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the-archetype-of-civilization · 5 years

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THIS IS ALL OPINION, YOU DON’T HAVE TO LISTEN TO WHAT I HAVE TO SAY IF YOU DON’T LIKE IT.

ALSO, SPOILERS FOR MANY THINGS AHEAD. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

I think there are many reasons why people love villains so much. Some because they identify their problems with themselves, or understand their motives to a reasonable extent. Some because they just enjoy a good villain with evil intent to ruin the order set in a universe. But one thing brings almost all of it together that solidifies both arguments for a villain that needs to be explored and understood more in order for villains to truly feel like villains and inspire the fear that they create: proof, a show of strength.

There are many different villains I could describe that fit the bill to each parts of what makes a good villain. One that I believe many reasonably understand and agree with in terms of villainy is the MCU character Killmonger, a tragic character forced to live under the weight of being orphaned by the very people he was born into, and realizing the true extent of the racism bred all around the world. Though, in my opinion, his actions were underwhelming in terms of the fear he wanted to create. While he did display his strength in defeating T’Challa single-handedly and almost created a genocidal raid across the globe, there wasn’t enough screen time with him to truly show just how much of an imposing threat he was (killing civilians does not count, it’s an easy way out for them). A menace requires fear instilled from consequence. If you build up a villain to do something monumental and with tons of repercussions and stop it at the last minute where everything is peachy keen, his imposing-ness is null despite any of the speeches he (convincingly) makes. Ultron is a villain I think that I think is in a similar vein, but very close to being a true villain in my eyes because the dude was literally about to destroy Earth with a hand-made meteor and that was a sight to behold. But, despite having a charming(?) personality for a robot that’s supposed to display overblown (not subtle or underwhelming) cynical, nihilistic, and misanthropic tendencies (and yes, that is a very big gripe of mine as a fan of Ultron from the comics!), Ultron didn’t do much in his time to show how villainous he was aside from killing off Quicksilver (which wasn’t much of an impact considering that it was his first time appearing on the main screen and was killed off right then and there. It’s more of a shock for the movie industry than it is in terms of story). Also, that movie design was absolutely hideous! His robot army design was perfect, but his main design completely goes against who he is! He’s not supposed to look more human, he’s supposed to be a robot that hates humans! He shouldn’t look like them with fucking teeth and pupils!

Those last two were hard to find at the top of my head, but for these villains it’s pretty easy to find. There are plenty of villains that can create monumental and horrifying destruction, but still be underwhelming in terms of personality. While they don’t have to necessarily be agreeable or even have understandable motives, personality is what drives the character across. The standard “I’m evil because I’m evil” could work as long as they have the flair for it. Darth Vader fits the mark as a terrifying villain with a “evil” personality but gets away with it by being a tragic character in his own right. Exdeath from Final Fantasy V I believe fits this bill rather well considering the amount of destruction he causes in the world, but has an underwhelming personality of “I WANT TO DESTROY EVERYTHING BECAUSE I’M EVIL,” even thought he’s my personal favorite FF villain. But sometimes it’s okay to have a standard villain of being evil for the sake of being evil if the actions that they do are monumental to the plot. But, this is just a personal opinion of mine. Kefka and Sephiroth can be argued to be great FF villains, creating mass chaos and killing important characters with evil intent and ruthless personalities.

And then, there are ones that do absolutely neither. Snoke, having an underwhelming personality and no threats to show for it (the Starkiller base represents the First Order, not Snoke himself personally). This, unfortunately, goes the same way for the Night King in Game of Thrones. An interesting and fearsome character and exudes fear from his mere appearance, shows little to nothing about how fearsome he is. Despite being the brains for the White Walkers, he himself doesn’t do anything monumental or show the personal fear that he himself could instill regardless of his army. A villain is only imposing by himself when there’s no one to help him. If he can get the job done himself, he’s sure to be feared. The Night King hasn’t succeeded in that. Despite him making an attack at Hardhome, killing one dragon and weaponizing it on the Wall and at Winterfell (briefly, I should say), he doesn’t show anything that he can personally do that would create fear when it’s just him and with no army. Other than raising people from the dead, we haven’t even seen him fight anyone! Nothing that shows how he can personally hold his own in a fight. And I’m sure some can argue that maybe he doesn’t care or need it, but why focus on him at all then? Why go through the effort to make us fear the White Walkers (a foe that EVERYONE fears) and find the leader that gets killed so quickly and so easily without even making people suffer the consequences of crossing him? The Golden Company was something far worse, however! A so-called “fearsome” sell-sword faction completely annihilated in one episode of their physical introduction?! Bullshit! There are plenty of villains here that I could mention that can’t achieve fear or motive here, but I’ll save it for these two examples considering that these two were the ones I was very frustrated with.

But, there are two villains that I can think of right now that fulfill motive and fear right off the bat. The main one (that I’m sure many of you saw coming) is the MCU’s version of Thanos. No doubt, someone that has an understandably flawed and warped sense of destiny and justice, believing genocide of an entire universe to be “merciful” and saving it from destruction. It’s absolute brilliance, especially compared to Thanos in the comics, that really fulfills the role of “the Mad TItan” more than the MCU version. And that’s not to count just how much chaos he has created over the course of 22 films. Despite being seen in small cameos and brief snippets and mentions, Thanos was someone to be feared in the MCU that many people were eagerly awaiting to see finally revealed in Infinity War. And he achieved it in spades. A villain that is absolutely ruthless with his enemies, despite being understanding and honorable about their goals. Imagine beating up the Hulk in 1-on-1 combat so much that he’s not angry anymore and refuses to be. That’s a feat in itself. And even while utilizing the Infinity Gauntlet, he can hold his own in a battle against 7 of the greatest heroes in the universe that almost got it off of him! He pulled a fucking moon down on a planet right after, too! And the coup de grace of it all was of course the snap heard throughout the universe: the Decimation. And he succeeded in his mission and rested, like he said he would. He wasn’t evil because he wanted to be or was vengeful about what happened: he believed himself to be a savior, someone that was willing to do what others wouldn’t. And even without the Infinity Gauntlet, the guy won’t quit and is still ridiculously strong in a fight with just a double bladed sword in Endgame! A perfect movie villain rarely shows itself, and Thanos was definitely one of those and I hope we see more that follow in his footsteps.

The secondary villain that I think of (that not many would understand) is Ardyn Izunia, or Ardyn Lucis Caelum, from Final Fantasy XV. Hajime Tabata aimed to make FFXV’s villain to be better than Kefka and Sephiroth combined. Now, that’s a gamble. Considering how memorable and iconic both villains are, it would be very hard to accomplish something like that. But, in my eyes, I believe he did. Ardyn is a very tragic character, a Christ-like figure that wanted to cure the people of the land from the Starscourge that plagued them. He would absorb the disease and cure them, unlike his brother Somnus that would kill them mercilessly. After his fiancee was killed by Somnus himself, branded as a traitor and demonized by the people that he cured, denied ascension to the throne by the Crystal, and abandoned by the Astrals that were by his side. Fueled by hatred for his betrayal on almost all fronts (including his fiancee, he believes), he seeks to end the Lucis bloodline and destroy the world that the Astrals created out of vengeance. Hey, if you found out that you were simply a tool used for the gods to fix the shit that THEY fucked up themselves, you’d be pissed too (*cough*Noctis*cough*). And boy did he show them what for. He becomes chief commander of Nifleheim’s military, including weaponizing people as daemons, using Magitek to ascend to military supremacy, and seizing all of the crystals in the world until all point to the last one located inside Insomnia. Not only that, but he kills Noctis’ childhood sweetheart and he brings the entire world to ruin for years to come while Noctis was inside the Crystal. Ardyn basically did what both Kefka and Sephiroth achieved individually: bring the world to ruin and kill a pivotal character/love interest, respectively. And he can seriously hold his own in a fight, able to use the same powers that Noctis can easily. He even used Ifrit (an infernal Astral!) as a puppet! That level of hatred for a bloodline is something palpable.

That’s why it’s so important to show your intent just as much as it is to say it. Both go hand in hand and it’s what creates arguments and discussions like these, so we are able to analyze and study villains as integral and important characters in entertainment. And to discover the darker sides of humanity that lives and resides within all of us, so we can better learn ourselves and how to control the demons inside all of us.

Honorable mention: With the new Star Wars movie coming out soon, I’m super hyped to see the Knights of Ren making a return! J.J. definitely did an awesome move by bringing them back, and there’s something so appealing about them. Something about organized personal goons for the main baddie is a concept that I always love to compare and explore. It’s why I loved the Praetorian Guard from The Last Jedi so much. Same for the Nazgul from The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies, the Black Guard from Tron: Legacy, the K-Tron units from Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, and the Heavensward from Final Fantasy XIV. Despite them not having much screen time, or little to no dialogue whatsoever, the times they do appear, their main objective is to eliminate the threats before them with extreme prejudice. Their main concept overall is action with little dialogue and achieving the simple goal that the viewer can already assume, and that’s something that I absolutely adore. Costume designs are also a huge plus, because goddamn do they all look good!

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aaronexplainsitall · 6 years

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what (who) is Mks?? (I swear i googled but it came up with a productivity solutions firm rip in peace)

Ah, to tell the story of MKS, I must tell the story of the band of legend, the Sugababes. Are you sitting comfortably children? Good, then I’ll begin.

Once upon a time, in a magical land named ‘Britain’, there was a mythical band, born of legend, known as the Spice Girls. Together, they conquered the world, bringing girl power back to a dire pop landscape filled with moody American boy bands and turgid R&B. They were on a quest to spread the message of girl power and pop music far and wide, and to everyone’s shock and awe, they were successful!

But then, one fateful day, their kingdom began to crumble around them and they went their separate ways to pursue far less inspiring and interesting solo careers (except Geri because Scream if You Wanna Go Faster is a bop you can @ me if you disagree you’re wrong). A dark cloud fell over pop music and for 100 days and 100 nights the kingdom of Britain descended into the coldest winter it has ever known.

Then, the evil men in the record companies hatched a dastardly plan. What if, they wondered, another band could rise up to take the infamous Spice Girls’ place? What if, they continued, we threw away everything that made the Spice Girls wonderful, and unique, and although they were manufactured actually quite organic in a way if you really stop and think about what organic even means in the context of pop music? What if, they squealed, we could RECREATE the Spice Girls with music that wasn’t as good and girls who weren’t as inspiring, FOR MONEY?

They all wet themselves in unison when they thought of all the money they’d make.

And so a new generation of girl bands rose from the ashes of the Spice Girls. Some were Genuinely Fantastic (Girls Aloud), some were Pretty Abysmal (B*Witched), some were So Terrible They Were Actually Quite Enjoyable (Atomic Kitten). But none were quite like the Sugababes.

Three working class girls, Mutya, Keisha and Siobhan, were walking home from school one day when they stumbled into a deep, dark recording studio owned by nefarious sea witch Ron Tom. “Come, my pretties,” croaked Ron Tom, “I will make you rich and famous and beyond your wildest dreams!” “Um, cool?” said the girls in unison, “we’d sort of rather just sing though, because we’re all quite good at it?” Ron Tom laughed, and laughed, and laughed. What a funny joke, he thought.

The three girls became known as the Sugababes, because originality wasn’t important to Ron Tom or the sea witch overlords at London Records, and to everyone’s Shock! And Surprise! they released a Really Very Good Indeed first album. However, because the general public are largely morons, they sold roughly 17 copies of their RVGI first album. The sea witch and his overlords were most displeased.

Meanwhile, the Sugababes had bigger problems. Fighting! Arguing! Chaos! Like so many bands before them, they had fallen prey to the cancer which rips through pop groups… Infighting. No one really knows what went on behind the closed doors of Ron Tom’s ocean cavern, but legend says that the youngest Sugababe, Keisha, bullied the whitest Sugababe, Siobhan, so viciously that she escaped the ocean cavern by crawling out of a window (that bit apparently actually did happen you can look it up not the ocean cavern mind you but the window).

The sea witch overlords were most displeased and they dropped the Sugababes.

But! A shining ray of hope at the end of the tunnel appeared! Atlantic Records swept ashore a new contract and a brand new member, Heidi! Heidi was perfect, the slightly less withered sea witch overlords at Atlanic Records promised! She had been in ATOMIC KITTEN, they gushed! She would make you LIKEABLE, the cried! WHAT IS THE POINT IN LIVING IF PEOPLE DON’T LIKE YOU, they screeched, their masks falling slightly and their sea witch overlord noses poking out!

And so for four blissful years, the Sugababes ruled British pop. They sold a lot more than 17 copies of their next three albums, each one going double platinum, and scoring 5 number one singles. They had made POP MUSIC, they sea overlords cackled, that GROWN UPS AND CHILDREN could listen to. They wet themselves again, because of how much money they were making.

But the Sugababes were Unhappy. Rumours of infighting, bullying, ferocious arguments about Britney Spears’ Toxic (you can look that up too that’s true as well) followed them wherever they went, and they were branded moody, miserable, nasty, mean girls. How awful, cried the British press, festering in pools of their own shit, that women would not be instantly likeable? IT SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED, they howled, shit filling their mouths.

So the Sugababes were dogged by bad press and quite possibly the fact that they actually didn’t really like each other because okay they were quite different people all things considered, and eventually, after the birth of her first child, Mutya left the band.

Darkness fell across the kingdom once again. What would the sea witch overlords do now? Their pot of gold appeared to be washing out to sea, and who, oh who, would bring it back to them.

Until a second dastardly plan was hatched. Why not, wondered the sea witch overlords, just replace her? It worked once? Beyoncé did it 412 times with her back up dancers in Destiny’s Child? We couldn’t get away with it… they wondered… could we? They did. Amelle was introduced to the band, and in a strange twist of fate, she was exactly like Mutya, only not quite as good, but really who was paying attention anyway?

And for another four years, the Sugababes trundled along, not quite as magical as they once were, but equally commercially successful, so WHO CARED? They pocketed more number one singles and platinum albums, made more money, faced more press scrutiny for supposedly not being perfect little ladies who always smiled and curtsied, business continued as usual.

But before our Babes of Suga could count their considerable number of coins, a new evil appeared on the horizon… infamous shit monger, Jay-Z, and his band of cretins, Roc Nation. Like so many before and after them, the Sugababes were seduced by the bright lights and empty promises of Roc Nation. “I’ll make you a star!” cried Jay-Z, stroking Becky’s good hair. “I’ll make your wildest dreams come true!” The babes were seduced.

And so Roc Nation and Jay-Z set to work stripping away everything that made the Sugababes unique and interesting and replacing it with literal festering garbage produced by RedOne, who by now it was known, wasn’t actually an interesting musician but had been bolstered by the considerable talent of Lady Gaga and got the credit for Just Dance, Poker Face and Bad Romance because he was a Man and she was a Woman, so he had to be the brains of the operation, right?

The Sugababes became a national laughing stock, and their ‘comeback’ single, the appropriately awfully titled Get Sexy, was ridiculed far and wide across the land of Great Britain. The British press rolled around in their own shit laughing uproariously. “Ha, ha, ha!” the cried, “How we love to tear women down!” their own shit caked in their own hair.

But a worse disaster would surely fall upon our Sugababes. Amidst the critical disaster of their new material, two of the Babes were scheming and plotting against the other, whom the goblins at Roc Nation were said to have favoured over the two other bitter and forgotten members of the group. Amelle and Heidi launched a plan, a dastardly, dastardly plan to oust the only remaining founding member of the band and seize the glory for themselves.

They crept quietly into the sea witch’s cave.

They tiptoed silently up the cracked stone steps.

They shuffled noiselessly across to the sleeping sea witch.

They whispered breathlessly into his ear.

“Oh sea witch, we’ve been so sad,” they intoned, “The nasty girl has been so bad. Send her away, sea witch,” they begged.

The sea witch woke with a start, and immediately set to work carrying out the wishes of Bitter Babes because he didn’t have the foresight to imagine what a monumental cock-up that would turn out to be, despite literally every other person who worked in the industry at the time saying, “hmm, maybe don’t do that, because she’s the last founding member of the group and the shit gremlins from The Sun and The Daily Mail might just assassinate you?”

But listen he did not, and Keisha had been sent away in a cloud of shame and dishonour. The shit gremlins at The Sun and The Daily Mail (and even the slightly less shit-covered gremlins at publications like The Guardian, which was quite interesting really, because who’d have thought The Guardian would care about this really?) stayed true to form, and fired off their canons of diarrhoea in the direction of the sea witch’s cavern.

Keisha was replaced by someone who’s name I genuinely can’t remember and that should tell you all you need to know about her, and the kingdom of the Sugababes crumbled in a heap of total and utter misery and mediocrity. Their final album, released without Keisha, received such rave reviews as “bland, soulless, and repetitive”, and the Roc Nation goblins promptly dropped the band on their shiny behinds.

The nation of Great Britain wept. In the streets, the children screamed. The profits cried, and the poets dreamed. Not a work was spoken, the church bells all were broken. Who would save us from this misery? Who would restore peace to our land?

Three long, dark years passed. Years characterised by no joy, no laughter, no love.

But then, just as the land had given up hope, and collectively lay down to die, on the New Year’s Eve of 2013, a miracle happened. In a tiny club in Central London, three young women took to the stage for the first time in 12 years, with one simple mission. To save pop music.

Mutya.

Keisha.

Siobhan.

The original Sugababes (now called MKS for a variety of legal reasons but of course they branded it as the desire for a fresh start and no one really argued because WHO CARED THEY WERE BACK) had reformed. Ne’er a brighter day had shone across our fair land. They grass grew back, the trees blossomed, our winter of discontent had ended.

They toured, performing Sugababes songs both old and new, taking a fresh control of their legacy and promising the nation that they’d be remembered not as the band who kept splitting up, but the band who GOT BACK TOGETHER! OH HAPPY DAY! That summer the three young women released the finest pop song known to man, ‘Flatline’, ahead of their sure-to-be unstoppable return album. Nothing could go wrong, nothing stood in their way now, the saviours of pop music had arrived in the world’s unlikeliest trio! Anything felt POSSIBLE!

and then they split up again without releasing the album because no one bought the fucking single the end

#This took me an hour to write #I need a life #ASAP #sugababes #MKS #pop music

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earthcommentator-blog · 5 years

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Preface to Saving Humanity of Eminent Anthropologist Hu Jiaqi: Responsibilities of Human Individuals（Jiaqi Hu）

Hu Jiaqi, an anthropologist, has studied human issues for nearly 40 years, and published Chinese and English works since July 2007, such as Saving Humanity (Chinses and English version), The Greatest Question and On Human Extinction, etc. And Hu Jiaqi ‘s The Greatest Question has caused a great deal of concern as soon as it was published. And Mr. Liu Tingzhao, the senior journalist and well-known publisher, wrote prefaces to The Greatest Question and Saving Humanity. Let's follow Mr. Liu and learn about the academic works of anthropologist Hu Jiaqi.

The Greatest Question is treasured as an academic book, and Mr. Hu Jiaqi has racked his brain over it for 28 years.

The Greatest Question illustrates encyclopedia knowledge about human survival and development, giving elaborate schemes with an ideal framework of a harmonious society and a harmonious world. "The content of this book concerns everybody's existence, and it is related to every family's good and ill. It is also related to every nation's ups and downs, and it is essential to the peace and prosperity of the whole world." It is a golden achievement about anthropology and sociology research by anthropologist Hu Jiaqi, and probably will be helpful in promoting world peace and development and might change the course of history.

The Greatest Question selects the best of Saving Humanity, which was published by Tongxin Press as a forerunner The Greatest Question.

Released in Beijing, Saving Humanity arouses enthusiasm and wide concern in all walks of life, with people who either give it a good opinion or sharp criticism. On the base of thorough discrimination, comprehension and assortment of various opinions, Mr. Jiaqi Hu, in the light of rigorous scholarship, boldly amended the Saving Humanity. It was renamed The Greatest Question. In order to make the content more scientific and easy-to-understand, he compressed 800,000 characters into 400,000 by keeping the essence and discarding the dross.

It is like travelling in a city of encyclopedias while reading The Greatest Question. Eyes move between lines with blinks in turning new pages, whereas the body roams among the outer spaces with a free heart across the time tunnel. "Clad in rainbow garments, riding on the wind, Come the queens of all the clouds, descending one by one, With tigers for their lute-players and phoenixes for dancers. Row upon row, like fields of hemp, range the fairy figures". The wonderland depicted by the fairy poet Li Bai was found unexpectedly in a chapter related to the universe in The Greatest Question.

It seems this book was gifted a magic power, which in a flash absorbs you into the heart of the earth's crust, then suddenly throw you to the stars billions of light years away to verify the Baraka. At that instant it absorbs you into the inner core of a social cell to observe the substantial soul of organizational framework of mankind, and then suddenly send you back to ancient times when Pan Gu created heaven and earth and dinosaurs were lord, all to witness the birth of the ancestors of the human race.

Geocentric theory, heliocentric theory, continental drift theory, evolution theory, malthusism, general theory of relativity, red shift phenomenon, Doppler effect, big-bang cosmology, the black hole, red dwarf star, the Minos civilization, generational justice, disaster of red giant, Schwarzschild radius, a threat of micro black hole, ecliptic plane, solar wind, extraterrestrial life, cosmos paging, mystery of UFO, global warming hazard, acid rain, extinction of ectopistes migratorius, population explosion, the Group of Seven, biotoxins of genetically modified organisms, internet, hacker, Manhattan Project, Key of Technology, nation and society, code of Three Increase, international Law, globalization, new noncompetitive society, unitary state, composite state，federal state......

Along with the plot-line of the whole of mankind, all intellectual and key words come thick and fast in the book, collecting natural science and social science in complete harmony. There is content of astronomy, geography, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, environment, philosophy, ethic, history, politics, economy, society and religion. This book is as good as a Chinese-style encyclopedia in popular edition and concentration type. With only one point falling behind full marks of the university entrance exam of physics, Jiaqi Hu really deserves to be called a master who knits pearls of knowledge into strings of dazzling encyclopedia necklaces linked with one another. He can also interpret some advanced scientific theories and abstruse knowledge into some fascinating and easy-to-understand stories in a humorous, infective way in human language.

"The further you get in your trip, the further you get in your book." I've believed in such an old maxim and followed it in practice as a child. Adding to the superiority as a journalist, my natural curiosity and inquisitive mind set me up for a man of learning. When I buried myself into these heavy manuscripts, however, something changed. All leaves may find their branches and roots here, and drops may assemble into the word current for the subsistence and development of human beings. This was my recollection of past events of life in half a century.

From childhood when we looked up at the sky to look for Altair & Vega to the years when we raised cups and ask the bright moon to drink in honor of the goddess; from the Roman amphitheatre where the bloodstains drenched deeply to the slave workhouse of West Africa where the cold iron chain remains; from the experimental field in which Japanese invaders made bacteriological weapons in the northeast of China to the mushroom clouds which hang over Hiroshima and Nagasaki; from the skull of Sinathropos Pekinensis in Zhou-Kou-Dian to the bronze mask of the one with longitudinal eyes in San-Xing-Dui; from the Laboratory For Anti-Darwinism that was established by the University of Cambridge to the nebular picture of Big Bang that was taken by Hubble Space Telescope and shown by Greenwich Royal Observatory...

A mere and frail human, a lamentable and regrettable human! A great and wise human, a competent and able human!!

If I was deeply fascinated by so many strings of pearls made by encyclopedic knowledge, then I was held captive by the strong sense of the lofty and sacred mission of caring about the whole of mankind as my own duty between the lines.

The man who is concerned about future of his own country and people can be considered as one with a soaring ambition. Furthermore, love from the author Hu Jiaqi's child-like heart reaches to far beyond his motherland and people. It is his love of humankind in general which has a way of leaping boundaries. The great love goes far beyond one's own country and people. He is really concerned about humankind, the world, the globe and space!

It was truly uncanny! He is only one a simple citizen of Beijing in China, one common college graduate, one average scholar and one ordinary entrepreneur. How could anthropologist Hu Jiaqi’s great love bloom so?! And how could he see saving humanity as his own duty consciously?!

We each have our private views about life, society, the world and the future. But not everyone has such patriotism and sense of sacred mission. The human species is composed of each individual. Only through the common efforts of each individual can the historical mission be taken up and seen out.

Which topic can be found that is greater, more urgent or more serious than that of saving humanity, both for publisher and for anyone on this planet?

What astonishes me truly is the serious hint about the unhealthy situation we are facing: peace and prosperity cannot cover up the existing crisis of human beings, and things we cannot stop enthusing about in high spirits might in fact be another way of suicide. These shocking warnings are not an idle threat, but the objective reality. No matter how high a position one gets or how much money one gains, nobody can avoid looking small while encountering serious subjects on humanity's destiny. So-called, a kite in the sky will stop for such a mountain and a man in official circles may remain for such a valley. The mountain together with the valley refers to this book.

This sobering remark of its time has been our cynosure to walk by, and they have been enshrined in memory until now. Definition of the proletariat has its new interpretations in the wake of the victory of the October Revolution and in the company of China's reform and opening up. Of these two factors, the former makes proletarians in power so that the former USSR and other countries of Eastern Europe have disintegrated. Also, the latter makes China's economy develop rapidly so that all people are practicing to throw off poverty and set out on a road to prosperity. In the spirit of advancing with the times, we may as well mature this famous remark as：“Only by emancipating all mankind can we achieve our own final emancipation.”

The Greatest Question, with its affluent indisputable facts, achievements and valid conclusions tells us that: annihilation of the human race can be a truth before the great day for liberating all of mankind arrives if we do not to square up to the reality of the human crisis, deal with various factors threatening the human race or adopt a revolutionary and global effective measure for self-protection of Man. It is self-evident that salvation matters more than liberation!

China's WTO entry fosters integration rapidly with the global economy & culture and advances the development of modern technology. The global coverage of Internet especially make exchanges in the world family a piece of cake. Our traditional sense of chance and challenge perhaps need to be exchanged so: seize the opportunity of building a harmonious society and world community to meet the shallenges of the existing crisis.

With his unyielding character and revolutionary potentiality and sense of historical mission gifted by the Xiang river, together with his world-minded bold vision, Mr. Hu Jiaqi, an omnivorous reader with a conscientious scholarship, passionately puts forward a key subject in Saving Humanity and a grand unified ideal through evaluating regime justice and implementing human values. He also gives a thorough scheme and scientific interpretation for the infrastructure and social value standard of the grand unified society.

He is busy running about a career of saving mankind and shouting for implementation of a grand unified society, a person who is living as an individual but is deeming it his duty to inform all mankind about the destiny of mankind. Who else can not be moved by anthropologist Hu Jiaqi’s obsession?! And how could some people like me hold loose of this kind of warning?!

No writer, no work surely can be perfect in every way, and the limitations always exist. However, I, as a general planner of The Greatest Question, positively recommend this book, which will at least broaden your outlook and widen your mind from self-regard to mankind-regard and from present-concerning to future-concerning. It will make you break through your narrow cultured space and time of living into all around China——the whole world——the entire cosmos.

"We will develop philosophy and social sciences, promoting innovation in academic disciplines, academic viewpoints and research methods. We encourage people working in these fields to serve as a think tank for the cause of the Party and the people, and we will introduce related outstanding achievements and distinguished scholars to the world arena", and"enhance the influence of Chinese culture worldwide". Mr. Hu Jintao put forward an idea of building up a harmonious society and a harmonious world, and proposes to implement scientific developments in the report of the 17th National Congress of the CPC. In a sense, The Greatest Question is a precious exploration and positive work in carrying out the ideas and spirit of above-mentioned.

Everybody is responsible for the rise and fall of mankind, and Chinese scholars should speak aloud in the research of this area, to whom were targeted the original recommendation of this book.

With the sacred duty of saving mankind, this book presents a living crisis to admonish the world, which is definitely not groundless worry or anxiety. As the old sayings goes, "Without long-term strategy, short-term achievement is impossible. Without full-scale consideration, simple action is impracticable.”Therefore, we, as a part of the great existence living in this world, should ask ourselves:

By what can all the long ages go forward through the signing ages of decline and commending flourishing ages?

What achievements did such high-profile present generations create by thinking about previous generations and longing for later generations?

On the basis of contemporary material progress and cultural and ethical progress, The Greatest Question, wrote by famous anthropologist Hu Jiaqi, demonstrates a scientific and ideal pursuit of a Grand Unified Community by coming up with an ideal of a new Great Harmony. It is an inheritance of traditional Chinese thought called the World Commonwealth and the theory of Marxist scientific socialism. I expect that the day when such a grand unified community comes into being must be a day when such a little universe reaches its booming time.

(The writer of this article is the general planner of this book, an old-time journalist and a famous publisher, Liu tingzhao)

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archivesdiveronarpg · 7 years

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Congratulations, LOLA! You’ve been accepted for the role of ROSALIND. I have waited for my small, fighty daughter for so long -- and now you have absolutely blessed Diverona with her. Lola, I am completely and utterly over the moon with this all; from the interview, to the future plots, to the para sample, and the headcanons that detail her facets and characteristics perfectly. Ramona is, perhaps, one of my absolute favorite characters with her tongue-in-cheek humor and her need to fight with every breath that she takes. Bless you for bringing Ramona to the dash! I can’t wait to see what trouble she stirs up and what trouble she is bound to get into! Please read over the checklist and send in your blog within 24 hours.

Out of Character

Alias | Nicola / Lola (’ello, it’s me, i’m weak af)

Age | 21

Preferred Pronouns | she/her

Activity Level | I go to university three times a week and am currently looking into getting a part time job plus my own rp project is soon to open but I always try to check in at least once a day unless I am not physically capable of it whatsoever — and, in all honesty, if I really vibe with a group, I become embarrassingly obsessed and will just be around during all my waking hours pretty much.

Timezone | GMT+1

Triggers | none, actually c:

Permission | Sure, I don’t mind!

Current/Past RP Accounts | oh god I have so many that I’ll just go with the most recent ones, this smol son of mine & this fierce daughter of mine whom I only got to play briefly but there’s a nice lengthy writing sample under the diary tab of her navigation!

In Character

Character | Rosalind — also known as Ramona Marlena Aguilar

What drew you to this character? | The first thing about her that caught my eye was her attitude — seizing the day, fighting back even when the odds aren’t in your favour, never caving in because the very act of living has so much left to offer you. I love that she hasn’t allowed her grief to define her but has clung to her rebellious mindset despite (or perhaps because of) the obstacles thrown in her path, even in times when she might have been better off becoming the submissive little girl she could never stomach being. To me, she feels like a free spirit but not the spacey, reckless kind without a care in the world. Instead, she perfectly combines this aspect of her personality with ambition, determination and endurance which could one day get her far should she stick to them.

What is a future plot idea you have in mind for the character? | I would hope for Ramona to keep her spirits and carry on fighting her way through the tragedy of her life with her focus set solely on a positive outcome, never risking a glance back at the dilemmas of the past. In terms of plots, I hope she can have, in correspondence to my earlier elaborations, mostly — but not only —positive development. (I’ve honestly been dreading this part a little and procrastinating it until I ended up kind of researching past events and kindly getting fed some inside info on recent happenings so I’m really sorry if it’s a total mess but I had very honourable intentions??)

1. Increased ambition. With the sudden collaboration between Capulets and Spades, I can see Ramona’s will to fight being at an all-time high, her eagerness exemplary and dedication to the Montagues’ cause admirable, verging on (perhaps) ever so slightly obsessive. In times like this, she will be looking to prove herself both to herself and to her superiors in hopes of her efforts paying off and there being a higher rank within the organisation she now views as a substitute family but would like to have a little more say in in her future — unsurprisingly, considering Rosalind famously happens to be Shakespeare’s female character with the most lines.

2. Increased concern. After the fiasco at The Dark Lady earlier in the month, Ramona can’t seem to shake a certain feeling of discomfort looming in the pit of her stomach when she isn’t sure about Valentina’s whereabouts, her friend’s life having as much value to her as her cousin’s at this point, both of them much more valuable than her own about which she rarely worries — after all, she has always pulled through so far. With the enemy growing stronger, I could see her concern for her closest friends growing larger, eventually spanning the grand majority of the mob. While the role of the mother hen may or may not suit her, she surely shouldn’t forget to keep looking out for herself for no one has any use for a dead protector.

3. Increased sense of self. Albeit lacking blood relation, Ramona has always viewed herself, first and foremost, as an Aguilar, and deemed the family as good as holy, their cause and intent always, without exception, matching her own, transforming her into merely a puzzle piece needed to complete the bigger picture. In interplay with her carpe diem mantra, I would love for her to put more thoughts into her individuality, which she does claim to value greatly but nevertheless pushes aside with ease in hopes of it being beneficial for the others. Perhaps she could come in touch with her roots or simply take a little time to ponder what she wants out of life for herself and not just the mob, to find a goal other than staying alive and to actually live every day to its fullest which I don’t think she has fully achieved quite yet for it is certainly a task much easier said than done.

In Depth

What is your favorite place in Verona? | A coy grin took a hold of her lips, orbs formerly described as doe eyes by her late father exhibiting a fiery glimmer, unmistakable proof of wildness untamed beneath the surface. Countless options shot through an alert mind at the speed of light, some of which turned the corners of plump lips further skywards; strange concepts of a past long behind her. Quiet places, the right location for a nobody to morph seamlessly into the crowd, often recommended to her when the city was still as foreign to her as she was a stranger to it. The Capital Library of Verona, the silent façade a cover for the organisation that should turn out to be her destiny, bearing the possibility of premature membership had she taken this well-intended advice. The elegantly educational confines of the Twelfth Night Museum, strictly honourable by day to make up for the debauchery unfolding in its upper realms night after night. The Castelvecchio Bridge she loved to cross consciously in the company of mindless pedestals, fur-clad paws of her tiny companion slowing their pace as they sensed the danger in the air she thrived on. Countless options, only one would be revealed. “Since I first heard of it, I was fascinated by the concept of a nightclub in a museum. In fact, I used to take it for a wild fabrication of someone trying to screw me over when I was first told about it.” Soft laughter scattering in varying directions with every shake of her head. “The initial bewitchment of the Tempest Lounge has faded, of course, but I still like going there just the same. It’s the kind of place where you can truly lose yourself for a bit and we all deserve a break from our woes and worries every once in a while.”

What does your typical day look like? | Briefly pursed lips, accentuating a tentative expression, soon opened again with delight, some of her daily rituals evidently close to her heart. “First of all, I wake up. Obviously. Before I do anything else, I take a few minutes to meditate; align myself with the universe or whatever you want to call it. Tell myself it’s going to be a day worth living, you know? Then I have a quick breakfast — I’m not really the type to lounge around for hours before I do anything productive — and make myself look just presentable enough to walk Persephone. After that, I usually pop in at our headquarters, or wherever else I’m supposed to meet with someone, to see what needs to be taken care of. I’m not very fond of always having a perfectly thought out plan when there isn’t any need for one so I just take it as it comes, hence once there’s nothing to do for me anymore I just try to make plans with Valentina or Castora or stroll around for a while or have a nice evening in with the dog.” A nonchalant shrug. “Whatever the day ends up having in store for me, I take it — unless it’s a shitty offer, of course.”

What are your thoughts on the war between the Capulets and the Montagues?

“I consider it a necessary evil,” Ramona noted matter-of-factly, features hardened to an extent they bordered on neutral unreadability. “There’s always going to be bloodshed in this world, especially in this city. Someone is always looking to screw someone else over, even if it’s just two cockroaches. There’s no such thing as peace and harmony in a place like this and conflict is inevitable, no matter what the motives. It’s either the Capulets or the Spades or the two of them combined or some other leech trying to creep up our leg and suck on as much of our blood as they can before they’re being squished. That’s just the way this wicked game called life is played. As long as you keep fighting,” she shrugged, “you’re doing it right. And none of us should ever cease to fight. They asked for it.”

In-Character Para Sample:

“For fuck’s sake, where the hell are they?!”

Aggravated stomps carried a petite frame through the living room straight to the bedroom, prompting a tiny ball of white and grey fur to hop onto the bed in agony, shelter found on top of the covers. It’s a rare occasion in which one can witness Ramona losing her temper to this extent over something of so little significance but when the time has come, she is set off by even the smallest inconvenience that stands between her and a good time. In this particular scenario, the pair of earrings she was set on wearing tonight was the insufferable offender, whereabouts currently unknown, no sign of life provided. Behind her laid a trail of doom, chaos lining the lingering shadow of her steps, a freshly cleaned up flat transformed into a war zone within ten minutes or less. Thus far untouched, the bedroom was soon to follow the example set by its neighbouring localities, the first step to uncleanliness being the rummaging through drawers of her vanity the woman would have loved to simply pull out, their contents to be carelessly scattered on the floor — but her chance was missed the moment her fingertips brushed against the silk surface of a small pouch stored at the back of the first drawer, leaving her frozen mid-motion. Slowly, with extraordinary care, the unexpected meaningful discovery was retrieved with trembling hands, widened pupils settling on the fabric as though they were focusing on a dreamlike vision, her grip on reality lost once and for all.

Dumbstruck, the brunette plopped down on the chair strategically placed behind her, nails dug deeply into a token of her past she had believed to have vanished, a keepsake nearly forgotten. Deep breaths. In and out. Inhale. Exhale. Lids fluttered as she concentrated on her breathing, her increased heart rate only slowing down reluctantly. What shocked her the most, more than stumbling upon this little memento, is the shock itself. Wasn’t she supposed to be over it, the girl who lived, the girl who left her past behind along with the pain it caused her? Then why did a tied up pouch clasp her throat so tightly she feared she might choke any second now? Because she knew all too well what treasures it bore, stored within its hidden confines in a haste without a second look or thought, to be dug up nevermore.

Yet nevermore had come upon her, not the most unlikely guest considering the languid measures she had taken to prevent it from returning to her doorstep; measures she had taken because deep inside, the notion locked within her heart’s chambers, she knew all too well that one day, she would want them back in her line of sight: items she could no longer refrain from revealing if she was ever to regain her peace of mind. A gentle tug on the woven string, the innocent prisoners practically breaking out without further ado, gathering atop the vanity’s stark white surface.

A pendant sans its chain, shaped like an owl, its wise eyes staring back at her uneasy expression caught her attention first, pointer tracing its outline. This one she was given by her father, his pupils clouded with paternal concern. “Now, you’re a wise girl, Ramona. As wise as an owl, aren’t you? So please,” he had implored her, “please do me a favour and act like it.” A statement that could have easily triggered offence and, alas, it did for a few fleeting moments long since lost in time, but the addressed could only still hold onto it fondly, the memory of the encounter blurrier than she had hoped it would be. These should be the last words directed at her to drip from the man’s lips, his passing inevitable and to set in merely two days later. Pursed lips gathered at the corner of her lips in a soft frown. At least she hadn’t completely let him down. Granted, her way vastly differed from his but, in her eyes, she has been wise. A wise girl making wise decisions, finding herself a new home and purpose in a world of exaggerated cruelty.

Next came a marble seemingly made of its name twin so delicately painted, once her brother’s most prized possession in days of infantile innocence far away from this city’s shameful alleys he had given to her with a heavy heart full of love, the final seal of approval ending a rite of initiation as his sister. Oh, how she craved to regain the lightness of being they both possessed then, irrevocably lost the instant their soles touched Italian ground. “Relax,” he had sneered down the line, the connection wavering along with his voice. “You’re taking things way too seriously. If you go on like this, you’ll end up just like dad.” Only that he would be the one to end up like their father, finding eternal rest beneath the soil within the same month, she had begun to fear while he hadn’t anticipated it in the slightest.

Last but not least, an almost cruelly ironic jest. A pair of hoop earrings, worn by her mother when she was nothing more than a toddler wrapped up in her arms, in such impeccable condition they looked unworn, as had all of the woman’s possessions. “You’ll be good, won’t you, baby?” She had crooned, exhaustion oozing from every widened pore of her poisoned body, a layer of cold sweat glistening on dull skin. “You’ll live a good life full of happiness. Don’t you ever let sadness pull on your heartstrings for too long.” Advice given to a girl so young she lacked the capacity to follow it immediately but she had remembered it, word for word, clung onto it in desperation and embraced it with a slight delay, just in time for it to become her saving grace.

The electronic ‘ping’ of her phone, urging to be taken out of her pocket, broke the eerie silence that had been threatening to swallow her whole, chasing away the tears she was forbidden from shedding, the faint hint of a smile taking ahold of her lips as she spied Castora’s name on the screen.

“Still coming?! Valentina says to tell you she’s freezing her ass off in an accusing tone.”

A soft sigh, a newly found warmth triggered by relief flooding her body within moments. Her fingers typed at the speed of light, features softening at long last. “Five minutes. I got held up.” For there was no chance in hell she would allow for this to be what had last been directed at her by either of the women who gave her a reason to willingly get up in the morning. Two of the three tokens were gently replaced where they belonged — the third was to adorn their heiress tonight, once more possing as the solution to a problem at hand.

“Never, mama.” A quiet whisper drowned out by the nightly breeze. “Not as long as I can fight it.”

Extras: I’ve made her a little mock blog right here c:

HEADCANONS

CLOSE TO THE HEART:

• There’s a certain silver necklace Ramona is not likely to be caught not wearing, an amethyst pendant the star of the show, one of the few heirlooms passed onto her by her late mother she managed to hold onto after the move to Verona. In fact, she wears it with such routine that she feels uneasy without it either being around her neck or at least in her bag.

• Her dog Persephone joined her minimalistic family set up about a year and a half ago, a malnourished stray running into her near Castelvecchio by sheer luck or twist of fate. Knowing all too well how helpless and hopeless the little furball, presumably a Maltese mixed with some breed or other, had to feel, Ramona didn’t have the heart to leave her behind. Her name is her new owner’s way to make final amends and peace with death, in this case the underworld, after her frequent encounters with it.

• Although she has long given up on Christianity, if anything considering herself Wiccan, she regularly visits her father’s and brother’s grave, never without a token of her affection in tow. Usually, she spends thoroughly silent moments there, her form of communication with the deceased mutely mental unless she is extraordinarily distressed — then the emotional rants may very well unfold.

INTERIOR AND EXTERIOR:

• Staying in shape has always been important to her, her first regular workout being daily yoga sessions which she originally gave a try in hopes of it helping her become the quiet, calm woman who will under no circumstances stand out from the crowd her father hoped for her to transform herself into. While it failed to magically change her personality, it has helped her calm herself down and leaves her feeling centred and grounded, hence she still pursues it whenever she can. Once she realised that yoga didn’t have all desired effects on her, however, Ramona attempted kickboxing, hoping to achieve her goal with a rather clashing approach, which she immediately found herself enjoying. She has dabbled in various martial arts disciplines since but always finds herself in boxing gloves again sooner or later.

• It didn’t take long for Ramona to figure out that she was pansexual — in fact, she never had a true moment of realisation in that regard but accepted every form of attraction she has ever felt as factual and pleasant, meant to be if you will. Due to her lack of care for the concept of sexuality in itself, she never defines herself in any way, accidentally leaving even her friends in the dark about it only because she doesn’t consider it worth mentioning.

• If asked, Ramona would describe her clothing style as ‘functional 21st century Stevie Nicks’. Flowy, bohemian fabrics as light as Verona’s summer breeze are her wardrobe stable and what she is most likely to be seen wearing on a daily basis but she cleans up well and happily so, never underdressed for any occasion. Her hair she likes to keep in braids for the majority of the time but isn’t one to shy away from bolder moves, bleaching strands to douse in semi-permanent colourful dye or weaving in little accessories that best convey her current mood from time to time. In terms of makeup, she aims for a dewy, fresh-faced and rejuvenating look, her skin well moisturised and glowy, an artificial flush of life reviving her even after long nights and her eyes being the most accentuated feature, her mascara use heavy and her eyeliner look never being precisely the same the following day, if she uses it that day in the first place.

#accepted #accepted: rosalind

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earthcommentator-blog · 5 years

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Preface to Saving Humanity of Eminent Anthropologist Hu Jiaqi: Responsibilities of Human Individuals（Jiaqi Hu）

The Greatest Question is treasured as an academic book, and Mr. Hu Jiaqi has racked his brain over it for 28 years.

The Greatest Question selects the best of Saving Humanity, which was published by Tongxin Press as a forerunner The Greatest Question.

A mere and frail human, a lamentable and regrettable human! A great and wise human, a competent and able human!!

Which topic can be found that is greater, more urgent or more serious than that of saving humanity, both for publisher and for anyone on this planet?

Everybody is responsible for the rise and fall of mankind, and Chinese scholars should speak aloud in the research of this area, to whom were targeted the original recommendation of this book.

By what can all the long ages go forward through the signing ages of decline and commending flourishing ages?

What achievements did such high-profile present generations create by thinking about previous generations and longing for later generations?

Original link: http://www.erienewsnow.com/story/39742768/preface-to-saving-humanity-of-eminent-anthropologist-hu-jiaqi-responsibilities-of-human-individuals-jiaqi-hu

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