Maradonia - Cursed are the peacemakers

[quijotesca]

I'm Quijotesca. I don't really post on LJ much these days but here I am.

I'm currently reading Maradonia and the Seven Bridges for the lulz. This post was going to be about something I noticed in a specific chapter, but then I noticed it again on a random page I flipped to so I guess I'm going to bring it up as well and I might as well add a few

Comments

[distinctvaguens]

Well I've never read them and the way you describe her writing (direct quotes even) confirms how fickle it is. They encounter a shallow representation of something not well explained and have poorly motivated knee-jerk reactions. (instantly knowing what is "right" or "wrong" at first glance?)

I assume she has other types of villains and that she probably thinks she's so clever for attempting "evil in disguise" yet in a very generic manner.

Yeah I can see the resemblance you mean. There's probably some ideology bleeding in, not so bad overall, but bad writing makes it even more awkward to read.

[anonymous]

You know, the scientific explanation for why the sky is blue isn't really that complicated to understand. I would say it is more like trying to figure out why some parents use their kids to get back at each other after a divorce. Parents should naturally want to protect their children, so why do they behave in a way that destroys their kids. Trying to understand this will drive you crazy fast.

[drkstormyknight]

Hm. I'm not sure whether Tesch actually put that much thought into her characters. It's possible, I suppose, but it doesn't seem very likely to me. For one, Abbadon's appearance in the trailer is inconsistent with his appearance in the books; he is portrayed as an old, grizzled dude and very much unlike his description you quoted. Now maybe it's Tesch's incompetence, but if this were a major theme of her book, I'd expect her to request a different actor to better fit the book's version of Abbadon. And while a lot of evil characters mention peace, there is a clear overall goal of them wanting to conquer stuff and build an empire, so it's more like them wanting to dictate peace on their own terms to conquered peoples. This is much like how anyone seeking world domination would want peace, Antichrist or not. Maybe Tesch really did intend all of this and maybe you are interpreting her ramblings in the way she actually wanted us all too, but I'm not quite sure I see it. Interesting theory all the same though, and I wouldn't totally dismiss

[lonewolf_eburg]

I don't think that she placed much thought, but with her father being an author of Christian spiritual books, she was definitely influenced by it, whether she herself was aware of it or not.

Oh, and a major part of the Left Behind-like mentality is that everyone non-their-brand-of-Christian who talks about peace really wants World Domination under One World Government. "Someone who talks a lot about peace, but really lies and want world domination" is exactly what Antichrist is. A Genghis Khan is unlikely to be an Antichrist (since he never advocates peace in any way), but an Obama is likely (since he often talks about it).

[drkstormyknight]

Yeah, I suppose she just inserted what she believed was meaningful based on her upbringing, which is why it might come across as a bit butchered and unintentional. Does her dad write?

The whole mentality kind of makes arguing a bit pointless, doesn't it?

Anyway, futility aside, even Khan must have wanted peace after establishing the Mongol Empire. Even though he instigated wars by invading other places, he must have at least wanted peace in the places he owned so he could keep them. I can't really think of any person/group that doesn't want peace in some way in order to keep his land, even if it wasn't our ideal vision of peace where everyone is treated equally and can be whatever they want and so on. When you think about it, pretty much everyone wants peace in some way, even if it's just the absence of war. I don't see why it's impossible for someone to want world domination and peace, if one follows the other.

[lonewolf_eburg]

Well, it's the question of propaganda. Generally, conquerors don't portray themselves as peaceful people. Napoleon might have wanted "peace" in the sense of Europe being subservient to him, but he didn't use that theme in his propaganda - he talked about the glory of France and whatever relicts of revolutionary themes he could use.

[swankivy]

Hm, almost sounds like someone's been lectured on why peace-loving hippie Pagans are actually servants of the Adversary. But maybe I'm just overly sensitive to demonization of Pagans. :D

[mage_apprentice]

Don't feel that you're being too overly sensitive. There are Christians out there who confuse Paganism with devil worshipers. I've probably met at least one . . .

Though, this is new information to me, especially what this group of Christians think the Anti-Christ will appear as. Probably because I believe the Anti-Christ will come in a form no one will expect (though, being charismatic and able to influence the world seems to be a common thing, but that could be anybody).

[scavokretlaw]

Having been raised Christian, that is precisely how Pagans were defined by my parents. Now, I'm aware that definition is wrong, but haven't spent any time actually learning about Paganism since then, so when I hear the word Pagan I automatically think they're a Satanist.

Time to go do some research.

[mage_apprentice]

My time spent "learning" was more actually interacting with a Pagan friend. She worshiped Artemis because she felt a deep connection with the moon (I must wonder what happened to Selena and Helios, on that note) and followed Celtic practices as well as believes that she has the soul of a witch and a fairy. I don't know how that works (her personality was a bit strange, though she's a fun person to be around), but it does.

Only Swankivy can clear anything up.

[mage_apprentice]

Why was I screened here?

[mage_apprentice]

Thanks. I'll keep that in mind.