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#caos part four
laurlovez · 2 years
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i think medals of honor should be handed out to those of us who survived the great calbrina vs nabrina war of 2020 because seriously what the actual fuck was that
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percentstardust · 7 months
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moved from here | @magaprima
Ensuring the throne went on to her brother should anything happen to her before she has a chance to have a child of her own one day with Caliban sounded like a good idea. Sabrina is only seventeen. She wants to live her life before having an heir. She's got years ahead of her. She is immortal after all.
"Of course, the entire court isn't in agreement. Not every demon likes my father." The fact she is referring to Lucifer as her father shows how their relationship has progressed. "I mean, some don't like me on the throne. They don't like the changes I have made." She has ignored their comments, especially the ones that say she does not belong down here. Too bad. They are all stuck with her in charge unless Lucifer changes his mind or something. "So, we will get some sort of official document written out. A decree of sorts."
Lilith as Adam's regent would ensure the boy was raised.....not entirely by her father. It would also ensure Lilith's safety. At least, she hoped it would. She trusted Lilith would also make sure the changes she made would stick. She didn't want anyone undoing them. "Yeah, he needs you. Dad's not really.....been active in raising him." Which doesn't surprise her. Perhaps that is why Lilith is still being kept around? The duties of taking care of Adam have been shoved onto her instead of Lucifer having to deal with them. Sabrina has noticed that.
"Besides the idiots that tell me that I have no business on the throne? Not really. I don't fully trust the remaining plague kings to not have something up their sleeves. There's also Caliban, but, he's not done anything to seem untrustworthy so far." She still is keeping an eye on him, however.
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karmirage · 9 months
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some fun facts for the @tournament-of-x voters
The oldest contestants currently in the match (and by oldest, I mean “the date of their first appearance”, not their actual ages) are Magneto, Jean Grey, Bobby Drake/Iceman, and Scott Summers/Cyclops. All four of them first appear in X-Men #1 in 1963.
The youngest contestant currently in the match (again, in terms of the dates of their first appearance, not actual age) is Gwendolyn Poole/Gwenpool, who first debuted in Howard the Duck #1 in 2015.
Of the contestants, only Laura Kinney/Wolverine appeared first on screen -- her first ever appearance was in Season 3, Episode 10 of X-Men: Evolution in August of 2003. This would be later followed by her first comic appearance in NYX #3, in December of 2003.
As far as classic teams go: the 33 characters remaining include three of the original five X-Men (Jean, Bobby, Scott), four of the classic nine New Mutants (Xuân Cao Mạnh/Karma, Dani Moonstar/Mirage, Roberto da Costa/Sunspot, and Illyana Rasputin/Magik -- Dani, Xuân, and Roberto are also founding members), and two people who have two first appearances (both Illyana and Nathan Summers/Cable appear in canon continuity as babies/toddlers prior to appearing later under their aliases -- Illyana appears in Giant-Sized X-Men #1 in 1975 and Nathan appears in Uncanny X-Men #201 in 1985). Two contestants are also part of the iconic Giant-Sized X-Men team created in 1975 -- Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler and Ororo Munroe/Storm. Two members of the original Generation X remain (Monet St. Croix/M/Penance and Jubilation Lee/Jubilee), as well as two from the Academy X era (David Alleyne and Megan Gwynn, from the New Mutants second generation team and the Paragons, respectively), three if you choose to count Laura Kinney/Wolverine, who joined the remaining students of New X-Men vol. 2 just after M-Day.
All the contestants save nine made their first appearances in X-books (X-Men, Giant-Sized X-Men, Uncanny X-Men, New Mutants, X-Factor, X-Force, Generation X, X-Men: Evolution and New X-Men). The ones who do not first appear in X-books are Mystique (Ms. Marvel #18 in 1978, though she technically had a cameo appearance two issues prior), Xuân Cao Mạnh/Karma (Marvel Team-Up #100 in 1980), Anna Marie Lebeau/Rogue (Avengers Annual #10, 1981), Dani Moonstar/Mirage and Roberto da Costa/Sunspot (both in Marvel Graphic Novel #4 in 1983), Billy Kaplan-Altman/Wiccan (Young Avengers #1, 2005), Tommy Shepherd/Speed (Young Avengers #10, 2006), Eden Fesi/Manifold (Secret Warriors #4, 2009), and Gwendolyn Poole/Gwenpool (Howard the Duck #1, 2015).
Demographically speaking, four characters in the tournament are canonically Jewish -- Magneto, Kate Pryde, Billy Kaplan-Altman/Wiccan, and Bobby Drake/Iceman (thanks for the reminder, @/ant-ifascottlang!) Though it hasn’t been confirmed, one might assume that Tommy Shepherd/Speed and Lorna Dane/Polaris are also Jewish, being related to them.
The 70s and the 80s are proving themselves to be the most popular -- 8 candidates that were created in the 70s are still in the tournament (Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler, Ororo Munroe/Storm, Illyana Rasputin/Magik, Mystique, Jean-Paul Beaubier/Northstar, Jeanne-Marie Beaubier/Aurora, Kitty/Kate Pryde, and Emma Frost/White Queen), and 8 characters created in the 80s are still in the tournament as well (Irene Adler/Destiny, Xuân Cao Mạnh/Karma, Anna Marie Lebeau/Rogue, Dani Moonstar/Mirage, Roberto da Costa/Sunspot, Nathan Summers/Cable, Julio Richter/Rictor, and Jubilation Lee/Jubilee).
Of the other decades: seven characters were introduced in the 2000s (Eloise Phimister/Negasonic Teenage Warhead, David Alleyne/Prodigy, Laura Kinney/Wolverine, Megan Gwynn/Pixie, Billy Kaplan-Altman/Wiccan, Tommy Shepherd/Speed, and Eden Fesi/Manifold), five were introduced in the 60s (Magneto, Jean Grey, Bobby Drake/Iceman, Scott Summers/Cyclops, and Lorna Dane/Polaris), and four were introduced in the 90s (Remy Lebeau/Gambit, Lucas Bishop, Neena Thurman/Domino, and Monet St. Croix/M/Penance). Gwendolyn Poole/Gwenpool is the only character remaining in the tournament to be introduced after 2010.
One character is canonically Muslim -- Monet St. Croix/M/Penance.
Eleven characters are canonically LGBTQ+: Bobby Drake/Iceman, Mystique, Jean-Paul Beaubier/Northstar, Kitty/Kate Pryde, Irene Adler/Destiny, Xuân Cao Mạnh/Karma, Julio Richter/Rictor, David Alleyne/Prodigy, Billy Kaplan-Altman/Wiccan, Tommy Shepherd/Speed, and Gwendolyn Poole/Gwenpool.
Laura Kinney/Wolverine, Remy Lebeau/Gambit (thanks for the reminder, @/souldagger!) and Megan Gwynn/Pixie have been confirmed by writers to be queer, but there has been no on-panel confirmation for any of them beyond Pixie’s appearance/alternate dimension self in Secret Wars.
Without counting the upcoming Uncanny Avengers, at least three characters have been recurring Avengers -- Anna Marie Lebeau/Rogue, Roberto da Costa/Sunspot, and Eden Fesi/Manifold. Rogue and Sunspot also notably led teams of Avengers. Several other candidates have been Young Avengers -- David Alleyne/Prodigy, Billy Kaplan-Altman/Wiccan (who was a founding member), and Tommy Shepherd/Speed.
Ten characters are mutants of color -- Ororo Munroe/Storm is Kenyan-American and grew up in Cairo, Xuân Cao Mạnh/Karma is Vietnamese, Dani Moonstar/Mirage is Indigenous American, specifically Cheyenne, Roberto da Costa is Afrolatino and from Brazil, Julio Richter/Rictor is Mexican, Jubilation Lee/Jubilee is Chinese-American, Lucas Bishop is Aboriginal Australian/Black American (according to Chris Claremont, who confirmed that Bishop is indeed descended from Aboriginal Australian mutant Gateway), Monet St. Croix/M/Penance is Monacan-Algerian, David Alleyne/Prodigy is a Black American, and Eden Fesi/Manifold is Aboriginal Australian.
While Laura Kinney/Wolverine first appeared as a visibly brown girl in X-Men: Evolution, her design has since been lightened and she does not have a confirmed ethnicity.
Only eight of the remaining contestants have never appeared in live-action adaptations -- Irene Adler/Destiny, Xuân Cao Mạnh/Karma (though her name is shown on a computer screen in X2: X-Men United), Jean-Paul Beaubier/Northstar, Jeanne-Marie Beaubier/Aurora, David Alleyne/Prodigy, Megan Gwynn/Pixie, Eden Fesi/Manifold, and Gwendolyn Poole/Gwenpool. Of these, only Karma, Penance, Prodigy, Manifold, and Gwenpool have no on-screen appearances at all -- the others appear in the various animated series (Destiny has a recurring appearance in X-Men: Evolution, Pixie pops up in Wolverine and the X-Men, and the Beaubier twins appear in the X-Men cartoon of the 90s). While Penance is listed on Wikipedia as being in Wolverine and the X-Men, it does not cite an episode, though her twin younger sisters appear in Season 1 Episode 10 “Greetings from Genosha.” **this post has been corrected -- Monet St. Croix/M/Penance appears in the direct to TV Generation X movie (thanks for the reminder, @/cranechel!)
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theeslutintheroom · 7 months
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WELCOME TO MY BLOG, SLUTS
hey guys I'm ree! im in a couple fandoms, mostly: slytherin boys/harry potter, outerbanks, "baby" on netflix, caos
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Sex Addict x Theodore Nott
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THEO AND I'S TEXTS
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actnod · 2 months
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and i heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts and i looked, and behold a pale horse and his name that sat on him was death, and hell followed with him
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 ; primera parte del décimo segundo capítulo.
No es difícil echarse al pesimismo cuando un misterioso mensaje del Sabbat llega a oídos de los vástagos locales, mensaje hasta demasiado pasivo agresivo para cualquier oído cuerdo sólo ensombrece más lugar que se ha rodeado de pesadas sombras en pleno invierno. Con un temporal que drenaría la energía de cualquiera y unos vientos que hacen más lentos el paso, sólo queda recurrir a la poca fuerza de voluntad que se pueda encontrar para llegar hasta el lugar. Los guardias continúan merodeando con sus ojos tan desafiantes como toda la semana, pero sin orden directa alguna parecen simplemente dejar a criaturas de la noche desfilar hasta el lugar.  
Invitados a un parque de diversiones abandonado, donde las risas de antaño ahora son sustituidas por el silencio y la decadencia, los vástagos del Sabbat han organizado un espectáculo inusual: las Carreras de Demolición, uno de los tantos juegos de instinto decididos por los sacerdotes de manada para mantener la capacidad depredadora de sus chiquillos. Decisión es cuestionable cuando están en el punto de mira luego de lo sucedido en la fiesta de fin de año, pero poco les importa a quienes gustan demostrar su valentía e inflar el pecho ante cualquier situación.
La locación desierta se ilumina con el destello de neones que titilan intermitentemente y con demasiada suavidad como para realmente ayudar en el camino oscuro. En la pista improvisada, donde antes niños se regocijaban, ahora se alinean coches robados, listos para ser consumidos por las llamas y envolverse en las pulsiones violentas de quienes se crean dignos de ganar. La noche está cargada de anticipación y adrenalina, mientras los miembros del Sabbat, con shovelheads como invitados de honor, se preparan para el ritual.
El sonido gutural de los vehículos arreglados por manos cainitas indican el inicio del espectáculo, llamando la atención de aquellos que se encuentran esparcidos por el recinto perdiendo el tiempo entre diferentes actividades, esperando el verdadero espectáculo. Las llamas danzan bajo la luna, encendiendo el asfalto como un precursor siniestro de lo que está por venir. La tensión es palpable mientras los conductores ajustan sus manos sobre los volantes, la adrenalina siendo la emoción conductora de quienes mirada brilla por la promesa de caos, listos una vez más para promover valía entre sí mismos . Después de todo, no podrían perdonarse que aquel resulte un bien escaso. 
La habilidad para maniobrar se vuelve crucial para quienes conducen, copilotos siendo sacudidos a merced de estructuras metálicas mientras estas se convierten en extensiones de habilidades vampíricas. Algunos sacrifican la potencia de fuego por la agilidad, buscando esquivar los embates enemigos. Otros, cargados por la furia, optan por el ataque como estrategia para llegar en pie hasta el final. Para los transeúntes que se han acercado (sea por temerosa obligación, curiosidad o ganas de delatarlos con contraparte dominante) hay algo seguro: deben tener cuidado por cada lugar en el que pasen.  En las anchas y extensas calles, nunca sabes cuando puede pasar una dupla de autos a toda velocidad, o cuando una de todas esas estructuras de antaño pueden ceder ante los repentinos movimientos sobre la superficie. 
Lucha no es sólo contra los coches enemigos, sino también contra la oscura tentación de abandonar aquellos deteriorados vehículos para evitar ser calcinados o heridos de gravedad. Al final, las reglas son claras: quien ceda y huya primero será el perdedor. Una metáfora para la vida y algo tan a flor de piel para quienes deban forzarse en aquel destino. Cada choque, cada explosión, es un recordatorio de que en este juego, solo los más despiadados y astutos prevalecerán.
Típico del Sabbat, el objetivo es demostrar la valía de cada uno que forma parte de sus líneas, y también alinear a todas esas cabecitas que aún no están seguras de dónde se paran, buscando lealtad de parte de seres al que les han dado vuelta la vida. ¿Serán intimidados los shovelheads de participar en esto? Entre tantas personas inseguras de sus líderes sean del lado que sean, ¿habrá alguien que de la voz por aquellas estructuras en las que se ordenen sin siquiera cuestionarlo?
𝐀𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐎𝐂.
¡Bienvenides a la decimoséptima actividad, murcielaguitos! Durante esta actividad  los vástagos han recibido una invitación por parte de los Lasombra, la cual resuena como todo menos eso y cualquiera podría interpretar como una convocatoria casi obligatoria que la hace más tentadora para los curiosos. Otro ritual del Sabbat será disfrutado bajo la luz de la luna, con menor protección por parte de los antiguos y más ganas de verlos hacerse valer. Todos los miembros de esta secta deberán participar, y los Shovelheads serán invitados a hacerlo también. Incluso si no saben realmente lo que sucede, es bastante obvia de quien es la mano dominante las últimas semanas…
Más allá de observar este espectáculo tan arriesgado, los otros vástagos deberán estar atentos de no interponerse en el camino de ninguno de los autos ni meterse en el local equivocado del gran parque de diversiones. Después de todo, han pasado más de dos décadas desde que ha sido abandonado, y sus condiciones están lejos de ser las mejores.
Algunas locaciones que pueden encontrar en su camino son: una cafetería abandonada, donde las telarañas abundan y el aroma de humedad en la madera puede sentirse en el aire. Justo detrás de ella, la rueda de la fortuna no sirve para más que mover sus partes oxidadas con el viento, provocando fuertes chirridos en todo el espacio cada varios minutos. Subir a alguna de sus cabinas que están cerca del suelo sólo servirá para huir del ruido caótico por fuera.
Considerando la poca protección que les han brindado esta vez, quienes cuenten con suficiente empatía aún remanente en sus cuerpos serán los indicados en encargarse de las curaciones en el área designada para quienes sufrieron más heridas.
Las sillas voladoras a pocos metros del patio principal, desde donde ha partido la carrera, sólo sirven como hamaca, ¡pero ten cuidado de no subirte a la equivocada y que las cuerdas se rompan!  Los autos chocadores y las tazas giratorias funcionan…si alguien te empuja de atrás con un buen uso de su potencia. Pero ten cuidado con la electricidad, que la fricción con la que funcionaban aún puede chispotearte en la cara.   
Luces que llaman tu atención son aquellas que recubren carrusel, caballitos se muestran tétricos si pones suficiente atención e incluso chirridos ocasionados al realizar el ir y venir de animales podría asustar a cualquiera, sin embargo, es espacio que regala mayor iluminación en todo el recinto, no es el mejor si tus intenciones son mantener discreción.  Iluminación de foquillos que aún no se encuentran rotos alcanzan a rozar zona donde juegos de suerte estaban ubicados, tal vez puedas atinar el arito en aquella botella rota o encestar el balón desinflado en la polvorienta canasta. 
No es extraño que en el parque se haga uso de esa pequeña parte de la costa a la que se orientan, y botecitos de pedales abandonados no son más que un paisaje pictórico que podría rememorar sobre el pasado a quienes alguna vez pasearon allí. Pero considerando lo cerca que está la montaña rusa y lo mucho que se nota que se está deshaciendo, por no decir que cada tanto pedacitos de plástico se avientan en tu cara. Esperemos que nada peor caiga de arriba… 
⦾ Este evento se dará el 13 de Enero para los vástagos. Para inspirarse, pueden ver más fotos de la locación en este tablero de Pinterest. 
⦾ Se desarrollará a través de starters abiertos. Apreciamos la reciprocidad por lo que antes de abrir un starter recuerden responder al menos tres publicaciones que ya estén en el blog, una vez alcanzadas las notas deseadas, son libres de eliminar la publicación de dicho apartado. No olviden rebloguearlos en el blog de starters. 
⦾ Durante esta actividad, el código de vestimenta será libre. Están invitados a publicar lo que están vistiendo sus personajes y luego rebloguearlo en el blog de ediciones. 
⦾ Queremos recordarles que, a pesar de ser un grupal de temáticas sensibles, nuestra prioridad es la comodidad de todes nuestres usuaries por igual, así que les pedimos tengan cuidado con la manera con la que se abordan estos tópicos en el dash ya que se trata de un espacio compartido y pedirles, por favor, que no hagan caso omiso a la lista de triggers que se encuentra actualizada para que puedan hacer uso correcto de cada etiqueta. 
⦾ La selectividad, rol burbuja o parecidos permanecen estrictamente prohibidos. De sentirse afectade por alguna de estas situaciones, por favor siéntanse libres de acercarse a la administración.
⦾ Para las personas que aun no lo han deshabilitado, les recordamos  que sus buzones deben de permanecer cerrados para los  mensajes anónimos en todo momento y hasta nuevo aviso.
⦾ Durante esta actividad, no se permitirán los privados ni los flashbacks.⦾ Por último y no menos importante, la actividad tendrá una duración de 10 días. El fin de la actividad en su totalidad será el día 8 de FEBRERO a las 17 hs GMT-6, mismo horario en el que se publicará la siguiente.
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kittleimp · 9 days
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Kittleimp's SVSSS Sect List
I wasn’t sure if other fic authors were fine with people using the peaks they made up, so I decided to make my own! The full list is below the cut. That includes some elaboration on the canon peaks.
If anyone wants to use them, you’re more than welcome. It would be nice of you to credit me in the notes though. If you do use them, please link me so I can see what you do!
Peaks labeled “semi-canon” have canonical names and domains, but all other information is non-canon. Some canon peaks have non-canon elements in the descriptions.
As always, the general disclaimer is that I’m American, can’t speak Chinese, and I’m just doing my best. Please (politely) let me know if I've made a mistake!
1 | Qiong Ding Peak | Canon
穹顶峰 | Heaven's Apex (Domed Roof) Peak
Led by Yue Qingyuan
From this peak, the sect leader oversees the other peaks. This acts as the de facto “capitol” of the sect. They handle politics, outreach, and accounting for the sect as a whole.
2 | Qing Jing Peak | Canon
Led by Shen Qingqiu
清静峰 | Clear and Tranquil Peak
This peak is one of scholars. Part of their focus is on the arts, including the “Four Arts” of Chinese culture. Some of the craft goods made by this sect are sold to the public. They are also home to the sect's artistic library, which includes poetry, philosophy, and other written arts, as well as visual arts like painting.
3 | Wan Jian Peak | Canon
万剑峰 | Ten Thousand Swords Peak
Led by Wei Qingwei
Students at this peak are expected to demonstrate exemplary swordsmanship, but that is only one aspect of their education. Blacksmithing and metallurgy are also a major focus here. The weapons and other craft goods are often sold to the public.
4 | An Ding Peak | Canon
安定峰 | Stable and Settled Peak
Led by Shang Qinghua
Like Qiong Ding peak, this peak is absolutely vital to the operations of the sect as a whole. While logistic, maintenance, and related accounting are not glamorous, they are the foundation that keeps the world stable.
5 | Xian Shu Peak | Canon
仙姝峰 | Immortal Beauty Peak
Led by Qi Qingqi
The only all-female peak. They are known for their focus on grace, elegance, and enchantment. While many people dismiss them as a peak of pretty girls learning to dance, they are fierce warriors and skilled crafters. Due to their unique connection with the moon, they are trained extensively in night combat.
6 | Chong Yu Peak | Non-Canon
充裕峰 | Abundant Peak
Led by Chen Qingdi | 晨清地 | Morning Clear Earth
With a strong connection to nature, this peak handles the vast majority of the sect’s agriculture. There is also some basic processing of the produce. Anything that the sect doesn’t need is sold in nearby towns. They are noted gossips, largely due to the amount of time they spend working the fields together.
Chen Qingdi looks like the romanticized ideal of a peasant farmer woman. Though she is adept at combat, she excels in managing the complex operations of her peak. She works closely with An Ding Peak to minimize food waste.
7 | Bai Zhan Peak | Canon
百战峰 | Hundred Battles Peak
Led by Liu Qingge
Though this peak’s reputation is that of brainless brutes, that is an oversimplification. These combat specialists have great martial abilities, but they also study strategy and war history. Even if they are a bit more rough and tumble than the other sects, they are effectively one of the most well-trained armies in the world.
8 | Qian Cao Peak | Canon
千草峰 | Thousand Grasses Peak
Led by Mu Qingfan
Most disciples will visit this peak during their time in the sect. In addition to acting as the sect’s infirmary, this peak is the source of most of the medicine used in the sect. Students are trained in the creation of natural remedies as well as healing itself. As they get older, most select a specialty.
9 | Zui Xian Peak | Semi-Canon
醉仙峰 | Drunken Immortal Peak
Led by Lin Qingxiao | 林清咲 | Forest Clear Smile
In addition to the brewing of alcohol, this peak handles non-medicinal brewing. Most know them due to the alcohol they brew, largely for export. Some, especially anyone on An Ding Peak, consider them to be more akin to mad scientists.
Lin Qingxiao is a jovial man who appreciates creativity in his disciples. He is also extremely strict about safety practices. Woe be unto the disciple that brews without wearing protective gear. Ironically, he rarely drinks in his spare time.
10 | Hu Xue Peak | Non-Canon
虎穴峰 | Tiger Den Peak
Led by Hua Qingzhi | 花清志 | Blossom Clear Will
“Tiger Den” is sometimes used to mean “place of danger” and that is spot on. This peak handles all manner of beasts and animals. Disciples here learn everything they can about these creatures, including how to slaughter them or harvest monster parts. They are extremely concerned with humane treatment of the creatures under their care and often act as a wildlife rescue. Most people assume that they spend all day petting animals, which they generally find humorous.
Hua Qingzhi is a small woman with a delicate appearance. She is anything but. Much of the peak’s recent expansion has been due to her relentless demands. Legend has it that she once wrestled a… [insert the scariest monster the disciple can think of here].
11 | Ku Xing Peak | Semi-Canon
苦行峰 | Ascetic Practice Peak
Led by Guan Qingtian | 关清恬 | Mountain Pass Clear Tranquility
This is the sect’s only all-male peak. It is true that prospective disciples must request the peak, but their standards are also extremely high. Disciples here learn to disconnect entirely from their body, existing outside of their physical form. Additionally, this sect is responsible for maintaining the sect’s protective arrays.
Guan Qingtian is an odd man. He demands a lot from his disciples. Despite the belief that the peak’s small population is due to lack of interest, it is partially due to the peak lord’s willingness to remove pupils who are not meeting expectations.
12 | Xing Ji Peak | Non-Canon
星纪峰 | Star Discipline Peak
Led by Xin Qinghao | 信清昊 | Trust Clear Sky
This peak is home to the sect’s historical archive. They are also adept at highly specialized curse breaking and are known for their interest in astronomy. In addition, they practice divination. Belief in the efficacy of their practices varies between people. This is partially because those few who are welcomed into the peak’s ranks are sworn to secrecy.
Xin Qinghao is… well, first of all, nobody is entirely sure if Xin Qinghao is a man or a woman. They are most often referred to in feminine terms, but they’ve never actually said. This is endlessly amusing to them. Rumor has it that, with one look, they know every secret you’ve ever held.
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beardedmrbean · 6 months
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Every time I see someone wanting to ban specific dogs breeds I die a little inside. Especially from people who are extremely pro second amendment. Wanting to ban dogs because some might be violent is no different than wanting to ban guns because some people use them to rob and murder. And most people who want to ban pitbulls can't even correctly identify one anyway, they're the dog equivalent of assault rifles, a meaningless buzzword meant to fearmonger.
I can't think of any 2A-OK people that run with the thought that any dogs should be banned. Admittedly I haven't paid much attention so it could be fairly widespread and I just don't know it.
Most understand that it's not the dog it's the person who has the dog, there are some that are likely far more easy to get to be dangerous than others, can't imagine a goldie or samoyed ever being violent feels like something that would take effort, even still there's no bad dogs just bad owners.
Gotta say this comes at a wild time because when I read the first bit I thought you were talking about the UK.
Up and down the UK, news headlines have been dominated by seemingly endless terrifying dog attacks in recent months.
In Surrey, a professional dog walker died when her own pet turned on her. In South Yorkshire, police reported four separate dog attacks on children in two days. In Birmingham, an 11-year-old girl was attacked in the street. And in Staffordshire, a man died last week, with grisly video footage of the attack emerging and horrifying the nation.
So what do all these attacks have in common? They are all believed to be the doing of the American Bully XL breed, an increasingly popular and hard to define sub-breed of the American Bulldog.
Now, with the attacks capturing attention at the highest levels of Government, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called American Bully XLs a “danger to our communities”, and vowed to add the breed — once it has been established in law — to the list of dogs banned in the UK.
1. Pit Bull Terrier
The breed that spurred dozens of sub-breeds, the Pit Bull Terrier (PBT) was bred for blood sport — and can be devilishly hard to define. 
According to DEFRA guidelines, authorities should use a checklist to identify PBT characteristics in dogs they think might fit the breed, including the shape of its head, shoulders, muzzle, eyes and rib cage. 
Traditionally bred for fighting, a spate of fatal attacks in England and Wales by PBTs between 1981 and 1991 led to the introduction of the Dangerous Dog Act, and the breed was banned. 
There are numerous sub-breeds which are not banned, however, like the Staffordshire Bull Terrier and the American Bully XL. 
2. Japanese Tosa
The Japanese Tosa or Japanese Mastiff is a breed of fighting dog that was crossbred with large and giant breeds including the Great Dane to produce enormous results. 
Spookily, Japanese dog fighting rules (the practice is still permitted in some parts of Japan and almost all fighting dogs are Tosas) declare that dogs mustn’t be noisy in the pit, so the Tosa is able to fight in complete silence. 
According to experts, if the Tosa isn’t properly trained it can be very aggressive towards strangers and other animals, earning it a place on the banned breeds list. 
3. Dogo Argentino
This Argentinian working dog was bred to hunt big game in packs. It is known for being highly intelligent, protective and ruthless, and should never be handled by anyone other than a breed expert — which is why it’s on the list in the UK and several other countries.
4. Fila Brasileiro
Also known as the Brazilian Mastiff, Brazilian Bloodhound, Cao de Brasil, Cao de Fila, and the Fila, this breed — originally used for hunting and working —  is known for being very nervous of strangers and surprisingly agile for its size. 
The Fila has a better reputation in Brazil, where it is praised for its loyalty, but its intelligence, strength and aggression have led to bans in the UK,  Australia, New Zealand, Norway and Denmark, among others. 
5. To be banned by 2024: American Bully XL
The American Bully XL is the largest variation of the American Bulldog breed, which also oncluides the pocket and standard variation. 
It is thought to have been developed from cross-breeding with other breeds — including the banned Pit Bull Terrier. They are known for their heavy bone structure and strong, stocky build. 
The American Bully XL is set to be the first added to the list since the introduction of the law in 1991 — but there are complexities. It is not an officially recognised breed, so it’s difficult for officials to determine which dogs should be outlawed, and which should be added to the list. 
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First and last ones are the only ones I'm familiar with, also the prime targets nearly every time talk of a ban comes up.
#3 there is the only one I might have reservations about and there's gonna be ways to train them to behave too.
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beehunni62 · 1 year
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The Advisors Alliance Translation Post 2: “Husband, don’t cross the river. Husband, nonetheless, crossed the river.”
The Advisors Alliance 大军师司马懿之军师联盟 is a 2017 two-part Chinese TV series depicting the life of Sima Yi, a government official and military strategist who lived during the late Eastern Han Dynasty 东汉 (25 CE - 220 CE) and the Three Kingdoms Period 三国時代 (220 CE - 280 CE). [Wikipedia of the show’s first season]
The second part is titled Growling Tiger Hidden Dragon 虎啸龙吟 and keeps following Sima Yi’s life as he matures and becomes wiser [Link to the show’s second season’s MyDramaList page].
The Weibo account [Link] of the show made a series of posts in the style of small encyclopedias explaining different historical and cultural facts that where included in the series. The user @moononmyfloor compiled the 50 posts and asked me to translate them. This will be an ongoing series where I will do just that.
The posts are not in order of the episodes but I will provide the episode and season number to avoid confusion. If there are any mistakes in translation, do let me know in the comments or privately message me and I will do my best to fix them. Although I tried to stay as close as possible to the original text, I had to take some liberties in some posts to get the meaning across better. On the side, I have included extra information from personal research that explains certain things better.
If it is difficult to read the letters, tap or click on the image to expand it. Without more preamble, here you go.
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Extra information:
Yuefu (乐府), literally Music Bureau, are a genre of ancient Chinese folk songs that, either imitate the style of, or are from the Imperial Music Bureau. The latter was an institution in charge of collecting and writing lyrics to folk songs. Yuefu are known for having strict syllabic rules that change from dynasty to dynasty.
《公无渡河》 is also known as Kong Hou Yin (箜篌引). Konghou is an ancient Chinese stringed instrument similar to a harp. A Yin (引), in this context, is another type of ancient music poetry that has a freer syllabic structure and is characterized by long syllables that go well with the melody of the konghou. Below is a picture of the instrument:
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Vertical konghou 箜篌 in exhibit at the Gansu Provincial Museum, Lanzhou, China. Taken on May 10, 2013 by Gary Todd [image source].
Allow me to clarify something. The folk song 《公无渡河》 was recorded by Cui Bao in "Notes on Ancient and Modern Times" to be of Gojoseon origin. As such, Koreans consider it to be their oldest surviving folk song.
The Chinese consider it a Chinese Han Dynasty song on account of the tale being set and song created in the Lelang Commandery [108 B.C.E. - 313 C.E.] which is one of the four regions Gojoseon was split into while under Han rule. Koreans consider the residents of Lelang, and the other commandaries, to be Gojosen Koreans who retained a separate culture to the Han Chinese. If you wish to conduct further research into the song, don’t get surprised if you read different names for the characters that appear in the story.
Koreans call the song "Gongmudohaga (공무도하가)” and the ferryman Gwaklijago (곽리자고). The Korean folk tale differs from the Chinese retelling in that the Korean name of Gwaklijago wife, who is credited with creating the actual song, according to certain Chinese and Korean retellings, is Yeo-ok (여옥) rather than Li Yu (丽玉). In Cao Yong and Cui Bao’s retellings, the wife of the drowned drunk man created the song while, in the Korean version, it was the wife of the ferryman who, upon learning about what had transpired from her husband once he came home, created the song on her harp, called in Korean gonghu (공후).
Many Chinese poets have retold the story in their own ways and added, omitted, or reinterpreted content. Some of said poets are Li Bai and Chen Shou of Shu Han. On top is Li Bai's version which lacks strict syllabic structure, a signature of his style and, on the bottom, Chen Shou's more structured one:
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This expression 《公无渡河, 公竟渡河》 is often used as an allegory to satirize someone who is heading into clear danger but is too stubborn or obsessed to listen. If this person doesn't listen, then they are sure to run into trouble.
Catalogue (find the rest of the posts):
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cyborg-squid · 4 months
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I just finished listening to the Water Margin podcast...
... and something that really struck me about the ending, after all the campaigns are said and done, is how similar it feels to the ending of Romance of the Three Kingdoms in tone. Both are these large scale grand stories with tons of characters (WM more than RoT3K) and battles, but their endings are so... sobering and basically end with the 'enemies' winning.
RoT3K, Cao Cao wins, seizing control of the Han while maintaining that he is still a loyal servant of the Han court, while his descendants form the Wei dynasty (which the novel does point out ends similarly to how Cao Cao usurped the Han), while the novel's heroes and main characters die unceremoniously.
Water Margin, fully two thirds of the 108 heroes die on their final campaign (after having lost none in their prior two), and many of those that survive either A) leave of their own volition before shit hits the fan, sometimes following their Buddhist or Daoist tenets or just sensing which way the winds are blowing in court, or B) are killed by the scheming officials in court, who have been against them since the literal beginning of the novel and never receive any sort of comeuppance or even consequences.
And while at first glance, both those final events in the novels might suck, honor and loyalty going unrewarded in life, it also feels very... realistic, especially with RoT3K, which has a stronger historical basis than WM. Sometimes the heroes don't win, sometimes your strongest warrior doesn't go out in battle but is simply executed, sometimes your best thief and infiltrator dies appendicitis, and only if you're lucky and humble are you able to escape the schemes of the court with your skin intact. The 'good' guys, your Guan Yu's and Song Jiang's and Lu Junyi's and Liu Bei's, they are remembered fondly and are vindicated by history, rightfully revered in history and pop culture, but that only happens after their deaths.
And that's just so interesting and is a large part of what makes these novels so appealing to me! Especially all the different ways you can read Song Jiang and the morality of the 108 as a whole, guys who are portrayed as the unambiguous good guys in the novel, but who still do things like kill civilians and go on rampages and cover up their own unjustified murders and, in the case of the multiple black tavern operators Liangshan has on staff, kill and eat people. And you ask, are these really the good guys, and then you step back and look at how else these novels can be read, how Song Jiang's devotion to loyalty and honor and "delivering justice on heaven's behalf" and earning an amnesty for the heroes, how that can also be seen as what ultimately led to their downfall, his devotion to a dynasty that couldn't give two shits about them and is largely responsible for the events that led them to banditry...
They weren't kidding, those Four Great Masterpieces really do be great masterpieces
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spellwoodmanor · 5 months
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CAOS gif makers, could someone gif the bit in Part Four, Chapter 33: The Returned, where Zelda comforts Sabrina after Edward is terrible to Sabrina. Zelda takes her into the hall outside the office, sits on a bench, and is the softest in the world to Sabrina. Thank you!!
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swallowerofdharma · 10 months
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What Guts is for Griffith
a dispassionate analysis written for a better understanding of both characters and of Berserk
Part 6: What is it he desires so much?
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Not unlike the English word dream, 夢 (yume) refers both to those images we conjure in our sleep or to a wish we want to make happen. An older kanji expression for it, mostly discarded in favor of the new one, was 寝目, where the first character refers to sleeping and the second to eye (or eyes), making the concept of dream/dreams an equivalent to something like sleeping eyes.
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A very well known aquatint by Spanish painter Francisco Goya, from the satirical series Los Caprichos published in 1799, is titled El sueño de la razón produce monstruos (The dream/sleep of reason produces monsters). The full epigraph reads: “Fantasy abandoned by reason produces impossible monsters: united with her [reason], she [fantasy] is the mother of the arts and the origin of their marvels”. In his illustration, Goya is portrayed having fallen asleep while drawing at his desk, all around him there are creatures associated with evil and folly. The satirical series Los Caprichos depicts human vices like greed, vanity, but also delusions and superstitions, in the context of the values promoted by the Enlightenment. Goya’s etchings and paintings are still well known today, especially for those people who love the arts or have investigated the irrational worlds and the superstitions of the pre-Enlightenment Europe. The epigraph, however, demonstrates how Goya’s message is more complicated, as he believed that human imagination shouldn’t be replaced by the strictly rational plane and that fantasy, if united with the reason, is the irreplaceable source for artistic minds. Goya’s works opened the door for many of the visual elements in dark fantasy tales. Kentarō Miura isn’t dissimilar, in Berserk logic and reason aren’t the real answers. Humanity, confronted with darkness, death, fear and despair, looked for a reason and failed, conjuring the idea of evil or the idea of a savior, the desired one, both fallacious delusions, fantastical beliefs that generated a nearly omnipotent power structure, that oppressed them even more and added to the caos. Griffith devoted his life to a dream, and in doing so he envisions a future through sleeping eyes. Griffith’s madness is showcased in some of his expressions, but often times in the Golden Age arc we are purposely shown how fundamentally human he is.
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During the eclipse Void explains: “All lies within the currents of causality. Everything has been determined. All of your lives have been spun into this sacred point in time, the eclipse”. Once the altar for the sacrifice is formed, Ubik opens a portal to Griffith’s unconscious mind, his past memories relived through the logic of a sleeping/dreaming mind. He says to Griffith: “This is not an illusion. It is the reality within your conscious realm… materialized within this dimensional plane”. The words confirm that it isn’t indeed the conscious mind, the awake and rational one, because a special filter is applied to what Ubik conjures: Griffith’s memories are materialized within this dimensional plane, which isn’t reality, but a dream-like state, an in-between: “This is a weird place”. In this sequence, we are given a visual reference for the expression used by Void: “All of your lives have been spun into this sacred point in time”, as we can see an old lady while she is working yarn into a thread on a spinning wheel, like one of the Norns, or Moirai, would do on her spindle.
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Griffith is made to relive certain memories and emotions, especially his guilt and fear, through his child self and with the assistance of the old crone, who has followed him to a pile of corpses: “What’s wrong? Are you afraid now? Do you want to turn back? You mustn’t think that way!” The old crone is now revealed as being both Conrad and Ubik. Following the story further, and especially through the double pages illustrations of the four Guardian Angels of Desire, after the great roar of the Astral World, we gain a better idea of their roles and their domains: Conrad being a manifestation of disease and Ubik of madness and illusion. Considering the physical and mental conditions of Griffith at the time of the Eclipse, Conrad and Ubik are the ones who have more power over him. Griffith’s mental anguish is displayed fully. The most instrumental memories, of the back alley boy playing a game, of the death of the unnamed child soldier and of Guts’s final words that dismissed Griffith’s insecurity, together with physical and mental torture are the instruments to guide him towards a precise choice.
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hel-the-growl · 1 year
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Cultural Annotations on New Gods: Yang Jian -Part 2-
Part 1
Shen Gongbao was an original character from IOTG not rooted in mythology. In it, he defected from the Chan Sect to assist the tyrannical King Zhou of Shang against the forces of justice. There are several adaptations misrepresenting Shen Gongbao as a leopard spirit, or that he rode a leopard however none of these were in the original text. His white tiger in New Gods is accurate.
His character design is a nod to poet Liu Ling, one of the “Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove”, who was an alcoholic. The poem he recites outside the lighthouse was “Ode to the Virtue of Wine” by Liu Ling.
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The concentric circle design of the portal resembles Ancient Chinese jade pendants from the Western Han Dynasty. The recent winter olympic medals are also inspired by the same pendants. It rotates like an armillary.
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The stamp on the crate of cosmic gas is that of the White Tiger, one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations, guardian of the cardinal direction of west. The same stamp was on the crates at the gas station, and the teller was servicing at "Yin window" (寅字口). Yin is the third of the twelve Earthly Branches, which correlates with the year of the tiger, hence the tiger symbol.
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Yingzhou is based on the Yueyaquan sand dunes in Dunhuang, a cradle of Buddhism in China, located in Northwestern Gansu.
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The nearby Mogao Caves famously depict murals of the Flying Apsaras, represented by Wanluo’s dance in the Yingzhou Music Hall. The song the “Ballad of the Luo River Goddess”, was written by Cao Zhi, whose poetry was greatly revered during the Southern and Northern Dynasties where the movie takes place, so the timeline checks out.
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Pigsy, is that you?
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Mo Lishou mentioned that Yang Jian also used underhanded methods to capture them. This is a reference to the incident in IOTG when Yang Jian deliberately let himself be eaten by his mink, killing it from within and transforming himself into the mink to infiltrate the brothers’ hideout in order to steal Mo Lihong’s havoc umbrella.
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Surprisingly, Yang Jian’s title on his arrest form is still “True Monarch of the Pure Source”. His full title is the True Monarch of the Pure Source, Great Heavenly Deity of Justice (Qingyuan Miaodao Zhenjun, 清源妙道真君司法大天神), a status bestowed to him by his uncle the Jade Emperor. Ironic that the god of justice gets thrown into jail.
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Prison gates were traditionally guarded by Bi’an (狴犴), the seventh son of the dragon king, a dragon-tiger hybrid. The one behind the pillar should be Bi’an.
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The cute bronze dragon at the bell tower is Pulao (蒲牢), fourth son of the dragon king. He is a small four-legged dragon-toad hybrid who likes to scream, and is usually represented on the tops of bells, used as handles.
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He is nested on top of the Azure Dragon (青龍 Qīnglóng), another one of the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations, representing the cardinal direction of east.
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The giant beast inside the prison is Kaiming (开明兽), a mythical creature with nine heads from the abyss in Kunlun, described in the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
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The Sword of Cutting Immortals belongs to Yuding.
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Shen Gongbao refers to Yuding as sect brother. Strictly speaking, they are indeed sect brothers as they were both Yuanshi Tianzun’s disciples from the same generation, and Yang Jian’s seniors.
Shen Gongbao quotes a line from the poem “善哉行” by Cao Pi.
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The first time we see Chenxiang’s primordial spirit manifest, it glowed green and was shrouded in smoke due to the influence of Shen Gongbao, holding a dagger and wearing a bamboo hat.
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Later when he’s been around Wanluo for a time, it turned pale gold while he gained tendril-like chains, similar to Wanluo’s threads, with daggers on the ends of them.
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By the time he was ready to cleave the mountain after having followed his uncle around and learned Nine Turns Mystical Arts, we see the final evolution in the form of a vibrant gold figure that has lost the bamboo hat and now fully embodies a little general.
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Jian drops into Chang’an, the Imperial City in the mortal realm in the midst of a civil war during the Jin dynasty. The Eastern Jin dynasty was in near-constant conflict with the northern states for most of its existence. Chang’an, located in present-day Xi’an, has a lot historic significance as the capital of several major dynasties in Ancient China, and is a treasure trove of cultural relics.
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Mount Li is a scenic location about an hour’s drive from the Fortifications of Xi’an. A complex of hot springs are located in the area known as Huaqing Pool, likely serving as the basis for Duyue Pool.
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This scene is gorgeous.
Wanluo tells the story of King You of the Zhou Dynasty at the Beacon Tower of Mount Li, who was slain in 771 BC. The tower still stands today as part of the Huaqing Palace complex.
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Further west is Mount Hua, the sacred mountain known as the "Western Mountain" of the Five Great Mountains of China. Lotus Peak is located on the western side of the mountain.
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The paths leading up the mountain involve steep staircases, vertical ascents, and narrow plank trails bolted onto the cliff face, often labelled as some of the most dangerous hikes in the world.
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The Nine Turns Mystical Arts (九转玄功) is the unique ability of Yang Jian. It grants him vast, physical durability of undefined limits and nigh-invulnerability to conventional weapons and various magic spells.
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This was such a bittersweet moment when he stopped the wind chimes.
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The scene where Chengxiang paused at Shen Gongbao’s monument was heartbreaking.
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365 gods were canonized at the Investiture Altar of Mount Qi. Shen Gongbao was the last one on the list.
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Yuding borrowed the Deity-Binding Chains from his master Yuanshi Tianzun, which were confiscated from Tu Xingsun. Tu Xingsun once used them to bind Nezha, Huang Tianhua, Jiang Ziya etc.
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The Yin Yang Scroll belongs to Taishang Laojun, who along with Yuanshi Tianzun and Lingbao Tianzun make up the Three Pure Ones - three highest gods in the Daoist pantheon. In IOTG, Yuanshi Tianzun’s disciple Chi Jingzi also borrowed it to subdue Yin Hong.
The text on it comes from “Taishang Laojun’s sutra of everlasting tranquility” (太上老君说常清静经).
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Part 1|Part 3|Part 4
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everlasting-beg · 3 months
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Nugu GG of the Week #153 : Fiestar (part 4)
Fiestar over their 6 year career only officially released 2 mini albums, Black Label in 2015 and A Delicate Sense in 2016. Both the concepts for these albums were "we're sad but sexy about it", a very iconic concept! Instead of including the singles I chose my favorite b-side from each album in case no one ever checked out the albums. IMO Black Label is there better album, it has more tracks (6 to 5) plus it's a more enjoyable and unique listen. A Delicate Sense has like 2 songs on it that I feel are a little boring/not super interesting in it's hooks/melody so they make the album fall a little flat.
Hello from Black Label, nice vocals and production plus the word Hello is just fun to sing along with.
Mr. Black from A Delicate Sense, the synth horn or whatever it is, is just sooooo good. They got a nice attitude on the track too.
Meanwhile while they were releasing these albums the group was doing okay for solo promotions on variety shows etc, Yezi on Unpretty Rapstar 2, Cao Lu being the "funny" member/comedian and being on We Got Married. Also 😔 Jei on Her Secret Weapon. Let's get it into it. I'm gonna copy & paste the wiki in case you have no idea what I'm talking about :
Her Secret Weapon is a show that : "focuses on members of lesser-known K-pop girl groups. The show explores what it is that turns people into fans of a certain girl group or individual idol by exposing the charms or "secret weapons" of each contestant. As ten contestants show off their hidden talents and charms through competition, their rankings in various missions are decided by a panel of ten judges who were reporters, industry experts, and passionate girl group fans."
😭 ouch, these lesser known groups are Jei, Dahye (BESTie), Yerin (GFriend, which pissed me off at the time like she just debuted why is she here), Alice (Hello Venus), Solbin (Laboum), Sihyun fka Juhyun (Spica), Daye (Berry Good), Jisoo (Tahiti), Minhee (Stellar) and Daeun (2eyes). Like the only nugus here are Berry Good and 2eyes no offense but still, GFriend just debuted that year and the rest of ladies are my queens 😭 I was so offended. Basically the show used famous idols as references and did challenges, so like the Suzy episode was about filming their own CFs etc. a memorable moment also was that they did like a questionnaire challenge (?) to intrigue the judges interests and if the answers were boring they got docked points or whatever (it's been a minute since I watched it) Jisoo was asked out of all the contestants which GG will never succeed, all the judges were ready to buzz her if she gave a "boring" answer or whatever but she said Fiestar and the judges didn't buzz aka they agreed 😭 I was traumatized. She said afterwards she only said Fiestar because they both debuted at the same time and promoted regularly together and noticed they weren't that successful either soo....yeah. Jei did not do well on the show, eventually on "midterms" episode the bottom four were to either be eliminated or replaced by a fellow member of their group, she chose to bow out and Cao Lu replaced her. She did a great job finishing 5th by the end.
Below 👇 I included their MVs for the singles (wow we love cinema!! You're Pitiful is like one of my favorite MVs ever tbh) + YouTube music app audio
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masterofrecords · 8 months
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The Ravages of Time episode 1
Oooookay, I did a thing.
Well, not yet – so far I’ve done 3/16 of a Thing, but I think that’s enough to start posting it.
As I have mentioned several times on this blog, I’m watching “The Ravages of Time” donghua. There are official subs, but they don’t cover everything – notably, song lyrics and the cards with background information at the end of each episode remained a mystery. I like mysteries and I like digging into Chinese history. I’m sure you can figure out my problem.
The thing is that some of those cards are abridged versions of excerpts from ancient chronicles. Most of these texts have no English translations available. Those are hard to translate, even for professionals (which I am far from) – as you’d expect from over a thousand year old books.
Luckily, most cards only reference the chronicles and are written in modern Chinese.
Most references in these cards are for “The Records of the Three Kingdoms” and occasionally to “The Romance of the Three Kingdoms” – a fictionalized version of the same events – and “The Book of the Later Han” which describes the events and personas of the period predating the Three Kingdoms (Dong Zhuo rose to power in 189 and was dead in 192 (sorry for the almost 2000-year-old spoilers), while the Three Kingdoms period officially started in 220).
Episode 1
T/N: The original title for the manhua/donghua is “Fiery Phoenix Scorches the Plains”
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Scorched plains afterword: “The Records of the Three Kingdoms”, one of the Twenty-Four Histories [1], written by the West Jin dynasty historian Chen Shou, records the events of the Cao Wei, Shu Han and Eastern Wu states of the Three Kingdoms period, presented as a series of biographies and dynastic histories, and is considered the most famous of the Early Four Historiographies [2]. If you persevere and finish reading “The Records of the Three Kingdoms”, you will find that “The Romance of the Three Kingdoms” has many fabricated events. In fact, almost none of the literary works about the Three Kingdoms period are based on real historical records. Each author’s perspective leads to their art being created in their own versions of the Three Kingdoms. – Mou [3]
[1] dynastic histories from remote antiquity until Ming dynasty
[2] Those include The Records of the Grand Historian, The Book of Han, The Book of the Later Han, The Records of the Three Kingdoms
[3] I’m assuming referring to Chen Mou, the author of “The Ravages of Time” manhua
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“The Ravages of Time” is also very much fabricated. A lot of the main characters are made-up, for one; but even regarding the general events of the story, a lot of it couldn’t have happened the way it did. (I still love the donghua though! Not to mention that there is a looong history of historical fiction in China that plays very loose with historical events. See “The Romance of the Three Kingdoms” again. This is in no way a criticism on my part, I just think this stuff is even cooler when you know the history.) I’ve come across some pretty interesting stuff on these events while researching for these translations, so I might include that in the posts for the relevant episodes. At least, I will for this episode!
Putting this under the read more for spoilers of things that happened 2000 years ago.
The prologue has the narrator describe a man with the surname Cao fearing people with the character “horse” in their name. The surname Cao is that of Cao Cao; surname Sima contains the character for “horse”. Sima Yi, indeed, was the one who had Cao Cao’s descendants lose the throne and be executed.
I’m not sure how accurate the dream is supposed to be – it is, after all, a dream. Either way, I have found no indication that Sima Yi’s death was in any way violent or memorable, or that his last years were marred by any particular madness or cruelty. He did have dreams he found disturbing in those last years when he fell ill – but they were relatively harmless ones of his political rivals being celebrated. So, if it is meant to be prophetic, it is fictional.
Remnant army also doesn’t seem to be based on any real organization.
Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang in 189. At that time, Sima Yi would be about 10 years old. Along with his older brother Sima Lang (around 18) and the rest of his family he lived in Luoyang; they only moved to Henei after Dong Zhuo started making plans to relocate to Chang’an. Due to that fact, the entire Henei storyline is understandably fictional.
Xu Lin is a completely made-up character. Whatever, he dies in the very first episode. Same for Zhao Xian (Liaoyuan Huo’s “adopted father”).
We briefly see Sima Yi’s younger siblings playing ball. Sima Yi was the second of eight brothers, nicknamed “Eight Das” because all of their courtesy names ended with the same character (Zhongda for Sima Yi, Boda for Sima Lang).
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Sun's coldest region stores secret to heating million-degree corona, study finds Nearly five thousand kilometers above the Sun’s surface lies a century-old question for solar physicists — how are temperatures in the star’s upper atmosphere, or corona, hundreds of times hotter than temperatures at the Sun’s visible surface? An international team of scientists has a new answer to the question — commonly referred to as the Sun’s coronal heating problem — with new observational data obtained with the 1.6-meter Goode Solar Telescope (GST) at Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO), operated by NJIT’s Center for Solar Terrestrial Research (CSTR). In a study published in Nature Astronomy, researchers have unveiled the discovery of intense wave energy from a relatively cool, dark and strongly magnetized plasma region on the Sun, capable of traversing the solar atmosphere and maintaining temperatures of a million degrees Kelvin inside the corona. Researchers say the finding is the latest key to unravelling a host of related mysteries pertaining to Earth’s nearest star. “The coronal heating problem is one of the biggest mysteries in solar physics research. It has existed for nearly a century,” said Wenda Cao, BBSO director and NJIT physics professor who is co-author of the study. “With this study we have fresh answers to this problem, which may be key to untangling many confusing questions in energy transportation and dissipation in the solar atmosphere, as well as the nature of space weather.” Using GST’s unique imaging capabilities, the team led by Yuan Ding was able to initially capture transverse oscillations in the darkest and coldest region on the Sun, called the sunspot umbra. Such dark sunspot regions can form as the star’s strong magnetic field suppresses thermal conduction and hinders the energy supply from the hotter interior to the visible surface (or photosphere), where temperatures reach roughly 5,000 degrees Celsius. To investigate, the team measured activity related to numerous dark features detected in an active sunspot recorded on July 14, 2015 by BBSO’s GST — including oscillatory transverse motions of plasma fibrils within the sunspot umbra in which the magnetic field is more than 6,000 times stronger than that of Earth’s. “Fibrils appear as cone-shaped structures with a typical height of 500-1,000 km and a width of about 100 km," explained Vasyl Yurchyshyn, NJIT-CSTR research professor of heliophysics and BBSO senior scientist. “Their lifetime ranges from two to three minutes and they tend to reappear at the same location within the darkest parts of the umbra, where magnetic fields are strongest.” “These dark dynamic fibrils had been observed in the sunspot umbra for a long time, but for the first time, our team was able to detect their lateral oscillations that are manifestations of fast waves,” said Cao. “These persistent and ubiquitous transverse waves in strongly magnetized fibrils bring energy upwards through vertically elongated magnetic conduits and contribute to the heating of the upper atmosphere of the Sun.” Through a numerical simulation of these waves, the team estimates the energy carried could be up to thousands times stronger than energy losses in active region plasma of the Sun’s upper atmosphere — dissipating energy up to four orders of magnitude stronger than the heating rate needed to keep up the blazing plasma temperatures in the corona. “Various waves have been detected everywhere on the Sun, but typically their energy is too low to be able to heat the corona,” said Yurchyshyn. “The fast waves detected in the sunspot umbra are a persistent and efficient energy source that may be responsible for heating the corona above sunspots.” For now, researchers say the new findings not only revolutionize our view of the sunspot umbra, but offer another important step in advancing physicists’ understanding of the energy transport processes and heating of the solar corona. However, questions about the coronal heating problem persist. “While these findings are a step forward toward solving the mystery, the energy flux coming out of sunspots may be only responsible for heating those loops that are rooted in sunspots,” said Cao. “Meanwhile, there are other sunspot-free regions associated with hot coronal loops that still await to be explained. We expect that GST/BBSO will continue providing the highest-resolution observational evidence to further unlock mysteries of our star.” IMAGE....Extreme ultra-violet emission by solar coronal plasma at millions of degrees. CREDIT Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) on board NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft
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sarahreesbrennan · 1 year
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just popping in to say that even though it's been a year or two, the caos books continue to live rent free in my mind (and on my bookshelf). i didn't care much for the characters in the show until i read the novels and had the pleasure of understanding them on a deeper level. you've handled their characterisation with such care that i feel (weirdly) thankful for it. all i know is the only times i truly cried and laughed about these characters was whilst reading the novels. so thank you :)
Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, my heart. I am so thankful for this message, and so happy those books live in your mind and shelf. They definitely live in my heart.
I loved those characters - Ambrose and Zelda! Prudence! Sabrina and Nick and Harvey! Theo! - so much. I learned all I could about them from every source and then badgered my kind sources with my ideas and theories for them. I love me some out-of-control magic, tangled family ties, kind people who want to be wild and wild people who want to be kind.
The great joy of books for me is that you can see inside characters, in-depth, so you know why they do what they do. Books offer an opportunity to sympathise with even the most strange to you. So I considered it my challenge to go all in on the characters, armed with the knowledge of the future and deleted scenes and intentions for them and my own dedicated overthinking about them, and I hoped others would come with me, all the way. I'm glad you did.
Sabrina was my very first tie-in. It was such a lovely, wild in all senses of the word, world. I felt lucky to be invited in and really wanted to do my best by those witches. I took to my bed when it ended and to be honest, sometimes I still wake up thinking 'time to write book four, surely, looking forward to writing the scenes with the dancing, the demon, the door and the declaration!' In September in Chicago I was talking to kind readers who inquired and telling them about a post-Part 4 epilogue set by the sea. 'This is how it can still work!'
I said recently that I'm like Dracula in a way. If I hear howling, whether it's my audience laughing or crying, I go 'my children of the night, what wonderful music they make.' It's the ultimate compliment and it's why I write anything.
Thank you for giving me music to dance to.
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