#I am not from the culture but i highly appreciate their history

[alanshee-keeper-of-realms]

Showing Another Cultures Attire (From Mandarin Chinese)

Something to know about me I love Eastern Culture here is me wearing my Qipao, this outfit is a favorite I love honoring the Long History and Evolution (This form of Qipao isnt the first iteration at all its actually quite Modern) but it also helps me keep proper posture let's just say it looks sloppy if your slouched.

But I have recently found out in my state of Michigan I may be able to get a Bachelor Degree in a Field for free through the University of Michigan Go Blue Guarantee program for Michigan Residents. I hope to possibly get to go to college for a degree in this area of Historical Research/Archeology.

Fun Fact this is why I love Ninjago not many shows embrace the many cultures of the Asian Continent. It's subtle but they have shown a bunch.

(By the Way I am American but my Heritage is Ashkenazi Jewish from Ukraine, German British and Prussian my families infamous ancestors include The Putnams we were a seperate branch that went to Virgina while they tore up Salem Mass, and the Famous/Infamous person known as President Ulysses Grant he's a first cousin)

[dcmcboxers]

My shout-out to queer youtubers

Hbombs list was great but obviously not comprehensive. I watch a lot of video essayists and wanted to give a little love to the smaller channels that fall under the radar. Please feel free to add to this list!

let's talk about stuff/Sarah Zedig

If you've seen Jesse Gender's videos on the Matrix movies you may already be familiar with Sarah. She does excellent film and culture analysis with a lot of great conversations on paratext and outside influence in engaging with text. Her video on Tunic is one of my favorites.

Pamphleteer

No one makes videos like hers, which has the side effect making them a bit hard to describe. I will link one of my favorites which describes the disconnected temporality of being older when you discover you're queer.

Turbo Queer

Really really under watched channel. Skylar covers a lot of topics from video games, to anarchist history and modern events, to autistic life, to current politics. For a fun one check out her video on the SpongeBob strike episode.

Kaz Rowe

Kaz does a fantastic job examining modern myths and manufactured history primarily pertaining to western Europe, Victorian & Edwardian England, and 1800-1900s US. And of course, talking about historical queerness in all its ambiguities and evolutions. I highly recommend their video on Weimar Germany.

drapetomania

drapetomania interrogates the politics of low class and high class art and entertainment from a queer and Black perspective. Their art history videos alone cover many angles of white supremacist history I haven't seen anyone else discuss and I'm very excited to see more from them. They are also a very under viewed channel that more people should see!

I am error

Evelynn's channel primarily discusses video games in a presentation style and voice most similar to Action Button reviews. There's something just a bit more personal here though. I hesitate to say cozy since that word has a bit of an infantilizing connotation, maybe comforting is closer. She puts an immense amount of thought and empathy into the experience of playing video games and the personal narratives we build with them.

Swolesome

For more transmasc perspectives there's Swolesome. He has a lot of interesting insights into the more traditionally masculine and "broish" communities like fitness as well as commentary on recent trans issues.

Shonalika

Music, disability, and aggressively non-binary. Their video on gender presentation in heavy metal was really insightful. I would also check out the video "Why I Wear Gloves" for more insight on invisible disabilities.

Vivian Strange

Vivian delights in being a bit of a contrarian- something I really appreciate. She's probably going to challenge you and you're probably going to disagree at times, which is what makes her channel so important. Her video on Marquis De Sade is powerful and a must watch (if you can stomach the subject material, although I would encourage you to try). I haven't seen her most recent video on Saw yet but I am extremely excited to.

[psychicwavementality]

🚨 🚨 ‼️ 🇨🇳🇭🇰 HK/CHINESE SUOPOST V2 PART 1 HAS LANDED!!

EDIT NOV 11 2024: So with recent Niisato interview news that Suo was designed to be a cool Chinese character, I have officially lost all words. Take my post as my "I called it so hard because it was obvious from the start, but I sure do appreciate the extra confirmation" cheer.

I never thought it would see the light of day because this draft got deleted like, 2 times and running. But it's here. It's finally here.

Below the cut is another long and lengthy Suopost V2 about his inherent Chineseness and, may I now congratulate, even further Hong Kongness! Not only that, but now we have Endo Yamato also starting to show signs of diagnosable Chineseness, and because my CN friend and I are ridiculously tweaky when it comes to overanalyzing characters who show even a smidge of Chinese in their eyes—this post was born! Sadly, because I am slow as hell when it comes to writing, this post only contains 11,000 words discussing Suo Hayato. You'll need to wait for Part 2 if you want to see me Hallelujahpost and Chinkpost Endo Yamato... blame my stupid baka life.

Now feast your eyes upon me having to correct my own errors in analysis that turns out to reveal even more Chinese connotations 😭😭😭💪!! This is VERY VERY long and has genuine deep analysis regarding a lot of China/HK culture/like 8 seconds of politics and 15 minutes of history + the weight behind some symbolism in Suo's name + theories regarding Suo's arc + Suo's absolutely yappable connection to 儒家思想/Confucianism.

Later in Part 2, we'll talk about Endo Yamato's biblical symbolism + alchemical influence + his connections to Suo, and how I can jokingly chinkpost him lol. I'll also be uploading a Reddit version of this post onto r/WindBreakerManga either tomorrow or the day after because I have to re-format a lot of things.

So strap in for a long and potentially mind-exploding ride because this is what happened to me while researching/writing all this. BTW, feel free to spam live commentary at me using Tumblr's comment function or something because I'd love to hear your thoughts while reading this whole gigantanorstus assfuck of a post... I'm not okay. I think I went insane. Niisato needs to pay me USD 1,664,800 for a new heart because I think mine stopped beating multiple times during research.

Before we begin, I'd like to tell everyone who has read my previous Suo chinkpost (v1) to DISREGARD EVERYTHING I SAID ABOUT SUO'S FLOWER BEING PLUM BLOSSOMS. You'd think I'd be devastated to find out I have to retcon an entire analysis because I picked out the wrong flower. You'd be expecting Suo to lose Chinese aurapoints. I shit you not: he auramaxxed HARDER. It's like opening a Pandora's Box; you learn about the real flower and then 5 trillion more connotations are thrown at you at Mach 20. It is more over than I thought possible when I wrote the traditionally symbolic Chinese boypreggers marriage room part. And one connection caused me to spiral into another, thus stretching this post's wordcount into unholy numbers 😭

Anyway.

In Suopost v1, I thought these fuckass flowers [IMG 1] next to Suo were plum blossoms [IMG 2] and, ngl! They look plenty like them. But after I read this mind-blowing char analysis + theory document made by u/Snowy-kitten, my jaw fell as:

Oops, Suo's name means Chinese redbud [IMG 3], and if Sakura's flowers are sakura, then Suo's flowers should be redbuds. Damn, I got it wrong, time to rewrite my Suopost. Sorry for spreading misinformation gu—

...What are these flowers called in Chinese anyway?

why do i hear boss musicHOLY SHIT OH MY GOD THEY'RE CALLED 紫荊花. OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH M

Taken directly from the wonderful and super informative document which I highly advise you to read to fully understand this post, especially if you have time:

Su (蘇) – sappanwood, a wood that can be made into medicine used to improve blood circulation, treat wounds, and alleviate pain. It also symbolizes revival, resurrection

O (枋) – sappanwood or a tough wooden plank that can be used for crafting, maybe symbolizing the bridge of communication between other characters?

Suo (蘇枋) – Sappanwood, a deciduous shrub of the legume family (ie a small shrub that loses all its leaves in winter), or Chinese redbud, symbolizing family harmony, can be used as treatment for fever (No wonder why Sakura recovered after Suo visited him)

Haya (隼) – Falcon, a symbol of nobility (high status + wealth) in Japan, also symbolizes bravery, power and vision, is an icon of pursuit and movement, heading toward success (Falcon in other cultures also symbolizes freedom, which might have something to do with Suo’s dream – the liberation of slaves)

To (飛) – Fly or Flight

Hayato (隼飛) – Flying Falcon

Analysis: Most likely the key to the success of Sakura or Bofurin’s rebirth, if Sakura became the leader of Bofurin, Suo would most likely be his right-hand, just like Hiiragi and Umemiya

- Although Chinese redbud symbolizes family harmony in Chinese culture, it also symbolizes betrayal/death due to betrayal in the Bible

- Unlike other characters, Suo’s name contains more than one species of tree, would this be a hint of him having more than one identity, hence the traitor theory?*

*I'll elaborate with my own understanding on the traitor theory expanded from the information I've gotten from u/Snowy-kitten's document. Please please pleaser read their theories and their analyses!! It's super super good and deserves so much credit and a lot of this post is built from it.

-

1. Suo and the 'Chinese Redbud'

Suo's name is extremely fucking insane if viewed from a cultural lens — specifically the symbolism of the 'Chinese redbud' as well as some themes of the 'sappanwood'.

If you're from HK you might already be freaking out with me when you saw those three Chinese characters: 紫荊花, AKA the Chinese name of Suo's second plant after the sappanwood. You might be thinking, User Psychiwavementality, is it truly joever as it is? Is there no coming barack from the HK suoposting? Have we found salvation? Is Suo from Hong Kong, better yet, the Wind Breaker version of Sun Yee On or 14K???

Unfortunately, I have to inform you: no. 🥲 Suo's flower is NOT the bauhinia, known as the '洋紫荊' yang zijing/bauhinia x blakeana/羊蹄甲屬 (yang ti jia shu) which happens to be the official flower of Hong Kong.

Suo's flower is the '紫荊花', or the zijing hua/cercis chinensis, which, in China, can be found in southwest Guangdong, southern Guangxi, and southeastern Yunnan the most. <- These could be places Suo hails from!

However, the Chinese redbud/ZJH and the Bauhinia/YZJ are often used interchangeably (and also incorrectly), causing confusion and mix-ups between both flowers, as HK's 'yang zijing' is sometimes shortened directly to 'zijing'.

Outside of WBK, this shortening is a topic of political discussion. For reference, there is debate around the could-be or could-not-be intentional omission of the 洋 (yang) character in Mainland China when referring to the yang zijing (making it simply zijing (hua) and not the YZJ) as well as how it affects HK.

There was discussion when the HK's Gov. omitted the 'yang' and referred to the YZJ as the 'zijing hua' in our Basic Law. If you want to get a gist of the discussion it feel free to Google Translate this image because mobile Tumblr only lets me embed 10 images and I need to use it sparingly lol.

From Wikipedia:

洋紫荊作為香港法定代表花卉，在《香港特別行政區基本法》第一章第十條提述香港區旗及區徽時被稱作「紫荊花」，英文版則使用泛指羊蹄甲屬的「bauhinia」。然而「紫荊花」一名除在中國南方多泛指羊蹄甲屬外，也可以泛指紫荊亞科的其他花卉，甚至特指紫荊屬物種紫荊（Cercis chinensis）的花。紫荊與洋紫荊兩個物種的花朵外觀有顯著分別，但因中國大陸媒體多依照「紫荊花」一名來宣傳香港市花[註 3]，引致部分中國大陸民眾誤以為香港市花為紫荊的花。

(Edited MTL):

As the legal representative flower of Hong Kong, Bauhinia is called "紫荊花 (ZJH)" when referring to the Hong Kong regional flag and regional emblem in Article 10 of Chapter 1 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The English version uses "bauhinia" which generally refers to the genus Bauhinia. However, the name "紫荊花 (ZJH)", in addition to generally referring to the genus Cercis chinensis in southern China, can also generally refer to other flowers of the subfamily Bauhinia, and even specifically refers to the flowers of the genus Cercis chinensis.

There are significant differences in the appearance of the flowers of the two species, Cercis chinensis and Bauhinia x blakeana. However, because the mainland Chinese media mostly uses the name "紫荊花 (ZJH)" to promote the municipal flower of Hong Kong, some people in mainland China mistakenly believe that the municipal flower of Hong Kong is the 紫荊花 (ZJH).

(I'm not shitting you when I tell you even Google Translate didn't pick up on the nuances between yang zijing and zijing hua 😭😭 also the scientific names have me tripping so the MTL might be wrong yet I'm too blurry to correct it properly... if any native Chinese speaker wants to write a proper TL in the comments I allow you to help me!!)

2. What does this mean for Suo?

The Lack of '洋 (yang)':

(This part touches a little on HK/China/UK history and politics.)

Now that you know the difference between the 'yang zijing' and the 'zijing hua', let me explain some possible symbolism that Suo might carry by having the ZJH as his other plant and not the YZJ.

In Chinese, '洋' means 'foreign'. And yes, Suo likes foreign tea and cakes. Anyway, some people think that the omission of '洋’ is a way to be politically accurate as it may carry connotations of HK being colonized by the UK, and the Mainland Gov. is known to be against the colonization of Hong Kong, often being reluctant to admit that HK belonged to the UK in a brief period of history after signing an unequal treaty. The Mainland Gov. commonly asserts that HK has always been a part of China even during the colonial period, claiming that HK was rightfully returned to its roots on the 1st of July, 1997.

Hence, there is the omittance of 'yang/foreign' from 'yang zijing', whether unintentional or not, when referring to HK's flower, resulting in many current-gen Mainlanders referring to it as the ZJH, which if intentional, could be used as a way to linguistically minimize the alienation between HK and China.

Theories/Speculation as to why it was omitted:

There are multitudes of reasons why Nii Satoru could have chosen to use the ZJH instead of the YZJ in Suo's name.

On a practical level, one reason may be because Suo's name is intended to have double meanings—sappanwood and the Chinese redbud—to show that he has two sides to him, most likely being connections to Chinese culture. Nii Satoru might have been unable to use this two-sided symbolism if he used the YZJ instead, hence why he used the ZJH instead of the YZJ; furthermore, there is a cultural story that comes with the ZJH that could very well coincide and foreshadow Suo's arc which I will explain soon. I personally think this is the most likely reason.

Another practical reason is that Nii Satoru genuinely had no idea there was a difference between the YZJ and the ZJH and, if he ends up revealing that Suo is a born-and-raised in HK lad, he made an honest mistake while trying to hint at Suo being from Hong Kong.

Nii Satoru could also not want to be too 'on-the-nose' when hinting at Suo having correlations to HK, OR he wanted to imply that Suo was originally from China and immigrated to HK at a young age — or it could be hinting at his ancestors moving from China to HK, which was common back in the 'golden era of HK' spurred forward by its advancement in the film industry as well as budding business opportunities for being an international trading hub. Either way, it could have meant to be a nod towards Suo being from China and not Japan/HK etc.

On a theory/canon level, Suo could have intentionally chose this Japanese name for himself and intentionally omitted the '洋 (yang)'/'foreign' character. He could've done it because he dislikes its implications, that he's a stranger in a foreign land (Japan). Or he could be touchy about his identity as a 'foreigner' — what differentiates him from the Japanese? Hence why he dresses and expresses himself so Chinese-ly — or he could've done it to show that he's freeing himself of his roots — people who leave their OG culture behind often become walking time capsules of That Particular Period, and the loss of '洋 (yang)' could also imply he's losing his connections to Hong Kong/the triad. The latter ties in with my tiny theory that Suo's hair is short because he cut it as a way to symbolize him breaking away from his shixiong/shidi, yet his past still haunts him in the way his tassel earrings resemble long hair at times. (The flower meaning of ZJH is also very very in line with this latter theory. I will elaborate more in my next part about the meaning of the Chinese redbud/ZJH.)

Suo could also be omitting this character on purpose to reconnect with his Chinese side after immigrating to HK and then Japan, I suppose? This might be EXTREMELY controversial to show in HK/China if he shows bias towards one side's culture by stepping away from the other, and I don't see a way this can be written without stomping on one side's good graces + provoking political disgruntlement amongst HK/CN readers, so this is probably not going to be an option up for consideration (hopefully).

Furthermore, if Suo also shows favor of JP culture/claiming that he's JP over being HK/CN as his arc and that he's abandoning his past identity as a Chinese/HK person, I promise you that some CN readers might become unhappy as there are long-standing grudges between the Chinese and the Japanese from WW2 that are too long to elaborate here. If you're curious to learn about it, search up 'Nanjing Massacre' and 'Unit 731' to see for yourself — please heed a TW for extreme brutality and inhumane torture.

OK, this is the last of all things political, but I promise the historical part will still continue. Let's move on.

3. The Meaning and Stories Behind the Zijing Hua/Chinese Redbud and The Yang Zijing/Bauhinia x blakeana

In Chinese culture, the Chinese redbud/zijing hua has a well-known cultural story behind it. It is deeply tied to the flower meaning of the Chinese redbud -- which has core symbolisms of familial reunion/love (親情) and brotherly harmony (兄弟和睦). And to any SuoSaku enjoyer's delight, they also symbolize steadfast love, passion, and affection; it is known to be a well-received gift for husbands and wives; it can even symbolize a strong and loyal friendship (if you're into that). The growth structure of a Chinese redbud, as said by a user in an online Chinese forum to whom I will graciously quote:

3、倔强坚强

紫荆花的花语为倔强坚强，紫荆花的花朵生长的十分紧凑，就算在阴雨天气，叶片被大风所吹动，不断摇慎态摆，也不会掉落，好似一位倔强的人，永远不会向困难低头，努力拼搏，最终收获成功。

(Edited MTL):

3. Stubborn and strong

The flower language of the zijing hua is stubbornness and strength. The flowers of the zijing hua grow very compactly. Even in rainy weather, the leaves are blown by strong winds and keep swaying cautiously, but they will not fall off. Just like a stubborn person, they will never bow their head to difficulties, work hard and exert oneself to the utmost, and ultimately achieve success.

It can also symbolize new beginnings, just like Sakura's sakura:

紫荊花的象徵意義 紫荊花象徵著愛情、美麗和純潔。 在中國傳統文化中，紫��花還被視為春天的使者，寓意著新生命和新的希望。

(Edited MTL)

The symbolic meaning of zijing hua symbolises love, beauty and purity. In traditional Chinese culture, the zijing hua is also regarded as the messenger of spring, implying new life and new hope.

Moving on to English sources, I've basically learned that the Chinese redbud:

Is not resistant to winter frost, but is generally able to survive the cold. Suo's favorite season may be winter, but both the sappanwood and the Chinese redbud are not resistant to either the cold or frost, with the first losing all its leaves in winter and the second potentially dying to snow/frost (like most plants lol.) Despite being resistant to the rain and heat of spring and summer and being able to tolerate degrees under 38°C (remember Suo not breaking a sweat when training in the summer with Furin?), Chinese redbuds fall short when it comes to braving brutal winters, thriving best when the temperature is above 10°C.

They bloom during spring, around March-April. Could this be a parallel as to why Suo idolizes Ume, the 'plum blossom' that can bloom in the cold of winter? For being able to stay resilient and stand proudly/beautifully even amidst harsh and stressful conditions?

Has many parts can be utilized for traditional Chinese medicine, cooking, and decoration. The wood and the bark have been used to treat abscesses, bladder ailments, and head troubles. Treats bladder diseases, post-partum discharges, bleeding piles, and internal parasites; its flowers are used for relieving rheumatic muscles and joint pain. Even the flowers can be eaten raw or pickled, containing vitamin C with a fresh and acidic taste. The bark of young shoots can be used to weave baskets, as the wood of Cercis species is generally of good quality. -> Suo's plants can both weave baskets and act as good wood...

Is also known for its ornamental purposes, and has a neighboring family tree—the Cercis siliquastrum, known as the 'Judas Tree', which is a symbol of betrayal. Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus and committed suicide by hanging himself from a redbud tree. Additionally, I was told by my friend that u/Snowy-kitten realized the kanji for Suo's name is is 蘇枋（すおう), but the tree he represents is Chinese redbud (花蘇芳/ハナズオウ/hanazuou in Japanese). 蘇枋 and 蘇芳 are pronounced the same and one of the hanakotoba (flower language) of 花蘇芳 is apparently death by betrayal.

While the Chinese redbud/ZJH is known for these traits, the YZJ is a little bit different; it was difficult to find meanings and symbolism for the Bauhinia x blakeana due to it being a lesser-known flower + a sterile hybrid flower.

Locally, the leaves of the YZJ are considered "clever leaves" and a symbol of wisdom; sometimes harvested to be dried into bookmarks to bring good luck in studies.

The Bauhinia x blakeana is a hybrid between the Bauhinia purpurea and then Bauhinia variegata. But I could not find anything about the symbolism of the Bauhinia purpurea... I looked at some other ones in the Bauhinia genus, though.

From what I found, the genus has flowers that typically represent new beginnings (is he twinning Sakura?), feminine beauty (he's still ♂ fertile ♂ like that), grace, elegance, and nobility.

Bauhinia kappleri:

Historically, it has been seen as a symbol of unity due to its bilobed leaves resembling joined hands. This symbolism was especially prominent in cultures that valued harmony and cohesiveness. [...] Pink Bauhinia represents grace, unity, and resilience. Its delicate yet sturdy appearance communicates a balance of beauty and strength. [...] In Chinese culture, for instance, it symbolizes renewal and new beginnings [...] Meanwhile, in Western contexts, it often represents appreciation and noble elegance.

Bauhinia acuminata:

The Bauhinia acuminata's striking appearance symbolizes beauty, elegance, and grace. It is often associated with the ideals of feminine beauty and charm. In some cultures, these blossoms are seen as symbols of new beginnings and growth, making them popular choices for weddings and other celebrations.

Bauhinia variegata:

1. [...] the white orchid has held reverence throughout Chinese culture and stands as a symbol of nobility, beauty, and innocence.

2. The Orchid Tree holds symbolic meaning in several cultures. In India, it is associated with love, fertility, and prosperity, often featured in weddings and religious ceremonies. In Chinese culture, Bauhinia variegata is a symbol of beauty, grace, and the fleeting nature of life.

Bauhinia x blakeana in Chinese Sources:

在中國文化中，紫色常代表高貴與權力，而洋紫荊則代表了優雅和力量。 此外，洋紫荊還象徵著團結和繁榮，這也使它成為許多盛大活動的首選花卉。

(Edited MTL)

In Chinese culture, the color purple often represents nobility and power, while the yang zijing represents elegance and strength. In addition, the yang zijing symbolizes unity and prosperity, which makes it the flower of choice for many grand events.

I have a headache. 🤕 Am I just yapping or was this all preordained by Nii Satoru?

Do you still remember that Suo's earrings are made of coral? The very coral that symbolizes a lofty status, auspiciousness, nobility, power, and eternity? 🤕

It's all coming together...

The Story of Three Brothers and the Zijing Hua Tree/田真兄弟：

This story could very well be a direct hint towards Suo's future martial siblings + how his arc will end. I vaguely remember(?) studying this passage for DSE unseen 文言文s so I managed to find it again. I'll cross-reference and do a direct word-to-word translation. If you understand Chinese I recommend just reading the 文言文 because it has more of the OG meaning 💪

原文/Original:

京兆田真兄弟三人，共议分财。生资皆平均，唯堂前一株紫荆树，共议欲破三片。翌日就截之，其树即枯死，状如火然。真往见之，大愕，谓诸弟曰：“树本同株，闻将分斫，固憔悴，是人不如木也。” 因悲不自胜，不复解树。树应声荣茂，兄弟相感，遂和睦如初。

註釋/Glossary

（1）京兆：京城地區。

（2）生資：生活資料。

（3）皆：都。

（4）唯：只有。

（5）破：使之破為。

（6）就：開始。

（7）即：立即；立刻。

（8）狀：形狀；狀態。

（9）然：通假字，同“燃”，燃燒。

（10）翌日：第二天

（11）愕：驚訝。

（12）諸：眾；

（13）斫（zhuó）：砍。

（14）勝：承受；控制。

（15）憔悴：枯死。

（16）故：所以。

（17）解：分解。

（18）其：他家的。

（19） 堂：門。

（20）株：棵。

（21）遂：於是。

句子翻譯/Sentence TLs:

1、翌日就截之：第二天就準備截斷它。

2、狀如火然：形狀像被火燃燒過一樣。

3、樹木同株，聞將分斫，故憔悴，是人不如木也：樹本來是同根的，聽到要砍斷分開，所以枯死了，我們人都不如樹木。

4、樹應聲榮茂：紫荊樹聽到（田真的）話後（立刻）枝葉繁茂（了起來）。

My attempt at an English TL:

In the capital city [Beijing], the three Tianzhen brothers divided their property. All other assets [means of living] had already been evenly divided; all except the Chinese redbud tree/zijing tree in front of the door. They discussed and agreed to split the tree into three pieces each. The next day, they prepared to cut the tree down, but the tree immediately withered to death, as if it had been torched by a flame. The oldest brother looked at the sight and was extremely stunned, saying to his younger brothers: "This tree is originally from the same root. It heard it was going to be separated after it was felled, and thus, it withered. We, as humans, were no match for/couldn't live up to even a tree."

Because they were unable to bear with/contain their remorse, the brothers decided not to cut the tree. When the Chinese redbud/zijing tree heard the eldest brother's words, it immediately sprouted flowers once more. The Tianzhen brothers were astonished and emotional and thus returned to their harmonious relationship from the beginning.

From this, I'm heavily inclined to believe that:

Suo is one of three brothers/martial siblings.

Suo left/they left Suo due to family issues or family inheritance trials.

Suo's arc will end well, with all brothers reaching an understanding and becoming friendly again.

OR, Suo is the Chinese redbuds/zijing tree in this scenario.

Suo might end up facing Endo because the passage mentions 'as if it had been torched by a flame [状如火然]'. Endo's name is '棪堂' -> this also means something else which u/Snowy-kitten mentioned, it being 'a tree that bears edible red fruit' in Chinese, which contributes to Endo's biblestuff. But let's analyze it later in Endo's part.

Chinese can somewhat be considered playing Pictionary—if you separate the words from 「棪堂」 into three: 「木」、「炎」、「堂」， you could literally interpret this as, in 文言文/Classical Chinese, 「Tree/Wood」、「Flames Rising」、「Courtyard/Doorfront」

This coincides with the "Chinese redbud tree/ZJH" looking as if it "had been torched aflame" in front of the house/the courtyard/the door.

In conclusion, this might allude to Suo having to fight Endo, or Endo having to fight Suo to get him back due to a family feud—and Suo might get heavily injured. His martial brothers might realize the impact of their actions and finally retreat and make up.

Suo and Sappanwood:

Sappanwood can make a type of valuable red dye named brazilin.

The character of 'Su' (蘇) in JP also means resurrection, reviving, resuscitation, and rehabilitation.

The red pigment found in the sappanwood tree (brazilin) has also been used to treat wounds and ward off infections, encouraging faster healing.

Sappanwood isn’t as favoured for extracting dyes as brazilwood, though—the discovery of brazilwood led to a boom in red pigments due to its greater concentration, whereas sappanwood was much less saturated in comparison.

This is pure yappanese but maybe Suo sees himself as inferior compared to his brothers...

That's the color of the dye sappanwood creates and that is the color of Suo's eye and his coral earring. I don't need to say anything more, right?

4. FALCON KICK 𓅃𓅃 FALCON PUNCH 𓅃𓅃

Rejoice!! We have made it to the next section of Suo's name at last!! I never thought I'd get here!!!! LET'S MAKE THIS QUICK (it's not quick).

Again, from the document that u/Snowy-kitten wrote, "隼" means 'falcon' and "飛" means 'fly/flight', spelling out "隼飛" lit. 'flying falcon'.

Reviewing the Symbolism Blargh Off This Page: (OG text has been slightly edited)

"The falcon represents vision, freedom, and victory. Hence, it also connotes salvation to those who are in bondage whether moral, emotional, or spiritual." <- I find it very interesting that many of Suo's symbolisms tie back to things relating to a new beginning/healing: salvation, revitalization, resurrection, a new hope, etc., which falls in line with his dream: the liberation of slaves. And look, I know this possibly means Suo breaking free of whatever chains down his heart, but ACTUALLY Suo will be stuck in 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂 bondage and then be saved by EndoSaku. Trust me y'all I'm Nii Satoru's right-hand man

"In Christian symbolism, the wild falcon represents the unconverted, materialistic soul and its sinful thoughts and deeds. The tamed bird symbolizes the Christian convert pursuing his lofty thoughts, hopes, and aspirations with courage." <- I don't think Suo is wild or tame or Christian in particular, but you could take it as current-Suo suppressing and masking his true identity/emotions. And that actually makes sense when you remember how Suo nearly went Insanity.PNG during KEEL Arc and Sakura had to stop him from continuing to pummel a guy when he was down; when Sakura admitted he was pissed at himself and turned away Suo thought 'I really am no match for you'. On one hand, this could be explained extremely well if we view it from a Confucian + Suo's theory of adulthood lens which will be talked about later in Part 6. However, this could also symbolize Suo being bound in emotional chains and having... wtf, 'sinful thoughts'? That he's suppressing?? Maybe that's why he doesn't use his phone around people coz there's a bunch of 料 (blackmail) in there 🤣. And when Suo gets his arc I suppose he gets 'tamed' and is finally free to pursue his aspirations with courage (being with Furin and supporting Sakura), which will effectively act as another new beginning/his healing—further tying into his whole shtick surrounding resurrection revitalization healing salvation blah blah blah. (POV: the 'Suo has no Christian allusions' part comes to bite me back in the ass via. Taiping Rebellion parallels where an ethnically Han Chinese mf in Suo's triad or Noroshi proclaims to be "Endo's brother-in-christ" slash the brother of the WBK Jesus Christ. And then I kill myself)

"In Egyptian hieroglyphs, the falcon glyph was used in words and phrases such as 'god', 'pharaoh', 'greatness', 'year', 'sovereign', 'star', 'hour', 'prayer', 'land', and 'world'. It was associated with the deity of the sky, of kingship, and of the sun, Horus [...] In early dynasties, the king’s ascension was known as the “Flight of the Falcon”." <- Aha! AHA! YEAH MORE NOBILITY HOURS AND A DIRECT REFERENCE TO THE DEFINITION OF HAYATO. Okay. So. This is highly unlikely to happen but imagine Suo becomes the head of his triad branch. Or maybe this means that Suo is the heir to something lofty... deadass the fated ascension to big bad boss which he skedaddled from or was denied from, who knows?

"The Eye of Horus, the Egyptian symbol for the Sun, depicts a stylized falcon's eye and face markings. It signified royal power and protection from danger, evil, and ill health." <- More nobility/higher status allusions and illness-warding shit, typical Suo Hayato behavior.

"A human-headed falcon served as a symbol of the human soul on its flight from this world to the afterlife. Similarly, the crossed arms of Egyptian mummies were intended to symbolize the folded wings of a falcon at rest." <- And here we have more Suoshit related to afterlife-isms resurrection-isms and new beginnings-isms. Chat can I stop talking about Suo Hayato ... he's just a never-ending Pandora's 24-hour unboxing video...

"The sport of hunting with falcons was associated with nobility in Europe, Japan, and China, where falcons symbolized keen vision, boldness, and power." <- 'Takagari (鷹狩) is Japanese falconry, a sport of the noble class, and a symbol of their nobility, their status, and their warrior spirit.' - Wikipedia.

To continue with Wikipedia: In the 13th century, hawking became popular among the rising samurai class as well as among court nobles (kuge). At that time, the practice of hawking was a means of resolving struggles over land ownership among lords. <- This feels a little similar to the splitting of property mentioned in the Tianzhen brothers!

What's more interesting about falconry is that falcons typically wear 'falcon hoods' that blind them, which forces them to be calm.

The bird wears a hood, which is used in the manning process (acclimatizing to humans and the human world) and to keep the raptor in a calm state, both in the early part of its training and throughout its falconry career. Out of all the falconer's aids, the hood is the most important piece of equipment. There are various styles and types of hoods for raptors within falconry. The hood is handmade, often from kip leather or suitable kangaroo leather. —Wikipedia

Suo's eyepatch is made from leather as mentioned in his character sheet even though nowadays, a lot of eyepatches and most medical eyepatches are made with cloth and/or other adhesive materials.

What's more, a majority of traditional falconry gloves/gauntlets have tassels extremely close if not similar designs to the earrings Suo wears:

Remember when Suo once mentioned that he had an 'ancient Chinese dragon spirit sealed away in his eye', hence the eyepatch? Maybe there's weight behind that joke because he might lose his composure if the eyepatch is taken away.

If Suo is a trained falcon belonging to his family—although he's 'flying' right now, either for a hunt or free roam—he's been educated in a way that eventually, he will always turn back and roost on the gloves of his master.

"The falcon was seen as the bird of Princes, the gyrfalcon the bird of Kings, and the eagle the bird of Emperors. [...] A falcon [would be released] at the funerals of Pharaohs. This illustrates the ancient view of raptors as intermediaries between the divine and eternal heavens and the mortal earth." <- The 'bird of Princes' part really makes me want to believe Suo is truly in a high-ranking and potentially triad-inheriting position of power; he could really be a 'prince' of sorts for his gang... The O (枋) in Suo can stand for a 'sturdy plank', and even 'raft/boat', which might symbolize him being a bridge of connection between the 'divine and eternal heavens' (his triad/family/whatever dude) and the 'mortal earth' (Furin).

"Furthermore, falcons are represented by the constellation Aquila [lit meaning eagle], as are all raptors. This constellation is said to confer the qualities of boldness, ambition, courage, liberty, generosity, penetrating vision, and a noble spirit, along with a gift for martial arts and the fabrication of weapons.

"This contrasts with a vulnerability to and enmity toward reptiles and their symbolic qualities of deceitfulness, underhandedness (venom), vindictiveness, and baseness of spirit.

[OP's Quick Interjection: from the source some mf added a little 'that aint falco' after the following part and I gotta agree. But also, falcons and eagles are both under raptors as birds of prey, and from what I've seen, Suo is the only known person in WBK so far to have a bird of prey in his name, so I'll still keep this here as food for thought—as well as a theory I have for later.]

"Reflecting this opposition, the battling eagle and serpent has been a motif from ancient times, common to Western, Eastern and New World civilizations. See classical Roman statuary, the ancient coat of arms of Mexico and the Garuda emblems of Indonesia, Thailand and Ulan Bator. The dichotomy can also be seen in the eagle and the rattlesnake competing to be symbols of the Revolutionary United States in the 18th century."

Right. So. I have a lot to say about this chunk. The first is the numerous stories of raptors, mainly eagles, and serpents/snakes, as well as my theory that the family Suo has been sworn into will feature new characters with birds of prey as their joining kanji.

I'll elaborate on the latter first because it's shorter: so far, out of all of the named and introduced people in WBK up till Rooftop Fight, not a single person except Suo contains the character of an animal capable of flight, much less a bird of prey.

The only person who comes remotely close to having birds as a symbol is Chika Takiishi and the full-page spread ft. his fight with Umemiya which u/Just_EveB theorized to be the karura, which originates from the Garuda in Hinduism (will also elaborate later). But even Chika doesn't have any bird radical in his name. Shishitoren isn't exempt from this; the gang known for people with animal radicals only contains land mammals and reptilians:

Tomoyama Choji (兎耳山 丁子) = rabbit

Togame Jo (十亀 条) = tortoise

Sako Kouta (佐狐 浩太) = fox

Arima Yukinari (有馬 雪成) = horse

Kanuma Minoru (鹿沼 稔) = ♫ Shikanokonokonokokoshitantan ♫

(There's also Inugami Teruomi who is a dog for "inu" but I CAN'T FIND HIS KANJI AND HE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE A WIKI PAGE??? FREE MY MAN!!!)

Even other characters who happen to have an animal in their name e.g. Hiiragi Toma (柊 登馬) (馬 -> horse) don't have an animal capable of flight, much less a bird of prey, and no one has the radical for bird (鳥).

Hence, I'm genuinely going to go out on a limb and say that the family Suo has sworn into—or his biological brothers or martial brothers or whatever fucked-up triad business he's in—will have characters containing '鳥' (bird) or one of the following in their names: 鷹、鵰、鳶、鵟、鷂、鴞、鵂鶹、魚鷹、鷲, which are respectively eagle, eagle but different*, kite, buteo, the birds that are under here, owl, collared owlet, osprey, and vulture. OR, if these family members have Chinese names instead of JP, it's plausible they have the same pinyin pronunciation as some of these.

*Btw, this is the difference between a 鷹 and a 鵰. Don't even ask me tbh

Next up, let's talk about the correlations between birds of prey and serpents. I did some scouring through the internet and dug up quite a lot of stuff.

Let's first establish that the only person so far who has been shown with serpent/snake imagery is none other than Endo Yamato himself.

(And yes, I switched to desktop just to embed more images, I'm crying. Anyway, these panels are all taken from Chapters 144 and 145.)

The tattoo on Endo's neck, an infinity symbol, is derived from the ouroboros, a snake/serpent/dragon biting its own tail.

It symbolizes 'eternal cyclic renewal' or 'a cycle of life, death and rebirth'. Wow, so Suocore.

(BTW, in some religions... the ouroboros is also a fertility symbol. This just in: Suo, Sakura, and Endo are all ♂fertile♂)

I have so much more to say about Endo's tattoos but that's reserved for when I'm done with Suo Hayato... so let's go back to the topic of serpents and eagles and their tales.

Here's some prominent stuff I found:

Aesop's fable: This is the first example I managed to find. It's a story about how kindness will always be repaid. I honestly can't seem to think of a way this coincides with Suo/Suo's family/Endo etc. You can click on it to read the story yourself. Like, I think Endo's on a path to pseudo-redemption or at least 'potential future allies', and I can't see a reason why? He'd want to poison? Somebody?? Even 'figuratively'. Like, let's pretend my theory of Suo's family having birds of prey in their names is correct. Why would one of Suo's martial bros, or better yet the head honcho or something, swoop in to save this Countryman from Endoshittalk? But well, if anyone can think of anything, feel free to comment on it!!

Thus Spoke Zarathustra:

An eagle soared through the sky in wide circles, and on him there hung a serpent, not like prey but like a friend: for she kept herself wound around his neck. “These are my animals,” said Zarathustra and was happy in his heart. “The proudest animal under the sun and the wisest animal under the sun” […]

“That I might be wiser! That I might be wise through and through like my serpent! But there I ask the impossible: so I ask my pride that it always go along with my wisdom. And when my wisdom leaves me one day—alas, it loves to fly away—let my pride then fly with my folly.”

Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, “Zarathustra's Prologue,” translated by Walter Kaufmann.

This is something that also came up, yet this is a more different example compared to the beginning—instead of feuding, the eagle and snake are in harmony, representing the mind and body becoming one, as well as taken from u/__Can__ from the linked Reddit post detailing what they symbolize:

It represents the highest strivings/capacities in man (eagle) and the lowest and more earthly/instinctive faculties (serpent). They are not opposed to one another but are rather one. Just like the other metaphor Nietzsche used, the tree (thought as the self-actualizing man) that if it wants to grow towards heaven (the highest in man) has to have its roots deep beneath the earth in the dark and evil layers of the psyche so to speak. You have to integrate your obscure and evil side in order to become whole.

There's a lot of tree imagery that I'm not really familiar with but know exists in WBK... such as that time Sakura's branch was nearly snapped off by Endo. To me this feels more like a general 'concept' that can be written into the story rather than an important foreshadowing towards future arcs ... plus I haven't read the book so I can't commentate on the philosophies of Nietzsche, so far the only thing I know about him is that he is one of the philosophers outspoken on overcoming Nihilism... taken from a deleted Reddit user:

People who haven’t read or understood Nietzsche think he is a nihilist, which is a bit understandable as his thought is complex, and he was a devastating critic of both dominant and trendy movements/institutions and their values. I believe he once described himself as a maggot that goes into a wound to eat away at the decaying flesh to clean it out. He also described himself as philosophizing with a hammer. In many ways, he is one of the intellectual fathers of postmodern deconstructionism. Which can often border on the nihilistic, but Nietzsche wasn’t simply trying to tear everything we believed in down for its own sake, his intention was to make things better.

From a site (really good read about Nietzsche and Buddhism):

Nietzsche aimed to overcome nihilism by affirming the unconditional embrace of existence. For him, life was not to be denied but rather created by one’s own value system, and built on the foundation of understanding that there is no inherent meaning in the universe. Nishianti describes this process as “dying the great death in the abyss of nihility and coming back to life again” (1983, 233). In doing so, active nihilism becomes a transitional stage rather than an end in itself. It is the abyss into which we must descend, “the darkest night before the dawn” (Nietzsche, 1968, 12). It is through the experiential stages of active nihilism that an individual strives for the heights of the ideal being, the übersmench. He asserted that living by one’s own ‘noble morality’ is characterized as a vigorous, free, and joyful existence, ruled by an innate “will to overpower, and will to rule” (1968, 16). From his works, it is evident that Nietzsche detested the weak and humble man who sought to escape the realities of life.

I can somewhat link Nietzsche's theories on nihilism with the process of creating the Philosopher's Stone (nigredo, albedo, citrinitas, rubedo), which is suuuuper interesting because Endo has vaguely alchemic symbols tattooed onto him. But again I'm digressing.

Norse Mythology [1] and [2]: According to ancient Norse mythology, the World Tree Yggdrasil has an unnamed eagle at the top and a serpent/dragon named Nidhogg at the bottom, and beneath the eagle there is a hawk named Vedrfolnir, standing for '"storm pale", "wind bleached", or "wind-witherer". Between them, there is also a squirrel named Ratatoskr who carries messages between the eagle and Nidhogg.

From Wikipedia: In historical Viking society, 'níð'(nid) was a term for a social stigma, implying the loss of honor and the status of a villain. Thus, its name might refer to its role as a horrific monster in its action of chewing the corpses of the inhabitants of Náströnd: those guilty of murder, adultery, and oath-breaking.

It's faster to just attach images of me and my friend tweaking:

I might one day do a separate post about Norsestuff and Furin because this is really interesting.

This entire Reddit comment section: Talks about the historical significance of the eagle and the snake in tales, depictions, etc. From u/Wayrin:

This symbol goes way way way back. There are depictions of eagles with snakes going back to Babylon and Elam around 3000 BCE. Of course the image was borrowed by everyone and the Egyptians saw it as Horus defeating Seth. Similarly Ahura Mazda was depicted as an eagle and Ahriman as a dragon. The Greeks borrowed the idea of the eagle as a symbol of resurrection from later Egyptian tradition and then it starts popping up everywhere. India, Indonesia, Rome and all over the Mediterranean. Most of these traditions use the Eagle to represent some great good. Usually a god related to the sun combating the forces of evil the snake. We believe the symbol to be borrowed and expanded (except for Mesoamerica) since they have so many commonalities. A lot of the stories have the Serpent winning over the Eagle before the Eagle triumphs. If you can access it, this is my source "Eagle and Serpent. A study in the Migration of Symbols." It was written in 1939 though so take it with a grain of salt.

And from u/tonycmyk, about ancient Mesopotamia:

[...] The snake/serpent has always represented the giving of knowledge to humans and the connection to earth. The eagle has always represented power over the earth and war. And this symbolism can be traced back through every ancient culture we know of and probably the ones we don’t. Powerful stuff.

Something not related to Suo: So about the Karura... the theorized demon JoJo stand that Chika has in the spread originated under 'Garuda' in Hinduism. You can read more about Garudas VS. Nagas here and the common point between Karuras and Garudas is that they're both depicted as people who feud constantly with dragons/serpents/snakes. In Hinduism, though, Nagas aren't depicted as evil like in Christianity. (And they're also a symbol of fertility... Endo's more ♂fertile♂ than Suo confirmed...)

5. Final Closing Notes on Suo

So, in summary, what do I think about Suo?

... What do I think about Suo... (crushing the chopsticks in my hand) I have multiple proposals as to what Suo is doing in Furin and what's going on with his family. And other Suostuff in general.

Falcon flying away: - To me, I see this as Suo leaving the family for a brief period, similar to how falconers can train their falcons to hunt but inevitably return to their owner. - If Suo's arc involves him cutting ties with his family, then this part could also symbolize Suo's desire to leave his original background behind in favor of Furin. - If the falcon symbolizes Suo's family as a whole, then this could represent the downfall of Suo's triad/noble family too, or that they're conducting some of their business elsewhere from their place of origin (*suspiciously Chinese ringtone starts to echo from my phone holder*)

u/Snowy-kitten's traitor Suo theory: Suo could be a spy in Furin. He could be scoping out the area for his own triad/gang/whatever. But what's most curious is the already-existing relevance between Endo and Suo that u/Snowy-kitten pointed out: Suo’s given name and Endo’s given name, Hayato and Yamato respectively are the names of two ancient Japanese tribes. [...] The Hayato is a tribe of ancient Japanese people that existed during the Nara period. The Yamato is another tribe of ancient Japanese people that existed alongside the Hayato. The Hayato frequently resisted the Yamato rule until the year 720 when the Hayato rebellion broke out. It was a rebellion of the Hayato against the Yamato. The rebellion ended in the year 721 with the Yamato being victorious. The interesting thing about the name 'Yamato' as u/Snowy-kitten also mentions is that its kanji (哉真斗) holds almost no meaning in JP. In Chinese, though, this can more or less translate to an expression, 'Ah, a real fight!' as '哉' in classical Chinese can be translated into an exclamation of sorts (「哉」可表示感嘆、疑問及反問語氣，相等於「啊」、「呢」、「嗎」), the '真' translates to 'real/true', and the '斗' (or 鬥 in trad) translates to 'fight'. So in the end, the Serpent VS. Eagle thing might happen in the form of Endo fighting Suo himself or Endo fighting one of Suo's family members.

Tsuge-chan and Suo: Remember this part?

Yeah, so, wtf was that? Fun facts on Tsuge's name from u/Snowy-kitten again (thank you bro you're saving my life):

I feel like Tsuge is going to be interlinked with Suo's backstory, that maybe he knows something more about Suo's 'family' than anyone in Furin should. Whether or not the XL river in Tsuge's name can be crossed with a bridge from another character's name or not... IDK we'll see if said bridge can be crossed when we get to it or burnt in favor of Suo lol... because Suo mentions bridge building in his character song gg

My final hard read on Suo's arc (take this with 2 mouthfuls of salt): - Suo will be called away briefly and leaves Furin either without notice or on short notice. He might leave behind enough clues to let Furin know why or where he's going. Or he might leave none at all, and Tsuge has to guess and explain what's most likely going on. - Endo might have to fight Suo in some way. Or he ends up fighting Suo's older martial siblings (the 'eagle') and triumphs over them. - If the oldest is truly the 'eagle', then there will be a younger one, the second-in-command, the 'hawk', like in Norse mythology. - I might come up with more stuff and I'll edit this into here as time comes.

6. I Lied

Suo isn't over. We still have to talk about how well he fulfills the shit we learnt in the HKDSE about our goat Johnny Hung's virtues/morals/principles.

So anyway, this is Johnny Hung our fucking GOAT!!!!!:

AKA Confucius lmao. Sorry it's an inside joke

This man is the reason I had to memorize so much classical Chinese sayings and literature that eventually culminated into Knowledge for the Suopost. It was all built towards this moment :( Let's start with an explanation of 論仁、論孝、論君子 as well as 五倫/四端！

...User Pyschicwavementality, wtf is this?

(Stares at you with the most depressed, sick, and haunted eyes) Chinese lore.

I will sadly not be sane if I explained every single one of these sayings to you guys. (Mutters) I mean I did have to memorize all of them back in the day but I'd kms elaborating on all of them so. I'm just going to take the relevant ones that could tie into Suo's character.

Let me first establish: the core of Confucianism revolves around "仁、義、禮、智、信、恕、忠、孝、悌". The arguably quote unquote """""important""""" ones (to today's discussion and in What I Learnt in general anyway) would be 仁義禮智信 and also 孝, of which I will now try? My best? To explain?? Please forgive me I learned everything in Chinese and it's really hard to do an accurate translation/analysis without going deep into culture and history 😭

CLASSICAL CHINESE 101

仁：This is read as rén. It is like... altruism, betterment, and love, I guess? Rén is how you interact with people, it is the innate connection and bond and interaction between human beings. (人與人之間互相關懷，尤其以關愛自己的親人最為重要。) It is respect and love and doing good deeds and Kind deeds out of our inner Goodness in our hearts. It is born from our inner individual and it affects our actions and what we do. We aim to always be a 'jūnzǐ' （君子）in Confucianism, someone who embodies all of Confucianism as the "self-improving and good-hearted" individual. To be empathetic and the kindest/most altruistic and loving person to one and all; to treat everyone equally from our innate Goodness—that is more or less rén. In the ideal society of Confucianism, everyone practices rén. This would mean society would always be harmonious.

義：this is read is yì. It is morality, justice, and helping others when in need. It is doing what is right and according to rén.

禮：this is lǐ. It is respect, treating people with manners, following social rules under rén, showing filial piety to your parents and elders, etc.

智：this is zhì. It is the pursuit of knowledge, creation, innovation, and improvement. It is having the intelligence to separate right/wrong and good/evil.

信：this is read as xìn. It is to have faith and belief in our beliefs and pursuits and our governing body. It is also integrity, honesty, and truthfulness. Whether it be a person, an organization, a business, or a government, they must have integrity as their core value.

(Additional) 孝：this is read as xiào and is essentially filial piety. Confucius believed that respect and love towards our parents should not be seen as an 'obligation', but rather something inner from the heart. There are four 'levels' of xiào: 孝順、孝敬、孝養、孝承 (xiàoshùn, xiàojìng, xiàoyǎng, xiàochéng). This is super complicated to go through so if you're bored and have tons of free time on your hands, feel free to run this PDF through a translator to get a better idea on what xiào is.

To get an idea on xiào, Confucius said that, if our parents became old and we only send them food and money, this is no different from raising a dog or a horse (孝養). He says, "Without respect (敬), where is there a difference?". When his disciples asked what we must do to respect (敬) our parents, he answered "We must not turn our backs on them [or more specifically, do not turn our backs on lǐ (etiquette)]. We serve them according to etiquette while alive; bury and commemorate according to etiquette after death."

But anyway, in turn, parents must also treat their children with all the above-mentioned virtues and said parents need to respect their parents with the same attitude as well. In theory, this goes both ways.

There's also Mencius' beliefs branched from Confucius' teachings (still part of Confucianism):

惻隱之心：read as 'cèyǐn zhī xīn'. This is your innate ability to feel compassion and empathy. Some people always see the "evil" around them and fail to see the goodness inside people and thus choose to be "evil" in turn. Mencius, one of Confucius' disciples, believed everyone was born kind and carried compassion. For those who are unfortunate, people will sympathize with them out of their own kindness; for those who are weak, people will have compassion for them and reach out to help them. He believed that people should never abandon their inner kindness, as kind people will always be rewarded by the kindness of others.

是非之心：read as 'shìfēi zhī xīn'. This is the innate ability to differentiate right and wrong actions as well as morally incorrect/correct decisions others make and reflect on them to judge why it is wrong and what not to do.

羞惡之心：read as 'xiūwù zhī xīn'. This is the innate ability to feel shame and guilt for making mistakes or doing things that are not following lǐyí (禮儀). It is also feeling scorn/disgust for others who do not follow lǐyí (禮儀).

辭讓之心：read as 'círàng zhī xīn'. This is the innate ability to feel thankful when others do something kind towards you, and you will feel like you need to pay it forward. It is giving others opportunities in exchange of your own and taking a step back to put others in mind first.

There's also the concept of inter-relationship hierarchy from the foundations of filial piety, which stipulates the order of respect should go from 君臣、父子、夫婦、兄弟、朋友 -> Lord/Emperor & Gov., Father-Son, Husband-Wife, Brothers, and Friends

Additional aid via. translations of my super helpful diagrams I made ages and ages ago about how to differentiate 仁義禮智:

(2) Analogy: POV you are in Ancient China and you see an elderly man killing a random guy

(3) Because you have 惻隱之心 (cèyǐn), you feel pitiful for the guy being killed. Because you have 是非之心 (shìfēi), you can judge and realize why the elderly man killing the guy is wrong. Because you have 羞惡之心 (xiūwù), you feel angry that the elderly man is killing the guy.

(4) Because in Ancient China, the lǐ [social rules] is to respect your elders [filial piety], but because the elderly man is doing something not in accordance with lǐ and yì (禮儀) [social rules and justice], you will do what is right (the lǐ action) and stop the elderly man from getting killed.

(5) Think: your choice to act and do correctly and the correct act itself is yì; your heart's inner compassion is rén; your ability to tell if the situation is in accordance with lǐyí (禮儀) or not is zhì; and the environmental/social rules = lǐ, e.g. respecting your elders. When you do actions that are not fulfilling yì, you feel guilty because you have 羞惡之心 (xiūwù). Rén is inner moral/virtue requirements [to be a 君子 jūnzǐ)，whereas yì is your outward action.

(6) Oh, and don't forget: 羞惡之心 (xiūwù) is feeling disgusted/hateful when you see others do something not in accordance with 禮儀 (lǐyì). If you do non-lǐyì things yourself, you will feel ashamed.

(7) Adding on to the last sentence in (5), 'rén' is not a requirement; it is inner 'love' exuded from the heart. If you are forced or required to do so, that is not 'rén', that is 'duty'.

So how does this all tie into Suo Hayato?

(Shakes my fist full of documents) so this is where I start CRAZYMAXXING.

If you also lovehate this man you might have already made some connections between Suo and the above few values I've described. Otherwise let me elaborate: when dear old Niisato made Suo to be the most stereotypically Chinese lad ever, he also managed to include a shitton upstanding moral traits that a jūnzǐ (君子) would have, essentially making Suo an amazing representation of core Confucian beliefs (so far as of writing this post in my theory state of mind).

When Suo talks about 'growing up' or taking the steps to adulthood, he mentions one of the most important core values being able to make your imagination reality as well as empathy.

You could actually simplify rén into putting yourself in another person's shoes to see/think/feel from their perspective, and one famous saying from Confucius is to wish no harm to come upon others that you do not wish to come upon you, which ties in with Kanuma mocking the fallen Shishitoren member and only starting to feel panicked once he realizes the same harm was going to happen to him. ("己所不欲,勿施於人。")

Suo also insinuates the ability to chase your goals and turn them from dreams into reality is another part of 'attaining adulthood'. You can boil this down to being able to fulfill what you say/living up to your claims/fulfilling your beliefs. Honesty and integrity also play a major role in Confucian beliefs. There are a few sayings under xìn '信‘ that Confucius said about this:

5.1 A jūnzǐ (君子) must be mindful of what they say and do things swiftly/efficiently/quickly. 5.2 A jūnzǐ (君子) does not endorse a person just because he speaks favorably, nor does he reduce a man's worth just because he has a bad impression of him. 5.3 A jūnzǐ (君子) will feel shameful if he cannot go through with what he said he will do. 5.4 [Text Before Image] If one's name/renown is not righteous, his speech will not be reasonable; if one's speech is not reasonable, he will not be able to accomplish anything. If things are not accomplished, the law will not be able to reach into one's heart; if the law cannot reach people, the punishment will not be fair; if the punishment is unfair, the common people will be at a loss. [Text In Image] Therefore, leaders must be steadfast and reasonable in both what they do and what they say. When leaders speak, they must not be careless (read: 'whatever' energy) or rash.

^^ When you translate this, doesn't this essentially reflect Umemiya as a leader? Which also falls in line with Suo seeing Ume as his ideal 'picture' for adulthood and further aligning w/Suo's statement of 'making your imagination reality'?

It doesn't end here though...!!!

KEEL ARC! When Suo got PISSED as hell seeing his friends around him hurt, Sakura had to step in to stop Suo from losing composure in Chapter 50 | Extreme Emotions. Remember when I talked about explaining how this could be understood SO WELL from a Confucian lens in Part 4?

What Sakura said: 'I'm pissed as all hell at myself. I was talking big [I can 'em all on my own], and look what's happened. But getting pissed off isn't gonna help. We need to focus on what we have to do.'

(Pokes my finger at statement 5.3 and 5.4)

This ABSOLUTELY makes Suo's reaction called for ("I really am no match for you") because right now Sakura is embodying the core values of Confucianism better than Suo was moments prior. In that moment, Sakura was the one closer to being a jūnzǐ (君子). At that moment, Suo was the one who should've been learning and modeling after him.

Remember 羞惡之心 (xiūwù)? It is feeling disgusted/hateful when you see others do something not in accordance with 禮儀 (lǐyì). If you do non-lǐyì things yourself, you will feel ashamed.

Suo was disgusted/hateful at the KEEL member for hurting his friends. He may have reflected and felt shame when Sakura came up to stop him.

It's still not over though!

Suo has consistently shown contempt for those who are older than him yet do not practice the same values of 仁義禮智信! Another one of the major Suo moments:

"Goodness... How self-centered. Even to the very end. To teach others, you need to engage with their feelings and support them to stand on their own two feet for the first time." — Suo Hayato on the most Confucian thing he could say at the moment

How self-centered:

顏淵問仁。子曰：「克己復禮為仁。一日克己復禮，天下歸仁焉。為仁由己，而由人乎哉？」 [1] 顏淵曰：「請問其目。」子曰：「非禮勿視，非禮勿聽，非禮勿言，非禮勿動。」 [2] 顏淵曰：「回雖不敏，請事斯語矣。」（《顏淵》第十二）

(HIGHLIGHTED = TRANSLATED BELOW; EDITED MTL)

[1] "Rén is to restrain one's selfish desires and to conduct oneself in an honorable manner. Once you have done this, all the people of the world will submit to your benevolence and virtue. The fulfillment of rén depends entirely on oneself. How could it depend on others?"

[2] "How do you practice rén?" "Do not look; listen; speak; or do things not in accordance with lǐ."

Already, gymnast-guy has violated the above.

To teach others [...]:

"與人交,推其長者,讳其短者,故能久也。"

"When interacting with people, you should pay attention to discovering and promoting others' strengths, rather than always pointing out other people's shortcomings." [MTL]

Confucius was known to be a very open and benevolent teacher. He did not require students to pay fees; he simply wanted your desire to learn. Suo's really open with teaching Nirei and he matches the teaching style of Johnny Hung really well <3 He's very positive and uplifting when it comes to Nirei. Personally, I also like to believe Suo also sees a younger or past version of himself in Nirei which adds more layers to his intrigue...

Scroll back up to the part where I had three Instagram stories explaining how 仁義禮智 linked with Mencius' additions if you forgot about it. You can re-read what I said regarding the example of seeing an old man killing someone.

Then the gymnast guy talks about 'discipline', and Suo has a vision of his master, which he adds with: "'Discipline', 'training and passing down your teachings'... Okay! I've got a question, sensei! How are you supposed to act when you go barging into another person's home?"

(He's pissed.)

Rewording [2] from my Instagram Story Explanation: Because you have 惻隱之心 (cèyǐn), you feel pitiful for Furin getting invaded and fighters/friends getting hurt. Because you have 是非之心 (shìfēi), you can judge and realize why the Noroshi invading Furin is wrong. Because you have 羞惡之心 (xiūwù), you feel angry that Noroshi is invading Furin.

And once again, just like from KEEL: 羞惡之心 (xiūwù) is feeling disgusted/hateful when you see others do something not in accordance with 禮儀 (lǐyì).

For someone older to be breaking 禮儀 (lǐyì) and speaking on how Suo's 'similar to him' and how he's having 'fun', this was The singularly most awful thing gymnast-guy could've done at the moment as someone Suo is meant to respect according to the age/skill hierarchy in Chinese culture. Not to mention the gymnast guy establishes himself indirectly as a 'teacher' in this scenario by using the phrase 'discipline'. It's even crazier when you realize that Confucianism explicitly believes that anyone can be a teacher to you because you do not know everything. There's literally a story about Confucius speaking with a 7-year-old who spoke so much facts that Confucius himself recognized the kid as a teacher. Suo taunting the guy asking what he could learn from the gymnast is NUTS.

Some other quotes that I think really match Suo's character:

子曰：「君子病無能焉，不病人之不己知也。」（《衞靈公》第十五）

“A jūnzǐ (君子) worries that he himself is incapable, and not that others do not understand him.”

子曰：「君子不重則不威；學則不固。主忠信。無友不如己者。過則勿憚改 。」（《學而》第一）

"If a jūnzǐ (君子) is not steadfast/solemn/decisive, he will not be dignified; and what he learns will not be stable. Maintain loyalty and integrity as your main principles. Do not make friends with people who have lower moral standing than you/who are not as good as you are, and do not be afraid to correct your mistakes."

Final Theory Pitch: "Death By Betrayal"

"Death By Betrayal" in Suo Hayato's name based on the symbolism of the Chinese redbud might make one immediately think of his master and his family. Perhaps Suo's teacher passed and Suo's embodying his master's teachings, or his family has backstabbed/been backstabbed. If we go down the route of Suo still being an active triad member, then this may talk about his triad being betrayed and Suo having to briefly live/train with his master under a new identity. If Suo's former martial siblings (whom he respects, by the way, literally so xiào) want to reform the group, Suo might force them to align with his current set of values (which are extremely similar to Furin too—to protect the common people) and avoid harming innocents.

From another point of view this can also symbolize the "death" of Suo Hayato's former character, where instead he was the one who turned his backs on his clan/family first. Either to learn from his master who may or may not be dead, or to escape his supposed triad ties.

There is another piece of classical literature that I can yap about: 《魚我所欲也》. Here's a quickest translation of it possible:

“魚，我所欲也，熊掌，亦我所欲也;二者不可得兼， 舍魚而取熊掌者也。生亦我所欲也，義亦我所欲也;二者不可得兼， 舍生而取義者也。

"Fish, I desire it; bear paw [rare and believed to have medicinal properties], I also desire it. If I cannot obtain both at once, then I will sacrifice the fish for the bear paw. Life, I desire it; yì [to do morally correct/upstanding/good things], I also desire it; if I cannot obtain two at once, then I will sacrifice my life for yì.

生亦我所欲，所欲有甚於生者，故不為苟得也; 死亦我所惡，所惡有甚於死者， 故患有所不辟也。 如使人之所欲莫甚於生，則凡可以得生者，何不用也 ? 使人之所惡莫甚於死者，則凡可以辟患者，何不為也 ?由是則生而有不用也，由是則可以辟患而有不為 也，是故所欲有甚於生者，所惡有甚於死者。非獨賢者有是心也，人皆有之，賢者能勿喪耳。

Life is something that I want, but there is something I want more than life [yì]! so I will not be greedy for immediate survival. Death is something I hate, but there is something I hate more than death [not fulfilling yì], so I will not avoid the evil that comes my way. If there is nothing that men love more than life, why do they not use whatever means they have to live? If there is nothing that men hate more than death, why do they not use any means of avoiding evil? By these means may we live, but some do not use them; and by these means may we avoid evil, but some are unwilling to do so.

Thus (it can be proved) that there are things that people want more than life, and there are things that people hate more than death. It is not only the 賢者 (virtuous man) that has this nature—all men have this innate nature, but the virtuous man can preserve and maintain it.

一簞食，一豆羹，得之則生，弗得則死 。

A serving of food, a bowl of soup; if you obtain it, you will live. If you do not obtain it, you will die.

嘑爾而與之，行道之人 弗受;蹴爾而與之，乞人不屑也;萬鍾則不辯禮義而受之。

Giving this to someone while mocking and hollering at them, normal people (people on the road) will not accept it because they feel disrespected; stepping on it before giving it to someone, a beggar would not accept it because it is unclean. The temptation (t/n: 萬鐘 is similar to 'bad temptations' or 'great benefits') for benefits: one will not differentiate whether or not it is aligned according to yì [etiquette/moral ethics] before obtaining it.

萬鍾於我何加焉?為宮室之美、妻妾之奉、所識窮乏者得我與?鄉為身死而不 受，今為宮室之美為之;鄉為身死而不受，今為妻妾之奉為之;鄉為 身死而不受，今為所識窮乏者得我而為之，是亦不可以已乎?此之謂 失其本心。"

What do these benefits have that can help me? For a beautiful house, many wives, and for the recognition and thanks from poor people? In the past, one would sacrifice their life before accepting these benefits; but now, for a beautiful house, many wives, and the recognition and thanks from poor people, they will accept temptation. Can we not stop this? This is the act of losing one’s trait [of sacrificing your life for the greater good]."

A summary of this thinking would be to "捨生取義", lit. 'sacrifice your life to obtain yì/the greater good'.

It is completely possible that Suo, when raised or sworn into the triad, was taught by his master (either in secret or after he briefly leaves) about the importance of 'upholding the ultimate good', which may have caused him to realize his triad—which may or may not prey on the weak—does not align with his moral worldviews any more.

To escape, Suo could've decided to fake his death or leave behind his old self and turn his back as betrayal, which ties into his 'noble' symbolism and 'flying falcon' name in Hayato.

But tbh, I'm inclined to believe Suo's master was on okay terms with the triad because he/she had long hair. Suo's hair, as I've stated elsewhere, could be short due to hair being used as a major symbolism device in WBK as a way to say he's tried to leave his past.

Yet some things may be unable to be broken away from so easily, and Suo, a trained falcon, might be unable to leave behind everything. He was likely loyal since a young age and unconsciously finds himself lingering on old sentiments. Maybe his earrings are gifts from his master. Maybe his eyepatch is from his triad/family.

Still, Suo being from a criminal family and having distaste for Noroshi/KEEL is really interesting because we can see that he doesn't enjoy it when people lack empathy or cause pain to others. You’d expect him to react more to Choji’s gang because of their “violence for violence’s sake” going against his whole empathy tangent, but Suo seems to hate it more when someone finds interest in violence for meaning’s sake or violence for profit’s sake. I think Suo understands Shishitoren is built off violence to become stronger (<- literally the WBK OST), and everyone in SSTR seems to mutually be okay with this in-fighting. There's also a big difference between Suo clashing with SSTR and the other: he hasn't forged as deep of a bond with Furin compared to vs. KEEL and vs. Noroshi, and the latter two have made active attempts at hurting Furin through morally corrupt means (beating Nagato up and taking over Furin for personal gain).

Suo could've developed this sort of morality to distance himself from his family, who may have gotten infamous/profited off similar methods. (<- and this is really funny because Confucius has ALSO said that a jūnzǐ (君子) should not accept wealth or escape poverty if it wasn't achieved through morally correct means. A jūnzǐ (君子) cannot turn his back on rén in the span of a meal, and this remains true even during hasty and urgent times + when one is poor/wandering/living in tough conditions.)

A possible timeline:

-Suo is born to a rich family, possibly wealthy through a criminal empire.

-Suo dislikes his family because of his morals (may not have happened), and his family may dislike him back because he is considered “weak” (could explain why he’s the one who offers to help Nirei or why empathy as an adult is so important to him). Or, he's a super loyal lapdog and hella admires his brothers. Maybe they're the only good guys in the triad. Maybe they're really bad and Suo's also really bad. Suo might have two wolves inside him... the Confucian morals vs. Organized crime persona

-Suo studies Chinese fighting techniques and philosophy with someone (possibly a figure outside his family)

-Suo's family and/or mentor is betrayed/Suo betrays them

-Suo has to escape and create a new identity fully based off of his Confucian learnings.

...

And with that, I've said almost everything I need to say on the topic of Suo Hayato.

It totally didn't take 10,000 words or anything.

What's up next in Part 2?

I'll be writing Endo's version of this post and include some Suo-Endo joint theories and/or notes. Things to look forward to include Endo, Christianity, and alchemy... And maybe I'll even start yapping about the 0.2472983% potential Daoist/Taoist influence Sakura has.

I'll be back in 1 business century!

(Bonus) out of context convos and quotes my friend and I have said during the process of writing this that may foreshadow Part 2 or something:

Me: Picture Endo being Chinese too but it's Mainlander vs HK [Suo] beef

Me: WHO'S THE TAIWANESE 😭😭😭 IS IT UME??? HE HAS PLUM BLOSSOMS

Nakama: Okay so (crackposting) it's choji because of TW's association with the sun

Me: What if it's Chiitan [Chika Takiishi] and we get the Mainland x TWnese "forbidden" romance...

Me: But anyway I find it devastating choji would say cao ni ma wo che ne and its not even ooc

Me: ...Shit now I can imagine endo with a strong beijinger accent

Nakama: ...yamato儿(er) endo儿(er)

Nakama: ....chiika儿(er) takiishi儿(er)

Nakama: ...sakuraur harukaur

Me: endo going BEJINGRR WELCOMES YOU

"You not only ate, you devourered that like you were unaccountably peckish." —Nakama-kun 2024

Nakama: Waiting very politely for ur suopost to show up

Me: It might tonight, I'm typing like a keyboard warrior rn

Me: When u wake up it might be posted 😎

—A lie quoted from the 17th Aug 2024 at 3：57 PM GMT+8, a whopping one month and seven days ago.

"Y'know maybe suo's from oklahoma" —Me, delirious, 2024

The Suo Post's TLDR:

"WE NEED TO KILL HIM FOR BEING TOO CHINESE"

—User psychicwavementality after 1 month of crying in voice messages about Suo Hayato.

(Total word count: 11,781 words. Part One, scene!)

[gemsofgreece]

I find it so sad that many greeks dont appreciate aspects of our history and culture like the byzantine era and our rich folklore. We have so much beautiful music, art and tradition that developed long after antiquity, but it gets glossed over because people are ashamed for some reason. Why do you think that is? Is this a uniquely greek problem?

No, it is not a uniquely Greek problem. I have observed this in several nations that would be considered on the "weak" side. Weaker nations are more susceptible to the influence of powerful countries. It's how fashion works, it's no different at all. If you look and sound and speak like you are from a richer country, you hope people will think more highly of you. The irony is that this is essentially never true. Most people can smell the lack of self-esteem and authenticity from a mile away.

However, the situation is even more complicated in Greece's case. Most countries on the weak side simply get ignored overall (which is also problematic). Greece is fortunate or unfortunate (you decide) that elements of it are disproportionately glorified and it is really so disproportionate that the part that would normally *just* be ignored receives in this case enormous hate for not being identical to the part that is glorified.

The susceptible Greeks, who are usually young people, teens, people with limited knowledge of history and understanding of politics (and there's a lot of them) are particularly vulnerable in internalising the foreign perceptions about their country and the culture. The reasoning is simple: oh this country loves x thing about us and hates y thing about us >>> that country is rich and powerful and its lifestyle is trending >>> surely they must be right then in their assessment of us >>> I am gonna focus on the things they love about us and reject the other things >>> I am going to be accepted and respected.

Something else also happened that is unique in Greece's case: the unprecedented global team-up to ruin the country's reputation during the financial crisis. Media and foreign people were out for blood at the time and I have yet to see other poor countries or even countries with dictators or countries that have committed or do commit war crimes or crimes against humanity to get an equal amount of systemic and well organized disdain in the way Greece got for a full decade due to... the politicians mismanaging its finances. There are Americans who can't tell the place of their own state on the map, let alone Greece's but at the name's mention, they go "oh you got a financial crisis there hahaha!". Still, twelve years later. It's really interesting to observe this.

This, alongside the real problems in Greek economy and society, made it a 100 times easier for many people to internalise this crooked foreign - probably racist - perception of things. Nowadays, a lot of Greeks remain particularly pessimistic and defeated. They have also reasoned that if they had maintained the elements of what made Ancient Greece so powerful and inspiring to the West (constant civil wars? bovine sacrifice to Apollo? chitons? women in the house until they die? philosophizing inside a large amphora? really not sure what all these people mean after all, more likely they don't know what they are talking about) our position in the world and the economy would certainly be much better. Of course, in order to truly believe all this you must have a huge deficit in critical thought and understanding of history, no matter if you are a Greek or a foreigner.

People nowadays are less brainwashed than they were during the peak of the crisis, fortunately. But there is distance to be walked still and our dystopian politics don't make this any easier. Young people don't get any help from the school. To develop their critical thinking. To become self-assured people. As long as the educational system ails, don't expect much.

[madarasgirl]

A Night for Hunting Ch 12 -The Feeling of Safety

T/W: Alucard (Ultimate) x F!Reader, Vladcard (that’s right, daddy makes his appearance), predator/prey, hunting, ruthless vampire king, romance, Romanian translations Words: 4855 On AO3

I am so excited to finally present this chapter! The premise was planned from the beginning and living rent-free in my head (happy to evict it at last) since I decided to extend this series months ago. I hope you like it! I am no history buff, but I did some light reading on Vlad and the contents of this chapter are also based on how Alucard behaves in Ultimate. A bit nervous, but I hope I got the feels right.

Happy belated Mid-Autumn Festival, fellow Chinese and (other nationalities) who celebrate this occasion! The full moon was beautiful.

Many thanks to @michi-tala for helping me with fine-tuning the Romanian phrases!  @alastorhazbin

“You really are a king?" You asked, incredulous. 

How could this be? A king should be the inspirational leader who guides his nation through strife and peace to glory, the shining star who navigates the tumultuous waters of diplomacy and the horrors of battlefields. A ruler with the intellect to create and uphold the laws, social institutions, and infrastructure to bring about prosperity. He should be someone well-versed in the art of war, yet mannered and cultured to mingle with others in his high society of privilege. 

In other words, someone not quite like Alucard The Boor, who was inflexible about negotiations, poorly socialized, and a stalker to boot. What kind of king had the time to stalk some peasant woman for two years just for fun?

You however had to reconsider your conclusions. The longer you stared at that cocky profile, the more obvious it became that if you squinted, there perhaps was something a little regal about him. He was certainly not lacking in intelligence. And sometimes he demonstrated highly sophisticated mannerisms when he felt like playing the gentleman. He even spoke like a snobby British aristocrat.

Alucard chuckled to himself quietly at your racing thoughts. His eyes closed at the distant recollection of his past. At nearly six centuries of age, he found himself often ruminating about the past, whether as a human or vampire, but when pondering his first life, it was like reliving someone else’s. He remembered the anger, pain, and humiliation vividly. There was regret about his upbringing and later decisions as voivode, even if there were those actions during his reign that were necessary for the survival of his country and Christianity, and parts of Europe continued to view him as a hero to this day. But it all happened so long ago, he barely felt anything anymore, except a faraway, numb regret. 

He was silent when recalling the fresh woodsy scent of the fir trees in his mountains. How he loved to ride through their forests with the wind in his face when he went hunting. His city Târgoviște possessed beauty beyond imagination, before he burnt it down and turned it into a desolate forest of corpses. Perhaps there was some melancholy when reminiscing about his homeland.

Warm fingers landed lightly on the sigils adorning the back of his gloves. Feline eyes opened to narrow slits to watch you looking at him with a questioning stare. It seemed you were finished with mocking his ways in your head.

Flattering child. Innocent little human. You know not of the monster you have involved yourself with, he thought.

“Cetatea (Citadel) Poenari sat atop the mountains. In its prime, it was an impregnable fortress with steep walls that offered a spectacular view of the forested canyon on the Argeș River. You would have appreciated its beauty.”

“Was that your home?” You asked.

“One of them. Its ruins are in what is now known as Romania.”

Wide eyes stayed on him before curving with merriment. “I think I would love to visit your old home one day.” Your wrist flicked in his direction to gesture at his dress clothes. “Did you look like this back then too? There’s no way you dressed this loudly then, right, Your Majesty?” You snickered while putting emphasis on his royal title.

He turned his hand over to grasp your fingers in his. “You wish to see me? All of me?" His brow rose as he evaluated you.

The room chilled suddenly and you hesitated. His shadow was facing toward the light, reaching for you, and the silhouette was wrong. You’ve already seen his flowing shadows, extra eyes, and bats, as well as when he assumed the face of another man. Was there more? Something forbidding was in the air.

“Umm…not the bugs. Please never the bugs again,” you whispered, trying to keep the mood easy tonight.

The orangey-yellow in his eyes spun like molten gold as he petted your fingers before lacing your hands together. Alucard leaned towards you, and as he did, he changed. This was important. Somehow you knew what Alucard was about to show you was intimate, a secret he did not carelessly share with others. You stopped breathing as you watched his transformation happen before your eyes.

Raven locks lengthened until his hair was past his thighs, phantom wind making the ends billow in the air like they were alive. Gangly arms filled out, his chest growing broad and putting on hard muscle in seconds. His red duster turned liquid and flowed over the heavy armour that materialized, settling into a black cape that was as intangible as his tresses at the frayed, surging ends.  

His angular features grew wider at the cheeks, jawline becoming chiselled and covered with coarse stubble. The fiery gaze burned with wisdom and life experience. You had no words as you got a better look at this imposing man who now stood towering over you with his arms at his side.

"This was how I appeared as a human when I perished."

You stared at him from the couch, sitting with your legs in front of you in a “W.” Your mouth was parted as your eyes slid sluggishly over this dark warrior with disbelief. Power rolled off of him. It was in his bearing, the deadly grace with which he conducted himself, and the way the air was not quite right around him.

"You really are breathtakingly beautiful," you told him. 

Alucard purred at your praise and your skin tingled. His rumblings were deeper than normal and it was so unexpected despite his now stockier build. 

“...May I… touch you?” 

Golden-orange glinted with warmth as this stranger stooped down for you to inspect his new body. You tentatively brought your hand up to his face and stroked his cheek. Cold. This Alucard’s skin was still cool to touch. The texture though, that beard was so scratchy. You ran your fingers through his hair, which was as soft as you remembered, but now so long you didn’t even reach the ends with your arm fully extended. 

His name was an anagram. Alucard was a Romanian vampire. Your idiot brain finally made the connection that was in front of you this whole time.

“...You actually are Dracula?” The Son of the Dragon, a king and warlord from the Middle Ages. Probably one of the oldest –and strongest– of vampires.

“You are speaking to Count Dracula of Wallachia.”

You shivered at his voice. Even his accent was different, so foreign and exotic. It did things to you, but your mind had always been stronger.

If memory served you correctly, history did not have favourable things to say about the real Dracula. The Sir Impaler staked people, including women and children, for all sorts of reasons and no reason as well –as a gruesomely effective warfare tactic, for sport, and petty offences alike. He was the king who invited the sick and homeless to his keep for a feast and burnt them alive as a way to empty the streets.

“Yes, I commanded all of those acts in my past life.”

Fright blemished your features and you jerked away until Dracula’s gauntlet shot out to catch you and bring your palm back to his face. He took in the thin line your lips formed and the furrowed brows around your spooked gaze. 

“But that will not be a fate reserved for you,” he promised with a sombre expression. Your eyes searched his face to judge his sincerity, wanting more than anything to continue trusting him after learning his identity, even when forced to confront the reality of the nature of your relationship. 

It was wrong.

The king before you stood tall, his dignified comportment unwavering after the passage of centuries of grim tales told about him. He did not lie to you, nor did he offer excuses for himself. His noble features, proud and uncompromising, were solemn as you contemplated him. 

Alucard never lifted a finger against you.

The warlord’s wicked piety preceded him, his prestige vicious and calculated. Any means to achieve his ends, which left ruination in his wake. Everywhere he went, he sowed destruction and instilled fear, even amongst his own people. 

He was not mentally well.

If Alucard did not care for you, you would be worse off than dead. 

Yes, by showing how he was a murderous vampire, an undead hellspawn who didn't die when he was supposed to.

He was violent and dangerous. What in the world were you doing with him?

You had your wellbeing and that of your family to worry about. What if entwining your fate with his ended in trouble that somehow found its way to them? Even as Alucard, he could be sadistic, harassing and nearly driving you to madness long ago. He continued to enjoy aggravating you and at times made you angry beyond belief.

You should not be with him. Tears came to your eyes.

But time and time again, Alucard came to protect you and went out of his way to take steps ensuring your safety and comfort. He looked after you when you were incapable and let you in on secrets about himself.

You fought with yourself. Alucard and this stranger before you were in fact one and the same. For all his nefarious ways, he did have honour, in his own twisted way. 

You were past the point of right or wrong.

The heart was never rational. You wanted to remain with him. So with an uncertain quivering heart, you chose him too. You got on your knees and went up to this infamous veteran to huddle against his chest, needing to see if the sense of security you felt whenever Alucard was near was present with this form of his too. You couldn’t even look at him.

Vermilion flames smouldered gently without your notice.

A hand went delicately across your back to hold you close for several moments before tracing along your shoulder blades. An arm went around you and settled at your waist. Then multiple shadow tendrils wrapped you loosely around the ankles, thighs, and biceps. You shuddered at the electric contact with his darkness. Prickly stubble dug into your chin as this king claimed your lips for his own. He was as gentle as Alucard. It was comforting and eased your unsettled thoughts.

You finally pulled apart.

“You are timid with me,” he announced, breastplate vibrating with the bass of his voice. 

“Everything we do is new,” you said as you put your arms around an icy plated torso and watched the end of his cape twirl. His lips chased yours as you looked away again. Relaxing into his embrace, you whispered, ”I can’t believe you are real,” as if speaking louder would make him disappear like a mirage.

“The legends have a basis.”

He ran the backside of an armoured finger across your cheek. His expression was soft as you met his gaze again, nothing as severe as his rugged appearance suggested. The shadows enveloping your limbs flared.

“What say you? Would you like to be one of my kind?"

Huh? He meant…he meant turning you into a vampire? And offering you eternity?

Again you tensed. He was serious. The weight of his question hung in the air between you until you gulped and averted your eyes, nervousness tainting the air thickly.

"I suppose it is too soon to ask you this." The hand came to rest on your head where he ruffled your hair. You glanced up at him in surprise.

Dracula smiled at you. "My Darling."

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

The gleaming silver orb above loomed large, illuminating the navy skies with an ethereal haze. The moon was full, just like that first night, so clear you could see every crater on her surface. Your anxiety around Dracula gradually dissipated. He had a much quieter disposition than the normal him, but honestly, a break from his usual provocative ways was appreciated. He was still the same person, you reminded yourself. You began to close the distance between you incrementally and walk closer until you brushed his side with every stride.

It was not yet Halloween. Actually, it was nowhere near that month of haunting. Anyone who happened upon the pair of you would find his full body armour odd. It was mildly ironic for you to comment about Alucard’s unconventional clothing, only for his ‘true’ appearance to be just as outlandish for these modern times. What did you expect? It seemed the king captured people’s attention no matter what he did in whichever era.

The relaxing stroll was picturesque. For once, the streetlights functioned as they should and lit up the quaint storefronts without Alucard’s interference. The boulevards were clean and the summer air fresh, but clamorous with singing crickets. The engines of the occasional car rumbled in the distance and punctured the tranquility. The first vampire let you lead the walk, wordlessly following you through every turn as he sensed your worries ebb with each passing minute, enjoying the way you eventually bumped against him with each step. 

A warm breeze brought the perfume of the faint sweat trailing behind you into his sinuses. His vampiric senses were hyper-aware of your presence, such as how your little heart pumped hot blood through your veins with each thud while you continued to wander.

How he missed roaming the nights together.

Vampires were natural hunters. It couldn’t be helped. Orange gold deepened into a lustrous crimson as his pupils narrowed into predatory slits.

Alucard was no longer beside you. There was only empty space and silence when even the insects fell quiet. Spinning around to seek him, you heard heavy purring in your head as fallen leaves rustled about in a swirling circle around you. 

"What are you waiting for Dear? RUN." A pointy nose poked your ear.

Jumping at the familiar voice, you felt the solid presence of him sighing into your ear from behind as he purred and nudged you.

Oh? He wanted to play? You unfroze with a smile, not needing to be instructed again. You took off, but it was different this time. You were able to see your path well enough to not trip over yourself, rapidly finding a way from the streets where the stray vehicle still roved and into pedestrian side roads.

Unlike past chases, there was no panic or fear. Despite your earlier misgivings, you could barely even remember why you were terrified of Alucard stalking you after all this time together. As you zipped through the desolate night streets, your heart pounded with exhilaration the longer you ran. It felt good to set aside your worries for now and just enjoy your time together. 

Alucard, you are here?

The shadows followed you with ease in the corners of your eyes. The rich, sanguine glow to their edges was a dead giveaway. You laughed as you took a turn leading you someplace you've never been before in the dead of night. With the knowledge that Alucard was with you, the night became a game full of mystery and adventure. 

He caught you by the waist, hauling you back to his chest while the arm that held you slowly slipped up your torso until he seized your breasts. The wandering hands were metallic and frigid against your skin. 

“If this was a real hunt, it would have concluded. It'd be sensible to surrender yourself to me now.” 

You squirmed in his hold with a breathless titter, earning a hiss in your ear and a lick to your cheek before he let you go. You giggled and used the opportunity to slither away and scamper off.

You ran and ran from his harrying; repeatedly he would catch and wrestle with you before you were released. The most brazen event was when he suddenly appeared and let you run face first into him, then stroked languidly down your rear until you found your bearings and escaped. How he taunted you.

Eventually you came to a stop when your breath escaped in soft pants, shirt clinging with your exertion. You looked around for somewhere else to go and perhaps hide so your vampire had to search before bolting again when you didn’t find a spot to your satisfaction. You didn't know where you were going at all, just making turn after turn wherever you could –through unlit alleys and parks and crossing under bridges, until you arrived at a ravine to recover. 

The vampire was nowhere to be seen. You snickered upon hearing something drop and a crackle in the dark. "Y–you don't scare me anymore. Just come out," you gasped out. 

Words that were spoken too soon. Trouble slid out of the shadows as several ruffians leered at you. Forcibly exhaling, you inched back at their appearances, ready to dash away in the direction you came from. Needles, used condoms, and other garbage littered the ground and the air was dank with the stench of old urine and vomit. So you stumbled into the derelict quarters of society’s undesirables, but you did not want their acquaintance.

"Leaving so soon, pretty bird?" One of the skinnier blokes sneered. He was covered in ugly tattoos.

“Why don’t you stay awhile and keep us company?” Another said. He was just as ratty as the first, but smiled as he approached. Their sinister intentions were clear as day, despite the false nicety.

“Yeah, we don’t often have the pleasure of such lovely companionship.” The third stood back where it was too dark to distinguish his features.

I do not appreciate others interrupting my hunt. Leave. 

The muted voice simultaneously thundered and the brutes shouted at the vacant surroundings.

“Who’s there?” 

“Piss off, wanker!” Tough words from the men, but you were already apprehensive not for yourself, but them.

The shadows at your feet bubbled up. 

“What the fuck?!” One of the hooligans hollered in shock at the mass of darkness that grew from the ground in front of you. He glanced back at his friends before squaring his shoulders.

The man crashed into an ancient conifer and was held there several feet off the ground, gasping for breath as he was slowly flattened –his face gave in first, the nose and lips crumbling inwards. It was as if he was submitted to the work of a hydraulic press. He heaved with effort to break free as his eyes bulged and his chest squeezed tight, unable to even scream under the crushing compression.

As you watched in shock, the death happened too quickly to process, yet like time slowed for you as well. His head popped like a gusher with blood jetting from both ears. You saw every detail as the ruffian's body was squashed by an invisible force until even his bones gave out and he became a splatter of viscera decorating the bark. Only a hand remained intact, but even that snapped at the wrist without a surface behind it to counteract the pressure.

You screamed at the crunching horror when it finally ended with a wet splat. 

Alucard rescued you yet again. He appeared nonchalant about his victim's barbaric demise, his stance at complete ease.

“!!!” Your would-be assailants were initially speechless as they jittered back at the supernatural display of violence.

One of the remaining men sniffled, swiping his nose as he howled,  “Arsehole!”

There was white powder dusting the ground and around their nostrils. They were high, which explained the ongoing aggression and bravado as knives came out. Your gaze flickered up to Alucard’s face.

You knew that maniacal grin, the one that reminded you of when you first saw him at work. No. All your fears about him resurfaced. You forgot how to breathe as you darted in front of him to cling to his arm. 

"You can't kill them!" You yelled.

Being with him was wrong.

He paused, the king's gaze sliding to yours with a bored expression. "Why?" He drawled callously.

He was violent and dangerous.

“Because you can't just go around killing people!"

"Why?"

Omfg did Alucard think he was the Terminator? As ridiculous as the exchange was, this was no movie. Alucard’s eyes narrowed as a savage aura flared and pulsed with danger when the remaining two men floundered backwards in jerky movements. Perhaps their sense of self-preservation was still existent.

Dracula’s baleful glare did not conceal his wrath. These worthless lowlives dared not only threaten you, but if it weren't for his presence, they would have violated you in the most disgusting of ways in this dirty scum hole. He knew it, because he could sense their base desires and the opportunistic evil that lay dormant within them. He too was a creature of the abyss who knew darkness when he encountered it. 

Unspeakable rage tainted his thoughts with promised violence. Their perverted longings were the ultimate transgression against you. It was unforgivable. You may be soft and kind, but he was not known for mercy. Rapists should be staked and displayed for others as a warning. 

There were millions of other ways he could end them and The Impaler started listing them. He could telepathically wipe their memories and order them gone, which was always the simplest solution when it came to nosy humans, but he wanted these ones dead.

He lifted his hand before you desperately caught it between both of yours and pushed it down, hoping to hold him back. Your stomach churned from his glower as you imagined what he was going to do to them. How many times was he going to shoot them? Or was he going to rip them apart with his bare hands instead? Would there even be anything left of them when he was satisfied with the mutilation?

“They didn’t do anything to me, I’m okay! Let’s just go home!” You pleaded.

“You do not get to decide who must die, draga mea."

"ALUCARD!"

"Alucard is not here right now." 

Wha-

The crimson gaze flicked back up at the interlopers and blazed with fury as the pair of imbeciles decided it was prudent to use your interference with his punishment as a means to flee. Their human movements were sluggish to his vision and reflexes anyways. He knew their intentions the moment they thought it, caught the twitching of muscles as they began to turn and run in slow motion. Cowards who could not even face their well-deserved execution.

So they should lose their legs first. 

They froze after mistakenly meeting Death’s gaze and receiving the order to remain motionless. The shadows licked at his feet and twisted, rising to whip about in the air. 

Shit. But –this was your vampire. At the same time, this was evidently someone else, a warrior. A king. How were you supposed to address him? Your Majesty? Dracula? That was his title and name. But what was his name? You were frantic. Think! What was it again?! 

"...Vlad…Please don't do this, I beg you…" Hauling all your weight, you threw yourself at him, the tears now falling freely as his tendrils stretched and lashed towards his latest quarries. How did it go from a beautiful moonlit walk together to this bloodbath?!

Through the fog of his ire drifted another scent beyond the putrid fear of his prey. Your fear. He saw the dread in your eyes. Countless others have made the same face while grovelling at his feet for mercy. You however, were not begging for yourself, but the remaining rotten swine behind you. He growled with displeasure at what you asked of him, the mind running feral with imagery of what he wanted to do, waiting impatiently for the miscreants to give him another reason to end them.

The Nosferatu glanced back at you. Your face was the same as that time, when he vanquished the undead that hunted you. He really was a monster. You were afraid of him. 

Upon realizing you had your vampire’s attention, you tried to reach him further. “Just…just take the blood of the one who's already dead. And then…" your voice cracked and dropped to a whisper. "Let's go home. Please."

He focused on everything that was you, on the salt of your tears and sweat overlying body lotion. Your desperation. In the background were the pungent stench of gore and the unwashed bodies of men. The king growled as he stared at you again. It was your second thoughts about what you were getting yourself into by being with him that did it. He snuffed out his need to kill as he came back to himself.

You were petrified about what was next, but Dracula won’t let you regret your decision to stay. He did not wish to prove your trust in him was misplaced or that your reservations about him were well-founded. 

“Since this is one of the only requests my darling little human has ever made of me, I shall grant clemency this time,” he snarled through razor teeth. The paralyzed men cowered at the demon in front of them, at last recognizing how close to Death’s door they came. 

"Vermin such as yourselves aren't worth the effort anyways." The unholy king’s eyes glowed with a hellish light. "Leave," he commanded. 

Under hypnotism, a ring of scarlet surrounded their irises and the thugs slunk away with a dazed expression. They were at last permitted to go through with their flight and disappear back into the bowels of London as his gaze bore holes through the backs of their skulls.

The danger passed. You were hiding behind the vampire, who felt your anxiety when his attention turned back to you. He could not fault your distaste for brutality and death. Despite his blinding fury moments ago, he was unable to maintain his anger with you. His expression lightened.

Silence. 

You licked your lips, trembling with a bone-deep fear you hadn't felt in a long time. “Are you not going to drink his blood?" Staring everywhere except at your saviour, you eyed the corpse of squished organs, bones, and flesh painting the vegetation.

"Do you seek your meals from the gutter?" He snorted, eying the pile with disdain. "Besides… you are more than enough." The vampire grinned, a single fang glinting in the gloom like he just told you the best inside joke.

Your eyes widened at the unexpected change in atmosphere from the offhand comment. Alucard and his mood swings. 

Taking a deep breath to soothe yourself, the tension was slow to leave you. You looked at him again. "Thank you for stopping," you told him with honest relief.

"Little one, you are safe when you walk the night with me. Nothing will harm you," he said as he faced you fully and brushed your cheeks gently.

You held his hand to your face, opening it up and leaning your cheek into the icy steel. He took a step to his right to block the view when you tried to examine the remains of the body turned into slush. A layer of clouds blocked the meager light of the moon so you couldn’t see it anyways. All you saw was the sunset in your vampire’s eyes.

You gulped. The eldritch power surrounding the vampire wrapped around you, and instinctively you knew it was cold, but you felt warm and safe on the inside. It felt like you were home. 

"I believe you." You took the single step to close the distance between you and pressed up flush against the vampire.

Affection kindled in those stunning eyes. There it was, behind the face of another man, this ruthless king, was the Alucard you knew and fell for. Your expression broke as you buried your face in his chest, needing reassurance as the mess that came to pass tonight caught up with you.

He was caressing your head again, tousling it to the beat of your heart when you peeked up at him with dewy-eyed innocence. Resplendent little human, he will shelter you from the horrors of the world.

"Luna vieții mele."

"Pardon?"

"Tu ești luna vieții mele."

You blinked in confusion, straining to try catching the gist of his words, but it was hopeless. Fortunately many Latin languages share some similarities. You were reasonably sure he mentioned the moon.

"Și fără tine, nu există lumină."

How infuriating. If there was something Vlad wanted to say to you, he could just do so directly instead of using a foreign language you didn’t understand for dramatic effect.

"What does that mean?"

He gave you a cryptic smile and offered his arm. “It is time to return." 

Yeah right, like hell it did. He said a lot more words than if he was just talking about going home. You stared at the outstretched arm of a gallant Medieval man, brows crinkling when he did not elaborate. It seemed you would have to figure out the meaning yourself.

You curled in to stay close to him, placing your hand on his arm and weaving your fingers around the crook of Dracula’s elbow so he could lead you home through the dark of night.

~To be Continued~

Ch. 13- TBD? "Stargazers in Romania"

Notes: Alucard really doesn’t like rapists.

Even knowing Alucard shapeshifts, it’ll take getting used to his other forms. It’d be weird if someone just accepts another body/face/voice/personality as their SO upon the first time meeting them, right? At least I think so. The Count is ‘her’ Alucard, for now at least.

This chapter isn't meant to be a character analysis of the historical person's actions, but more the reservations a rational person should have when deciding whether to stay as freaking Vlad III Dracula's SO.

It is admittedly a bit cliche that Alucard is always just in time to save the Reader from her demise, but in my other Hellsing work, she names him her “guide and guardian (angel).” The title is well-deserved.

*The next chapter will be delayed because I will be going on my honeymoon for several weeks. I’ll likely be able to fit in some writing time as we travel between countries. I’ll probably also be using that time to continue planning Part 2 of this story (we aren’t there yet). Yes that’s right, Millennium will feature in this fic, although I will only loosely follow the canon Ultimate events and be taking some liberties with how vampire things work.*

Buckle up, we’re only about half-way. I estimate there to be around 23-26 or so chapters in total to complete this fic, although later chapters will likely be shorter.

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Hello.....How are you? Thanks so much for sharing your analysis in your blog. I'm new to BL. I felt really helped in finding your blog. I lived in a country where LGBTQ+ is considered taboo and my own family saw it as something sinful. Until I found mlm fanfics (I know it's a ridicilous reason for why now I'm interested in BL & GL media).

Can I ask, what are your top 7 (or top 5) favorite BL media (can be books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series) ? Why do you love them? And your top 5 (or top 3) favorite GL media? Sorry for asking similar question like from someone before (hope you don't mind).

Thanks again, @wen-kexing-apologist 💐🌻🌷

Hello! So sorry this took so long to respond to, I have been really busy and this write up took me a bit of time to get together. 

Thanks for reaching out, I’m sorry that your family sees queerness as sinful. I’m sure we come from different countries, and different cultures, but I hope I can give you some comfort by saying I am proud of who I am and I love being queer. I love my queer friends, they are without a doubt the kindest and most caring people I have ever met. And you do not need to apologize at all for asking a similar question to a previous ask. I also hope you know that it is not ridiculous at all to have your eyes opened by mlm fanfiction, I promise. 

So my list of (some) of my favorite BLs are:

ITSAY/IPYTM

180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us 

Moonlight Chicken

—

The Eclipse 

Our Dining Table

La Pluie

He’s Coming to Me 

What Did You Eat Yesterday? (adding this as a special #8 because it is one of my favorites but may be hard to find)

You’re My Sky

Gameboys

Because this is a similar ask to one I recently got I am going to direct you to that for my explanations on 180 Degrees Longitude Passes Through Us (available on Gagaoolala), I Told Sunset About You and I Promise You The Moon (available on Viki), and Moonlight Chicken (available on YouTube) and add three other shows: What Did You Eat Yesterday?, You’re My Sky, and Gameboys.

If you stick around in this fandom long enough you will start to see that Bad Buddy (available on YouTube) is one of most beloved shows on tumblr. I love love love that show, but it is not in my favorites the way these other shows are. However, I would HIGHLY recommend you watch it if you haven’t already. It is incredible, and a very important piece of BL history both for the level of popularity it gained and the way it subverted BL as a genre. 

That said, let’s get in to my favorite BLs and why I love them, again in alphabetical order: 

Gameboys

(Pinoy BL- Season 1: Available on YouTube or Netflix, Season 2: Available on Gagaoolala in Asia or with a VPN that can make it seem like you are in Asia)

Contains Themes of: Quarantine, COVID, death, queer character being outed against their will

I literally just finished the first season of this show today, but have to thank @bengiyo for telling me this is what I should watch next because I absolutely loved it. It is the story of two boys, stuck in quarantine in the Phillipines during the COVID pandemic that meet over an online game and fall in love. I agree with Ben that this is an incredibly well handled pandemic story, the actors are fantastic, their chemistry is believable and natural, and I appreciate that they let these boys be horny for each other. I loved watching the highs and lows of their blossoming relationship and I am so looking forward to watching Season 2 when they are together in person and seeing if and how that changes their dynamic. 

He’s Coming to Me

(Thai BL- Available on YouTube) 

Contains Themes of: death of a teenager (related to heart problems), murder

I talked about this show in one of my tag games as my pick for most underrated series in Thai QL. Which I stand by because this show did not have the distribution it should have due to fan interference because they were upset about Singto being moved from a match up with Krist to instead star opposite Ohm. 

This is a show that I have labeled as By, For, and About Queer people. This is an Aof Noppharnach piece that is just absolutely beautiful in the way it explores the growing realization about your own queerness as Ohm’s character (Thun) starts to develop feelings for Singto’s character (Med). I love the additional layer to this show that comes with Med being a ghost who can only be seen by Thun, and how we don’t just get an explicitly queer character in an explicitly queer relationship, but that we also get a metaphor for queerness in the fact that Thun has to keep himself and his abilities private. When he hangs out with Med in public, no one can see him, and Thun often ends up talking to air, which results in people constantly staring at him in confusion, concern, or disgust. This show will remind you that Ohm has always been The Actor of All Time, the way his voice creaks in this show still haunts me to this day. I liked the mystery element in this show, I loved the rooftop confessions and the coming out scene. I loved all the ways this show was just so so so queer. Now that it has been released to the general public, I think every person who watches Thai BL should watch this show. 

La Pluie 

(Thai BL- Available on IQIYI) 

Contains Themes of: lying to a romantic partner

God this show is an incredible, brilliant, perfectly executed subversion of the soulmates trope. A theme I am generally sensing in the content I am sharing is that queer characters are allowed to be flawed human beings. Tai needs to learn how to use his words, Patts is perfect but does have a temper that he is managing extremely well, Tien is perfect but does constantly undermine and underplay his own emotions to support the other people in his life, Lomfon is rude. This show has a lot of very smart things to say, and allows its characters to both experience desire, and sexual frustration, it uses giving sexual pleasure as a way for a character to maintain control over new forms of intimacy. Myself and my fellow clowns on this website (especially @bengiyo and @lurkingshan) have fought for this show tooth and nail for weeks upon weeks to make sure that as many people as possible were watching this absolutely beautiful show. 

Our Dining Table

(Japanese BL- Available on Gagaoolala)

Contains Themes of: death, child neglect, grief

This is a very short, very sweet, wonderful spot of comfort and warmth. Its main themes are found family and navigating grief. It has the cutest little boy in the world who is just a bouncing ball of sunshine, and he and this show won my entire heart. I love this show for what it says about family, about care and love, sacrifice and healing. Even for the parts of the show that center around pain, this show is just so full of joy. I loved watching Yutaka open up, loved watching Minoru have a chance to relax, I loved Ueda-san getting to watch his son fall in love to become happier by way of existing around his sons’ happiness. I love that Minoru is very much an older brother to Tane, not a parent, despite how much care he gives him, and I love that Yutaka and Tane are genuinely friends. 

The Eclipse

(Thai BL- Available on YouTube)

Contains Themes of: threats against protestors (including cars rolling in to crowds), suicide, grief, internalized homophobia, homophobia, authoritarianism, emotional manipulation, thoughts of suicide, queer character being outed against their will

This is absolutely one of my favorite BLs, beyond the fact that the acting is incredible, the characters are allowed to be very flawed, very complex, and very morally gray the story itself is incredibly layered and is a huge social commentary on rebelling against authoritarianism, the ways in which identities and oppression are leveraged against marginalized people to get them to commit heinous acts against the people they should be standing with and not against. This show touches on so many different things: justice, hypocrisy, manipulation, love, fear, internalized homophobia, rebellion, activism. This show gave me both my favorite war criminal and his rat bastard boyfriend. It has some of my favorite kisses and favorite crying scenes. And it introduced me to the powerhouse duo of First and Khaotung. 

What Did You Eat Yesterday?

(I am honestly not sure where you can find this easily, outside of @kinounaniresource. there is one season, a special, and a movie. There is a Season 2 on the way, and I am also not sure when it is going to be released or if it is going to be released on any particular platform)

Contains Themes of: internalized homophobia, homophobia, character with history of child abuse

I am honestly not sure if this technically qualifies as a BL, but it is certainly a show that centers around an already established, older gay couple. This is a story about a couple staying together, and there is an undercurrent of long carried pain that is tucked so neatly between the layers of cooking, and eating, and love for one another. I do not really know how to explain this show beyond it just being one of the best things out there. We are so so lacking in elder queer content, honestly this is the only show I have seen out of 60+ QLs I have watched in the last year that has a main queer couple over the age of probably 25. I love the dynamic between Shiro and Kenji so much because who doesn’t love couples comprised of one puppy dog of a man and one man with the energy of a very annoyed cat? 

You’re My Sky

(Thai BL- available on Viki) 

Contains Themes of: betrayal, cheating, sports related injury

This show has some of the most beautiful, saturated coloring of any show I have ever seen, the influence of I Told Sunset About You is incredibly clear (which makes sense because a screenwriter and director on You’re My Sky was a Screenwriter on ITSAY/IPYTM). I am not a huge sports person, but I do love a sports drama, and this one does a stellar job with the way it shoots it’s basketball games. It has Suar, who I was first introduced to as Tien in La Pluie as the main character and he is just SO. GOOD. This dude has been in three shows TOTAL and he just absolutely DEMOLISHES this role, and his role in La Pluie. Seriously, even if you could not give two shits about basketball (as a sport I do not, in this show I care very much) you should watch this show just to see Suar run a masterclass in acting. 

Girl Loves 

Unfortunately, there are not a lot of girl love shows that exist, the only one I have even seen coming out of Asia is GAP the series (a handful more exist, but they either seem to not be popular and/or are hard to access). It is an unfortunate reality that we are still fighting for more WLW content, especially GL content where the romance is the main and central plot. So, I don’t have a strong list to give you, because what does exist is limited and often gets canceled, but I will give you what information I do have:

Carmilla 

GAP the Series 

Carmilla 

(Canada- Available on YouTube)

Contains Themes of: student disappearances, death, undeath 

This is an 8 year old Western webseries based on the book of the same name. I watched this around the time it came out and loved it a lot. There are a couple seasons and a movie, all of it is really really good, and was some of the earliest queer representation I had, including having the first non-binary character I had ever seen on screen (does not mean there weren’t others, this is just the first one that I found). This is a webseries so it takes place almost exclusively in one room. 

GAP the Series

(Thai GL- Available on YouTube) 

Contains Themes of: severe homophobia, suicide, emotional abuse, death of a sibling

GAP was fun, it started out really strong, but it did lose me a little bit at the end. But that is mostly because I am not the biggest fan of boss and employee stories where an equal power balance is not established. I think it s a really solid attempt at kickstarting GL into an industry rather than just an occasional one off. This is required viewing in my opinion because of how it was funded, and because it has some of the highest view rates out there for queer Thai shows, and really helped prove that GLs were stories that people really really wanted to see (read: production companies started to realize they could make a lot of money). 

I can offer you a suggestion from other people: 

She Loves to Cook, She Loves to Eat 

(Japanese GL- I have not seen this yet and I am not sure where you can find this show. But I do know that everyone who has seen it loves it, and I plan to watch it soon. A Season 2 was announced recently but is not out yet)

Non GL shows that either have a lesbian or bisexual character and/or have a GL pairing as a side plot: 

Bad Buddy (the second couple, but still has limited screen time)

Secret Crush on You (very minor couple, but has been in a relationship from the beginning)

La Pluie (A very small part of the story)

Lovely Writer (I have not seen this show, I do not know exactly what the plot is, or what purpose this character serves, but I know there is a bisexual character named Tiffy, who won the BL Bisexual Swag 

The Warp Effect (one of the shows with a pretty strong lesbian couple)

Gameboys and Pearl Next Door

A book I really love with a WLW couple in it and a gay character is The Priory of the Orange Tree

GMMTV has started filming their first GL, which we hope will air late this year (or maybe early next year), it’s called 23.5 Degrees and I am very much looking forward to it!

Queer Shows 

I’ll give you some bonus suggestions that are very queer shows, but aren’t defined as BL or GL

The Warp Effect

Gay OK Bangkok

3 Will Be Free

The Owl House 

Deadend Paranormal Park 

The Warp Effect

(Thai- available on YouTube) 

Contains Themes of: abortion, sexual assault, physical assault, internalized homophobia, transphobia, religious trauma, bodyshaming, slut shaming, kink shaming, workplace sexual harassment, homophobia

If it is queer and from Thailand and I love it, odds are extremely high that Jojo Tichakorn wrote and directed it. Despite some very heavy themes this was a very very fun watch, it is one of the most kink positive, sex positive, and queer shows that I have seen. I have a friend who is a sex educator and I want them to watch this show for it’s public speech announcements about getting HPV vaccines and how pelvic exams work. This is not a show I can explain super well, but it is one that I highly recommend, and if you are planning on watching Only Friends, then it is something I consider a required viewing. 

Gay OK Bangkok 

(Thai- available on YouTube)

Contains Themes of: cheating, HIV

This is a very real look at the existence of gay men in Bangkok, I love it so much. This is a pair up between Jojo and Aof, two of my favorite directors. It is not a feel good show, it is an honest one. I think everyone should watch it. 

3 Will Be Free

(Thai- available on YouTube)

Contains Themes of: cheating, manslaughter, murder, murder of a spouse, kidnapping, domestic abuse, sexual assault, strangulation, transphobia, death, gun violence

Once again, a Jojo show, and once again, despite the list of themes within the show, a very fun watch. This is one of, if not the only GMMTV show with a throuple, and is honestly very hilarious by way of three idiots on the run from the mafia, accidentally through mostly shit dumb luck and the fact that everyone is stupid, taking down a criminal empire. 

The Owl House 

(United States- available on Disney+, season 3 available on YouTube) 

Contains Themes of: white supremacy, child abuse, child neglect, heavy trauma, mind and body control, death, possible world destruction

This is an animated show that I love dearly and one I find incredibly important for the next generation of queer people to see. The main character is neurodivergent, she is bisexual and gets a girlfriend, there is a non-binary side character, and there is also just a lot of casual queer representation. This show has a lot to say, and says it well, it is adorable and heartbreaking and everything in between and the fact that it got canceled is honestly a tragedy. 

Dead End: Paranormal Park

(United States- available on Netflix) 

Contains Themes of: possession, murder, death, undeath, paranormal activity, religious infighting, amnesia, animal death, kidnapping, child death, implied transphobia

This is also an animated show that I love dearly and one I find incredibly important for the next generation of queer people to see. The main character is trans, the other main character is neurodivergent and bisexual, there is a lot of casual queer representation. Like The Owl House this show has a lot to say, and says it well, it is adorable and heartbreaking and everything in between and the fact that it got canceled is also a tragedy. 

[I realize for The Owl House and Deadend Paranormal Park that my descriptions are very similar, but I cannot stress enough that these two shows have very different premises and tell very different stories. They are just animated shows that are able to contain a lot more queer representation that the stories that came before them, because of the stories that came before them] 

[csuitebitches]

On the Role of Cultural Education in Self Identity and Hypergamy

I’ve been thinking a lot about education lately. Why is it that I’ve spent a decade and half in the traditional education system and still not felt like a “human”? Why is it that when I finally began getting “real world knowledge” it all felt new and that school hasn’t prepared me for any of that? Why did I still feel unrefined as a human being?

I remember being at an HNI event years ago and being absolutely blank faced about what was going on. I didn’t know any of the topics they were talking about. That’s when it first hit me - my education system had failed me in some way. I felt stupid, like a little goldfish in the ocean.

There’s more to life than what we’re taught inside the four walls of a classroom. This year I’m going to heavily focus on my “cultural education.”

For context because I don’t want to mislead anyone: I’m Asian, my parents are HNIs (which explains specific knowledge and accessibility to certain things), I do have privilege which I accept and try to make good out of (such as volunteer work, working on impact-driven businesses).

Cultural knowledge expansion is important because it shapes you as a person. You realise that life is not black and white - there’s so much more to it. You think more about things that truly matter and you focus less on superficial things. You realise that there’s always some historical knowledge you can apply to current times.

Best of all - you’re on track to being smarter, wiser, confident and sociable. Even if you may not know all the answers, at least you know what to question!

I’m at an age where I’ve had families asking my family about my marriage prospects (arranged marriages are common in my culture, I would 90% opt for one at a later age, arranged marriages are NOT forced marriages) and I want to be able to be “too good” for anyone and everyone. In my culture, we don’t marry individuals; we marry families. The family that I would ideally want to get married into should be up to my standard as well. I want a man to earn the right to be my partner, not the other way round, no matter how much money or influence he has. This is something that my father has drilled in my head from day 1 - never settle for just anyone.

However - how can I ask for things if I don’t bring them to the table myself? How can I ask for someone cultured, highly educated, intellectual - if I am not trying to be those things?

Things To Culturally Expand On (and this is exactly what I would teach my future children)

You don’t have to be an expert of any of these. But even knowing the ABCs can take you a long way. I do feel that exploring these would help me connect to my feminine energy further as well. Only classroom knowledge will not build you as a person.

1. Watching indie movies / niche movies on MUBI.com

2. Learning the basics of crafts (embroidery, cooking, etc)

3. Exploring literature (at the moment, eastern literature)

4. Herbal medicines (this does not replace allopathy, but I do think that herbal remedies can be useful for minor things)

5. Poetry

6. Appreciating classical music (I’ve always appreciated western classical music because my mum insisted on my sibling and I learning the violin/piano (my sibling is really gifted)) especially eastern classical

7. Philosophy, eastern and western

8. Understanding and appreciating traditional dances

9. Working more on my native language

10. Being refined in my culture’s history and geography

[ashleywool]

Look...I'm no statistician, but...

I HIGHLY doubt it's a coincidence that Tony viewership dropped 14.6% the year they snubbed the ONLY musical in history that represented and celebrated the most passionate, dedicated, and under-appreciated evangelists of the Broadway fandom.

This isn't a slight against any of the other folks who were represented on that stage. They are my friends and colleagues and they deserve all the recognition they are getting and more. This isn't even a judgment of the Broadway League. I know how this stuff works. I know the point of the awards show is to get national audiences interested in coming to New York, and that the odds of an early-season closure getting nominations in an already-packed season is slim to none, and we were far from the only ones left out. (I'm still especially flabbergasted that Harmony got ignored. It was, in my expert opinion, about as perfect as a musical could possibly get.)

Even still, there were plenty of reasons to tune in, between all the wonderful shows that WERE deservedly represented, and the fact that it's only the second full Broadway season since the shutdown.

I can understand the financial constraints that are still resulting in overall lower grosses/attendance at the shows themselves, but for Tony viewership to be down 14.6% from last year? When it's accessible on more platforms and in more parts of the world than ever before?

You're never gonna convince me that that only happened because of Father's Day, and had nothing to do with ticking off a giant sector of diehard Broadway fans, many of whom had already made active plans to see HTDIO but never got to go.

But, like so many other things I know about the power, passion, and prevalence of the autistic community, I can't prove it. It might not be proven within my lifetime, and even if it is, the people who don't wanna see it will still ignore it. Or try to frame it as a "me" problem. That's just something I have to live with, and my heart and logical brain know that that's okay, even if my ego doesn't like it.

I am optimistic about HTDIO going to London, though. The UK theatre scene has its own set of issues, but "cultural de-prioritization of theatre" isn't one of them, and neither is "everything being controlled by the landlords."

I found out that you don't even need a deposit or show proof of income to rent an apartment there, and credit scores are NOT A THING. The cost of living is still quite high, and the West End actor salaries are not what they should be, but it makes me happy to know that at least none of those actors are going to have to ask for a $9K salary advance just so they can move into the neighborhood. And if they happen to be an off-the-books gig worker on the side, or they're receiving unemployment at the time of the application, it DOESN'T MATTER. The landlords don't care where the money comes from, or how good their tenants have been at paying other people on time in the past, or how much debt their tenants have, as long as they get the rent on time every month. What a dang concept.

At the end of the day, whatever happens or doesn't happen or could/would/should have happened, I'm still deeply proud of our show, I still love the craft and the culture of musical theatre, and I love the Broadway community more than I even realized was possible. I don't think there's any force in the universe powerful enough to make those things less true.

Life is always gonna be hard and unfair, but theatre people are my favorite people to do hard and unfair things with.

[loemius]

Can you please tell us about drag? <3 Why did you get into it, what does it mean to you... Anything you'd like to talk about!

hi hi! thank you SO much for this question, i would ABSOLUTELY love to!! i've been into drag for... honestly my whole life. i've always been interested in makeup since i was a pre-teen and once i discovered drag makeup tutorials on youtube it was game over. i spent a ton of time in my teen years just practicing different makeup looks and playing with cosmetics. it's always been a huge interest of mine. it's a means of self expression for me. i'm transmasc and present more androgynous, leaning towards masculine, and i don't really like to wear makeup day to day (mostly because it's a lot of effort tbh). it gives me a chance to express my love of makeup and fashion, as well as my femininity, that i feel most comfortable doing in drag. performing in drag is a unique artform that you can't really get anywhere else imo. there's so many ways to approach it! you can do so much with it. it's this unique blend of music, dance, references, soundbites, fashion, theater, all in one package. it's self-expression, it's art, it's history! there's so much history behind drag, which is a really big passion of mine as well. i'm a huge nerd about lgbt+ history, pop culture, and art of all kinds, so it's just... a blend of everything i love. there's no wrong way to do drag, which is something i love about it. there's something for everyone in drag, if you're willing to get into it. i think a lot of people only thing of drag as queens, which is Not true. i personally am a queen, there's kings and people who prefer other terms like 'performer' or 'drag monster' too! it's not just people being glamorous in pretty rhinestoned gowns on stage or what you see on drag race, although it Can be. it's also horror, comedy, camp, so much more. i'm very lucky that my university has a drag house/club, and i'm very involved. i help plan the shows, promote them, and of course, i perform in them. i'm a pretty seasoned performer at this point, coming up on my third year of actually performing in drag, although i only got to do one show in my first year of performance. being up on stage is... an experience like no other. it's so much fun. it's indescribable. i've gotten to host shows and it's literally so magical to me. i'm deeply blessed to have the community that i do with so many drag siblings and even my own drag children! i really struggled to find my 'people' so to speak when i went to uni until i got into drag. i have so many friends now from it that it just... blows my mind. it means so much to me to get to share this art form that i love with others and help them experience it too. i'm deeply, deeply blessed. for anyone interested in drag, i highly suggest checking out local performers near you. get on social media (esp instagram if you've got it) and look for performers in your nearest city and see who they follow, who they perform with, and just follow them and support them. likes and comments mean a lot. if you're able to go to shows, i cannot suggest it enough. local drag is an experience like nothing else. it's honestly life changing to me, and i'm deeply blessed to have had this experience and pray i always get to be a drag performer. thank you so much for this ask, this was really awesome to talk about and i really appreciate the opportunity!!! gods bless you always with happiness, health, and love <3333 as a reminder my ask box is still open for more q&a's if anyone's got em!

[folkwayss]

Who are you!

I’m evan, or ev, or van! I’m a senior in college getting my BA in religious studies with a focus on the sociology of religion, arts, and chaplaincy!

religious studies major

he/they - trans butch androgynous lady guy <3

20 yrs on earth

areas of academic interest: sociology, religion, labor, psychology, addiction treatment, and mycology/microbiology.

currently applying to grad schools <3

hobbies: drawing, painting, hiking, bird watching, gaming, and photography.

What does your blog name mean?

I study sociology and love studying the concept of folkways:

“According to the American sociologist William Graham Sumner, who coined the term, folkways are social conventions that are not considered to be of moral significance by members of the group [e.g., customary behaviour for use of the telephone.]” (Britannica, 2024.)

What are your area of interest?

Degree interest is religious studies, art of the civil rights movement and Harlem renaissance, sociology of religion and media, and more! Generally I also take interest in ornithology, mycology, philosophy, labor studies, and more.

What do you think about AI for students, workers, writing, art, etc?

THIS USER HATES AI, GENERATIVE AI, CHAT GPT, AND ALL OTHERS!

Seriously though, I and millions of others don’t work our asses off to carefully craft writing, art, scientific works, analysis, music, etc. for you to generate a little stolen work using our limited power and water on this earth. AI writing your paper is plagiarism, AI art is plagiarism, and AI needs to be highly regulated. If you use AI to generate “works” get out of here.

Do you post about your religion often? Are you accepting of other religions?

I actually do not post about my own religion a lot, and while it is a big part of my life it is part of my life and I don’t expect you to make it part of yours! Whatever you believe in is just as important as my beliefs. I study religion from an open perspective, across cultures and histories, and with great appreciation for all. I am deeply passionate about religious studies and spend 90% of my education studying various religions but primarily Judaism and Indigenous Thought in North, South, and Central America.

[theory-of-art]

4.2 The Codex of Leicester

Just to preface this discussion, I am morally against the existence of billionaires as it is impossible for someone to ethically “earn” a billion dollars. People should not hoard wealth, and the process of making a billion-dollar company is built on the back of underpaid labor and the exploitation of resources generally taken from the global south. I personally believe once you pass $999,999,999 you should be taxed at a 100% rate with the money actively going to support the communities exploited by the uber-wealthy. A person cannot spend a billion dollars over the course of a thousand lifetimes, thus no one person should have wealth they will never spend. Even with only nine hundred and ninety million dollars, a person can live in lavish luxury beyond the comprehension of ninety-nine percent of the global population. Unfortunately for the rest of the world, these billionaires don’t just want to hoard wealth they want to show it off by buying and privatizing culturally significant artworks, removing it from the community that gave it life. Not to sound like a 1980s Harrison Ford character, but when it comes to culturally significant art it belongs in a museum. 

There are several arguments that must be addressed when it comes to the private ownership of art; ironically, some of these arguments are also made by museums claiming they don’t need to repatriate the pieces in their collection they acquired through colonialism. 

First, private collectors will claim that they can care for the items better than a museum can. Rebuttal: the taxes billionaires dodge can be used to increase funding for art museums so they can afford to staff even more curators and conservationists. Since museums should serve the public, taxpayer money should be made available for museums to expand their programs. This can include several different, highly specialized experts to research, restore, and conserve any number of mediums the museum could possibly oversee. This could also include specialized educators to create comprehensive and interactive educational tours and paid workers to give those tours.  

Second, private collectors will claim that they deserve to own original pieces of art or history because they worked hard for their money. Rebuttal: no they didn’t. The meritocracy of the global West is exaggerated at best and delusional at worst. Billionaires did not do anything to be more deserving of significant artworks than the cultures that produced them, exactly like museums don’t deserve to hold on to pieces that were stolen under colonialism. Works should be displayed by the cultures that produced them, that way the works can be enjoyed by those within that culture, those with the most ability to appreciate the magnitude of the works. This doesn’t mean that museums couldn’t display works from cultures not their own, but rather that there should be a system in place to allow for appropriate “trades” of artifacts. Just like a collector wouldn’t trade their ultra-rare 1999 Tropical Mega Battle No. 2 Trainer Pokemon card ($60,000) for a 2002 First-Edition Mysterious Mountains Crystal Charizard ($40,800) but they would trade for a 2000 Pokemon Topps Chrome Seris 1 Tekno Charizard ($60,000); museums should determine a method of assigning a neutrally derived value for all of their works to be able to make equitable trades with other museums so more people can view the art from other cultures.  

Third, private collectors will claim that they are the only ones able to appreciate the pieces to the degree they should be appreciated. Rebuttal: the more people that see an item the higher the probability that more people will appreciate the pieces and possibly purchase more information or souvenirs of the pieces. The private collectors’ argument here is the exact same as Broadway’s argument that they couldn’t possibly release filmed editions of their plays and musicals because then people wouldn’t buy tickets to see the performances there. This is a bunk argument as people would be more likely to buy tickets to a musical if they have already enjoyed a filmed version and they know they won’t be gambling their enjoyment. Also, there are people who will never be able to afford to go to New York and see a Broadway show in person, and additionally, there are people who will never be able to afford to go to a city to see a touring edition of a Broadway show in person, but most people can at least rent a video recording of a Broadway musical. Having the piece of art freely available to the public is never a disservice to the community. Art enhances life and as such it should never be restricted and held in private collections. 

Finally, private collectors will claim that they need to buy art to become famous as patrons of the arts rather than the infamy they are known for in earning their millions and billions. A prime example of this is the Sackler family slapping their name on a multitude of museums and galleries to be associated with the arts rather than the opioid epidemic they arguably created and perpetuated as the heads of Perdu Pharma. While several museums have already scrubbed their galleries of the Sackler name like the Tate, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Louvre, several still either accept Sackler money or have yet to scrub their name from their galleries like the Guggenheim in New York City, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, and the National Gallery in London. Private collectors should not get to benefit from donating their ill-gotten wealth to institutions that have historically been underfunded and at risk of not being able to serve the public. 

If private collectors want to become patrons of the arts then they should be like Isabella d’Este, Paul Durand-Ruel, Albert C. Barnes, Peggy Guggenheim, Jacob M. Goldschmidt, and the Medici family and actually directly financially support rising artists. That way the art can stay with the private collector as long as they live to be displayed publicly or privately, but the art must be displayed freely to the public when they pass.

[wihinaphe-makhoche]

6/26/24: Pride in Dawnland, Folklore, Microaggressions, and Indigenous Queerness.

Queerness is and always has been.

In their 2023 talk, Passamaquoddy historian, medicine person, and maker Geo Neptune discusses gender, cultural identity, sexuality, and their craft at Bowdoin College.

I originally listened to this talk as a part of my American Folklore class this last semester. Understanding folklore as part of every human society, the ways in which we interact with it, and how it affects every aspect of our lives was truly eye-opening.

I digress. I could fill a book with the importance of folklore in cultural interaction, regardless of what "groups" one may be a part of.

I decided to open with Geo's talk and provide this as something of a baseline of where my thinking is coming from in this post. I highly recommend listening to the whole talk if you can.

Dawnland has always and always will have queer people. It will always have Indigenous queer people.

The Wabanaki have a very felt presence in the central and coastal Maine area where I'm from—especially Penobscot and Passamaquoddy, who live closest to Bangor. I recently had the pleasure of attending Bangor's 32nd Pride, an event which has become increasingly Indigenous since I first began attending back in 2017. Visit the website for the event now, and the first thing you will see is the image of the Wabanaki Two-Spirit Alliance walking in the parade. This has felt momentous, and an active effort by both (perhaps most importantly) Wabanaki people, as well as their non-Native queer allies.

Since "joining" the queer community at age ~13, I've had the pleasure of experiencing many different angles of my queer community. Something that I've appreciated on a local, "irl" level is the effort of integrating queer and Indigenous education. I first heard Geo Neptune speak on being Two-Spirit and Indigenous ways of engaging with sexuality, gender identity, and societal roles when I was about 15 years old at my first Rainbow Ball, a queer, alternative prom held in Western coastal Maine each year. Workshops during the day offered us opportunities to engage with queer adults and learn about our community's history, present, about safety, and various other topics (such as Geo's talk on Two-Spirits in Maine).

When I attended Pride last week (the largest in the history of the event), I was browsing stalls with my partner and best friend when I was stopped by a (white, non-Indigenous) sewist who complimented my skirt. I thanked her, saying that it was a ribbon skirt. I had bought this pink and blue ribbon skirt at the spring social on Indian Island this year, an event by and for the local Indigenous community. It was made by a very skilled older woman. I won't say the price, but it was expensive--I felt, though, given the history of ribbon skirts, and their role as a regalia item to some, this was a fair price. The price must be affected by the time, materials, energy, and cultural importance of the item.

This is why I was shocked when the sewist launched into a pitch about how she could make something similar for me for only $35 and began showing me her wares. While I was understanding as a fellow creative seeking to connect and make a living, comparing a clothing item with deep cultural importance and symbolism to an item of regular clothing did not sit right with me. It left me disgruntled and wrestling with my feelings.

Circling back to folklore, I and this sewist are of (assumedly) shared groups--Queer people, Mainers, and Americans. But I am Indigenous, and she is not. "Groups" in the folkloric sense are defined as two or more people that share something in common. All groups have folklore–material and nonmaterial. A ribbon skirt is folk art, a traditional article of clothing, and is important to Indigenous women both as an expression of identity and as a piece of regalia; It has deep historical and cultural meaning that is not understood by those outside of our group.

To the outsider, in seeing the skirt, it becomes a sum of the materials from a craft store (assumed to be relatively inexpensive) and effort (perhaps seen as minimal to a skilled and experienced sewist). In lacking cultural context, the entitlement lies in the assumption that a colonizer can replicate the importance of a garment cheaply. It stems from a lack of understanding of the other group, yes, but also a devaluation of cultural objects. The item is seen as clothing and not folk art.

Some people are just misinformed, awkward, and lacking in information. On one hand, I feel that this lack of education or social grace can't be held against them. On the other, the devaluation of a cultural garment by a settler is a microaggression that is perhaps symbolic of a greater issue in settler-Indigenous relations.

I want to clarify before I go any further that I don't feel any ill will towards this individual, and that I don't really know anything of her background; This anecdote simply means to serve as a lesson and rumination in the decolonization of thought and behavior.

In my previous post, I discussed Christianity and the entitlement that this religious tradition has given to colonizers. It is an inescapable reality that permeates American life, even if it is not something one religiously ascribes to. When Adam and Eve left Eden, all that the Earth had to provide was for the taking of man to eke out a survival. In the Christian-dominated Euro-American tradition, the relationship between humans and the world around them would be inherently selfish and destructive. This dogma of entitlement to the world around oneself permeates all of the interactions one has, and the decolonization of thought must be an active and continuous effort. 

As Queer people, we can only really guarantee in Queer spaces that we share a singular group (that being queerness). People will come from all walks of life, will be from differing and overlapping groups, and have a body of life experiences that are extremely diverse. This is the beauty of community. The effort made by Bangor Pride to express this diversity is admirable, and I am hopeful and excited about future events. This small interaction did not color the event for me, but provided an interesting thought discussion. 

If you made it to the end of my post, I want to thank you as usual for reading. Let me know your thoughts in my inbox, by commenting, reblogging, etc. Respectful and thoughtful discussion is always encouraged!

[rmsstevielol]

Ok hello im back to rant again!

Todays topic is Kilts, Tartan and the importance of them to our culture 😜

So, kilts and tartan have been a part of Scottish and Irish culture for CENTURIES right? And don’t even come at me with “oh Victoria introduced clan tartans🧐🧐” they still had them before! Anyways my main issue is that it’s becoming a worldwide type thing or a thing that can be used by anyone.. it is literally somebody’s culture and it should not be used just for fun.

I am CONSTANTLY seeing stuff like “GRWM kilt addition” and it’s someone who has no Scottish or Irish relation and they aren’t even wearing it properly, mostly Americans and English people which is very annoying becuase they don’t even acknowledge where it’s from or how to wear it properly. Another thing is that tartan is being made for different religions Or sexualities and even an English one exists now.. can we not do that because it, once again, belongs to a culture and by making different tartans for all these different things, it takes the meaning and importance of it to our culture. I literally see SO MANY schools in England and people wearing it in general wearing it, referring to it ‘plaid’, like no, it’s tartan.

Also I definitely do not fw the royals wearing the Stuart tartan or any tartan in general because im not being funny but they literally have barely traceable Scottish genealogy and they even went as far as BANNING the Stuart tartan for anyone apart from the royals, even though they literally not Stuart’s and there are actual Stuart’s out there, who still wear them, but still the fact there is a law that they cannot wear there own family tartan is actually disgusting. The royals aren’t Scottish or Irish therefore should not wear them. I swear i see many wealthy English people wearing kilts like it’s a thing of nobility for everyone.. it’s not.

Tartan and kilts are not just a thing to show off your wealth and high status, they are our culture and something that is very much valued and appreciated in modern day, bringing me on to my next point, that “clan tartans aren’t relevant” or “kilts aren’t that important anymore”, which is extremely false. I know many families, including my own, who wear their own family tartan and kilts all the time and they’re something that is highly valued and respected by them, it is something that is important to us because it gives is pride in our family, culture and history. We wear them to important events too! So by random non Scottish/Irish people wearing them anywhere (in the wrong way) it takes away the whole meaning of that. Also wearing someone’s clan tartan and not knowing anything about it, does not sit right with me at all, like just wear your own cultural clothing.

I saw a very specific example of taking kilts and using them as an “accessory”on a TikTok video, a couple months ago, where a young English woman was showing how she “styles” a kilt. This kilt was a proper, authentic, Scottish kilt and the way she was handling it and talking about it was very disrespectful and just rude. She first stated how she didn’t like the length, as it made her look like a granny, where she then started to pin it up to make it a mini skirt.. how much more do I really need to say. It’s plain rude and disrespectful, if you cannot wear it respectfully and properly then don’t wear it at all, simple as. Another thing with this woman, is that she was completely arrogant to the comments trying to correct her and call her out on her behaviour, she was pretty much disregarding them as “petty” not admitting her wrongs in any way.

Now, before you all come at me, hear me out. I know cultural appropriation is a very very controversial topic but if people are truly outraged by it then why is the appropriation of tartan and kilts not taken more seriously, it is the same exact thing. If i were to compare, the issue with the appropriation of Native American culture and how there are awful costumes made of them on Amazon, is very similar, if not the same situation as i am talking about with the kilts and tartan, for example, the cheap, stereotypical costumes of Scottish people on Amazon or the “sexy” mini skirt “kilts” with the matching hats.. see how similar the situations are. I do believe that a lot of what im seeing regarding how kilts and tartan are being worn, is cultural appropriation and is not being paid attention to nearly enough.

I used to brush it off as “not that deep” or “not as bad as others”, as a lot of other people do, but as i see more and more of it, the more offensive and disrespectful it is getting and nobody is doing a single thing about it. So, yes, it is that deep and If you say you respect all cultures, yet find yourself doing these things, then you aren’t really the person you thought you were.

My culture isn’t a joke, isn’t a costume, is not something to be altered or changed to your satisfaction and it is not something to show off your wealth, so please stop and let us have it back as something to be proud of.

Share this around if you can 🤍

That was a long rant but it was needed, so, if you made it all the way to here, thank you for reading it :))

just to clarify, as always, i do not hate English people or American people and I don’t completely hate the monarchy, I am just using them as examples, as they are the ones I’ve seen most doing the things that i mentioned :)))))

[jennyeliseprince]

Name: Jenny Prince From: Buffalo, NY Bio: Hi, my name is Jenny. I'm an artist and an art history professor from Buffalo, NY. I feel privileged to teach and create with you this semester. I highly value your generation and find you all incredibly inspiring.

My teaching style is based on my art history and studio art background. To truly understand and appreciate art history, one must also create art.

As an educator, I have dedicated time to researching the relationship between art history and shifts in social consciousness, particularly regarding consumerism, pop culture, and technological advancements.

As a studio artist, my experiences significantly impact the assignments I create for you. Ultimately, I want you to feel safe and welcome to celebrate and explore your individuality. Your voice matters, and I look forward to supporting your creative journey this semester.

On a personal note, I would like to share a little bit about myself. I am hoping for a Bills Super Bowl victory soon! In my free time, I love going to Pilates classes and spending quality time with my loved ones, especially if it involves great conversation over pasta and a glass of wine. I love reality TV. If a Golden Bachelor is searching for love or a Salt Lake City housewife is arguing on a yacht, I am interested.

Website: Jenny Prince (jennifereliseprince.com)

[honeybeecomebuzzingme]

Grr why am I worried about him???

All my online friends are saying I need to reaffirm my boundaries and not let myself fall into bad habits. But damn there's this annoying dysphoria when I think about this whole process and I wish I could have the energy to turn it around and be mad.

But I'm not angry. I'm concerned because he's my friend and I want him to be ok.

I don't understand why I need to be angry and turn off that worry I have for someone who I will always consider my best friend.

My brain can't compute these emotions.

It's easier if I compartmentalize and make a list as follows:

1- I appreciate any friends I have who have taken me to hospital or helped me in a time of need deserve equal in return.

2- I understand that my friends all have mental health issues and such things I cannot do anything other than listen and give moral support for them to seek help.

3- I see now that it is not my responsibility to keep bugging my friends to seek help for themselves. They need to do that for themselves when they are ready.

I'm not sure what else to say.

I'll leave with the promise that I am working on myself. I'm learning to be me.

I'm learning to accept myself.

I am an amazing person.

I can sorta play the guitar, some harmonica from primary school, and I'm learning the violin. (I also want to learn to play bass guitar and eventually the harp).

I can speak German, some Dutch, and French, Gaelic from living in Scotland, a tiny bit of Welsh from when I lived in Wales, and I picked up a little bit of Japanese from anime. Also, I have basic knowledge of asl and bsl from classes, I was working on how to write in kanji/hiragana and in Arabic in the past.

I've studied many things over the past ten years. I'm a highly accomplished student despite my shortcomings and absences.

I really enjoy photography and painting.

I can design video games, phone apps, and flash animations. I can make jewelry from precious metals. I can make clothing from scratch, and I understand how the fashion industry operates, how much of what we wear in our every day life has been informed by history and culture.

I can also wire a plug, fix a leaky sink, and install internet in businesses and homes.

I am also experienced and trained in both the care of children and vulnerable adults.

I have first aid training and I am an eagerly experienced archery instructor. I love it!

And I've studied cyber security of course!

Also I know how Trump expects his drink served from my training in bartending and hospitality - our field trips were amazing - I wanted to be a bartender from that course but I prefer cooking.

I've also worked in kitchens in 3/4 parts of the UK. I just need to go to N. Ireland now.

I've had jobs like retail, call centres, but I enjoy cleaning because it's therapeutic!

And most importantly I am a writer! 💯🔥

I have self published the first trilogy of my 12 part book series set in Scotland. I've also self published the first book of my second trilogy. And it all started with a poetry book I also self published! 💪💜

I wrote mostly by myself at first but over time I have built up my supporters and I have a pretty awesome fanbase! ☺️❣️🥰

My profits are small but I love writing!

I love all my friends and family so much!

I love al my Nakama!

[hologramcowboy]

I swear what is up with male celebs dating the most problematic people. First Henry Cavill (which doesn’t surprise me because of his own comments he’s made), then Sebastian Stan (apparently he’s not dating her and is allegedly dating Annabelle Wallis now) Chris Evans, and now Dylan O’Brien. It seems like it’s a pattern for celebs to date someone who seems like a really cool person only to be exposed as either racist, homophobic, misogynistic, or fatphobic. And sometimes the person is all 4.

I honestly never had any problems with who any celeb dates and when I would see who it is, I would just be like “oh they’re so pretty” and “oh they seem pretty cool” and “I’m so happy for them” just for it come out a day later that they aren’t a decent person. Literally not being racist, homophobic, and etc.. is not that hard and is quite literally the bare minimum. It does not take that much to be a decent person. And i get those tweets are old, but everyone should know back in 2012 or 2013 or 2018 that saying a racial slur is wrong and it doesn’t matter if you were a teenager or a young adult, you should know better. And all of sudden deleting the tweets and blocking comments doesn’t necessarily mean you know better now, it just seems like you didn’t want to get caught and be held accountable. Either way, if they want to date those type of people then that’s their prerogative, but don’t expect that people will still look at you the same way. I honestly wonder what goes through their pr teams heads?

I am out of the loop on this one, has Henry's gf made other racist moves? If so 🤢🤢🤢 I hope he dumps her fast. Also, he's no stranger to stupid comments and failing to react in the face of racism and discrimination, sadly. It's why I'd rather avoid running into my idols, it's so much better to appreciate from a distance than find out celebs you love are racist, homophobic, mean, etc.

Celebs focus on image so, they are looking for perfect optics and tend to be quite shallow. So it's no surprise to me when their partners turn out to be shaddy. The thing is, if your partner is a racist but you want to claim you are not, I won't believe you because in supporting your racist girlfriend you are supporting racism so you are, in fact, a racist. People need to start taking responsability for their views. Did Henry date racist women? Yes. Therefore, clearly being inclusive isn't at the top of his values otherwise he could have never gone for a partner that has a racist mentality AND he has a history of this by now. So, while I admire his work and look, I question his views.

As for Dylan, his girlfriend seems extremely, how should I put this...lacking in neurons? My point is, I think, in her stupidity, she thought she was being cool by appropriating the n word. Which is beyond absurd. The lack of cultural awareness and empathy is quite sad. Ignorance should never be an excuse in these situations. It's why I hope that Cultural Sensitivity will be taught everywhere, because we all come from different backgrounds and cultures and we may have limitations imposed by our programming so it's important to learn about cultural differences and how to honor and celebrate them.

I question Jensen the same way due to Danneel, she was a bully in her early twitter years and also on the red carpet (see her maxim event interview where she disses bai ling) and she is truly questionable as a human, she tries to hide it through fake activism but high quality people won't buy that because they know those who truly value activism get involved on deep levels while she isn't even able to hold a coherent discouse about the causes she supposedly "supports". She also deleted her whitewashing of MLK when people pointed out that she shouldn't teach her children to white wash. Instead of using that opportunity to create a discourse and bring awareness to a highly important topic and give the people in the know a voice, she deleted their comments and then finally deleted the post. She then proceeded to call them "bullies" during a live she supposedly held to show she was an ally...I think that speaks volumes. Then there are the numerous lies from where she went to college, to how she got work, to pageant participation, to many, many more. Her character truly makes me question the real nature of Jensen Ackles' personality, because she contradicts everything he claims to stand for.