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Mad Kings and Queens: Raving Royals and How to Survive Them. -- Wednesday, May 14th, 2nd Period

As people entered today, they might notice the desk were missing. Instead, it was outfitted with a wide variety of Roman couches and pillows strewn about the room. There were also a number of wine jugs and goblets filled with various ~~moddable~~ non-alcoholic beverages. Ghanima was perched on a lectus, a goblet of spiced coffee in her hand as she browsed her notes.

Once everyone had found a spot, she looked up and smiled. "Good morning, class. As a fine example of a mad royal, I lied to you last week. The syllabus is not ready today ~~due to RL moving smacking the mun upside the head~~. However, since we have just left the waters of Italy, I felt today would be an excellent time to discuss Nero, a Roman emperor who is famous for reputedly laughing and singing as his city burned."

"Nero became emperor at sixteen, the youngest Emperor up until that time," she said, sipping her drink. "Ancient historians describe Nero's early reign as being strongly influenced by his mother Agrippina, his tutor Lucius Annaeus Seneca, and the Praetorian Prefect Sextus Afranius Burrus, especially in the first years of his rule, which were known as examples of fine administration. The matters of the Empire were handled effectively and the Senate enjoyed a period of renewed influence in state affairs."

"Over time, Nero became progressively more powerful, freeing himself of his advisers and eliminating rivals to the throne. In 55, he removed Marcus Antonius Pallas, an ally of Agrippina, from his position in the treasury. Pallas, along with Burrus, was accused of conspiring against the emperor to bring Faustus Sulla to the throne. Seneca was accused of having relations with Agrippina and embezzlement. Seneca was able to get himself, Pallas and Burrus acquitted. According to Cassius Dio, at this time, Seneca and Burrus reduced their role in governing from careful management to mere moderation of Nero." Ghanima smiled thinly. "Perhaps they valued their heads more than their power. In any rate, tensions began to mount between Nero and the Senate."

"In 58, Nero became romantically involved with Poppaea Sabina, the wife of his friend and future emperor Otho. His wife, Octavia, who happened to be his step-sister -" Ghanima paused and grinned "-add another monarch to the list of dubious marriages - and mother were not amused, and Agrippina tried to reign in her son. According to Suetonius, Nero angrily responded with various attempts on his mother's life, three of which were by poison and one by rigging the ceiling over her bed to collapse while she would lay in bed. When those failed, a collapsible boat was built, which was meant to sink in the Bay of Naples. But the plot only succeeded in sinking the boat, as Agrippina managed to swim ashore. Exasperated, Nero sent an assassin who clubbed and stabbed her to death and framed it as a suicide. At the very least, we must give him points for creativity."

"Octavia also felt Nero's wrath, when he divorced her and then had her executed on a trumped-up charge of adultery to make way for Poppaea Sabina, whom he married. Unfortunately, Poppaea would also meet her end at the hands of Nero, when he kicked her to death one night after being out late at the horse races. She was seven months pregnant at the time."

"Now, Nero began his reign by promising the Senate more autonomy. Nero was known for being hands-off and spending his time visiting brothels and taverns during this period, which suited everyone just fine." Ghanima smiled and stood up, moving to begin writing on the wipeboard. "In 55, Nero began taking on a more active role as an administrator. He was consul four times between 55 and 60. During this period, some ancient historians speak fairly well of Nero and contrast it with his later rule. It is generally agreed that during this time, he was realively sane."

"Nero was also an avid lover of arts and entertainment, as evidenced by his patronage of theatre and the arena. He built a number of gymnasiums and theaters, and enormous gladiatorial shows were held. Nero also established the quinquennial Neronia. The festival included games, poetry and theater. Historians indicate that there was a belief in the Senate that theater was for the lower-class and led to immorality and laziness, and some questioned the large public expenditure on entertainment," Ghanima said, smiling. "I'm sure Nero's habit of large orgies, daliences with actors, and his frequent appreances on-stage had nothing to do with their reluctance to fund his hobbies. Really."

"By June of 68 the senate voted Galba the emperor and declared Nero a public enemy. The Praetorian Guard was bribed to betray Nero by the praetorian prefect, Nymphidius Sabinus, who desired to become emperor himself. According to Suetonius, Nero fled Rome on the Salaria road. His supporters urged him to flee to the East, where he was still universally popular, but he prepared himself for suicide. Reportedly, the praetorian guard entered to capture Nero just as he stabbed himself."

"With his death, the Julio-Claudian dynasty came to an end, and chaos ensued in the Year of the Four Emperors."

Ghanima turned back to the class, tapping her marker against the board. "Many of the surviving sources paint Nero as insane. It is not known whether they are speaking figuratively or literally, given the political climate. It was not uncommon for 'madness' or 'depravity' to be used as political weapons, even then. Recent scholars are divided in attempting to ascribe a medical reason for Nero's behavior, citing as possibilities encephalitis, epilepsy or meningitis, especially considering his family history of madness, and the fact that his brutality and erratic behaviour increased as he aged. The question of whether or not Nero was truly insane, however, remains unanswered."

"Now, I'd like us to discuss a few different things; do you believe that Nero was mad, or merely slandered by unhappy rivals? If he was insane, what do we think caused it?"

"Miss Liddell, Miss Levine, and Reno, may I see all of you when class is done?"

[OOC: Please wait for the OCD done. Enjoy! Availability for the teacher will vary today, but hit me on aim if you need me to tag in somewhere. See store for details.]

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Reno stared at the handouts, looking slightly like he was about to be ill, dammit, but he was steadfastly fighting it down.

He was looking at mass-destruction that saw an authority figure sitting above it all, having a grand time watching casually and enjoying his music, complete with a scapegoat later, when everyone was panicking for someone to blame, all in favor of building a stronger, better Midgar.

Rome. Rome. In favor of building a better Rome.

He was wondering if maybe he could take back the "Sane" conviction he'd given, before.

Edited 2008-05-21 17:03 (UTC)

Alice was paler than when class started. Fire and madness, madness and fire. She wondered idly if the attendants at Rutledge ever thought she started the blaze. Poor Dinah, only stretching too close to a lamp.

(selfish, unnatural child)

Reno, her mysterious benefactor, which in serials would mean he was an unknown relative. Unlikely, he was yet another alien. Strange that his face looked the way hers felt.

"Fires ... can happen almost by themselves," she said, carefully, measuring each word out as if a harsh liquid might spill out and burn through her desk.

Reno looked at Alice. Alice, who had more than enough reason to hate fire, loathe it, shy away from it and offer away her marshmallows and words on the off chance that they'd burst into flame and devour her whole.

And he took a slow breath. And he nodded.

"They can," he agreed. Carefully. When faced with dealing with his own demons or helping the girl with her own, she won. She was, after all, the newbie. "Don't always need someone helpin' 'em along."

Alice had, unfortunately, yet to realize Reno's own distress. She was paging through handout after handout and the words were jumping out at her.

fire burned consuming conflagration flames scorched mangled protected and spared while your family roasted in an inferno of incredible horror

Alice looked up sharply, pushing the papers away with hands that were trying hard not to tremble. "I don't know if there's enough here to indict Nero or not," she said, as calmly as she could manage. "It seems very confusing and circuitous and who can say how a fire starts?"

Reno absently reached to take the papers. She didn't need them. The subject matter was terrifying, both to girls and monsters alike.

"Maybe," he ventured, "instead of talkin' about the source, we talk about what went on after it all. The lookin' for a scapegoat, the people throwin' the accusations, anything like that. Rumors are one thing, everything was chaos," explosions and fire and screaming and falling and groaning metal as everything was destroyed, "so the facts were probably real muddy about it all."

Talk about anything but the plate fire fire fire anything but the fire.

"Nero pinned the blame on someone else, not because they did it, but because they were convenient. Didn't seem interested in finding out where it all started."

The Turk did it. The redheaded one. The one with the fire for hair, he pressed the button and crushed all of Rome while I watched and laughed from the 70th floor, Nero Shinra, playing music and it's all screaming down below. The Turk did it. I told him to--

"Fixed it, sure. Maybe that was his plan all along. Get rid of the old to have an excuse to replace it with somethin' else."

"Maybe it was an accident," she said, staring at the papers as he collected them in his hands. "Someone knocked over a lamp, a fireplace didn't burn itself out properly. But if there's a fire, and death, and smoke --"

the halls thick with it mum dad get out alice father the door knob singeing her fingertips rabbit clutched tight a window but how but how will they get out

"-- then there ought to be someone to blame, even if it's no-one's fault at all."

selfish misbegotten unnatural child

"How do we know it wasn't his fault? Or wasn't the fault of those the accused, for that matter? Accidents are entirely too ... convenient."

protected and spared they waited in vain in vain in vain

"Someone has to be to blame. With death, there always has to be someone to blame."

"Even when the blame's put on the innocent?"

He watched her, carefully, drawing in a slow breath and swallowing all of it down. Alice. Alice first, he could drink himself stupid later if he managed to just make it through the class.

"Maybe the real crime here ain't the fire. Maybe it's everything that didn't go right after the flames died down, zoto. Scapegoats. Blame goin' wherever yhe blame's most convenient to throw."

"No one's innocent," Alice said, folding her arms across herself and leaning down to examine her desk. "There's a myth of the innocent, those who've never sinned or transgressed. There are no innocents. Life is cruel. There was a fire. Some died in it. Some died for it, when Nero needed a place to send the blame before it came back to lay at his feet like an obedient dog. Some died before and after it for entirely unrelated reasons. Those who have power, use it. Life happens, death happens, fire happens. The details seem inconsequential at best. It happened."

"It happened," he echoed.

The most deafening part of all of it falling down was the silence afterward.

"That don't mean it should have happened. Just sayin' that Life happens ain't gonna stop it from showin' up at your doorstep. But we're here livin' and breathin' so that we can deal with it. If we weren't put here to deal with it, there wouldn't be no point of bein' able to grasp that it's happening at all, yo."

The silence afterward. And he did it. And he had to deal with it.

Alice considered that in silence, weighing out his words.

She frowned, slightly. "I wonder why no one defended them. The early Christians, I mean. Were they really that hated? Nero says it's their fault, and the Romans accept it; so long as someone's blood flows for this, it's as good as anyone's?"

This was progress; she was, at least, discussing Nero and Rome, and not a snowy night in Oxford.

"So long as it's anyone who ain't them," Reno agreed, nodding faintly.

Death to the ShinRa.

We'll blame it on AVALANCHE.

Who did it? Someone else.

"People gotta pick someone to blame. Don't matter in the end if anyone was responsible, or if they even got the right guy. Just so long as there's someone to hate when it's all said and done, it don't matter if it's the person who followed the order to cause the damage or not."

And the only people who knew it was the Turk, in the end, were right all along...

Nero and Rome, at least, were a marked improvement on the actual discussion.

"That's ridiculous," Alice said, sitting up straighter. Her face was more animated when she snapped a look over at him. "I'm not disagreeing with you that it happens, but that's bloody ridiculous. Anyone to hate, instead of justice. Choose a victim and watch the blood flow, and the masses are now appeased. My opinion of humanity gets lower all the time. Will nothing stop a mob but brutality?"

Reno shook his head, ignoring the pit in his gut at that. Girl was right. Good show.

"Seen a lotta mobs in my life," he said, carefully. "Never saw 'em just change their minds and decide to go home. Not until at least someone got hurt. It sucks. It freakin' sucks hard. But that's people, yo."

He lifted a shoulder.

"There are good ones out there, somewhere. But you gotta look damn hard to find 'em and pick 'em out from the thick of all of the bloodlust."

"Have you ever considered giving humanity a pass and wandering off to live in the woods?" Alice said, leaning back in her chair with a sigh. "So Nero started a fire, or it was accidental, or it was saboteurs working against Nero with their own agenda. People died, and of course the natural course of action from there was to bring more death and misery into the situation. Individuals seem to be clever and compassionate, but people on the whole seem rather lacking, had you noticed?"

"Didn't notice that clever and compassionate thing until I moved here," Reno replied, giving a shrug of his shoulders. "There are some walks of life where even the individuals are mons-" He cut that thought off quickly and just shook his head. "Sometimes, it's a real damn challenge to find the good ones, even when it ain't a ragin' mob, kiddo."

"No wonder we're such easy prey for royals and tyrants," Alice huffed. "I should nearly say we deserve it. A little fear, a few threats, and people will live their lives in abject suffering long before they'll risk their neck standing up against one. When the lower classes are unruly, find someone to blame and let the blood paint the streets. That will keep them quiet. Remind them it might be them next time. Throw away one's conscience, and one can be absolute ruler of all one sees. Perhaps that should be a class assignment."

"Some of us got plenty of life experience," Reno murmured. And it was a little more quiet and a little less certain than the norm, for him. "Somebody rises up to do what they figure is right, and it just don't work in the grand scheme or whatever. So crush 'em."

He didn't flinch. He put forth every ounce of effort he had in order to keep himself from flinching.

"Gets rid of the ones doin' the uprisin', scares the piss outta everyone else."

There was something in his tone, and now that she wasn't lying in the snow in Oxford, Alice was discovering that there had been something in his tone for most of this conversation.

That's right, Five, always laying the blame on others. Painting the white roses red so Her Majesty wouldn't be displeased. Her Majesty, who was fond of heads, and separating them from their bodies.

"That was your job, wasn't it?" she asked carefully.

A card guard, lying carefully on the ground, hoping his pattern was undetectable against the grass.

This time, he did flinch.

"That's how it works," he replied, numbly. "Nero ain't gonna make his way down to the streets to do the dirty work himself. Too easy for things to get all twisted up funny, too easy for people to put a positive ID on his head. You get someone else to do it, they'll probably die with the rest anyhow, and even if they don't and someone sees 'em lurkin' around, you can just lie and say it was the terrorists, or the Christians, or anyone that ain't you."

"No, Nero has minions for that," Alice agreed, her voice a measure detached, now. "One of the side benefits of being the grand-high tyrant is that there's no need to get one's hands dirty. Issue a few promises to the right people and one can have a loyal army, ready to do one's bidding. They'll be protected, from one's fits of rage, so long as they never place a toe across that line. Is that about how it goes? It seems fairly straightforward, from the outside."

"Yeah." Reno lifted a shoulder. He was scowling at his toes, now. "Real damn simple. Be a good little sheep and they won't have you executed and stricken from the record. But the first time you say 'no,' that's when they hunt you down like a dog and make it like you never even existed in the first place."

He cleared his throat. Tseng impression time.

"All evidence of misconduct must be destroyed."

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Mad Kings and Queens: Raving Royals and How to Survive Them. -- Wednesday, May 14th, 2nd Period

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