#Deviant sect

[anon1mitydrawsattimes]

[trexgocart64]

So… I remember saying that I was gonna get revenge on my CoDM for teasing me. But man did I not expect them to make it this bad for themselves. Currently one of the characters is in CIA custody, one’s AWOL, and two others are in critical condition after antagonizing the owner of Morshu’s Mobile Mental Shelter. My CoDm in particular almost lost his character after being blown up by a grenade and then a day later being ganged up on by Morshu’s shadow selves. My only response to this is as he would say, “smh my head.”

[dykebeckett]

just remembered the epic bit of Goldwater lore I came up with yesterday that will never come up in gameplay. Teehee

[kazifatagar]

Seven Deviant Muslim Sects Now Under Police Radar, 23 Arrests Made Since 2022

Federal police in Malaysia are closely monitoring and taking action against deviant Islamic sects that are seen as a serious threat to public safety and security. Since 2022, 23 arrests involving followers and leaders of such sects have been made, and 51 police reports were lodged against them in 2022 and 2023. Social Media Links Follow us…

[one-flower-one-sword]

"You came from a renowned school, an orthodox sect that never traversed the deviant path. Growing up in that sect, you were always told that ascending was the ultimate thing to strive for," Jun Wu continued. "It is very difficult to give up that sort of goal. Falling in with the Ghost Realm was an unfortunate circumstance, an act born of helplessness. Of course you cannot say you are satisfied with your position in the Ghost Realm. It was never what you wanted in the first place."

Yin Yu didn't have enough confidence to deny it. He said weakly, "Chengzhu has shown me grace. He saved me -"

"I know," Jun Wu said. "He even helped you pacify and send off Jian Yu's vengeful spirit after he died during your banishment, am I correct?"

"...Yes," Yin Yu confirmed. "So whether or not I am satisfied with my current position, it's all -"

"That is dissatisfaction," Jun Wu noted. "You are bound by his grace and have nowhere else to go. You are in denial." Yin Yu hung his head and didn't reply.

Vol 7, page 144-145

One of my favorite relationships throughout the novel, even though we get so little information about it, is Yin Yu and Hua Cheng's. Even the above tidbit is mired by the way Jun Wu is trying to manipulate Yin Yu's emotions and how Yin Yu at times responds genuinely and at others plays along to try and find a way to escape.

Once I had finished the novel, I was left wondering why there are so many fandom jokes about Yin Yu being exploited by Hua Cheng when the text seemed to paint a much different picture of what Yin Yu's life and work environment as a god was like versus as the highest ranking ghost city officer. So in this meta I try to examine and compare the two as well as try to draw conclusions about how Yin Yu felt about it all and why.

First of, I think that Yin Yu's longing to return to becoming a god is genuine, since this is what he says after he stops playing along with Jun Wu's manipulation because he's by then gotten enough spiritual energy to attack him:

"I do want to return to the heavens, I do want to be ranked in the top ten!" Yin Yu continued. "But it's completely meaningless if I don't do it on my own! I'm unlucky, I accept that! Admitting that I can't compare isn't that hard!" Vol 7 page 152

Which is interesting, considering this is what he felt like when he was still a god in heaven while Quan Yizhen hadn't yet ascended:

A good while later, [Quan Yizhen] said bluntly, "I don't like it here."

Yin Yu said nothing.

"They think I'm annoying, but I think they're even more annoying," Quan Yizhen continued. "Before, I could train at least sixteen hours a day. Now half the time is taken up by talking and listening to nonsense, by greeting and visiting people. There are people who yell at me and hit me for no good reason, without apologizing, and I can't even fight back. This isn't heaven. I don't like it here."

Yin Yu sighed. "I don't like it here either."

"Then let's go back," Quan Yizhen said.

But Yin Yu only shook his head, "Even though I don't like it here, I want to stay."

Quan Yizhen couldn't understand. "Why do want to stay if you don't like it here?"

Yin Yu was stumped, and chuckled in spite of himself. He didn't know what to say, unable to explain it to him. How could he convey to Quan Yizhen that reaching the Heavenly Capital was the dream of so many people who sought the path of cultivation, the ultimate end goal? Or just how difficult it was for someone his age to achieve ascension?

Vol 5, page 271-272

Yin Yu essentially seemed to be struggling with sunk cost fallacy, where he put his everything into ascending to heaven and so wants to stay there even though it's making him increasingly unhappy. It's interesting that Jun Wu accuses him of being in denial about his unhappiness in the Ghost Realm, when Yin Yu in the past seemed to be in denial about his unhappiness in heaven. Especially since this is what he was being treated like as soon as his power and influence were in decline:

Yin Yu and Jian Yu were seated next to the "Earth Master." Their assigned seats were considered the edge of the banquet. Yin Yu wasn't eating or talking to anyone. [...]

At the other end of the banquet, there was already a large crowd of heavenly officials fighting to greet Quan Yizhen. The surrounding crowd had completely blocked the person at the center from sight. It appeared that this was soon after Quan Yizhen ascended and established his own palace. He was at the height of his popularity in heaven, in contrast to how he was disliked by most of the present court. Although the two were both Martial Gods of the West, he was significantly more prominent than Yin Yu. The attendees all swarmed over, leaving the table where Yin Yu sat quiet and empty.

Vol 5, page 273-275

I've talked about this in my Yin Yu & Quan Yizhen meta as well, how Yin Yu tries to get by in heaven by conforming and submitting to the elitist power structures it's based on:

Quan Yizhen kept going. "They cussed at me first. I don't even know them. They said I was a low-ranking heavenly official and yelled at me for no reason, then they laughed at me and told me to scram and not to block their way [...]" "Are low-ranking heavenly officials below other people?" Quan Yizhen asked.

"No," Yin Yu replied. Was that true? It was obvious he didn't believe his own words, and Quan Yizhen noticed.

Vol 5, page 271

and how it starts to chip away at the kindness and the moral backbone he showed while still in his sect:

"Shidi, the things you're all saying aren't right." The crowd was taken aback. "I'm going to say something unpleasant," Yin Yu continued. "No matter what path we cultivate, talent truly is an incredible thing. And he is not only talented, he is willing to work hard. If you really think Shifu is playing favorites, then let's work harder to keep up with him - maybe even overtake him. And then things like training halls and supplements will naturally be open to everyone. Rather than wasting time being angry at him, your priority should be training harder. Am I right?" [...]

"You really don't need to mind them. You didn't do anything wrong. It's fine like this." Anyone with clear eyes could see that the other disciples couldn't stand Quan Yizhen. They found fault everywhere, and it wasn't because of his big appetite, or because he wasn't a morning person, or because he was inconsiderate and a poor teammate who only cared about showing off. At the end of the day, what they really couldn't stand was this: he was the last to enter the school, but he received the most. Quan Yizhen nodded. "I think so too." Yin Yu patted his shoulder. "Go train! That's what's most important. Don't think about anything unnecessary." [...]

After watching the two scenarios, Xie Lian praised Yin Yu. "San Lang, that subordinate of yours really is a rare character. What a good heart."

Vol 5, page 262 + 264

Everything Yin Yu and Quan Yizhen already struggled with in their sect - the jealousy, the bullying, the competition for resources - is even worse in heaven, which actively encourages the endless competition for devotees and subordinates as well as the exploitation and mistreatment of those of "lower rank". No matter how hard Yin Yu tries to conform to these structures, they steadily wear away at both the way others see him and also how he sees himself:

After closing the gates, Yin Yu's voice grew louder. "Don't say any more! I don't want to hear it! It's very normal for an ascended heavenly official to establish a palace, so he didn't do anything wrong. Since you get irritated just talking about him, why must you constantly bring him up?" "Please don't think that I'm speaking out of turn, but someone must remind you. Yin Yu, the west is only so big, and there are only so many devotees. He's already taken so much. That wolf yao kill should've been yours, but he stole it! Look at the state of you now - your domain's shrinking smaller and smaller. How much do you have left? Can you maintain your standing if this keeps up?" "How is what he's done theft? It's not like he's forcing anyone to worship him at knifepoint - everyone's willing. Besides, that wolf yao..." Yin Yu sighed and said frankly, "I couldn't have defeated it. It was useless praying to me, so of course they went to him." "I just... I'm worried that if this fight continues, he'll win and leave us with nothing," Jian Yu said bitterly. "Fuck, even those lower-ranking officials only care about their own advancement - each one of them coming up with empty excuses to quit and slipping away to serve under other heavenly officials. What a bunch of no-good asshats!" Yin Yu sighed again and sat down on a prayer cushion. "What fight are you talking about...? Why care for such things? Those who want to leave will always leave in the end, and those who want to stay will naturally remain. I didn't ascend to fight for power with anyone, nor squabble over domains, nor quarrel, so why can't you let this go?" Vol 5, page 277

This is a stark contrast not only to the kind of standing he had while he was still in his sect:

Yin Yu pushed them away, urging them to leave. He sighed. "You said yourself that he's insane, so why bother with him?" It was easy to see that Yin Yu's words held weight with his peers at this point in his life. Although the crowd was still upset, they left as told. Vol 5, page 257

But especially to the kind of authority and respect that his position in Ghost City offers him:

Suddenly, there was a commotion in the ghost crowd. They immediately parted, forming a path, as if someone of importance had arrived. Xie Lian came to his senses and saw a tall, black-clad figure walking straight toward him through the path created by the mob. That person yelled, "Settle down. Let him go!" The black-clad figure, like most of the ghosts on the street, wore a mask. It was a funny mask, with a face that was contorted as if it was smiling woefully. The mob muttered under their breath, "It's the Waning Moon Officer!", and they released their hold on Xie Lian at last. It seemed this black-clad figure was someone significant in Ghost City. Vol 2, page 99

It's also worth mentioning at this point that I think people forget that Yin Yu does not always necessarily work alone and has to do everything by himself but that he has his own subordinates:

After taking a moment to contact his subordinates in Ghost City, Yin Yu meticulously reported the general directions of each sighting.

Vol 7, page 48

Another very important thing to take away from the argument between Jian Yu and Yin Yu is that while still a god in the heavens, Yin Yu had no confidence that he'd be able to fight a wolf yao, yet in the amnesiac extra, he shows no signs of hesitancy or fear when Hua Cheng orders him to go after the monster that stole Xie Lian's memories:

He was still trying to process what he'd learned when he heard San Lang say, "I need to attend to him right now and can't leave. Catch that monster before tomorrow night and bring it to me." "Yes, sir. Shall I leave it one last breath?" the man in the ghost mask asked quietly. San Lang put down his brush and glanced at what he'd written, which he then crumbled up and tossed away, apparently unsatisfied. "Leave it a few. Make it spit out what it swallowed, then crush its worthless head to dust. Make it slow and painful." His tone and expression were both quite frightening, yet Xie Lian didn't find him repulsive or alarming. The man in the ghost mask acknowledged San Lang’s order and was about to take his leave, so Xie Lian quickly dodged away and hid. Vol 8, page 226-227

Which leads me to another important point - the amount of trust Hua Cheng shows Yin Yu by the kind of missions he sends him on. If he didn't have a high opinion of Yin Yu's abilities, he would never send him after something like a monster that had eaten Xie Lian's memories, given how incredibly important Xie Lian's wellbeing is to Hua Cheng. There's many other examples too - like how Hua Cheng trusted Yin Yu to help with tricking Shi Qingxuan and Xie Lian into saving "Ming Yi", or how he entrusted the Earth Master Shovel to him. But Hua Cheng also does not ask the impossible of him - when they're all trapped in heaven and Yin Yu started to dig tunnels with the Earth Master Shovel to try and free Xie Lian and the others so they could recover and become strong enough to escape, Hua Cheng cautions them against it because he correctly deduces that "you'll be seeking your own deaths if you try to break out under Jun Wu's watch." (Vol 7, page 130) Even though Yin Yu is with Xie Lian, Hua Cheng doesn't expect him to get Xie Lian out on his own, because he knows how powerful and ruthless Jun Wu is.

For extra emphasis, let's compare Hua Cheng’s regard for Yin Yu and his abilities to the way Jun Wu never even deemed to speak to Yin Yu while he was a god because he was so very much "beneath" him:

"My dear Yin Yu, I do not think I have ever chatted with you like this before. Isn't that right?"

"I guess not..." Yin Yu replied cautiously.

Even back when he was the martial god who ruled the west, his base of believers wasn't strong, his merits were few, and his rank wasn't impressive. He wasn't the lowest ranked of the heavenly officials in the Upper Court, but he was still below average, so he'd had almost no opportunities to interact with the Heavenly Emperor - the highest of the high.

Vol 7, page 142-143

Keeping all of that in mind, it's very interesting that Jun Wu tries to tempt Yin Yu to his side by offering him the position of his right-hand man:

Finally, Yin Yu asked, "In the Upper Court, I... What... would my position be?"

"Ling Wen will be my left hand, and you shall be my right," Jun Wu said. "There will be none above you besides me."

Vol 7, page 149

When that really is a position Yin Yu already holds - he's Hua Cheng's right-hand man. Now, one could argue that Yin Yu does have less power and prestige in the position of a ghost realm officer than he would have as a god - there's no believers worshipping him - but I think the point is that he doesn't answer to anyone but Hua Cheng, that there's no one else competing with him for that position, no one else among his subordinates that Hua Cheng puts this much trust in, and that there's no one else besides Hua Cheng himself who is demonstrated to hold so much authority and respect in Ghost City. And with all of the above, it's really important to keep in mind that Ghost City is the one single autonomous place in all the three realms and that its Chengzhu is the one single being whose power and influence is rivaled only by the Heavenly Emperor himself.

And said Heavenly Emperor damn well knows Yin Yu is Hua Cheng's right-hand man, which is I believe a big part of the reason he tries to flip Yin Yu by dangling this exact position in front of him. As I've talked about before in other posts, Jun Wu hates Hua Cheng deeply for various reasons. There's the whole thing where Hua Cheng is the unmistakable proof of a believer that never leaves their god, the very thing Jun Wu felt entitled to but didn't receive. But in this case I think him wanting to tempt Yin Yu away from Hua Cheng's side is about how bitter and salty Jun Wu feels about the fact that Hua Cheng holds more sway over all three realms than he does - evidenced by the way Hua Cheng doesn't just have followers in the Ghost Realm but the Human Realm as well, and even the gods, while they fear him, also can't help but admire him and strike deals with him in secret (Vol 1, page 157-160). That Yin Yu, a banished god, would (just like Xie Lian) rather be loyal to Hua Cheng than Jun Wu - that must have angered him a lot because it's something he'd take quite personally.

This is, I think, also the root of why Yin Yu has so much trouble seeing his position in the Ghost Realm for what it really is and why he still longs to be a god despite how unhappy he was in the heavens and how badly he was treated there - he can't see past the prejudices about the Ghost Realm in general and Ghost City in particular that he has internalized. Prejudices that Jun Wu actively weaponizes every time he speaks to Yin Yu, by repeatedly insinuating that being a ghost city officer is a shameful thing to be:

"Surely you do not actually like being a mere pawn in the Ghost Realm?" [...] "Falling in with the Ghost Realm was an unfortunate circumstance, an act borne of helplessness." [...] "You are bound by his grace and have nowhere else to go." [...]

Vol 7, page 144

Which makes it all the more satisfying when Yin Yu tricks Jun Wu (or attempts to, at least) and ultimately rejects both his offer and his authority, and also calls Jun Wu out on the way he tried to manipulate him:

"My Lord... My... No, not My Lord! You! Why must you keep reminding me of that?! Why do you speak like you actually understand me?!"

Vol 7, page 151

Jun Wu is deeply enraged by his defiance and rejection - in general, but also because it reminds him of Xie Lian's defiance against him:

Jun Wu turned around with a casual sweep of his hand. "Exhilarating. You and Xianle must get along well."

Vol 7, page 152

This brings me to my final point - which is that choosing kindness and righteousness even in the face of criticism and rejection, of personal loss and suffering, is what Jun Wu hates the most, and what ties Xie Lian and Hua Cheng, Quan Yizhen and Yin Yu, and Yin Yu and Hua Cheng together. Hua Cheng was drawn to Xie Lian because Xie Lian chose to treat him kindly when everyone else abused and rejected Hua Cheng and pressured Xie Lian to do the same. Similiar things can be said for Quan Yizhen and Yin Yu, since Yin Yu was the one to ask his sect's shifu to take Quan Yizhen in when he came across him as a seemingly abandoned child, and who repeatedly defended Quan Yizhen from the other sect members' judgement and bullying, even though this earned Yin Yu their ire as well. Yin Yu, too, values kindness very highly:

Yin Yu sobbed. "If I wasn't destined to be perfect, I at least wanted to be perfectly kind. But... I couldn't even manage that." (Vol 7, page 156)

Therefore, though we get very little information on their first meeting, I think kindness is also what drew Yin Yu to Hua Cheng, what made him stay loyal to him even when tempted/threatened by Jun Wu, and what made him go right back to working for him after the events of the main story. Because while we get only this one mention, I think a great deal can be gleaned from it:

"Chengzhu has shown me grace. He saved me - "

"I know" Jun Wu said. "He even helped you pacify and send off Jian Yu's vengeful spirit when he died during your banishment, am I correct?"

Vol 7, page 144

It's not just he helped me, it's he saved me. And not only that, Hua Cheng, in a sense, saved Jian Yu as well by helping him move on, which I would assume was simply because Yin Yu wished for his friend to let go of his resentment and not become stuck as a vengeful spirit. What I think is really important to keep in mind here is that not only was Hua Cheng under no obligation to save Yin Yu, he had, objectively speaking, nothing to gain from it. He Xuan was already in the heavens by then and giving Hua Cheng intel. and Hua Cheng didn't show off that he had a banished god working for him either - he let Yin Yi wear a mask, and for years, no one (except apparently Jun Wu) knew where Yin Yu was or what had happened to him, evidenced by the way Quan Yizhen kept looking and kept asking about him to no avail (Vol 5 page 235).

We don't really get Hua Cheng's side of the story but I think the fact that he doesn't speak about it speaks for itself - aside from keeping things close to his chest in general, he tends to not talk about the things he does out of kindness and/or his own sense of justice. We see this for example when Xie Lian only finds out why the group of cultivators is after Hua Cheng when he overhears them saying that Hua Cheng chose to shelter both the pig spirit and the prostitute ghost who had chosen to take revenge on humans who had used their positions of power to hurt others (Vol 5 page 28-29).

This is therefore more speculation than analysis, but I can imagine that this whole scenario - a god with a good heart who gets abandoned by the heavens with only a vengeful spirit by his side - even though the exact circumstances that led to it differed, might have held enough similarities to what Hua Cheng personally witnessed of Xie Lian's banishment that it would bring out that same urge to help and protect in Hua Cheng. The fact that Yin Yu says Hua Cheng saved him really can't be overstated in my opinion, considering that Hua Cheng, understandably, has usually nothing but feelings of either indifference or hatred for all of the gods aside from Xie Lian and the Rain Master.

To sum up - the power structures in heaven encourage workplace harassment, bullying, and endless competition for resources and support, and this causes Yin Yu not only increased stress, isolation, and unhappiness, but also puts a strain on his inherent kindness and righteousness as he starts to give in under the pressure to conform. By contrast, his position in Ghost City is dependant on nothing but his loyalty to Hua Cheng, on Yin Yu's own choice to stay with him, and offers him an unprecedented amount of respect and trust. It is heaven, really, that is repeatedly shown to mistreat and exploit its officials, especially those of lower rank, not Hua Cheng.

[thepurplewombat]

The Sin List

okay, so as we all know, it is vitally important that any character we stan must be morally pure and a good example to emulate in real life.

So I have decided to create a list of MDZS characters and their sins, which everyone can easily refer to in order to make sure that they are not following some horrible criminal or murderer!

This was a lot of work, but I'm very proud of it. Just doing my bit to ensure the moral purity of the fandom!

Wei Wuxian - Necromancy, disrespecting his elders, disrespecting the dead, killed Jin Zixuan, punched Jin Zixuan in the face one time, cannibalism, mind control, deviant sexual fantasies, trespassing, oath-breaking, urged Wen Qing to perform untested and possibly fatal operation on Jiang Cheng without his consent.

Lan Wangji - Defied his elders, broke the Lan Clan rules, sexually assaulted Wei Wuxian, deviant sexual fantasies, GBH (JGY)

Jin Guangyao - betrayed and killed Wen Ruohan, betrayed and killed Jin Guangshan, murder (NMJ), murdered assorted people, disrespecting the dead, assorted Spy Things for Wen Ruohan.

Nie Mingjue - Killed a lot of people during the war, verbally abused Nie Huaisang, burned Nie Huaisang's stuff, attempted murder (JGY), attempted murder (JGY), attempted murder (JGY), murder (JGY), killed the Mo family (well, his arm did anyway). In favor of the genocide of the Wen Remnants

Jin Guanshan: Sexual assault, rape, murder, ordering human experimentation with resentful energy to be done by his sect, played both sides during the war, didn't take responsibility for his children, ultimately responsible for getting WWX killed because he wanted the YTT so bad

Wen Ruohan: Attempted world domination, murder etc

Lan Qiren: has a stick up his ass

Su Minshan: Refused to die for the Lan, supported JGY in his efforts to prevent undead Da-ge from killing him. Also cursed Jin Zixun.

Sect Leader Yao: Weathervane politician

Jiang Wanyin: strangled Wei Wuxian that one time, keeps trying to talk to him but is way too tsundere about it, killed many during the war, didn't immediately forgive WWX for getting JYL killed, threatens to break Jin Ling's legs weekly.

Jin Ling: rude. rude rude rude. Also stabbed WWx one time

Lan Jingyi: not respecting his elders, rude rude rude. Also loud

JFM: shit dad, throw him in a volcano

Madame Yu: Angry mom, beat Wei Wuxian for things that weren't his fault, yelled at JC a lot, didn't appreciate JYL, very mean.

Lan Xichen: killed people during the war. Randomly starts doing flute solos in conversation

Meng Shi: was a prostitute. Told Meng Yao his dad was amazing and he should totally look him up later.

Madam Jin: awful person, she can go into the volcano with JFM. physical and verbal abuse (JGY)

Nie Huaisang: killed cats, nearly killed the juniors, let his sect fall into ruin, traded obscene materials, disrespecting his sect's traditions, lied to Lan Xichen to make him kill JGY

Wen Qing: went along with WRH's plans, performed surgery on JC without his consent

Wen Ning: Was part of the burning of LP

Mo Xuanyu: Summoned Satan to murder his relatives, harassed his brother

Jin Zixun: asshole, rude, broke the Geneva Convention on the ethical treatment of prisoners several times. Useless person

FOR THE SAKE OF SAFETY AND YOUR MORALS YOU ARE ONLY ALLOWED TO STAN THE FOLLOWING CHARACTERS

Jiang Yanli

Qin Su

Lan Shizui

[guqin-and-flute]

Mingjue strikes me as the type of guy to not offer up information about his sexuality/sex life in general but also doesn't consider it something to hide (and just doesn't care enough to.) Partly because he thinks it's stupid that people think it's their business at all and partly because he doesn't see it as shameful. He's got so much other shit going on and he's not gonna live forever, he's definitely not wasting time on worrying what Sect Leader Yao thinks of who he invites into his bed.

But people see him speaking out against Jin Guangshan's degeneration and the general Jin Vibe of opulence and indulgence, they assume that means he classes all """deviant""" sexuality in that category, and his reputation as being so rule and honor code abiding they assume he will agree as passionately with all of society's mores (re: homosexual encounters) and just assume he's strictly straight and discount any rumors that he isn't.

'Sleep with a man? Chifeng-zun? You must be joking.'

Meanwhile Mingjue is like, 'What? Yeah, we did. Can we get back to what we were doing, now? I couldn't give less of a shit and you're wasting my time.'

And still people would be like, 'Man, I don't know where these rumors are coming from!! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯'

[beardedmrbean]

Members of a Malaysian religious group accused of human trafficking and child sexual abuse continued committing crimes even after a large-scale police crackdown, according to authorities.

The Islamic Global Ikhwan Group (GISB) made international headlines in September after police rescued 402 minors suspected of being abused across 20 care homes.

Authorities arrested 171 suspects at the time, including teachers and caretakers - but hundreds more have been arrested since, as further details emerge of the group's alleged crimes.

Among those are allegations that, until 1 October, five GISB members trafficked people for the purpose of exploitation by forced labour through threats.

Warning: This story contains descriptions of sexual and physical violence.

Two of the accused were managers of a GISB-owned resort in the southern state of Johor. They were charged on Sunday with four counts of human trafficking involving three women and a man aged between 30 and 57. The third, a worker at the same resort, was charged with two counts of sexually abusing a 16-year-old.

At least two other suspects in the incident, which took place between August 2023 and 1 October 2024, are still at large.

Hundreds of other victims, aged between one and 17, are said to have endured various forms of abuse at care homes linked to GISB, with some allegedly sodomised by their guardians and forced to perform sexual acts on other children, according to police.

In a press conference on Monday, lawyers representing GISB denied allegations of illegal business activities and organised crime, asking for a "fair investigation" as police investigations continue.

However, its CEO, Nasiruddin Mohd Ali, had earlier admitted there were "one or two cases of sodomy" at the care homes.

"Indeed, there were one or two cases of sodomy, but why lump them (the cases) all together?" Nasiruddin said in a video posted to the company's Facebook page.

GISB has hundreds of businesses across 20 countries, operating across sectors including hospitality, food and education. It has also been linked to Al-Arqam, a religious sect that was banned by the Malaysian government in 1994 due to concerns about deviant Islamic teachings.

Khaulah Ashaari, the daughter of Al-Arqam founder Ashaari Muhammad, is a member of GISB, and has denied that the group still follows her late father's teachings.

The lower house of Malaysia’s parliament on Tuesday held a special motion discussing issues relating to GISB, where government ministers flagged a number of findings made since the children were rescued from the care homes last month.

The Home Minister, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, told the hearing that some children from as young as two years old were separated from their families and instructed to work under the pretence of "practical training".

He also said they were occasionally forced to perform hundreds of squats as punishment for "disciplinary breaches".

"If they did any wrongdoings, for something as simple as not queuing up properly, they would be punished with not 100 but 500 ketuk ketampi (squats)," Saifuddin said, according to a report by local outlet The Star.

"According to assessments by psychologists – either through the police’s D11 unit or the Welfare Department – these children missed their parents," he added. "Some don’t even know them."

To date, the police operation against GISB has resulted in 415 arrests and the rescue of 625 children, according to Saifuddin.

The Malaysian authorities have also expanded their investigations into GISB internationally, seeking the assistance of Interpol.

[trashfire-nia]

Post-canon WY being invited to teach a field work course in Gusu cos LH found out he's been grading papers with LZ

LQR is moments from qi deviation when LH brings it up; A DEVIANT AND VAGRANT TEACHING IN THE SECT????

LZ is PROUD. the juniors are EXCITED. WY is flattered/confused/suffocating from laughing

cue WY's liberal arts professor era

he still can't remember all the juniors' names ;7;

he doodles bunnies when commenting on field reports/essays. everyone (not LQR) is amused

they're in the middle of a murder/ghost case that no one is listening to because WY came to class with bite marks all over his neck for all of man and the gods to see

"sorry im late hanguang-jun was insatiable last night hahahaha"

JL is embarrassed 24/7 but is secretly warm from pride and familial affection when he does well in WY's class and WY praises him for it

wangxian pda in front of the juniors that's both subtle but also obscene: touching the tips of each other's hair (or forehead ribbon in LZ's case), curling fingers around each other briefly, arm around the waist, kissing each others hands/fingers

LOTUS SEED PICKING FIELD TRIP

[markiafc]

i love and appreciate western media very much, but there really are some feelings only chinese media can tap into. it's the eternal tension between conforming to long-established tradition v. defying it all and being something new, something deviant. we find that conflict in the ideological battles between chinese philosophies; the criticisms and derivations between confucianism, buddhism, daoism, mohism, etc. we find it in the way chinese states are always torn between honoring traditional values v. loosening their grip to accommodate those at the margins. we find it in people like myself; i grew up in a very religious chinese buddhist family, having to studiously study buddhism and some prominent confucian texts. inside the cultural consciousness, there are real living people. and they want so badly to break free from convention, its suffocating and painfully limiting. at the same time, it feels so important and they want to keep engaging with it, they can't abandon something so close to their identity and heart.

mlc also dedicates itself to discussing this push and pull. and it lives in this grey area, this overlap of tradition and nonconformity. fanghua exemplifies this wonderfully, by embodying the traditional and non-traditional family all at once.

lxy is fdb's master, his role model. he is the ideal patriarch of jianghu (as @seventh-fantasy very rightly points out, lxy is the ideal picture of a mohist leader, mohism is the ideological inspiration behind wuxia fiction and all). on the other side of this same coin, llh serves as fdb's protector and guardian. he takes fdb under his wing and roof, looks out for fdb and passes his teachings down to him. llh raises him as a fair, wise and dependable jianghu figure, so much so that llh names fdb as his successor in the farewell letter. fdb inherits everything that was llh's, his house, dog, his skills and his legacy.

to fdb, he is both lxy and llh's heir. he owes them a lot. he wants to do right by them. he is their charge, the seed they both nurtured.

lxy/llh is also 长辈 an elder to 晚辈 the junior, fdb. there is an age gap between lxy/llh and fdb. in addition to his canonical status as master, guardian and uncle in a way, llh is a member of the older generation and fdb is a youth of the new age (the era of lxy's sigu sect v. the era of baichuan's sigu sect). tianji is fdb's family in regular society and llh is fdb's family in the jianghu world. and fdb is lucky to have parental figure(s) in both spheres.

to lxy/llh, fdb is his responsibility. fdb is his burden and also his pride. he is the naive youth that llh accepts into his home to mentor. lxy/llh holds seniority. and there is a certain amount of distance he expects from fdb. even if fdb refuses to abide. similar to the princess zhaoling who was kept at arm's length by the older girls in the mansion, fdb is kept at arm's length by llh.

so traditional dynamics and social roles lie at the root of fanghua. and yet there is:

a) an explicit rejection of blood family (fdb rejects sgd and lxy/llh chooses his adopted jianghu family over bloodline) wherein the family & marriage is said to be a foundational unit of chinese society,

b) an ambiguity, it is hard to slap one single label on fanghua because they embody multiple things at once. their dynamic derives from the traditional chinese concepts of family and seniority. there is duty and obligation that goes both ways. but the boundaries delineating each form of that are broken down. fanghua resembles father/son, and mother/son, and uncle/nephew, and master/disciple in one package. fdb also believes them to be shoulder to shoulder in friendship, equal partners, and that adds another layer of ambiguity.

there is a unique mobility and ability to traverse between definitions, and that marks them as non-traditional. an elusive quality that is built on top of the traditions that we know.

[sandu-zidian]

MDZS/CQL’s politics is so fascinating to me because power derives itself from the class hierarchy and related social etiquette. Someone (or a sect) holds and gathers power by performing a sense of respectability, either through inherent gentry status gained from birth, following social etiquette rules, and respecting hierarchical structures already set in place. It’s why rumors are so vital to maintaining power in the current status quo because rumors can help elevate or break down the illusion of a person’s respectability and therefore their access to power. It’s why WWX, for all his individual prowess, has no political power: the rumors make him out to be a social deviant and dangerous, and he has no other forms of social currency to make up for that. It’s why JGY’s access to power is always precarious: rumors constantly undermine his authority by reminding people that the visage of his respectability, cultivated through social etiquette and respecting hierarchy, is tainted by his birth status as a son of a prostitute (no matter his father being a sect leader). It’s how all the other gentry characters maintain their own authority and power: as long as they don’t step out of line of what is social acceptable behavior/attitudes, and they have the proper birth status, they are able to protect their hold on power, that both protects themselves and also the people under their care.

This means that the problem with the Wen remnants must be understood in this political landscape. The Wens are the remainder of Qishan Wen’s standing and power. To save them against the common held attitudes of blood feuds, would mean going against the status quo in a way very uncomfortable to the cultivation world that would like to see themselves as the heroes and therefore deserving of whatever spoils (land, treasures, political power) they got from the war. It would possibly mean giving some of that back to the “enemy”. And while to us, the easy answer is to help them, it’s not so simple. The Jin, the most powerful post-SSC, don’t want to help them. And to go against the Jin would mean going against the newly established political hierarchy and potentially undermining one’s own remaining amount of power. JC, LXC, LWJ, and so on, stay passive because to not respect the new hierarchy and refusing to play by the rules of gentry society would mean potentially losing the power they and their sect have left and therefore their ability to protect themselves (them being them as individuals, and their sect). WWX going against the status quo means that WWX forgoes all power he could possibly have had in the social hierarchy (which tbf, is not a whole lot anyways). The current political and social system incentivizes these characters to just stand by passively and punishes those who decide to act differently. It’s understandable, but still disappointing, when the gentry characters choose the choice society tells them they should choose.

I think this is why a lot of fix-it’s in this fandom just don’t click because it always fixated on the individual choices of characters rather than the system that makes these the decisions these characters will ultimately make. JC can’t be the only one to decide differently, and it’s not just choices that must change, but attitudes and beliefs about how the cultivation world’s politics should actually be allocated. This is why XXC and SL being viewed as silly and naive for trying to create a sect based on merit instead of clan is important. To view the cultivation world outside of a gentry system is radical in this world.

[zerogate]

History, it is often said, is one damn thing after another. In truth, it is not: it is far more often one damn thing before another. Things happen forwards; but history is then written backwards. Historians begin in the present, and trace the roots of the present in the past. This is not a new habit. One of the first histories ever written, by Herodotus of Halicarnassus, did this explicitly: as its enormously lengthy first sentence explained, its aim was to look at the conflicts between the Greeks and ‘barbarians’, and ‘especially to show why the two peoples fought with each other.’ The historian begins with something in the present, then hunts for its origins in the past.

This has tended to happen with Christianity. The historian has, for centuries, seen the magnificent, monolithic Catholic Church that in the end came to dominate Europe, hunted for it at the beginning of the story, found it – and then written about it at length, often to the expense of the alternatives. The historian David Brakke has likened writing about early Christianity to writing about a race whose result is known: it is so hard to pay serious attention to any of the other contenders; they seem so clearly preordained to lose.

But, as is now realized, this is not true. Heretics were not preordained to fail and as sects they were not manifestly lesser. The scholarly mood towards heretics and heresy has changed. The writings of the heretics – once derided as ‘shit’ in every sense – are now studied seriously. Scholars now talk about ‘early Christianities’ rather than ‘early Christianity’. And, where once Christian writers used to describe heresies as ‘weeds’ and ‘tares’ attacking the ‘true crop’ of orthodox Christianity, today more equitable agricultural metaphors are offered. As one historian recently put it, ‘The overall picture of Christianity in the second century resembles a field of competing saplings more than a central tree (orthodoxy) surrounded by deviant offshoots (heresies).’ And some of these variants flourished for well over a millennium – in places, they still do today.

-- Catherine Nixey, Heresy

[web-novel-polls]

Priest (Author) Character Tournament

[“Anti-propaganda” is not allowed. Please only give reasons to vote FOR a character, and please be courteous in the notes.]

Xuan Ji from Lie Huo Jiao Chou / Drowning Sorrows in Raging Fire

Fire chicken aka a supernatural fiend with credit card debt 😞 who joins the Deviant Control Office to pay it off

Puddle/Han Tan/Shuikeng from Liu Yao

"Puddle had one merit, and that was that she knew how to act when it came to her own benefit."  - Liu Yao: The Revitalization of Fuyao Sect, Chapter 31

Little birb shimei lol

Is literally the daughter of the Yao Queen and a mortal who the others just. adopted. 

The “wimpy kid” of the description - “A cultivation story about how a declining sect is restored by a narcissist, troublemaker, meanie, idiot, and wimpy kid.”

[sorrowschengmei]

why almost every villain in MDZS breaks their expected gender role somehow

btw please notice when i say 'masculine' i'm not saying 'manly in a contemporary western POV' i'm basically saying 'appropriate behaviour for a cisgender male of his social position' so yes expect a lot of class struggle as newsflash, identity based  oppression ALWAYS walks hand in hand with social class [there's a reason upper class americans always seem more comfortable to display gender nonconforming behaviour than working class ppl of the global south]

first i'd like to use a character as pretty much an example of  almost 100% gender conforming behaviour in that show: Wangji.

yes he's gay, but that really doesn't seem to be an issue in this setting. why? bc he dresses plainly, doesn't display excessive emotion, shows devotion to his family, respects customs, doesn't mingle outside his  social class... i mean, we all watched that show, he DOES slip sometimes, but not enough to create a reputation of rule breaker or something. even in his most rebellious moments, he's still inside everything one might expect of a cisgender man of his social class.

so who fails to meet the standard? characters that are heavily punished for doing so. that become bitter and resentful, and display their suffering acting in vengeful, cruel, calculating ways. that look at the society that ruined them, and say 'i'll ruin this bitch'.

and yes, this list includes Wei Ying. so say hello to the mean girls of MDZS!

starting by the most obvious example: Mo Xuanyu, gay, gender nonconforming to shocking levels and mentally ill. taken into the Jin sect, goes there and hits on his half brother. absolutely iconic. 

no really this character spits and pisses on the face of society, and its one of the saddest examples of this list as he not only doesn't do much damage as the others, he's also driven to suicide. i won't list all the ways he's GNC bc honestly there aren't too many ways he WAS in gender conformity lol

another character that resorts to ways that could be called antagonistic and also struggles with gentlemanly behaviour is Nie Huaisang.

he's devoted to the arts, what is NOT unmasculine per se, but the fact he can't succeed at swordsmanship, won't display a traditional assertive and unattached attitude when in a leadership position and has an overall sensitive and gentle demeanor mark him as a deviant from his assigned gender role, what is harshly punished by the masculine-and-manly-in-a-contemporary-western-POV Nie Mingjue. as he cannot win in direct confrontation, he appeals to indirect ways and social manipulation [completely ungentlemanly behaviour] much like the next in the list: Meng Yao.

this one is sorta tricky to fit in this list bc he DOES display gender conforming behaviour but as we can see, its either something fucking wicked like impregnating his own sister or pretty much a role he's playing. Yao is PAINFULLY aware of how society works. he can see clearly all the roles and picks those that will favour him. does it mean he's comfortable with them?

no lol to become the perfect married, with an heir, of high status, filial etc male model he does unspeakable things. i absolutely love this character and i'm yes, based af towards him bc his tragedy is BEING TOO GOOD AT FITTING GENDER ROLES. accepting anything to dodge the social outcast status that was imprinted on him since he was born. a whoreson is not a man, he's something less than a man, he's a Mo Xuanyu, he's a Xue Yang. he has no family to honour, no place in the social pyramid, no means of starting his own family.

he's unmasculine by definition. and much like Huaisang, Yao was graced with a soft and gentle presence, more appropriate for a Mianmian than a sect leader. talking of Xue Yang.... 

yes, he's pretty much 'manly' in a western contemporary POV. he kills ppl and displays antisocial behaviour, what is pretty much tied to our current view on manhood [see the soldier and the CEO as peak examples of the ''alpha male'']

 but whose family is he going to honor? what kind of emotional restraint is laughing during a massacre? which customs are being respected when a working class-born man kills an entire highborn clan for something that according to the custom he should just accept as his fate and move on?

add to that the fact he's very much satisfied with assuming a housewife role and hits on upper class men obscenely in any opportunity he has, and you have a walking menace to the entire concept of masculinity of this setting. *throws kiss* for Xue Yang, ancient Chinese working class queer icon.

then we have Su Minshan, who BETRAYED HIS CLAN out of devotion for a WHORESON, and has a lifelong grudge with who? yes, THE masculine role model, Lan Wangji, who honestly couldn't care less, he's just trying to live his already hard enough life in peace.  Su Minshan offends almost everything that means being a man in his setting. plus he's cunning-not a good look.

and finally we have the Yiling Laozu, that one that broke all the taboos, offended all the customs, rejected swordsmanship and embraced music, all while being romantically involved with a Lan of Gusu when he's merely a Jiang associate. and the most iconic part?

MXTX made him the fucking protagonist. yes. the dude who went there and dishonored everything that means being a man in his setting, she doesn't want us to think he's lowly, dirty, unworthy of empathy--there are enough characters doing this already. she wants us to join this gender nonconforming gay man as he lifts all the veils of society, wrecking mayhem in their little extremely rigid feudal system, intriguing the a-Yaos, a-Yangs, Minshans, Huaisangs and Xuanyus with his ways so similar but so different from theirs. it's like the author is saying:

'we know you are hurting. we know society fucked you up. but please, dont become bitter. you still can create a beautiful life for you. you don't need to be stuck in a coffin, left to rot, suicided or tossed aside. you CAN write your WangXian song and cultivate until immortality'

and honestly i dont think i've ever seen any work so obscenely thought-provoking regarding gender roles, social roles and trauma as MDZS....

[kaleidoscope1967eyes]

Introduction to Drolism - The Gods

Many of the rich and mysterious cultural traditions of Iego stem from the planet's native religion, Drolism.

Drolism, known in Iegoan as Droltara, centers around the worship of a trinity of deities: Drol, the primary deity and namesake of the religion; his daughter, Ashi; and his son, Dasho. The deities themselves are the manifestations of different aspects of the life breath or energy of the universe. This is a Force-based religion, so "life breath" can be interpreted as meaning the Force itself.

There are many parallels between Drolism and the religion of the Mortis Gods. They are both Force-based religions centering around the worship of three deities--represented as a father, a son, and a daughter--so some scholars believe they may have originated from the same ancient belief system.

Drol, God of All Things, Supreme Lord of Iego, is the incarnation of the life breath of the universe. He is a neutral deity, as he is capable of both protecting and punishing the people of Iego, hence why the Separatists exploited people's faith in him to cover up their operations on the planet. He is strongly associated with storms--something that both nourishes and harms--and his primary symbols are water and lightning, which are deemed sacred. The Mortis God he is analogous to is the Father.

Ashi, Goddess of Light, Lady of Mercy, is the daughter of Drol. She is strongly associated with the Moons of Iego and the native Diathim, also known as "angels," who are said to have been created in her image. From an outside perspective, she represents an incarnation of the Light Side of the Force. The Mortis God she is analogous to is the Daughter. One of the most widely practiced sects of Drolism is dedicated to her, known as Ashideyi, or the Way of Ashi. A primary feature of this sect is its emphasis on medicine and healing; as a result, its followers on average have long and ailment-free lifespans, which is ultimately the basis of the belief that Iegoans are immortal.

Dasho, God of Darkness, Lord of Chaos, is the son of Drol. He is strongly associated with the underground caverns of Iego and the native Maelibi, also known as "demons," who are said to have been created in his image. From an outside perspective, he represents an incarnation of the Dark Side of the Force. The Mortis God he is analogous to is the Son. Legend has it that a deviant sect of Drolism exists known as Dashodeyi, or the Way of Dasho, that practices black magic in the form of ritual sacrifices.

OC Fic Lore Taglist:

@canon-can-fight-me

@aldhanii

@alexlifesonofficial

@dailydragon08

@coffeeorsomething-irl

@masterlukessaber

@rogue-kenobi

[splathousefiction]

I have been in the creative field since I was 18. While I am most popularly known for my work here at Splathouse, "Jack The Warlock" isn't the only face I've worn in the 16 years I've been making things in a professional space.

In no particular order, a (in)complete list of projects I either created myself or have been a part of is below the jump. Details at this time will be kept vague. You are welcome to make your guesses and DM/Comment down below. If you get it right, I'll tell you.

An actual hard-copy account with my complete involvement along with website addresses, email accounts and passwords is currently within my safe in my own hand writing. It's to be scanned and made public upon my death, serving as (if nothing else) a testament to "try everything".

I started an absurdist magician sect. I was originally inspired by chaos magic theory, but sought to refine their ideals. As such, it takes the element of the concept of belief itself as a malleable thing that can shape the world without ever being spoken or made physical via ritual work. "If you think it, it can happen"-be that in the ego or the id. The sect is still operating internationally today and has over 100 members. We're small, but we're there. None of the members have ever met me or have any idea who I am.

I've published two short-horror collections as a female author in her forties. They were released for free and are pretty openly available almost everywhere you can pirate books. The books are incredibly popular with queers, with booktok most notably covering them pretty hotly for a month. None of my readers have absolutely any idea I am behind both collections and still send emails (without hope of ever getting a response) today. Many assume I'm dead.

I released an experimental dark fantasy hip-hop EP that was inspired by this album by Earl Sweatshirt and MF DOOM. It's a five track album that totals in at 21 minutes. Much like the horror anthology collection above, each track can be enjoyed by itself, but when played in sequential order tells a Berserk-like story. The album took six months of my life and features encoded secret messages in the audio, with the "lore" being that it's a form of sigil magic. To date, it is the most popular audio project I have ever recorded and vastly surpasses anything I have ever made for Splathouse. Absolutely no one knows that the vocals, the producer and the song writer are one guy, nor do they know it's me. They've been waiting for a follow up EP for years. I will never release another one.

I have been a writer and creative director for several ARGs. One of which was a darling of the early days of Youtube Explainer videos. The project "concluded" because I was intensely disgusted by the growing cottage industry of "curators" destroying the mystery of such things. As they still do this and have careers directly profiting off the creative works of others, I see no need to join such a project ever again. Absolutely no one involved in the projects had any idea who I am, and the projects I started myself have never once been connected back to me.

I've co-wrote several webcomics. One or two of which gained middling popularity. No one working on these projects has absolutely any idea as to who I am or my larger sphere of work. I left the field because of audience treatment of webcomic creators.

I've had original artwork I created featured in multiple gallery showings that highlighted "abstract" and "outsider" art, back when I still enjoyed doing artwork. Anything you find by me on deviant art in the "Splathouse" era was me attempting to wrap my head around digital art; my neuro divergency prefers physical mediums. Every single one of these submissions was under a different name chosen at random.

I've acted in precisely two indy movies under a popular name used by directors who don't want their names attached to projects. Film buffs know the one. I was the lead character in one and the side character in another. The films are connected, but aren't sequels, a series, nor is there a prequel involved. The films were highly experimental and shot in the "guerilla"/"Gonzo" tradition. They went through the indy circuit and won [insert number of awards here]. I wasn't compensated nor were the films profitable. We didn't care and I haven't spoken with anyone from the cast since, who simply asked for a name and nothing more. Some of them are still in the industry. One of them is a reasonably successful B-movie director now.

I've created several text adventure games. Most people are familiar with the Splathouse ones, which released in the early 2010s. What they aren't familiar with are the ones I released on itchio under an different name with a disposable email address. The games were reasonably popular with that niche sector of the gaming community, and still get regularly recommended.

There's more I could add to this, but I feel I'm done for now. It's late, I've work in the morning.

If you've made it this far in the list and you're still curious-no, you aren't going to get me to tell you any details about any of these projects. Even my best friends couldn't get that out of me. If you're curious as to why I did literally any of this, the reason is two fold:

Because I could.

why not?