Network: Beware the Ides of March

[fogboundcrow]

Today is March 15th. That means the Ides of March are upon us.

On this day, the Roman Senate banded together to assassinate the tyrant Julius Caesar, stabbing him twenty-three times.

Though he became a martyr at the time, it was an act of necessity, and his killers acted in the name of the republic.

Though it's unfortunate that Caesar's demise paved the way for the Roman Empire, I cannot deny the allure of its history and the art and cultural iconography it spawned.

I do, however, still favor the Greek pantheon and myths over their Roman counterparts.

Comments

[herewardbound]

a holiday we can all support

murdering the living shit out of fascist dictators

[fogboundcrow]

I'm trying to bake a cake with red filling so that we can take part in stabbing and cutting it.

Red Velvet seems suitably regal.

[herewardbound]

Red Velvet's just chocolate with red food dye in, which makes it... almost commentary?

Huh.

In any case, you have my stabbing arm, Brute.

[fogboundcrow]

You raise a good point. The artificiality of the color adds an extra layer of depth.

You're welcome to a slice, of course, assuming it doesn't go up in flames.

I have a recipe on my laptop, and Hiro is overseeing me, but I don't want to fall to my own hubris.

[herewardbound]

It's something that's perceived as high-class or better than the alternatives, but really the only difference is something completely artificial and constructed. Well done.

[fogboundcrow]

Thank you. I do try.

Though I wonder how to explain all of this to Akira-kun and Hawk...

[willowandoak]

so u support killing royalty phoenix?
just making sure

[herewardbound]

and there it is

[willowandoak]

theres what? wdym

[herewardbound]

you know what yes
let it be formally on the record that I, Phoenix, support the extrajudicial killing of royalty, if that royalty's being a cunt.

1/2

[willowandoak]

＿〆(。。)

2/2, locked to phoenix

[willowandoak]

i know where u live

[herewardbound]

try me bitch

[willowandoak]

ur days are numbered prince phoenix

[odysseyandroid]

This information mirrors that in my data-banks. I have nothing I can contribute to your message in relation to the facts you have provided.

You speak of Roman and Greek myths and pantheons. Please elaborate further regarding these subjects.

[fogboundcrow]

Greek mythology contained tales of great heroes, fickle gods, and mighty monsters. The gods were flawed, as were the heroes, and though the morals within the myth hardly hold up under a modern lens, they nonetheless remain a fascinating look into ancient customs.

Roman mythology placed far less emphasis on mortal heroes, and though it co-opted aspects of Greek mythology, it molded them through a strikingly different cultural lens.

For instance, Ares was the Greek god of war and was brutal, chaotic, and unpredictable, while his Roman counterpart Mars symbolized strategy and discipline as well as spring and fertility.

This is because the Greeks saw war as a necessary evil, whereas the Romans saw it in a far more glorious light, as the means to secure power.

[odysseyandroid]

From what you are saying, human cultures can have drastically different views on the same subject. As you have discussed with Ares and the concept of war, it shows a very distinct view of it depending on which version you are viewing.

Now he's actually curious... Does his namesake have a different meaning and portrayal to humans across cultures? He doesn't exactly know what he's know for to begin with. Just that he's the one he was named after.

Do you know Ulysses? Could you tell me about him? What of his cultural portrayals?

[fogboundcrow]

Ulysses is the Roman name of the Homeric Greek hero, Odysseus, known for his wit and cunning and his ten year voyage to return to his kingdom of Ithaca after ten years in the Trojan war.

The journey is recounted in Homer's epic poem, The Odyssey, though the story starts with his son Telemachus setting out to uncover the whereabouts of his father after the goddess Athena greets him in the guise of a man, assuring him that his father still lived.

Odysseus also played a part in The Iliad, which covered the end of the Trojan war. However, Odysseus was but one member of a larger ensemble.

[seekerofjustice]

And so Dove reads the post. Once. Twice. Three times. Four even. Maybe five. And he tries to understand exactly what this all means.

He does not.

He's actually a little tired of this. It's not Raven's fault, of course, but for once he'd love to understand what's going on.

Mythology is quite a fascinating subject, isn't it? The variety of tales and figures scattered throughout cultures and the passage of time provide such a varied set of pantheons.

[fogboundcrow]

It also reveals a lot about how the people of a given culture view the forces of nature that dictated their lives.

Though Caesar was a real man, his assassination has risen to the status of legend in its own right.

[seekerofjustice]

I ask you forgive my ignorance, but to do an assassination, that means to kill someone, correct?

I'm afraid I'm not quite understanding what is happening.

[fogboundcrow]

Correct.

In this case, the assassination was a necessary step to overthrow a corrupt tyrant.

[Perhaps that's a bit much for Dove to comprehend, but he's trying.]

[seekerofjustice]

A corrupt tyrant?

The only thing he really has to draw on as a comparison is...

Like Dr. Maruki, perhaps? I can't speak about him personally, but his position may be close to that of a tyrant in my world.

[fogboundcrow]

Phoenix explained it in-depth already, but...

Are you all right? You seemed to go quiet at the mention of Shakespeare.

[seekerofjustice]

Apologies, Raven-kun. I should have responded immediately, but I found my mind running blank for a moment. I regret to inform you that I actually do not recall any works of Shakespeare's.

He's very embarrassed and frustrated by it.

[fogboundcrow]

Fucking Maruki.

[Oh, this means war.]

You do not erase art and literature from people's minds. You do not meddle with the classics!

[seekerofjustice]

Perhaps he deemed it a reminder of things too unpleasant for the people of his world. If someone were to see it, what if they were to recreate it? Or would they understand it at all?

I doubt I would have been able to to make sense of it towards the beginning. I would simply forget all about it the moment I look away.

How many times did that happen, he wonders? How many times was he on the cusp of something, but he was so easily distracted by a shallow trinket, discussion, or other convenience?

How many times has he been the easily distracted and simple-minded fool, so easily led astray by baubles?

It makes him feel ill thinking about it.

[fogboundcrow]

But that just exposes a fundamental flaw in his reality.

Art without conflict is art without meaning. Conflict fuels hope. It makes victories, both big and small, shine so much brighter.

Not that this is your fault, of course. You and Sparrow are both victims.

[seekerofjustice]

I agree with you entirely, but that may not be how Maruki sees it. Maruki has an entirely different mindset from anyone we know, perhaps even different from that of the one here. Even if we were to tell him that, he is most likely far too set in his ambitions to be willing to hear such a thing.

Dove's eyes linger on the word 'victims'. Something about it just makes his stomach twist and turn.

Victim. That means to be harmed by another party... You said that I'm a victim?

He reads the words, and just something about it doesn't want to sit in his mind. As though it has never occurred to him that he was a victim in his own world. He knew he was wronged, but the idea of being called a victim carries a weight he had never considered before.

It's a bit harrowing and confusing for him.

[fogboundcrow]

Maruki altered your mind without your consent. He held power over you. That makes you his victim.

Everyone in his world is, really.

[seekerofjustice]

I don't want to be a victim. I don't want to be-- what is the word, Dove, what is the word that is haunting you? I'm not certain of the word. It is... I don't want to be seen as weak. I'm not weak, I am capable of defending myself, of righting wrongs, facing Shadows and other threats. I'm not meek or helpless.

I am

It's a bad feeling that's welling up in his body. He can't stand it. He doesn't want to be want to be pitied.

I am

But the world spins. And he almost drops his phone as vertigo nearly leads him to tilt over.

I am very dizzy

[fogboundcrow]

[Oh.

Did he say something wrong? What's he supposed to do?

It takes Raven a few moments to reply.]

Being a victim doesn't make you weak. It simply means you have suffered hardship from those who held power over you.

But please, take some time for yourself if you need to.

[herewardbound]

Historically, Julius Caesar was the last leader of the Roman Republic. He got himself appointed to his position for life, dismantled means of limiting his office's power, and ignored the Roman Senate while also planning to publicly crown himself king.

His assassination was a result of members of the senate and his personal guard attempting to stop what was coming.

It's an unfortunate fact of history that they were too late, and Julius is broadly considered the first 'Emperor' of Rome.

Also William Shakespeare created a play dramatizing his last days and murder. I haven't seen or read it, but Shakespeare's just about the most famous english playwright in history, so I'd imagine it would be quite good.

1/2

[seekerofjustice]

So he abused his power, and the people rose to stop him. I see. In that case, it makes much more sense than I initially believed.

Ah, Shakespeare! I'm quite familiar with his works. I don't recall this one in particular, but I am familiar with

The post cuts off for a good several minutes.

2/2 (Locked to Phoenix)

[seekerofjustice]

Eventually, Phoenix gets another message.

I cannot recall a single piece of Shakespeare's work.

[herewardbound]

Are you joking?

Maruki can't even leave existing art alone, what the fuck

what's the point? to what end?

whatever

no idea if it'll be any good since it's performed by cognitions but do you wanna see some productions onstage, we can make a day of it

[seekerofjustice]

I'm uncertain. To an extent, I wonder how much of it is Maruki's changes to my world as a whole and how much of it is my own faulty memory.

To see these productions on stage, however... I would like that quite a bit. Whether they're done by true actors or cognitions, I would love the chance to learn more about what I've forgotten.