Fate: The Inherited Phantom

Fate/Zero is an anime series which is predicated on a competition among seven heroic spirits, each conjured by one magus whom represents a powerful mage lineage, competing in a death battle to obtain the “Holy Grail”. The Holy Grail, a godlike wish granting device, has been a long sought after treasure by mages for centuries who have kept their supernatural and magic abilities strong by maintaining pure blood lines and fortified clan techniques to gain advantage and access to the power of the grail. Though, there are few rules to the Holy Grail War, each family is restricted to only choose one of the seven heroic spirit classes to serve them: Assassin, Berserker, Archer, Lancer, Saber, Rider, or Caster.

Many of the characters are shown to have different reasons for their conquest over other competitors in attempts to make one unattainable wish by the power of the Holy Grail. Some yearn for proverbial aims/ambitions typified in the History of Kings of Britain: to conquer the entire world, gain riches and glory, or rule a kingdom for generations, while others desire world peace or total genocide. Notably, King Arthur in this series is revealed as an alias for the female heroic spirit “Arturia Pendragon”, a well renowned and over-powered saber class servant who vanquishes her foes with her sword “Caliburn”. Her character is revealed as the result of a failed ruler who led her country into upheaval. In fear of his subjects’ aversion to a female heir, Arturia’s father, Uther Pendragon, entrusted Merlin to raise her until the threat of the Saxons invasion forced her to resolve the turmoil of Britain in her father’s absence. In the context of medieval England, this ties directly back to the power struggle between Romans, Picts, Saxons, and Normans over Britain.

These key elements to the scheme of the series mirrors the historical deviation in approaches to “winning” the ever-long power struggle between men exerting dominion over one another and their tactic for governing their kingdoms. Though magic is continually cultivated and forced into future generations as a selection pressure to attain power, true power is never truly attained because the Grail War never ceases, resulting in a continuous loop of pointless death and great sacrifice.The insatiable competition in Fate zero between powerful families due to differences in opinion and socio-political ideals unearths the elements of greed and determination between the warring nations to “win at any cost”…even in spite of extent of ruthless destruction or the forced participation of suitable candidates. In the series, some of the mages elected to compete in the Grail War are of young age, with a heavy influence of male competition but also a small contribution of daring and tenacious female talent. In relation, this closely mimics the main plot to the Medieval TV series Games of Thrones, in which conflict between seven different kingdoms is cultivated by blood-borne claims to power between both men, women, and children. The same power that, when combined with greed, takes physical form through the manipulation of the lives of others and children whose lives are subjugated to the traditions of past legacies. 

Who's Got the Power? We've Got the Power!

One of the biggest struggles in A Game of Thrones is the conflict over power in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. Power is portrayed in the forms of wealth, warfare, and supernatural and there is a seemingly endless struggle throughout this book and the rest in the series to achieve this power. The same struggle for power is also present within the History of the Kings of Britain as the Britons, the Romans, the Saxons, and the Normans fight for control over the lands. These people are continually sailing back and forth between the lands in an attempt to conquer them. Through this never-ending power struggle for the people of Westeros and the people of Medieval England, we can determine that: power is not infinite, it is not absolute, but rather it is continually shifting from one man to another or from one family to another or from one kingdom to another.

Within Game of Thrones, Jon Snow and Jamie Lannister are examples of men who achieve power through warfare. Both of these men are highly skilled swordsmen and there are not many who can defeat these two in battle. The Lannisters, specifically Tywin and Cersei represent those who achieve their power through wealth. The Lannisters’ saying is that, “A Lannister always pays his debt.” This represents the overwhelming wealth that they possess and it is this wealth that makes them powerful over many others in the Seven Kingdoms. Stannis Baratheon and the Red Lady symbolize those who receive their power through the supernatural. Stannis utilized the supernatural powers to create a shadow with which he killed his younger brother, Renly to become the sole heir to the Iron Throne.

Within A History of the Kings of Britain, King Arthur is one of the men whose power comes from his ability to fight in battle. King Arthur is well known for his great strength and his ability to conquer all lands. Merlin, the wizard, represents a person who gets power from the supernatural. He uses his prophecies and his magical powers to aide various Kings over the years.

In the book A Clash of Kings, Varys asks Tyrion the answer to the following riddle:

“In a room sit three great men, a king, a priest, and a rich man with his gold. Between them stands a sellsword, a little man of common birth and no great mind. Each of the great ones bids him slay the other two. ‘Do it’ says that king, ‘for I am your lawful ruler.’ ‘Do it,’ says the priest, ‘for I command you in the names of the gods.’ ‘Do it,’ says the rich man, ‘and all this gold shall be your.’ So tell me-who lives and who dies?”

Tyrion answers, “Depends on the sellsword.” Varys counters by asking, “Does it?”

The obvious answer to this question is that the sellsword has the power as he wields the sword, however, Varys argues that power is ephemeral in that it “lies where we think it lies.”

This riddle sums up the struggle for power throughout Game of Thrones for control of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. The riddle serves as a parallel for the inhabitants of Westeros. The sellsword symbolizes the commoners, the mass of people who are fighting for the Kings. These common people offer their support and loyalty to the ruler who benefits them the most. This parallels the riddle in that the sellsword is seen as holding all of the power, therefore, he can choose which of the three leaders will benefit him the most so he should save that one.  

The most important thing to remember, however, is that power is not infinite. Although the sellsword is comfortable in this situation, that can change at any moment. There will always be people who want to take the power for themselves as is visible throughout the whole of Game of Thrones as the Starks, the Baratheons, and the Targaryen are all fighting for the Iron Throne which is currently under the rule of the Lannisters.

Harvest Moon: Gender Bender or Just Homophobic

            Harvest Moon, now called Story of Seasons, is a simulator role-play game that came out in Japan in 1996. Since then it has developed 30+ spin-off games with various story lines taking place in various eras. A large component of these games are marriage candidates; NPC's that a programmed for the sole purpose of raising their friendship and romance “levels” with the intent of eventually marrying them to have them help out with some of your daily routines in-game.

            A current source of scrutiny as new games develop is the inability to date characters of the same gender; attempting to date a candidate of the same gender only increases friendship and not romance. Many players have expressed their dislike at this mechanic and when questioned a few years ago year the company Marvelous (formerly Natsume) and creator Yasuhiro Wada said they understood is was a mechanic that had to be incorporated eventually but it would be more complicated than that; requiring “homosexual-specific” characters and that it would increase the overall game data capacity.

            However, with the 2016 release of the indie game Stardew Valley- whose creator Eric Barone (alias ConcernedApe) was heavily inspired by the Japanese sim- allowed every marriage candidate available to the player, regardless of gender. It is unsure if Harvest Moon will follow suit but in-between the interview and the release of Stardew Valley they came out with Harvest Moon: A New Beginning that unlocks all the customization options regardless of gender. So, for example, if you wished to marry a male character as a male you still had to choose female but there was the option of making your girl look like a male however they would still use female pronouns and your character would still wear a dress when married.

            Many think this is a cop-out since it’s not actually same sex but, for the conservative Japanese society, should this be considered progressive or would that be lenient towards them solely due to their social standing? While many medieval texts were actually quite progressive they were edited to hide “trans-gendered” males, women posing as men saving other women, and just women being with other women. Many see the medieval era as absent of any form of LGBT representation due to the later eras’ erasure and because of this it is many people’s basis to not include this representation in their video games. Is the Japanese company Marvelous being progressive with their “gender bender” options or is there still some underlying opposition towards the LGBT community?

Mystery Inc.: Ghost Hunters or Racial Profilers?

               What better way to reference distinct medieval racism than to relate it to Mystery Incorporated’s questionable mysteries. Monmouth presented a mythhistory that elaborated Britain’s transformation from an aspiring independent nation to a leader constantly expressing their supremacy over the other races in Europe. The original Scooby Doo series showed similarity to that sort of racism by separating the monsters from their realm. The specific episode, “A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts,” showed the best modern interpretation that Monmouth expressed in his mythhistory. The series’ portrayal of monsters has parallels with Monmouth’s interpretation of races during the medieval period.

               In “A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts,” the Mystery Gang came across a mysterious castle and decided to investigate the multiple sightings of monsters haunting the grounds despite the gypsy’s warning. They came across a werewolf, Count Dracula, and Frankenstein’s monster. All very different monsters of the different origin inspirations, however, the villain that portrayed these monsters was one person, Big Bob Oakley. When Brutus claimed Britain, he was appalled when Caesar wanted Britons to pay homage even though they are derived from the same lineage. As Monmouth’s mythhistory progressed, Britain started to transform into Rome’s image by racially separating themselves from the rest of Europe. Scooby Doo showed that through separating the monsters from the accepted realm of society; however, the show revealed that the monsters were all concocted by the same individual. That brings back the idea that racially different people are not actually that different.

               The other parallel between Monmouth’s retelling and Scooby Doo is the supremacy portrayal. Britain racially described the different races: Picts, Scots, and Saxons as being inferior and weaker. It can be seen by how Britain rose as a prominent entity by brutally defeating all the invading armies. Monmouth also grouped the other races as inferior by Christianizing Britain and making the other races follow a pagan faith. Sectioning off the different races into one group can be seen through Scooby Doo’s monsters. The monsters were portrayed as these terrifying beings because the Mystery Gang was always trying to evade them. The show also alluded to the idea of supremacy by having the monster fall into the elaborate traps designed by the Mystery Gang, which expressed the monsters’ intelligence inferiority. Shaggy and Scooby are prime examples of separating the monsters from society because they exacerbated the monsters’ terrifying images by expressing their fear in every encounter with the monsters. Even though the monsters were distinctly different, the series grouped them off from society by making the protagonists white. The homogeneous grouping of monsters is directly related to Britain’s depiction of the other races by creating separation and labeling them as inferior.

                In Monmouth’s mythhistory, the Britons racially discriminated the other kingdoms by grouping them as inferior pagans. In Scooby Doo’s “A Gaggle of Galloping Ghosts,” the Mystery Gang racially grouped the monsters as one category even though the monsters were distinguishable. The parallels both revealed that the races discriminated upon were actually not that different from the Britons and the Mystery Gang. In the case of the Britons, the other races were kingdoms described as being not that physically different, besides the subtle features from the Britons, other than geographical location, while the monsters in Scooby Doo ended up being Big Bob Oakley, a human like the Mystery Gang.

Monstrous Races in Lord of The Rings and Medieval Literature

The Lord of the Ring Trilogy is relatable to the Medieval concepts we have learned such as the concept of the closer you get to the boundaries of middle earth within the Lord of the Rings world. The more beastly creatures you encounter, these include but are not limited to orcs, goblins, werewolves, vampires, giants, etc. In ancient times Jerusalem was considered by many to be the center of the world. As with the concept portrayed in the Lord of the Rings the more you move away from that centralized place the more beastly things you start to see. This is because Jerusalem was thought of to be the holiest city of the ancient world. It was often represented as the founding city of the popular modern day religion of Christianity. Christianity as a whole during this time period was still gaining traction in terms of popular belief. Thus, Jerusalem is considered a holy city of the Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike. The city is important to the Christian and Jewish faith due to the fact that they believe that many biblical events have taken place there. This is because both religions believe in the Old Testament teachings. In modern day society we do not consider Jerusalem the center of the earth anymore. Nowadays this concept would have sounded completely unethical. In relation to Middle Earth the city of Jerusalem would have to been compared to Valimar; which is the city of the Gods. Numerous people in Middle Earth chose a more urban life which included living in large cities such as Helms Deep, Riven Dell, and The Gray Havens, etc.

The city of Jerusalem has for many years been regarded as one of the most controversial cities in the entire world. No one really knows who Jerusalem belongs to. That is why it is split up into 4 separate quarters. These quarters consist of the Christian, Armenian, Muslim, and Jewish quarters. This can be perceived as a similar trait when describing the diverse territories in Middle Earth by their uniqueness in that each city or large quantity of land has a border that cannot be crossed or certain consequences will be dealt upon the individual that attempted this action. The monsters that reside on the outskirts of Middle Earth play a significant role in developing the plot of the story during the Lord of the Rings Trilogy much like the Muslims and Armenians did in their conquest to take over the holy city of Jerusalem. The underlying meaning of this practice can be related back to the concept that the further away one gets from a centralized point in a territory the more beastly the creatures become. All in all, this concept can be seen all throughout history which can only be personified by the greed and selfishness we humans possess. 

The Two Great Caesars

     When we think of the name Caesar, to most people, only one person comes to mind. The great Gaius Julius Caesar. A man known for his positions in politics, military background, and even his latin writings. However, there's another Caesar that others might think of first, and his name isn't even Caesar. He's also not even a real person. This man is none other than Edward Sallow of the Fallout game series. A charismatic leader who possessed similar attributes to his great Roman predecessor. These two, however, are alike in many ways, but also very different.

    One of the biggest parts that should be discussed is their politics and how they rose to power. Both of them did not start out being military geniuses and rulers of great legions. Gaius Julius Caesar was birthed into a noble family, the "gens Julia,"  noted for being descendants of Iulus, who was then the son of prince Aeneas, who was then the son of Venus, the goddess of many things including beauty, love, sex, and a variety of other things. Caesar first saw a hint of power when his father died, forcing him to become the head of the family at a young age. During this time, there was a civil war between his uncle, Gaius Marius, and Lucius Cornelius Sulla, the current dictator. Caesar was forced to flee from Sulla after receiving threats, allowing him to join an army under Marcus Minucius Thermus in Asia and Serviliuis Isauricus in Cilicia. After some victories and prominence over in these parts, Caesar then returned to Rome, where he was elected as a military tribune where he started his political career. Successful in these parts, he climbed the political ladder, aligning himself with powerful and rich allies, eventually becoming a consul. From then on out, he lead great military campaigns. Gaius Julius Caesar's rise to power was a very long and complex one compared to that of Edward Sallow, who doesn't have nearly as long a story.

     Edward Sallow was a part of an organization called the "Followers of the Apocalypse," who erupted after the Great War as keepers of knowledge, taking a stance to prevent anything like the war from happening again. Not surprisingly, Sallow did not feel like his belonged with this group for he had a taste for something more than just being a scribe. The followers sent Sallow, along with eight others to an area in Arizona, where he learned about ancient Rome. Here, he was captured by the "Blackfoot Tribe," who weren't spectacular on the battlefield, but nonetheless were able to take the group hostage. This particular tribe, however, was at war with several other tribes in the area. They ended up receiving many defeats from these other tribes. Sallow, who saw this as an opportunity, offered his advice and knowledge, teaching the Blackfoots how to use guns, military tactics, etc. Once the tide began to turn in their favor, the tribe set Sallow as their new leader. With his new found power, he transformed the tribe and went by the name "Caesar" from there on out. 

     Gaius Julius Caesar was a man loved by his people, offering lands to the poor, and always working not just for the benefit of himself, but for the benefit of his people. He took on the role of Dictator because he believed the Roman Republic was failing due to all the chaos that he felt was going on. His beliefs that even though slaves and lower class people did all the work while the rich nobles still held power, gave him a filtered viewpoint, giving more power and land to the those of lower class. Even though the exact opposite occurred, Edward Sallow received the same respect.

     Edward Sallow, after his rise to power, conquered all the tribes in the area. He believed that there was no tribe that should exist other than his Legion. During all his conquering, he enslaved all other tribes, forcing them to join him or die. This turned into a sort of brainwash maneuver, making his newly transformed people into loyal subjects who believed in the same cause as him. Democracy did not exist in Caesar's Legion. They all had to follow the same opinions as their great leader. There was no power distribution among the rich and poor, the only goal was total control.

     Although the two were very opposite in the way they did their politics, Their military background was very similar. They both conquered tribes, Gaius for the germanic tribes of Gaul, and Sallow for the small minor tribes spread throughout the wasteland. They both even shared a similar death. Gaius, being stabbed by his political enemies on the steps of Senate, and Sallow being killed a vary of different ways, but one major one shouting the famous "Death to all tyrants!" and then being killed. This phrase was shouted by Gaius's enemies when they killed him.

     In conclusion, it's interesting that so many games in our lives take inspiration from our history. This one is particularly interesting because the lore behind the Fallout series is very extensive and it all makes sense when you put all the pieces together from our actual history and it's fictional history.

     

The Emperor of Mankind and King Arthur

     The Emperor of Mankind from the tabletop game, video game, and book series Warhammer 40K shares many key features with the character of legend, Arthur, King of the Britons. While the only visual similarity is that both men seem to have an affinity for gold when it comes to their choice of armor, both do similar things and serve similar functions in their respective
stories. Just as King Arthur united Britain against the Saxon invaders and ended that crisis, the Emperor unified mankind in its darkest hour, an era in which the long standing Human Empire collapsed, leaving millions of colonized worlds and trillions of people defenseless against endless hordes of alien invaders, starvation as there are no longer trade fleets, or at the mercy of anarchy and civil strife. Both men saved their respective nations in their time of need.    
     Even comparable to King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table, the Emperor of Man had twenty sons known as Primarchs, who, gifted with the Emperor's superhuman
genetic legacy, served as the champions and generals of the armies of the Emperor's Holy Imperium. And speaking of Holy Imperiums, both men are often referred to in a religious context, where the Emperor is referred to as a literal God-Emperor of Mankind and that humanity itself is inherently holy, even going so far as to see the Emperor's sons revered as literal angels by the common people of the Imperium. While Arthur is in no way held to such an extreme degree of reverence, he is still regarded as a great exemplar of a good Christian king, favored by God, and upholding the principles of Christendom. In addition, both men are often depicted with halos about their heads in various illuminations and iconography of them.
      The two men even share similar figures in their individual retinues of followers. Where Arthur has his magician, Merlin, capable of seeing into and predicting the future, the Emperor has a man by the name of Malcador the Sigillite, who served as the Emperor's chief assistant, but also possessed the ability of foresight into the future as well as the ability to telepathically communicate with others thousands of light years away. Both are also depicted similarly, as a cloaked, wise, and mysterious wizard of sorts.
     Ultimately, both Arthur and the Emperor meet similar fates. Where Arthur is grievously wounded in battle by the traitor, Mordred, the Emperor is mortally wounded by his first and favored son Horus during the final battle of a long and bloody civil war known as the Horus Heresy. Similarly to how Arthur was brought to the Isle of Avalon to live out the rest of his days wounded, the Emperor was interred upon a machine known as the Golden Throne, a machine that maintains the Emperor's "soul" as his body slowly decays. Lastly, both men are fabled to return in the future to serve their nations. Where legend states that Arthur will return to lead Britain once again, the citizens of the Imperium await the return of their eternal God-Emperor, so that he may lead Mankind to a final victory against any that would seek to harm it.

ºCaptain America vs. King Arthur¾

When it comes to historically strong, flaxen-haired national leaders, two figures steal the show: the United States’s Captain America, circa 1941, and his slightly older 1136 British predecessor, King Arthur. As similar as the epic Anglos appear, however, they serve as foils, wielding a couple of differences that speak to their respective countries’ differing political outlooks.

At first glance, captain and king seem to share the same stellar story. From small beginnings rise a pair of improbable stars, lights for their people and harbingers of world change. For his part, Captain America starts out as Steve Rogers, a scrawny fine arts student so weak and sickly he cannot pass the physical standards requisite to join the army in the midst of World War II; Arthur Pendragon embraces the kingship at the experienced age of fifteen (Monmouth 212). Nevertheless, with the help of a pair of smart old mentors bringing superhuman attributes to the table, the rookies quickly soar to greatness. Professor Abraham Erskine, a U.S. scientist, injects Rogers with a “Super-Soldier Serum” intended to enhance the military and propels him to peak mental and physical condition, although the innovator perishes before he can repeat the process with others. Merlin, a supernaturally talented cambion, serves Arthur as adviser, prophet, and magician. More striking than their comparable initiations and helpmates, though, their personal characters present the attributes that set them apart.

Both Captain America and King Arthur embody bastions of morality. Rogers received his top-secret treatment in light of Erskine’s favorable judgment of his remarkably self-effacing qualities. Likewise, the author of The History of the Kings of Britain, the feat containing Arthur’s episodes, notes him as a hero “of outstanding courage and generosity … [possessing an] inborn goodness [that gives] him such grace that he [is] loved by almost all … people” (Monmouth 212). Furthermore, Rogers and Arthur demonstrate an interchangeable tenacity: Rogers’s indomitable catchphrase, commonly quoted in the 2011 Captain America: The First Avenger film—“I could do this all day”—mirrors the indignant anger his counterpart displays whenever an enemy manages to injure him. Noticing that “his leather cuirass and his round shield grow red” in the fight, Arthur “is roused to … fiercer anger” (Monmouth 224) and quickly crushes his opponent. Still, the links connecting the powerful authorities end there.

Ultimately, Captain America and King Arthur play completely opposite roles for their separate states. Captain America’s signature weapon, a shield, symbolizes the part he fills in the American mind. Created as an eponym, a defense against supremacist Nazis and subversive fictional Hydra agents, he protects his people and battles to free the planet from oppression. In contrast, King Arthur sets the scene with his invincible sword, Excalibur. Fittingly, he exchanges the democratic “America” in Cap’s title for the absolute dictation of “King,” and, rather than oppose white supremacy, he enforces it. In fact, knowing “that he [is] dreaded by all encourage[s] him to conceive the idea of conquering the whole of Europe” (Monmouth 222), a task he accomplishes via “cut[ting objectors] to pieces mercilessly” (Monmouth 219) and laying waste to their homes. Unsurprisingly, then, they conclude their tales differently.

Captain America and King Arthur, while fighting, undergo anachronism in pursuit of polarized purposes. Captain America, in the line of duty, gets shot down in the air, falls into the ocean, and enters a state of suspended animation as a consequence of his unique physique. King Arthur, on the other hand, suffers a terrible wound in a conflict partially contrived to exact revenge on his traitorous wife and “[is] carried off to the Isle of Avalon, so that [he] … might be attended to” (261). According to legend, King Arthur will return to restore Britain to its historic greatness at some point; meanwhile, Captain America, after someone discovered him as a popsicle, remains in American imagination as a revived patriotic superhero quashing injustice. He probably will not get along well with King Arthur once he reappears.

Captain America, a champion of democracy and equality, proves eerily like King Arthur, a proponent of absolutism and unquestioned reign. Little guys grown large in the public eye, they trace their success to sage guidance and courageous characteristics, but differ in one essential regard: whether they mean to shield or conquer.  

*Link to Captain America information: http://marvel.com/universe/Captain_America_(Steve_Rogers)

eTaylor Swift as Albinaf

In The History of the Kings of Britain, the British people possess an awesome semi-historical, semi-mythological origin story that involves a valiant Trojan ancestor named Brutus arriving at the shores of England with a company of his fellows, overcoming the resident giants, and “bre[eding] a new people in the new land” (Drukker 451). In order for Brutus to do so rightfully, of course, his act must derive from selflessness, from a desire and ability to create order out of chaos and benefit the law-abiding citizens accompanying him. Consequently, not only do they find themselves in need of a new home Britain could provide, under the command of a daring leader who conquered their oppressors, they also confront inhabitants the text gives a gruesome history and a disgusting set of personal characteristics—thereby justifying their extinction.

            The native monsters’ background begins with the Albina myth and the islands’ first supposed arrivals, an account that lays claim to various interpretations. One of them goes as follows: long ago, in Syria, King Dioclisian and his wife Labana organized a great feast and invited all the princes and knights from the region to arrange marriages between them and their daughters. Afterward, the girls, discontent because they felt they married below their ranks, took their eldest sister Albina’s suggestion and rebelled against their husbands by refusing to perform their marital duties. When the men complained, King Dioclisian summoned his children to court and reproached them, prompting Albina to later assemble her siblings and propose they assassinate their spouses—a crime they committed that very night. When daylight revealed their atrocities, King Dioclisian exiled them from his kingdom, ordering them into a ship supplied with six months’ provisions, and they eventually happened upon an empty England. Then Albina named it Albion after herself, the group settled there, and the devil satisfied their sexual cravings, which resulted in the birth of wild and lawless ogres (Drukker 454-455).

            Interestingly, twenty-first century pop icon Taylor Swift’s song “New Romantics” perfectly encapsulates this peculiar narrative and its related justification of Brutus’s wholesale slaughter of the original English goliaths—with a modern twist. Looking at the lyrics from Albina’s perspective makes for a literarily significant enjoyment, as an analysis of a few choice stanzas demonstrates.

           

"New Romantics"

Seeing as a woman sings the work, its title implies a warping of standard social conventions concerning female roles in romance and hints at the creation of a radically different lifestyle for them.

We're all bored; we're all so tired of everything

We wait for trains that just aren't coming

We show off our different scarlet letters—

Trust me, mine is better

Albina and her cronies eliminate the males in their lives owing to a shallow revulsion following from the suitors’ perceived lack of prestige. A singer “bored” and “tired of everything,” awaiting a romantic change that will never come and daydreaming about past episodes, mimics such mingled superficiality and aspiration.

We're so young, but we're on the road to ruin

We play dumb, but we know exactly what we're doing

We cry tears of mascara in the bathroom

Honey, life is just a classroom

Homicide certainly symbolizes “the road to ruin”; Albina and her crew “play dumb, but … know exactly what [they are] doing.” In addition, their forced partnerships cause them private pain and teach them, in their eyes, that life presents a mere “classroom” of hardships.  

'Cause baby I could build a castle

Out of all the bricks they threw at me

And every day is like a battle

But every night with us is like a dream

In a recurrent glimpse of foreshadowing, the first half of the chorus, by means of referring to constructing a castle using thrown bricks, directly relates to Albina and her cohorts building their own civilization in Britain posterior to their exile—something they achieve through “battl[ing]” during the day and “dream[ing]” at the devil’s side at night.

Other noteworthy lines…

It’s poker—he can’t see it in my face

But I’m about to play my ace

Murder, anyone?

The rumors are terrible and cruel

But, honey, most of them are true

Like the ones about the plotted murders. All true, guys, sorry. All true.

*Link to Thirty-Three Murderous Sisters: A Pre-Trojan Foundation Myth in the Middle English Prose “Brut” Chronicle by Tamar Drukker: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3661507?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents