Liketwoswansinbalance - LikeTwoSwansInBalance

Good versus Evil is a commonplace literary theme beyond the world of SGE, and could be likened to mirror-image symmetry, which is often seen in Soman’s juxtaposed images throughout the series. Yet, I was thinking: is there a literary equivalent for rotational symmetry and what would it look like? I think it would have to involve greater than two elements in play, each a few degrees removed from each other instead of a pair of direct opposites, but I don't have an example of this in practice.

In addition, one of the most prominent instances of juxtaposition in the series to me, by the way, is how the brothers treat their respective Deans, and how Rhian’s reaction is far more passive as he just lets Mayberry go:

And across the bay, there’s this laughable bit:

(I'm sure Rafal is not the only soul who finds it funny. Something about the timing and this being the last line to a section and the well-deserved comeuppance of the moment just read as funny.)

Are you more like Rafal or Rhian??

Rafal.

Why do you think Rhian was so clingy to Rafal?.

What's your opinion on Rhian seeing Rafal as this flawless person?.

And what do you think upsets him so badly?.

Me personally there's not enough information for me to think Rhian was born evil, or Rafal truly 'pure' good.

I just don't see it.

Rhian's clinginess could be explained any unknown reason, really. I think the most "accurate" one is that Rafal fulfilled a parent/caretaker/savior role for his brother for so long that Rhian became more and more (overly) attached to and dependent on him over time. And with Rafal, in truth, that burgeoning reliance could've all been by design, meaning we can't wholly fault Rhian.

I don't believe Rhian sees Rafal as a flawless person, even if he may have looked up to him like he did Vulcan-like, villainous men, or considering how he ended up assuming Rafal's identity. While he does struggle with insecurity or feelings of inferiority in the face of Rafal's questionably "better" points of "superiority," Rhian also has exhibited arrogance due to having the moral high ground (in Rise) and has, at times, viewed himself as the superior brother as well. Rhian has also directly criticized Rafal at certain moments, so I think his somewhat recurrent comments, like whenever he thinks about the nature of Evil or corruption in Rise, would suggest the opposite of viewing Rafal as flawless. If anything, he's definitely aware Rafal is deeply flawed, but still remains alternately envious and disdainful regardless. It's more than likely that Rhian's (probably initial and later redeveloped in Fall) image of who Rafal is in his mind doesn't quite align with who Rafal is objectively.

I think Rhian was upset by a multitude of factors. Some include the perceived inferiority around Rafal, excessive competition on a larger scale in the environment he could never escape, and being repeatedly hurt by others and taken advantage of, to the point he decided to become his "abusers," some amalgamation of everyone who ever wronged him, to prove them wrong, that he wasn't willing to take anymore ill-treatment.

Yes, I view them as morally-grey. Their actions (and even "impure thoughts") disqualify them from truly being "pure."

What do you like to do to prepare for a test/quiz? A final exam??

What I do is highly dependent on the subject, so if you want, you can send in another ask, if you had any specific subject(s) in mind, and I'll respond to that.

How many languages do u speak??

English is my first language and Spanish is my second. However, I'm not entirely fluent in Spanish, even if I understand the vast majority of what's spoken to me. Yet that generally applies to more casual discussion because I find it hard to write academically in Spanish. Once I wrote a really brief, simple screenplay scene though. That's probably the most I can do currently. Plus, I suspect my Spanish is passively going in a retrograde direction since then because I haven't used it that frequently and it needs maintenance. If I am exposed to Italian, I can understand some singular words here and there (probably because of cognates or near-cognates), but that's it.

I don't think it counts as a language as it's more of a dialect, but I am able to read Middle English (ME). Except, I rely heavily on Norton Critical Edition annotations, so it may not truly count. (Fun fact: Shakespeare is classified as New English (NE or our modern English), which shocked me when I first heard it.)

Oh, and I kind of want a second opinion on something, so I may as well put it out here: is learning Latin worth it? You see, I wish I could just... acquire it, as another language, because I want to be able to get all the references John Milton (and some others) make if I ever read more of his works, so I could feel "hyperliterary," like what I've been told about the lens with which he saw the world. Then again, the annotations are enough for me to get certain words' provenance, or why one word was a significant choice over another, so I feel like it would be useless otherwise.