

So when all your main characters to complex to properly convey to the audience the problems of your society, you have to show it off through the side characters. Hence, we have Hoskel (that I originally misspelled as Holdaak for some reason lol)

Hoskel is in no way sympathetic. He's fat and greedy and stupid. Mel gives him a children's toy and he's still trying to solve it six years later. When there's a crisis, his first concern is his wine shipments. He's everything wrong with Piltover, so when the audience is done being captivated by the compelling characters, they can look at Holdaak and go "ah yes, this is why the poor is repressed and the government is completely corrupt."

Same goes for Zaun. It's hard to use Silco as a way to represent all the problems with Zaun because the audience is too focused on his compelling relationship with Jinx. Yes he's a kingpin controlling the masses with drugs, but the audience can see how he got there, and right now he cares more about Jinx than his own power.

Meanwhile we have Finn, a lesser kingpin complicit in Silco's regime and actively riding off of his coat tails for the sake of his own power. He's dissociated with the plight the average Zaun denizen to the point that he can't even breath the same air as them without choking on the ground.

When the audience is wondering why Zaun is so much worse after Silco took over, they can look at that guy and go, "ah yes, it's because people like this guy are benefitting from the addicted masses."

#arcane #arcane analysis #arcane silco #arcane mel #arcane jayce #zaun #piltover #first time doing the thing where you make an actual analysis instead of ranting incoherently #hope i did well #anyways i just love arcane and it's foils #literally everything and everyone is a foil #goes very well with the two city narrative #also both holdaak and Finn are totally under the thumb of the better character (Mel/Silco)#but for holdaak its willingly but for Finn it's because he can't do anything about #also mel giving holdaak a children's toy amd him keeping onto it for so long is really funny for me #Mel was like: lol he's to dumb for a 3x3 let's just give him a pyra-mix

413 notes · View notes

intersectionalpraxis · 5 months

Note

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/eu-fears-that-trump-s-return-to-power-could-collapse-nato-nyt Looks like your dream will come true when Trump wins next year. He will destroy NATO and it is the only security EU has so European democracies will collapse. Trump will make US fascist. Told you it will be work camps next. Does it matter if it will be the right or the left when both are always building work camps? How else will they solve the climate and overpopulation problem? Russia made the first move when they gave US and NATO the Ultimatum back in December 2021.

I'm struggling to understand something here. Make my 'dream' come true? The ENTIRE United States systems is built on imperialism, genocide, white supremacy, militarization, colonialism, among many other axis's of oppression. People are beyond sick and tired of the way these structures continue to suppress and oppress people around the world and in their 'own' country. Especially when nearly a trillion dollars go to funding a military that could be allocated and used to help people in the US have proper housing, access to food and medical resources, life saving care and medication, and overall a better standard of living.

A lot of us already live in capitalistic hellscapes. What do I have, or most people for that matter have to be consistently happy about (on philosophical and literal levels here) because so many of us are struggling to survive. Even in liberal governments, I know multiple people who have more than one job, and some of those people are actually working full-time or are on a salary. Grocery prices are also expected to go up AGAIN next year in Canada. And the way the government has been accountable here about this? Sending a few grocery rebates (while not even taking account of people in Northern communities -especially Indigenous communities everywhere in this settler state, which have been impacted by this for decades). There is a food security and housing crisis here too, and we're run by a liberal government, and the conservative party will evidently make things worse too, just to make things clear that this struggle is everywhere.

Also, when Trump was voted in, it was only then so many white women rallied because things were now starting to effect them -something Black, Brown, and Indigenous folks and folks in the disability justice movement HAVE been saying all along. There are too many American politicians who don't care because they're paid at the end of the day. I can think of a handful of exceptions in Congress, Congressional Representatives Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, to name a few. But to say that it's going to crash and burn thanks to the VERY people who have been saying this whole system is corrupt to the core is just wild to me. There will always be bigots who vote, over 70 million who love Trump and have defended him. There will also be people who vote for Biden, despite all he has done, too. There are also alternatives like Claudia De La Cruz and Karina Garcia, and rather then see them as 'taking away votes,' but as one of the many things you can do to say that these are the people in postions of power and advocate for them, but you're stuck in this in a bipartisan model and it really isn't reflexive and accountable to ongoing issues people have been facing in the US for years, but also being tired of their imperialistic violence. And want real change.

I'm also one SINGLE voice on this matter, so to put this entirely on me is something I'm truly at a loss for words for. Because when someone tries to argue 'but it's the lesser evil here,' then I sincerely ask you to unpack a sentiment like that.

8 notes · View notes

unhonestlymirror · 8 months

Text

A reply to this post from @eywind:

"Maria, you probably won't see my reply. But I will try to remind you of your own reality.

Since 2014, your leader and your team have refrained from condemning the annexation of Crimea and the war in Donbas. Aleksei Navalny even stated that “Crimea is not a sandwich” and, in fact, proposed to hold some other referendums on the clearly illegally occupied territory of Ukraine out of some kind of fright.

Why is that? First, of course, this apparently largely coincides with your personal positions. But even if this is not so, and deep down in your soul, you really support Ukraine with all your heart, there is a critical “second”.

You, as politicians, miraculously understand that direct support for Ukraine - an absolutely moral, honest, and legal (corresponding to international law) position - actually means political death in Russia.

You know very well that you will not win popularity among the Russian people if you say directly that Russia must give up territories to Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, pay reparations and repent for several decades more for the crimes committed. Although this is what would be right and moral.

You know very well that the majority of the Russian people either support the war or treat it with positive neutrality. Therefore, they are forced to shift the focus in their domestic political messages to the fight against corruption, which translates into “they steal, therefore they do not produce missiles that kill Ukrainians efficiently enough” (this would be as funny as jokes about a shark if there were no deaths).

You are afraid to take a moral position even after the start of a full-scale war. On international platforms, where naive Western leaders are happy to invite you, not a word is heard from you on the topic of Ukraine. You consider all the crimes of the Putin regime only from the standpoint of your personal suffering, in order, again, to shift the focus from the fact that the Russian people are not that much suffering now. That the Russians, even having got out from behind the Iron Curtain, do not even try to organize mass anti-war protests. How many of you left there, more than a million? Where are they?

Putin is taking away Russians' pensions and future. You are silent about what Putin takes from Ukrainians. Because the very Russians whose psyche you protect so much will stop loving you. Who voluntarily go to war (for evading the mobilization of ZERO criminal cases) and wish Ukrainians death every day in thousands of comments (and not all of them are bots).

Whereas an effective Russian state, if you build it for those people from whom you now want to earn the trust - Russian voters - it will be better to fight.

It turns out that you, indulging the immorality of your own people, taking an absolutely immoral and cynical position, designed for the political future, have the audacity to teach morality to Ukrainians.

Your calculation is wise and cunning. I would do the same in your place. With one caveat - if you put your political future in your country in the first place, then shut your mouth to the Ukrainians. You are not our friends, at best, negotiators, and your Putin is your problem (we will solve our problem, but you and collective Putin will still remain).

And if you really want to put morality in the first place and want Ukrainians to at least not show contempt for you (you won’t reach respect anyway), then put your system of values in order."

"The Putin regime can be dismantled, but the Russian people will remain the same 100 millionth collective Putin.

Without revision and rethinking of Russian culture, politics, and everyday life as well, real changes in Russia are impossible.

That's why I don't trust FBK. They can not fail to understand this, but at the same time, they do nothing in this direction. This means that their goal is not real change in Russia, but simply to become a new regime themselves, which for the first conditional 10 years, will be friends with the West in order to accumulate funds again and then take revenge."

#stop russian aggression #support ukraine #genocide of ukrainians #russia is a terrorist state

9 notes · View notes

tolerateit · 2 months

Note

I applaud anyone that pursues academia past a bachelor's. I used to want to get a phd myself back in the day but I laugh about that now so strap in for a story time.

I was halfway through my bachelor's degree, and I was in the process of researching where to apply for a masters. I wanted that to be abroad. And I wanted it to be some sort of political science or something like that. Which was completely unrelated to my literature degree pursuit at the time. But I didn't care, I simply wanted to help fix the world and work as a diplomat or work for the UN.

Anyway, during my research I found out that it costs anywhere between $100-$500 just to apply for a masters program. Which was hella expensive for me living in a country where $300 was the average salary. I joked with friends that I would need to sell a kidney just for a few applications. Fortunately I had a plan for the tuition and other expenses part of studying. There's a government program that pays for everything as long as you get accepted to one of the top universities according to the Shanghai ranking. In return, all you gotta do is graduate on time and then go back home to spend double the time it took you to graduate working in my country. It was the perfect plan! Especially since all those universities had three separate price points, depending on where you're coming from (I'm talking about the European universities that had one really cheap price for locals, second slightly more expensive for other EU members, and third ridiculously high for the rest of the world)

So I started saving up money for those applications about a year before I was supposed to apply. And started looking into the documentation I would need to apply to the universities and to the government program. Meanwhile, my parents tried to dissuade me from studying anything remotely connected to politics saying I'm not cut out to be as cold blooded as the politicians in our country are. I'd wanted to pursue politics for my bachelor's but they negotiated with me to first get a degree in something I would have an easier time finding a job with locally (jokes on them the market has been oversaturated for over a decade before this conversation happened, they just didn't know), and then pursue politics. Just to have a sort of backup if things go bad in any way. And I reluctantly agreed.

But when my last year of my studies started, all the application prices increased. I started thinking about maybe taking a gap year after I graduate and working my ass off to get enough money to apply to 4-5 different schools. I then met my now husband. Him and his family had far more connections to various people than my family did and I got to learn more about that government program behind the scenes. What I learned was that in 99% of cases, the only requirement to be accepted is nepotism. Around that time I learned of a kid in my neighborhood getting accepted in the program for an undergraduate degree. Because his dad was higher up the political food chain in my country. There wasn't an option for an undergraduate degree for the rest of the country. Just masters and phds. Which immediately ruined all of the ideas and plans I had made and made me incredibly disillusioned with the whole thing I intended to do. My now husband also told me he wanted to pursue political science when he entered academia, but he had a different approach. He was in a forensic science program at the time and was thinking about a masters from the local university. He got disillusioned when he saw the amount of crime and corruption in his current studies. While the professors were teaching students all the laws, they were also actively breaking them. He was so disillusioned he ended up transferring from that department to another school to study computer science.

The cherry on top, for me, was the fact that this was all happening around 2015/16 when the Me Too movement was in full swing, and stories started showing up on the amount of sexism women in academia deal with on a daily basis. Along with a couple of other disgusting political things I learned that happened locally.

Immediately no. The whole messy endeavor. Immediately no.

These days I'm looking to move to an EU country, so that if my future kid wants to pursue the degrees I wanted, or any other ones, they would have a lower barrier of entry. I mean that along with the functional educational, medical and legal systems which are nonexistent here as I've demonstrated through the stories I've shared lmao

But I greatly admire anyone who's able to do all that. They are the people that are changing the world in so many different and exciting ways through their discoveries and I'm grateful for them. <3

APPLICATION FEES ARE SO STUPID??? they're not that high at least for places im applying to but it feels so weird to pay just for an opportunity to get in, when there's so many barriers you'd face later! I hope things turn out better everywhere because it's disgusting how closely education ties in with politics. some fields should be absolutely free and safe from any sort of political agenda

#you ask for the tab*#MK

4 notes · View notes

bopinion · 1 year

Text

2022 / 50

Aperçu of the Week:

"Having to go to school should be considered child labor."

(My 14-year-old son)

Bad News of the Week:

In a European country that is also a NATO member, the judiciary has sentenced a citizen to two years and seven months in prison for insulting public officials. Sound harsh? It is. Especially when the convicted man merely spoke of "fools" and did not address anyone personally. Even harder, however, is that the person also got a so-called "political ban". Especially because he is a politician. Stupidly from the opposition. Stupidly in Turkey.

Ekrem Imamoglu is the mayor of Istanbul, by far the largest city in Turkey, a vibrant metropolis located on two continents. He is accused of publicly insulting officials: he is said to have called those who "canceled the (municipal) elections (on March 31, 2019)" idiots. The bottom line is that he has thus denied non-partisanship to the officials. And is right in doing so. Because after two decades of the richly authoritative AKP rule under President Recep Erdogan, Turkey's state agencies, like the judiciary, have degenerated into lackeys.

And just like other critics such as Deniz Yükel, Osman Kavala, Canan Kaftancioglu or even Jan Böhmermann, Ekrem Imamoglu is now suffering the same fate. Anyone who doubts the ruler gets into trouble. Especially if he is considered a promising challenger to Erdogan in the upcoming elections in June 2023. Who obviously thinks little of the rule of law. You can also ask any Kurd. Or, more recently, any Swede or Finn. He denies the former any right to exist. And at least NATO membership for the latter, because he disagrees with their treatment of the - surprise! - Kurds. After all, they are basically terrorists.

But as I said, Turkey is a NATO member. For the U.S., therefore, it is a geopolitically indispensable partner. Because of its location on the southern Black Sea, which controls the access of Russian navy - not only Cuba fan Nikita Crushchov can sing a song about that. And for the EU also geopolitically an indispensable partner. Again, on the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles. In this case as the bridge of countless not only Syrian or Afghan refugees to Europe. As long as Erdogan protects the democracies of others, he may nip this same democracy in the bud in his own country. That is probably also politics. Without any ban at all.

Good News of the Week:

Political Brussels has been rocked by a scandal for a week now: there are allegations of corruption against members of the EU Parliament. And these are so massive that the investigation has led to house searches and even arrests in four cases. At the center is a vice president of the Parliament, the Greek Eva Kaili. Bags full of cash would have been found on her. The accusations are serious. They range from bribery and money laundering to participation in a criminal organization.

Corruption always involves two parties: the bribed party and the bribing party. The latter is allegedly the Gulf state of Qatar. Which is apparently not only willing to buy international sports organizations, but also political goodwill with key partner countries. And it seems fitting, after all, Kaili in particular has recently been a vocal advocate of visa-free travel for Qataris. Her lawyer has so far denied any corruption, but that is his job: "She has nothing to do with money flows from Qatar, nothing at all," and he is not allowed to comment on details.

The reactions at the European level came promptly. Still on the weekend, Kaili was deprived of all powers of the office by the President of the Parliament, the Maltese Roberta Metsola. Then she was expelled from her Greek Pasok party and also from the Socialist group in the European Parliament. And finally, the formal impeachment by the Parliament itself. Already on the second working day of the week! And with only one dissenting vote!

Mind you, the presumption of innocence also applies in Belgium until a legal conviction. And at the moment it seems that Kaili's partner Giorgi is the mastermind. But political hygiene demands action in the case of such serious accusations. Quickly and clearly. That is what happened. The U.S. Republicans, for example, could take a leaf out of their book.

But what also makes this case so unique is just that - its uniqueness. For background: the EU Parliament has existed since 1952, has 705 members from 27 countries in this legislative period, and is the only directly elected supranational institution in the world. And yet this is the first time that a scandal of this magnitude has happened. For me, this means two things: Europe is not a banana republic. And if it is, it knows how to fight back.

Personal happy moment of the week:

Just now the fireplace crackles für the first time this winter. Which pleases me in several ways. The never-ending fascination of the flames. The adorable scent that fills the whole house. The almost therapeutic warmth, which is incomparable. And it was a simple wish I could fulfill for my wife on her birthday.

I couldn't care less...

...about the publicly celebrated royal family therapy of "Harry & Meghan" - now also available as a streaming service. There's really nothing more to say about it.

As I write this...

...I am once again very much in agreement with a position taken by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. He had reacted "very disturbed" to the interim blocking of various journalists' accounts on Twitter by Elon Musk. The "arbitrary" move sets a "dangerous precedent" at a time when journalists around the world are facing "censorship, physical danger and even worse." Media should not be "silenced on a platform that declares itself a space for free speech." There is really nothing more to say about this either.

Post Scriptum

U.S. Republicans continue to work to lack respect for the rule of law. The latest highlight was delivered by Marjorie Taylor Greene at the New York Young Republican Club Gala, when she commented on the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as follows: "I got to tell you something, if Steve Bannon and I had organized that, we would have won. Not to mention, it would've been armed." There was applause. That can only be called a loss of reality. In comparison, the digital trading cards in the style of superheroes of her idol Donald Trump, who considers himself "better than Lincoln, better than Washington," are merely a bad joke. But they also show that the true function of elected politicians - namely to be public servants - has not yet got around in these circles.

4 notes · View notes

mariacallous · 1 year

Text

In 1995, a U.S.-led military intervention ended three and a half years of war in Bosnia. Along with the European Union, the United States invested heavily in peace-building. Now, pro-Russian actors threaten to derail the country’s future with Western institutions by preventing its accession to NATO. Earlier this month, Russia’s ambassador to Bosnia made a veiled threat to the country in case it decided to proceed with NATO membership. The window of opportunity for the United States and NATO to act, and welcome Bosnia to the alliance, is still open—but it may be starting to close. Amid the war in Ukraine, it is time to seize the momentum and expand NATO to include Bosnia.

It was a NATO-led mission that successfully implemented the military aspects of the Dayton Accords, ending the carnage of war, from late 1995 to 2004. The 60,000-strong force was a major reason the country did not slide back into conflict. In fact, NATO is generally credited with ensuring much-needed security in postwar Bosnia.

For decades now, joining the EU and NATO have been Bosnia’s top strategic objectives, though NATO is incomparably more important. The country’s recent history, marked by internal secession and external interference from neighboring Serbia and Croatia in the 1990s, is a constant reminder of the necessity of acquiring a security umbrella.

Bosnia’s decision on NATO membership was clearly laid out in 2005 when the Law on Defense was adopted. Article 84 of this law states that all state-level institutions including the presidency, the state-level government, and the state-level parliament will work toward achieving full membership in NATO.

By undermining Bosnia’s functioning, though, anti-NATO forces are working to ensure that the country remains fragile and fails to meet requirements for full membership in the alliance. They are aided in this mission of sabotage by the country’s political system—one of the most complex in the world, for a population of less than 3 million.

Bosnia has multiple levels of governance: the state level, entities, cantons, and municipalities. As a result of the complex power-sharing agreement, there are a series of built-in institutional vetoes that hamper efficient decision-making. For a country with a rapidly declining population, Bosnia has an extraordinary number of politicians: three co-presidents, 14 parliaments, more than 130 ministers, and at least 70 political parties.

This Byzantine system means that it takes months to form governments at different levels across the country. Around 10 major political parties in the country are both in power and in opposition simultaneously at different levels of governance. This, along with ethnic-based politics and vetoes, effectively impedes change.

Bosnia has faced institutional gridlock, secessionism, rampant corruption, and external meddling in what has turned out to be a decade and a half of prolonged instability. Thousands of Bosnians are voting with their feet in search of a brighter future elsewhere in Europe. Towns and villages across the country are eerily deserted as the outward migration takes a staggering toll.

In the lead-up to elections last October, a number of political parties branded themselves as reformist, promising major changes in a country where ethnic affiliations dominate. When the new state-level government was finally formed in late January, international diplomats based in Sarajevo welcomed this as a sign of much-needed change. The U.S. Embassy voiced its support and offered to assist in “reforms required for BiH’s Euro-Atlantic integration,” and the EU expressed its enthusiasm.

In fact, both change and the country’s pro-Western course are now in doubt.

At the state level, two hard-line parties that have dominated the country’s politics remain in power: the Bosnian Serb Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) and the Croat Democratic Union (HDZ). A coalition document signed before the new government took office ominously left out Bosnia’s objective of joining NATO. There is a reference to the country’s ambition to join the EU, but not the military alliance.

In the highly autonomous Republika Srpska, which makes up 49 percent of the country’s territory, an anti-NATO constituency has emerged. When NATO had boots on the ground, until 2004, there was little open anti-Western sentiment. The Americans’ turn away from the Balkans—and the departure of U.S. troops in the wake of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq—left a power vacuum in the country. A new EU-led force in Bosnia turned out to be no more than a paper tiger.

While the EU’s approach to Bosnia was hapless, Russia’s assertiveness across Europe over the past decade has been felt, especially in Bosnia. Back in 2009, Bosnia’s Serb member of the presidency, Nebojsa Radmanovic, was in favor of Bosnia’s aspiration to join NATO. Now, the leader of SNSD, Milorad Dodik, is at the forefront of anti-NATO sentiment. Once a nominal social democrat praised by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Dodik has been in power since 2006 and has firmly entrenched himself as the dominant figure in Republika Srpska. For the past 17 years, he has worked assiduously to undermine Bosnia’s state-level institutions. In response, the United States imposed sanctions on Dodik in 2017, but to little effect. Targeted sanctions by the United Kingdom last year were similarly ineffective.

Dodik has for years cultivated close links with Moscow. He supported Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and visited President Vladimir Putin twice last year. Dodik has positioned himself as the Russian president’s most loyal ally in this part of Europe. In early January, the Bosnian Serb leader awarded Republika Srpska’s highest medal of honor to Putin. This was a direct poke in the eye to the West.

As he provokes the West with no consequences, his and his allies’ pro-Russian sentiments are on full display. After NATO defence ministers pledged to step up their support for Bosnia, Georgia and Moldova in mid-February, Dodik came out against this assistance. As Ukraine prepares to mark the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, Republika Srpska parliament speaker and Dodik ally Nenad Stevandic is on an official visit to Moscow this week.

Apart from Dodik, another influential actor in the new government is the leader of the HDZ, Dragan Covic. Both Dodik and Covic are veterans of Bosnia’s political scene and have a rock-solid alliance. Unlike Dodik, Covic is not on the record as being opposed to NATO. But he has been airing pro-Russian views over the last few years.

Back in 2017, Bosnian-American scholar Jasmin Mujanovic was the first to point out Covic’s and HDZ’s pro-Russian sentiments. In 2020, Covic declared that there “there is very little Russian influence here.” Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Covic and a few fellow HDZ members voted against Bosnia joining EU sanctions on Russia.

With two influential political parties in the new ruling coalition at the state level harboring pro-Russian views, alarm bells are ringing for Bosniak Muslims. According to the last census conducted in 2013, Bosniaks comprised 50.1 percent of the population. While ethnic Serbs and Croats have their kin states in neighboring Serbia and Croatia, this is not the case with Bosniaks. They have no alternative homeland or fallback option. For Bosniaks, building up the country’s institutions and joining NATO are crucial to guaranteeing their safety.

There are broader consequences to pro-Russian actors fostering instability in this corner of Europe. A destabilization of Bosnia could easily spill over into next-door NATO member states Croatia and Montenegro. Bosnia’s 12-mile shoreline is the only non-NATO territory on the Adriatic Sea. With pro-Russian politicians also influential in Montenegro, Russia is set to gain access to the warm waters. This means two countries that were once both pro-Western have become contested between the West and Russia. A worst-case scenario mulled by some analysts is the opening of a new front in the Balkans to distract from the war in Ukraine.

Sarajevo is an hour’s flight from Vienna, and in the early 1990s, hundreds of thousands of Bosnian refugees made their way to Western Europe. Investing in Bosnia’s security is a direct investment in Europe’s security.

If Bosnia’s NATO integration is stalled—as is expected—the message for the United States and its allies in NATO is clear: Admit Bosnia into NATO before it is too late.

The good news is that despite Bosnia’s changing electoral politics, polls show NATO is still broadly popular. A survey conducted by the International Republican Institute last year found that 69 percent of Bosniaks and 77 percent of Croats support NATO membership.

In the wake of the war in Ukraine, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg support for Bosnia and has stated that the country is on a path to membership. The alliance is implementing the Membership Action Plan for Bosnia, which is a stepping stone to accession to NATO. But time is of the essence. A narrow focus on Bosnia meeting requirements for NATO membership should give way to the larger objective of securing this corner of Europe.

NATO’s history includes several cases of strategic enlargement. In 1952, Greece became a member following the Greek Civil War. West Germany was admitted in 1955 while under U.S. tutelage. Spain joined NATO in 1982, several years after the Franco dictatorship ended. In these cases, democratic development took a back seat to strategic imperatives. The same should be the case today for Bosnia. Unless Bosnia is admitted quickly, a Russian outpost in what should have been NATO territory could be the new reality.

His response, based on the linked source, seems more neutral. He said NATO would respect Bosnia’s choice to join or not.

5 notes · View notes

madamspeaker · 2 years

Note

Because of the 2016, more than half of people are convinced that Hillary is corrupt and power driven and Bill is an abuser and a pedo. They might not believe 100% but everybody has doubts about both of them which is enough to damage their legacy and reputation. Can they revert the misconceptions? They are old.

2016 was only the doubling down of those notions - they had been circulating since the 1980s, and reinforced by partisan GOP talking points, white women bizarrely resentful of one of their own and looking for any excuse to justify that feeling, and white men aggrieved that Bill was southern but not a Republican, and therefore a race traitor. 2016 represents a moment in history when people could look at the evidence before them, see with their own eyes no corruption, or they could continue to let themselves believe the bullshit. And they did. If you want the moment America officially went full on stubborn stupid, it was 2016 - and not because they elected Trump, but because they did so on the basis of a bunch of lies that they all knew to be lies and could see proof were lies.

Here's the thing, Hillary and Bill are probably the two most investigated politicians in history - everything about them, their finances, their personal lives, has been poked and prodded, and hung out for the public to gawk at, and at the end of it all the worst to emerge is that Bill was a shitty husband who was dumb enough to be caught. Let's not forget that Bill Clinton wasn't the first, nor I suspect will be the last President to cheat on his wife or to be problematic with women. His grand crime was to be caught, and then do the stupid thing of lying about it at first. Everything else said about him is just that - said - unsubstantiated claims that there has been plenty of opportunity to prove true, and yet no one ever has. One of the great downsides to the internet is that anyone can say anything now and not only are there next to no consequences for lying, but the lie will likely go viral and be believed because critical thinking is almost as extinct as the dodo these days, and worse, the media, no longer encumbered by the fairness doctrine, can run with the lie because truth is no longer the deciding factor in what makes the "news".

Look at Hillary - a woman who released all her taxes in a year in which the other two men did not and never did. Hillary's great crime was to be true to herself, to be transparent in what she did - and because that transparency made the two men she was running against (first Sanders and then Trump) look rather bad, the whole emails thing was exaggerated. Never ever forget this - Hillary used a secure server for her emails. Colin Powell, who held the same job as her, used AOL for his. Somehow it was never a scandal for Powell. Indeed it had been Powell who suggested Hillary use her own email.

Can it be turned around? No. Certainly not any time soon. I'm afraid the name Clinton is toxic for the foreseeable. It's a grossly unfair thing to have happen, but my own thinking is that history will eventually correct the record. Jimmy Carter, wildly disliked when president, has had his term of office reconsidered now, and Jimmy has had the good fortune to be alive to see it, but Jimmy was only fighting against a misconception regarding four years, and not as Bill and Hillary face, decades. I'm not sure Hillary or Bill will get to see a re-evaluation of their legacies in their own lifetime - as Twitter post the fall of Roe shows, people are still all too ready to double down or triple down on bullshit notions if they can avoid admitting they got their vote in 2016 wrong. It's going to take a lot of time for certain people to step back and admit that neither Clinton was the monster they let themselves believe.

7 notes · View notes

bazwillendinflames · 2 years

Text

Something My Soul Needs (2/6)

AO3

First chapter | Next chapter

This fic is a WWDITS collbaeration with FanFictionette and updated every Friday.

So, choosing the right victim had never been just about taste. The realization struck her with the force of a freight train. Suddenly it all made sense, her seemingly random stomach upsets - they were rare, but they had always come after draining some depressed human. How could she have been so stupid as to miss such an obvious connection?

Sad victims don’t sit well with Nadja.

Five times that she suffers the consequences of draining a miserable human, and one time someone else does.

A lot could change in two hundred years. Two centuries was plenty of time for learning and self-discovery - something Nadja had experienced firsthand after her death, transformation and subsequent escape from Antipaxos. There was a name for what she had become, for starters: vampire. And there were more of them! Hundreds, maybe even thousands, just like her, who lived happily in the dark crevices of almost every city, town or village Nadja had traveled to. A whole separate society bubbling just under the surface of human civilization, complete with its own rules, customs, and governing body.

It was a life beyond what she had ever hoped for in her little village, although her thoughts often drifted back to her first home. Her family would be long dead now, she realized; Nadja had outlived them all.

But Nadja had a new family: she was married! Not simply wedded off to the first man in her village willing to trade her father a flock of sheep for her hand, but truly, properly married to - and not to mention madly in love with - the most wonderful man she could imagine.

Nadja’s eyes would still well up with happy tears if she recalled the ceremony for more than a fleeting instant. (Not that she’d ever let anyone other than her husband see that and survive, she had a reputation these days.) She and her betrothed had stood before one of the elders in the dimly lit Vampiric Council catacombs, their clasped hands bound together with a red silk ribbon. The rites were said, they each drank from a gold chalice containing their mingled blood, and then Nadja was declared his wife. His wife!

Laszlo.

Her sweet, passionate, darling husband. Nadja had turned him almost the moment she laid eyes on him, and Laszlo had proposed soon after. It had been a whirlwind romance by both human and vampiric standards, but Nadja had no regrets. That had been fifty years ago, and she still fell for him again every night of her undead life. It was true that they both took lovers whenever the mood struck - sometimes they'd even share their latest plaything - but when the fun was over, Laszlo was the only one Nadja wanted to spend her eternity with. He was the one who nestled up to her, the pair of them squeezed into her coffin, cuddled together.

They'd taken up residence in London, in one of the many stately apartments belonging to the Cravensworth line. It had been decades since Nadja had known hardship, although she never quite forgot it. Now, instead of huddling with her siblings for warmth and wondering where her next meal was coming from, her nights were spent basking in the golden glow of a crackling fireplace and luxuriating in the sensation of a pleasantly full belly while the love of her undead life played her a song on his well-worn piano. Warmth, home, and food - once things she had to claw for - were now closer than ever.

London had no shortage of victims whose sudden death would make life easier for some destitute soul. There was always a miserly landlord, an abusive husband, or a corrupt politician whose mysterious and untimely demise would be subject to a less-than-thorough investigation.

It was easier to hunt with a partner by her side. Laszlo didn’t mind her pickiness when it came to victims, and he was often eager to suggest old friends who had wronged him or clubs that had excluded him for them to prey upon.

They were headed to one such club that night. Laszlo had chosen it because of some petty argument over dress codes, but it looked fancy and exclusive enough that Nadja was sure they’d eat well.

“First my dear,” Laszlo said. He unhooked their linked arms and reached into his waistcoat pocket. He produced a small box, which he handed to her. “Happy anniversary.”

“Oh darling…” Nadja said, eagerly unwrapping it. Gifts had been so rare until she had met Laszlo but now he seemed determined to spoil her enough to make up for the two hundred years before they had met.

Inside the box was a golden ring engraved with a simple N . Nadja slid it onto her finger and smiled. “It’s lovely.”

“Nothing for the best for you, my dear.” Laszlo said. He kissed the ring, and then gently kissed the back of her hand. “Now, let us have our feast. Only the finest for my wife.”

“Satisfied, my beauty?” Laszlo asked Nadja as they walked arm in arm through the foggy streets. She had insisted that they walk back to their apartment, and Laszlo was always happy to indulge his wife, even if he did prefer using his vampiric abilities.

Nadja hummed contentedly, stopping to press a brief but passionate kiss to her husband’s lips. Laszlo could still taste the blood of their latest victim on her tongue. They had indulged in a sampling of almost every guest at the club, giggling as they lured each one away together. By the end of the party, it had been more than the wine in their victims blood that had left them dazed, and the pair had left.

“Ladies first.” Laszlo said as he turned the key in the lock and ushered Nadja inside. She was leaning against his side now. “Are you feeling alright, my love?” He asked.

Nadja had sunk down onto the edge of the bed, all her previous giddiness gone. “I am fine, Laszlo. It must be all their second-hand wine, I am rather sensitive to these things.”

Laszlo was feeling a little light-headed himself, so he didn’t think much of it. “I do find myself a little giddy, but I must confess your presence is often the cause.”

Nadja smiled, but it soon turned to a grimace. “It must have been strong wine.”

“The chaps gambling in the corner were on to the whiskey by the time we got to them…” Laszlo recalled.

“Gamblers,” Nadja hissed. “Tell me I didn’t consume any, they’re always so bloody miserable!”

“Well, some of those chaps did taste a bit melancholy, although I don’t have as much of a sophisticated palette as you - I overheard one confess to gambling away quite a bit of the family fortune, as it were…” Laszlo said as he unlaced his boots and set them neatly at the foot of the bed. He looked up just in time to see Nadja wince and fold her arms protectively across her middle. “Alright, my darling?”

She nodded tersely. “Just need to get out of this bloody dress.”

Laszlo tossed his unbuttoned waistcoat away with a flourish, always happy to help his good lady wife undress, especially since it often led to several rounds of passionate lovemaking. Eagerly he helped her shed layers of red silk and black lace, pressing lazy, open-mouthed kisses up and down her neck as he went. Finally, he undid the laces of her stays, noting Nadja’s groan of relief when her shoulders slumped forward after hours of such rigid upright posture.

“Better?” Laszlo chuckled softly. “Now, what say you to a bit of -” He reached around to untie the front of her chemise, but Nadja stopped him with a hand over his own.

“Not tonight, my darling.” She said, turning to face him but not meeting his gaze.

Worry seized Laszlo’s undead heart - this wasn't like Nadja at all, had he done something wrong? He thought to ask as much, but before he could get the words out, Nadja’s stomach rumbled audibly. She inhaled sharply, pressing both hands to her belly as her face scrunched up in discomfort.

“Indigestion?” Laszlo asked. Nadja made a small, pained sound that he interpreted as an agreement. “I suppose we did overindulge somewhat this evening…” He conceded with an expression of sympathy.

“Lie down with me?” Nadja asked, sounding unusually vulnerable. Laszlo nearly melted right then and there.

“Of course, my love.”

Their bed was an ornate, seldom used thing; a relic from his human days, only really there for when they got tired of fucking on the walls and ceiling. Still, it was exquisitely comfortable, and Laszlo was very glad they hadn’t gotten rid of it. They could sleep anywhere after all, as long as there was ancestral dirt beneath them.

Once Nadja was settled, he crawled in beside her and pulled the covers up before gathering his wife in his arms, her back pressed to his chest. It wasn’t long before Laszlo felt Nadja’s entire body tense in pain once more, and she wasn’t quite able to stifle another whimper. Laszlo kissed the sensitive spot just behind her ear, and his hand found its way to her middle. He could practically feel her abdomen cramping under his palm.

“Oh for fuck’s sake Laszlo, I already told you I’m not in the mood! I -” Nadja stopped dead when Laszlo began to rub her aching stomach in soothing circular motions. He heard her sigh, and felt the tension begin flowing out of her body almost immediately.

“I’m sorry you’re not well, darling.” Laszlo murmured. “I shouldn’t have insisted we drain that last fellow…”

“You don’t feel…?” Nadja trailed off as she winced once more.

“How best may I take care of you?” Laszlo asked gently.

Nadja had no idea how she was expected to respond. Her parents and her older siblings had obviously cared for her at some point, but those memories had been distant, foggy things even when she was still human. Now, literal lifetimes later, such a question - even coming from the person she cared for most for, who cared for her most - left her dumbfounded.

Laszlo kissed the curve where her neck joined her shoulder. “Please, darling, tell me how I can help.” He said, his hand switching tactics and gently but firmly kneading at her belly - whatever it took to help his poor wife relax.

Nadja’s eyes were closed. “I’m not sure…”

“There’s nothing?” Laszlo tried again. “Nothing more I can do to make you feel better?”

“I don’t know!” Nadja snapped. “It’s not like I can even remember the last time anyone tried to take care of me!”

Laszlo’s heart hadn’t beat in fifty years, but he felt it break nonetheless. “Oh, Nadja…” he sighed.

“I don’t need your pity!”

Pity? How could anyone think that he would ever feel sorry for the ethereal, imposing, exquisitely beautiful creature that was his wife? Sympathy, yes, but never pity. Laszlo was still struggling for the right words when Nadja groaned again, burying her face in the pillow.

“Of course not, my love, I would never.” His free hand found hers under the covers, and he laced their fingers together. “I just can’t stand to see you hurting so.” Laszlo explained, giving her hand a quick squeeze.

“Just…” Nadja’s voice was noticeably softer now. She reached for his hand that had stilled on her tummy. “Don’t stop.” She whined.

Laszlo resumed his careful massage and felt some more of the tension in her body fade. He was glad anything he could do was helping to ease the pain. He hummed quietly, a half-written song of his own composing, and Nadja smiled a little in her dozy state. Laszlo continued to cradle her, even as she fell into an uneasy sleep.

Laszlo wasn’t quite sure what exactly had managed to upset her stomach, but he resolved to make sure he was always there to take care of her if it ever happened again. His wife had always been headstrong - after all, she’d spent over two hundred years fending for herself - but just because Nadja wasn’t used to being cared for, that didn’t mean she had to keep all of her pain to herself.

Just before Laszlo fell asleep, he recalled his vows from half a century ago and mentally added another: to make sure that his beloved Nadja never suffered alone again.

#wwdits #what we do in the shadows #nadja wwdits #laszlo cravensworth #nadja x laszlo #fanfic

7 notes · View notes

learnthisphrase · 2 years

Text

Best books of 2021

10 12 favourites*

*This was supposed to be a top 10, but I couldn’t quite narrow it down and also had a last-minute entry to my favourites list. Here we go!

Something New Under the Sun by Alexandra Kleeman (4th Estate, 2021)

What it’s about: A dissatisfied writer and a former child star investigate a conspiracy involving artificial water in LA. Simultaneously a satire of the film industry, near-future SF, a thriller and a cautionary tale about climate change/consumerism – and also nothing like any of that.

Why I loved it: Kleeman is a genius, and Something New Under the Sun exists on its own plane: a bizarre, wild, colourful odyssey through a version of California that seems to be melting. As in her debut, Kleeman is breathtakingly adept at taking symbols of capitalism, celebrity and consumer culture and warping them beyond all recognition in order to reveal the horror within. Yet no matter how bizarre the plot gets, an ever-present undercurrent of humanity means that, against all odds, it doesn’t feel detached from reality at all. The narrative style – which mixes dreamy, weird writing, deliberately (and hilariously) absurd dialogue, and really effective perspective switches – is brilliantly unique. The result is the best, most ingenious book I have read this year, with a title that is wholly apt. (Full review)

Read if you enjoyed: The isolated writer-protagonist and suggestions of conspiracy in Red Pill; the hallucinatory LA setting of We Play Ourselves. But really, Kleeman’s vision stands alone, and only she could have written this book.

Tell Me I’m Worthless by Alison Rumfitt (Cipher Press, 2021)

What it’s about: Three years ago, three girls – Alice, Ila and Hannah – entered the House, a corrupted, haunted place. In the aftermath, Hannah is gone and Alice and Ila’s relationship is radically transformed. Ultimately, the two survivors must go back.

Why I loved it: This book left me haunted. Rumfitt turns the haunted house trope inside out (and then some) with a story about fascism and trauma and guilt and gender and what it’s like to try and perform an acceptable impression of a functioning human being after bad shit has happened to you. It’s electrifying. It’s disgusting. It’s hot. It actually made me THINK. It’s the best book about what it is to be a woman (specifically in modern Britain) that I’ve read in years, possibly ever. It’s the most radical horror novel of the year and probably the decade. (Full review)

Read if you enjoyed: The punk spirit of Gary Budden’s London Incognita. Again, though, this book is a true original.

Terminal Boredom by Izumi Suzuki, translated by various (Verso Books, 2021)

What it’s about: Short sci-fi stories from a little-known Japanese author, written in the 1970s and 80s but only now translated into English. Unusually for a collection, each story has a different translator.

Why I loved it: This is one of the best short story collections I’ve ever read. Terminal Boredom isn’t just prescient, it’s prophetic – over and over again I was thrilled by the fact that these stories featuring video calls, reality TV, robot vacuum cleaners, live streams, celebrity politicians, screen-addicted people, and very 21st-century perceptions of gender, date from 40 years ago. Suzuki has a startling ability to pin down a character’s worldview in just a few lines: the book is packed with observations so acute they sting; so modern they’re unnerving. ‘You May Dream’ – a story about grappling with loneliness and detachment in a society that prizes technology above community – is an instant classic, ‘Terminal Boredom’ and ‘Women and Women’ are also outstanding, and the entire collection represents a stunning body of work. (Full review)

Read if you enjoyed: Anna Kavan’s short stories, Sayaka Murata’s Earthlings.

The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley (Bloomsbury, 2021)

What it’s about: London, 1898: a man named Joe steps off a train and realises he has lost all his memories. Then he receives a postcard written to him before he was born... This all takes place in an alternate version of 19th-century Britain in which France won the Napoleonic Wars.

Why I loved it: On paper, The Kingdoms shouldn’t have been my thing – I don’t usually enjoy fantasy, I’m ambivalent about alternate histories, and I actively avoid romantic fiction. Yet I fell head over heels in love with it. The world of the book is fantastically complex and vivid, the character development builds slowly until you’re properly obsessed with these people, and I found myself unexpectedly invested in the central romance – to an embarrassing extent (tears were shed). Missouri Kite has to be my favourite character of the year hands down. Pulley’s writing epitomises emotional excellence, and this is a sweeping, enthralling story with tons of heart. (Full review)

Read if you enjoyed: Cloud Atlas, Crossings, The River of No Return or The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters.

Hare House by Sally Hinchcliffe (Mantle, 2022)

What it’s about: An unnamed woman leaves London to ‘start a new life’ in rural Scotland. She settles in the tiny community surrounding a country estate, where it soon becomes clear the locals not only believe in witches, but also regard them as an active threat.

Why I loved it: I underestimated this book at first, fearing it might be derivative. I couldn’t have been more wrong: Hare House, in its essence, is a true original. Any cliches in the plot are made entirely new by masterful plotting, a uniformly fascinating cast of characters, sparing deployment of tension and eeriness, and, most of all, VOICE. This is Hinchcliffe’s second novel (and you’d better believe I’ll be reading her first soon), but she writes like an author at the absolute top of their game – sharp as a knife, not a sentence wasted. Employing landscape beautifully, making the story just uncanny enough, it’s note-perfect all the way to the bravura ending, which made me almost squeal with glee. (Full review)

Read if you enjoyed: Devil’s Day, The Little Stranger, voice-driven dark character studies like Notes on a Scandal and The Woman Upstairs.

The Brimstone Wedding by Barbara Vine (Penguin, 1995)

What it’s about: 70-year-old Stella, who has terminal lung cancer, confides in her care assistant, Jenny: the tale that emerges involves a secret house and a forgotten film star called Gilda Brent. The story is narrated by Jenny, who’s dealing with some secrets of her own.

Why I loved it: While it starts quietly and requires some patience (Vine’s writing is nothing if not replete with description and detail), The Brimstone Wedding transforms into an enthralling tale whose brilliance made me increasingly dizzy with joy. Everything I have loved about Vine’s other novels is realised to its full potential here: the rich, almost fussy language; the slow-burn intrigue; the multidimensional characters. Throw in a perfect narrative voice (we learn so much about Jenny from the way she tells the story) and you have a truly spellbinding book that is literary triumph, gripping mystery and tragedy all in one. (Full review)

Read if you enjoyed: Strangely, this is the hardest book on the list to find comparison points for; I’d really only liken it to Vine’s others. But if you like getting stuck into a long, detailed, involving mystery, chances are you’ll enjoy this.

The Coming Bad Days by Sarah Bernstein (Daunt Books, 2021)

What it’s about: A woman leaves her partner, moves to another town and lives in solitude – until she forms an odd, intimate friendship with a woman called Clara. Around the same time, she starts to receive strange anonymous notes.

Why I loved it: Bernstein’s debut is very much driven by style and language rather than plot and character; I read the book marvelling at its style first, and taking in its events second. The writing is remarkable: reminiscent of Fleur Jaeggy’s style, but imbued with its own cool economy and wry humour, full of ambiguity and the cold thrill of pessimism. I couldn’t stop noting down lines I loved. It can, however, be abstract and difficult, and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to everyone (if you want everything in a story to be resolved and made clear, avoid). The cover suits it perfectly: icy and ambiguous. (Full review)

Read if you enjoyed: Anything by Fleur Jaeggy; the mood of Signs of Life; the setting of Communion Town.

Among Others by Jo Walton (Corsair, 2011)

What it’s about: Morwenna, a 15-year-old girl from a magical family (she’s the daughter of a powerful witch), goes away to boarding school. Told in diary entries, the story charts her coming-of-age journey.

Why I loved it: This is a unique sort of fantasy novel: one in which the fantasy is largely incidental. It’s really the story of an inquisitive, precocious, naive girl discovering her identity, largely through reading science fiction and meeting others who share that passion. It’s lovely to read – the literary equivalent of a big warm blanket – yet it’s also unusually compelling. I was hooked on Morwenna’s voice, finding her excitement infectious, and loved the way magic was woven into the story. I came away from it feeling delighted to have discovered Walton’s work. (Full review)

Read if you enjoyed: Nina Allan’s novels and stories; the narrative form and style of The Moth Diaries.

Professor Everywhere by Nicholas Binge (Proverse Hong Kong, 2020)

What it’s about: Newly arrived in the UK from Hong Kong, Chloe Chan finds life at a British university dissatisfying until she starts working with the reclusive Professor Roland Crannus. It quickly becomes clear that Crannus’s research is more unorthodox than anyone imagined, and Chloe’s dragged along for the ride.

Why I loved it: Speculative fiction about multiple worlds that also has a captivating academic setting and a narrator I felt attached to almost instantly… This was a book I’d always wanted to read without even knowing it existed. What worked best for me about it is something that perhaps should have worked against it: its world feels so small, so cosy (even as we’re presented with the possibility of countless realities). I just felt so at home in it. Written as Chloe’s memoir, Professor Everywhere is such a likeable and absorbing story that even its flaws only made it more charming to me. (Full review)

Read if you enjoyed: The combination of collegiate setting and speculative elements in Catherine House.

The Art of Space Travel by Nina Allan (Titan Books, 2021) / The Good Neighbours by Nina Allan (riverrun, 2021)

Disclaimer: as some of you will know, I am a huge fan of Nina Allan. At this point, I’m so deeply entrenched in my love of her work that it’s arguably impossible for me to be objective. We were blessed with both a novel and a collection this year, and I couldn’t not mention them! But I’ll try to keep this brief...

The Art of Space Travel is an outstanding collection of short stories. Some are sci-fi, fantasy or horror; some are literary fiction; many blur the lines between these genres. All are written in a rich and engaging style that makes every character feel like a fully-formed human being. The stories chosen for this book are, for the most part, quiet and thoughtful, rarely dealing in extremes, though incredibly powerful when they do. They include the stunning ‘Four Abstracts’, the story that made me fall in love with Allan’s writing: a perfect horror story that is also a beautifully nuanced exploration of friendship, art, grief and guilt. (Full review)

The Good Neighbours is a novel about a photographer who revisits the island she grew up on and becomes obsessed with an old murder case. She uncovers the incongruous fact that the killer – her childhood best friend’s father – believed in fairies. This is a story about the fragile and capricious nature of the human mind, and the dangers of making assumptions; it’s sensitively crafted and compassionately written. And as it’s the least genre-inflected of Allan’s major works to date, I also think it would make a great introduction to her writing for those who don’t usually enjoy SF or horror. (Full review)

They by Kay Dick (1977, reissued by Faber 2022)

What it’s about: In a series of interconnected stories, we follow an anonymous narrator trying to survive in a society besieged by the ‘they’ of the title – a group who seek to destroy art, independent thought and even love.

Why I loved it: They is resolutely cryptic, with so many things remaining unknown throughout: the background of the world it depicts; the identity of the narrator; whether the narrator is even the same person from one story to the next. Dick’s prose moves swiftly and covers much ground in a few sentences, shifting between matter-of-fact description and startling emotional depth. The style made me sure I would love it; the story ‘The Fairing’, an extraordinarily tense and ambiguous sequence, confirmed that. I enjoyed They most for its mysteries – it’s most powerful when little is explained – and love the fact that I can now see echoes of it in the work of so many of my favourite writers of speculative fiction. (Full review)

Read if you enjoyed: Anna Kavan’s Ice, basically anything by M. John Harrison, Piranesi, Christopher Priest’s Dream Archipelago books/stories.

Honourable mentions

Filthy Animals by Brandon Taylor (Daunt Books, 2021): I truly believe that Taylor’s books are classics in the making, and this collection of short stories is further proof of that. The subject matter (young people navigating intimacy, desire and loneliness) is not new, but Taylor’s prose hums with a power beyond what fiction typically possesses.

Intimacies by Katie Kitamura (Vintage, 2021): Kitamura’s writing epitomises the phrase ‘deceptively simple’. This, a short novel about an interpreter trying to build a life in an unfamiliar city, does exactly what I want literary fiction to do: capture reality in a way that makes it new.

Laura Blundy by Julie Myerson (Harper, 2000): This Victorian murder story is propelled by the blunt, sly voice of its antiheroine. Both a brilliantly effective piece of historical fiction and an uncanny triumph of ventriloquism – read if you enjoy transgressive fiction and unreliable narrators.

Come Join Our Disease by Sam Byers (Faber, 2021): If I had to pick one book from this year that should’ve been massive, this would be it. A story of ennui in the underbelly of London that transforms into a transcendentally disgusting ecstasy of filth; a fearless excoriation of capitalism and wellness culture. Lurid, sickening, fun, impassioned, provocative and brilliant.

The Netanyahus by Joshua Cohen (Fitzcarraldo Editions, 2021): I never feel properly equipped to talk about Cohen’s writing; his intelligence and wit are so powerful they kind of terrify me, and while not easy to sum up, this novel of campus politics and Jewish identity is masterfully written, involving, surprising and very funny.

Spider by Patrick McGrath (Penguin, 1991): In this gothic novel of 1950s London, a young man’s identity and sense of self slowly unravel as he writes the story of his life. A masterpiece of psychological horror, full of ratcheting tension and powerfully disturbing imagery.

Fifty Sounds by Polly Barton (Fitzcarraldo Editions, 2021): One of the most readable and compelling memoirs I’ve ever encountered, cataloguing the author’s lifelong obsession with Japan and what it’s like to live in another language.

Whiteout Conditions by Tariq Shah (Dead Ink, 2021): The lean prose of Shah’s novel – about a man returning to his hometown for the funeral of his friend’s younger cousin – is as bare and and unforgiving as the bleak urban sprawl its characters traverse. To be read in a single sitting.

Also...

Even more honourable mentions

Savage Appetites by Rachel Monroe: four tales of notorious crimes and the women obsessed with them, made unputdownable by wonderful writing. Daniel Kehlmann’s Fame (trans. Carol Brown Janeway), a surprising, exciting collection of interlinked stories – a bit Ned Beauman, a bit David Mitchell. Damon Galgut’s ostensibly simple, ultimately gripping The Impostor. A Lonely Man by Chris Power, an effortless story about stories that’s also a wildly tense cat-and-mouse thriller. The Unauthorised Biography of Ezra Maas by Daniel James: I have repeatedly described it as ‘Daisy Jones & The Six written by Borges’ and I stand by that.

Dennis Cooper’s transfixing, terrifying, indelible The Sluts. Patrick Redmond’s The Wishing Game and its bone-chilling ending. Virginia Feito’s clever Mrs March, for which the publisher’s attention-grabbing tagline (‘Shirley Jackson meets Ottessa Moshfegh meets My Sister the Serial Killer’ ) was, for once, accurate. The audiobook of Joseph Knox’s True Crime Story, which – thanks to its excellent voice cast – was the only audiobook I managed to truly enjoy in a year of trying to make myself like them. Matt Wesolowski’s Demon, the sixth (and final?) entry in the Six Stories series of horror(ish) novels about a true crime podcast – books I will be rereading forever.

Short stories

Richard V. Hirst’s beautifully crafted, sinister, complex ‘Oblio’ and Gareth E. Rees’ funny, poignant ‘Meet on the Edge’ (both from the anthology Out of the Darkness). Andrew Michael Hurley’s powerful ‘The Hanging of the Greens’ (from the otherwise mediocre The Haunting Season). The title story from Lucie McKnight Hardy’s Dead Relatives, a triumph of voice, full of the narrator’s slyness and angst. Jia Tolentino’s snappy, acerbic I Would Be Doing This Anyway. Online, everything by Brandon Taylor – especially ‘Prophets’ and ‘Otto’ – and ‘Cancel Me’ by Honor Levy.

Notable rereads

I revisited The House at Midnight by Lucie Whitehouse for the first time in 12 years, with some trepidation; I discovered that not only is it just as good as I remembered, but my relationship with it now feels deeper. I read Dark Echo by F.G. Cottam for something like the sixth or seventh time; it’s still my favourite ghost story. Tasha Kavanagh’s twisted, vividly rendered coming-of-age tale Things We Have in Common was even better second time around. Ditto Andrew Michael Hurley’s Devil’s Day, an enigmatic pastoral laced with horror (Hardy meets Aickman) which remains my personal favourite of the author’s novels.

2 notes · View notes

i-have-zero-social-skills · 7 days

Text

May The Fourth ficlet

Mace knows that his attachment to the Republic is a problem, now that he has memories of becoming a soldier to defend the Republic, only to learn that the Republic has been rotten at the core for a long time.

The Sith Lord being Chancellor was a pretty obvious sign that the Republic was failing.

But now Mace has received a second chance, and he thinks he, Kit, Agen, and Saesee are taking full advantage of this second chance.

Darth Sidious is dead, and Darth Plagueis, or Hego Damask is now in hiding, having had his life ruined by being publicly exposed as a Sith.

Mace volunteered for this mission, which will keep him on Tannalor for over a decade specifically so he could let go of his attachment to the Republic.

He looks over to the other Masters accompanying him on this mission; Shaak Ti, K’Kruhk, and the Master who trained him, T’ra Saa.

The HT-2200 Medium Freighter is fully loaded with everything they will need for the next ten years, and now Mace is waiting with the other Masters for the Younglings to arrive.

He knows Anakin Skywalker is still be vulnerable to the Sith, and to being corrupted by politicians, even at the Temple on Coruscant, so Anakin will have to be hidden somewhere the Sith won’t think to look.

And the most remote Temple the Jedi have is on Tannalor.

Finally, Crechemaster Tasmi Teeri walks into the hangar, carrying the youngest of the Initiates, one year old Barriss Offee. Anakin and Darra are strapped into a repulsorlift stroller floating ahead of Tasmi since they are both two years old. While the two oldest Initiates in the Clan, three year old Tru Veld and four year old Ferus Olin, are walking beside her.

Since Anakin can’t know about the Prophecy until he is ready, and because he needs proper socialization with other children close in age to him, the official story for why these Younglings are going to be raised on Tannalor is that all five of the Younglings are targets of the Sith Lord Darth Plagueis, so they are being sent to a hidden Temple for their own safety.

Mace sees Tasmi handing Barriss to Shaak, which makes Barriss begin to cry “Tasi! Tasi!” That makes Anakin and Darra also start crying.

Mace knows this will be a very long trip to Tannalor.

#My Time Travel AU #time travel fix it fic #mace windu #shaak ti #K’Kruhk #T’ra Saa #Original Crechemaster Character #Toddler Anakin Skywalker #Toddler Darra Thel-Tanis #Baby Barriss Offee #Preschool Age Tru Veld #Preschool Age Ferus Olin

0 notes

thoughtlessarse · 22 days

Text

A decade after the times of “Caviar Diplomacy” when Azerbaijan would buy up support from the delegates of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the mood among European politicians has turned a full 180 degrees. The Azerbaijani delegation was excluded from the sessions for a year by a clear majority of the votes for the “persistent violation of norms and standards of the institution” and a lack of cooperation with PACE. Is this the beginning of the end of Baku’s participation in the Council of Europe? The long faces of the Azerbaijani delegates on display on January 24th left no questions. The hopes that their bad spell would turn around were miniscule. A debate and vote were about to take place a few hours later at the behest of the German representative Frank Schwabe from the SPD. It called for the suspension of Azerbaijan as a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe – an institution that since 1949 has watched over human rights and brought together almost all of Europe’s states (except for Belarus and Russia). A day prior, the monitoring committee had produced a report that was positive to the motion and most of the parliamentary groups declared their support for Schwabe’s initiative. The head of the Azerbaijani delegation, Samed Seyidov, left the session before it was finished following a number of critical comments from the rest. The Azerbaijani representatives decided to return to Baku earlier than planned and changed their tickets for Thursday morning, despite the winter session of the parliament ending on Friday. They had no intention to show up to Wednesday’s vote anyway. In a truly PR-like play the delegation decided to remove itself from the Council of Europe, before the Assembly intended to. In a six-minute long press statement released on January 24th, Seyidov informed the journalists that Azerbaijan joined the Council of Europe in 2001 with hopes that PACE would aid the country in “restoring the rights of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis who had been impacted by Armenia’s invasion and occupation on parts of the country’s internationally recognized territories”, which would lead to “justice in the name of reaching a lasting peace in the region”. However, over two decades, PACE has done nothing in this regard according to the delegation. Now, following an Azerbaijan’s military victory in Karabakh and the restoration of its territorial integrity, the country “is facing an organized campaign of slander”. Seyidov also accused PACE of being “Azerophobic and Islamophobic” and ended his statement with the announcement of Azerbaijan suspending its membership in the Parliamentary Assembly, until it decides otherwise. After reading their release the six-person delegation immediately descended on a staircase into the flanking corridors disappearing inside a symbolic elevator. Three hours later the representatives of PACE delivered the final blow with 76 votes for, 10 against and 4 abstentions, delivering a decision through simple majority that suspended Azerbaijan for 12 months. An important addition was added that stated the representatives could return earlier if there are positive changes in the country. Despite the corruption scandals, after 23 years of an uninterrupted presence in PACE, dark clouds finally appeared above the Azerbaijani delegation.

#azerbaijan #parliamentary assembly of the council of europe (PACE)#suspension #council of europe #membership questioned #human rights abuses #nagorno karabakh exodus

0 notes

drmaqazi · 2 months

Text

WHAT DOES H.E. IMRAN KHAN MEAN BY LAW AND ORDER IN THE SO-CALLED SLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary it means “the enactment of laws and their strict enforcement by police and the courts,” PERIOD!

Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.Merriam-Webster.com/dictionary/law%20and%20order. Accessed 3 Dec. 2023

Therefore, in so-called Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which is neither Islamic not Republic, you cannot get LAW & ORDER in place until and unless the Government of Pakistan forces the police and the courts to enact and enforce Law and Order because both of these the courts and the police are CORRUPT from top to bottom and it is well known to the politicians and the public at large.

The major problem is that the Government is controlled by these Bhuttos, Sheeefs and Zardaris, who were given land, money and power by the British to rule India for more than two hundred years, and it is a British legacy.

For more than seventy five (75) years, the majority of the honest, the illiterate, the needy, the poor, and simple people of Pakistan have been exploited and ruled by these corrupt politicians, who are protected by the courts and the police for their continued ageless criminal activities in India and Pakistan.

These POLITICIANS are full of CORRUPTION, a CANCER, which has tripled down to the masses Pakistan. Their argument is quite valid. If these POLITICIANS can steal billions of dollars, send it to overseas banks, buy properties in Us and Europe, and build palaces overseas, why can’t I take bribe of a few thousand dollars to feed my family, because I cannot get a job even if I am qualified.

.H.E. Imran Khan, future Prime Minister of Pakistan, In shaa Allah, aspires to make Pakistan a progressive nation and an ”Islamic welfare state”. He has not dreamt of anything different from other leaders of the Muslim world like Turkey‟s Erdogan or the ousted Mursi‟s government in Egypt.

CONCLUSION:

It is evident from the above discussion that the Islamic welfare state has various dimensions and responsibilities but also various interpretations by different sects of the Muslims. This is always an ideal model of state for every Muslim but in spite of strong aspiration for the creation of an Islamic welfare state, one cannot find a single Islamic state in the world to be

presented as a model. Another strange thing is that in different Islamic states, different roots have been adopted for achieving this goal. In Afghanistan for instance, the Taliban started an armed struggle for the creation of an Islamic State.

REFERENCES

https://www.joystickdivision.com/top-movies-entertainment/?utm_source=PMP&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=TopMovies

https://islamhouse.com/read/en/crime-and-punishment-in-islam-429676

0 notes

hanzi83 · 1 year

Text

Sports Entertainment Level Analysis

Keep in mind before I get into the thick of things, that I don’t regularly watch NBA or other sports and I don’t know about this player’s actual history within the sport or what he has accomplished, so it is kind of weird for me to try and focus a blog on Ja Morant, but I look at the sports entertainment aspect of it, because no matter what your field of expertise is, once you become fodder for discourse, you are no longer just whatever you have your degree in, that becomes background noise because being a sports entertainer takes precedent, and they have always eased us into that shit over the last 30 years, it used to be a big deal if a celeb or public figure did or said some stupid shit. But now we live in such a mentally ill society, despite the aesthetics looks like we’ve evolved, but we still find gimmicked ways to be regressive in the current era, where in the next decade or so, people will look back at this time like one of the most fucked up times in history. We, as a society, have created nonstop discourse to goof on and talk about, we’re at the point where it feels painfully obvious that whenever it comes to a celebrity doing stupid shit, it reflects that they are now a sports entertainer. I don’t know much about the NBA, but it feels like from my experience of taking in the general culture of sports and pop culture throughout my years while focusing on professional wrestling, that Rodman was one of the first examples on a really transparent level was defined by what he was doing outside the court, like all I know about him was he was a good rebounder apparently, I would hear people say that, but I know more about him partying at Scores, and looking like an over the top caricature. And now it feels like we have moved into an era where the normalcy is that all of these public figures and politicians are constantly doing and saying dumb shit, so we can half ass analyze with comedic levity and it used to mean something when this was on and off and it stood out, but literally every piece of discourse is about what transparent corrupt shit is going on but under the guise of “America’s dumbest criminal” because if they admitted there was full intent to poison a fucking city, those would be mentally ill criminals making shit worse, or we have a celeb say some out of touch shit that serves in fighting and culture wars to get everyone in the studio audience to basically chime in with their 2 cents. So when I see this Ja Morant situation being one of the prime examples of discourse, what annoys me is that people who chastise him and judge him would rather show the powers that be they are willing to pile on someone for something they require these celebs to do. Talking heads who happen to be the same color as Ja Morant will then basically show the white delegation they will judge him and give a Bill Cosby like speech of pulling your pants up, then other people who are not black then partake in subtle racist shit acting like he doesn’t know how to adapt to a regular society and he thinks he is like a rapper in the hood, when nothing about being in that celeb world is completely healthy. Just because it looks like it is glamorous, people automatically believe that world is not really dangerous with fucked up billionaires, we judge these situations with public figures individually because we would want shit to be judged individually when it comes to regular people, but do people not see an overall pattern over the last 20 years and how much fucked up shit politicians and celebrities have to do and say? The only thing Ja Morant should take accountability for is selling his soul, and what I mean by that, once you are a public figure, you are booked for social media discourse, the money being made is not solely just for the talent, it is for what they will make you do in the public space so a bunch of mediocre and mentally ill cogs in the system can judge them like they are the most moral, but the higher up you socially climb, the system will have you doing the same fucking shit. I am not defending Ja’s decision to just promote a gun but sometimes I feel since this shit is sports entertainment, and if he gets suspended or whatever and his career is done, people think his career is over when it is just getting started.

I don’t like having to realize our society is moving and has been moving into this direction but they have literally turned our lives into a fucking show. It would not surprise me since people do product placement in fucked up ways since everything is for sale, maybe right wing interests paid under the table for Ja to promote guns and this situation creates cancelation so then they have to resort to aligning with more right wing interests since it seems most celebs are government and corporate tools but it is only obvious when it is something liberal. But either way Ja doing that is part of his job description, it feels there is an investment to throw black public figures under the bus so that other tokens in the system can show allegiance to the system narrative of proving they hold members of their own community accountable, because if I believe we are moving in a more racist direction on a grand level, like when Bill Maher was talking about how him and other celebs discuss this cancel culture shit, and basically guilting other black celebrities to call out the violence in Chicago etc, acting like people don’t ever hold anyone accountable. I have seen more black people in the public space hold more black people accountable, but since the protests in 2020, it was like the impression was that it went so out of control, that now it feels like there is this grand push to pushback against anything black related, whether it talking down and generalizing the entire community or putting blame on the celeb, and because society loves to make public figures the symbolism of a cause, constantly having black celebrities in the forefront of everything negative feels like it is planned out, but since we pretend we judge the situations by individual cases, people are just reacting to the stories that are out, but in my opinion, they have planned out storylines for the non stop 24/7 news cycle, they need fuel for what to talk about. We pat ourselves on the back because within the meaningless and useless television shows and movies, we have the aesthetic of more progression, but since the entertainment has now become social media storylines, public figures are booked like it is a wrestling character. Just look at this award show shit or some fancy events where a lot of the black celebrities always bring chicken to the events, most people look at it like this is just something that happened and it was just some wacky and silly thing but I believe the social media shit is also written so now the regressive stereotypes are showing up in this form of entertainment while we pretend the actual television shows and movies don’t have the problematic and normalized racist tropes. I am looking at this in a grander way than the repeated limited tropes to talk about racism but it feels we are going back to early 2000’s edginess with this stuff. People don’t want to realize it. The reason I am focusing on the black angle of this is because I feel the system has so much anti blackness entrenched into it that even though we like to think we are progressive now, there is always normalized racism that we as a society don’t see. I am not making excuses for Ja Morant, I don’t know what his trajectory is in the system, but once people start shitting on you constantly, it means you are going to exist in this discourse to just be goofed on and act like it is solely on him, when there are billionaires that fund this kind of behavior.

You are more outraged by the individual who is put in positions because that world doesn’t have mentally well people in it, but the cogs in the system are put through the mental ringer and we think we are calling it like it is, but we are doing the system’s bidding and then the system will put us through that shit. It happens with all public figures, but when it is someone from a marginalized community, the system normally has all this symbolism of putting public figures from their respective communities in the spotlight so then it turns into talking heads generalizing the entire community because the celeb’s actions is what we define it by. Here and there, there will be some subtle truths coming out, like Lil Durk admitting that labels pay him to beef, and that would not surprise me, but they make it seem like this destructive shit only happens within the hip hop world. Again the black art form gets thrown under the bus as the worst when I could argue professional wrestling and comedy have done destructive shit to people’s psyche and brainwashed them, comedy more so because everything in our lives has to revolve around making it funny to lessen the threat and we don’t see how that has gotten us to the fucking place we are in now. But our lives are nonstop gonna be funded bullshit to get people to think more regressive. So I could buy that labels do pay to have beef out there for promotion, but this could literally be done in every artform or field of expertise, because once you become a social media character, it is just sports entertainment. Look at the required sports entertainment now with lawyers doing viral shit to show they are a shit therapist, and a bunch of social climbers then think they are doing the good thing by getting them fired, when they are probably required to get social media buzz even if it looks kind of shitty to disparage your patients, but to me I look at it, like maybe these people are good at their jobs but they are getting social media clout because there is value in social currency. But I just noticed this trend with everything. This Ja Morant situation though has become even more annoying because everyone who is a talking head thinks they are doing their due diligence of calling him names and talking about him fucking up his career, when this is what the career entails. The reason why talking heads wouldn’t want to admit that, then it would reveal and expose that the shit they are analyzing is no different than WWE panels doing kayfabed commentary over storylines. The commentary through different platforms talking about these topics don’t even feel organic anymore. It is obviously gonna lead to something but maybe if people looked at the overall patterns in the world and what the trajectory has been with people in the public sphere maybe we could solve shit but I don’t think we are destined to, whenever TYT covers a celeb story that is a dead giveaway it is sports entertainment but it has real life consequences. You can’t say you are holding people accountable for their actions and then at the same time socially climb up in a system that will turn your life upside down and turn you into a parody. People used to mock me about breaking down on Stern Show and being brought down mentally but those same people have been compromised and could not handle the mental shit that me and others had to deal with because they are still brand new, they can barely handle any mild pushback. I always find it funny that people who never hold themselves accountable for what they partake in get the balls to then judge others who are being used as tools, maybe it is too much for people to break away from their constant need and investment with entertainment. I will sound like the party pooper because do gooder preachy blog because it is getting in the way of your entertainment, but I don’t write this shit or podcast about shit to talk down to people, because I have also been part of this, I have been the fucking token wanting the system’s approval, and since I have kicked down and suppressed, on my flight down, I have interacted with people on their way up at a mutual meeting spot, and when you think there would be more of a need to call out the system for what it is, it feels the people who were on their way up as I was coming down from my 15 minutes, they want to embrace the worst parts of the system and exploitation. It is unfortunate. People make those decisions. I might get upset at them but they are not the main ones I am really angry at.

Again I just wanted to write something down, if people can look it from my view and stop limiting themselves, maybe they will see the bigger picture in how more and more our lives are turning into a shit show and this constant obsession over entertainment, but people rather partake in the storyline of the day. I also find myself in the same situation. I tell myself I am not gonna watch wrestling anymore because of all the bullshit around it, and it feels we are gonna regress and judging by how some of the smart fans pretend they are progressive but they lean into their regressive side and do the system’s bidding of hazing people mentally since it can’t officially happen like it was advertised back then, and I tell myself I am done with it because I am finally losing interest since the discourse is taking precedent and I still give in and I chime in with my opinion on CM Punk or whatever. I am not well either, but I can at least recognize it is a problem and hopefully I am not around longer to have to think about it because I don’t want to think about this entertainment shit. Most of this shit is gonna get worse but if this is what is going on with wrestling social media, just add in every single fandom and every culture war, and every identity politics issue, it is nonstop performative shit online and the lesser established person calls out the super established person, and that person then becomes what they claim to hate. I have seen this way too much, and maybe writing out this shitty blog will make me not care anymore and I just need it in written to get me in that direction, but this Ja Morant thing has taken the spotlight for discourse and more than usual, the hot takes on this from other mentally ill sports entertainer cogs have just annoyed me more than usual. I just think the overall nature of always having the black celebrities put in situations where it turns into people talking down the whole community has been played out and I see it more and more. The purpose of him doing that is because there was incentive given to do that stuff, but people don’t want to admit that people are controlled in that world and you are not supposed to think anything strange is happening because you are focusing on their artform like it is a regular job that it is relatable to regular people when these people are in a different world than most of us. They don’t operate by the same rules. It is like why I keep worrying about John Mulaney’s trajectory because once you are defined by what your scandal or controversy is, it will precedent in your career but it is like you are playing a reality show character and the more Mulaney will lean into it, it will become less funny each time, it is the same shit with Artie Lange. But we keep wondering why these repeated things will keep happening. We wait until it gets very bad and we pretend we are gonna change shit but we keep amplifying the negative in such an inorganic way. Again this Ja Morant thing could be a right wing pivot because purposefully everyone piled on him and whatever happens with his career, he will further become more of a sports entertainer from it who will make bank under the table with this social media currency, but I am looking at the trajectories of a lot of people and seeing the overall patterns that have played out since social media cancellations and piles on have become such a transparent thing. People are playing with other people’s lives so they can be a mediocre talking head to appease the powers that be that they will shit on someone for shit the system probably gave them incentive to do. It is not gonna end well and I feel we as a society are gonna get much worse, there is more incentive to do the regressive shit and since the internet is considered the underground palace, people love to cater to the underground when it is just as mainstream as the mainstream media. Again everything I have stated here is just my opinion, again go ahead and pile on a mentally ill person who lives in his mother’s basement and show off how much money you have, money that you barely have control over because the system will make you have to buy something luxurious that you don’t even need but you are paying the elitist toll booth to make other companies rich.

#Hanzi 2023 BipolarCoaster Bipolar Coaster NBA Ja Morant Sports entertainment entertainer mentally ill society cogs billionaires funded

0 notes