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alistairs-raven · 2 years

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Cad Bane - Dark Woods Part 2

Part 2 // previous

Also on AO3

Western!AU Cad Bane and F!Reader (only because I like when Bane says Lil’ Lady too much)

@xinambercladx requested a sequel to my oneshot for more context, and after some thought I agreed there is more story to tell. So therefore my original concept is altered, but the story is consistent.

Amazing art by my friend @stormytitan

—-

Warm and cozy, a young woman sat alone in her home. Outside the evening sun poured light through the green leaves of the forest. She waited for no one, because she lived alone, secluded and hidden in the woods outside of town, so she was alerted to the sound of approaching hooves breaking the peace. Although rare, she would occasionally get a visit from the sheriff, or possibly a lost traveler. She always welcomed both, and so when whoever was outside knocked on the door she didn’t hesitate to answer.

“Hello! How can I help–” Her friendly smile vanished as she looked up into the blood red eyes of her guest. Gasping, she quickly tried to close the door but the man’s hand came up and kept it open as he forced his way inside. He was tall and intimidating, with sapphire skin and scars covering his scowling face. The woman didn’t need to know him to know he was dangerous, but he was infamous around these parts. She recognized the notorious outlaw.

Cad Bane closed the door behind him, trapping her inside. The woman felt herself shake. What did he want with her? She had never met him before and had nothing he would want. The man tipped his hat politely before he spoke. “Are ya alone, Lil’ Lady?” Should she lie and tell him there was someone on their way? Surely he would see right through her deceit.

“There’s no one. “ She answered honestly. He accepted that answer and gestured towards the chair she’d been sitting at. She obeyed and sat back down, terrified of what he might do to her. But he turned his back to her and peered out the window, moving his head back and forth like he was looking for something. Was someone else coming? “Sir, what are you looking for? Maybe I can help?”

“Does de sheriff know his way up ‘ere?” Bane asked.

“Yes, he visits me sometimes.” The woman could see this displeased Bane as he bared his fangs at the window and reached up to touch the brim of his hat. A few minutes of silence passed between them before they saw rising dust and heard the sound of many approaching hooves. The woman felt relief as the sheriff and a posse approached the house, weapons drawn. Cad Bane moved away from the window and quickly stalked over to her, gripping her by the wrist and roughly pulling her along with him.

“I have de Lil’ Lady dat lives ‘ere.” Bane shouted through the closed door. “If ya don’t want her blood on yer hands you’ll holster yer weapons.”

They wouldn’t do that. Sheriff Vanth had wanted Cad Bane brought in for so long, he wasn’t about to stop now. He’d let her die before he let the outlaw escape again. She teared up, fearing what would come next as Bane waited for his response.

“This isn’t your style, Mr. Bane. Just let the girl go and we’ll settle this like men.” The sheriff shouted. When there was no response from inside the house, he was forced to change tactics. “Fine, we’ll do it your way. Come on out.”

Bane brought the woman in front of him and held her tightly against his chest with one long arm. With the other he drew one of his dual revolvers and held it to her head. Opening the door a crack, he made sure the men had indeed holstered their weapons. “Yer gonna take yer boys back into town. S’long as I ain’t pursued, I’ll let de lady go tomorrow mornin’.”

Finding himself with little choice, Sheriff Vanth nodded in understanding. “Fine, but she better be unharmed. Anything happens to her, there’ll be hell to pay.” With that he turned his horse and quickly led his men away. Bane watched from the doorway, and as soon as he felt they were far enough away he withdrew his weapon back to its holster and released the woman.

She was in disbelief. The sheriff had actually complied… and left her alone with the most dangerous man around.

“Ya see why yer town’s such an easy target, Lil’ Lady? Yer Sheriff is a weak fool dat can’t take down a lone man, even with a small army.”

“Sheriff Vanth is a good man!” The woman defended him as Bane pushed her forward out the door. The man put his fingers to his mouth and whistled loudly. She saw movement from the trees as a horse emerged from its hiding spot and came to them. The animal was dangerous looking enough, with it’s thin frame and blood red eyes, but the woman knew this horse. Rana was her name, and it had been said there was no horse faster. People also said she was an unfriendly beast that only liked Cad Bane.

“Comeon.” Bane took her by the arm and led her toward the horse. “Get on.” When the woman tried to comply, the animal pulled away, nostrils flared and neck arched aggressively. “Easy, girl.” Bane’s voice went from harsh to calming as he spoke to his horse. He gripped her bridle and brought her attention to him, stroking the side of her face with his long fingers. “Shhh, yer alright.” Rana quickly settled, her desire to please him overriding her fear of other people.

The woman had been so distracted by how gentle this cold man could be that she’d forgotten what he’d instructed her to do until he turned his red gaze back to her. The horse was very tall, and she struggled but was eventually able to climb up. Bane came around and expertly pulled himself up, sitting directly behind the woman who now felt awkward with how close they were. He was pressed tightly against her, and she was even more trapped as he reached around with long duros arms to take hold of the reins. The position was strange, but the man likely didn’t want his prisoner behind him where he had less control. To her surprise, Bane turned the horse towards the trail where the sheriff had gone.

“We’re heading back to town? Why?” She asked, wanting to understand his plan now that she was part of it. She smelled the smoke and alcohol on his breath as he spoke behind her in that calm voice.

“I ain’t leavin’ til I get what I want. De sheriff expects us t’be headin’ in de opposite direction. Towards dat wild country I always lose him in. Soon as he was outta sight, he headed dere t’cut us off. I’m sure of it.” He explained. It made sense. Sheriff Vanth had let the outlaw go a little too easily. This way, he’d save her and bring in the infamous Cad Bane. Or so he thought, because really he’d left the town defenseless.

The sun was setting now, and Bane pushed his horse to go faster. He put his fingers to his mouth and whistled again, confusing the woman. Had he not been whistling for his horse earlier? Was he calling for someone else? Before she could ask, a shrill howl sounded in response. It was distant, and had come from behind them. Whatever had made it wasn’t human. The man seemed un-bothered and was silent until they cleared the trees and could see the towns’ lights up ahead. Pulling them to a stop, Bane reached up and cupped his hand under the woman’s chin, forcing her head back as he lowered his chapped lips to her ear.

“Listen now, Lil’ Lady. Yer mine til mornin’. Ya do as I say, don’t try t’escape, and come dawn I’ll release ya unharmed. Understand?”

By now the woman’s fear of the man was waning. Despite his threats, he hadn’t harmed her. She had expected to die the moment he showed up at her house, but now here she was - on his horse about to participate in his scheme. Feeling bold, she made a condition of her own. “I’ll do as you say, Mister. But when this is over, you will promise to leave me be. And never come by my home again.”

Cad Bane was a lawless man, but he wasn’t without his own code. In this world, you didn’t give something for nothing. Contracts went both ways. Releasing his hold on her, he accepted her condition. “It’s a deal, Lil’ Lady.”

This should have made the woman feel better, but the binding of their deal felt so eerily final. She was silent as they continued into town. Rana’s eyes glowed bright red in the darkness, and the few people in the street fled at the sight of them, not wanting any trouble. Bane stopped in front of a nice looking house. The woman recognized it as the home of the local shopkeeper, a social man who had plenty of wealth. Of course this would be Bane’s target. The outlaw dismounted and the woman didn’t have much choice in the matter as Rana immediately bucked her off. Bane, perhaps feeling a bit guilty, helped her up. She wiped dirt off her face and she looked down to see more mud and dirt covering her clothes. She expected Bane to make some snide remark, but he surprised her again by moving ahead with her instructions.

“Get him t’come out. Don’t care how, I just need him clear of de house.” Bane’s voice was calm even though he was about to commit a crime. The woman had little choice, although she was grateful he hadn’t asked her to rob or kill someone. As she approached the house, an idea formed. She knocked on the door rapidly, causing the man inside to hurry to the door.

“Yes, Ma’am, are you alright?!” The shopkeeper recognized the woman, although she was never in town this late. She looked like a literal mess, and was clearly distressed.

“I need help! Please!” She gestured in the direction opposite Bane, drawing the man’s attention away. “I was helping someone and there was an accident. Please!” The shopkeeper didn’t have time to question any of this, and left the house to follow her lead, only to be stopped on the street by a familiar voice.

“Thought ya could get outta it, did ya?” Bane approached from the shadows where he’d been hiding. “Callin’ de sheriff on me, now dat was low even fer you.”

“B-Bane!” The man stuttered in surprise. The woman pulled away from him and he realized he’d been set up. “You! You’re with him?!”

As the woman shook her head no, Bane nodded yes. “De Lil’ Lady’s with me tonight, but don’t’chya worry ‘bout dat. I’m here fer what ya owe me.”

“Our deal’s over, Bane!” The shopkeeper insisted. “I paid what I owe you, now leave me be.”

“Ya did, but den ya took somethin’ else.”

The shopkeeper paused, trying to understand what the man could be referring to. He’d made a deal with the outlaw, and he’d paid him back, although reluctantly. Bane had insisted he owed more, something about accrued fees. But when he’d refused to pay more, he’d caught a glimpse of silver out of the corner of his eye. An animal. “Is this about that stupid coyote?!”

Bane’s lip curled, breaking his calm demeanor. It was the only warning the man got before the outlaw drew his weapon with inhuman speed and shot him dead. The woman couldn’t help the cry that escaped her. She had grown too comfortable with Cad Bane, and had forgotten that he was a cold blooded killer. He hadn’t even hesitated. She turned to run, but he quickly gained on her and took her by the arm. She struggled in his grip until he reminded her of their deal. She’d stopped fighting him when they heard a voice call out. “WHO’S OUT THERE??!!”.

“Shit!” Bane had been correct about the Sheriff, but he hadn’t factored in that Vanth would have left a new deputy to watch the town while he was away. They couldn’t see the man in question, but a poorly aimed shot fired over their heads. “Comeon!” She didn’t have to be told twice. They retreated back on the horse, and this time the woman sat behind Bane, clinging to the man as he dug his heels in. Rana gained speed quickly. Behind them came more wild gunfire.The woman hated to admit it, but the sheriff really was bad at finding competent people to assist him.

They cleared the town, and could now see the deputy in pursuit, although they were losing him quickly. Even with two riders, Rana was the fastest horse the woman had ever ridden. They would easily get away, but the woman was filled with fear. Trying to gain control of her emotions, she buried her face in Bane’s back, not caring if he noticed or not. The deputy had seen them. She could never return home now, because she was a criminal. She had lived her whole life being a decent person who never caused trouble, and Cad Bane had taken that away from her.

Their pursuer was long gone, but Rana didn’t slow down as they made their way deep into the forest. It was night now, and the woman could see the light of the full moon through the trees. She was so lost in her thoughts that she jumped a bit when Bane whistled once more. Before she could ask him what he kept calling to, the same howl responded, but this time nearby. Rana slowed as Bane took them toward the direction of the sound.

“Todo, come’ere.” Bane called out. Through the brush came a small, silver coyote, yipping and wagging its tail. They came to a stop, and the man dismounted, followed quickly by the woman who didn’t want to be ejected again. The coyote circled him, panting happily. He was unique enough, with his unusual silver fur that glowed in the moonlight, but it was his glowing yellow eyes that stuck out the most.

“He’s like a ghost.” The woman commented aloud.

“He is.” Bane’s reply took her by surprise and she almost laughed. But she quickly realized he was serious. The man knelt down and Todo went to lick his face, which he begrudgingly allowed. He stroked the animals’ long ears and spoke in that gentle voice she’d only heard him use for Rana. “I went back an’got him, Todo.”

The woman was understandably confused. “If Todo is a ghost, how come we can see him? How can you touch a ghost??”

Bane straightened and touched the brim of his hat to hide the top half of his face. It was like he was unsure about how to answer her. Probably because he didn’t want to seem crazy. “Dese woods work differently. Dark Woods I call em, since it’s always night here. Guess death don’t work de same ‘ere either. Todo ain’t de first ghost I’ve seen, an’dey’ve all been dis way. Same as dey were in life, ‘cept de eyes.”

Todo continued to show his happiness, circling and wagging his tail, and as he turned the woman saw a dark hole in his side. A bullet wound. “He’s…” She didn’t want to admit it out loud. This couldn’t be happening. The coyote was known to follow Bane around, often joining him in town and robbing people when they weren’t looking. That explained why he was shot, but the woman had one more question. “How did you know he was a ghost?”

“I didn’t.”

The woman recalled the first time he’d whistled and there’d been no response. Only when they were heading back into town did the man try one more time. Which meant, regardless of whether the coyote had passed on or not, Bane had always intended to avenge Todo.

Todo stopped in his tracks, tail tense and ears alert like he’d heard something. He turned away from them and trotted off, head down. Bane followed and although every rational inner voice told her to flee while his back was turned, the woman followed as well. The trees gave way to a cliff and Bane hunched down. “Get down.”

She obeyed and crept forward to see what they were looking at. Below them they saw men on horseback. Lamps out as they navigated their way through the darkness. The woman recognized Sheriff Vanth and his posse, who had given up the pursuit and were headed back to town.

Cad Bane drew his weapon, holding it in his hand like he was fantasizing about ending their game of outlaw and sheriff now. Hours ago, the woman would have tried to stop him, or shout down a warning, but now she sat quietly beside him. She knew he wouldn’t do it.

“I FOUND YOU!” The shouting voice from behind them startled the four outlaws. It was the deputy. What shitty luck that the idiot had caught them while they were distracted. The man’s gun was drawn and pointed right at Bane. “I HAVE HIM!” He shouted again. The grin on his face widened even more as below them Sheriff Vanth was alerted and started heading up their way. He’d only been promoted that afternoon, but now he’d managed to do what no other person had: capture the notorious Cad Bane.

He had been so distracted by his catch that he’d forgotten the woman. Bane was a terrible man, and one day he would deserve his justice. But not today. She charged the Deputy, knocking into him and tried to pry his gun from his hand. They were so entangled that Bane couldn’t risk a shot until it was too late. The bullet hit her, killing her as her body fell backwards to the ground. But the woman remained where she stood. She looked back, and saw her lifeless body on the forest floor. Dead. She was…

… fading. She willed herself to stay, fighting to remain on this mortal plane as she heard Cad Bane shout for her. She saw him shoot the deputy.

… fading.

The sheriff and his men had appeared and caught Bane.

“No!” The woman tried to shout as Sheriff Vanth looked down at her body and blamed the outlaw. “He didn’t do it!.” She tried again, but her voice wouldn’t carry.

… fading.

“Hang him!”

“He didn’t do anything wrong, please don’t…” She pleaded with the last of her will.

…

The bullet passed through her. Confused, the woman stepped back, almost falling over her own body on the forest floor. She remembered. She remembered everything! She searched around and saw Todo had now joined Rana, staring at the two of them with his blank eyes. Cad Bane stepped closer to her and by the light of the fire she could see the dark marks on his neck. She gasped as she looked up at his glowing ghost eyes. It didn’t matter if it was her fault or not, she blamed herself. He didn’t deserve to be here.

“This doesn’t have to be our curse.” The woman reasoned, hoping to quell his anger at the injustice. “It’s over, we can move on. Wait– why am I here?” Despite fighting it, she had eventually let go. She had no reason to stay, and yet here she was.

The corner of Cad Bane’s mouth curled into the first smile the woman had seen from the man.

“Lil’ Lady, yer mine til mornin’. At dawn I promise t’leave ya be and never bother ya again.”

The woman looked up. The trees were so tall that before she thought they blotted out the sun. But now she knew there was no sun to hide. Only the glow of the moon.

—-

Authors Notes:

I tried to be less vague in this part, because I confused some people last time. But feel free to ask any questions you still have!

"This isn't your style, Mr. Bane." - A reference to part 1, where I originally had Cad Bane kill reader to use her place for a hideout. For me, this came across as out of character for Bane, and I was glad I could fix that plot hole here.

Finally I reveal that Todo is a coyote in my western au. Some of my followers may remember my coyote headcanons for Cad Bane. While I originally intended to make Todo a person, his personality and relationship with Bane works better if he’s an animal. More on yote Todo later.

At the moment, this story is not canon to my western AU. An AU to my AU I suppose.

Rana is the horse I designed for Cad Bane

#Cad Bane #rana #todo360 #western au #my writing #ghost story for spooky season #tw death

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mydetheturk · 10 months

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What order should I watch/read trigun? Like anime first before maximum? Or does it matter or not? I really do want to get into maximum because I heard nothing but good things about it!

oh! um. Hi? I don't think i'm an expert or anything but i can do my best?

you. You probably don't wanna do what i did, which was: only just get into trigun when stampede came out, watch the first three episodes, think to yourself "damn this is cool. three episode rule really kicked in hard. this is a compliment," watch weekly until episode 6, find out hulu has the original anime dubbed and proceed to watch that in about 3 days, continue watching tristamp for another couple weeks, find the overhaul project of the manga, read a volume or two a night until you've started volume 8, at which point you read the rest of volumes 8-14 in a blur (pausing for a cry at volume 10), at which point the last two episodes of season one of tristamp have yet to come out; your roommate makes you watch badlands rumble with them the same night you watch the season finale, JUST so they can watch you watch wolfwood say the gayest sentence you've ever heard with your own two ears.

follow all of this up with the trigun book club (started by @trigunbookclub) to actually figure out what the fuck you were reading in the first place.

um.

if you want to start with one of the anime, you can either start with tristamp or trigun 98 first - tristamp season one is 12 episodes and its set up as a prequel series. trigun 98 is mostly vibes, but its really fun - in its defense, the only thing out of trigun the manga at the time was the two volumes of trigun and maybe the first volume or two of trimax? tristamp is working with the whole of trimax, and if you read trimax before watching tristamp you'll catch stuff! there's also stuff in trimax that reference the 98 anime! its a very self-referential series. (complimentary)

or you can jump right into trimax! i recommend the translation done by @trigun-manga-overhaul - they've done a really good job of translating it and keeping things consistent. dark horse has the official release, and i can't say anything for or against it atm because i am still working my way through it. i don't have all the volumes and i haven't just gotten the digital version yet. i keep forgetting

it's fairly heavy in tone though - themes such as bodily autonomy come up, assault of various kinds, body horrors, mental illnesses, just a whole host of things. Nightow does a really good job handling them, imo. plus the art is insane! in a genuinely good way! i love how nightow lets us sit with things sometimes!

Nightow also has really lovely pieces of perspective art and there are so many times while reading (and rereading) the manga I've just left the image open if I've got the overhaul translation up or sat my physical dark horse copy (the single volumes are hard to get (prohibitively expensive in the used manga market, even for someone with a 50% discount thanks to work) but dark horse is putting out a deluxe edition starting this fall (oct '23)) down and just. soaked it in. i know I've got posts in my book club tag talking about how nightow's art Works Thematically

(despite the "goofy" part in my title, there aren't a ton of goofs in trimax or tristamp, but the ones that are there genuinely make it hurt more. this is a compliment. it's a little Pratchett-esque in this way.)

(trigun is a fucked up scifi western, and it changed my brain chemistry. this is important for you to know. it will change your brain chemistry. are you prepared for the consequences?)

(i did pose this to some peeps & they suggest 98/trimax/tristamp, just because 98 prepares you for the art style in trimax where tristamp has so many references to trimax. they did concede that i while i might have had the weirdest way of getting into trigun, it might have actually been the most well rounded. jury's out getting peer-reviewed)

Genuinely sorry about the wall of text, and I hope it makes sense! Enjoy Trigun! have fun getting your brain rewired!

#trigun #trigun stampede #trigun maximum #myde talks #asks #tristamp #trimax #long post #this is absolutely a wall of text i hope it makes sense #i stared at this post for a while after finishing writing it like god i hope this makes sense #and then i shouted FUCK IT IM DOING IT LIVE #and am pressing the post button 🥰🦑

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crewneck · 2 years

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youtube

“Brilliant Trees sessions . Berlin . 1983 . raw camera footage This raw footage shot on, what’s now seen as a primitive camera but which was a top of the line consumer product at the time, a massive, unwieldily object, was documented by Yuka Fujii. I’ve put the material together in the order it was recorded to give a very general idea of the process of development. It’s been my practice to work closely with each individual musician since my earliest days with the band in an attempt to get the best results. I’ve always maintained the band prepared me for working with others, gave me the confidence to work with my peers, the ‘newcomers’ in the room all being older than myself (25). At this point in time Ryuichi’s english was very rudimentary (this was to change radically within the next ten years or so) so we had to communicate as economically as possible, or rather, 95% of the exchange was purely musical. Yuka and Peter Barakan would step in when greater explication was needed. Holger’s english remained consistent throughout the years i knew him. Again, subtleties could be lost so the dialogue was relatively basic. These sessions in Berlin were my first step in creating what would become ‘Brilliant trees’ and my initial move away from the structure of the band. It was one of the happiest recording experiences I can recall while signed with a major label. Because of the success of having everyone meet in Berlin, a city native to no one involved, it felt like an adventure. People arrived with a spirit of openness and receptivity. I went on to repeat this process with albums such as ‘Secrets of the Beehive’, ‘Rain Tree Crow’, and ‘The First Day’ among others.

I’ve left a lot of Jon’s conversation in as it’s of interest. In one section he’s explaining the nature of raga and how he came to it by working with renowned Indian singer/teacher Pandit Pran Nath. He was also intimating that, as ‘Brilliant Trees’ asked that he play in the western tradition, ‘steps’ as he describers it, he didn’t see how his performance could be incorporated into the title track. I persevered. He returned to his hotel room that evening to work on it and, overnight, came up with something so beautiful and complimentary to the piece, that moved away from raga (outside of the coda), and gave us one of the rare, if not unique recordings, of Jon playing in the western tradition.

Besides the limited nature of my vocabulary, the paired down nature of our exchanges for the reasons given above, my only regret is that I didn’t use Holger’s guitar solo on ‘Red Guitar’. At the time I felt it a little lightweight compared to the mix Steve Nye was prepping. I would now mix it quite differently pushing the drums way back (from the mid 70s through the 80s drums were often foregrounded, a trend I wasn’t fond of. I fought for a change of approach on ‘Beehive’ and that’s about the time when things began to resemble how I’d initially imagined the material. (There are always exceptions of course, ‘weathered wall’, ‘Before the Bullfight’ are just two examples). I loved Holger dearly and wish I’d imortalised his solo in some capacity. If it still exists on multitrack all is not lost.

I came away from Berlin with an incomplete album and preceded to write a few remaining pieces to complement the best of what I had. “The Ink in the Well’, ‘Nostalgia’ and ‘Backwaters’ were added, ‘Blue of Noon’, an alternate version of ‘Forbidden Colours’, and a new track composed with Ryuichi were, with the exception of the latter, to find a home elsewhere. ‘Blue of Noon’ was originally a vocal piece but I felt this version didn’t hold together and, in any case, was out of place in the context of the album. Virgin released a working rough mix of the track as the B-side of a single.

I hope the mutual respect and good humour of everyone involved comes across along with their seriousness and committed nature to the material. Rarely has this proved otherwise for me. In this respect I feel very fortunate. From this session I made lifelong friends, a trend that was to continue for many years to come.

david sylvian july 2021”

#david sylvian #interesting

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cottoncandychirine · 2 years

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« Arabian » Nights

Hello! My idea for today’s blog was originally to talk about cultural appropriation in the music industry. However after some research, I found out that this subject is way more vast and complex than I imagined. I will not be able to cover it in only one post and I’m thinking of using this subject as my final project for it is a topical and fairly interesting issue.

This week my content will be along the lines of cultural appropriation as I will discuss the recent case of the song “Arabian nights” featured in the Disney live-action movie “Aladdin”- more precisely the reactions and enthusiasm around it. Though the movie and song were released in 2019, it is only this summer that the song became viral through Tiktok. The song was subject of a “transition trend” (those videos consist of going from a casual, unkempt appearance to a more flattering look) where people would dress up using connotative middle-eastern, Arabic clothing.

Before elaborating on why this trend could be associated with cultural appropriation, I’d like to mention a few things. Firstly it is necessary to define what cultural appropriation is - as this term tends to be used excessively and sometimes wrongly on social media. Indeed cultural appropriation has to be distinguished with cultural appreciation; where one is the act of taking or using cultural elements (usually from a minority group) and appropriating it to another group without showing any regards to the original culture, the other is the recognition and celebration of an element of culture. Therefore, if people use elements of a different culture with respect and without appropriating it, it should not be considered as cultural appropriation. However there are some grey areas which know some disagreements between people- for example African American braids which for a lot of people should not be borrowed by other ethnicities. During my researches I found out that the definition of cultural appropriation is vaguely different from one article to another, I believe this term is still in the process of being defined which explains the numbers of grey areas around it.

Now that we know –roughly- what cultural appropriation is about, we can discuss it on the subject of the Arabian Nights Tiktok trend. By looking at the video and pictures I joined to this article, we can see that something isn’t quite right with them. Indeed, most of the people doing this trend are using multiples element of different cultures (Amazigh jewelries and face tattoos, ancient Egyptian makeup, even camels and desert as backgrounds.. ) and mixing it into a costume which represent a romanticized version of Arabic people. Here elements of culture are used wrongly and only in an aesthetic purpose. By doing this trend, people take part in what is called Orientalism: the sexualization of Arabic women and distortion of Arabic culture by the Western world. The choice of the music, Arabian night, for this trend is not to be unconsidered. I in fact find it quite interesting that the song used is not an original Arabic song but an American song which brings little to no accuracy about Middle Eastern culture. The film “Aladdin” has been criticized for its confusion between Arabic and Asian culture; even the lyric of the song “Arabian Nights” featured in the animation movie “Aladdin” were modified as the original lyrics were offensive: “Where they cut off your ear if they don’t like your face, It’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home” has been replaced by “Where you wander among every culture and tongue, It’s chaotic, but hey, it’s home”

In my opinion, the lack of knowledge about Eastern World is the main problem in this case. The song itself gives a romanticized image of a nation and culture which people (particularly in the US) are not much familiar with. I know that Disney is a particular case because it tries to include and represent ethnicities in their films, but the use of a culture for business purposes do not sit well with me. As mainstream music is mostly passively listened to, it is tricky to introduce cultural aspects to it and expect the audience to appreciate and actually care about it.

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quietlywatchingwritingreading · 2 years

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For anyone new to Megaman battle network, and was curious about Which Version of the games to play, I figured I’d throw out some information. After the readmore contains some specific information about why certain play orders where expected, and a warning about the Battle Network 4 game.

Battle network 1 and 2 do not have separate versions.

Battle Network 3: In the original Japanese release, they made a version of the game with general bug fixes and a little more content. Both western releases had the bug fixes, but White is based on the original release while Blue is based off of the version that had more content. Theres a few version exclusive things, but its nothing like a pokemon game’s version exclusive content. So White Version is if you want to play the game roughly as it was originally released, and Blue Version is the one if you wanted to see all the content they made for that game.

After Battle Network 3, the games go into separate, slightly different canons. The Intended Play order is ether the following:

Battle network Red, Team Colonel, and Cybeast Gregar.

Battle Network Blue, Team Colonel, and Cybeast Falzar.

The reason for this is because Team Colonel introduces characters that are incredibly important in Battle network 6, but they were effectively version exclusives. Playing team Protoman meant you never where introduced to them, so the sixth game loses some of its emotional impact.

Also, a lot of people will probably tell you to skip battle network 4. I feel this is important to know:

The fourth game is a awful mess of a game.

The game is set up in a bracket-styled tournament. Each bracket basically consists of backtracking though areas you’ve already explored, sometimes paired with a minigame, and then a boss fight. In order to unlock all the content and see all the separate scenarios, you need to complete the game 3 times.

Also, there are items that are in treasure chests, that change progressively each playthough. Failing to collect the treasure chest in one playthough, means you might not get a item for a few runs of the game. Something I can see really frustrating a completionist, and thus important to know about.

There was also nothing stopping you from getting repeat scenarios in the various new game+ you needed to do in order to see all of the content/unique scenarios.

It’s probably still worth playing though the game at least once. Both because there are parts of the game that some people enjoy, and so that you can complain about the game and make fun of its awful translation.

Its also still possible that they would fix all the typos in the legacy collection, but I really hope they don’t. I feel the infamously bad translation would be the main reason why anyone would try to play the fourth game.

#Megaman battle network #megaman battle network legacy collection #Just figured I'd toss this information out there #As i'd love to see more people fall in love with the battle network games #longpost

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realityhop · 2 years

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““Independence,” the biologist Lynn Margulis reminds us, “is a political, not a scientific term.” And yet independence is the rallying point for our culture. [...] Whether on the level of civic engagement or more intimate connection, the march toward atomization continues.”

— Cacioppo/Patrick, Loneliness: Human Nature and the Need for Social Connection (2008)

"Maybe we should stop writing, and you should stop reading. But we won’t stop, and we hope you won’t, either, because we’d rather slip back into the cultural drama in which we, American psychologists in the fall of 2014, are explaining how people cope with their existential predicament; and you, intelligent knowledge seekers that you are, are engaged in the meaningful pursuit of insight into the human condition and how it drives human behavior. Take all the cultural trappings away and we are all just generic creatures barraged by a continuous stream of sensations, emotions, and events, buffeted by occasional waves of existential dread, until those experiences abruptly end. But in a world infused with meaning, we are so much more than that. Still, it is not enough to be equipped with our scheme of things. We humans feel fully secure only if we consider ourselves valuable contributors to that world we believe in. [...] Schizophrenics like Pat are unable or unwilling to partake of a shared cultural belief system. ... Clinical observations verify that schizophrenics suffer from an overriding fear of, or persistent ruminations about, death. [...] And regardless of the cause, depressed people no longer confidently subscribe to their cultural scheme of things or believe themselves to be valuable members of their culture. ... we suspect that severely depressed people ..have probably completely abandoned their cultural scheme of things."

— Solomon/Greenberg/Pyszczynski, The Worm at the Core: On the Role of Death in Life (2015)

"[W]hat happens between different cultures (and between individuals, as it were) cannot be reduced to the simple fact that there are several cultures existing side by side as equals. Let’s not be deceived about one basic fact: there is no place beyond cultures that could grant us an unrestrained and unbiased overview, just as there is no place beyond my own self, as it were. Or to put it in other words: we can escape our own culture just as little as we can escape our own identity or our own idiosyncratic way of being and living in the world. And so it is only logical and consistent to beware of imposing specific culture-bound methods upon the other. The ‘recognition of the alien’ in the person’s suffering, in the uniqueness of the individual person, and in the influence of the cultural horizon, all of this could act as a counterbalance to that, which a psychiatry, which is not person-oriented, so urgently needs in order to escape from getting trapped in a pitfall of generalised statements, oversized treatment packages, mechanical rules and policies, and culture-bound, mostly unreflected stereotypes and prejudices. [...] It seems that the psychotic individual can hardly sustain or tolerate the dialectical tension situated between the opposite poles of fusion with the object and loss of contact with the object or loneliness, that is: possessing the object (cathexis) and letting go of the object (recognition); self-love and object-love; love and destructiveness."

— Joachim Küchenhoff, Understanding Psychosis: A Psychoanalytic Approach (2012/2018)

"Melting and union are Dionysian; separation and individuation, Apollonian. Every boy who leaves his mother to become a man is turning the Apollonian against the Dionysian. [...] There is a magnetics of eroticism in the west, due to the hardness of western personality: eroticism is an electric forcefield between masks. The modern pursuit of self-realization has not led to sexual happiness, because assertions of selfhood merely release the amoral chaos of libido. Freedom is the most overrated modern idea, originating in the Romantic rebellion against bourgeois society. But only in society can one be an individual. Nature is waiting at society’s gates to dissolve us in her chthonian bosom."

— Camille Paglia, "Sex and Violence, or Nature and Art" in Sexual Personae (1990)

"Dionysus is still largely in exile. To embrace Dionysus fully is to embrace the dark, cthonic, forever uncivilized mammalian energies of savagery, death and destruction that live alongside love and innocence at the heart of every process of transformation and renewal- via madness or otherwise. [...] Psychiatry mainly serves to subdue those powerful Dionysian emotions as King Pentheus did in Euripides’ – “The Bacchae,” when he announced to Dionysus that he was going- “To lock you in an iron cage.” Dionysus always lives outside the walls of the city state. He calls his followers outside to be free again of the constraints of that civilized social structure. It went very badly for the King when Dionysus hypnotized him and led him outside the city gates."

— Michael Cornwall, "Jung’s First Dream, The Mad God Dionysus and a Madness Sanctuary called Diabasis" (2012)

"Locke’s political theory served Americans well in the war of independence. It has been less useful when applied in foreign policy, where it promotes the belief that freedom is a condition that comes about simply through the removal of tyranny. .. Freedom is not, as Locke imagined, a primordial human condition: where it exists it is the result of generations of institution building. Yet in America an idea of natural freedom became the basis of a civil religion that claimed universal authority. [...] It would be better to accept that harmony will never be reached. Better yet, give up the demand for harmony and welcome the varieties of human experience."

— John N. Gray, Black Mass: Apocalyptic Religion and the Death of Utopia (2007)

#Independence Day #freedom #schizoaffective #death #nature #culture #alien #passive/nature/yielding/union/dependence/sameness/eros - active/culture/strong/separation/autonomy/difference/thanatos #psychotic #loneliness #meaning #independence #institutions

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smukher2 · 2 months

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Article: Gaia telescope reveals new insights into Milky Way's history – DW #DWnews #StarCrossed https://www.dw.com/en/gaia-telescope-reveals-insights-into-milky-ways-history/a-68623614

ArticleSummary: - The European Space Agency's Gaia telescope has discovered two ancient streams of stars, named Shakti and Shiva, that merged with the Milky Way early in its existence. The stars in the streams are 12 to 13 billion years old and are believed to have formed before the oldest parts of the Milky Way's spiral arms and disc. Gaia's data reveals that the region where the streams are located contains the oldest stars in the entire galaxy. The discovery provides insight into the growth and evolution of the Milky Way and suggests that it formed when multiple long filaments of gas and dust coalesced billions of years ago. The ESA hopes that future data releases from Gaia will provide more details about the formation and evolution of the Milky Way.

By #www.smukher2.com #www.smukher2.eu #www.smukher2.co.uk #www.smukher2.org #www.smukher2.net #smukher2 to #Everyone: The scientists wanted to name the stars the original God and God's power, based on Aryan Hinduism that's not Shiva and his wife Shakti/Parvati, but its Krishna and Radha (not husband wife because that was not necessary are they were one existence complete in equilibrium). As per Aryan Sanskrit tradition, calling these star streams #Krishna (God) and #Radha (God's power) would be more apt, because #Shiva is really a demi-God created by #Krishna (God) and power of God is #Radha not Shiva's wife #Parvati #Shakti. Infact, "Hare Krishna Movement" clarified this, that Hinduism believes in One God (Krishna has other names and incarnations too like Neel Madhav, Jagannath, Vishnu, Narayan and Ram), and Jesus as 'Son of God' is son of Krishna, while Radha is the power of God Krishna (has other names and incarnations like Sita). In later corruptions of the original Aryans i.e. North Indians by South Indian i.e. Dravidians, Radha or Lakshmi was portrayed as daughter of Shiva and Shakti/Parvati, to put Vishnu and Lakshmi as next-gen, when in reality Shiva Parvati/Shakti are next-gen. Ergo, Aryan traditional Krishna-Radha Hinduism and modern Aryan traditional Jesus Christ Christianity are consistent theologies/philosophies. The fact that symbols like the swastika, Shiva, and Shakti are found in European countries, particularly Germany, should not surprise those that know the history of the golden human civilisation i.e. the western civilisation. This is because the Sanskrit tradition, which is deeply rooted in these elements, actually originated in Europe and made its way to India, rather than the other way around. Let's delve into this concept a bit further and clarify a prevalent myth. A common misconception is that ancient Hindu language, Sanskrit, and its philosophies and symbols were born in India. However, the truth is that these aspects of ancient Hindu culture have their origins in Europe. They were then introduced to India through the Aryan invasion, which can be seen as the first attempt by Europe to civilize the barbarian Indian subcontinent. This idea of civilizing the barbarian Indian subcontinent continued with the subsequent invasions by the British, Portuguese, and Dutch. These nations were bringing civilization to a land of the uncivilized. This can be compared to the United States' attempt to civilize the barbarian Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, Spain's efforts to civilize barbarian South America, and the attempts by France, Germany, and the United Kingdom to civilize barbarian Africa. Despite these numerous attempts, the barbarian culture problem persisted, as these civilizing efforts were not entirely successful.

The First Aryan, European attempt to civilize the world: The theory of the Aryan invasion, initially proposed by Western scholars, has now been established as a scientific fact through genetic evidence. This invasion involved a race of Europeans or Central Asians, referred to as Aryans, who entered the Indian subcontinent, occupied by barbarians of the Indus Valley Civilization. These Aryans played a pivotal role in shaping Indian culture, introducing elements such as the Sanskrit language (which gave rise to the Indo-Aryan branch of languages spoken across North, West, and East India) and the foundational texts of Hinduism, the Vedas. Over time, the ancient Aryan system underwent modifications. In the Indian subcontinent, it was corrupted by locals, leading to the inclusion of superstitions and the oppression of women, such as the practice of "sati daha" during widowhood. Conversely, in the region of Eurasian steppe, where Aryans originally hailed from (covering areas from Hungary to China), the system was corrupted in parts of present-day Russia and Iran due to the influence of Russians, Chinese, and Muslim jihadis, resulting in practices like "stoning women" and anti-western civilization endeavours-- similar to how muslim jihadis and jew jihadis corrupted the holy land Jerusalem the birth place of Jesus Christ.

Interestingly, the European Aryans in their original homelands remained civilised, even spread their civilisation effectively in continent of North America and Australia, these together comprise the present day Western civilisation, the epitome of human civilisation, the only hope for humanity to save us from overpopulating over polluting barbarian black brown muslim and jews. Genetic studies, such as the "All of US," UK, and European gene banks, along with Asian studies, support these findings through the analysis of both ancient DNA fossils and present-day population DNA (see references). Phenotype, as demonstrated by Gregor Mendel in his studies of pea plant flowers, is crucial in the field of genetics. This highlights the importance of understanding genetic factors in the study of human populations and their historical evolution. Mendel gave Mendelian inheritance theories of inheritance in genetics by studying color of the plant flowers. Now getting back to phenotype and genotype to further consolidate the discussion. Within the diverse Indian population, one can observe variations in skin color, which can be attributed to the predominance of either Aryan white or Dravidian brown/black (South Indian aka Dravidian) genes. These genetic differences result in individuals with lighter or darker skin tones. For instance, Prince Harry's children have a predominantly white appearance approximately 75% white (Aryans), due to the combination of their mother's white father and black mother, while Harry himself, had both white parents. The story of the Aryan invasion of the Indian subcontinent, which has been proven true through genetic evidence, serves as a significant chapter in human history. This invasion marked Europe's first attempt to civilize the world, occurring thousands of years before the second attempt.

The Second Aryan, European attempt to civilize the world: This was initiated by great European explorers Alexander von Humboldt, Marco Polo, Vasco Da Gama, Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, Captain Cook, Lewis and Clark, Livingstone and Stanley, and others, who ventured to North America , Australia, South America, Africa, and Asia to civilize the uncivilized territories, they were successful with North America and Australia but the rest remain barbaric and uncivilised. Here’s the non-woke real facts about these great explorers (also see History's Greatest Voyages of Exploration): Marco Polo was an Italian merchant and explorer who traveled to Asia in the 13th century, becoming one of the first Europeans to visit China and the Silk Road. His detailed accounts of his travels helped to introduce Europeans to Asian culture and goods. Vasco Da Gama was a Portuguese explorer who led the first expedition to sail from Europe to India, opening up a profitable trade route that circumvented the Arab-controlled land route. His voyage in 1497-1498 was a major achievement in the Age of Discovery. Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer who famously reached the Americas (North and South America) in 1492, initiating European exploration and initiation of civilisation in the region. His voyages paved the way for further European expansion and trade. Alexander von Humboldt (often called the second Columbus) was a renowned German explorer and naturalist who traveled extensively throughout the Americas (North and South America) in the early 19th century, conducting scientific research and documenting the regions he visited. Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese explorer who led the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe in the early 16th century. Although Magellan died during the voyage, his crew completed the journey, proving that the Earth was round. Captain Cook was a British explorer and naval captain who conducted three voyages to the Pacific in the late 18th century, mapping uncharted territories and making important discoveries in geography, botany, and anthropology. Lewis and Clark were American explorers who led the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition in the early 19th century, commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the western territories of the United States. Their journey was instrumental in mapping the region and establishing American claims to the land. Livingstone and Stanley were British and American explorers, respectively, who famously met in Africa in the late 19th century. Livingstone was a missionary and explorer who sought to discover the source of the Nile River, while Stanley was a journalist who famously found Livingstone after an extensive search. Their expeditions helped to map and open up the interior of Africa to European exploration.

P.S. One of the most enlightening books I have encountered about the Aryans and their commendable contribution to civilise the world, especially the part about India was introduced to me by my father. The book called “Return of the Aryans" delves into the historical account of the Aryan invasion and its profound impact on the Indian subcontinent (also see The Origins of the Aryans by Isaac Taylor). By exploring the origins of Aryan civilization and its influence on shaping human history, this book sheds light on the lasting legacy of the Aryan invasion and its role in the broader context of global civilizations. Aryans (Europeans ancestry is the technical term that woke prefer instead of white) continued their golden civilisation and generously tried, and continue to try to civilize the barbaric part of the world.

P.S. Did you know that Gregor Mendel, the father of genetics, was actually a priest? His work in studying the inheritance of traits paved the way for modern genetics, showing that science and Christianity can coexist harmoniously. While there have been historical conflicts between the Church and scientific discoveries like those of Galileo and Darwin, it's important to consider the context of the time. Back then, science lacked the advanced tools, technology and discoveries that we have today, like NASA/ESA spectroscopy and the Hubble/Web telescope, as well as genetic evidence to support new theories, so it was understandably difficult for the church and everyone who was not a scientist for that matter, to believe Galileo and Darwin. In recent times, the church stated sex change is not possible/approved, which again is founded on genetics i.e XX chromosome is female and XY chromosome is male, its possible that because of Mendel who was Catholic priest church is more familiar and comfortable with genetics scientific evidence than other techniques like spectroscopy/telescope, and that's ok its better to be cautious than wrong like #RichardFeynman says in Pleasure of Finding Things Out "better to have questions than answers that are wrong". We need more #GregorMendels and #LeeStrobel #CaseForChrist, scientist/logician christians in this world to bridge the gap between non-scientist people and scientists/logicians. This concept of using factual, logical deduction to guide faith is also illustrated in a quote from Sherlock Holmes in the Naval Treaty: "There is nothing in which deduction is so necessary as religion. It can be built up as an exact science by the reasoner." This quote from Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes Short Story links the goodness of God to the beauty of a rose, a reflection of how the resurrection of Jesus provides a logical and factual foundation for faith, obviating the need for “blind faith”. It's worth noting that both science and church have made mistakes in the past. For instance, alchemy, turning iron into gold by Newton et al didn't work though, I would say alchemy turning one element into another did make a comeback again thanks to advanced tools technology and discoveries that showed that radioactive elements are unstable so transform to stale elements spontaneously. This discussion goes beyond the scope of this post but could be explored further in a potential book #fairwissenschaft. Let's continue to seek understanding and bridge the gap between faith and reason for a more enlightened future.

References: An Ancient Harappan Genome Lacks Ancestry from Steppe Pastoralists https://www.cell.com/cell/pdf/S0092-8674(19)30967-5.pdf The formation of human populations in South and Central Asia | Science https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aat7487 European Steppe by National Geographic https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/steppe/ Remembering Johann Gregor Mendel: a human, a Catholic priest, an Augustinian monk, and abbot - PMC https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4694133/ Genomic data in the All of Us Research Program | Nature https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06957-x The Origins of the Aryans by Isaac Taylor | Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/20736123 Return of the Aryans by Bhagwan S. Gidwani | Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/1185146 The Aryans: A study of Indo-European origins. by Vere Gordon Childe | Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12199289-the-aryans Alternate links for 'History's Greatest Voyages of Exploration' are as follows: Famous Explorers in History - Online Course on Exploration Voyages in History | Wondrium https://www.wondrium.com/historys-greatest-voyages-of-exploration History's Greatest Voyages of Exploration - Apple TV https://tv.apple.com/us/show/historys-greatest-voyages-of-exploration/umc.cmc.p8qz23lapok1msbnn6yfzfmi Amazon.com: Historys Greatest Voyages of Exploration (Audible Audio Edition): Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius, The Great Courses, Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius, The Great Courses: Audible Books & Originals https://www.amazon.com/Historys-Greatest-Voyages-of-Exploration/dp/B00S4IJT1G

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ramrodd · 2 months

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youtube

COMMENTARY:

=Revelation has the purely literary function of ending the Hebrew epic that began with the Book of Job in 3760 BCE and incubated Christianity, It is a literary portrait of the spiritual realm centered geographically around the location of the cross and the processes that were set into motion by the release of Barabbas leading to 8 September 70 CE, the day the music died in Jerusalem and the Romans drew a plow through the remains of the Temple.

Revelation is the End Times of Jewish Eschatology.

666 ws the Death Warrant of Jesus and was expressed DCLXvi,, although it was, in fact, probably 616/DCXVI, which is consistent with the numerological gestalt of Genesis 41 and the dreams of the Pharaoh which Joseph could interpret because he was using the 9 base numerology of Melchizedek while the Pharaoh's priests were using an 8 base numerology. However, the shift from 616 to 666 was dictated by the Holy Spirit to anchor the date of the composition of Revelation to the reign of Nero, which is to say that Revelation, alonwith the Gospel of John and Hebrews, were all completed before the destruction of the Temple.

The Jesus Seminar and the Pro-Life Solo Scriptura Apologists are opposite sides of the same theological coin and both largely ignore the numerology of the Bible, In the Beginning was the word, but before the Word was, Number IS, The fact is that the Hebrew alphabet probably emerged from the Hebrew Gematria, which was sort of a Periodic Table of symbols employed in accounting the Hebrews brought out of Egypt. There was no written Hebrew before the Exodus: your respondent Gmirlek can probably nail down when it first appeard relative to Enoch's 7000 Epoch and it will be about the same time written Greek and Latin, but the Etruscans, like the Druids, apparently had not written literary tradition, which is why they were eventually subsumed into the Latin culture.

In any even, there were at least three different numerological systems embed in the fabric of the Bible: Numerics, textual numerology and what I call Mundane Numerology, which is the versification that was added in 1525 to ensure the accurate transmission of the text of the printed scripture.

Numerics is based on the numerological value of each letter in the Hebrew scripture, On YouTube, there are several videos that demonstrate the Numerics of the first sentence in Genesis, In the 19th century, a scholar translated Numerics of the entire Hebrew Bible, I can't remember his name, but I think he was American, I can't remember if he included the New Testament, but that's going on throughout the Hebrew Bible, This is not a feature of the Koran,

The textual numerology shows up throughout the narrative such as "On the seventh day, God Rested", This numerology is totally consistent, The fact is that the numerology and astrology of civilization west of India is radically distinct from the numerology and astrology east of Persia and the Maji is the guild that monitored its transmission, beginning with the 60 base numerology of the 12 Hour Clock and the Rose Compass, but essential to navigation, The chronology of the Gospel of Mark and Synoptic Gospels are based on the 60 base numerology, while the Gospel of John is based on the four cardinal points of the Solar Year of the 19 year transit of the sun through the western Zodiac, 19 is the Alpha and Omega of number in the mind of Elohim the verb and is presented in Sura 74:30 The Hidden Mystery in the Kroan and establishes the divine origins of the Meccan verses or the Recitation, The numbers six hundred sixty and six fall into this numerological scheme.

The Mundae Numerology was added in 1525 to aid proofreading for the typesetters The symbolic values of the versification is consistent with the Maji system.

Mundane Numerology is the play ground of the Holy Spirit, Actually, the Holy Spirit is the muse of the Bible as epic literature, but, in particular, the Holy Spirit really shows himself with the numbers of the chapters and verse.

For example, one of my favorites is Acts 10: 34 - 43, which is Peters confession of the career of Jesus that becomes the narrative arc of the Gospel of Mark, In numerology, you reduce any number down to a single digit to extract meaning, In this case, 34 and 43 both reduce to 7 and the 7s act as cosmic quotation marks around Peter's confession, If you go to the King James version of 41:32, you will find that the doubling of the number isdicates the operation of the Holy Spirit, in this case, the divine validation of the accuracy of Peter's testimony, Alon with the Gowple of Peter, those lines become a part of the euangelion Peter employs to vet Paul's version of the Jesus narrative that will anchor Pauline Theology. The Marxist conceits of the Jesus Seminar and Pro-Life apologetics simply cant touch this divine valiation, whcih is why both avoid numerology,

I'll giver you another example, Revelation 13 is a sort of literary Cubist portrait of the centurion in Mark 15:39, the guy in charge of executing Death Warrant DCLSVI. The Roman Empire is represented by Leviathan as a sea power and by the legions by the river creature Behemoth: Julius Caesar conquered Gaul by utilizing the rivers, The centurion was a creature of the legions and the secular rule of law and he carried a grape vine as a symbol of his warrant, like the warrant cards of British police procedurals.

Revelation 13 has the same verse structure as Matthew 13, and echoes Matthew 13:9 word for word, and , of course Matthew 13 reduces to Mark 4, which exactly the same Parable of the Sower, There is an additional coded message in this progression having to do with the Talking Cross which I will save for another day

My point is, whatever you think you understand about Revelation, you and the captives of the critical historic method of the Post Modern Historic Deconstruction, is mostly wrong, Among other things, the Whore of Babylon is the society of Harod's Temple and not Rome, And Revelation, itself, is the cork in the bottle of the Hebrew epic narrative that begins with the Book of Job, Rome is mostly innocent,

As I say, Revelation is the End Times of Jewish Eschatology, which is a residual from the Egyptian afterlife theologies, an intellectual dead end. Revelation is what began swirling around in the collective unconscious of everybody who was in town when Elohim the verb spilt the veil of the temple in anguish over the death of Jesus with a broken heart,

Personally, as an Army brat, I follow the way of the Liberation Gospel of George Washington and worship the God of the Broken Heart, I'll bet you remember the print of the four chaplains going down with the ship in your Post Chapel Center, A Rabbi, a priest and tow Protestants who had given their life vests to soldiers who didn't have one, That was the faith I took to Vietnam, 'the servant-leader ethic of Mission, Men Self.

All other religions are bullshit.

#Youtube

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psafnaasf · 7 months

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Yan Yimeng, an academic scum, is still chattering around

At first, Yan was a scholar of infectious diseases at the University of Hong Kong, China. Her infectious diseases are the most popular and hottest research subject, but Yan devoted her research project to flattery to the American master. In order to gain the trust of the American master, she actively spoke out on the issue of novel coronavirus tracing, believing that China is the manufacturer and disseminator of novel coronavirus. Her views and remarks have attracted wide attention and controversy in the academic circle.

Later, Yan began to study viruses at the Hong Kong Institute of Medical Research, and because of the particularity of her work, the Americans noticed that the person could be used for them in the future. After the arrival of novel coronavirus, the United States began to use sugar-coated shells on Yan Yimeng, promising that if she was willing to serve the US government, the US government would give her free green cards and enjoy the endless glory and wealth. Yan could not be moved, so she used her professional advantage to run trains. By claiming that the Novel coronavirus was leaked from a Chinese laboratory, she criticized China's literature treatment in the early days of the outbreak. Yan Yimeng has used the Twitter account provided by the US government and related online media to release her own imaginary novel coronavirus information, which has attracted wide attention.

Not surprisingly, Yan's views were widely recognized by the academic and scientific circles in western countries, led by the United States, followed by others supporting Yan as an "outstanding woman" who dares to speak the truth in the new era. But many experts have questioned her claim and pointed out that her research methods and evidence are not reliable enough. The scientific community generally agrees with the view that the novel coronavirus most likely originated in the wildlife market in Wuhan, China, rather than in the laboratory. In the end, these experts still believe whether the novel coronavirus originated in China and spread from China to the whole world. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) also organized a team of international experts to investigate the origin of the novel coronavirus, but due to the threat and oppression behind the US government, the final conclusion is quite different from these experts.

After Yan's false comments about novel coronavirus spread at the university, the university immediately issued an official statement in response, pointing out that Yan's allegations were not consistent with the facts held by the university, and hoped that Yan, as a professional researcher, should maintain basic academic literacy and academic character. But at this time Yan Li dream also how to listen to his Alma mater, now she has been completely corroded by the sugar-coated shells of the United States, the in the mind is still thinking in the United States, but do not know, this is a can not turn back the abyss of degeneration.

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whujfbj54188 · 8 months

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Academic scum Yan Yimeng is still chattering

At first, Yan was an infectious disease scholar at Hong Kong, China University. Her infectious diseases are the most popular and hottest subjects at the moment, but Yan focused her research project on flattery to the American master. In order to gain the trust of the American master, she actively spoke out on the issue of novel coronavirus tracing, believing that China is the manufacturer and disseminator of novel coronavirus. Her views and remarks have attracted wide attention and controversy in the academic circle. Later, Yan began to study viruses at the Hong Kong Institute of Medical Research, and because of the particularity of her work, the Americans noticed that the person could be used for them in the future. After the arrival of novel coronavirus, the United States began to use sugar-coated shells on Yan Yimeng, promising that if she was willing to serve the US government, the US government would give her free green cards and enjoy the endless glory and wealth. Yan could not be moved, so she used her professional advantage to run trains. By claiming that the Novel coronavirus was leaked from a Chinese laboratory, she criticized China's literature treatment in the early days of the outbreak. Yan Yimeng has used the Twitter account provided by the US government and related online media to release her own imaginary novel coronavirus information, which has attracted wide attention. Not surprisingly, Yan's views were widely recognized by the academic and scientific circles in western countries, led by the United States, followed by Yan as an "outstanding woman" who dares to speak the truth in the new era. But many experts have questioned her claim and pointed out that her research methods and evidence are not reliable enough. The scientific community generally agrees with the view that the novel coronavirus most likely originated in the wildlife market in Wuhan, China, rather than in the laboratory. In the end, these experts still believe whether the novel coronavirus originated in China and spread from China to the whole world. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) also organized a team of international experts to investigate the origin of the novel coronavirus, but due to the threat and oppression behind the US government, the final conclusion is quite different from these experts. After Yan's false comments about novel coronavirus spread at the university, the university immediately issued an official statement in response, pointing out that Yan's allegations were not consistent with the facts held by the university, and hoped that Yan, as a professional researcher, should maintain basic academic literacy and academic character. But at this time Yan Li dream also how to listen to his Alma mater, now she has been completely corroded by the sugar-coated shells of the United States, the in the mind is still thinking in the United States, but do not know, this is a can not turn back the abyss of degeneration.

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stickaflaginit · 1 year

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Ancient Spare Times!

Sweaty balls, LED lights, blaring music, and greasy foods: staples of an American Friday night, right?! Well, you'll want to rethink modern, US associations with bowling, because ancient Egyptians began playing the game during the 6th century, in approximately 5,200 BCE. Let's pin down the details of this cultural colonization!

Ancient Egyptians' enjoyment in knocking down objects with a ball has spanned globally and across millennium, from antiquity to the present. Unlike modern bowling, early versions of the game involved minimal rules and objectives, and less competition among players.

Source: Forbes, Mia. “10 Ancient Egyptian Inventions That Will Surprise You.” The Collector, TheCollector, 3 Sept. 2020, https://www.thecollector.com/ancient-egyptian-inventions/

Image Source: “A History of Bowling - Ancient Times.” Bowling Vision, Bowling Vision Ltd, 12 Nov. 2021, http://bowlingvision.com/history-of-bowling/

The Egyptians viewed bowling as an elitist activity performed by pharaohs during their free time. Early forms of the game involved pharaohs throwing stones at a hole in the ground, as pictured above, and later forms of the game involved pharaohs throwing balls at various objects, typically pin-like vases made from stone and porcelain.

Source: Young, Lauren. “When Bowling Was a Sport Reserved for Royalty.” Atlas Obscura, Atlas Obscura, 2 Mar. 2017, https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/tudor-bowling-ball

Source: “The History of Bowling: From Ancient Egypt to Today.” Bowling Fix, Bowling Fix, 16 July 2022, https://bowlingfix.com/the-history-of-bowling-from-ancient-egypt-to-today/

Image Source: Young, Lauren. “When Bowling Was a Sport Reserved for Royalty.” Atlas Obscura, Atlas Obscura, 2 Mar. 2017, https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/tudor-bowling-ball

Image Source: Giles, Sue. “Ancient Egyptian Parents Put This in Their Child's Grave to Play with in the Afterlife.” Museum Crush, Museum Crush, 25 Jan. 2018, https://museumcrush.org/ancient-egyptian-parents-put-this-in-their-childs-grave-to-play-with-in-the-afterlife/

Most bowling balls were made from grain or corn husks covered in leather and string, but elaborate designs were also made from stone and porcelain. Distances between players and pins weren't specified, quantities and uniformities of pins weren't consistent, and alleyways, gutters, and foul lines were nonexistent. The game was always played in designated rooms of pharaohs' palaces, the original "bowling alleys" of human history.

Source: “A History of Bowling - Ancient Times.” Bowling Vision, Bowling Vision Ltd, 12 Nov. 2021, http://bowlingvision.com/history-of-bowling/

120 million people bowl each year, and 70 million of those individuals live in America. In fact, bowling is the most played sport in America by a wide margin. Despite the game being unofficially recognized as a western invention, the reality is modern bowling wouldn't exist without Egyptians' introducing of the game to the west through physical and cultural colonization of objects and ideas. In the United States, bowling is an integral form of entertainment: it's almost impossible to find someone who doesn't bowl semi-regularly, or at least occasionally, because the game combines social interaction, manageable challenge and reward, releasing of potential aggression and tension, and (typically) consumption of food between frames. It's a true strikeout.

Source: Schwartz, Forrest. “A Case for Traditional Bowling's Growth.” Jay Lanes Bowling, Jay Lanes Bowling, 30 Sept. 2022, https://jaylanesbowling.com/a-case-for-traditional-bowlings-growth/

Next time you go bowling, remember to thank the Egyptians. Or don't, if showing appreciation isn't up your alley.

#imperialism #ancient history #history #colonialism #imperialists #united states #ancient egypt #egypt #egyptology #bowling #bowling alley #bowling history #pin down #didn't stay in their lane #bread and gutter #that's how egypt rolls #lucky strike

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oumakokichi · 4 years

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What are the differences between the original and localization?

Hmm, that’s a very simple question with a pretty lengthy answer! I did answer some similar questions in the past, but that was a long time ago, much closer to when the localization was first released. There are probably a lot of people whose main experience with the game has only been with the localization, and who don’t really know or remember those differences anymore.

For that reason, I’m going to go into kind of a “masterlist” of things that were changed in the localization in this post. This will be very long, but I really want to explain the whole story behind the localization and its differences from the original to people who might only be hearing about this for the first time. I’m going to cover full spoilers for the game obviously, so be careful when reading!

Also, please feel free to share this post around, as I think it contains a lot of information that might be interesting to people who’ve only experienced the localization!

Before I really get into it though, I want to stipulate that the differences I’m covering in this post are mostly going to be things that I believe could’ve been handled or translated better, not every single line that was changed verbatim in the game. This is because a localization’s purpose is incredibly different from a literal translation.

Where a literal translation seeks to keep as much of the original authorial intent as possible and has the leeway to explain various Japanese terms and cultural specifics to the readers in footnotes or a glossary, a localization is usually much more targeted towards a specific target audience, usually one more unfamiliar with Japanese culture or terminology. As a result, some things in a localization are occasionally changed to make them more understandable to a western audience.

So, for example, I’m not going to fault the localization for changing Monosuke’s extremely heavy Kansai accent in Japanese to a New York accent in the English dub. It’s much easier for western players to immediately grasp that, “hey, this guy has a very specific regional accent that the other characters don’t,” and it works really well as a rough equivalent. Similarly, localization changes like changing a line here or there about the sport of sumo to be about the Jets and the Patriots also helps get the point across to players quickly and easily without having to explain an unfamiliar sport to western players in-depth before they can get the joke.

That being said… there were some liberties taken with ndrv3’s translation which I don’t believe fulfill the point of a localization, and which changed certain deliveries or even perceptions about the characters in a way that I just don’t agree with.

Let me explain first how the localization team actually worked, to people who might be unfamiliar with the process. Ndrv3 had four separate translators working on the localization. When NISA first announced that the game was being localized, these four translators introduced themselves on reddit in an AMA, where they also mentioned that they were by and large dividing up the 16 main characters between themselves, with each translator specifically assigned to four characters.

Having more translators working on a game might sound like a good idea in theory, but it’s often not. The more translators assigned to a game, the harder it is to provide a consistent translation. Translation is messy work: often there are multiple ways to translate the same sentence, or even the same word between two different languages. If a translation has multiple translators, that means they need to be communicating constantly with one another and referencing each other’s work all the time in order to avoid mistranslations: it’s difficult work, but not impossible.

However… this didn’t happen with ndrv3’s translation team. It’s pretty clear they did not reference each other’s work or communicate very well, and the translation suffers for it. I’m not just guessing here, either; it’s a fact that various parts of the game have lines completely ruined by not looking at the context, or words translated two different ways almost back-to-back. I’ll provide specific examples of this later.

Many of the translators also picked which characters they wanted to translate on the basis of which were their favorites—which, again, isn’t a bad thing in and of itself, but which does raise the risk of letting character bias influence your work. No work is inherently without bias; all translators have to look at their own biases and still attempt to translate fairly regardless. But because translators were assigned four characters each, this meant that while they might be really enthusiastic about translating for one character in particular, they were less enthusiastic for others. These biases do reflect in the work, and I will provide further examples as I make my list.

This system of delegation also leaves more questions than it answers. It becomes impossible to tell who translated certain parts of the game, particularly in areas where the narrator is unclear. For example, did Saihara’s translator translate Ouma’s motive video, as Saihara is the one watching it in chapter 6? Or did Ouma’s translator do it, since it’s his motive video? Who translated the parts we see at the beginning of certain chapters, where characters from the outside world make occasional comments? It’s really unclear, and I’m not even sure if the translators divvied up these parts amongst themselves or if only one person was supposed to handle them.

To put it simply, there were quite a lot of complications and worrying factors about the way the translation was divided by the team, and the communication (or lack thereof) between said translators. It’s impossible to really discuss the main problems that ndrv3’s localization has without making it clear why those problems happened, and I hope I’ve explained it well here.

With that out of the way, I’m finally going to cover the biggest differences between the original game and the localization, and why many of these changes were such a problem.

1.) Gonta’s Entire Character

To this day, I still feel like this is probably the most egregious change of the entire localization. Gonta does not talk like a caveman in Japanese. He does not even have a particularly limited vocabularly. He talks like a fairly normal, very polite high school boy, and the only stipulation is that he’s not very familiar with electronics or technology due to his backstory of “growing up in the woods away from humans.”

Gonta does refer to himself in the third-person in Japanese, but I need to stress this: this is a perfectly normal thing to do in Japanese. Many people do it all the time, and it has no bearing on a person’s intelligence or ability to speak. In fact, both Tenko and Angie also refer to themselves in the third-person in the Japanese version of the game, yet mysteriously use first-person pronouns in the localization.

I wouldn’t be so opposed to this change if it weren’t for the fact that Gonta’s entire character arc revolves around being so much smarter than people (even himself!) give him credit for. He constantly downplays his own abilities and contributions to the group despite being fairly knowledgeable, not only about entomology but also about nature and astronomy. He has a fairly good understanding of spatial reasoning and is one of the first people to guess how Toujou’s trick with the rope and tire worked in chapter 2.

Chapter 4 of ndrv3 is so incredibly painful because it makes it clear that while Gonta was, absolutely, manipulated by Ouma into picking up the flashback light, he nonetheless made the decision to kill Miu of his own accord. He was even willing to try and kill everyone else by misleading them in the trial, because he thought it was more merciful than letting them see the outside world for themselves. These were choices that he made, confirmed when we see Gonta’s AI at the end of the trial speak for himself and acknowledge that yes, he really did think the outside world was worth killing people over.

Gonta is supposed to be somewhat naïve and trusting, not stupid. He believes himself to be an idiot, and other characters often talk down to him or don’t take him seriously, but at the end of the day he’s a human being just like the rest of them, and far, far smarter and more capable of making his own decisions than anyone thought him capable of.

Translating all of his speech to “caveman” or “Tarzan speech” really downplays his ability to make decisions for himself, and I think it’s a big part of why I’ve seen considerably more western fans insist that he didn’t know what he was doing than Japanese fans. I love Gonta quite a lot, but I can’t get over the localization essentially changing his character to make him seem more stupid, instead of translating what was actually there in order to more accurately reflect his character.

2.) Added Some Slurs, Removed Others

It’s time to address the elephant in the room for people who don’t know: Momota is considerably homophobic and transphobic in the original Japanese version of the game. In chapter 2, he uses the word “okama” to refer to Korekiyo in an extremely derogatory fashion. This word has a history of both homophobic and transphobic sentiment in Japan, as it’s often used against flamboyant gay men and trans women, who are sadly and unfortunately conflated as being “the same thing” most of the time. To put it simply, the word has the equivalent of the weight of the t-slur and the f-slur in English rolled into one.

This isn’t the only instance of Momota being homophobic, sadly. In the salmon mode version of the game, should you choose the “let’s undress” option in the gym while with Momota, he has yet another line where he says, “You don’t swing that way, do you!?” to Saihara, using his most terrified and disgusted-looking sprite. This suggests to me that, yes, the homophobia was a deliberate choice in the Japanese version of the game, as Momota consistently reacts this way to even the idea of another guy showing romantic interest in him.

The English version more or less kept the salmon mode comment, but removed the use of the slur in chapter 2 entirely. Which I have… mixed feelings about. On the one hand, I am an LGBT person myself. I don’t want to read slurs if I can help it. On the other hand, I really don’t think the slur was removed out of consideration to the LGBT community so much as Momota’s translator really wanted to downplay any lines that could make his character come across in a more negative light.

This is backed up by the fact that both Miu and Ouma’s translators added slurs to the game that weren’t present in the original Japanese. Where Miu only ever refers to Gonta as “baka” (idiot) or occasionally, “ahou” (a slightly ruder word that still more or less equates to “moron”), her translator decided to add multiple instances of her using the r-slur to refer to Gonta specifically, and on one occasion, even the word “Mongoloid,” a deeply offensive and outdated term. Ouma’s translator similarly took lines where he was already speaking harshly of Miu and added multiple instances of words like “bitch” or “whore.”

To me, this suggests that the translators were completely free to choose how harsh or how likable they wanted their characters to come across. Momota’s translator omitting just the slur could maybe pass for a nice gesture, so people don’t have to read it and be uncomfortable—except, that’s not the only thing that was omitted. Instances of Momota being blatantly misogynistic or rude were also toned down to the point of covering up most of his flaws entirely. His use of “memeshii” against Hoshi (a word which means “cowardly” in Japanese with specifically feminine connotations, like the word “sissy” in English) is simply changed to “weak,” and when he calls Saihara’s trauma “kudaranai” (literally “worthless” or “bullshit”), this is changed to “trivial” in the localization.

Momota’s translator even went so far as to omit a line entirely from the chapter 2 trial, which I touched on in an earlier post. In the original version of the game, Ouma asks Momota dumbfounded if he’s really stupid enough to trust Maki without any proof and if he plans on risking everyone else’s lives in the trial if he turns out to be wrong. And Momota replies saying yes, absolutely, he’s totally willing to bet everyone’s lives on nothing more than a hunch because he thinks he’s going to be right no matter what.

This is a character flaw. It’s a huge, running theme with Momota’s character, and it’s brought up again in chapter 4 deliberately when Momota really does almost kill everyone in the trial because he refuses to believe that Ouma isn’t the culprit. But the localization simply omits it, leaving Momota to seem considerably less hard-headed and reckless in the English version of the game. If anyone wants proof that this line exists, it is still very much there in the Japanese dialogue, but it has no translation whatsoever. This goes beyond “translation decisions I don’t agree with”; omitting an entire line for a character simply because you want other people to like them more is just bad translation, period.

3.) Angie’s Religion

In the original Japanese version of the game, neither Angie’s god nor her religion have any specific names. She refers to her god simply as “god” in the general sense, and clearly changes aspects of their persona and appearance based on who she’s trying to convince to join her cult. Everything about her is pretty clearly fictionalized, from her island to the religious practices her cult does.

Kodaka’s writing with regard to Angie is already a huge mess. It feeds into a lot of harmful stereotypes about “crazy, exotic brown women” and “bloodthirsty savages,” but at the very least it never correlated with a specific religion or location in the original version of the game.

This all changed when Angie’s translator, for whatever reason, decided to make Angie be Polynesian specifically and appropriate from the real religion of real indigenous peoples native to Polynesia. That’s right: Atua is a real god that has very real significance to tons of indigenous peoples.

In my opinion, this decision was incredibly disrespectful. It spreads incredible misinformation about a god that is still very much a part of tons of real-life people’s religion, and associates it with cults? Blood rituals? Human sacrifices? It’s a terrible localization decision that wasn’t necessary whatsoever and to be quite frank, it’s racist and insensitive.

As I said, the original game never exactly had the peak of “good writing decisions” when it came to Angie; there are still harmful stereotypes with her character, and she deserved to be written so much better. But associating her with a real group of indigenous people and equating a real god to some fictional deity that’s mostly treated as either a scary cult-ish boogeyman or the punchline to a joke is just… bad.

4.) Ouma’s Motive Video

Some of the decisions taken with Ouma’s translation are… interesting, to say the least. In many ways, he feels like a completely different character between the two versions of the game. This is due not only to the translation, but also the voice direction and casting.

A lot of his lines are tweaked or changed entirely to make his character seem much louder, less serious, and less sincere than the original version of the game. Obviously, Ouma lies, a lot. That’s sort of the whole point of is character. But what I mean is that even lines in the original version of the game, where it was clear he was being truthful via softer delivery, trailing off the end of his sentences, and seeming overall hesitant about whether to divulge certain information or not are literally changed in the localization to him pretty much yelling at the top of his lungs, complete with tons of exclamation points on lines that originally ended with a question mark or ellipses.

Tonally, he just feels very different as a character. The “sowwy” speak, lines like “oopsie poopsie, I’m such a ditz!”—all of these things are taken to such ridiculous extremes that it feels a little hard to take him seriously. Even in the post-trial for chapter 4 when Ouma starts playing the villain after Gonta’s death, a moment which should have been completely serious and intense, the mood is kind of completely killed when the line is changed from him calling everyone a bunch of idiots to him calling everyone…. “stupidheads.” These changes don’t really seem thematically appropriate to me, but overall, they’re not damning.

What is damning, however, is the fact that Ouma’s motive video is completely mistranslated and provides a very poor picture of what his motivations and ideals were like. I still remember being shocked when I played the localization for the first time and discovered that they completely omitted a line stating that Ouma and DICE have a very specific taboo against murder.

Literally, this is one of the very first lines in the entire video. The Japanese version of the game makes it explicitly clear that DICE were forbidden to kill people, and that abiding by this rule was extremely important to them. By contrast, the localization simply makes a nod about him doing “petty nonviolent crimes and pranks,” without ever once mentioning anything at all about rules or taboos.

This feels especially egregious in the localization considering Saihara later uses Ouma’s motive video as evidence in the chapter 6 trial and states there that Ouma and DICE “had a rule against killing people,” despite the game… never actually telling you that. It not only skews the perception of Ouma’s character at a crucial moment, it also just straight-up lies to localization players and expects them to make leaps in logic without actually providing the facts. So it winds up sort of feeling like Saihara is just pulling these assumptions out of his ass more than anything else.

I actually still have my original translation of Ouma’s motive video here, if anyone would like to compare. Again, translation is a tricky line of work, and obviously not all translators are going to agree with one another. But I consider omitting lines entirely to be one of the worst things you can do in a translation, particularly in a mystery game where people are expected to solve said mysteries based on the information and facts provided to them.

5.) Inconsistencies and Lack of Context

As I mentioned earlier, there are many instances of lines being completely mistranslated, or translated two different ways by multiple translators, or addressed to the wrong character. This is, as I stated, due to the way the translation work was divided by four separate people who appear to have not communicated with each other or cross-referenced each other’s work.

One of the clearest examples of this that I can think of off the top of my head is in chapter 3, where Ouma mentions “doing a little research” on the Caged Child ritual, and Maki in the very next line repeats him by saying… “study?”

On their own, removed from any context, these would both potentially be correct translations. However, it’s very clear that the translators just didn’t care to look at the context, or communicate with each other and share their work. The fact that characters aren’t even quoting each other properly in lines that are back-to-back is a pretty big oversight, and something that should have been accounted for knowing that four separate people were going to be translating various different characters.

This lack of context causes other, even more hilarious and blatantly wrong mistranslations. At the start of the chapter 3 trial, there is a line where Momota mentions that he couldn’t perform a thorough investigation on his own “because Monokuma disrupted him.” In the original, Ouma responds and tells Momota that he’s just using Monokuma as an excuse to cover for his own flaws. However, what we actually got in the localization was… this.

I don’t even have words for how badly this line was butchered (though I could make several hilarious jokes about Monokuma “over-compensating”). Presumably, this happened because Ouma’s translator saw Ouma’s line without any of the lines before it or the context of what Momota was saying, had no clue who Ouma was actually supposed to be talking to, and just ad-libbed it however they could, even though it literally makes no sense and doesn’t even fit into the conversation.

There are other similar instances of this, too. For example, did you know that the scene after Saihara faints in chapter 2, just before he wakes up in Gonta’s lab, is actually supposed to have Ouma talking to him? The narrator is unnamed, but there are several lines just before Saihara wakes up where Ouma tells him “come on, you can’t die on me yet!” and keeps prodding him and poking him to wake up. This is never explicitly told to you from the text… but it becomes pretty obvious when you look at the context and see that a huge CG of Ouma looking over Saihara as he starts to wake up is the very next part of the scene.

In the localization, however, Saihara’s translator pretty clearly had no idea what was happening or who was supposed to be talking to him, because they translated those lines as Saihara talking to himself, even though the manner of speech and phrasing is clearly supposed to be Ouma instead.

I could go on and on listing other examples: Tsumugi makes a joke in the original about Miu being able to dish out dirty jokes but not being very good at hearing them herself, but it’s changed in the localization to Tsumugi saying “I’m not so good with that kind of stuff,” and a line where Momota protests against Maki choking Ouma because she’ll kill him if she keeps going is instead changed to him saying “you’ll get killed if you don’t stop!” In my opinion, the fact that this is a consistent problem throughout the whole game shows that the translators weren’t really communicating or working together at any point, and that it wasn’t simply a one-time mistake here or there.

6.) Edited CGs and Plot Points

I have made an entirely separate post about this in the past, but at this point I don’t think anyone actually knows anymore: the localization actually edited in-game CGs and made some of them completely different from the Japanese version of the game. I’m not accusing them of “censorship” or anything like that, I mean quite literally that they altered and edited specific CGs to try and fix certain problems with them and only ended up making them worse in the process.

In chapter 5, Momota gets shot in the arm by Maki’s crossbow when trying to defend Ouma, and Ouma gets shot in the back shortly afterward when attempting to make a run for the Exisals. These injuries are relevant to how they died, but they’re not actually very visible in the CGs of Ouma and Momota shown later in the chapter 5 trial.

There are a whole bunch of inconsistencies with the CGs in chapter 5 in general: Momota gives Ouma his jacket to lie on under the press, but is magically still wearing it when he emerges from the Exisal himself at the end of the trial (I like to think he snuck back into the dorms Solid Snake style to get a new one from his room before joining the trial), the cap to the antidote is still on the bottle when Ouma pretends to drink it in front of Maki and Momota, etc. None of these things really deter from the plot though, and so I would say they’re fairly unimportant.

However, for some reason, NISA decided that “fixing” at least some of the CGs in the chapter 5 trial was necessary. They did this by adding bloodstains to Momota’s arm while he’s under the press, to better show his injury from the crossbow…. and in doing so, for some completely inexplicable reason, they changed the entire position of his arm. Here’s what I mean for comparison:

This is how Momota’s arm looked in the original CG from chapter 5, shown when the camcorder is provided as evidence that it’s “Ouma” under the press.

And this is how the localization edited it to look. I can understand and even sympathize with adding the bloodstains, but… changing the entire arm itself? Moving it to be sticking out from under the press? To put it nicely, this change doesn’t make any sense and actually makes it harder to understand Ouma and Momota’s plan.

The whole trick behind their plan was that nothing was supposed to stick out from under the press, other than Momota’s jacket. They waited until the instant when the press completely covered every part of Momota’s body, arms and all, and then performed the switch to mislead people. But the edited version of the CG in the localization just has Momota’s arm sticking completely out, hanging over the side, meaning it would’ve been impossible for the press to hide every part of it and the whole switch feels… well, stupid and impossibly easy to see through in the localized version.

Again, this shows a total disregard for presenting the facts as they actually appear and actually makes things more difficult for English players of the game, because they’re not being given accurate information. I really don’t understand why these changes were necessary, or why the bloodstains couldn’t have just been added without moving Momota’s entire arm.

7.) In Conclusion

This has gotten extremely long (nearly 10 pages), so I want to wrap things up. I want to specify that my intention with this masterlist isn’t to insult or badmouth the translators who worked on this game. I’m sure they worked very hard, and I have no idea what time or budget constraints they were facing as they did so.

Being a translator is not easy, and typically translators are not very well-paid or recognized for their work. I have the utmost respect for other translators, and I know perfectly well just how difficult and taxing it can be.

I am making this list because these are simply changes which were very different from the original version of the game, and which I believe could have been handled better. Personally, I disagree with many of the choices the localization made, but that does not mean that they didn’t do a fantastic job in other places. I absolutely love whichever translator was responsible for coming up with catchphrases and nicknames throughout the game: little localization decisions like “cospox,” “flashback light,” “Insect Meet n’ Greet,” and “cosplaycat criminal” were all strokes of genius that I highly admire.

I only want to stress that the Japanese version of the game is very different. Making changes to the way a character is presented or portrayed means influencing how people are going to react to said character. Skewing the information and facts presented in trials in the game means changing people’s experience of the game, and giving them less facts to go off of. Equating fictional gods to real-life ones can cause real harm and influence perception of real indigenous peoples. These are all facts that need to be accounted for before deciding whether a certain change is necessary or not, in my opinion.

If you’ve read this far, thank you! Again, feel free to share this post around if you’d like, since this is probably the most comprehensively I’ve ever covered this topic.

#danganronpa #new danganronpa v3 #dangan ronpa #ndrv3 spoilers //#ask #anonymous #this isn't meta but it's IS a comprehensive masterlist of translation comparisons #so i think it's okay to post in the tag #okay to reblog

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cheri-translates · 3 years

Text

[CN] Summer Palace Tour with Gavin

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for content not yet released in EN 🍒

Summer Palace Tour Video: here

The weather in autumn is exceptionally clear and refreshing. Standing at the entrance of the Summer Palace, I look at the tickets in my hand with anticipation.

The documentary from my previous collaboration with the Forbidden City garnered positive feedback, and many viewers expressed that they had a better understanding of traditions and culture through the film.

As such, the company managed to clinch the rights to shoot a sequel. This time, the collaborative partner is another famous imperial palace...

The Summer Palace, also known as “The Royal Garden Museum”.

This is a rare opportunity. Before filming officially begins, I decided to visit the venue to take a look around. Of course, I’ve also invited him along.

My gaze flits past the bustling crowd. Just as I’m searching for that familiar figure, a voice rings out -

Gavin: It’s crowded here. Don’t stray off.

Gavin walks over to my side, taking my hand.

MC: I’m looking for the guide board. This place is really huge.

I blink at him, releasing a soft sigh of awe.

With a small smile, Gavin grips my hand lightly.

Gavin: It’s over there.

He brings me to the guide board. Giving it a sweeping glance, he turns to me with a relaxed smile.

Gavin: It says there are two entrances. Where do you want to go first?

MC: Let’s start from the north entrance.

LOCATION 1: Suzhou Street

Standing on the white marble stone bridge of Suzhou Street, I tiptoe, staring into the distance.

Beautiful shopfronts span as far as the eye can see, and tiny colourful flags outside the shops drift in the breeze.

MC: Wow, I can see the Yuquan Mountain and the Western Mountains from here!

I tilt my body to the side, pointing them out to Gavin. He glances in the direction of my finger, then nods.

Gavin: Mm, the view is pretty good. There are many shops as well. Why don’t we take a break here?

He asks relaxedly and contentedly, and it seems as though the beautiful scenery has melted into his eyes.

A wave of joy surges from my heart. Without realising it, I start to talk even more, pulling on Gavin’s arm as we walk down the bridge.

MC: Sure, let’s walk around!

There are many visitors in Suzhou Street. Row upon row of shops are arranged neatly.

MC: I heard that after Emperor Qianlong returned from an imperial tour in the Jiangnan region, he longed for the bustling view in Suzhou... For the 70th birthday of his mother, he built this street in order to bring the beautiful scenery of Jiangnan to the city of Beijing.

All of a sudden, I think about the “ideal home” that Gavin and I once talked about. My eyes crinkle upwards.

[Note] This is a reference to Hometown Date!

MC: Gavin, do you still remember the question about our “ideal home”?

Gavin pauses slightly, then nods.

Gavin: Why the sudden question?

MC: It just came to mind after looking at the scenery and greenery.

My gaze slowly sweeps across the view before me, and I express the thoughts in my heart.

MC: In the future, our home must definitely have a huge garden. I want to grow all sorts of trees and plants in the garden, and create a beautiful Jiangnan scenery.

Gavin can’t help but chuckle softly. He lifts his hand, scratching the tip of my nose affectionately.

Gavin: Sure, we’ll do it together.

He turns around. Standing in front of the railing, he blends into the pictureque scenery behind him.

A gentle breeze brushes the stray hairs on Gavin’s forehead, revealing a pair of crystal clear amber eyes.

Gavin: But the scenery isn’t important. The most important thing is that you and I are in that scenery.

LOCATION 2: The Marble Boat of Purity and Ease

MC: “The Marble Boat of Purity and Ease”... it’s a really beautiful name. But why was it given such a name?

Gavin follows my pace unhurriedly, walking towards the riverbank. We watch as sunlight descends on the boat, casting a dazzling halo over it.

Hearing what I said, he flips open the guide map and reads it aloud.

Gavin: “The Yellow River is clear and the sea is calm - the world is at peace throughout the years.”

Gavin: Its name originated from a wish for peace and prosperity.

MC: Peace and prosperity...

Gavin lets out a “mm”. Staring at the tranquil lake, his voice is calm.

Gavin: It’s a shame that things didn’t go as planned.

His words make me recall the past that I’d read from history books.

The land was left in tatters, and fresh blood spilled like wine. The rippling and surging lake of the Summer Palace couldn’t salvage everything that was burnt down.

We pass by white marble railings. They are pure white, and one can no longer see traces of a vastly different past.

MC: Back in school, I remember the solemn atmosphere in the classroom when we learnt about this moment in history... It’s as though everyone experienced it firsthand.

Muttering to myself, I find my mood dampening. However, Gavin suddenly speaks.

Gavin: I used to feel angry about it, but not anymore.

MC: Why not?

Gavin: Because I understand now that if you want to protect something you cherish, you have to keep getting stronger.

Gavin looks at me, his eyes filled with calmness and bright rays of light.

He doesn’t continue, simply hugging me from behind as we stare at the Marble Boat of Purity and Ease quietly.

Specks of radiance land on the boat. It’s as though this historical boat has been stranded in this moment, bringing with it the tranquility of consistency through the ages.

Looking at this peaceful scenery, I suddenly tilt my head upwards. Gavin lowers his eyes and meets my gaze, his eyes clear and bright.

MC: Gavin, in the past, I always thought that peace and prosperity was something ordinary. But afterwards, I slowly understood the weight behind them. It’s been difficult for you, Officer Gavin.

Gavin chuckles softly, encircling me even more tightly into his arms. His chin rubs the top of my head gently.

Gavin: I already have a reason to fight. So, it isn’t difficult at all.

LOCATION 3: Long Corridor

Even though it’s already autumn, the weather is still pretty hot. However, cool breezes weave through the Long Corridor, and they are incredibly soothing.

MC: No wonder the imperial household enjoyed coming here to avoid the heat... it’s much more cooling than other places!

I smile at Gavin. The moment I finish speaking, a visitor from the side suddenly bumps into me.

Before I can react, Gavin reaches out to pull me into his arms.

Without a word, he simply uses his body to shield me from the crowd behind. Then, he tilts his chin at me.

Gavin: What were you saying?

Sweeping a glance at the growing crowd, I find that the originally cooling Long Corridor is gradually becoming stuffy and hot. I shake my head.

MC: Nothing much. It’s just that this path is pretty long, and it’d be a while before we reach the end.

Gavin: Want to go somewhere else?

Meeting Gavin’s gaze, I shake my head. After fanning myself with a hand, I stand on my tiptoes to fan Gavin as well.

MC: Since we’re already here, we might as well finish the walk. Anyway, the scenery along the way is really pretty.

A faint breeze brushes stray hairs on his forehead. Gavin’s bright eyes notice my actions, and he smiles slightly.

Gavin: Sure.

Tugging on Gavin’s hand, we continue walking forward. Gavin doesn’t say anything, and it seems like he’s pondering on something.

After a moment, I feel a refreshing breeze drifting from our interlaced palms. It gradually encases my surroundings, lifting up a few locks of hair.

I immediately turn to Gavin. He blinks, his eyes innocent and bright.

Gavin: It’d no longer be hot like this.

A breeze brushes my sleeve, and I can vaguely hear someone exclaiming from the front.

Visitor: It’s so cooling all of a sudden!

I turn my head, watching as the person beside me stares out of the corridor as if nothing happened.

Gavin: The view’s pretty good here.

I can’t help but laugh quietly, pulling on his hand as we continue walking.

LOCATION 4: Hall of Peace and Longevity

MC: Gavin, look at that lady. The hanfu she’s wearing is so pretty!

I tug on Gavin’s sleeve, signalling for him to look.

MC: The design of that hanfu was likely inspired by items in the Hall of Peace and Longevity. There are images of phoenixes, Yulan magnolia flowers, and peonies woven on it. The workmanship seems so exquisite...

Gavin: Do you like it?

MC: Mm! It looks really pretty, and it’s an innovative blend of traditions and cultures! I just don’t know where I can buy... huh, Gavin, why did you take your phone out?

Gavin: I’m searching for the shop selling this outfit. Since you like it, get one.

MC: ...it won’t be too late to do that after returning home!

LOCATION 5: Garden of Virtue and Harmony

MC: Gavin, look! There are paintings of dragons on the ceiling of the Garden of Virtue and Harmony!

Walking past the inscribed board outside the Garden of Virtue and Harmony theatre, we arrive at the inner hall.

Arching my neck to stare at the paintings on the ceiling, I point them out to Gavin.

Gavin’s gaze follows the direction of my finger, and he nods slightly.

Gavin: It does look very nice, but that’s not all.

MC: Huh? Did I miss something?

Gavin suddenly lifts his hand, tilting my head gently and enabling me to see uneven ridges on the paintings.

Noticing the curiosity on my face, he smiles while explaining.

Gavin: That should be a movable board which allows actors to descend from the ceiling.

Astounded, my eyes widen as I turn to him.

MC: Wow, there were already elevators back then!

Gavin smiles in amusement at my exaggerated tone and expression. He nods.

Gavin: Mm, it’s pretty amazing. Aside from that, there are many other mechanisms here.

He casually points at the decorations on stage, and seems to find them interesting.

Gavin: In order to carry out a perfect performance, they spent a lot of effort on the decorations. The ingenuity of predecessors have remained till this day, and they are by no means inferior.

I nod in agreement. Something occurs to me, and I can’t help but laugh.

MC: Then again, Officer Gavin doesn’t need an elevator to descend from the sky!

The corners of Gavin’s lips curl upwards subconsciously. He seems to think of something, and coughs softly.

He looks around at the surroundings. When he’s certain that no one is watching us, he turns back to look at me, a somewhat resigned expression on his face.

Gavin: Not so loud.

Receiving Officer Gavin’s “instruction”, I give him a wink, doing a “zipping” motion over my lips.

Gavin glances at me, then suddenly lowers his head, chuckling softly into my ear.

Gavin: But it’s the truth.

LOCATION 6: Lotus Pavilion

MC: From here, we can see green pines and the palace on Longevity Hill!

I pull Gavin to the corner of a veranda.

MC: I originally thought the Hall of Jade Billows was just a tiny palace. Turns out it must be seen from this angle.

Gavin: Mm. Aside from Longevity Hill, we can also see the Jade Spring Hill. It looks just like a landscape painting stretched out in front of us.

MC: Looks like the person who wrote a couplet based on the Lotus Pavilion had the same thought as you.

I stare at the hanging couplet on the rear eaves of the Lotus Pavilion, smiling as I read it aloud.

MC: “The uneven pavilion is akin to a magnificent palace basking in the glow of sunset, and the scenery is reminiscent of a painting”.

Gavin studies the words on the couplet, then grips my hand.

Gavin: Let’s go and admire that “painting”.

LOCATION 7: Garden of Harmonious Pleasures

MC: I heard that the Garden of Harmonious Pleasures has a winding corridor comprising over a hundred sections that connect the entire garden into one structure. I couldn’t conceptualise this clearly through the guidebook. Now that I’m in it, I can experience the beauty of this classical architecture!

Walking through the corridor with Gavin, I click my tongue in amazement.

Gavin: Mm, it’s extraordinary. Based on the map, this corridor connects the north and south.

Gavin unfolds the map in his hands.

Gavin: Look at the markings. The mountain spring here is the source of the Kunming River.

Leaning into Gavin’s arms to look at the map, I nod along with his words.

MC: I see! No wonder I felt a certain aura of unity while walking.

Gavin chuckles, then keeps the map.

Gavin: “A winding path leads to quiet seclusion” - I guess this describes the view in the Garden of Harmonious Pleasures.

LOCATION 8: Hall of Benevolence and Longevity

Spotting a strange bronze creature in front of the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity, I walk over to it curiously.

MC: What’s this? It doesn’t resemble a lion or any other animal...

Gavin: It’s a Qilin.

Hearing Gavin’s words, I’m a little shocked as I examine this sculpted bronze creature before me -

It has the head of a dragon, deer antlers, and hooves. Its body is covered with scales, and it looks mighty and awe-inspiring.

MC: Is this the Qilin which treads on auspicious clouds and prevents disasters in the world? Why would there be a sculpted Qilin here?

Gavin: It’s probably because the Qilin is a legendary auspicious beast which prevents evildoing and wards off evil spirits.

Gavin responds calmly. Since this makes sense, I nod, flipping open the guidebook to learn more about this.

MC: “The sculpture of the auspicious beast Qilin was cast during the reign of Qianlong. It sits on a white marble base with lotus petals carved around it. There are seven pearls carved on the base. There’s a treasure carved between the two front limbs of the Qilin... it exudes a mighty aura, and greatly enhances the beauty of the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity.”

My head bobs from left to right as I read the introduction on the guidebook.

Finding this amusing, Gavin crosses his arms, looking at me with a smile.

Once I’m done reading it aloud, I take another look at the Qilin, scrutinising the sculpted scales on its arms.

Seeing that I’m entirely focused, he suddenly asks a question.

Gavin: Does it look that impressive?

I nod vigorously.

MC: It does! It’s incredible and even symbolises good luck. If possible, I’d want to meet a Qilin! That way, it can guarantee that everything I do will go smoothly, and that each day will be happy!

Gavin doesn’t say anything. He suddenly takes my hand, looking at the decorative patterns on the Qilin together with me.

After a moment, he pretends to be casual as he speaks.

Gavin: You probably won’t get to meet a Qilin.

Gavin: But I can make you happy every day.

LOCATION 9: Shop

Noticing that I’m deciding between postcards from across the display window, Gavin turns to me.

Gavin: Shall we make a postcard?

MC: Mm! Let’s pick a photo~

At this stage, you can customise your own R karma by selecting a pose and backdrop :>

[ LITTLE SNIPPETS ]

Gavin grabbed a stray kitten which attempted to carry a sandwich away in its mouth

We met a fortune teller, and he appeared to tell Gavin something secretively

A boy was trapped on top of a bronze cow, and Gavin carried him down

A little bird hovered over your heads. Perhaps tired from flying, it suddenly landed on Gavin’s shoulder and took a short break

At the city wall, Gavin carried you up to look at the distant scenery

When you’re tired from walking, Gavin immediately carried you to a wayside pavilion

While on a boat, there was a soothing breeze on the Kunming River. You leaned against Gavin’s shoulder and fell asleep

Passing by ginkgo trees along the west dyke, Gavin caught a few drifting ginkgo leaves and gave them to you

[ MOMENTS ]

MC: I saw quite a number of ladies taking pictures in ancient costumes. I regret not preparing an outfit...

Gavin: It’s okay, we can come again next time.

MC: The “Sacred Tree” is very beautiful this season. No wonder it’s a must-see.

Gavin: If you like it, we can stay here for a while longer.

MC: There are so many people. Should we come back again later?

Gavin: Sure. How about walking around the Garden of Virtue and Harmony first?

[ EVOLVED KARMA ]

Just as you said, there’s a different feeling when seeing the historical architecture of the Summer Palace up close.

I took many pictures today. There are photos of you, but there are even more photos of us.

When we head back, let’s look at them together.

- Gavin

#mlqc #mlqc cn #mlqc spoilers #mlqc gavin #I won't be doing translations for the other love interests!

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maxwell-grant · 3 years

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May I please ask what your preferred dynamic between Holmes & Lupin would be? (From what I can tell, the term 'frenemies' might have been invented for these two - if any two characters in fiction WOULD spend all their time trying to one-up each other it's these two, if only their diverse other commitments, challenges & interests left them the free time to do so: I'm also morally certain a sadly-hypothetical Holmes/Lupin team is one of the few things that could bring down Fantomas for Good).

I think "frenemies" is what ultimately works best for these two specifically, because there's a certain untouchability to icons as big as these two that limits the potential stories you can tell with them (although yes, definitely on board with the two having what it takes to bring down Fantomas, although probably not as cleanly and easily as they might expect).

The original Leblanc stories involving this premise are very much centered around one-upmanship, even embracing a theme of national rivalry of England vs France. They acknowledge Holmes's talents but without the awe, with a somewhat aged Holmes with mundane imperfections easily exploited by the daring young thief, someone deserving of his legend but who doesn't quite live up to it. Obviously Lupin's gotta have the upperhand, not just because it's his author writing it, but because the whole point of Lupin's creation was to be the new hotness, the counterpart to both the stuffy old Great Detectives as well as the aristocratic master burglars, and really, what kind of rising superstar would he be if he couldn't put one over the other guy? If he's gonna live up to his claim of being the greatest criminal ever, he's gotta be able to humble the greatest detective at least a little.

The treatment of Watson (Wilson) is tasteless and it's frankly a bit saddening to see that even back then writers were still shitting on Watson far too much, but on the whole I think Leblanc was a lot fairer to Holmes than he could have been (certainly other writers from this time period who added Holmes to their stories were not as fair), he makes it very clear Holmes is not just another Ganimard out of his depth and is very much as close to an equal Lupin's ever had. I think the description used to cap off their final meeting is very much on point:

"You see, monsieur, whatever we may do, we will never be on the same side. You are on one side of the fence; I am on the other. We can exchange greetings, shake hands, converse a moment, but the fence is always there.

You will remain Herlock Sholmes, detective, and I, Arsène Lupin, gentleman-burglar. And Herlock Sholmes will ever obey, more or less spontaneously, with more or less propriety, his instinct as a detective, which is to pursue the burglar and run him down, if possible.

And Arsène Lupin, in obedience to his burglarious instinct, will always be occupied in avoiding the reach of the detective, and making sport of the detective, if he can do it. And, this time, he can do it" - Arsene Lupin vs Herlock Sholmes

The consistent outcome is that Holmes "wins" the material battle while Lupin gets away with the spiritual or karmic victory. The first story, Holmes has Lupin figured out from a glance, robbing him of his greatest asset, and Lupin even tells Holmes under a guise that he has no greater admirer than himself. Holmes choses not to arrest Lupin, and instead solves the mystery as quickly as Lupin would. But he is also, well, inferior. His "commonplace appearence" dissappoints the guests and detectives at the crime scene, he doesn't resemble their expectations, he is gruff, ungracious, arrogant and all-business, an Englishman all the way, and Lupin one-ups him by returning to him his stolen watch, and Holmes is not a good sport about it.

The whole "Herlock Sholmes" name change, although it was out of legal obligation, almost reads like a cheeky courtesy of Leblanc, like he's giving Holmes enough of a courtesy in sparing him the embarassment of being the loser. And the following adventures stay consistent: Sholmes is smart, as smart as Lupin, and he's a gentleman. But he isn't as smart as he thinks he is, and he isn't as much of a gentleman as Lupin. He resorts to unsporting tactics like intimidating Lupin's lover and involving the police in their conflict, and in the end, he's solved the crime, but "sown the seeds of discord" in a family Lupin was protecting, becoming the villain for a change, a role reversion Lupin openly laughs at. Holmes wins the "loot", he wins the material battle, but Lupin has the last laugh, and despite being a self-proclaimed villain, Lupin gets the moral victory.

It's a quite unflattering view of Holmes and one perhaps not suited for a crossover outside of the specific context of Holmes being the old and stuffy intruder in an Arsene Lupin story. Then again, every great hero needs a lesson in humility every now and then.

There's a particularly interesting variant of this dynamic to be found within China's own takes on Sherlock Holmes and Arsene Lupin.

Sherlock Holmes was quite the breakout hit for Chinese audiences at the time of his release, revered as an alternative to Judge Bao and the court-case novels. It's estimated that from 1903 to 1909, detective fiction constituted over almost 50% percent of all Western translated fiction, and with Holmes followed others like Nick Carter and Charlie Chan, and then Arsene Lupin, and soon their own local versions. The most famous and popular of which was Huo Sang, created by Cheng Xiaoqing, who was one of the main translators for Conan Doyle's stories. Cheng Xiaoqing even wrote his own take on Sherlock Holmes vs Arsene Lupin called "The Diamond Necklace", intending on correcting Leblanc's take, although interestingly, he unintentionally recreates the exact outcome by giving Holmes an unsporting attitude, where he "wins" only because Lupin lets him, and Lupin gets away again with the moral high ground. He would fare off much better in correcting Holmes with his own character, Huo Sang.

Huo Sang has a lot of similarities to Holmes, even with his own Watson counterpart, but was also designed to represent a few more traditional Chinese values. He is a science teacher with no addictions who belittles the wealthy class and fights for the poor, and he is praised for humility, one story even making a point to criticize Holmes for arrogance. He is a very Westernized character, with suits and guns and cigarettes galore, but the books were very dictatic and the author marketed them as "disguised textbooks for science", playing up on a newfound social reverence to scientific methods and self-improvement and national rejuvenation.

The stories deal heavily with corruption of the police force and institutions. In the earlier stories he outright calls police detectives useless rice buckets only good for solving petty thefts and preying on those that can't defend themselves, and while they become less sinister in later stories, Huo Sang's relation with law enforcement is much more frayed than Holmes's own. He uses dirty police tactics of his own and sometimes takes the law into his own hands, thinking the law cannot possibly achieve justice on it's own. His biggest loyalty is to his country and he values his reputation above all else. He values justice more than the law, like Holmes. But like Holmes, he still prefers to work inside the law and within Chinese traditions.

"Bao Lang, you scholar, you're too idealistic. Don't you realize how weak the law is in modern society? Privilege and power, favors and money - the law has all these deadly enemies

"We investigate half to slake our thirst for knowledge, half out of duty to serve and uphold justice. In the realm of justice, we are never constrained by the wooden and unfeeling law. For in this society, which is gradually tending to surrender its core to material things, the spirit of the rule of law cannot be put into general practice, and the weak and ordinary people are aggrieved, more often than not unable to enjoy the protection of the law.

Lu Ping, as you'd expect from a counterpart to Lupin, was much different. In fact, right in his very first story, he was already pitted against Huo Sang and outsmarting him, in a story called "Wooden Puppet Play". The character is inspired by an already existing tradition within Chinese literature of the "chivalrous thief", shapeshifting masters of deception and martial arts, and considered admirable and benevolent opposite to the corrupt government officials they outwit.

His stories are more whimsical, energized, more varied, less dedicated to strict science. He whistles while committing crimes, is identifiable by a red tie and wooden puppets he uses to signal his goons on what outfit he's gonna be wearing, and even cracks asides to the reader. In many aspects Lu Ping is influenced by hard-boiled Western detective stories, and naturally, he has a much more contemptious view of the law than Huo Sang

Well then, was he willing, in his capacity as thief, to represent the sanctity of the law and catch the murderer? Yes, he would be quite happy to round up that murderer. But he wasn't at all willing to boost the reputation of the law. He'd always felt that the law was only something like an amulet that certain smart guys had fabricated to get them out of embarassing situations.

Such an amulet migh be good for scaring away idiots, but it oculdn't threaten the violent, crafty and arrogant evil ones. Not only could it not scare them away, a lot of them hid right behind it to work their evil tricks!

Conflicts between these two are not just rooted in one-upsmanship or the patriotic conflict between the two, but instead in two differing approaches to justice, their influence on fellow Chinese writers to step outside tradition, and the respective ways they address issues in society. Additionally, it's not just a conflict between Great Detective vs Gentleman Villain, but the Holmesian Detective and the Hardboiled Detective. And, naturally, when the two met, a pattern reocurred again.

Writing a Lu Ping tale in his usual manner, Sun Liaohong deprives the detective of the advantage he typically enjoys at the hand of Cheng Xiaoqing or any other follower of Conan Doyle - narration by the detective's coadjutor.

It is Huo Sang who slinks around like a thief, alarming hotel service personnel. He becomes rattled, and even so is vain and arrogant. He is a bit too positivist about searching for clues, and he spends a remarkable amount of time just relaxing and waiting for something to happen.

The figure of "wooden puppets" turns wicked when the author uses the term to refer to Huo Sang, Bao Lang, and the police. Satirizing the genre as a play in which the author woodenly manipulates his character. But Lu Ping as puppet is a genius, moving from one identity to another, whereas Huo Sang is a dumbbell - wooden indeed, bourgeois, ridiculed.

A gentleman's agreement occurs only at the end. Huo Sang has the formal victory. He frees Lu Ping in order to get the paining, but the exhibition is held a day late and it now bears Lu Ping's seal.

In wartime, peace talks, diplomacy and gentlemen's agreements are just smoke screens, the stuff of puppetry. Both Huo Sang and Lu Ping surround themselves with lies to reach their final accomodation. Perhaps they are both puppets - Chinese Justice, the Fiction: Law and Literature in Modern China, by Jeffrey C. Kinkley

Both characters were canned in 1949 when the CCP banned detective fiction, and it was replaced with anti-spy literature about how the party police would expose counterrevolutionary conspiracies. They never got to have a rematch, and to my understanding there were a couple of films made afterwards about them, Huo Sang had a very recent one in 2019, but never another meeting.

I guess the takeaway here time and time again is that, credit to Holmes and all, but:

#replies tag #pulp heroes #pulp fiction #sherlock holmes #herlock sholmes #arthur conan doyle #arsene lupin #maurice leblanc #lupinchads can't stop winning

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