#<- not the correct term but that's how it's commonly referred to so that's why i'm using the tag

[aceislonely]

having poor object constancy for people sucks so bad because there's no nice-sounding way to say "i love you and care about you but when you're not around i forget you exist"

[syn4k]

okay so after asking a younger friend of mine for the meaning of some more common gen alpha terms and lingo, here's what i've been able to pick up on so far:

gyatt/gyat: fat ass, large butt. evolved from the phrase "god damn" -> "ge-yott damn" (drawing out the vowels in god and adding a t at the end for extra emphasis) -> "gyatt damn" (vowel sound evolving to be pronounced more like "bat") -> somehow transformed into a noun referring to one's butt somehow

alpha: does NOT refer to the omegaverse, although its origin similarly refers to the leader wolf in a pack. is an adjetive which refers to someone who is generally well respected or powerful; positive term, is a compliment

sigma: a modifier placed in front of nouns that emphasizes them in a way i don't quite understand yet, i.e "sigma male." seems to be used in somewhat the same way as "very" or "extremely" but for nouns instead of verbs or adjetives?

rizz: one's ability to successfully flatter a romantic interest or get them interested in them. i KNOW there is a synonym of this that's more commonly known (for example smooth, slick) but i can't find a 1:1 comparison or equivalent word anywhere so i'll get back to this one later. positive term; is a compliment

rizzler: related to above; is essentially someone who is very good at pulling bitches. very positive term; compliment. the "-ler" suffix is the same as the Onceler which is why i was able to pick up on this one instantly, i wonder if that's where they got the idea from

skibidi: adjetive. HIGHLY contextual word that can either be positive or negative when referring to someone, but seems to be mostly used neutrally to positively. indicates that the subject's actions is or would be positively received within Gen Alpha spaces? can also be used as a noun in very specific cases (i.e "and that's on skibidi"). refers to the popular animated YTP series Skibidi Toilet. (note: the full phrase "skibidi toilet" when used as an adjetive seems to be pretty negative, mostly due to the emotions associated with toilets.)

fanum tax: referring to the influencer Fanum, who jokingly stole/steals food from their friends on stream. similar concept as the sibling tax or parent tax, in which a family member snatches food off of your plate and is allowed to because they're related to you. i'm pretty sure this phrase can also be used to refer to jokingly snatching all manner of things from people you're close to, not just food. despite being commonly associated with them, a lot of gen alphas don't actually know what this one means either, so i had to do some digging on Urban Dictionary to figure it out. noun; neutral. (something i find interesting about this phrase specifically is that in it, the name Fanum has been turned into a simple noun, like how people will say "googling it" when referring to looking something up on the Internet.)

i spent like twenty minutes writing this out hope it helps someone! if anyone has corrections or comments, feel free to add :]

[basilknell]

Vasily's Rank

I've seen it pop up a couple times that people point to Vasily's cockade and say that he's canonically low-rank because of it. I've addressed this before in previous blogs, but I figured I'd separate out the information here for a better, more in-depth discussion.

First and foremost: Vasily has more evidence he is an 'officer' than that of being a low rank enlisted man.

It's prudent for me to go ahead and say that, as this blog is in English, Imperial Russian military ranks are categorized differently from how you see the military organized in England and the USA. I will, however, try my best to lay things in terms without one needing to know much about any of these military rank systems.

For ease of sake, I will be splitting Imperial Russia's rank system into three categories: Enlisted Men (EM for short. This refers to those who had no prior military schooling when entering the military, and are colloquially 'low ranking'), Non-Commissioned Officers (NCOs. These are enlisted men who have risen through the ranks to become officers but have no military schooling. They are officers technically, but are more simply called NCOs), and Officers (those who have completed military schooling and begin as a second lieutenant).

So, to start with the most commonly cited piece of evidence, is Vasily's cockade.

Below, I've attached the three sperate ways the cockade is illustrated between the anime, manga, and Noda's detailed illustrations. Since there is only a single image of the latter, I'd like to state that the design of the cockade is consistent across the anime to itself, and consistent across the manga to itself.

An equally important thing I'd like to note -- Vasily's cockade was not added into the manga until his 'resurrection'. Additionally, when the official volume that first contained Vasily (Volume 16) was released in 2019, only then did Noda go back and heavily edit Vasily (and the other Russian soldiers') designs. From adding Vasily's eyelashes and changing his equipment, to his papakha gaining a cockade. Hence, when reading non-volume scans of the border crossing event, is why Vasily missing his cockade and looks a tad different.

So, one might argue the manga has the most correct design of the cockades, as season 3 of the anime (the season in which Vasily first appears) was also announced in 2019. While the season did begin airing in 2020, there could be a couple reasons for why his cockade appears different from the manga. Firstly, it could be the animators were given the uncolored panels and told he wears an Imperial Russian cockade, of which search results would give the cockade design Vasily does wear in the anime. Secondly, and the more likely case, is animators were given the outfit reference Vasily's almost entire outfit is based upon: Johan Somers' Imperial Russian Field Uniform and Equipment 1907-1917.

Having the book myself, here's a quick photo of someone that might be a bit familiar:

Of course, there are some minor changes between Vasily's design and the one in the book. But, surprisingly, Noda changed Vasily's design to be more towards the WWI time period (such as giving him model 1916 ammo pouches). Regardless, while you can't see the cockade on this mannequin, other outfits displayed on its surrounding pages have that same cockade design that Vasily has in the anime.

So, it could have been that the animators were handed an incorrect design, and Noda either did not care or forgot about doing so, as it is quite an insignificant detail in the long run. After all, given the problems with Vasily's outfit and gear I will not specify in this blog, he did not have too much care for making Vasily's outfit completely correct. Regardless, this would explain the discrepancies between the anime's cockade design, and the one in the manga.

But is there actually a significant difference between these two (three) cockade designs? Actually -- yes!

[Photo belongs to RDSTRPV]

Cockades were a way to differentiate between ranks from a distance when it was hard to see shoulder straps. The cockade on the far left is one of an EM. As you can see, it most resembles the one Vasily wears in the anime, and the most common design to find in general because there were so many EM in the army. The design in the middle is an officers cockade. While one could argue Noda's illustration of Vasily looks an an artistic rendition of this cockade, it otherwise bears no importance. The third cockade is that of an NCO, and resembles manga Vasily's cockade the most with its large ring of silver. Again, an argument could also be made that illustration Vasily has a stylistic choice to appear most similarly to this cockade as well. At the very least, illustration Vasily's cockade looks the least like the EM cockade.

This is all to say: the manga and illustration Vasily appear to be wearing an NCO cockade. There exists argument and reasoning for why the animators would accidently be drawing an EM's cockade as well. However, this is not the sole evidence towards Vasily being an NCO.

Let's examine some of his other equipment: namely his Nagant revolver and his binoculars.

To be quite frank -- Vasily should have neither of these things if he was an EM. Even if he was an NCO, he'd need to be of a certain NCO rank to be issued a Nagant as well.

Vasily is either infantry or cavalry, the latter of which is only likely if he is a Cossack (refer here for Cossack Vasily discussions). Regardless, for both divisions, a single-actioned Nagant was only issued to NCOs of Feldwebel rank, an NCO rank that is three ranks above counting as an EM. Just as well, binoculars were also only issued to those of Feldwebel or higher ranks. While one might be able to argue that, as a marksman, Vasily had special permission to have binoculars, this does not explain why he owns a Nagant either. Even if Vasily proclaims in the series his revolver is a back-up for close combat, it would not justify supplying it to a soldier who technically does not have a strong need for a sidearm.

The only feasible explanation for why Vasily could be an EM and have both these items is that he stole them off a dead officer (in the case of the binoculars particularly -- he could have also stolen the revolver off certain division EMs such as artillery). But the more likely scenario is that he is, at the very least, a Feldwebel NCO and was issued these items.

Now, on to one-off evidence.

For whatever reason in this singular panel below, we can see Vasily wearing a double-breasted overcoat, something only officers were issued. However, we never see his coat drawn like this again so I don't think it is solid evidence. Also, at times soldiers often bought their own clothes when their own wore out, but it'd be strange for a non-officer soldier to pay so much more extra for a double-breasted coat at the risk for being berated.

Vasily's bashlyk is also of a unique point. The embellishing of it is of a brown-tan consistently through his illustrations and anime. However, bashlyk were not issued with this type of embellishing color. EM were issued bashlyk with gray embellishments, NCOs with silver embellishments, and officers with gold embellishments. Obviously, this brown-tan is closest to gold in appearance, but its still most definitely not gold, nor would it make sense for Vasily to have been high ranked enough of an officer to receive a gold-trimmed bashlyk when that would have required military schooling for him.

This leaves us conjecture evidence based on circumstance.

We can, at the very least, assume Vasily is not a private because he is stated to have served in the Russo-Japanese War. Unless he committed some grave offense during or post-war, and seemingly was not removed from the military for it, he perhaps could have been demoted back to private. Otherwise, there was only one other EM rank above private: Gefreiter (Yefreytor), loosely equivalent to private first class. It is not a stretch to believe he'd at least ranked up twice during the war if he was as excellent of a marksman as Vasily holds himself to be (and that Ogata states him to be as well). If he had ranked up at least twice, then he would count as an NCO.

Following that, it would be odd of the Russian government to have sent a group of EM to apprehend a known Tsar assassin. For the same reason they didn't issue Nagants to lower ranks (they believed EM couldn't be trusted not to waste ammo), why would they trust a group of EM to capture the assassin? Though, conversely, one might argue that Vasily's group were the only soldiers around, in which case they were the governments only option to send to the border.

Conclusion

Of course, even after all of that, Noda strictly avoided rank shoulder straps on both Vasily's overcoat and gimnasterka (his undershirt). Whether this was intentional or he either didn't want to do the research or did not realize shoulder straps were needed, I'm unsure.

Much of what I stated and pointed out has reasonable counters against the facts. Thus, one can easily still headcanon him as an EM if they so wish. However, the strict evidence does stack in favor of Vasily being an NCO -- particularly one that is at least of Feldwebel rank.

Anyways, have fun with this information! I just was surprised at the amount of people I've seen claiming him to be canonically an EM based solely on his cockade, which isn't quite right.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

edgar allen poe + twst??

***Spoilers for book 7 part 4!!***

In the latest main story update, Lilia tells us about the princess of the Briar Valley (ie Malleus’s mom) and a fae messenger that went to an human fortress to the east (Malleus’s dad). If you’ll recall, Malleus tells us in present day (in his Birthday Boy vignettes) that his “only living relative” is his grandmother, which implies his parents are gone. The update leaves us on a cliffhanger where Lilia and co. are at the eastern fortress while the humans are launching a surprise attack on the palace where Malleus’s mother resides. It is very possible that she will die as a result of this encounter (for as powerful as she is, the humans greatly outnumber her). His father had gone missing prior to this while going to deliver a message to the humans. It is not confirmed if he is dead or just… missing at the moment.

Both Malleus’s mom and dad are referred to by name, but the fandom is finding it difficult to settle on one variation until an official English localization of book 7 comes out. “Mallenoa” appears to be the commonly accepted term for Malleus’s mom, whereas “Levan/Revan” is for his dad.

Well… what if we looked at the works of Edgar Allen Poe?? More specifically, at the two poems Lenore and The Raven? 🤔 Stay with me here—

The first poem, Lenore, was written by Poe to cope with his wife Virginia contracting tuberculosis. It speaks of the passing of a young woman (Lenore), and those who mourn for her. Important to note is that Lenore is described as “the queenliest dead that ever died so young”.) Her intended is not crying at the funeral, so others accuse him of not caring for his now deceased fiancé. He counters by claiming the other mourners are the ones who never really cared for her. The poem finished with Lenore’s husband-to-be saying that she is in a better place now than this “damned earth”.

What does this have to do with Malleus’s mom? Look at how her name is written in TWST JP (the two characters that follow the name refer to her title):

Now notice how Lenore is written. All of the characters match except the missing first one (which is understandable, since that is the “Malle”/“Mare” part missing). I confirmed this by typing in “Mallenore”; the end result was the exact same writing as how Malleus’s mom’s name is written in game.

Knowing that Mallenoa is in a dangerous situation that puts her life at risk and Lenore is a poem all about someone who has passed... PLUS Lenore is a woman who is described as “the queenliest dead”, and Mallenoa is the princess of Briar Country, destined to be queen one day... AND how their names are written matching up, it’s possible that “Mallenoa” will be localized as “Mallenore”.

But what about Malleus's dad? Well, I see two possibilities: "Levan" could be a reference to "levin" or lightning (something which Maleficent is associated with) OR it could be "Revan", which is just raven with the vowels swapped around. (It's difficult to know for sure which one would be "more" correct, as the /r/ and /l/ sounds tend to blend together in Japanese.) As we all know, Maleficent is also known for Diablo, her pet raven. Levan/Revan also serves a very similar role as Diablo did for Maleficent to his wife and princess (ie he advised her and acted as her right-hand man; hence why he was the one who departed for the diplomatic trip).

Edit: TWST EN has confirmed that the official localization for Malleus's dad's name is "Raverne". Back to Lenore for a moment, Levan/Revan could be filling in for the role of the upset husband-to-be. Thinking about it, after his wife has died (and assuming he is still alive at that point), the world really would be like a "damned earth" to him. His wife is gone, his country in tatters because of how the human invaders have ravaged it, etc. And worse yet, if he is fae himself then it will be years and years before he is able to rejoin his wife in death.

This brings us to The Raven, which was published 2 years after Lenore and serves as a sort of companion piece to it. The Raven refers to a creature that visits an unnamed man, who laments the loss of his love, Lenore. (Note that even though the same name is used here, it’s not clear if this Lenore is the exact same as the one in Lenore.) The bird continuously antagonizes the mourning man and drives him to madness, reflecting the poem’s sentiment that lingering grief can interfere with one’s ability to live in the present. The Raven, then, is said to be the spirit or presence of Lenore paying a visit to her lover and/or “haunting” him.

The Raven doesn’t have parallels as clear as the ones between Lenore and Mallenoa—however, the motif of the raven itself would match up with what we know of Diablo. “The Raven” is a bird that refuses to leave the mourning man’s home no matter which room he goes to. This could refer to the relationship between Malleus’s parents, between princess and her trusted aide that follows her like a shadow. Alternatively, since the mourning man is Lenore’s lover, this could be foreshadowing. It could mean that Levan/Revan (again, assuming he is still alive by the time his wife dies) will be deeply affected by his wife’s passing.

All of the canon details and stuff aside, this makes some sense thematically if we think about Poe’s general themes. He often talks about death and the loss of loved ones, both of which are major themes in book 7 and now, as we can see, in the history of Briar Country.

So 👁️ 👄 👁️ in conclusion, you should read Edgar Allen Poe… 👉👈

ADDENDUM: HER OFFICIAL NAME IS MELEANOR, BOYS... We were so close...

[waywardvoidpoetry]

FINALLY TALKING ABOUT MY PASSION PROJECT

LOTS of art and other stuff below the "Read more." This is a general synopsis/expo on my personal project "The Sport of Bounty Hunting."

The Sport of Bounty Hunting General plot.

The Sport of Bounty Hunting revolves around a planet called "Lataria" created and surviving on an entity called "The Generator." gifted and built by an unknown race the species that now reside on the planet descended from.

Due to a malfunction many years later, "The Generator" began emitting smog that plagued the people of the planet causing some to mutate or change forms completely, although many places stayed intact other's changed to near inhabitable rates.

The Sport of Bounty Hunting follows the main character "Dog" getting into shenanigans and trying to fix The Generator.

Dog lives came from the poorer of the two cities that The Generator takes residence under, "Quartzity." and Dog's home "Sinicity."

Despite his status as the number one bounty hunter he chooses to put his earnings towards caring for family and the community abandoned by Quartzity.

Dog is also one of the first and few characters to suffer the Generators "plague." causing him to hide his head with a helmet and fully cover his body, as the story progresses Dog is slowly succumbing to the Plague.

Home Flesh and Scraps.

"Home Flesh" or "Scraps." are a common term in the dog universe (as many of our own human words can't apply here.)

"Home Flesh" can be roughly translated to a state, but is more commonly referred to as a singular nation within a bigger mass of land, while "Scraps." Refers the mass of land itself.

For example - "Quartzity and Sinicity are a Scrap, Sinicity is Dog's Flesh of origin."

Existing Scraps/Home Flesh in the universe.

There are currently 6 Home Flesh and 1 Scrap.

Py're - A scrap(Island) mostly mutated from the Smog with little residents.

Sinicity/Quartzity - Two Home fleshes, Quartzity with a richer life quality and Quartzity the origin of The Generator.

Dawn mesa/Dusk Mesa - two Home Fleshes, Dawn Mesa has a small thriving community in a sandstorm brewed Mesa and Dawn Mesa, an abandoned part of Dusk Mesa home to the fully plagued of the first Scrap.

Starsity - a Home Flesh known for it's medical and technological advancements.

Residents of Home Flesh/Scrap.

Py're;

K-9 (Currently the only character with ties to Py're)

Quartzity;

Kraken and his daughter Sai, Golden, Crater, C4R3, Stinkbug

Sinicity;

(Excluding dog) Wolf, Strider.

Starsity;

Retriever, Husky, Rhythm, Copycat, K.J, Brass.

(some characters may be left out due to no information on their Home Flesh)

Morality Scaling

Instead of religion, The World of Bounty Hunting's equal is "Morality scaling." due to death and so on being such a highly regarded matter with how it's played off in this universe.

Each scaling represents a decision someone makes on the matter.

Mortalia - to forbid the act of murder

Mortarias - to act upon it without care

Spectophalias - to understand it is necessary but to not engage

Astropolla - to choose no side in the scaling of morality

Language.

Lataria has many forms of language, The most common being Altarian, everything you've seen that has not been a language you know has been written in Altarian or the formally known variant Omitarian mostly spoken by the people in Sinicity.

People from Py're have a vastly different alphabet, their language being called "Pyra'tian", there have been guides in the past for these languages and how to properly format them but most are extremely outdated and I am the only one with the correct written version.

However! this is the MOST updated version.

(Starsity also uses the altarian alphabet.)

How did the "Sport of bounty hunting" begin in universe and why are there ranks?

Originally, Home flesh of Sinicity who suffered the plague were picked off and fed to The Generator to sustain the planet after it broke, it was easy to deal with them as the Smog Plague had no cure, (And still doesn't) Many people of Sinicity were rightfully outraged and formed the E.B.A (Elite bounty association) Were they would take requests from those in Quartzity to hunt or bring someone to custody in exchange for money to funnel back into their home to make it safer and further education and medication for the Plague.

Over the years the E.B.A became corporate as investors from Quartzity saw a sport in it, Creating the "Sport of Bounty Hunting." and watering down the E.B.A from it's former glory with adds, ranks, championships and events, in which only very few bounty hunters continued helping the original cause. (Dog included)

Sponsors.

Sponsors are high ranked people/those of the higher society with the money to bet, When a hunter gains popularity or shows potential they often obtain a benefactor who pays them for every event they participate in.

Does every Scrap/Home Flesh have a Championship/ranking system?

Individually some, yes.

Sinicity/Quartzity/Dawn Mesa all share a championship/rank were are Py're has it's own individual system and Starsity has none at all instead opting for "Rating Ranks." Which favors those the audience likes.

Timelines

There are currently 2 timelines, Smog Timeline (The canon) and Gear Timeline (The fanon.)

The main difference is that Gear Timeline contains anyone's OC and favors characters who may not appear in the main version of events, Such as "Copycat" a villain reserved for a side comedy trio (Strider, Crater and Brass.) This timeline/version of events also either HAS a cure or is closer to finding one than main timeline.

These timelines also vary in which canon character is alive and which isn't, for example Dog passes in canon timeline but in Gear Timeline he is alive and those versions of events were altered.

The last change between the Timelines is canon relationships, For example, Dog and Kraken are associates/friends in the canon timeline if not a little affectionate, where as in Gear timeline they are partners/In a relationship.

The reason for the split in timelines is simply because I love my friends contributions to Dog and want them to remain canon in some way while not affecting the original story/events.

The Guide to Bounty Hunting document.

If you even SLIGHTLY have interest in this and may want to read more, I'm working on a full document explaining things in better detail and going into the story and events fully fleshed out to the best of it's possibility as well as all events in the fanon! It will also go into each individual characters backstories/relationships with each other and many other things like how this entire small passion project started including art of Home Flesh and any archived existing art of the characters/world + the full language Guide.

[cant-get-no-worse]

So, I'm a relatively new FCB fan and I've been doing some research about why the club had a downfall. What I understood was that everything went to shit since Neymar left. Plus he didn't even have any legit reason to leave apart from more money being offered by PSG. People say he left because he was in "Messi's shadow" but that's not true. All I saw was love and appreciation for him by the fans and his fellow players. Especially Messi. He treated him with so much love and respect. Even now, after going through so much shit at PSG, Neymar doesn't seem to want to leave that club. In my opinion, he is one reason why Barcelona went downhill. The club spent so much money on his replacements which all ended in failure. I think if he hadn't left at that time, Barcelona would be in a relatively better place right now. Maybe I'm wrong but that's what I interpreted. Please correct me if I'm getting it wrong or if I missed some important thing amidst all of this. I have nothing against Neymar, he's a wonderful player, but I can't help but put a little blame on him.

Hii ! I love ranting about this stuff, so warning: long ass ramble, I'm putting it beneath.

I think it's fairly common for people to assume Neymar's departure in 2017 was the thing that started FCB "downfall" (which is a pretty dramatic term in of itself), because it's such a public move that made everyone talk. It's a transfer whose consequences on the market value of players and the way we appreciate those is still underappreciated; genuinely, that Neymar saga is mad, it changed everything (to me, for the worse). But the decline of FCB, the institution, began way earlier than 2017. 2017 is kind of, the first most visible consequence of every prior stuff.

Everything was a mess by 2006/2008, for the team & institutionally wise. It got better from 2008 - 2012, under Pep Guardiola (coach) & Laporta/Rosell (presidents, although both not v good men) & which is now commonly referred to as the "golden age" of FCB's recent History. Then, from 2012 on, everything kind of started to decline. It's not very visible since we won the treble in 2014-2015 (KING SHIT VISCA BARÇA VISCA CATALUNYA etc. etc.) , but already behind the scenes it was rocky as hell. Political stuff, power struggles within the board, etc. Even that 2014-2015 "golden" season was a mess, what with the breach of the Transfer Regulations (we couldn't sign players until 2016), firing of our sporting director, firing of medical/staff members, lies about state of finances, restriction of said finances, Messi/Enrique/Chelsea conflict, etc. That 2014-2015 team winning the Treble effectively masked to posterity & the general public how fucked up the club's politics were at that time. But on the long run, that bad gestion did end up affecting that team that arguably should've gone on to win way more in 2016 - 2017, what with the bunch of talents we had in hands.

Then there was the Neymar stuff in 2017, Iniesta leaving in 2018. Of course, by then the mess that was the cub began to reflect on our style of play; by 2017/2018 already we weren't playing as good as we had. There were moments of brilliance of course, games to remember, iconic ones, but still. It was already falling, there were ovious issues, weaknesses, boring times, some alarming performances. I think that 2018-2019 UCL campaign symbolizes everything that had changed since that 2015 UCL ; we didn't have a team, we had one guy, surrounded by too unstable performances from players around. As football proves times and times again, you can have the current best player in the world, if he's alone, you'll never win shit. You'll win games, not competitions. That's the beauty of the sport, you need a team, or you'll go nowhere. Ultimately that "downfall" confirmed itself by more harsh and evident results, with the 2019-2022 period being rock bottom. Jesus Christ that period.

As for that Neymar stuff: it's so real complicated. And not as black/white as it appears. As a FCB supporter, when he left, I despised his guts for a bunch of years, genuinely. Many still do, just look at the comments under the rumors of his comeback; large portion of culers don't want him there, because we really saw it as a treason. A guy who left for money and some more fame. I guess you can say the fact that most culers still haven't swallowed that pill six years later is a testament to how much we loved him.

First, let me state that it's fucking tragic, for him as for the club. He left at his prime and, arguably, wasted it at PSG (tell anyone from 2015 that Neymar Jr doesn't have a single Ballon d'Or to his name and they'll rightfully laugh at your face) ; while Barca drowned as well, failing to find a proper replacement (FCB players were upset with the board at that failure), as you said. Had he stayed, as Pep said, and had the club managed itself better (but that in itself prompts the argument of: could they really? After all the decline started in 2014?) we could've won at least one, if not two UCLs. Honestly, now that we can take a few steps back and reflect, it seems none of the parties (except PSG, who propelled itself forward on the European scene) benefited from that move. But in truth, there can be a million reasons he left. We don't know if it was a personnal initiative or one of his family. We don't know how the Remontada and the aftermath really affected this decision. We don't know if he's the one that wanted to step out of « Messi's shadow » or if his father/agent pushed him to. We don't know if it's because Barcelona rendered public some elements of his contract, effectively breaking the trust his side had towards the club. This mess is a mix of money, ego, power, ambition, personnal relationships, psychological stuff in the brain of a 25 years old and his surroundings, Barcelona being Messi's club (whether you want it or not, it has been true since 2009. Barcelona and Messi were (still remain) synonymous, and that in itself paused a problem later on), PR/image manipulation/communication, and background stuff we'll probably never know of/or much later. The guy even pushed to comeback to Barcelona a mere year or two later. The whole Messi part is a theater play in of itself, between a starstruck kid who went on to play with his idol, who became friends and formed the most successfull Trident of the decade with him, who upon each occasion praises him and rambles about their friendship/love for each other, yet leaves. I mean, the guy reportedly told others he was leaving the club on Messi's wedding, without telling Leo - if that doesn't indicates you how fucked up/messy it was in his own head, Jesus. And yet the friendship Neymar had with other FCB players showed through the very summer he left, what with them posting a pic together following the legal actions of FCB against him. So yeah.

I think part of why he stayed at PSG after they retained him from going back to Barcelona is because he's, like every great player, a winner, he wants to get everything, he genuinely wants to give Paris what he came to do, but also cause, in the long run, he's trapped himself there. The more time passed the more it became that kind of need: he wanted/needed his move to mean something, he wanted that UCL so he could feel like he didn't waste so much time and talent and prime there. All in all, it's a bit tragic, I could ramble about it for hours but I'm gonna cut it short now cause that's not your ask lmfao.

Conclusion to the essay: Neymar's transfer to PSG didn't start anything, rather was the consequence and the accelerator of a decline that began years prior in the institution's background. Hope it helped bring some elements to the table, anon! ❤️

[dissociativediscourse]

Since I got blocked by someone for no reason after trying to explain it earlier, thought I’d make a little post to clear this up, complete with sources! CDD is not a term meant to cover all dissociative disorders (Hence, “Complex”. It’s meant to distinguish DID et al. from things like DP/DR, dissociative fugue, standalone dissociative amnesia… et cet.) , and spitting vitriol at people who use that term for no reason is distasteful and shows that you don’t actually desire to fight misinformation, but instead to impose your fight response onto innocent bystanders. Don’t worry, I’ve been there, too. Trauma responses suck. It still makes you an asshole, though, just as much as I was one when I would do the same.

(A note, this user is not one I had seen in syscourse before today, and I was planning on this being just… Me dropping in, ignoring the rest of the vitriol, and maybe leaving behind a morsel of positive vibes and a tad bit of corrected misinfo without actually being combative about it. Another note, dear fuck, was it a lot of hatred and vitriol. This was on an opinion post about how one person believed that endos are inherently ableist, and I guess someone used the term CDD in the comments, which led the same user as well as another user to pull out all this (very rudely worded, might I add) mishegas about ‘don’t refer to me with your new terms!! i am a DID system not a CDD system!!’ and then ‘yadda yadda, CDDs are all dissociative disorders and don’t mean just the system ones yadda yadda.’ This ticked me off a little. Directing that kind of behavior at other people is unacceptable, especially considering you’re not even correct!! So I left a warm-spirited comment something along the lines of “Just so you know, CDD does just mean DID/OSDD! It can be muddied up and confusing sometimes, but it is used at least colloquially among specialists/professionals, and is referenced in some clinical research and peer reviewed writings as well. It’s really just shorthand that’s more succinct!” And when I replied a second time with some sources to help out (no room in the first comment), to my surprise… Blocked! So… Lmao. Here we are, I already had all these sources ready, so why not. Also, if you see this, person I will not name, try to think about why you are so reluctant to accept new information that does not fit your worldview, and why you have to be so… Nasty? About it. I get you’re young and you’re traumatized, just like most of us. You’ve got to learn how to work with others in a productive way. You’ve got to learn how to mitigate that vitriol. It’s not healthy for you, and I promise you you will regret it later on. Sooner than you’d think. I know I very much regret the way I used to behave.)

Very clear on the definition, also a very useful read in general: https://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-022-03970-8

“DID and the closely related Other Specified Dissociative Disorders, example 1 (OSDD), where similar disturbances are observed without meeting the full clinical picture of DID, are commonly categorized as Complex Dissociative Disorders (CDD)”

(This is followed by a citation, which links to “Dissociation and the Dissociative Disorders: DSM-V and Beyond”, edited by Paul F. Dell, John A. O'Neil.)

This one’s similar: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35695685/

“Complex dissociative disorders (CDD) include dissociative identity disorder (DID) and the most common other specified dissociative disorder (OSDD, type 1).”

Another one: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15299732.2014.949020

“There is a paucity of empirical data to assist clinicians in choosing interventions to use with patients with complex dissociative disorder (DD; i.e., dissociative identity disorder and dissociative disorder not otherwise specified) at different stages in treatment.”

I could continue, but I think the point has been made.

Spitting vitriol helps no one, firstly, and secondly, I’m honestly quite appalled at being randomly blocked for (very cordially, might I add) offering an explanation of what the term CDD meant — which you had improperly defined in your comment. Considering the rudeness with which you spread misinformation and the venomous nature both of you involved seem to have exhibited throughout that exchange, it’s plain to me that your interest doesn’t lie with actually being correct. You just want to be pissy at people.

Again, I was once there. Exactly the same spot you’re in. And then I grew up.

I hope therapy treats you well.

[nothorses]

How do you differentiate, between atheist, agnostic, and anti-thiest? I've been reading your past posts about atheism, and I found it interesting how you defined atheism as an active belief in no higher power (might be misspeaking, please correct me if I am). I would call myself an atheist, but my atheism is not an "active" one - the label I find closest to what I am would be an agnostic atheist, where I can't say if there's any higher powers or not, but I live my life as if there aren't/don't ascribe or follow any particular religious guidelines. Would you consider this different from your atheism or idea of atheism? Why do you consider atheism an active belief versus a passive one (given that we're born without any beliefs in higher powers and pick that up later as part of how we're raised or choose to believe)? Sorry this ask got so long but I am very curious about your thoughts, I haven't read or had a discussion on atheism in ages.

There are a couple of asks in this ask, I'm gonna try to get into them individually if that's cool!

1. "How do you differentiate, between atheist, agnostic, and anti-thiest?"

Short answer: I don't! (With the exception of "anti-theist", which is a much more defined ideological position, i.e., being actively opposed to theism.)

Long answer: I think there is a difference between commonly-understood definitions of identities and related labels, and personal use of said labels. "Queer" is a great example: it's a super useful catch-all in academic and broad-discussion contexts, but it has a lot of (often conflicting) definitions. Lots of the people you're referring to in those contexts don't identify with that word at all, even if they fit the definition you have in mind to a T. Sometimes, you'll also be using the word to describe some, but not all of the people who could be described by it- and sometimes, people you wouldn't typically include in the word are included in it anyway just based on the way you're using it.

I think "atheism" works a similar way. There are a few commonly-understood definitions, but even those are very context-dependent; what I mean when I say "atheist" in a conversation about my specific experiences with atheism and how it has shaped my life/values is very different from what an evangelical Christian means when they say "atheist". And both of those are very different from what someone in a completely different, non-Christian-dominant country means when they say "atheist".

Lots of people interpret or use the word differently, and that's fine! Lots of people do or don't identify in ways that contradict use of the word in academic or broader discussions, and that's also fine! It's okay if terms are flexible and vague; like "queer", that can actually make them much more useful than they'd be otherwise.

Which brings us to:

2. Why do you consider atheism an active belief versus a passive one?

I think the "active" vs. "passive" differentiation is actually kind of counter to what I'm getting at when I talk about this.

I think people tend to conceptualize atheism as a "lack of belief" because "atheism" is usually understood to mean "lack of belief in a higher power"; which is (broadly, not always) true. But the conclusion they reach from this point is "so atheism does not, and cannot produce any unique or original ideas".

That is what I'm arguing against.

The piece I see missing from "cultural Christianity" discourse is, imo, that people see atheism as a kind of "blank slate" state. The idea is that atheism is a Lack of something; it's a Void. It's Nothing. Therefore, other things (Christianity) will naturally fill that void. Unless you actively fill it with a different (religion-originated) belief system, you will just naturally "default" to whatever is most dominant in your surrounding culture (Christianity).

But that's not really true! Everything you believe or don't believe about the world influences the way you think about it, how you form your values, the rest of your beliefs... etc. Religions often have a set of values and an internal logic because when you believe one thing, there are lots of other things that necessarily follow from, and support, that one belief. It's just not that simple!

I talk about it more here, but atheism has influenced my own beliefs and values a lot.

I grew up atheist, raised by atheists, who were also raised by atheists. I grew up in a culture where a lot of things were taken for granted that I did not have any reason to believe, and because I had no reason to believe them, I questioned them. I interrogated my own ideas about the world constantly, from a very young age. And from that, I developed an internal set of beliefs and an understanding of the world around me.

I came up with my own answers to questions like, "what is the meaning of life?" and, "what is our purpose?" and, "how should we treat each other?" and, "why should we treat each other that way?".

All of those answers were based in atheism, even if I wasn't really thinking of it that way at the time. All of those answers stemmed from the core understanding that there was nothing, and nobody, to give life meaning, purpose, or rules for me.

It might be technically a "lack of belief" (in a higher power) (depending on context and who you ask), but like... it's not a void. It's not nothingness, it's not emptiness, it's not a lack of purpose, value, morality, ethics, kindness, and unique, original thoughts about the world.

This one idea creates other ideas, because that's how these things work. It's unavoidable. The idea that all of these things must come from religion- and simply do not exist without it- is frankly dehumanizing. Not to mention very culturally Christian, ironically.

[phantombanquet]

The Etymology of the Four Yuus in Twisted Wonderland

For a brief introduction, there are different kinds of Yuus/Player for every media of TWST: Game Yuu, Novel Yuu (Yuuya Kuroki), Heartslabyul Manga Yuu (Yuuken Enma), and the most recent one, Savanaclaw Manga Yuu (Yuuka Hirasaka).

There's a different name for each Yuu in every adaptation of the game. The origin behind each names is quite interesting, so I wanted to share my thoughts on it.

I'm coincidentally a bit knowledgeable about the meaning behind each of their names, however, I am NOT Japanese (I'm SE Asian), so there might be wrong information, and if you find any, please feel free to correct me!

Game Yuu (ユウ)

Unlike the other Yuus whose names are written in Kanji, Game Yuu has their name written in Katakana as ユウ. Katakana is primarily used for transcription of words from foreign languages, but they can also be used as an emphasis on other Japanese words; in this case, Game Yuu's name is used in Katakana to signify them being from another world.

However, it's noted that Game Yuu's name is used as a play on the word “You” as seen in the end of Scarabia Book 4 where they reply with “I am Yuu” (if you have your name set as ユウ) when Mickey Mouse asked for their name.

Game Yuu's name doesn't need That much of deeper analysis explanation since it's meant to be a placeholder of the name us players decide.

Tldr; Yuu's name is written in Katakana (ユウ) instead of Kanji because it's supposed to signify how they're from another world, or simply, a foreigner.

Heartslabyul Manga Yuuken Enma (円満 雄剣)

If you aren't updated with the Heartslabyul Manga, Yuuken was a second year student and the vice captain of his school's kendo club before he was transported to Twisted Wonderland.

He has a very determined, righteous, and open-minded personality. Yuuken treats everyone with respect, as seen in the manga where he defends Riddle from getting hit by eggs even after Riddle just defeated Ace and Deuce in a duel. Yuuken is also strong in terms of physical strength, which is something that Game Yuu doesn't have (lol).

Starting off with his given name Yuuken, it contains the kanji 雄 which means “male or hero”, and the kanji 剣 which means “sword”. For me, this is like a reference to Yuuken's strong personality and determination for justice.

Meanwhile, his surname Enma 円満 comes from the Japanese name of Yama, who is the master of Hell, according to Buddhism and Hinduism. He's considered as a deity who has the authority to judge the crimes committed by those who once lived, and is commonly associated with righteousness. This one is a bit more tricky, so I'll start my in-depth explanation:

The references above are from Shintō or Shintoism, an ancient religion in Japan that is still practiced by more than millions until this date. Shintō is prevalent in Japanese culture, and you can see it referenced in several films, novels, animes, and games, like Twisted Wonderland. It's common in Japanese folklore that every demonic figure has a honji, or “true form”, and as for the Great King Enma, his honji is Jizō Bosatsu, who is the protector of children, travelers, and guards of the underworld.

Although the Great King Enma might seem terrifying and intimidating, he is compassionate, and genuinely wishes to save the souls from punishment, which is why there are several tests given to the souls of the dead to help them avoid going to hell.

((You might have noticed how Yuuken's personality is a bit similar to the Great King Enma..))

And now if we try to analyze the meaning of Yuuken's name, he is more or less like a powerful protector. Both of his names are similar to each other in terms of their meaning: righteousness (because of the word “sword” and with the Great King Enma being associated with “righteousness”).

Tldr; Yuuken's name is a reference to Shintō, which is why he always has the courage to do or stand up for the right thing during the entirety of the Heartslabyul Manga.

Savanaclaw Manga Yuuka Hirasaka (比良坂 悠河)

Savanaclaw Manga just recently started, so the only information we Know about Yuuka is that she's 17 years old, and was a judo master before she got isekai-ed. However, she is currently shown to have an easy-going, caring, and responsible personality.

Her given name Yuuka is a combination of the kanji 悠 which means “to help someone” and the kanji 河 which is “river”. I'd like to think that her given name symbolizes how she could be a bridge to help others.

Moving on to her surname, we are greeted with yet another reference to Shintō. 比良坂 is a reference to the Yomotsu Hirasaka which is, in Japanese mythology, a slope or boundary between the living world and the world where the dead live (Yomi); basically, the pathway to the underworld. There's a whole story to this, so another in-depth explanation is on your way:

The goddess Izanami died after giving birth to the god of fire (Kagutsuchi). The male god Izanagi is devastated by the loss of his wife, so he decides to travel to the Underworld (Yomi) in order to bring her back, which is where he travels through the Yomotsu Hirasaka to reach the Underworld. ((The story goes on, but it's not related about this anymore, however, you can just search “Yomotsu Hirasaka” online to find several stories about the whole story!))

And the use of Hirasaka as a name for the MC is quite headache inducing if we took it into a lore perspective where Game Yuu is connected to Mickey Mouse, who is presumably from another world, through the mirror.

((also can i just add how i Love the references to Shintō.... it's such a neat detail especially if u know that ancient Japanese used to believe that mirrors would suck the spirits of humans and connect our world to the spiritual world which is very fitting in terms of mickey mouse lore. it's like the dreams that Game Yuu sees through the mirrors is a reference to thsi))

Anyway, there's a common pattern for both of the names of the Manga Yuus to be similar to each other. If we take the “river” 河 in Yuuka's name as a symbolism, then it would be something like “path/flow of life” which is similar to the meaning of her surname, the path to the underworld.

Tldr; Yuuka's name is another reference to Shintō, or Japanese mythology. Her name could mean something like “a path to help others”, but we have yet to explore than in Savanaclaw manga.

Novel Yuuya Kuroki (黒木 優也)

From what I've seen so far, Yuuya has an extremely different personality from the rest of the Yuus (and honestly the most realistic one imo LMAO).

Contrary to how the other Yuus reacted after being isekai-ed, Yuuya immediately had a breakdown due to the change in environment. He's not too confident and is frequently anxious due to his past. He also dislikes confrontation. More information about Yuuya is found here.

We've finally arrived at our last Yuu, Yuuya Kuroki. No, there are no references to Shintō this time lol. Maybe a just bit I guess.

His given name consists of the kanji 優 which means “gentleness” and the kanji 也 which is used as “to be”, so Yuuya's name basically means “to be gentle”, which he is.

Kuroki is just a combination of the kanji 黒 which is “black” and 木 which means “tree”, but it could also mean “unbarked lumber”. I'm sure they're trying to reference something after all the Shintō references to the past Yuus, but I am Not sure what they are trying to reference. Lol.

However, trees are symbolic in Shintō as they are said that spirits inhabit trees that are of hundred years. They also connect the world of gods (kami) to the earth, and people.

Meanwhile, I'm not too sure what “black” 黒 could be a reference to. I've only thought of how tattoos painted in black where used as a protection from evil during ancient Japanese times, however, it's rarely seen like that as of today.

Tldr; We have yet to know more about Yuuya, but currently, he is seen to embody gentleness.

I think. that is all for today. I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts about this, please feel free to tell me!!!! And pls tell me if i ever said something incorrect because i do not want to spread misinformation ;;

I enjoy how every Yuu is somewhat related to the world building lore of twst so i could not resist talking about this.

[liberty-or-death]

Shura Field, Red Lotus Waterside Pavilion - 2HA Chapter 8

但是红莲水榭是什么地方？是楚晚宁那孙子的居所，人称红莲地狱的修罗场。 But just what kind of place was the Red Lotus Pavilion? It was the residence of that bastard, Chu Wanning, the accursed den that everyone called Red Lotus Hell. - 2HA Translation Chapter 8: This Venerable One Gets Punished

Wow I was working on another meta, when I read this. AND LO AND BEHOLD MAJOR ERRORS LOL. (what's new lmao)

I just had to critique this translation because it’s just not accurate lol.   To be exact it should be “It is the residence of that bastard (那孙子 - a Beijing slang fyi) Chu Wanning, otherwise known as the Shura Field of the Red Lotus Hell”.  There’s no mention of it being an accursed den.  IMHO, the official translation does erase a whole meta without bothering to explain it, so I can't say I’m terribly impressed lol. 

So what exactly is a “Shura Field”?

Firstly, Shura, sometimes known as Asura, is a titan/demigod in Buddhism/Hinduism. The “Shura Fields” refers to the battlefield where the Emperor Shitian and Asura fought in Buddhist scriptures.  So this term refers to a bloody battlefield.  There’s also a second, more modern meaning, which refers to the complexity of interpersonal relationships (often used in a romantic sense in romantic novels or office politics lmao). It isn’t wrong to describe their romance as a “Shura Field”.  If anyone’s interested, there’s a whole thread on Reddit discussing how commonly used this phrase is. 

I do wonder if Meatbun used this term deliberately as a form of foreshadowing lol. Ranwan's romance IS a whole ass “Shura Field”.

They are depicted like this in ancient sculptures.

There are several reason why it’s wrong to term an Asura as a devil

Firstly, when translating a devil from CN>ENG, conventionally it would refer to the term 魔 Mo (ie. the same Mo in MDZS).  This term takes its roots from Mara, which is a different entity altogether. 

It does change the vibe of the sentence.  In the CN novel context, Asura’s usually refer to something akin to God of War as opposed to being entirely demonic and evil.  They’re more Ares than Hades to put it this way.   So the line isn't saying that Chu Wanning is evil per se.

It’s also disrespectful given that Buddhisim and Hinduism are active religions in Asia Pacific.  Hinduism is the largest religion in Asia FYI.  Rude af to change the terminology of other religions. 

It does have a pre-existing English term.  Use it lmao.  Even MTL gets it right.

There’s also an interesting meta around “Red Lotus Hell”.  In Buddhism, the Red Lotus Hell is described as one of the “Eight Cold Hells.” It was said that those who were born into this hell are severely cold, their bodies turn red and their skin is frozen and cracked.  (This does sound a little like Chu Wanning lmao). The idea of the Red Lotus Hell/Flame was also described in one of the scriptures of the Yehuo Sect “火焰化红莲，天罪自消衍 The flames turns into a red lotus, and the sins of Heaven fade on their own.”  The flames refer to the “fire of trouble” and the lotus “a comfortable state of mind”.  Hence, it means through (Buddhism) practice, karma can be eliminated, troubles can be relieved, and a state of freedom can be achieved.  

The beautiful flower looks like this.

I’m not a Buddhist expert so correct me if I’m wrong lol.  Anyway, if you combine the mental image of the Red Lotus Hall with that of Shura’s Field, you’d understand the vibe that Meatbun was going for.

On another note, 水榭 is quite specific to a type of Pavililon. It's not just any Pavillion, it's a pavillion that's beside a waterbody. There is another type of pavillion that's based on land, so if you want to be specific, this is how it probably looks like.

Additional links

More 2HA meta

[six-costume-refs]

Ok so I know what the differences between an alternate, swing, understudy, and standby are, but how come Six tends to use all of these terms interchangeably? Here’s some examples that come to mind:

- Broadway + NA Tour alts are technically standbys since don’t have a set schedule of shows and are offstage (unless the principal is scheduled to be off for vacation)

- Collette, Jen, Esme, and Rachel all did/do the same thing, but Collette was called an understudy, while Jen, Esme, and Rachel were/all called swings

Hey! A few notes: - Even though those definitions do exist, it’s fairly common (even within the industry) to just use swing or understudy as the more commonly understood and used terms! Those are still absolutely the more correct technical terms, but they’re just not always used in day to day casual discussion. That’s why you get variance from within even the same production/from the same actors about what their role is referred to as (like the Broadway/US Tour actors are “alternates” on the website and in the program, but have also been referred to or referred to themselves as both swings and understudies at different points, and several of them have acknowledged that they are more properly standbys). - There's also variance in the different unions and their definitions of each cover style, based on how they categorize the rules, how they categorize the show, how many roles the actor is meant to cover, what the contract for each looks like, etc. Different countries and even different productions within a country can be ruled by different unions or the same unions but with different rules (based on how a specific production is categorized), which is the root of a lot of the different variance that you might see. A major example of this is why alternates, with scheduled shows, exist in UK productions but not any others - they’re required to have them under their union rules, while the other countries aren’t.  - It’s also relevant that, as an ensemble show, Six doesn't fit the typical set up of ensemble versus principal roles! The typical rules of "offstage swing is for ensemble while offstage standby is for principal" is much less clear or applicable as a result, so the terms also get conflated more casually.

[ishipgenfics]

Magic wears at people, is the thing. The more potential you have, the more you learn, the more you practice, the quicker the years wear away at you. Your family was old money, with well known magical talent running through your blood, and when you displayed signs of magical potential they treated it like you'd just received a terminal illness because... you essentially had. Most mages die as teenagers. A rare few make it to their twenties.

When you hit thirty, the other mages started calling you a miracle. When you hit thirty-five, they started investigating you for signs of dark magic, but they never found anything. And in truth, you had done nothing to cause this. You were just... lucky. Incredibly, inexplicably lucky.

The secret of what magic did to you was kept within magic circles. Mage Colleges always needed new blood after all, and while your parents might have been stoically resigned to the idea of giving you up for the good of society, most families would not have been, and so all the mages talked in vague terms to hide the thing they didn't know, and dressed in long robes to hide how skinny they were, and pretended to be as old as they looked. Kings and villages assumed that only elder mages were sent out to work among the people, and you did not correct them. People sent letters asking about magic loved ones that were long since dead, and were not answered. Any who actually came to the college were either turned away or told their loved one was held to a vow of secrecy and could not speak to them.

You were around sixteen and already looking middle aged when you decided that this was bullshit.

You were talented, oh so terribly, terribly talented, and so when you were 12 they sent you off to help villages, and when you were 20 they gave you the title of archmage(which did not, as commonly assumed, refer to magical talent, but was simply bestowed on anyone who lived long enough to earn it) and sent to replace the court mage of the king, who had recently died.

And so you went to him, looking far too old for your 20 years, and every time you cast a spell or looked into the future for him the lines on your face deepened, and you did not bother to try and hide them. You wanted him to ask.

You remained in his service for 16 years before he finally did.

"Say, Archmage," he said one day, after you had finished dispelling a hurricane for him. He did not call you by name. He never did. You were not entirely certain if he knew it. "How old are you?"

You took a breath. You had waited so long for this moment. Somehow you had expected it to be bigger. To mean more. But your voice was the same as it always was as you replied, "Thirty-six."

The king laughed, a loud, booming sound. "Oh, I didn't know you could joke, my mage! That's very funny. But really, how old are you?"

"Thirty-six, sir," you reply again. "And I am not joking."

The king frowned. "But how... I mean how could you possibly... look at you!" He gestured vaguely in my direction.

"I am aware of my appearance, Your Majesty," you say, more harshly than you should. You are sensitive about your looks, about the ever increasing burden of what time and magic has done to you.

(All the mirrors in your bathroom are covered with towels. The cleaning staff have long since stopped bothering to take them off.)

You sigh, and take a breath. "I am sorry for snapping, sir. I-- fuck it, I'm not talking like this anymore. I'm thirty-six, and my magic is slowly killing me. That's why I look like this. They might kill me for this, but I don't care anymore. I can't hide this until I die. I won't do it. They don't deserve my silence."

The king stares at you, and his eyes are horrorstruck. "I... I wouldn't let them kill you," he finally replies. "Do you know that? I need you to know that I wouldn't let them kill you."

"Thank you," you reply. You are not sure what else to say. "I appreciate it."

There is a long silence.

"You don't have to try and fix this, you know," you say. "There's no fixing it. People have tried. I just wanted you to know."

"I can't stop having you use your powers. My kingdom depends on it. But I can make the world know of this. It will never be a secret again."

"That's all I ever wanted." It is not true. All you had ever wanted was to live. But if this is all you can have, than you can live with it. It is not all you had ever wanted, but it was more than you had ever dared to dream.

That evening, you shave your beard.

You are the oldest and wisest archmage in the whole kingdom. You are also only in your mid 30s, although no one believes you when you tell them.

[dkniade]

如果阴晴（OC）向钟离学习书法，然后来到璃月不久(?)的公子以新学生身份加入的话…

人物：阴晴，钟离，公子，少许旅行者和派蒙

注释：中文双关语和文化误解，少许血，非故意的性别错称，被动攻击行为

阴晴，她，男性中性描述。我最近试着写了些短剧情。有语法错误与ooc的话不好意思。后面包括英翻与注释。

If Yinqing (OC) takes calligraphy lessons from Zhongli, and Childe genuinely joins as a new student who’s recently (?) arrived in Liyue…

Characters: Yinqing, Zhongli, Childe, some Traveller and Paimon

Note: Chinese wordplay and cultural misunderstanding, brief mentions of blood, unintentional misgendering, passive aggression

Yinqing, she/her, masculine and gender-neutral descriptions. Recently I tried to write some short scenes in Chinese. Please excuse the possible Chinese grammar mistakes and OOC moments. English translation and notes at the end.

阴晴：教我书法的的师傅当然是往生堂的一！

旅行者：胡堂主？

阴晴：…是钟离先生。

派蒙：…咦？

——

钟离：最近有一位从北国银行来的弟子。

阴晴：（至冬国的学生...）

公子：请多多关照。

阴晴：（…嗯？他身上有股血腥，想必是城府不浅的杀手。）

阴晴：在下名为阴睛。请问师哥贵姓？

公子：师哥？真亲切！听起来像是个妹妹一样。叫我公子就好。

阴晴：……

阴晴：呵，原来如此。这位“公子”公子口气不小嘛。

公子：是吗？活动活动筋骨也好。那就上来试试吧。

阴晴：呀，你不是来学书法的吗？怎么这么嗜血？

钟离：公子，所谓师哥指的是弟子之间的关系，并非含有家庭的意思。简单的自我介绍便可。

公子：哈哈，算我失礼了。叫我达达利亚吧。阴晴师妹以后请多多关照。

阴晴：达达利亚师哥看起来技术不凡，我就随口提一下：我可不是什么姑娘，请称我为师弟便好。

公子：没问题，阴晴师弟。

钟离：与其斗嘴，二位不如在纸上比一比书法？

阴晴：当然可以。

公子：要上了！

Yinqing: My calligraphy shifu is of course, Wangsheng Funeral Parlour’s—!

Traveller: Director Hu?

Yinqing: …It’s Zhongli-xiansheng.

Paimon: …Huh?

——

Zhongli: Lately there’s a disciple from Northland Bank.

Yinqing: (A Snezhnayan student…)

Childe: I’ll be in your care.

Yinqing: (…Hm? He smells of blood; no doubt a killer with more than he lets on.)

Yinqing: Your humble servant, Yinqing. Pray tell, this shige’s name?

Childe: Shige? How familiar! It’s like having a younger sister. Just call me Childe.

Yinqing: ……

Yinqing: Heh, so that’s how it is. This young master “Young Master” here has quite the big ego, I see.

Childe: Is that so? I don’t mind a bit of exercise. Go ahead and try, then.

Yinqing: Oh my, aren’t you here for calligraphy? Why the sudden bloodlust?

Zhongli: Childe, shige in this context refers to a relationship between disciples, rather than a familial one. A simple self-introduction will suffice.

Childe: Haha, where are my manners. Call me Tartaglia then. I look forward to future classes, Yinqing-shimei.

Yinqing: Tartaglia-shige, you seem to possess extraordinary skills, so I’ll just mention this as an aside: I’m not some girl. Please just refer to me as shidi.

Childe: Fine by me, Yinqing-shidi.

Zhongli: Rather than bickering, why don’t the two of you compare your skills on paper with calligraphy?

Yinqing: Of course.

Childe: It’s about time!

Translation Notes

1. shifu = master/teacher. xiansheng = Mr.

2. “在下名为阴睛。请问师哥贵姓？” / “Your humble servant, Yinqing. Pray tell, this shige’s name?” Me trying to sound formal/wuxia in Chinese, (not sure how well it works in any language). Also, Yinqing’s making herself sound humble with the pronoun 在下 (zaixia) but the word servant isn’t actually used.

3. “口气不小嘛” kind of translates to… a passive aggressive “quite a strong tone, huh” so I’ve tried to convey this with “quite a big ego, I see.”

4. 师哥 (Shige) = older male disciple. 哥 also means older brother. Childe misunderstood and thought Yinqing meant the latter.

5. 师妹 (Shimei) = younger female disciple, but likewise 妹 also means younger sister. Childe assumes Yinqing’s gendered title preference.

6. 师弟 (Shidi) = younger male disciple.

7. 公子 (Gonzi) in a wuxia context— I’ll quote from this post by farmerlan, on wuxia honorifics in MDZS.

https://www.tumblr.com/farmerlan/619887384453120000/a-guide-to-commonly-used-honorifics-in-%E9%AD%94%E9%81%93%E7%A5%96%E5%B8%88the

You will see this translated in a variety of different ways - master, young master, sir...and they are all correct! Congratulations, you’ve hit the jackpot - depending on the situation, gongzi can be a whole hodgepodge of things.

General honorific: Gongzi can also be used between strangers/acquaintances as a respectful term. Gongzi is, in some ways, an indicator of respect of the other person’s status. So oftentimes you’ll find two young masters from different sects referring to each other as gongzi politely, but you wouldn’t find two beggars on the street calling each other that. and it’s usually used to address someone younger or a similar age as you. If you‘re talking to someone who is clearly your senior, use 前辈 or 先生.

Childe’s title uses the same term so, just like his in-game introduction to the Traveler in Chinese, here it also sounds like—

Childe: Just call me Young Master.

Yinqing: This young master “Young Master” here

8. “呀，你不是来学书法的吗？” / “Oh my, aren’t you here for calligraphy?” That first exclamation is more like a surprised “oh” but since Yinqing is being passive aggressive, “oh my” works better for the tone I think.

9. Literally speaking “算我失礼了” is closer to “pardon my bad manners” but I’m sure “Where are my manners” works better.

10. “我就随口提一下” is closer to “I’ll just casually mention [this]” but I think it flows better to say “I’ll just mention this as an aside.”

11. “要上了！” / “It’s about time!” = the same thing Childe says in Chinese when switching to Melee Stance for Skill. Kind of got the vibe of “It’s about time we start this (activity)!”

—

If this goes on, that’ll be another kind of weekly spar. Wonder how their handwriting would look…

Thank you for reading! ^^

[praglechiropracticblog]

What daily habits contribute to poor posture and upper back pain

Upper back pain is an issue that commonly caused by different daily habits. We do not even realize that some of our habits are instigating the ache. Instead of turning to medications you should reflect on your habits and resort to the all-natural care at a Upper Back Pain Chiropractor or Massage. The chiropractors their safely address the root causes of upper back pain.  

Can prolonged sitting affect your posture?

We spend hours sitting each day at a desk or for commuting. This sedentary lifestyle can damage our posture. While you sit with improper ergonomic support then your back start to slouch or lean forward. The rounded upper back and shoulders is a poor posture. It strains your upper back muscle which cause pain. 

Chiropractic care adjust the spinal alignment. They relieve the muscle tension caused by prolonged sitting. If you go regularly to a chiropractor then you also get posture education. It will significantly reduce your upper back pain. 

Do you need to visit an upper back pain chiropractor because of excessive technology usage?

We heavily use our smartphones and computers these days. This habit is a major contributor to poor posture. The tendency to hunch over screens or winch our necks down to look at our mobile phone cause upper back pain.  This forward head posture is referred by many doctors as tech neck.  

The strain caused from the tech neck is easily treated with gentle spinal manipulations. Chiropractors also offer practical advice on ways to use technology with a good posture. 

Do I have to visit the top rated chiropractor near me because of my sleeping position? 

Sleeping on your stomach puts your neck into an odd position. The strain on your upper back muscles gets painful in the morning. An unsupportive pillow can cause spinal misalignment.

Chiropractors can recommend sleeping positions that support a neutral spine. They can also suggest ergonomic pillows and mattresses to help maintain proper alignment at night.

How can everyday activities contribute to poor posture?

Everyday activities like heavy bags on one shoulder can cause poor posture. When you bend over improperly to lift objects then your posture can cause upper back pain. Standing for long periods without shifting your weight can also contribute to misalignment and muscle pain.

Chiropractors can teach you how to have good posture and minimizes strain on your upper back. They teach exercises and stretches to strengthen the spine supporting muscles. They make it easier to maintain proper posture during daily tasks.

Why choose a Tallahassee chiropractor over medications?

Taking painkillers to quickly relieve upper back pain is tempting. But this approach only treats the symptoms it does not work on the underlying reason. Chiropractic care corrects the root issues of spinal misalignment. This natural approach is safe for people of all ages. It is better than medicines to get long term relief. Plus there is no risk of side effects like we get in medicines. 

Chiropractic care makes your body flexible so you do not have to worry about posture related pain. Your entire lifestyle along with your daily habits is addressed with a personalized treatment plan. So regular visits to a chiropractor can help you develop better posture habits with less risk of future pain. 

Final words

Upper back pain from poor posture is a common problem. If you are struggling with upper back pain then think about consulting a chiropractor. They can help you develop better posture habits for a lasting relief. For expert guidance you can visit the very experienced chiropractors at Pragle Chiropractic, Accident And Injury Clinic Tallahassee. They offer personalized treatment for neck pain, upper back pain and auto injury pain. They even accept auto insurance as per the Chiropractic Clinic near Me. 

[d8tl55c]

im having trouble assigning one metric like age, weight, vitals, emotional state, etc. to memory usage because it's such a computer-y concept- maybe a combination of several of those things?

when you're talking about memory... uh... it's not really...

it's weird- UM- heRE's HOw RAM WORKS:

.

in general* there's two ways to handle data:

slow to access, but i can store a lot of data basically forever, or super fast, but i can only store a little, temporarily.

RAM (Random Access Memory) is the second option. it's a physically different chip from the long-term-big-storage one, and it is designed to multitask many, many file accesses/calculations/other processes at once. video games, modeling/editing/animation software, and web browsers commonly eat up a lot of RAM (a LOT: check out Flash up there at the top easily munching 300 thousand K* for the simplest possible animation) *we are going to pretend it's that simple because trying to research this further made the later sections of RUSH-E start blasting in my head :) (further reading that looks correct probably about things that are and aren't the "active private working set" (column displayed by default in Task Manager -> Details and the animation))

(here's 3 windows of 18 tabs of OperaGX as an example)

so it's not really the runtime of the program ("im not sure if their memory usage is reliant on how long they've been existing..."), but what its function is, that foreshadows its required RAM.

"...or how. complex they were drawn." <- this one should work. since they're all separate programs, they each have to handle their own graphics, and would use a type of RAM to keep up their silky smooth framerates and procedural animations.

and there's the. THOUGHTS. SENTIENCE. that they all have, of course. i can only assume they use computer working memory (a bit more RAM) like humans use our working memory, and permanent save files stored elsewhere for long-term stuff, because there is no other reference for how a functioning person-program works.

that doesn't explain why orange's number is so different from RYGB... and even when a program doesn't display anything or have feelings the RAM usage shown in Task Manager changes a lot... but in IV it stays exactly the same throughout for every single program..... (i was about to be excited if trying to end TheSecondComing.exe spiked his metrics or something but nothing happens *sad nerd face*) .....so im pretty sure not much was intended on Alan's part by assigning any of these RAM usage values, except for cinematic reasons: giving TheSecondComing.exe much less than the StickFigure[Color].exes forces c!Alan to search for it, realize it has a weird name, and zoom in all dramatic on it for the Description reveal, all because it's further down the list. :P

.

but if i were forced to speculate anyway-

id guess that the StickFigure[Color].exes use more RAM because they come from a game. maybe they're carrying around the game scripts that are responsible for waiting for user inputs. TheSecondComing.exe was never designed to be controlled, so would lack user input listeners by default. why does RYGB have different individual RAM usages? heck if i know- the discrepancies are small enough i think it's just. normal fluctuations. since they're doing different stuff and are variations on the same program, they'd likely stay near each other in RAM requirements, but trade places with who's using the most constantly.

is that all? uhhhh well all i know about getting user input is it can get complicated. suppose it might be 13,516 K complicated.

the only other thing i thought of is TSC.exe could hide suspiciously high RAM usage by stealing from Flash's allocated space. but i dont know if that's a real thing, even for worms. -> if it is, the story goes that, like Minecraft performance can increase by allocating more RAM for it, Flash probably has a big chunk set aside for processing animation-related stuff. TSC.exe, related/attached to Flash, may have access to this chunk, using some of Flash's resources instead of clocking more usage for itself on the Task Manager. the remaining 3,012 K may therefore be impossible to hide or outsource, and would account for... idk, the minimum RAM required to maintain a sapient stick figure? <- again, fully riffing and playing pretend with my touys there though. NOT sure if any of that section is anything. but it would be neat \o/

.

(side note: i tried to look back and see if avast! describes TCO's memory usage, but that metric doesn't show up :T and i dont think there was time to check TDL's or anyone else's in III or V)

.

SO WHAT IS IT HUH?

aaaaaaaaauuuu

it's not clear what the differences mean. it likely does not mean anything at all canonically (cinematic reasons). but i can confidently say that the Memory value probably corresponds to an individual stick figure's current: physical state (stored position, limb arrangements, collisions), display data (color, frame generation, frame display), emotional state (neutral vs intense), mental state (how hard they are thinking), extra features (game data, other attachments to parent programs), independence (is or isn't using memory through another program), and probably other things simultaneously.

i went and collected those numbers

however... it seems this metric we were discussing wasn't related to file size after all, it was memory usage.

i do not know enough about memory to immediately recognize the implications of this information but still cool to know and weird and interesting that they're so different 👉👉 handing to you for safekeeping

OHHHHHHHH !!!!!! i didnt even see the memory tab i really thought it was their file weight lol. man i really wonder what i can do with it. seems like red is consuming too much memory LOL

im not sure if their memory usage is reliant on how long they've been existing or how. complex they were drawn. its interesting to think about. we keeping it fr

[anamedblog]

A Tale of Early Coinage Through Two Exhibitions

Güzin Eren, ANAMED Post-doctoral Fellow (2022–2023)

Figure 1. Pot with a coin hoard from the Artemision of Ephesus, after Kerschner and Konuk 2020, 123, fig. 15.[1]

The Pera Museum houses an outstanding collection of “Anatolian Weights and Measures” formed by Suna and İnan Kıraç. As ANAMED fellows, we were kindly given a guided tour of this collection’s gallery by its Supervisor, Yavuz Selim Güler.[2] Following an elaborate introduction to the agro-economic origins of weights, Güler pointed to the Bronze Age examples, some of which were dexterously shaped as sleeping ducks, frogs, and bulls (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Bronze Age weights in the shape of bulls, frogs, and sleeping ducks (ca. 2000–1000 BCE) in the Anatolian Weights and Measures Gallery.

These weights formed the basis of long-distance trade networks between Mesopotamia, Anatolia, and the Mediterranean for the exchange of resources and luxurious goods. As commodities changed hands, so did precious metals, such as gold and silver. Yet, completing any transaction was a painstaking process: traders had to test gold and silver by touchstones and weigh all the goods using a system of units: shekel, mina (or mana), and talent, corresponding to variously set values of grain and, later, silver.

Figure 3. Hellenistic period weights (third century BCE) in the Anatolian Weights and Measures Gallery.

Visiting this gallery, any careful enthusiast of human history would notice a time jump—to the Hellenistic period (Figure 3)—and wonder about the lack of weights from the earlier part of the first millennium BCE (i.e., the Iron Age). This was exactly my question to Güler in personal communication. His reply that “the situation in the gallery reflects a larger pattern; Iron Age weights are also underrepresented in the archaeological record” was not at all surprising to me as a specialist of this period, because, in these centuries, the world witnessed a major shift: the introduction of coinage and gradual change to monetary economies.

How do we tell the tale of this shift, then? Ancient sources give us some clues. Most commonly cited among them, The Histories of Herodotus (I.94.1) mention that “the Lydians … were the first of men, so far as we know, who struck and used coins of gold and silver; and also they were the first retail-traders.”[3] This reference obviously downplays the role of who came before the Lydians. After all, earlier weight systems, along with ancient tablets listing transactions that were valued in measures of silver, make it quite plain that pre-coinage people had an understanding of the concept of money.

Figure 4. Hacksilber hoard from Tel Dor, after Davis 2021.[4]

A growing body of evidence from Iron Age sites (eleventh–eighth centuries BCE) in the Levant and Syro-Anatolia has started to fill the gap in our understanding of this transition. These sites feature an intriguing class of finds:lumps or cut pieces of silver sealed in juglets (Figure 4) or sacks (of cloth or leather that have now perished). Known by the German term hacksilber,[5] such silver hoards are interpreted as residuals of former dealings. Imagine that a merchant cuts pieces off a silver ingot until its weight is correct for a specific transaction, then collects and weighs leftover silver pieces, packs them in a container, and seals it to guarantee the weight of the silver content, so that they can be used more easily in future transactions. Thus, hacksilber seems to have planted the seeds of the idea behind coinage by speeding up the process of exchange with the use of an official mark of authority, the seal.

Figure 5. An early type of Lydian coin with impressed punches on the reverse and plain striations on the obverse.

Given this long history, why do the Lydians receive the credit as the inventors of coinage? One reason lies in the definition of a coin that sets it apart from any earlier apparatus of payment. Coins were, as they are today, metal pieces with standardized weights whose values were approved by a governing body, and the Lydians seem to have produced coins, by this definition, the earliest.[6] Found in Lydia and its western Anatolian realm of mutual influence (particularly Ionia), these early coins followed the denominational fractions of a specific weight: 14.7 grams, known as the Lydo-Milesian standard.[7] As proof of their authorization, they all had impressed punches on the back (reverse) (Figure 5) and, later, impressed reliefs on the front (obverse), symbolizing the identity of the issuing city and ruling elite.

Figure 6. Gold and silver coins from the Lydian capital, Sardis. © Archaeological Explorations of Sardis.

The Lydians were also rightly acclaimed for being the first to use a bimetallic system in coinage (Figure 6), for their brilliance lay in manipulating the metal contents of their coins. The early generation of coins were struck of electrum, a natural alloy of gold and silver, a.k.a. “white gold.” Despite standardized weights, the metal ratio in these coins varied widely across western Anatolia and the Aegean. Lydian electrum coins, on the contrary, had relatively well-set ratios of 54% gold, 44% silver, and 2% copper—the latter to give coins a more goldish hue. This ratio, unmatched with that of the available natural electrum (73% gold: 27% silver) at the Lydian capital Sardis, demonstrates that they artificially alloyed gold and silver from both local and distant sources to produce their coins.[8] One of the striking consequences of debasing the gold ratio was that people made large profits out of their overvaluation.[9]

Figure 7. A trench in the refinery at Sardis with cupels for silver refining (left) and litharge and foils (right). © Archaeological Explorations of Sardis.

Eventually, Lydians became such experts of these chemical processes that they were able to refine gold and silver out of existing electrum. This process was fabulously documented during the excavations of the “refinery” at Sardis (Figure 7).[10] Later, Lydian kings minted pure silver and gold coins to further control their values. They are known as croeseids (Figure 6), named after the last Lydian king, to whom the English language owes the phrase “rich as Croesus.”

Figure 8. Plan and section of the Naos 2 shrine at the Artemision of Ephesus, after Kerschner and Konuk 2020, 117, fig. 12.

Figure 9. Selected electrum coins from the Artemision of Ephesus, after Kerschner and Konuk 2020, (left) 94, fig. 5, (right) 107, fig. 8.

I keep saying the earliest coins, but how far back in time do they go? Dating early coinage is notoriously difficult, because we rarely find them during excavations in association with other finds and architectural features. They are dispersed around the world in private collections and museums, including renowned ones such as the British Museum and the MET. Most of the time, therefore, numismatists study coins out of their archaeological context, based on comparative weights-denominations, countermarks, style of impressions, die-linking, etc. Exceptions to this exist, however. The earliest group of coins known thus far was dated via their in situ discovery in a very special context: the Artemision of Ephesus. Here, the builders of the second-phase shrine (Naos 2, Figure 8) deposited a jug of coins (Figures 1 and 9) at its foundations, seemingly to consecrate its construction. An excellent recent study of these coins’ archaeological contexts renewed their dating to the third quarter of the seventh century BCE (640–625 BCE).[11]

Figure 10. Electrum coin from the Artemision of Ephesus bearing the KUKALIM insignia associated with the Lydian king Alyattes. © Archaeological Explorations of Sardis.

So, when coins are found in such good contexts, they allow archaeologists to place important developments in time and space but also to scrutinize economic and political relationships. For instance, this Ephesus hoard comprised coins that bear the head of a lion next to the legend “KUKALIM” (Figures 9 (no. 107) and 10). This particular insignia, meaning “I am of Gyges” in the Lydian language, associates their minting with the Lydian king Alyattes, the father of Croesus and a descendant of Gyges, the first king of the Mermnad clan.[12] Another notable hoard of croeseids was found, in context, at Gordion, the capital of the Phrygians. Their date corresponds to the time when the Phrygians came under the rule of Lydia in the earlier sixth century BCE. These discoveries have come to signify the growing power and territories of the Lydian kings.

Figure 11. Nine silver croeseids discovered in 2021 in the palatial complex of Croesus at Sardis. © Archaeological Explorations of Sardis.

At their capital city, Sardis, however, finding Lydian coins in original contexts has been an extremely rare occasion. So, you can imagine how ecstatic we were to add another discovery to the list of only three incidents since 1922[13] during our 2021 field campaign, when nine silver croeseids came out of the ground. Their context is simply superb: on the destruction floor right in front of the monumental limestone terraces that encircled Croesus’ palatial complex, which was entirely burnt and destroyed by the Persians with the rest of the city in 547 BCE. The coins were next to the remains of a male individual, who seems to have possessed the coins in a pouch at the time of his death. Accompanied by a knife next to him and a large number of arrowheads, he must have died defending the king’s palace. After strenuous treatments from Sardis conservators, the coins’ weights matched the known Lydian denominations (1, 1/6, and 1/24), and two of them were of the rarest type: full staters. These coins, given their precise dating, now provide invaluable information for future studies of production technologies, circulation, iconography, and much more.

Figure 12. Animal impressions on coinage of the seventh and early sixth centuries BCE, top left: Miletus, top right 1, 2: Ephesus, bottom left: Phocaea, bottom right: Aegina.

Issued by Croesus, these coins portray a lion facing a bull on the obverse, but Croesus’ use of lion imagery has a deeper history. His ancestors had already borrowed its symbology from the Assyrian world, where it had long been associated with royal power. The same imagery signified the city of Miletus on their early coinage (Figure 12). Though the lion was not the standalone icon—from the onset, we observe the depiction of different animals on coins, with which the issuers echoed their historical-cultural identities: for instance, the stag in Ephesus, a seal in Phocaea, and a tortoise in Aegina (Figure 12).

Figure 13. The entrance to the Fauna and Currency Exhibition at AKMED and the lion poster welcoming visitors.

The choice of animals only diversified through time, and this is the theme of an ongoing exhibition at Koç University’s Suna ve İnan Kıraç Akdeniz Medeniyetleri Araştırma Merkezi (AKMED), Fauna and Currency.[14] Curators Oğuz Tekin and Arif Yacı designed this poster exhibition thematically by the types of animals impressed on currency, from ancient coins to the present day’s paper money. So it is no surprise that, upon entrance to the gallery, the lion poster welcomes you with the image of a Lydian coin (Figure 13). The posters then proceed with various animals of the air, the land, and the sea. A selected few offer a glimpse into their diversity: an eagle, goat, mouse, scorpion, crocodile, hippopotamus, crab, octopus, etc. Two posters advertise each of these animals. One provides brief biological facts and ancient references, while the other flashes the images of animals on currency with their dates and locational information.

Figure 14. Turtle imagery on a fourth century BCE coin from Aegina

In my opinion, these posters do a brilliant job on three accounts. First, explaining the historical and cultural significance of each animal in their own context of currency, the posters help you appreciate how they came to be on monies from significantly different time periods. Second, the printed images of coins magnify their scale remarkably, from their original fingernail-size (and sometimes much smaller) to the size of human head, so they allow you to observe every detail on coins. Finally, their high-quality gives a sense of liveliness, such that you feel you are about to pick up a giant 3-D version of the coin, such as this one from fourth century BCE Aegina (Figure 14).

Personally, I enjoyed the millennia-long significance of certain animals that people associated themselves with—for instance the lion, boar, stag, rooster/cock, and horse, which were already embossed on coins of the Ephesus hoard, and the swan and frog that adorned Bronze Age weights, which opened our tale of coinage to today’s money. So, I am leaving you with a few of their images from the gallery (Figures 15–30) to do the same.

Figure 15. Lion imagery on ancient coins.

Figure 16. Lion imagery on ancient Roman coins and on paper money of Tanzania.

Figure 17. Boar poster in the Fauna and Currency Exhibition at AKMED.

Figure 18. Boar imagery on ancient coins.

Figure 19. Boar imagery on ancient Roman coin and paper money of Papua New Guinea.

Figure 20. Boar imagery on modern coins.

Figure 21. Owl poster in the Fauna and Currency Exhibition at AKMED.

Figure 22. Owl imagery on fifth century BCE Athenian coin and on modern Greek Drahmi and Euro.

Figure 23. Rooster poster in the Fauna and Currency Exhibition at AKMED.

Figure 24. Rooster imagery on ancient coins.

Figure 25. Rhinoceros imagery on ancient and modern currency.

Figure 26. Rabbit poster in the Fauna and Currency Exhibition at AKMED.

Figure 27. Rabbit imagery on ancient and modern coins.

Figure 28. Frog poster in the Fauna and Currency Exhibition at AKMED.

Figure 29. Frog imagery on ancient coins.

Figure 30. Frog imagery on paper money of Madagascar.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1] M. Kerschner and K. Konuk, 2020, “Electrum Coins and Their Archaeological Context: The Case of the Artemision of Ephesus,” in White Gold: Studies in Electrum Coinage, eds. P. van Alfen and U. Wartenberg (New York: The American Numismatic Society), 83–190.

[2] On this visit, see also Dr Elisa Galardi’s post on the ANAMED blog.

[3] As the second-century philosopher Pollux discusses early coinage in his Onomasticon (9.3), he refers to Xenophanes of Colophon (ca. 570–478 BCE), who suggested that the Lydians were the first to mint coins, decades before Herodotus did. So the basis of Herodotus’ information may be Xenophanes himself (R. A. Mundell,  2002, “The Birth of Coinage,” Columbia University Department of Economics Discussion Paper Series, Paper #:0102-08.)

[4] G. Davis,  2021, “The Rise of Silver Coinage in the Ancient Mediterranean,” The Ancient Near East Today 9, no. 12.

[5] W. Fischer-Bossert,  2018, “Electrum Coinage of the 7th Century B.C,” In Second International Congress on the History of Money and Numismatics in the Mediterranean World, ed. O. Tekin (Antalya: Koç University Suna & İnan Kıraç Akdeniz Medeniyetleri Araştırma Merkezi), 15–23.

[6] U. Wartenberg,  2017, E. Millman,  2015, “The Importance of the Lydian Stater as the World’s First Coin.”

[7] A coin of this specific weight is called a stater. Its fractions are 1/3 (trite, the most common), 1/6 (sixth-stater, hekte), 1/12 (twelfth-stater, hemihekte), and all the way down to 1/96, which weighs only 0.15 grams. However, other standards existed simultaneously; e.g., the standards of Phocaea and Aegina were, respectively (and roughly), 16 and 18 g.

[8] N. D. Cahill,  et al., 2020, “Depletion Gilding of Lydian Electrum Coins and the Sources of Lydian Gold,” in White Gold: Studies in Electrum Coinage, eds. P. van Alfen and U. Wartenberg (New York: The American Numismatic Society), 291–336.

[9] J. H. Kroll,  2010, “The Coins of Sardis,” in The Lydians and Their World, ed. N. D. Cahill (Istanbul: Yapı Kredi Yayınları), 143–56;P. van Alfen,  2020, “The Role of “The State” in Early Electrum Coinage,” in White Gold: Studies in Electrum Coinage, eds.P. van Alfen and U. Wartenberg (New York: The American Numismatic Society), 547–67.

[10] A. Ramage and P. Craddock, 2000, King Croesus’ Gold: Excavations at Sardis and the History of Gold Refining (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press); C. H. Greenewalt, Jr. and N. D. Cahill, 2010, “Gold and Silver Refining at Sardis,” in The Lydians and Their World, ed. N. D. Cahill (Istanbul: Yapı Kredi Yayınları), 134–41.

[11] Kerschner and Konuk 2020, ibid.

[12] A. Dale,  2015, “WALWET and KUKALIM. Lydian Coin Legends, Dynastic Succession, and the Chronology of Mermnad Kings,” Kadmos 54 no. 1/2: 151–66.

[13] These include one hoard with some thirty gold croeseids in a jug (T. L. Shear, 1922, “Sixth Preliminary Report on the American Excavations at Sardes in Asia Minor,” American Journal of Archaeology 26: 389–409), two coins found near the fortification wall within its destruction debris, together with the skeletal remains of a soldier, apparently a casualty of the city’s sack by the Persians (N. D. Cahill and J. H. Kroll, 2005, “New Archaic Coin Finds at Sardis,” American Journal of Archaeology 109: 589–617), and three more coins on the Acropolis from a Persian looter’s trench of perhaps a cultic building dedicated to Artemis (N. D. Cahill, et al. 2020, ibid.).

[14] I had a chance to see this exhibition during a short research trip to Antalya, thanks to the kind support of ANAMED. Thanks also go to my colleague and friend Assoc. Prof. Erkan Dündar for his gracious hospitality during this trip.