UNDER THE MIDDAY MOONSHINE
An Othello AU with a (nearly) all-female, all-queer, multicultural cast IN ANTARCTICA
LeShawna Jardinier (Othello)
Marie-Grâce Jardinier (Desdemona)
Cassiopée Véga Delacroix (Cassio)
Iara Ondina Luísa de Souza (Iago)
Emi Mizuno (Emilia)
René François de Satigny (Roderigo)
LA IDEA PARA ESTA CANCIÓN, 100 POR 100 AUTOBIOGRÁFICA, SE ME OCURRIÓ AYER
***********
Hace tiempo escuché que una chica
se graduó en nuestra universidad
con su láptop a los veinticinco
Lo hizo sola y al siempre avanzar
Muches hay embaucades por Shakespeare
Quieren grandes tesoros crear
Pero ella no es como los otros
ella crea por
¡La libertad!
¡Bailad!
¡Reid!
¡Cantad!
Como hace Sombrero de Sandra
¡Comed!
Cread
¡Gritad!
Reunámonos
Todas las razas
Hoy la fiesta
no acaba hasta el alba
Cuando el Sol
amanezca en el mar
En seis días
obtuvo su máster
y debutó en la red social
Y al correrse la voz
en las redes,
amistades por fin logró hallar
Y ahora grandes influencers le siguen
seducides por tanto poder
Seguidores contades por miles
Naciones enteras
un fandom que sé
¡Bailad!
¡Reid!
¡Cantad!
Como hace sombrero
De paja
¡Comed!
¡Bebed!
¡Gritad!
Reunámonos
Todas las razas
Hoy la fiesta
No acaba hasta el alba
Cuando el Sol
Amanezca en el mar
Dicen que trajo
España a Gotemburgo
Y también
Que vivió en Castellón
gastó en charms de Pandora su sueldo
y por Wicca dejó al mismo Dios
Dirigió en Bovalar un rodaje
Y orquestó una fiesta en Saint Paul's Bay
Muchos temen al ver la figura
de quien pescó el pez en Bohuslän
Escuche que su estirpe es maldita
Pues es hija de la insurrección
ella es nieta de amor y empatía
la amiga del sueño y de la compasión
y es hermosa, pues todos contaron
Cautivó al más apuesto que hay
Más no quiso pedirle la mano...
ella estaba casada
con la libertad!
¡Bailad!
¡Reid!
¡Cantad!
Como hace sombrero
de Sandra
¡Comed!
¡Bebed!
¡Gritad!
Reunámonos
Todas las razas
Hoy la fiesta
No acaba hasta
El alba
Cuando el Sol
Amanezca en el mar
Quizás no sea la joven más habil
Pues le oyeron decir una vez
Que no es diestra en la espada
ni sabe de mates
Tampoco
domina el timón
No miente
ni baila muy bien
no es ajedrecista
Más no hace falta
Pues tiene a su tripulación
Con elles es su amor tan sincero
Que estandartes
Le vieron quemar
Declarando la guerra
al gobierno,
la playa nudista para rescatar
Más no solo protege
a sus gentes
Me enseñó
una lección esa vez
En que osó golpear
a aquel noble
Cuando a un ajolote
intentaron vender
Ella dice que somos iguales
No le importa el color de tu piel
Aunque no es heroica
Tampoco una santa
Al vencer a un tirano
un botín tomará
Más si el precio que pide
Es tan bajo
Con gusto lo pago
¡Por la libertad!
¡Bailad!
¡Reid!
¡Cantad!
Como hace Sombrero de Sandra
¡Comed!
Cread
¡Gritad!
Reunámonos
Todas las razas
Hoy la fiesta
no acaba hasta el alba
Cuando el Sol
amanezca en el mar
En la fiesta más grande del mundo
Hoy el Sol guiará nuestro curso
Que es el rumbo
Hacia
¡La libertad!
Y mirad la pulsera que lleva
fue de Rosa también una vez
Dicen que ella se la ha dado a Higinio,
que se la cedió
A Sandra después
Pues quizás sea aquel cuarzo rosa
el tesoro heredado
del rey (Higinio)
DOO-DAH (Grantaire, Seed of Hanged Men/El semen de los ahorcados, and his band the Furiouz Fwooperz: R as lead singer, Jolllly as accordionist, Lesgles/Bossuet as percussionist -cajón, cymbals, and djembé-, Musichetta as backup singer, composer, and lyricist)
Everybody sing this song
Doo-dah, doo-dah!
Quidditch pitch is nine yards long
all the doodah day!
I left my home with my hat caved in
Doo-dah, doo-dah!
I came back home with my pockets full of tin
all the doodah day!
********
Gonna fly all night,
gonna drink all day!
I bet my money on the big black horse,
somebody bet on my bae!
***********
The li'l white pony and the big black horse
Doo-dah, doo-dah!
They race all day and they can't cut across
all the doodah day!
The big black horse stuck in a big mud hole
Doo-dah, doo-dah!
you can't touch the bottom with a ten-foot pole
all the doodah day!
********
Gonna fly all night,
gonna drink all day!
I bet my money on the big black horse,
somebody bet on my bae!
Gonna drink all night,
gonna fly all day!
I bet my money on the big black horse,
somebody bet that... I'M GAY!!!
++++++++++++++++++
DOO-DAH (Meg Giry, We All Stand Together)
Da da da da da da da hey! (Minsky pickup)
Everybody sing this song
Doo-dah, doo-dah!
Strathome racetrack's five miles long
all the doodah day!
I left my home with my hat caved in
Doo-dah, doo-dah!
I came back home with my pockets full of tin
all the doodah day!
********
Gonna fly all night,
gonna run all day!
I bet my money on the big blue Horsea,
somebody bet on my bae!
***********
The li'l white Ponyta and the big blue Horsea
Doo-dah, doo-dah!
They race all day and they can't cut across, see?
all the doodah day!
The big Mudsdale stuck in a big mud hole
Doo-dah, doo-dah!
you can't touch the bottom with a ten-foot pole
all the doodah day!
********
Gonna fly all night,
gonna run all day!
I bet my money on the big blue Horsea,
somebody bet on my bae!
Gonna run all night,
gonna fly all day!
I bet my money on the big blue Horsea
somebody bet that... I'M GAY!!!
++++++++++++++++
OH, CHRISTINA (Meg Giry, We All Stand Together)
Oh I'm coming home from Strathome
with my banjo on my knee
and I'm heading for Levincia
for my one true love to see!
I had a dream the other night
where everything was still
and I saw my dear Christina,
she was coming down the hill!
**********
Oh, Christina
don't you cry for me
'cause I'm coming home from Strathome
for my one true love to see
**********
Oh I'm coming home from Strathome
with maracas on my feet
and I'm heading for Levincia
to see my lady sweet!
It rained all night
the day I left
the weather it was dry
so hot I nearly died of thirst
Christina, don't you cry!
**********
Oh, Christina
don't you cry for me
'cause I'm coming home from Strathome
for my one true love to see
WE ALL STAND TOGETHER:
QUEST FOR THE CHAKRA BALLS
Six young people from all over the Pokémon World are confined due to a deadly pandemic in the penthouse of one of them's (Meg's) aunt in Levincia, where they study at the local university. Since Meg is an only child (even though two of these are her childhood friends), she is overjoyed to have some company! However, within a fortnight, the place soon becomes a pressure cooker, after watching so many operas and shows on TV and growing bored of seeing always the tchotckes that Peggy, Meg's aunt, acquired on all her travels as a pop star with her sisters (Meg's mum and her other aunt - they formed a trio). One day, however, in the penthouse library, Christine, the group's de facto leader, finds a book and a map leading to seven powerful Balls containing seven Pokémon so powerful that they can cause natural disasters - and, if you gather all seven, you may make a wish, no matter how outrageous! they are not only based on the Dragon Balls and the Crystal Balls in Tintin, but also on the chakras, and they are scattered all over the Pokémon World, in its "chakras" in unattainable places! As soon as the confinement is over, since all the universities and schools are still closed, the septet (Christine, Raoul, Meg, Rebecca, Rowena, Ravi, and Peggy - you'll get to meet the cast later!) decide to leave on a worldwide quest for the Balls... on the way, we'll meet their families and backstories
MEET THE CAST
*Ravi (née Raveena) Gandhi
Age: 18
Hometown: Levincia, Paldea (formerly, a small tropical island in the *** region, where Gen 10 takes place - the game will be released in 2027, so I'll add the name of the region then!)
Zodiac Sign: Whimsicott (Aries), 1st of April
Studies: Translation, University of Levincia
Ethnic background: South Asian
Family: In Levincia: Reena (Kareena) aunt by birth, and her wife Winnie (Winifred) from Galar, aunt by marriage... On her island: Kali (mother) and Lakshmi (maternal grandma), Vivek (fiancé and childhood classmate). Ravi's dad Omkara was a sailor and drowned in a shipwreck when she was very small.
Career Dream: they're not sure, but chef or translator seem to be the best options.
Backstory: betrothed to Vivek since birth after the matchmaker made their natal charts. Coming out as a nonbinary and deciding to study in Paldea came as a shock to their family, as well as annulling her betrothal to Vivek. When Ravi took the flight, their mother and grandmother tied rakhi (protective bracelets) around their left wrist to keep Ravi safe. Now Ravi lives in Levincia with her lesbian aunts Winnie and Reena, who run an ethnic restaurant that makes the best kulfi in Paldea (according to Ravi themselves).
Wavy is Ravi's best friend since she came to comfort Ravi at her dad's funeral when she was still Raveena, and follows Ravi wherever they go.
Neurodivergences: autism (Level 1)
Starter Pokémon: Wavy (Ms. Wavychu) and Gecqua
*Christine Daaé
Age: 21
Hometown: Lumiose, Kalos (previously, a small northern village)
Zodiac Sign: Simipour (Aquarius), 31st of January
Studies: Translation (singing lessons as an extracurricular)
Ethnic background: Nordic (platinum blond, teal eyes, freckles)
Family: Raoul (adopted brother/fiancé), Philippe (adopted brother), Étienne Sorelli (adopted brother-in-law), Charles de Chagny (youngest adopted brother, aged 16)
Career Dream: opera singer
Backstory: orphaned at an early age, she was adopted by the De Chagnys and became Raoul's adopted sister and Meg Giry's best friend (she came to visit them every summer).
Neurodivergences: autism (Level 1)
Starter Pokémon: Oratoria (Primarina), Antoinette (Belle Pikachu)
*Raoul de Chagny
Age: 23
Hometown: Lumiose, Kalos
Zodiac Sign: Lampent (Libra), 13st of October
Studies: Translation, University of Levincia (singing lessons as extracurricular)
Ethnic background: Celtic (strawberry blond hair, freckles, green eyes)
Family: Christine (adopted sister/fiancée), Philippe (older brother), Étienne Sorelli (brother-in-law), Charles de Chagny (youngest brother, aged 16, at boarding school)
Career Dream: translator or opera singer
Backstory: became heir when his parents (who also adopted Christine, and who died in a shipwreck during a cruise) disowned his older brother Philippe for being gay and marrying another man (Philippe and Étienne run a hat shop, Le Beau Chapeau, near the Prism Tower). Lots of parental expectations
Neurodivergences: neurotypical
Starter Pokémon: Amphinobi (Greninja)
*Meg (Margaret) Giry
Age: 21
Hometown: Levincia, Paldea (previously Strathome, Unova).
Zodiac Sign: Klink (Gemini), 19th of June
Studies: Translation, University of Levincia (dancing lessons as an extracurricular)
Family: Alex and Eliza (parents), Peggy Skylar (aunt), Angelica Skylar (aunt, deceased)
Ethnic background: mixed-race (half-Black, half-Latina).
Career Dream: musical theatre dancer (translator if she's injured)
Backstory: as an only child of a Unovan senator, she had lots of parental expectations and was closer to her aunts than to her too-busy parents. When her eldest Aunt Angelica, whom she worshipped like a goddess, killed herself on the stage on her final performance (her Scizor cut her harness rope on her orders) this came as a trauma. Came to Levincia to break free from all the expectations placed upon her and to have lots of freedom and fun!
Neurodivergences: ADHD and autism (is also an ENFP and a 7w6). Stims by skipping and singing Unovan songs like "Oh, Christina" (Oh Susanna, in real life) and "Everybody Sing This Song" (Camptown Races, in real life)
Starter Pokémon: Snivy
*Rebecca "Little r" Bucket
Age: 22
Hometown: Ballonlea, Galar
Zodiac Sign: Gothorita (Virgo), 1st of September
Studies: Translation, University of Levincia
Family: Rowena (twin sister), Rhiannon (mother), LeShawna (stepmother)
Ethnic background: Celtic (auburn hair, freckles, honey eyes)
Career Dream: translator
Backstory: sisters born to a single mother who had to make ends meet and had many jobs, their mum married a Black Galarian (would be Rastafarian/Jamaican in our world) lady who runs a beauty salon in Ballonlea (but the sisters are fully Celtic because Rhiannon had them from one-night stands two decades before that). Rebecca is an introverted nerdette, while Rowena is the polar opposite.
Neurodivergences: anxiety disorder and financial stress
Starter Pokémon: Sobble and Hermione (Ph. D. Pikachu)
*Rowena "Big R" Bouquet (actually Bucket, but she is ashamed of her surname).
Age: 21 (actually 4, she was born on the leap day).
Hometown: Ballonlea, Galar
Zodiac Sign: Alomomola (Pisces), 29th of February
Studies: Fashion Design, Royal Paldean Academy of the Arts, Levincia
Family: Family: Rowena (twin sister), Rhiannon (mother), LeShawna (stepmother)
Ethnic background: Celtic (auburn hair, freckles, honey eyes)
Career Dream: beautician or fashion designer
Backstory: sisters born to a single mother who had to make ends meet and had many jobs, their mum married a Black Galarian (would be Rastafarian/Jamaican in our world) lady who ran a beauty salon in Ballonlea (but the sisters are fully Celtic because Rhiannon had them from one-night stands two decades before that). Rowena is an extroverted fashionista, while Rebecca is the polar opposite.
Neurodivergences: ADHD and Tourette
Starter Pokémon: Scorbunny and Ginny (Pop Star Pikachu)
*Peggy Skylar
Age: 33
Hometown: Levincia, Paldea (previously Strathome, Unova)
Zodiac Sign: Gogoat-Simipour cusp, 21st of January
Studies: several degrees plus a pop star career
Family: Family: Angelica (older sister, deceased), Eliza Giry (the middle sister), Alex Giry (brother-in-law), Meg (niece).
Ethnic background: Black
Career Dream: she has already had her careers, and her penthouse is full of mementos and tchotchkes (think the Satigny estate mixed with Ariel's grotto) from all her travels
Backstory: the youngest of the Skylar Sistas, a pop trio formed of her and her older sisters (think of them as Dirty Candy -a very well-sponsored girl group with a Pop is Shallow and Privileged Rivals/Girl Posse image (they're much nicer off-stage) where each member has wigs and outfits in her signature colour [Angelica, lead singer/face, green, with Serperior; Eliza, lead dancer, sky blue, with Dewott; Peggy, lyricist/backup singer/rapper, orange, with Pignite]- meets the Jackson 5 or the Sensational Sisters -a one-gender sibling girl group- also, like the Jackson 5, the Skylars were black and performed since childhood; their roles in the band and personalities are inspired by Huntr/x). Their starter Pokémon did the special effects, creating flowers/leaves, jets of water/bubbles, and fireworks respectively on stage and in music videos. When Eliza married Alex, the three of them went separate ways; Angelica started a solo career and Peggy retired from the stage altogether and went to live in Levincia. The death of Angelica while performing her last song, "The Show Must Go On," by Queen in real life (she killed herself to stop a disease that ravaged her system and made her grow old ahead of time, and she contracted it from drugs - AIDS counterpart in the Pokémon world) was a crushing blow to all the others. Peggy is quite the renaissance person: she cooks, she writes lyrics, she tends to her vertical garden, she makes amateur films, and later on she drives the plane (a private jet) that takes the group on their quest for the Chakra Balls.
The Skylar Sistas completely avert the Pop is Shallow trope (the Pop side being the Privileged Rival / Pop as choosing vapid commercial success), being an open tribute to the 80s and 90s (with some bubblegum pop -Dirty Candy- and KPop -Huntr/x- on the side), just look at the hairstyles they wore! - but DON'T EVEN DARE TO MENTION REGGAETON AT PEGGY'S!!!
Neurodivergences: ADHD and autism, she's also a 7w8 and an ENFP.
Starter Pokémon: Emboar (also her personal chef).
The world of Pokémon is full of mysteries... and here comes a NEW SAGA, inspired by the COVID pandemic and the chakras! The first arc is set in Levincia, during a time when the whole Pokémon world is in confinement due to a lethal virus affecting the people and Pokémon of the whole globe (in springtime like the original pandemic confinement).
Six young people from all over the Pokémon World are confined in the penthouse of one of them's (Meg's) aunt in Levincia, where they study at the local university. Since Meg is an only child (even though two of these are her childhood friends), she is overjoyed to have some company! However, within a fortnight, the place soon becomes a pressure cooker, after watching so many operas and shows on TV and growing bored of seeing always the tchotckes that Peggy, Meg's aunt, acquired on all her travels as a pop star with her sisters (Meg's mum and her other aunt - they formed a trio). One day, however, in the penthouse library, Christine, the group's de facto leader, finds a book and a map leading to seven powerful Balls containing seven Pokémon so powerful that they can cause natural disasters - and, if you gather all seven, you may make a wish, no matter how outrageous! they are not only based on the Dragon Balls and the Crystal Balls in Tintin, but also on the chakras, and they are scattered all over the Pokémon World, in its "chakras" in unattainable places! As soon as the confinement is over, since all the universities and schools are still closed, the septet (Christine, Raoul, Meg, Rebecca, Rowena, Ravi, and Peggy - you'll get to meet the cast later!) decide to leave on a worldwide quest for the Balls... on the way, we'll meet their families and backstories - but for now let's meet the Balls!
The Ruby Ball, for the one who confronts their fears... Ravi (formerly Raveena) Gandhi
The top is made from ruby, cut like a square. This Ball contains a Ground Pokémon so powerful that it can create faults and quakes in the planet's crust. The Ball is located in a pagan shrine in Lumiose Catacombs, Kalos, deep under the Métro. The Pokémon inside is a Litten that can Terastalise and gain the Ground type.
The Coral Ball, for the one who knows true pleasure... Raoul de Chagny
The top is made from orange coral, forming a six-petal design. This Ball contains a Water Pokémon so powerful that it can create massive tsunamis and downpours. The Ball is located in a cave in a coral reef off the south coast of Hoenn. The Pokémon inside is a Hoennian Corsola that can Mega Evolve (and yasss, I have designed the Mega for Corsola!)
The Citrine Ball, for the one whose will is strong... Meg Giry
The top is made from citrine, cut like a sun with 10 rays. This Ball contains a Fire Pokémon so powerful that it can create conflagrations for acres of land, and solar flares. The Ball is located in the heart of the volcano in Cinnabar Island, Kanto. The Pokémon inside is a Kantonian Vulpix that can Dynamax.
The Peridot Ball, for the one who knows true love... Christine Daaé
The top is made from peridot and rose quartz, cut like the shape of a 12-petal rose (with peridot leaves and quartz petals). This Ball contains a Grass Pokémon so powerful that it can cover acres of lands in plant life and release tonnes of pollen. The Ball is located in the Fairy Queen's Throne in Glimmerwood Tangle, Ballonlea, Galar. The Pokémon inside is a Gossifleur that can Mega Evolve (you won't believe how awesome my design for Mega Eldegoss is!)
The Aquamarine Ball, for the one who seeks the truth... Rebecca Bucket
The top is made from aquamarine, cut like a 16-petal star. This Ball contains a Flying Pokémon so powerful that the cyclones and hurricanes it creates can uproot cathedrals and palaces. The Ball is located in a secret ice cave in Mt. Coronet, Sinnoh. The Pokémon inside is a Piplup that gains the Flying type when Terastalised.
The Yin-Yang Ball, for the one who knows right from wrong... Rowena "Bouquet" (actually Bucket)
The top is made from black and white marble, cut like a yin-yang symbol. This Ball contains a Psychic Pokémon so powerful that it can be used to mind-control a small army of people and/or Pokémon. The black (yin) half of the Ball is located in the Abyssal Ruins, Unova. The white (yang) half is the Abundant Shrine, also in Unova. The Pokémon inside are an A and a Z Unown (yes, this one contains two!)
The Enlightened Ball, for the one who lets go of attachments (Peggy Skylar)
The top is made from a thousand petals of mother-of-pearl laid out like an iridescent spiral. This Ball contains a god pokémon of immense power, capable of creating entire solar systems and giving them life. Some speculate that this Pokémon may be Arceus, the Creator, himself. The Ball's whereabouts are unknown... (It turns out to be inside the Grail in Levincia Cathedral, Paldea). I won't spoil what the Pokémon inside is/are!
Buscar la novedad para escapar del vacío
Las compras impulsivas y la búsqueda constante de artículos nuevos suelen servir como vía de escape de sentimientos incómodos. El aburrimiento, el vacío o el entumecimiento emocional pueden llevarte hacia la emoción temporal de adquirir algo nuevo. Esa descarga de dopamina que produce la compra se convierte en una forma de sentir algo cuando la vida se siente plana o abrumadora. Si tu carrito o tu cesta se llena de artículos aleatorios que realmente no necesitas, tu gasto podría estar indicando que buscas estimulación o que estás evitando lo que realmente sientes.
The best thing that Andrea Lynn says here is that the Fourth Story can stand on its own as a standalone story (instead of a subplot)...
There's this distant princess who is so clever and smart... she would only marry a man who could respect that. She wanted a man who would speak when spoken to, and not just stand there and be grand and stupid, but interesting!
So one day a man shows up, of course not to impress her, but just because he's heard how clever she is and he wants to listen to her and hear her cleverness... So she's like "this is my guy, this is what I want in a man," and she marries him!
I think that story is so great just on its own.
... there, thinking maybe Kaye was this man that the princess married; ... So they get there, they find out that the prince is not Kaye, but the princess is super generous, and she's like: "I respect what you're doing here; take my golden carriage, good luck on your journey!"
So next she encounters this group of robbers ...
(Nothing said about the prince and princess being in foreign countries on honeymoon)
This happens in Episode 14, "New Alliances," where the Lizard Mooks who "fight for treasure" desert the evil army en masse to return with their families because Even Mooks Have Loved Ones (compare the Fire Nation soldier in "The Southern Raiders"). This prompts Mumm-Ra, the Big Bad, to recruit generals who "fight for blood" (instead of treasure), ie ruthless psycho killers Kaynar (who was being shipped into solitary confinement) and Addicus (who was being executed), both of whom committed war crimes that were even too vile for Mumm-Ra's taste.
This contrast between Mooks with loved ones and psychos without loved ones, between fighting for treasure and fighting for blood, impressed me quite as a teen, in Thundercats 2011 and similar war/fantasy stories of that decade (like A:tLA) and, along with my obsession with the Vasas, led to my 30 Years' War phase and to the Ringstetten Saga...
TV TROPES:
Why is the Lizard Army now so easy to defeat?Also, it's pretty easy to get a huge army together by promising them the loot of their enemies. Once said enemies are defeated and the loot is taken? Not so easy when the Lizards explicitly state that they have families and children to return back to!
In "New Alliances" it appears that much of the Lizard army are conscripts. They may have been oppressed under the cats but under Mumm-Ra they're outright slaves. No wonder they take Lion-O's offer of mutual co-existence, it's the best deal they've ever had.
The Midnight Archives delivers again! In a foreign country, a trophy wife uses her woman's weapons and a drink laced with death to get rid of her captor after he earned her trust... catnip for me, something right up my alley (remember the Baratheon Saga?)
This is "The Poisoned Cup," Chapter 5 of their Aladdin retelling!
CHAPTER 5 - THE POISONED CUP
At the foot of his own stolen palace in a foreign land where the man who wants him dead is sleeping inside holding the only thing that can win.While looking at vintage fairytales on Instagram I was surprised to find a contemporaneous (with Oscar Wilde) portrait of my second favourite Wildean character - The Loveliest of the Queen's Maids-of-Honour! AKA "a beautiful girl..." (My favourite Wildean character is Her Lover, that romantic and passionate young man who says, stargazing with her on the balcony to the sound of dancing: "How wonderful the stars are, and how wonderful is the Power of Love!" -- hands down my favourite Wildean quote and Wildean scene; there's something so satisfying in how these two young characters subvert gender roles!).
Charles Robinson, the illustrator, imagines The Loveliest of the Queen's Maids-of-Honour in a medieval setting, wearing a hennin on her head (while most adaptations, like those of Andersen, prefer Victorian setting contemporary with the author). Her raven hair and ivory skin may echo Snow White, even more so in medieval attire, but her cold sneer reveals the character's callousness and materialism.
SÖDER OM SAHARA
Av Miguel Bosé
översatt av Sandra Dermark
02/06/MMXXVI
*******************
Söder om Sahara, hjärtesorg
är det där du gissar är astronomins borg?
Vi kan vara mer än vad vi glömt
i himlen, på jorden, mer än vad vi drömt
Det kan vara en cirkel gjord av sten,
tarotkort som vänds eller rullande ben,
det kan vara en leylinje på land,
det förflutna och framtiden uti din hand...
Det kan sluta cirkeln...
*********
REFRÄNG:
Dubbel stjärna lyser klart,
vit dvärg och jätte blå... åh, Sirius...
Men det så oförklar't
är kvar... mysterious...
*******************
Söder om Sahara, Timbuktu,
det som folk har glömt och det som chockar nu
Det kan va' det sällsammaste av allt,
en skatt utav kunskap i ökennatt kall...
Söder om Sahara
*********
Nutidens logik försöker ge
en form till den malström som rymden kan se,
nervceller, atomer, form ni minns,
som överallt uti vi själva alltid finns,
i sanden i Sahara
************
REFRÄNG
Dubbel stjärna lyser klart,
vit dvärg och jätte blå... åh, Sirius...
Men det så oförklar't
är kvar... mysterious...
*********
Dogonerna i savannen alltid vet
en vy från besöket från annan planet,
besökare från Sirius, helig sol
sen urminnestider kontakten så cool
Dogonernas mysterier
*******
Hur kan vi förklara...
Hur kan vi börja att förklara
allting som finns?
********
Vi kan vara en leylinje på land,
förändring som ej syns i timglasets sand
Vi kan vara mer än vad vi glömt
i himlen, på jorden, mer än vad vi drömt
Vi kan bli för evigt
From The Fairy Gazette
Poem by Anne and Janet Taylor, "My Mother" -
Who fed me from her gentle breast,
And hushed me in her arms to rest,
And on my cheek sweet kisses prest?
My Mother.
When sleep forsook my open eye,
Who was it sung sweet lullaby,
And rocked me that I should not cry?
My Mother.
Who sat and watched my infant head,
When sleeping in my cradle bed,
And tears of sweet affection shed?
My Mother.
When pain and sickness made me cry,
Who gazed upon my heavy eye,
And wept for fear that I should die?
My Mother.
Who dressed my doll in clothes so gay,
And taught me pretty how to play,
And minded all I had to say?
My Mother.
Who ran to help me when I fell,
And would some pretty story tell,
Or kiss the place to make it well?
My Mother.
And can I ever cease to be
Affectionate and kind to thee,
Who was so very kind to me?
My Mother.
When thou art feeble, old, and gray,
My healthy arm shall be thy stay,
And I will soothe thy pains away,
My Mother.
And when I see thee hang thy head,
‘T will be my turn to watch thy bed.
And tears of sweet affection shed,
My Mother.
Mortals of all ages celebrate their mothers on one special day each year. Tender words are penned, thoughtful presents are given, and favourite meals are prepared with love.
Imagina que pudieras conocer a tu madre del pasado, cuando tenía tu edad...
Fabricar cosas juntas, compartir ilusiones y temores, hornear juntas una tarta de cumpleaños... navegar por el lago en la misma Zodiac...
Eso les pasa a Nelly y a su "Pequeña mamá" Marion en esta película tan tierna y tan otoñal... nada de violencia, sólo que van a operar a la pequeña Marion, pero su hija del futuro disipa toda incertidumbre...
Os dejo con la banda sonora y con los conmovedores pósters... y con un par de resúmenes
Des voix d'enfants
Chanteront
De nouveaux rêves
Le rêve d'être enfant avec toi
Le rêve d'être enfin loin de toi
Le rêve d'être enfant avec toi
Le rêve d'être enfin avec toi
Le rêve d'être enfant avec toi
Le rêve d'être enfin loin de toi
Le rêve d'être enfant loin de toi
Le rêve d'être enfin avec toi
Le rêve d'être enfant avec toi
Le rêve d'être enfin loin de toi
Le rêve d'être enfant loin de toi
Le rêve d'être enfin avec toi
Le rêve d'être enfant avec toi
Le rêve d'être enfin loin de toi
Le rêve d'être enfant loin de toi
Le rêve d'être enfin avec toi
Si mon cœur est dans ton cœur, ton cœur
Ton cœur est dans mon cœur
Si ton cœur est dans mon cœur, mon cœur
Mon cœur est dans ton cœur
Imagine this: you're calmly sitting in your pew at church until you realise the girl in front of you is wearing a puffy hat full of frills and lace (inspired by the hot-air balloon/Montgolfier craze), and OMG, WAS THAT A BUG ON HER HAT?
Robert Burns felt really inspired and this is the result - it's far funnier than the Haggis and Mouse poems I have previously analysed:
On Seeing One on a Lady’s Bonnet, at Church
1786
Ha! whaur ye gaun, ye crowlin ferlie?
(where are you going, you crawling miracle?)
Your impudence protects you sairly;
(sairly: greatly)
I canna say but ye strunt rarely,
Owre gauze and lace;
(lice like you strut very rarely on frilly, lacy hats --because the wealthy care much more about their hygiene)
Tho’, faith! I fear ye dine but sparely
On sic a place.
Ye ugly, creepin, blastit wonner,
(blasted --"bloody"-- wonder)
Detested, shunn’d by saunt an’ sinner,
(hated by saint and sinner alike)
How daur ye set your fit upon her-
(fit: feet)
Sae fine a lady?
Gae somewhere else and seek your dinner
On some poor body.
Swith! in some beggar’s haffet squattle;
(haffet: temple --the part of the head--; squattle, squat, occupy)
There ye may creep, and sprawl, and sprattle,
Wi’ ither kindred, jumping cattle,
(cattle: here, beasts)
In shoals and nations;
(shoals: schools, like those of fish - in the heads of the poor, there are whole schools and nations of lice)
Whaur horn nor bane ne’er daur unsettle
(where neither horn hairbrushes nor bug poison --bane-- dare unsettle your colonies; ie in the scalps of the poor)
Your thick plantations.
Now haud you there, ye’re out o’ sight,
(haud: halt. Halt/stop you there!)
Below the fatt’rels, snug and tight;
(fatterels: the frills of the hat/bonnet)
Na, faith ye yet! ye’ll no be right,
Till ye’ve got on it-
The verra tapmost, tow’rin height
(the very topmost, towering height)
O’ Miss’ bonnet.
My sooth! right bauld ye set your nose out,
(bauld: boldly)
As plump an’ grey as ony groset:
(groset: gooseberry; he's exaggerating the size of the louse)
O for some rank, mercurial rozet,
(rozet: resin. Mercurial roset: resin laced with mercury - to poison the louse)
Or fell, red smeddum,
(smeddum: makeup - Burns intends to poison our bug with it)
I’d gie you sic a hearty dose o’t,
Wad dress your droddum.
(droddum: breeches, trousers. I'd give you so much poison that you'd soil your breeches!)
I wad na been surpris’d to spy
You on an auld wife’s flainen toy;
(on an old lady's flannel cap)
Or aiblins some bit dubbie boy,
(on a small ragged boy, a street-rat)
On’s wyliecoat;
(on his underwear)
But Miss’ fine Lunardi! fye!
(Lunardi: puffy hat, inspired by a hot-air balloon. He's referring to Jenny's frilly hat, with the louse on it. Fye: EWWW!!)
How daur ye do’t?
(how dare you do it?)
O Jenny, dinna toss your head,
(Jenny is the girl in the Lunardi hat, the poem's addressee)
An’ set your beauties a’ abread!
(set your beauties in public, show off your looks)
Ye little ken what cursed speed
(ye little ken: you barely know)
The beastie’s makin:
Thae winks an’ finger-ends, I dread,
(there's people looking at you and stretching out their fingertips to catch the louse)
Are notice takin.
O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
(may Heaven/the gods give us the gift to see ourselves as others see us)
It wad frae mony a blunder free us,
(mony: many)
An’ foolish notion:
(that gift would spare us many blunders and many foolish notions)
What airs in dress an’ gait wad lea’e us,
An’ ev’n devotion!
(putting on airs would leave us in a worse state. Jenny thinks that the others are admiring her hat and hairstyle; but really all eyes are on that louse)
Il la fait habiller en homme (perte d'identité de genre), ... DÉSHUMANISATION - Sandra: je dirais DÉFÉMINISATION
Elle souffre le martyre à chaque balade à cheval, ...
French Instagrammer and fairytale geek Nutthelo on the mandsdragt scene. She sees the prince's decision to put the Little Foundling in a suit as a way to make her lose her gender identity (she was far more feminine until then) and calls it dehumanisation. I would say it is rather defeminisation, loss of a feminine identity... Nuthelo agrees with Jacob Bøggild that the Prince is doing it to protect his own straight male sexuality from temptation...
and I add that the character is a teen who is discovering her gender and sexuality. Maybe she is, like Brienne of Tarth and others, a cisgender teen tomboy? Both Brienne and the Little Foundling are in unrequited love with handsome young men (though the Prince loves the Convent Girl and Renly loves Loras, a boy).
Also, even if the Victorian/Biedermeier era was far more patriarchal, the Little Foundling is, just like she explores her body and identity, exploring the land kingdom with all the freedom that her suit/mandsdragt allows her, through outdoor activities like horseback riding and mountaineering (even though those activities were masculine-coded back then). She is, like Queen Christina, Julie d'Aubigny, Eugénie Danglars... a New Woman before New Women existed, a Proto-New Woman.
But the Little Mermaid was an introverted girly-girl as a child, and the most spirited (dynamic, we world say tomboyish) back then, her spiritual predecessor, was one of her older siblings, the Third Sister (yaaaay! New Andersen character introduced!) who was the one who ventured deepest into the human realm until the Little Mermaid changed species, and also the first to come into contact with humans.
Illustrations by blog_mellow: in his version the Third Sister looks like Ariel, while the Little Mermaid/Foundling is platinum blonde. The setting is Biedermeier (as usual); when we reach the mandsdragt scene, I will analyse her outfit once more...
The Third Sister, as a teen, swam up a river that empties itself into the ocean (it was summer, she had to cool her face by plunging it time and again); she came across hilly riverbanks with palaces, manors, forests, and vineyards (I headcanon this as the Loire Valley because 1) the Loire empties itself into the Atlantic; 2) the summer there is burning hot; 3) the landscape is the same, Renaissance châteaux and manors, forest, and vineyards), on the top of the riverbank hills).
In a little creek, the Third Sister came across some human children splashing around, and she played with them (neither party was afraid, both of them were curious), until the bark of their pet puppy drove her away at breakneck speed, back into the ocean. That, and the fresh water didn't agree with her marine system.
Andersen says that the Third Sister never forgot about her adventures, especially about the human kids who could swim so well without having tails (and who were as little afraid of her as she was afraid of them). It was a loud noise that drove her away, something unheard of underwater. I headcanon the Third Sister as being the Little Mermaid's favourite sibling and the one she most admired, the one whose adventures she listened the most to, the one who inspired her to collect thingamabobs from shipwrecks and, years later, to explore both her identity and the land kingdom through horseback riding and mountaineering in a bespoke man's suit (ignoring that her one true love did so in order to defeminise her and protect himself from temptation)...
"No male shall ever put on female's clothing; neither shall ever a female put on male's clothing, for both of these are Abominations unto the LORD." Deuteronomy 22:5.
This taboo is still held today by many patriarchal, conservative religions, especially evangelical cults like Jehovah's Witnesses or Remnant Bride. In some of these cults, women are not allowed to wear trousers in Church; in others, they're not allowed to wear trousers AT ALL (but in none of those cults can women SPEAK during the service because Saint Paul said so: Corinthians 14:34)...
And gays, lesbians, queers... have it even WORSE than straight women. Remnant Bride even claims that ladies' jeans were invented by SATAN... One of their worst rants against gender deviance is this essay on HYENAS, foul-smelling scavengers yet matriarchal and pseudo-hermaphroditic, that dynamic women like Mary Wollstonecraft and Schiller's sans-culottes were always compared to...
The hyena essay (take this with a grain of salt - evangelical propaganda!):
https://www.remnantbride.com/hyena/spotted.htm
The Schiller fragment - Marianna Wertz translation:
Then wives into hyenas growing
Do make with horror jester’s art,
Still quiv’ring, panther’s teeth employing,
They rip apart the enemy’s heart.
Sir Terry Pratchett famously satirises at once war, the patriarchy, and homophobia in his most glorious Discworld novel, Monstrous Regiment, set in a Ruritanian land where nearly all the men have been either killed or imprisoned in a decades-long war, leading many brave women to join the army en travesti, even though they risk eternal damnation due to a sacred text full of arbitrary laws (including Deuteronomy 22:5, of course).
The premise of Monstrous Regiment reminds me of Chamsous-Sabah, ruling her land as a coloured child of eight or nine because she was the last one left standing, just because of her age and gender:
"All the men in my family have either been poisoned or killed in battle, either against enemies or against each other. It's sad, but existence has got to come to an end..."
Chaucer Analysis
Donegild - the Temptress with a Twist -
or - was the messenger innocent at heart?
The messenger in The Man of Law's Tale gets drunk in the court of the queen mother, and thereby falls victim to her plan to switch messages regarding the fate of the heroine of the story. She uses drunkenness in a way that is usually interpreted as an evil exploitation to do harm to the story's protagonist; however, we can see it as an attempt to save her country and son and religion from Custance's foreign influence. The unusual role of Donegild as a temptress using the messenger's fondness for alcohol to get him drunk and into her power plays with the traditional idea of evil women as temptresses, because she is not so much tempting the messenger as letting him lead himself into sin. Chaucer complicates the morality of The Man of Law's Tale by making the queen mother's actions understandable. By doing this, he challenges the reader to consider that even those who seem to do evil can have good reasons for it.
In the case of The Man of Law 's Tale, the temptation of a man to sin by a woman, especially since the messenger is far from a heroic figure, is a reversal of a typical plot for a saint's life. This clouds the moral nature of the tale by presenting a woman preying on a man for the purpose of protecting her family, country, and, most ironically, religion, as the narrator stresses that her country (Northumbria) is not Christian before Custance converts Allan to her faith.
Donegild's role, by extension, may not be the role of the typical villainess.
Donegild does not play the role of the traditional villainess when she admits the messenger into her court. Instead, she practices the medieval virtue of hospitality (which already existed before, as seen in Ancient Greek literature). Even though the messenger is in a hurry to deliver the good news, it is no crime to invite him to rest for a night and continue on his way in the morning. The messenger, too, does no wrong in accepting her hospitality. As the one of lower rank, it is fitting for him to accede to the queen's generous request that he stay the night. The temptation, therefore, is less distinctly evil than it is in a normal saint's life. It is by the messenger 's own moral failing that he drinks the wine to excess.
The narrator chides the messenger for being drunk: "O messager, fulfild of drunkennesse, / Strong is thy breath, thy limbs falter ay, / and thou betrayest alle secretness" (II. 771-773). Because a messenger's job is to get his letters secretly and safely from one place to the next, his drunken inability to keep a secret constitutes his complete failure as a good messenger. There is moral weakness in the character, who falls to the drink without much encouragement, although it may be safely assumed that Donegild is providing the wine in "the kynges moodres court " (11. 786). By allowing himself to get so drunk that he can no longer fulfill his duties twice, the messenger fails his king. In medieval society, failure to serve his lord was one of the greatest crimes a vassal could commit. The queen mother Donegild, however, receives the far harsher rebuke. The narrator is at a loss for words to capture the evil she has wrought: "O Donegild, I ne have noon Engliissh digne / Unto thy malice and thy tirannye!" (II. 778-780). He curses her emotionally, using religious language: "Fy, feendlych spirit, for I dar wel telle, / Thogh thou heere walke, thy spirit is in helle!" (II. 783-784). By taking advantage of the man's drunkenness to suit her own evil ends, Donegild plays the role of the Evil One, who tempts mortals to their doom. The Man of Law distinctly associates her with Satan and the Serpent in Eden (Scheps 289). By this association as well as the role she plays, she seems to be the prime evil in the story. By taking advantage of the messenger's dull-witted drunkenness, she is committing the greatest evil. The narrator, however, is umeliable in this regard. He fails to take into account the saving virtues of Donegild. He describes her as a "spirit" (II. 783), which stresses the way the two cultures conflict and see one another as strange.
The ambiguity of the story is demonstrated by the departure Donegild's actions take from the traditional role of the villainess. The queen mother takes on the role of temptation, but it is significant that she does not play an entirely active role in the corruption of the messenger. Had she chosen, as women in romances typically do, to seduce the messenger, she would have had a more direct hand in his sin. Also, she does not drug the ale and wine she gives him, which she could easily do. It would certainly not have been unusual for her to do so. Had she done either, her role as the temptress would have been more definite, and the sin would have clearly been on her head.
The Man of Law's Tale presents a complicated moral picture in which morality is purposefully ambiguous. Although the queen mother commits a sin that is cursed by the narrator, the reader is also encouraged to consider that the messenger's weakness was also to blame. Therefore, the way in which she exploits drunkenness in the tale for what she perceives as morally justifiable complicates the morality of the tale's progression.
.............
I am tempted to compare Iago's treatment of Cassio with Donegild's of the messenger... Like Donegild, Iago does not drug Cassio's drinks, although he could easily do. Like Donegild, Iago considers what he does to be morally right, ie stripping an educated but inexperienced officer of a promotion he does not deserve. And thus Iago is letting Cassio lead himself into failure and tragedy.
to It is no crime to invite Cassio to a few drinks before his guard shift, considering he will surely be both thirsty and tired... and, like the messenger, Cassio does what he does of his own free will; it is fitting for him that he accept Iago's request, and it is of his own moral failing that he gets intoxicated, but this also leads to his complete failure as an officer and to utter tragedy for the married couple that he serves (Othello and Desdemona vs. Allan and Custance). By allowing himself to get so drunk that he can no longer fulfill his duties, Cassio fails Othello, like the messenger fails Allan. And, even though the Man of Law has a happy ending and the Shakespearean drama a tragic ending, by the end of both, Cassio and his counterpart the messenger are both forgiven and redeemed once the truth comes to light.
Her favourite Snow Queen character is the Robber Maiden (like so many others'!) but she says the Fourth Story subplot CAN STAND ON ITS OWN - Way to go, Andrea Lynn (she, like Theophannya, does fairytale retellings on social media?) She illustrates other parts of the novella, including the Fifth Story (with a badass Robber Maiden to boot) but no Fourth Story illustrations here...
